Cycle of green - Rattlesnake Elementary School connects students with earth-friendly responsibilities
Rattlesnake Elementary School began the journey to GO GREEN during the 2007-2008 school year. A group of parents, teachers and University of Montana students worked together to develop a Go Green Team and implement the steps to become a school associated with the national Go Green Initiative.

A dream realized - Students recognized for winning Martin Luther King Jr. entries
On this special day, 4U features the winners of the 14th annual Martin Luther King Jr. writing and art contest. A cash prize of $100 was awarded to the top entry in each age division, regardless of the medium. The winning entries, along with several others, are featured on this page. A new video category did not receive any entries. The competition was sponsored by the University of Montana Excellence Fund, Missoula Advocates for Human Rights, YWCA of Missoula and the Missoulian.

This year I resolve to ... Classes participating in NIE continue tradition of sharing resolutions
In keeping with a yearly tradition, teachers who participate in the Missoulian’s Newspaper in Education program were invited to submit New Year’s resolutions from their students. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Holiday magic - Fourth-grade students at St. Joseph School express what makes Christmas special through writing, art
St. Joseph School’s fourth-grade students in Sharon Madsen’s and Kelly Garrett’s classes wrote poems or paragraphs about what was special or magical about Christmas to them. They used the entire writing process (brainstorming, drafting, editing) to create these examples of holiday poetry. When their poems or paragraphs were completed, they took them to art class where the teacher, Tiffany Miller, helped them create original artwork. Students sketched their drawings with pencil and chose their favorite medium to color their designs.

Globe charters - Target Range students learn about maps and Americas from local ambassadors
Target Range School opened its doors to families and communities to learn more about maps and the Americas and had fun doing it! Students from grades kindergarten to eighth grade participated in a Geography Action! Mapping the Americas event during the week of Nov. 17-21. Kindergartners made maps of the world while the first-graders learned how to use a school map to locate classrooms and other important rooms in the school. The second- and eighth-graders partnered to create papier-mache globes. Fourth-graders studied United States economy and created a U.S. map to show what each state contributes.

Showing the way - Swan Valley students use poetry to learn about, and from, birds
I read the poem below, “Something Told the Wild Geese” by Rachel Field, to my fourth-sixth-graders. They then wrote a poem that was based on this famous poem and illustrated it. I think that my students caught the essence of the poem by adding their own personalities to each poem and picture.

Leading the free world - Future leaders from Rattlesnake Elementary imagine being U.S. president
Watch out world! Rattlesnake Elementary students, like all kids, already make the world a pretty awesome place - but just wait until you hear about the plans they have for the future! After discussing character traits of a good leader, students concluded: A good leader is someone you can trust (Chloe, 3M), someone who is respectful, responsible, caring, and honest.

Beyond fair
Today, 4U becomes a gallery filled with a few of the many extraordinary exhibits from the Junior Photography Department at the Western Montana Fair.

IMMERSED in MEXICO - Wishing to practice Spanish language skills, a group of current and former Sussex School students, parents and a teacher visit Mexico City and archaeological sites
From July 8-15, eight current and former Sussex School students, two parents and one teacher traveled to Mexico in order to practice language skills, learn about Mexican culture and reconnect with friends in Mexico City. The trip was made possible for many students due to fundraising and the hospitality of the Valiente Arizmendi family, who spent a year in Missoula on sabbatical two years ago.

LET IT FLOW - Zootown Arts summer camp promotes collaboration and unity through artistic projects
The Zootown Arts Community Center teamed up with Tangled Tones Music Studio and master drum builder Leaf Harrison to create a Creative Arts Summer Camp called Drum Building & World Rhythm.

Whooo Are You? Philipsburg fourth grade studies owls
As part of our Earth Day Celebration 2008, Philipsburg School studied birds. We selected owls as our class study project. We read “Owls: Whoo Are They?” by Kila Jarvis and Denver Holt. Through this book we learned all about owls and their many adaptations. Each child selected an owl. They completed a research report on their owl. They also created a PowerPoint slide show for the other classes and visitors to watch on Earth Day. We dissected owl pellets. We took all the bones and sorted them according to type. Then we tried to recreate the prey’s skeleton. We also made our own owls in small groups. We covered a balloon that we had shaped with papier-mache. Then we painted them. Finally we covered them with feathers, and added eyes and a beak. They came out awesome!

Sentinel freshmen write articles as reporters
The Art of Writing: Communication Arts has taken on new direction in my freshmen classes at Sentinel High School where students have been pursuing an in depth unit this spring, anchored in Native American Life in the West. I assigned a writing project that addressed a Missoula County Public Schools curriculum learning target for writing - (“a standard challenging students to adjust their voice, style and form depending on audience, occasion and purpose.”)

Superior partners: High school students pair up with first-graders for poetry project
Jo Stevens' yearbook students at Superior High School and Diana Campbell's first-graders at the elementary school teamed up for a poetry project. To begin the poetry unit, the first-graders listened to the language of poetry and discovered that poems have rhyme, rhythm and repetition. They wrote poems using words in surprising ways and constructed mental images with their words.

Earning respect - High school students find work’s rewards exceed being paid
Interesting work and money! High school students are always hoping to find the one perfect job for them that also provides a good paycheck. Here’s a look at four Sentinel High School students and their jobs.

Burning question - What will you miss most about high school?
Asked of the seniors on this year’s Represent team

Movie review - 'Speed Racer’ filled with colorful whimsy and positive messages
“Speed Racer” is receiving a great deal of praise for its art direction and color palette, but the beauty of “Speed Racer” is much more than visual.

River's supporting role - Students at Clark Fork School create books and poems about watershed's interdependency
For the 2007-08 school year, the Clark Fork School first through fifth grade primary classes focused on an overall theme of interdependency. Watersheds provided a great context in which to study the intricacies of interdependency. We explored the animals, plants, and human history of the Clark Fork Watershed, taking numerous field trips to different points along our beloved river. Students connected with the treasured waterway that runs through our town. Included on this page are some of the poems and art that students created as part of the journey through our watershed.

Voice by vote - More young people participate in elections when issues personally affect them
Since this is an election year, political ideals are raging rampant throughout the entire United States. Three candidates are left in the race to become America’s president and primaries are nearing their finish. Election Day will be here before we know it.

Hello, my name is: Nick Mihalic - Eagle Scout’s project stands proud
Very few Boy Scouts ever reach the title of Eagle Scout and when this honor is reached, it is cause for celebration, as it shows the Scout has truly worked hard to reach this high position. One such Scout is Nick Mihalic, a junior at Loyola Sacred Heart High School, who has participated in Boy Scouts of America for 11 years, and has now completed his Eagle Scout project.

Burning question - If you could create your own political party, what would you call it and what would it stand for?
Asked of students at Hellgate High School

Inflation - What’s up? Food prices
This year, we’ve seen food prices skyrocket. According to the Christian Science Monitor, prices for white rice have gone up more than 50 percent since January. Wheat prices are at record highs. Forbes magazine reports that vegetable prices went up 15.4 percent since last year. The rise in grain prices is triggering a rise in meat prices as well, since much of our meat is produced in feedlots.

Stand for something - Rattlesnake Elementary students choose positive character traits to promote
"Nobody will think you're somebody, if you don't think so yourself."

Risk vs. reward - Foreign exchanges can be dangerous when oversight fails
High school foreign exchanges are popular ways for today’s young people to test international waters.

Hello, my name is: RED fORTY - Talent, personality make band stand out from others
It’s safe to say that RED fORTY, comprised of five motley Sentinel High School students, has been making a splash at local shows in recent months. But why is this? Is it because they’re something new and different for high school kids to listen to? Is it because they’ve got revolutionary talent? Or is it just because they’re five of the most capricious, witty guys you’d ever want to meet?

Movie review - 'In Bruges’ entertains, doesn’t impress
“In Bruges” sounds like an action film: Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), who apparently like everyone else in the movie have no last names, are two hit men holed up in Bruges. Bruges is a tourist city in Belgium which the younger of the men, Ray, fails to appreciate.

Missoula miscellaneous - House has history of screams
Originally built just at the turn of the century, the home at 319 S. Fifth St. W. holds a reputation of dark and mysterious happenings. Low howls and eerie shrieks once engulfed the home regularly, supposedly those of the eldest Scheuch resident, Elizabeth, who died in 1934. The Zakos family purchased the home in 1939 and, after living with the screams for the 1940s, performed an exorcism on the home in 1956. The publicity from this event spread far and wide and the structure soon came to be known as “The House of Screams.”

Wild classroom: Florence-Carlton first- and second-graders put stories of nature in poems, songs and art
Animal power, poetry power

Under-21 left out
M issoula teens are not happy about the local music scene.

What makes a politician risk it all for sex?
A nyone who hasn't taken shelter under a chicken coop, or someplace similar, knows who former Gov. Eliot Spitzer is by now. For those who have in fact been refusing to watch the news, read the paper, listen to the radio, or have any contact with another human being, the story goes like this. The governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, was put under investigation by the IRS for strange financial transactions. As it happens, Spitzer allegedly has spent more than $80,000 on high-class prostitutes.

Missoula miscellaneous- Missoulians love variety in music
Missoula is a music-rich town with tastes ranging from country to alternative. A variety of performers have come through the town from the Rolling Stones, to Jimmy Eat World, Tech N9NE and Elton John. The downtown area has an assortment of music stores including Ear Candy, Access Music, and Rockin Rudy's. The young adult population holds a particular kinship with music with the number of local high school bands as well as school participation in band or choir. We have seen the Hellgate band march at the Rose Parade in California and over the weekend Loyola Sacred Heart's Emilie Loran sang for presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.

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