ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 25, 1997 TAG: 9702250085
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Class Notes
SOURCE: HALE SHEIKERZ
Fourth-graders at Christiansburg Elementary School honored Presidents' Day on Feb. 18 by participating in a variety of planned activities designed to make students more aware and knowledgable about Colonial America. Part of the fourth-grade curriculum is to study American history.
The children also listened to several guest speakers, who told them the difference between their job functions today and what people did during George Washington's time. Eric Roethlisberger, a volunteer at Explore Park and a staff member at the school, dressed in authentic militia clothing circa 1750. He talked about life on the Colonial frontier, including the food, clothing, artifacts and weaponry. He also brought with him a long rifle, a weapon appropriate to the 18th century. The children were able to see and hear Roethlisberger discharge the weapon outside of the school.
The children also saw slides of Mount Vernon, Washington's residence, read literature and listened to music. The children also made artwork related to the Colonial theme, including paper-made three-cornered hats and bonnets. The day ended with an assembly with all 120 fourth-graders dancing the Virginia reel.
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Blacksburg High School student Lucas Kline is winner of the Internet Essay Contest. The contest was sponsored by Internet Business Technologies Inc., at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. The topic of the essay contest was "The Internet's function in today's society and in the future."
Kline's entry was titled "A Whole New World." His essay talks about how the "Internet is more than just another novelty, it is one of those rare innovations that eventually changes all of our lives." Kline believes that the Internet can offer something to everyone whether they are teachers, businessmen, students or housewives. He gives examples of how he uses the Internet to access a home page from the Asian country of Malaysia, learn to play Latin American games and find out about Brazil's mayoral elections - all within minutes.
He wrote about the Internet's capability of being "extended to many other aspects of our lives, including entertainment. Whereas people only enjoy being educated, they delight in being entertained, and many look to the Internet."
Kline is a sophomore at Blacksburg, where he is an active member of the forensics (speech) team. He often uses the Internet as a resource to prepare himself for competitions; he regularly visits 40 domestic and international news web sites. As winner of the essay contest, Kline will receive a free home page on the Internet, hosted by IBT for one year.
EVENTS, MEETINGS & HAPPENINGS
The Christiansburg High School PTA will have a technology fair at 7 p.m. Monday. The program will begin with an overview of technology at the school. Participants will then be able to visit various classrooms where teachers will demonstrate how they are using technology. Areas of demonstration will include distance learning lab, laser disc, graphing calculators, geometer's sketchbook, computer assisted design and automotive. There also will be a demonstration of how the Internet will be used. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call 382-5178 or visit the following web site: http://www.bev.net/education/schools/chs/
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The Roanoke Festival in the Park will award three scholarships to graduating high school seniors or college freshmen who are planning further studies in the arts, including music, dance, painting, drawing, sculpture, theater and writing. Since the scholarship was created in 1992, more than $27,000 has been awarded.
The annual scholarships are awarded for up to four years of higher education. The available scholarship awards are the John Will Creasy Memorial Scholarship ($1,000); the Gentry, Locke, Rakes & Moore Scholarship ($750) and the Taylor Entertainment Group Scholarship ($500). Applications are available at local high schools. They also can be obtained by calling the Festival office at 342-2640. Deadline is April 15.
COMPUTER WORKSHOPS
Montgomery County Public schools will offer free instructional technology hands-on workshops for teachers, administrators and members of the community. Registration is required for classes. Interested individuals should call 382-5131 to be placed on the class attendee list. Members of the community can participate, however, employees of the county schools have first preference if the class fills to capacity. Following is a list classes:
* A Beginner's Look at Using ClarisWorks Word Processing at Auburn High and Middle School in the new Pentium lab. Today, 3-5 p.m. Instructor: Susan Lester.
* Beginning World Wide Web at Shawsville Elementary School. Today, 4-6 p.m. Instructor: Carole Shields. Also on Thursday, 4-6 p.m. at Blacksburg Middle School. Instructor: Kat Emory.
* ClarisWorks WordPerfect at Auburn High and Middle School in the new Pentium lab. Thursday, 4-6 p.m. Instructor: Susan Lester.
* An Introduction to the World Wide Web at Christiansburg High School - new Pentium lab. Thursday, 4-6 p.m. Instructor: Mary Ellen Sword.
* Intermediate Level WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows at Shawsville High School in the business lab. March 3, 3-5 p.m. Instructor: Kesha Basham. Also at Auburn High School in the new Pentium lab. March 3, 3-5 p.m. Instructor: Amy French.
* Beginning PowerPoint for Teachers at Blacksburg Middle School in the new Pentium lab. March 3, 3-5 p.m. Instructor: Sharon Ruiz.
* ClarisWorks Spread Sheet: Helping Students with the New State Testing Requirements at Christiansburg Middle School in the new Pentium lab. March 4, 4-6 p.m. Instructor: Susan Lester.
* Macintosh for Teachers: A Beginner's Course at Blacksburg High School in the new Macintosh lab. March 4, 3-5 p.m. Instructor: Mike Kaylor.
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Eric Roethlisberger, dressed in 18th centuryby CNBclothing, loads his long rifle during a demonstration at
Christiansburg Elementary School. (headshots) 2. Kline. 3.
Roethlisberger.