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Show Volume I , Issue XII Page 15 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS September 1999 Student News Valley Elementary Nature Center Jane McVaugh, teacher Ribbon Cutting Ceremony & Kickoff forElementary Big Success Students at Valley Elementary have By Mitch Mahas, sixth grade reporter not only been putting their noses to the The Valley School Nature Center grindstone, but have been digging in kickoff assembly was great according the dirt since returning to school. A to Mitch Mahas. Whitney Beck looks ribbon cutting ceremony and assembly forward to killing the weeds. Michelle were held to formally begin planting Stevenson thinks that the plants make at the Nature Center. everything look much prettier. But you should have been to the kickoff they Seven hundred students will have all say! Super-intendent Chatelain the opportunity to meet there to have came and environtalked mental a b o u t lessons, service. perform The whole drama, school sang a w r i t e song that poetry, and w a s learn the written by value of Mr. Hull hard work about this and responaddition— s i b i l i t y. an outdoor They have nature been busy center placing classroom. Huntsville’s p l a n t s Mayor Jim native to Students helping at the Nature Center. McKay the Ogden spoke about how nice it was to tie the Valley in the center. The center’s focus community to the school through is to place students in direct contact service and beautification of the school with the natural environment where grounds. Then a representative of the they will have the opportunity to be Milken Foundation, Barbara Klein, active participants in the learning talked about service and how even process and inquisitive seekers of elementary school children can make a difference. The Milken Foundation information. Valley Elementary donated about four thousand dollars to School wants the community to feel help fund the costs of the nature center. welcome to use the nature center and They also provided T-shirts for every take pride with us in helping to beautify kid in the school and for every Ogden Valley. volunteer who helps—teachers, staff, The Nature Center would not have been possible without the generous donations from the following people: Fred Meyer/ Rubbermaid’s “Cash for Class” awarded a generous grant of $5,000.00 to Jane McVaugh, fourth grade teacher. The Milken Foundation “Festival for Youth” program Students gaining hands on experience. awarded a generous grant of $4,000.00 to Michelle Evans, the mayor, the superintendent, sixth grade teacher. everybody! The State of Utah, Department of The best part of the kickoff was Natural Resources awarded $500.00 to going outside and having Mr. Ed Rich Valley Elementary to plant trees in the fly over in his airplane. He swooped and dived to cheering from students center. and guests. He flew east and did aerial Dave Wadman of Wadman stunts, figure eights, and cool things Corporation made and donated a set of with his plane. Everybody clapped. park benches, which will accommodate Charlie Smith, Whitney Poulsen, and a class of forty students. Heather Wadman helped with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Then cookies and Jeff Smith donated large rocks, punch were served to all. which are placed around the center. What a great day, but even cooler The town of Huntsville donated the is seeing the nature center come alive use of their backhoe to place the rocks with plants, trees, and a birdhouse. and move dirt. Wadman Corporation donated the benches out front. The Smiths brought South Fork Nursery and Grass Plus in boulders and the Poulsens did the have donated time and plants to the curbing around the center. The center. Spainhowers helped plan and provide Valley School salutes the above plants. So many have helped . . . and businesses and people for taking the can still help. There’s lots left to do. Call the school and see how you can time and effort to make learning a take part! community effort. Two Familiar Faces to be Missing at Area Schools This Fall By Shanna Francis Two familiar faces were missed this year when the gang headed back to school here in the Valley. Both Connie Creamer and Betty Wilcox retired earlier this spring after serving in the local system for a combined total of 55 years. They have both seen many changes season after season—new or She first began working at Valley in the Career Lab in the fall of 1974. She later became the attendance secretary. In 1987, she transferred to the new Snowcrest Junior High when it opened in its first year. She originally began working in order to help pay for her oldest son’s mission. Next, it was her second son that needed braces. What began as a temporary endeavor, ended 25 years later. Betty and her husband Bob, who reside in Huntsville, have six children and 28 grandchildren. Connie Mae Gledhill Creamer started her career at Valley as a media Mrs. Connie Creamer remodeled schools, different faces among the children, administration and teaching staff, and varied educational philosophies and programs. Through it all, both say, that which they enjoyed most, was watching the children grow and progress, being a small part of the kids’ life, and celebrating in their accomplishments. In addition, both commented on how much they enjoyed getting to know the many parents through the years, and their association with them. Mrs. Wilcox also stated that she appreciated all that she had learned from the many talented teachers that had taught at the schools. She could not think of any unpleasant experiences, “That is why it was so hard to retire.” Betty Jo Fitzpatrick Day Wilcox was born in Mexico, and moved to the Valley in 1961 with her husband Bob. Mrs. Betty Wilcox aid thirty years ago, and after ten years, moved into the office. Along with the many memorable associations with students, parents, and staff, Mrs. Creamer also has vivid memories of a child getting a tooth caught up in a basketball net, and another almost, literally, being scalped by a triangular piece of pipe after the student raised up from underneath the sharp edge of the metal. Mrs. Creamer and her husband Richard also live in Huntsville. They have five children and 21 grandchildren. In an effort to glean from their many years of association with children, I asked for words of advice that they might share with parents. Comments on respect were shared. If courtesy and respect are a part of life in the homes of children, this respect and courtesy is usually carried with the child out into the world in their behavior and associations with others. Mrs. Creamer and Mrs. Wilcox, we will miss you! Thank you for your years of service to the community, and the kindness you have shown our children. Local Educator Receives SLOC Grant Elder Shane Francis will be flying home Sept.30th. from the California Ventura Mission. A special thank you to Michelle Evans and Jane McVaugh who wrote the grant application for funding of the center, and to the committee who was responsible for the appropriation of the grant funds that were received. The committee is comprised of Michelle Evans, Sue Hadley, Carolyn Hogge, Lori Hogge, Jane McVaugh, Riko Reese, Holli Sackett, and Shirl Weight. Thirty-four teachers from Utah were selected to receive $500 individual grants from the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. The “Sharing the Olympic Spirit” grant money is to be used to pursue Olympic-related programs in the teachers’ classrooms, schools and towns based on sports, foreign cultures and other possible Olympic themes. Carolyn Hogge of Liberty, who teaches at Valley Elementary, was one of five teachers in Weber County who received the award. |