L ife in the P ortland M etropolitan A rea
ÿ o rila n b (©hsuruer
Catherine Wilson’s Second Grade Class Departs for Safari to the Serengeti!
volunteers with one of the
second grade students
ing Elem entary second-graders honor business a n d com m unity volunteers in
their “C om e Read W ith M e” program w ith a presentation W ednesday, June
2 from 8:40 to 9:30am at the school, 4906 N E 6 th Avenue.
In Room 325 students pack and depart for a safari to the Serengeti Plain
and over to the T savo Park and G am e Reserve outside o f Kenya in E ast Africa
T h eir prim ary focus has been to observe “endangered species.” T h e class
has llow n to the “Big A pple” and then on to K enya w here they have picked up
L and Rovers that took them to the gam e reserve. They entered the Savanna to
observe anim als indigenous to the country. T he ch ild ren listened to the “Sights
and Sounds o f A frica,” an d they sung songs and chants, and gave oral reports
on anim als they have researched.
T hey learned about the fearless M aasai tribe: th eir history an d rituals,
their travels all over the 600-m ile Serengeti, the significance o f cattle in these
h erd sm e n 's lives, an d th eir "ow nership” o f the Savanna. T he children read
daily by the “w atering hole” w ith th eir teacher, classm ates, an d volunteers.
How did the students prepare for their trip to Africa?
They began w ith geography by studying a m ap o f the w orld, targeting
A frica, th en E ast A frica-specifically the T savo Park an d G am e Reserve.
T hey read an d w rote about extinct, endangered, an d threatened
species and the causes and consequences o f these “vanishing
an im als.” They practiced critical th inking an d graphing
skills by studying anim als “at risk.”
They used predictions skills and good th in k in g strate
gies, m ade inform ation charts, an d then did recalling. They
read about m odem A frica--the fastest grow ing continent in
the w orld—an d how rapid grow th, ram pant poverty, and
anim al poaching have affected the Serengeti. They
discussed the droughts, m onsoons, an d w inds w hich
transform the Savanna, inspiring a w onderful cel
ebration o f renewal an d rebirth. T hey closed w ith
sum m arizations to facilitate discussionis.
A travel agent cam e to the class to help m ap the route
o f th eir trip and an A frican speaker cam e from the
A frican C ultural Center. T he students eagerly antici
pated the days activities w hen they w ent beyond the
“classroom w alls” to discover the global w orld that they
know as ‘P lanet Earth.”
Children’s
M iracle
Telethon
United Grocers, Inc., and its m em
ber stores w ill be the prim ary sponsor
o f the 1993 C h ild ren ’s M iracle n et
work Telethon, benefiting regional
hospitals for children. T he telethon
will be June 5-6, on K A TU in P o rt
land, K EZI in Eugene an d K D R V in
Medford.
Since 1988, U nited G rocers an d
its m em ber stores have donated $2.1
m illion, m aking it the largest local
sponsor o f the telethon. U nited G ro
cers’ fundraising locally benefits p e
diatrics at D oem becher C h ild re n ’s
H ospital at O regon H ealth Sciences
U niversity in Portland, Sacred H eart
General Hospital in Eugene and Rogue
Valley M edical C enter in M edford. It
also b en efits C h ild re n ’s H o sp ital
M edical C enter o f N orthern C alifor
nia in O akland and UC D avis M edical
Center in Sacram ento. These hospi
Students w ill stage perform ances focusing on their year-long studies o f tals treat children from throughout
Africa and endangered spices T he presentation is an effort to thank some 28 Oregon, W ashington and n o rthern
business volunteers and their em ployers for donating valuable tim e to read California.
w ith students during the school year. T he event also celebrates students
progress in reading since the program b egan in January. T hese are C hapter I
students and as this beautiful program w inds down, there has been a m arked
im provem ent in their reading abilities.
Why are parents, foster parents and caretakers, com m unity volunteers and
business em ployees and em ployers in the classroom ? “Com e Read W ith M e”,
developed by second-grade teacher C atherine W ilson stated:
“I see education as a partnership in learning am ong the child, teacher,
parent or caretaker, an d the neighboring community.
Because 22 o f my 29 second-graders, for one reason or another, could not
read, I wrote letters to businesses in our city o f Portland asking them to allow
em ployees to listen and read w ith my children each week, w ith no loss o f pay
I had a w onderful response ..
It is im portant for the children to learn that they will have many teachers
in their lifetimes. My children are thrilled w hen their “Com e Read W ith M e”
friends arrive each week. T hese “advocates for literacy” are touching inner-
city children in a m ost w onderful way and
I am so grateful for th eir active
participation.”
M y p h ilo s o p h y is:
“L earning should be a cel
ebration o f growth, not a grade
on a report card. I perceive my class
room children as unique, teachable
individuals.
T hrough creative teaching, I strive
to enhance respect for them selves and
others, so that they can come to a greater
understanding o f each o th e r’s hentages
and cultural diversities. W hen they reach
adulthood, I w ant my students to become
valuable contributors to their society and
to continue to strive to be the “Best That
They C an Be.”
Recently we
compared
ourself to the
competition
and found
something
missing.
Les Femmes Debs and Cavs...
Growing to Be Men and Women...Phenomenally
The Portland Observer
Les Fem m es has trained 29 high
school seniors for adulthood an d is
prepared to present them in th e ir 42nd
A nnual D ebutante and C avalier Ball
in June.
Les Fem m es exists to im prove the
lives of A frican-A m erican youth, while
preparing them for life after high
school Students arc encouraged to
jo in the organization as young as the
sixth grade although m ost jo in w hile
fresh m en o r sop h o m o res in high
school All students in the program
are required to m aintain good grades,
perform com m unity serv ice an d ad
here to a strict code o f ethics
As a rew ard for successfully com
pleting these tasks each participant in
challenged at a private “Rites o f Pas
sage” then presented at the formal ball
after graduating from high school.
Each week through June, Les
Fem m es and the Portland O bserver
will feature three young people who
w ere chosen as 1993 debutantes and
Misty Snow
Chantina Weatheroy
Teri Bowles
cavalier T his week meet Teri Bow les
(St Mary ’s Academy), Misty Snow
(Benson High School), and C hantina
W eatheroy (G rant H igh School) w ho
will share w ith you why they arc “cho-
sen
our w illingness to give We give not
only to each other, but also to the
community We participate annually
in n u m ero u s co m m u n ity se rv ic e
projects as a group, and as individu
Bow les— T he qualities of debu
tantes differ as much as the w omen do,
but there arc also sim ilarities present
in all o f us O ne o f these qualities is
, -a
? >
• ,
als W ith each other we have created a
mock sorority w here we could lean on
one another for support.
Snow— If you were w alking down
the street, would you recognize a debu
tante? If you were in a room filled with
lov ely ladies, would you know w hich
ones belonged to Les Femmes? You
w ould be able to pick out Les Fem m es
debutantes by the qualities she possess
Some of these qualities are dedication,
talent, understanding, and nobility So,
if you are w ondering if you are in the
presence o f a Les Fem m es debutante,
check her qualities
W eatheroy— I believe that I am a
debutante I have willingly participated
in various com m unity service activi
ties I have tried my best to be a friend
to those in need I conduct m yself in a
m anner that I am proud of, and have
enough respect for m yself not to en
gage in the use of alcohol or drugs I
believe that I not only “talk the debu
tante talk” . but I try to 1 ivc the 1 ife daiIv
The Competition
...the Competition!
To Advertise Call
2880033
tUljc Pnrtlanh (Dbseruer