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Show Thursday, September 13, 2007 OREM TIMES Page 5 notes NEWS AND IDEAS FROM CLASSROOMS AND EDUCATORS Teachers share experiences in China with students Melissa Mayntz NORTH COUNTY STAFF For many teachers, summer vacation is a time to freshen up lesson plans, clean up the classroom class-room or just take a break from the rigors of the school year. For two Canyon View Junior High social studies teachers, however, summer vacation this year meant an opportunity opportu-nity to immerse themselves in new experiences and exotic activities as they spent 22 days touring China, 1 long Kong, Thailand and Singapore. Tina Davis and Sandy Simmons, along with two other teachers from the Alpine School District, embarked on their Asian adventure on June 7. During the three week getaway, they encountered many new and unusual experiences, experi-ences, including cultural concerts, con-certs, a four day river cruise on the Yangtze River, riding elephants in Thailand, visiting a Buddhist temple and a jade factory, touring the Imperial Palace in Beijing, visiting Tiananmen Ti-ananmen Square and walking on the Great Wall of China. Yet the most surprising aspect of the trip wasn't the famous fa-mous sites or the beautiful scenery, scen-ery, but the amazing personalities personali-ties of the people they met. "The Chinese people are a loving people and a very welcoming wel-coming people," Davis said. By seeing the living conditions condi-tions of different cultures and literally walking in their shoes, Davis said she gained a greater appreciation for the freedoms and amenities in the United States. "It gives you a more broad perspective on life," she said. Davis plans to share that perspective with her Utah and U.S. history students through photos and class discussions. "If you go to other countries and you know their history, you can better understand them," she said. For Simmons, the experiences experi-ences of the trip are even more tiger Briana Reyes A friend of mine recently said to me, "How do you keep up with school while working? I struggle keeping up with school itself, there is no way I could manage with a job." To which I replied that you get used to it and figure out how to manage your time. For many teenagers, this is the case. And then there is fitting fit-ting in extra-curricular activities activi-ties such as sports, drama, and I II 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 J LI '7 f I f fl ' i 4 f f f I ' ll-l-.i i I . I II III I II III II ll 1 ij METAL BUILDING E hnnn 801 - 367 435 - 623 Licensed I II II II 1 1 II 1 J II LI LJ LJ LI L 1! MM,-Ms,WYM I I I FFFPFWI L . . 785-6319 ABCO Glass Products Looking For a Great Richard K. Sharp, M.D Family Practice DrvCreek 766-4214$ We Accept Most i rsi S. insurance nans vX -s -X' 3300 N. Copy immediately relevant to her classroom. As a world geography geog-raphy teacher, she said that the ability to share personal experiences in other countries will help bring her curriculum to life. "The opportunity to learn about other cultures, languages, lan-guages, customs, religions and the historical events that influenced them was a once in a lifetime experience," Simmons Sim-mons said. "I know it will influence influ-ence my teaching for years to come." Both Simmons and Davis returned to school with a variety vari-ety of souvenirs to share with their classes, including music, pictures and clothing. Simmons also plans to introduce intro-duce new foods to her students when possible, though both teachers acknowledged that adjusting to an Asian diet for three weeks was one of their biggest challenges during the trip, along with the absence of drinkable water and other underappreciated un-derappreciated luxuries. Another difficulty they faced during the tour was the massive mas-sive distances between sites. They took more than a dozen domestic flights while in China in order to visit the popular cities and attractions, but despite de-spite the difficulty, it was well worth it to experience so many unique locations. Simmons hopes by sharing shar-ing her experiences with her classes, she can promote acceptance accep-tance of cultural diversity and introduce her students to other ways of life that will lead them to more greatly appreciate the lifestyle they have. Both Simmons and Davis have traveled extensively, and between the two of them have visited Canada, Mexico, Europe, Eu-rope, Russia, Japan, Israel and other countries. While international interna-tional travel may not be possible pos-sible for school field trips, they stress that travel is always an educational experience and well worth the effort. "It's hard to describe how religious activities. It is quite the talent to fit everything in and not burn out. I have been working for about a year-and-a-half now and am pretty pro at how much time I need to allot myself my-self for homework and still manage to get as many hours as I possibly can at work. Though the school load is certainly cer-tainly much larger than it was last year or perhaps I am just trying to do better I certainly have felt the burden of working work-ing late and getting up early. As I am sure many have. The day starts at 6 a.m., school at 7:45 a.m., work at 3 p.m., only to get home around 10 p.m. and start on the seemingly seem-ingly never ending homework. - 4437 - 4606 Windows For Every Need! m m .m. ;' lima nin lr.rr't: im M i n 1 i :H ' ;im r - i FT vxmrn mm RUNNING-CREEKWAY'f LEHI '..JJf iif " vr t , s .,:-.; yt i Sandy Simmons Canyon View Junior High teachers Tina Davis and Sandy Simmons visited Asia over the summer and their travels included riding an elephant in Thailand. world travel changes you as a person," Simmons said. By bringing those changes into the classroom, both Davis and Simmons hope to share A few tips that I have found helpful or figured out are: 1. Make sure school comes first I learned this the hard way trying to earn as much money as I could and not really worrying about grades. 2. Cut down on hours at work if needed No, you are not able to keep working the 40 hours you were during the summer. 3. Talk to the manager about your availability This is something that most employers employ-ers are more than willing to work with. 4. Use school time wisely If a teacher gives you time in class to do an assignment do it! It saves you quite a bit of stress at home. gWCustom, monuments Large Selection of Colors & Styles 725 South 900 East Provo, I tah 374-0580 AM I I QjELTD 5U 45M$4tf.W2mcaO their new appreciation for the Far East with their students for far more than 22 days, Although the extra spending money is nice, make sure to enjoy school. Work will always be there and once school ends that is what life becomes. Don't abandon friends and having a social life because you can earn a few more bucks. Work is not worth getting behind in school for. School is what is going to get you work that you can actually live off of because I doubt many teens want to spend the rest of their lives working at fast food restaurants or retail stores. I certainly don't. So enjoy work, enjoy school, enjoy friends and good luck at trying to fit it all. QualityM -V3 n If A us Orem High School Homecoming Dance The Student Council is sponsoring sponsor-ing the Homecoming Dance Saturday from 8-11 p.m.Thc theme is "Forever" and semi-formal semi-formal attire is required. Tickets are $20 in advance or $30 at the door. Pictures will be available from (i-8 p.m. ParentTeacher Conferences Parentteacher conferences are Wednesday from IWr.'M) p.m. in the New Student Lounge. Call 227-H705 for more information. Photo Retakes Picture retakes for all interested students stu-dents will be Sept. 21. Senior Picture Deadline - Sept. 21 is the last day for seniors to have their pictures taken for the yearbook. Appointments Ap-pointments at Christensen Photography can be made by calling .427-7040. There is no charge for yearbook photos. Canyon View Junior High School IOWA Testing for eighth graders IOWA English, history, his-tory, science and math testing for all eighth grade students will be administered beginning begin-ning Tuesday and continuing through Sept. 20. Parents are asked to limit student checkouts check-outs during this period. Cascade Elementary School School Photos School pictures will be taken Friday, including the annual group picture. Individual retakes will be offered at a later date. Lunch recess aide position open There is a paid lunch recess aide position available from 1 1:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. daily. Contact Michelle Lloyd at 227-8707. Seeking Classroom Volunteers Volun-teers Several volunteer positions are available for individual classrooms. Interested Inter-ested parents can call Martha Roberts or Tiffany Chestnut for more information. September is Safety month Cascade Elementary's September theme is "Safety Begins With Me." Parents are encouraged to model safe behaviors be-haviors throughout the month. Foothill Elementary Vision screenings Vision screenings will be administered adminis-tered Friday. IOWA Testing IOWA testing test-ing for third and fifth grade students begins Monday and continues through Oct. 5. Parents Par-ents are asked to limit classroom class-room disruptions and student checkouts during the testing period. 2007 PTA Theme The Foothill Elementary PTA theme this year is "Light the Way" to follow the ideal that "As a parent, teacher, coach or other significant adult, you have the honor and privilege of being a guiding light, bringing bring-ing purpose, direction and 79 S. State Orem, UT i in il l i inn f-JcObr PwbSr'w'W ----- Wu(fQWT- Single Family I Iomes priced from $3 S0-$5 00,000 priced from $259-$450J00 Located 6 miles south of Provo on Hwy. 89 in Beautiful Mapleton msmsmmm (801)491-3300 - WAREHOUSE tt;(tair'sf 1 Wood Floor, Superstore? example to the life of a child." Parents are encouraged to support this theme through joining the 1TA, volunteering and otherwise helping out at Foothill Elementary. Hillcrest Elementary School Hillcrest's Theme for 2007-1 2007-1 lillcrest Elementary's theme for this scIkxiI year is ResX'ct, Kesxnsibility and Service. These concepts will be emphasized empha-sized throughout the year. Gold Medal Mile Challenge Hillcrest Elementary will kick off theCk)ld Medal Mile Challenge and fitness awareness aware-ness with an assembly Friday. After the assembly, the entire school will walk one mile. Silent Auction at the Carnival Carni-val Classes are collecting items to create themed gift baskets lor the silent auction auc-tion at the sch(x)l carnival Sept. 21. Each class has a specific theme and items can be collected through Tuesday. Parents should contact their child's teacher or coordinators coordina-tors Debbie Lamb and Dani Iiyers for more information. Volunteers needed for school Carnival Volunteers are needed to help coordinate the annual carnival and silent auction Sept. 21. Contact Debbie Deb-bie I .ami) or Dani I5yers for details. Scera Park Elementary School PTA Meeting The September Sep-tember PTA meeting is today at 11:30 a.m. in the school library. li-brary. Everyone is welcome. Scera Park T-shirts New student -designed school T-shirts T-shirts are now available. Order Or-der forms and payment must be submitted by Friday. All sizes are $5 each. PTA volunteers needed Volunteers are needed for several PTA positions, including Ref lections chair, fundraiser vice president, and president-elect for the 2008-200!) 2008-200!) sch(X)l year. All other 1TA volunteers are always welcome. Contact Debi Tee for more information. School photos School pictures pic-tures will be taken Sept. 20. Sharon Elementary Parent volunteers sought Parent volunteers are always welcome at Sharon Elementary. Elemen-tary. Interested individuals should contact their child's teacher about classr(X)m volunteer vol-unteer opportunities. School pictures Fall pictures pic-tures will betaken Friday. Noah Webster Academy Classroom Volunteers Needed Several openings open-ings are available for parent volunteers in fifth and sixth grades. Interested parents should call the Main Office for more information. MIL TUTORING CLUB: Reading, Math, Writing, Custom Tutoring, (iEI) Prep., and ACT Prep. 229-CLUB (2582) - Single-Level Living www.HarvestPark.net |