Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 5, 1994 TAG: 9404050134
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Melissa DeVaughn
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Emily Collins, 11, said her team did its best "and that's all that really mattered to us."
The seven-person team entered the "Set it Free" category of the competition. In this category, participants are challenged to build a balsa-wood structure that will withstand as much weight as possible. The structure must be presented as part of a skit, and one of the rules is "no talking."
"That was the worst part for us, not talking," said Missy Garrett, 10.
The Elliston-Lafayette team built a structure that held 356 pounds before breaking. The second-place team's structure held about 65 pounds. So what was the secret to their success?
"We made sure we were cutting [the wood] like we were supposed to," Emily said. "Before, our notches weren't made right; and now we're doing them better."
"We also watched the high-school teams and how they built their structures," Missy added.
School Principal Denise Boyle, who helped coach the "Set it Free" team, said interest and participation in the Odyssey of the Mind challenges is always high at her school.
"If we didn't have the interest we wouldn't spend the money on [Odyssey] membership," she said, "but the students just seem to really enjoy it."
Ronnie Raines, a parent-coach, hopes this year's team will do even better than last year's.
"Each year, when they go to state they come back and say, 'we know what we can do to make a stronger structure,'" he said. "They get better each year."
Other members of the Elliston-Lafayette team are: Tyler Hagen, Matt Perkins, Jennifer Raines, Travis Hagen and Joshua Fox. Team members are seeking donations to help out with their weekend trip to the Richmond competition. Any community members or businesses who would like to help out can call Denise Boyle at 268-2291.
But that's not all going on at Elliston-Lafayette School. Here's a highlight of some other projects in the works:
The pupils recently participated in "Jump Rope for Heart," to raise money for the American Heart Association.
The latest tally on the schoolwide Penny Collection Program is more than 60,000 pennies collected. The school is hoping to collect a million pennies by the end of the school year. An anonymous donor has been donating 1,000 pennies every month since December, which has really boosted the penny collection.
The Singing Eagles choir is preparing to go to Kings Dominion in April for a Choral Festival. Members sold doughnuts and held bake sales to raise money for the event.
The Christiansburg High School Choral Department is sponsoring "OUR SONG WILL LIVE", an evening focusing on fine arts in area schools. The event will be held Thursday beginning with an art exhibit at 6:30 p.m. in the high school commons. A concert with more than 400 second- through 12th-grade students will follow at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
A team of students from RINER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL also competed in the Regional Odyssey of the Mind competition held at Blacksburg High School and the Blacksburg Community Center. It placed second in the "Fins, Furs and Feathers" category, where the team had to depict the life of an animal from the animal's perspective. The team members are: T.J. Campbell, Carrie Floyd, Isaac Mitchell, Stacey Price, Anna Trivette, Maranda Webb and Diana Yates.
The team also won the Renata Fuscra Award for outstanding creativity.
Prices Fork Elementary School will hold its annual SPRING BOOK FAIR today through Friday in the school library. The hours are: today and Wednesday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
For further information, call the school at 951-5736.
The New River District Parent-Teacher Association recently announced its winners of the NATIONAL PTA REFLECTIONS PROGRAM. Students from Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski counties, and Radford competed at this level. The theme of this year's Reflections program was "If I Could Give the World a Gift . . ." The winners were:
Floyd County: Rachael Kohl Pierson, Check Elementary, first place, photography; Alex Combs, Floyd Elementary, second place, music; Laura Kolb, Floyd Elementary, first place, visual arts; Lyndsey Profitt, Floyd Elementary, second place, music; Andrew Duncan, Indian Valley, second place, photography and visual arts; Sharon Agee, Willis Elementary, first place, music and second place, literature; Cullen Robinson, Willis Elementary, first place, visual arts; Mary Beth Starkey, Willis Elementary, first place, literature; Jennifer Katie Sharp, Floyd High School, first place, literature.
Montgomery County: Whitney Eggleston, Margaret Beeks, first place, photography; Janna Jennison-Obenshain, Christiansburg Elementary, first place, music; Michael Maxwell, Falling Branch Elementary, second place, visual arts; Nick Ravlin, Gilbert Linkous, second place, literature; Charlie Chalmers, Prices Fork Elementary, first place, photography.
Annie Chalmers, Blacksburg Middle, second place, photography; Christine Diffell, Blacksburg Middle, first place, literature; Carrie Mason, Blacksburg Middle, second place, literature; Laura Merola, Blacksburg Middle, second place, music; Joel Nilsen, Blacksburg Middle, first place, visual arts; Timothy Nelson, Christiansburg Middle, first place, music; Barnett Carr, Shawsville High and Middle, second place, visual arts; Tara Davidson, Shawsville High and Middle, first place, literature; Phyllis Chen, Blacksburg High, first place, music; Crystal Clay, Christiansburg High, first place, visual arts.
The Narrows Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association is sponsoring MYSTICAL MAGICAL MERMAN Friday at 7 p.m. at Narrows High School. Tickets for the event will be on sale at the door. Adult tickets are $4; students, $3.
For further information, call 726-3357.
If you have an interesting school-related item for the paper, send it to Melissa DeVaughn at the Roanoke Times & World News, P.O. Box 540, Christiansburg 24073-0540.
by CNB