ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 TAG: 9603260039
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Class notes
SOURCE: HALE SHEIKERZ
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on March 27, 1996.
Clarification
Faith Ringgold, who will be at Blacksburg Middle School Thursday and
Friday, is a painter, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, writer
and teacher. The "In the Schools" column in the Tuesday New River
Current was not clear about her background.
A once in a lifetime opportunity.
That's the experience some Blacksburg Middle School students will have Thursday and Friday when the school hosts Faith Ringgold, a renowned African-American poet.
The intermediate chorus and selected advanced chorus members will perform several selections at a program with Ringgold on Thursday. The chorus will perform the traditional spiritual "Ride the Chariot," and a piece titled "Dreams," which is based on a poem by poet Langston Hughes. The program also will include a third selection, "Shed a Little Light," which is being arranged by Virginia Tech professor John Howell.
Ringgold also will critique the intermediate and advanced art classes during her visit at the school.
Ringgold is a painter, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, writer and teacher. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries nationally and in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. She has been awarded seven honorary doctor of fine arts degrees and is recipient of more than 50 awards and honors, including the National Endowment For the Arts Award for painting and sculpture and the Creative Artists Public Service Award for painting.
Ringgold is author of "Tar Beach," winner of a Caldecott Award and the Coretta Scott King Award for best published book in 1991.
The school PTA will have a dinner Thursday at 6 p.m. followed by a community lecture at 7 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., the unveiling of a story quilt and a community book signing will take place. Parents and community residents are welcomed to these events. Students' art work also will be on display. During that time, the chorus will sing and the jazz band will play.
Ringgold's itinerary also includes a slide/lecture at the Black Culture Center at Virginia Tech on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. and a book signing at Volume II Bookstore at 11 a.m. on Friday.
A Pulaski County High student is a finalist in the 1996-97 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program. Sophomore Conor Quinlan will spend the 1996-97 school year in Germany. He will be sponsored by a youth exchange organizations. Quinlan is an honor roll student at the high school, where he is a starter on the soccer team and will be named to the Foreign Language Honor Society in the spring.
Quinlan is the third Pulaski student to spend a school year in Germany through this program.
Fourteen Blacksburg High School students participated at the National Engineering Design Competition at the University of Virginia on March 2. This was the school's first engineering design team. The team received the "Most Cost Effective Design" Award at the state-level competition.
The program's challenge problem was "At Your Command," and addressed elderly people who must take several types of medications at various times during the day. Team members had to develop and build a prototype of an original design that would allow "your grandmother" to take her medications on time, in the correct dosages and with the appropriate cautions.
The Blacksburg team built a wooden structure that is about the size of a microwave and can sit on a countertop. This prototype uses a beeper and light bulb to signal when it is time to take medication. The group worked on the project for six weeks, with the guidance of science teacher Julie Grady. The team members include: Evan Greenberg, Stephanie Kraige, Anna George, Arrash Mostaghimi, Sumeet Sarin, Bill Sanders, Azeem Sherali, Amr Ragab, William Lee, Eric Chen, Nader Nayfeh, Paul Caldwell, Corey Barber and John Boder.
Blacksburg High also sent two varsity and one junior varsity teams to the Virginia Western Community College to participate in the regional Test of Engineering Aptitude, Science and Mathematics. The varsity team No.1 and the junior varsity team both placed first in the region.
Ben Cleary, a writer, teacher and journalist, is the artist-in-residence at Eastern Elementary and Middle schools from March 18-29. During this time, Cleary is working with students in grades 3-7.
His residence will include workshop with each classroom, daily workshop with a group of 6th- and 7th-graders, artist studio time and teacher workshop. Cleary's residency also include an in-school assembly and a public program that will be Friday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call Jennifer Lovejoy at 544-7800. Cleary's residence was made possible through a grant from teh Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
EVENTS & HAPPENINGS
Kipps Elementary will have its Super Spring Carnival Saturday, March 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be food, games, jugglers, free balloons, a cake walk, a silent auction, raffles and lots of prizes.
Gilbert Linkous Elementary will have a Spring Carnival March 30 from noon to 4 p.m. The event is the PTA's largest fund-raiser.
The carnival will feature a variety of skill games, such as lockmaster, balloon darts, ping pong toss, a "make a button booth," cake walk and silent auction. Most activities are suitable for preschool children. Food also will be available.
Auburn High School will have a spring craft show March 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the school's cafeteria. The event is sponsored by the Auburn Swing Choir.
There will be a joint Blacksburg High School/Blacksburg Middle School presentation on inclusion. The program will be April 2 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the middle school. The program is open to the community.
The Christiansburg High School Blue Demon Band sponsors a lasagna dinner on March 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the high school cafeteria. Dinner includes lasagna, salad, bread sticks, dessert and a drink. Cost os $5 for adults and $3 for children 10 and under. Tickets will be available at the door or in advance through a band member.
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Quinlanby CNB