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Show i THE PARK RECORD Education. A-ll 6 www.parkrecord.com WEDTHURSFRI, APRIL 30-MAY 2, 2003 EDUCATION EDITOR: Sarah Wilcox 649-9014 ext.1 18 educationparkrecord.com C 3 v.1 !- Ik !) '.? ',: ! uf i I Hi f WJ If v , M V 1,1 i U i Teacher advancement ... Julie Vra&&y, toddler: instructor at Soaring Wings Montessori School, -was recently promoted to Director of the Toddler Program. Wrathall has taught at Soaring Wings for eight years and has worked at all levels, including early childhood and elementary. Upon enter ing the toddler program, she expanded and developed the curriculum and created cre-ated a model; toddler environment. Wrathall is a world traveler and an outdoors out-doors woman. S, ' Summer adventures The Norwegian Outdoor Exploration Center invites the youth in the community commu-nity to participate in a host of new adventures with the 2005 Summer Youth Program. Hie programs, which run from June 23 - August 15 on Mon.. - Fri. from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.1 involve natural sciences, rafting, rock climbing, field trips, crafts and more. New destinations desti-nations like Moab, the White River and the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming .will be explored by the older age groups during the eight weeks. .Each age group (from 5-17 years old) has a limit of 12 adventurers per week. Registration is now open. Call (8001) " 649-5322 for- more .information .r to register. - " ' ' Park City Academy looks forwaixl to growing Launch of an expanded . middle school meant to attract more students By SARAH WILCOX Of the Record staff Most teachers and principals might exhale with relief when the bells ring and their students drain from the hallways after a long day. Steve Diehl, however, would rather that his charges linger long after the bell ' rings, engaged in what he calls "co-curric-ular activities," with different after-school after-school options of sports or leadership. Bolstering the '. physical education aspects of the middle school is just one area that he, along with trustees and staffers, are focusing on, in an effort to launch a new middle school. While there is currently cur-rently a middle mid-dle school that serves sixth HHM through sev- enth grade students, Diehl characterizes the changes being made to the middle school a full launch, noting that the additions addi-tions will serve the needs of the students better. "It is a pretty wholesale change," he said. "It is a middle school launch, aside from core curricula. The academic content con-tent is not changing, everything else is." Just rounding the corner on his first-year first-year at Park City Academy, Diehl, headmaster head-master at the private school, is working on bringing more new ideas to the school than just a name change. Diehl said part of his position is to build a high school, for the private school, but there was a need for a stronger foundation foun-dation for a middle school before they could attempt grades nine-12. "The reality is when I got here, many parents had a preschool-grade five mentality," men-tality," Diehl said, noting that parents removed their kids before middle school to get them prepared for public high school. " "We want to make sure ouroroeram is . exciting ejuOiigh sJhje mentality, start to .vol, without walls," Die,ti saidK citing It is a pretty wholesale change. It is a middle school launch, aside from the core curricula. The academic content is not changing, everthing else is. " - Steve Diehl Headmaster become 'hey, I want to stick around.'" Diehl said. . To expand the program and interest more students to stay for the middle school, however, several things had to be implemented, Diehl said, that relate, to the school's mission of challenging students stu-dents academically, physically and spiritually. spiri-tually. To make a "blueprint" for the middle school, officials conducted research on the practices of middle schools across the nation and decided how to implement the ideas into the 15-year-old non-denominational non-denominational Christian School. -Using the seminal publication "Turning Points 2000: Education Adolescents in the 21st Century," a report of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, they outlined a plan for effective effec-tive middle : schools through eight points. The eight points range from providing a small-school environment to l allowing students to participate in service learning. learn-ing. Diehl notes that the Academy had many of the study's suggestions already, except for some of the physical aspects,' which he hopes to increase. "A lot of the enhancements are admittedly co-curricular that help us achieve our mission of helping students reach their highest potential, academically, academical-ly, physically, spiritually," Diehl commented. com-mented. One of the largest changes is implementing imple-menting a stronger physical education program by joining the Wasatch Athletic Conference (WAC) that competes with other college preparatory schools in the Salt Lake Valley and committing 10 days to outdoor education, including hiking and snowshoeing excursions. The sports program encompasses both traditional sports .and also those unique to a mountain moun-tain town, Diehl said. : Soccer, cross-country and baseball are the new sports that will be offered. "I think the first thing people are going to notice is we're going to be a 1 T"" '"" GRAYSON WESTRARK RECORD Park City Academy is currently launching a new middle school. The private school already has a sixth and seventh grade and will implement an eighth grade next year, with a bolstered program. The facilities for the expanding program already exist in the rear of the school. Students have their own classrooms but share certain areas of the main building, the 14 out-of-class days, that also include riculum. four community service days. "It is a holistic approach to outdoor education," he said. Another change officials hope for is to increase size in the middle school. Right now there are nine students per class in the middle school. Diehl hopes to bring that figure up to 15-18. "We dont want to be big but to get 15 in each class would be great," he said, noting that students in middle school typically typ-ically want to be with other students. School officials are trying to market the middle School to both parents and students, Diehl said, noting that parents make the financial commitment but students stu-dents ultimately have to want to be there to make the experience worthwhile. Other changes slated include more opportunities for student leadership and new approaches to teaching the core cur- Given the success of the middle school, board members and school officials offi-cials hope to implement a high school within the next several years. Currently, around 65 students are bussed from the Park City area to Rowland Hall, Diehl said. While he calls the private school sector sec-tor "collegial," he says Park City Academy can offer many of the same opportunities to students closer to home. "I think we have a lot to offer kids," he said. After creating the blueprint for the school, Diehl said the next challenge was marketing it to current families. So far, the results have been positive, Diehl said. Of the current middle school students. 94 percent are sticking around for next year, according to Diehl., . T o ; o o In The Park Record! It's Easy As 1,2,3 Find a rJco piiotq ol yoer Dttftcr urlih fear clrca l) Crina tto pi: its Peril Rec 3to end cues to Record v :., V , ' ' ' ' ' . v V-.: Pay $30.00 end tto p&sio v.a ren r.by tnin Li tl:o Peffl rccccrd ' , Deadline for pfwtos is May 5v 200S Please call Inkarna or Shawn The Park Record with questions 435-649-9014 5 to o Spuing BloWout Sale! Appliances up to 25 Off Furniture up to 50 Off Accessories 25 Off Rugs 25 Off Mattresses up to 2 5 Off Warehouse Sale!!! up to 50 Off 5975 S. Stratler Ave (380 West) Murray, Utah 801-870-1639 Visit our Park City Showroom for 25 OFF STOREWIDE A Beautiful Selection of Mountain Elegant Furnishings, Accessories and Rugs Superb Quality, Great Prices! 1 351 Kearns Blvd Park City 435-655-0134 |