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Show i v m w www ' Page 4 OREM GENEVA T.I M E S Thursday, June 15, 2006 if rg F W S AflD IDEAS FROM CLASSROOMS AND EDUCATORS iin, information fills days at Uiah Girls' State A dozen young women represent trio of Orem-area high schools Connie Wagner ' (.iris uirls H'ls. na' s a" I w i here's not a guy in the vicmiiv " Last w eek at Southern Utah I inversitv 'iHD Kil ls could be heard t hauling those words, as ;-.it N Iniiii all over Utah joined as hili s IiimI seniors tor Utah dills' Slate I had the opportunity to join in the i horns as a representative representa-tive trom Orem I huh School, and a week ol die-hai d patrio- I I -in lauhl me a lot. I'.etore I sliare the lite lessons I i arned. allow me to first explain ex-plain the program. When we ot off the bus and entered the SIX' campus, we unpacked in our assigned dorms, which grouped us into cities of approximately 26 girls. Although other Orem girls attended, at-tended, most girls were placed into different cities from the people they knew l.ach city was named after a previous Utah governor and was assigned to one of three counties. I was a member of Matheson City and Democracy County. I tie other two counties were freedom and Justice. l.ach morning began with a fi a.m. wake-up ( all and a (i:-lf breakfast in the cafeteria. Then, all of the girls met in the ballroom for a "convocation," "convoca-tion," consisting of a patriotic musical number, an inspiring thought, a prayer, the posting post-ing of the colors, the pledge of allegiance, and at least a lew speakers. Among these speakers were a female soldier returned from Afghanistan, Attorney General Mark Shur-tleff Shur-tleff and Governor Jon Huntsman. Hunts-man. Jr. As Girls' State participants, we were not allowed back into our dorms until !t p.m. In between, we attended workshops including budgeting and date rape. We also learned about city, county, and state offices and had the opportunity to run for and elect these offices, modeling model-ing the actual process. l.lected delegates participated in caucuses while the rest -of the girls observed, either sending notes to then delegates through the appointed sergeant at arms, or taking cat naps. We also participated in activities activi-ties purely tor enjoyment, such as team-huilding exercises (try maneuvering through a hoola hoop in a skirt), a volleyball tournament, a competitive We laughed together, to-gether, we cried together, to-gether, we coughed together, and at the end of the week, we clung to each other." songfest and a Friday night banquet, Each evening closed with another convocation, and girls returned to their dorms for city meetings and late-night bonding sessions. I probably received a total of 20 hours of sleep in five nights. From a completely biased viewpoint, my city, Matheson City, was the best one there. Every girl had an obviously unique personality and background. back-ground. We all had strong opinions, and fierce debates ensued about abortion and flag desecration. But what was most remarkable to me was that every girl in our city, no matter her opinion, supported sup-ported every other girl in our city. As a group of friends, we stayed up until 2 a.m., helping the other girls in the city make their campaign materials. At lunch we sat together, or all helped to pass out flyers for the other girls in the city. About half of the girls in our city had the flu, and the other half of the girls acted as nurses. We laughed together, we cried together, we coughed together, and at the end of the week, we clung to each other. On Saturday, the week ended with an emotional graduation ceremony. Parents attended as the newly elected Girls' State governor addressed ad-dressed us. Some 330 strangers who spent the week together cried and hugged as we sang, "I want to linger a little longer, a little longer with you." Attending Girls' State taught me several things: Contention arises when 26 girls have to share six showers, three hours of sleep a night makes even the most interesting speaker laborious, labori-ous, and a week of cafeteria food upsets the stomach. Have a splash in Saratoga Springs Melinda Willden Mark your calendars lor the Saratoga Splash celebration, running today through Saturday. Satur-day. The city celebration, now in its sixth year, gets bigger and better every year. "A huge part of our wpula-tion wpula-tion is brand new. and the Saratoga Sara-toga Splash is a great chance for them to come join their new community." said Mandi Johnson, John-son, civics event coordinator. The new events this year are the Peter Breinholt concert, the professional wakeboarding exhibition ex-hibition and the parade. "Anyone can participate in the parade," Johnson said. "We want family groups, schools, neighborhoods, teams, homeowners' hom-eowners' associations, church groups, anyone." Parade entrants can build a float, ride horses, organize a fleet of kids on bikes, or use any other idea to show their pride in their city. The entry that best shows the group's "Saratoga Spirit" will win a $200 cash prize. Judging will take place before the parade begins. Parade participants needed to register by Monday. Saratoga Splash also will include the favorite activities from years past, such as a baby contest, talent contest for children, chil-dren, 5K run, fireman's breakfast, break-fast, golf tournament, carnival, performances by several different differ-ent children's groups and more. Pre-registration is required for the golf tournament and the parade. Pre-registration is encouraged for all other activities, activi-ties, but participants also may register at the door. "Volunteers, we need lots of volunteers" Johnson said. "It's a great way to get involved and get to know the community." Volunteers are needed to help organize events ahead of time and help out during the celebration celebra-tion itself. Interested residents can e-mail Mandy Johnson at civ icev ent s& sar at oga-springs . net or call her at 766-9550 for more information. The schedule of events and all applications for Saratoga Splash can be found at httpJI php. Utah County news wvv.heraldextra.com Twelve young women from the three Orem High Schools returned Saturday from Utah Girls' State at Southern Utah University in Cedar City. The program provides participants with a weeklong training experience in the practical processes of self government gov-ernment and good citizenship and was sponsored by Orem Unit 72 of the American Legion Auxiliary. The girls joined with 335 others from around the state to study government, participate in the political process, and meet new friends. There was public speaking and debate, singing, field trips, group de-votionals, de-votionals, patriotic ceremonies and the opportunity to earn college col-lege credit. Orem High School was represented rep-resented by Jamie Gee, Kristy Gilbert, Sarah Hamilton, Kristy Jamison, Julia McDougal, Connie Con-nie Wagner, Jewel Wakamatsu and Elizabeth Warnick. Selected from Mountain View High School were Hannah Han-nah Bates and Alicia Williams. Susan McArthur and Allison Smith were chosen to represent repre-sent Timpanogos High School. Here is a brief profile of each participant: Jamie Gee Jamie Gee, daughter of Greg and Debra Gee of Orem, is the second oldest of seven children. chil-dren. She loves life and enjoys staying busy. Jamie runs on the varsity cross country team for Orem High School. She also excels avaucuii- cally with a 4.0 GPA and several AP classes. She serves in many leadership positions at both the school and community level. Jamie is a member mem-ber of the Orem City Youth Council, participates in Student Congress, and serves as vice president of the National Honor Hon-or Society. Jamie loves to learn about the political system of our country and is very excited to participate in Girls State. Kristy Gilbert Kristy Gilbert is the second child of six and the only girl among her siblings. She is a student at Orem High School. A member of the high school swim team, she specializes in the butterfly, but-terfly, medley, and distance events. She is co-captain of the Utah County water polo team and prides herself on defense. Writing is her passion, and editing ed-iting is her hobby. Sarah Hamilton As a sophomore, Sarah Hamilton Ham-ilton represented Orem High School at the Hugh O'Brien Junior Leadership Conference and has been selected to return i t i Jamie Gee Kristy Gilbert Sarah Hamilton Kristi Jamison as a 2006 Junior Councilor. Sar ah worked for the United States Senate as a senate page and attended the United States Senate Sen-ate Page School in Washing ton, D.C., where she received honors as the outstanding out-standing student in the areas of British literature, political science sci-ence and mathematics. Sarah is currently a junior at Orem High School and was recently elected to the Student Council. Kristi Jamison Kristi Jamison, a junior at Orem High School, is an honor student taking tak-ing a rigorous rigor-ous schedule sched-ule of AP and honors classes. She is a member mem-ber of her school's judicial branch of government and participated par-ticipated in Model UN and mock-trial competitions. In addition to her academic interests, Kristi enjoys dance particularly clogging and is a member of the OHS ballroom dance team. She enjoys music and has played piano for 11 years, the clarinet for five years and will be in the Orem High a cap-pella cap-pella choir next year. Julia McDougal Julia McDougal is the daughter of David and Carrie McDougal of Orem. Julia attends at-tends Orem High School and is currently the junior class vice president. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Operation Smile, F.B.L.A., Engage En-gage Now Humanitarian Club, Key Club, and a cappella choir. She attended the Global Young Leaders Conference where she in the embassies in Washington, Wash-ington, D.C., and a global summit sum-mit inside the United Nations in New York City. Julia is an award recipient of Who's Who Among American High Schools, Hope of America, and the All American Academic Award. Julia serves on the Board of Directors for the Utah Hemophilia Foundation and gives lectures promoting awareness of bleeding disorders. disor-ders. In her spare time she enjoys dancing, psychology, playing the piano, harp, and cello. She is very excited to attend at-tend Girls' State. Connie Wagner Connie Wagner is 16 years old and a new resident of Utah. She always keeps busy at Orem High School with the ' Vs t v-- I J1A . Julia McDougal swim team,-French club, Operation Op-eration Smile, theater, singing, dancing and her job. She has been selected as next year's staff editor edi-tor for the school's newspaper, "The Blue and Gold," and also the president of the French club. In the free time she has, Con- Connie Wagner rj Jewel Wakamatsu rue enjoys reading and writing. She plans to earn a doctorate degree in English language and literature and perhaps teach English one day. Jewel Wakamatsu Jewel Wakamatsu is a junior at Orem High School. As the school's junior class president of the National Honors Society, she loves being able to help better her community and the world through various service projects. She enjoys participating participat-ing in lacrosse and tries to chal lenge herself to work harder hard-er every time she plays. Singing in the school's concert choir, running, playing the piano and oboe, writing songs, doing gymnastics, and having fun with her family and friends are some of her favorite things to do. Government and politics have always interested her, and she is looking forward to being old enough to vote. She is excited to have the opportunity to go to Girls' State this year. Elizabeth Warnick Elizabeth Warnick is the daughter of Paul and Mimi Warnick of Orem. She is a junior at Orem High School. Liz is a member of the National Honor Society and is on her schools high honor roll. She has participated par-ticipated in mock trial and Model United Nations and is a member of Orem High's judiciary. Liz also plays on her school's junior varsity lacrosse team. Susan J. McArthur Born in Provo in 1989, Susan McArthur is the daughter of Dr. David N. McArthur and Jessica A. Hill McArthur of Orem. Susan is a high school student at Timpanogos High School and a flutist in the American Fork High School Symphonic Band. She has attended at-tended schools in South Carolina, Caro-lina, Nevada and Utah and has friends and fond memories in each of those places. She enjoys en-joys recreational sports such as tennis, hiking and volleyball. She taught herself to play the piano and will compete in the Elizabeth Warnick IhwA JbmJ Susan McArthur regional solo and ensemble competition on the flute. She also enjoys en-joys reading historical fiction and creative writing. Allison Smith Allison Smith, daughter of Paul and Tern Smith, is a junior at Timpanogos High School. She plays the violin in the school orchestra. She has enjoyed playing soccer for the past ten years in the Orem recreation leagues, competitions teams, and junior varsity. She has consistently con-sistently received high honor recognition for academics through junior high and high school. She currently serves on the school newspaper staff. She hopes to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, An-napolis, Md. Hannah Bates Hannah Bates, age 16, is a junior at Mountain View High School. She played soccer soc-cer for nine years. Hannah is also very involved in music. She plays the piano, sings in Mountain View's a cappella choir, and plays the clarinet in the school s wind symphony sym-phony band and orchestra. She plays the piano each week for the Stonewood Manor Assisted As-sisted Living Center. As the oldest child of 11, she began to develop leadership leader-ship skills early. Currently, she serves as the president of her ages 16 to 18 year-old church youth group. She is also the president of Mountain View's mock trial club. She is a good student, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. After high school, she plans to attend college and law school. Her recent social science classes have increased her interest in learning about history and government, gov-ernment, and she is excited to learn more as she attends Girls' State 2006. Alicia Williams Alicia Williams is the daughter daugh-ter of John and Lana Williams of Orem. She is currently a junior at Mountain View High School where she is involved in student stu-dent government, National Honor Society and the RADS. This group produces the dance called MORP and supports "penny wars" to support Operation Op-eration Smile. She has served on student court for two years, has received re-ceived her Young Womanhood Recognition award, and is currently cur-rently serving as laurel secretary secre-tary in her church. Alicia loves most sports and has played on the Mountain View Softball and cross country coun-try teams. Other sports she has participated in are basketball, volleyball, track and swimming. Hannah Bates Orchard students earn messy reward in egg drop MiaJWayntz NORTH COUNTY STAFF Under most circumstances, throwing eggs is considered vandalism, particularly on school grounds. At Orchard Elementary Elemen-tary on May 8, however, students were rewarded for successful throws, and the cheering grew louder the messier the results re-sults were. It wasn't vandalism, it was the school's first egg drop competition for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders. More than 80 students stu-dents participated in the optional project, and Brent Palmer, the school's principal, estimated that approximately one-third of the entries survived the 20-foot toss from the roof. Like the Reflections program and the annual science fair, the egg drop was an opportunity for students to use their creativity and ingenuity within specific parameters. "We wanted more kinds of activities we could do that involved higher order thinking skills," Palmer said. "This focused more on creativity and problem-solving than drill-and-practice, and it gets (the students) thinking in ways they don't normally nor-mally think." The raw eggs could be encased in any material other than metal or glass, with a dimension limit of 14 x 14 inches. The students stu-dents were given the project requirements just prior to spring break so they could begin to build their designs well before the actual drop. To give students a focal point for their designs, Palmer chose the "Space, the New Frontier" theme. Aliens, spaceships, rockets rock-ets and meteors were popular motifs. Palmer "launched" each project from the school's roof after the assembled students predicted its chances of survival with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. The cheers were loudest for those projects that had more potential for messy landings, but every ev-ery attempt was greeted with outstanding enthusiasm. Palmer sided with the students about the most entertaining projects. "My favorite ones are the ones that 'splat' and make a mess," he said. PTA members were on hand to cut open each container and judge whether or not the egg survived, and every participating student was given a treat. Several certificates certifi-cates were awarded for "Most Eggs-plod-ed," "Most Eggs-citing Launch" and other related categories. Palmer has arranged egg drop events at his former schools, and he was impressed by the quality of this week's projects, more of which survived than he would have anticipated an-ticipated for the first year of the event. "The kids thought it through pretty well," he said. Brenda Warren, the PTA Education Ctornrnissioner, agreed. "The kids were so creative," she said. "It was an amazing effort on their part to doit." No two projects were identical, and cushioning materials included beans, cereal ce-real bubble wrap, Styrofoam filler, toilet paper tubes, aluminum foil, cotton balls, Play-Doh and even green gelatin. Some projects were equipped with parachutes, while others relied solely on multiple layers of cushioning to survive the impact. J POOR |