In Our Schools: May 23

Christ King

The spring concert was held before a full audience in the church. Christ King members of the Pius XI Academy Band opened the performance, and were followed by two numbers from the Academy Strings group. Then, students in 4-year-old kindergarten, first, third, fifth and seventh grades gave a salute to education, singing songs from such well-known institutions as Oregon, Ohio, Northwestern, Notre Dame and, of course, Wisconsin. Between musical numbers, every class performed a fitting rap tribute - written by the students themselve - to each of the school's teachers. It was a memorable performance, highlighted by a great deal of student involvement and enthusiasm, including accompaniment on drums and guitar. The show came to a close with all grades singing a salute to Christ King School, boasting the motto "Respect begins with me at CK."

Eisenhower Elementary

Junior kindergartners will take a walking field trip Tuesday to the Gary E. Sampson Planetarium, located in Wauwatosa West High School, to supplement classroom studies of stars, planets, constellations and more.

Jefferson Elementary

Students in grades three through five took a brief Student Engagement and Climate Survey. Results of this survey will be used by staff to examine student perceptions and drive improvement efforts.

Lincoln Elementary

Fifth-graders camped overnight at Camp Whitcomb/Mason in Hartland. The camp program highlights environmental concerns, introduces children to various outdoor camping skills and includes a variety of recreational activities as well as educational games. In other news, the Little Red Wagon Parade was held this week. First-graders pulled wagons filled with food donations to the food pantry at St. Bernard.

Longfellow Middle

Teachers Jennifer Engel, Cody Hedrick, Michele Schmidt, Sarah Lichey and Carol Surges wrote and will facilitate Education Foundation of Wauwatosa grants next year. Engel and Henrick received $850 to purchase geography-related games that can be used during enrichment period. Schmidt received $1,118 to help students learn about Newton's Laws of Motion by using simple and compound machines to solve differentiated problems. Lichey and Surges received $5,769 to purchase cordless microscopes and a mobile microscope cart.

Madison Elementary

Staff members Angie Kolanko and Lynn Misirian wrote and will facilitate an Education Foundation of Wauwatosa grant next year. They received $3,261 to create opportunities for parents to learn about and reinforce reading comprehension skills and strategies at home. An informative literacy night will be held a take-home library collection for parents to use will be created.

McKinley Elementary

Each year, the Wauwatosa School Board chooses a few pieces of student artwork to add to the district's art collection. This year a piece by student Elijah Lovely was selected. The pieces, nominated by teachers, are chosen for their originality and quality. After hanging in the boardroom for a few years, the artwork will be returned to McKinley where it will remain on display permanently.

Our Redeemer Lutheran

Our Redeemer has announced its award winners for the 2012-13 school year. Co-valedictorians are Ally Mitchell of Milwaukee and Michael Leapley of New Berlin. The salutatorian is Michaela Kohlmeier of Wauwatosa. The student achievers are Mollie Abts of Waukesha, Bradley Van Wagoner of Germantown, Chris Beck of Jackson, Ellie L'Heureux of Germantown and Nathan Smith of Milwaukee.

Roosevelt Elementary

Fourth-graders took a field trip to the State Capitol to learn about Wisconsin's history and government in action. The students also visited the Geology Museum to view the displays, such as types of rocks. The trip is a culminating activity to the social studies and science curriculum.

St. Joseph

The seventh-graders participated in two, 75-minute workshops presented by First Stage Children's Theater. These workshops are part of First Stage's T3 program that uses dramatic activities to teach lessons within the middle school curriculum. These curricular topics are directly linked to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction standards. This year, the students looked into the past and studied historical moments that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement in America. They recreated scenes from Rosa Park's refusal to give up her seat on bus and the first African American students who attended Little Rock's Central High School (the Little Rock Nine). They listened to the story of Dr. Martin Luther King's organization of the Children's Crusade in Birmingham and then created freeze frames of what some of the children experienced during that march. Through drama, the students gained awareness and understanding of theater terms and techniques, and developed a deeper understanding of how the terms injustice, segregation, prejudice and oppression related to the Civil Rights Movement.

Underwood Elementary

Junior kindergartners will visit the Wauwatosa Public Library to learn about the library's summer program.

Washington Elementary

On May 29, the third-grade will walk to the Wauwatosa library. On May 31, a volunteer tea will be held. June kicks off with a fire house coming to school to help the first-graders learn about fire safety. June 1 also will bring the Fun Fair, from 5 to 8 p.m. June 4, the fourth-grade students will go to Madison.

Wauwatosa East High

An orchestra concert was held Wednesday.

Wauwatosa West High

The juniors in American Public Policy class presented culminating research projects at the Issue Investigation Fair on Tuesday. Students were required to identify and investigate a problem facing society that can be solved by the establishment of public policy at any level of government. The students displayed, presented and discussed a portfolio of information documenting their research.

Wilson Elementary

The second-graders took a field trip to the Kneeland-Walker House to learn about "Old Wauwatosa" pioneer life in an old-fashioned schoolhouse, created by the Wauwatosa Historical Society.

To submit information, email jpfaff@cninow.com. Items are due one week prior to publication.