News
 

In St. Charles

Fifth-graders Jolene Potter, Alyssa Ermeling and Dana Lowry have a booming business in class at Null Elementary School in St. Charles. 

The business is called JAD Nails. J, A and D are the first letters of the girls’ first names. They have just one of the businesses created in the mythical in-class community of Real World. 

By running their businesses, kids learn lessons in economics, civics and entrepreneurship. 

The first order of business was to create a “mini-society” within the class. It has a structure like a regular city. They picked Real World as the name and even designed the city’s flag. 

They created their own money, called “really funny mini-money.” 

The kids “earned” money by doing good works during the year. For instance, completing homework was worth 150 “funny money” dollars. That gives them money to use to buy products and services from other kids’ businesses. 

Once rules were set, kids divided into teams to plan what type of business they wanted. 

That’s when Jolene, Alyssa and Dana wrote their business plan for their nails shop. They decided to offer full nail service. They even install false nails and top them with glitter. 

During a recent in-class business session, JAD Nails was the busiest. Part of that was due to many boys having their nails decorated. 

Alyssa said, “I don’t think we could have made our business any better, especially for the boys.” 

Their classmates agreed. They got the biggest ovation during a critique session after a recent “business day” ended. Teacher Margaret Benedict said the girls’ shop did the most business for the day.

 Ms. Benedict has been using the “mini-society” lesson plan for 10 years. She said the school lessons have more meaning when the kids are working with a real business model. 

After writing a business plan, the kids did a market survey in class. They wanted to find out if their business would attract any student customers.

Then, they applied for a business license from the Real World government. If they planned to sell food or drink, they also needed a food license. 

Eleven-year-old Sarah Hovanec set up a bakery. She called it Teddy Bear Delights. 

“I decided on a bakery because lots of kids 10 and 11 years old like to eat a lot,” she said. 

In her market survey, the kids said their favorite snack was donuts. But, during the recent business day, Nutty Bars sold the best. Sarah said the market surveys don’t always give you complete answers. 

Teacher Benedict noted that Sarah might have too many different kinds of snacks for sale. “In a real store, that might mean you’d have a lot of leftovers that might spoil,” she said. 

Sarah had to make one concession in setting up her own shop. School rules said she could only sell pre-packaged food. “I couldn’t bake anything myself,” she said. 

Also, at JAD Nails, the girls couldn’t apply false nails to anyone unless they had written  permission from their parents. (False nails pose a potential health hazard. People can get infections underneath false nails.)

Pricing products was a big test for the kids.

Lauren Bailey and Jessie Ohlms had a business called Bailey’s and Jessie’s Art Stand. They sold pre-drawn artwork. They also would make a special drawing to the customer’s specifications. 

Lauren said, “You don’t want to price it too high so people won’t come. But, we didn’t want to price so low we’d go out of business.” 

Sometimes, the products offered had sharply different prices. 

For instance, Megan Riley, Sara Baban and Christy Hoffmann ran the Picture and Music Outlet. A customer could have their picture taken for 250 “mini-money” dollars. Or they could listen to music on a CD player for only 75 dollars. 

Megan was asked if the pictures might be priced too high. “We wouldn’t make a profit if we priced pictures less. We have to pay for developing and printing the pictures. We just play the music,” she said.

In the critique session after the business day ended, Benedict noted that one of the kids businesses had almost no customers. 

Benedict said, “The mini-society will have to consider at the next meeting what to do with a failing business.” 

Kids can expand or shrink their businesses or even decide to change it altogether. But before making a change, they have to file a revised business plan.

Students refine their businesses all through the semester.
 

Education
 

Women’s Final Four

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles concerning the 2001 Women’s Final Four tournament which will be in St. Louis. The first article was on the Young Saint Louis.com website in January. Other articles will be on the April website.

Eleven-year-old Brenna McDermott of Green Park Lutheran School has been studying the history of the University of Arizona’s girls basketball team. 

She’s one of 51 sixth graders at the south St. Louis County school. Their history and geography lessons these days have been focused on basketball. 

Two sixth grade classes have been doing computer research on schools likely to play in the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments this month.

The kids also are competing to enter a special city-wide poster contest. 

The lessons and contests are included in special curriculum called Middle School Madness. The Madness lesson packet was provided to over 100 St. Louis-area middle schools by organizers of the 2001 NCAA Women’s Final Four. 

In addition to history and geography, there are lessons in art, language skills and journalism, math, science, physical education and health. 

The lessons are part of the NCAA’s effort to increase local interest in the Women’s Final Four. The finals will be played March 30 and April 1 at the downtown Savvis Center. 

The schools like the lessons. That’s because kids take more interest when they are tied to major local events. 

Brenna picked the University of Arizona as her school to research for the special history and geography report. She has a special interest in this lesson because she plays basketball at Green Park. 

She said, “I’d like to be 6-feet tall and play in the WBNA.” That’s the women’s professional basketball league. 

But, Brenna said she’d rather go to UCLA--not Arizona--for college. That’s because, if it doesn’t work out in sports, she wants to be a graduate of UCLA’s famed drama school. “I want to be an actress or be in pro sports,” she said. 

The sports-related lessons are a natural for the Green Park sixth graders. Their teacher is Melissa Simmons, who is the school’s athletic director. Their computer class teacher is Bev Paquet, a former basketball coach at the school. The school also offers teams in five different sports. 

The sixth graders assignment was to pick a school from the Top-25 national rankings and study the school and its basketball team. The girls in the classes picked a women’s team and the boy’s picked a men’s team from the national rankings. (Since there are 26 girls and 25 boys in the two classes, one of the girls got a team outside the Top 25.)

They research the school, the city where the school is located and the basketball team. They also are looking up the history of both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments. 

 Besides the computer research, students had to do research in reference books. Also, they were urged to follow results of their team’s play as March tournament time gets closer.

An additional assignment was to create a poster for their team. Paquet said the top two posters from each class will be entered in a city-wide NCAA poster competition. Winners get prizes and will be honored at a NCAA Hoop City program Saturday, March 31. 

Eleven-year-old Kori Rauh ended up doing research on Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. She said, “I was just there for a wedding a few weeks ago.” 

But, she said she’ll probably go to the University of Missouri when she goes to college. “I want to be either a teacher or a news anchor when I grow up,” she said. 

Eleven-year-old Michael Zeiter is one of the boys in the class. He’s studied the men’s team at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. “I’ve known they’ve been good for some time. I really wanted to know how well they’re doing this year,” he said. 

Zeiter is another Green Park student who’d like a pro sports career. But, he’s interested in football and plays on a team at Jefferson Barracks Park. 

Twelve-year-old Rachel Schallom likes the lessons because they involve computers. “Anything that has to do with computer research, I think is fun,” she said.

She participates in sports at Green Park. “I played basketball last year but gymnastics takes most of my time this year,” she said.

Eleven-year-old Julie Griffith is a point guard on the Green Park team. She’s following the Clemson Tigers girls team. But, she’s also looking into history of the Para-Olympics. That is a special event for paralyzed athletes who compete in various sports. 

Twelve-year-old Beth Horvath is looking at the University of Georgia while 11-year-old Jodi Winheim is following the highly-rated Iowa State University girls team. But, both of them plan to go to college in St. Louis. 

Beth wants to attend Saint Louis University and become an accountant. Jodi is hoping to go to Washington University and study pediatrics. 

At Green Park School, they do their research in a computer lab. Each student is assigned the same computer during each class and has a personal space reserved so they can save their work from class to class.

St. Louis area kids call participate in a lot of Middle School Madness events in March.

The deadline for kids’ poster and essay contests is Thursday, March 15. That’s also the deadline for nominations for the kids’ sports writing seminar. 

On Thursday, March 29, kids and the general public are invited to an open practice for Women’s Final Four teams at the SAVVIS Center. That’s when kids can get autographs of their favorite players. 

On Saturday, March 31, there are Youth Education Through Sports (YES) clinics at five different St. Louis-area locations. College coaches and student-athletes will lead a variety of skill and conditioning activities. 

The five locations are the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis and the Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club in St. Louis as well as Saint Louis University, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University.

Also, on Saturday, kids are invited to a college women’s all-star game. The WBCA All-Star Challenge will feature players from NCAA Division I, II and III. You need tickets for this game. Ticket information can be gotten at (314) 935-6543 or at (770) 279-8027. 

Another Saturday public event is the March to the Arch. This involves hundreds of kids and adults dribbling basketballs on Market Street from SAVVIS Center to Keiner Plaza.

The final big event for Middle School Madness kids will be Hoop City March 30-April 1 at the America’s Center. This is called an interactive fan festival. You need tickets for this event also. 

Among Hoop City events are: 

• A NCAA Basketball 3-on-3 Tournament
• Basketball dunking trials, with hoops at five different heights
• An ESPN Fantasy Sportcenter Anchor competition
• Performances by Women’s Final Four team bands, cheerleaders and mascots
• Various tests of your basketball footwork skills.

Beth Reuther is the program manager for the Middle School Madness program. She said schools get mailings concerning the various events. Also, individuals can get information by calling the Final Four office at (314 621-2307).

Also, you can get information about the whole Women’s 2001 Final Four program by logging on to www.stl2001finalfour.org. 
 

Lifestyle
 

Earth Day preview

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles concerning how St. Louis area kids can take part in the 2001 Earth Day activities. The first article appeared last month and additional articles will be included on Young Saint Louis.com’s April website. 

Nine-year-old Kristy Steed says she’s going to be a “clown elephant” in the upcoming Earth Day parade in April. 

She and her third-grade classmates have been making animal masks that they’ll wear in the “All Species” parade in Forest Park. The parade will be April 22, starting at 2 p.m. 

Several hundred kids are expected to take part in the one-hour parade. They have been spending the time leading to the parade in making their costumes. 

The animal mask-making is one fun part of a science class at Sherman School in the Shaw neighborhood. Teacher Ruby Grady said kids are studying endangered animal species. They’ve been to the St. Louis Zoo twice.

“We are studying animal adaptation, how they change in order to survive,” Grady said. She said the kids also studied how some animals became extinct because they didn’t adapt. 

Each kid in Ms. Grady’s class got to pick which animal they wanted to be in the parade. 

Kristy said, “I wanted to be a clown elephant because I’d like to have big ears.” The third grader admits that her real ears are quite small. 

But, eight-year-olds Jared Grant and Derrick Moses had a different idea on what type of animals they wanted to be. Both of them decided to be jaguars. Those definitely are not “clown” animals. 

Jared said, “I wanted to be something very rough. I definitely wanted to be a predator, rather than the prey.” Jaguars are big jungle cats. They eat other animals and don’t often get eaten by others. 

Derrick said his jaguar mask is going to “look very dangerous.” He showed how his mask will have red color around the mouth. “I’ll have blood dripping,” he said. 

Not all of the masks will represent big animals. 

Nine-year-old Aerial Tate is working on a butterfly mask to wear in the parade. Her mask will represent the entire butterfly, with wings and body.

“I picked the butterfly because I like to draw and paint them,” she said. 

This marks the first year these third graders will take part in the Earth Day parade. 

The mask-making at Sherman School was coordinated by Lloyd Harvey. He’s with a non-profit group called Art for Recycled Materials. That group has offices at the downtown City Museum, which is a favorite spot for kids. 

Harvey has been handling several different mask-making workshops for inner city kids. 

There is still time to enter and prepare for the “All-Species” parade. 

Karla Wilson is the Earth Day co-director. She said individuals and groups can get free parade preparation kits by calling the St. Louis Zoo at (314) 768-5466. 

In the kit, there’s a coupon for free recycled materials from Leftovers, Etc. to make their masks or costumes, Wilson said.

This is the 12th year for the kids parade. Wilson said the parade is very “kid friendly” because there are no motorized vehicles. The parade route starts at the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park and goes through the St. Louis Zoo. 

The percussion instrument group called Joia will lead the kids on their parade route.
 

The “All Species” parade is only one of a large number of activities for kids at the St. Louis Earth Day Festival on Sunday, April 22. 

The theme of the 2001 Earth Day celebration is “Our Waters, Our Rivers.” 

Last month, Young Saint Louis.com previewed another of the Sunday Festival events for kids. An Earth Day Boat Regatta story included information on how to get recycled material to make your regatta boat. 

(You can review that article by clicking on archives on the home page and calling up the February, 2001, edition.)

Other kids events at the Sunday Festival in Forest Park include: 

• Shark petting and other hands-on water exploration activities.
• Native American storytelling. 
• Free tree seedlings for planting will be given away.
• Bi-State bus painting. 
• World Bird Sanctuary shows. 
• Cleanup of the Forest Park river system. 

• Stream Team projects where groups adopt a stream and agree to pick up trash. There are over 1,700 Stream Teams in Missouri. This is under the direction of the Missouri Department of Conservation. For information, call (573) 751-4115, Ext. 3166. 

• Assisting with wetland restoration on Saturday, April 21. For information, call Green Center in University City at (314) 725-8314. 

• Stenciling storm drain sewers to remind people to keep our storm water pollution-free. For information, call Resource Recovery Project at (314) 481-8770 or the Metropolitan Sewer District at (314) 768-6340. 

Family
 

Project Linus

If you’re a fan of the Peanuts comic strip, you’ll remember Linus. He’s the one who always carries his security blanket.

Kids at St. Ambrose School in The Hill neighborhood are helping in a program called Project Linus. It’s a national effort that makes homemade blankets for seriously ill kids so they can feel safe like Linus does. 

But, the kids at the Catholic school have added a couple of interesting features to their blanket- and quilt-making efforts. They’ve also been joined by their 79-year-old school crossing guard, James D’Amico, who wanted to help.

Twenty-six fourth to seventh grade kids at St. Ambrose meet every Wednesday afternoon to make quilts for Project Linus. 

Thirteen-year-old Chris Seaton is one of three boys in the quilting club. The seventh-grader said, “I thought it would be a good thing to make blankets for kids in trauma.”

But, he and his family are going to do something extra special with the St. Ambrose quilts. In March, Chris and his mother, Mary Seaton, will be in a group going to Korea. They plan to deliver the St. Ambrose quilts to an orphanage there. 

Chris has a sister, Rachel. The two-year-old was adopted over a year ago in Korea. This year, the Seatons are going back to work in a Korean orphanage for two weeks. The St. Ambrose kids have at least 15 quilts ready for the Korean trip. 

Now, they have another goal. Each of the kids is making a quilt for their mothers for Mother’s Day in mid-May. 

Some of the mothers will get two quilts. That’s because, in some cases, more than one kid from a family is in the St. Ambrose quilting club. 

For instance, Robert and Brianna Bauwens are brother and sister. Thirteen-year-old Robert is a seventh grader at St. Ambrose while his 11-year-old sister is a fifth grader. Robert said, “Our mom got both of us to come to quilting.” 

Nine-year-old Victoria Hof and her older sister, 12-year-old Claire, are both making quilts for their mother. Victoria’s quilt has Valentine hearts in the pattern. 

She said, “I don’t know if it’ll be ready for Valentine’s Day. But, I’m going to work very hard. I know it’ll be ready by Mother’s Day.” 

The kids pick pieces of cloth that have different patterns. Then, they cut them into squares. They sew squares with different patterns together to make the top of the quilt. 

They then tie the patterned sheet together with some thick quilting material and a bottom sheet. When that’s all done, the Linus quilt is ready for either a kid or a mother. 

Ten-year-old Victoria Laut had to start with sewing machine lessons from Hilma Moses. She’s the school’s administrative assistant who doubles as the quilting coach on Wednesday afternoons. The kids use both sewing machines and hand needles to stitch the quilt squares together. 

Nine-year-old Stefanie Vollmer also is a fourth-grader along with Victoria. Stefanie said she’s making a quilt that uses blue and yellow figures for the pattern. She said her mother will use the quilt on her bed. 

Then, there’s James D’Amico who helps kids cross the street before and after school. He’s a retired mail carrier. 

When he heard about the quilting, he decided to join the quilting club. He said he’s been crocheting for about 20 years but had never made a quilt. “I joined because it was something new,” he said. 

His quilts have an extra-special homemade touch. 

Most quilts are made with material that has the patterns already in it. But, James has some homemade needle-point squares with patterns he’s stitched in by himself. The kids also have learned to do cross-stitching and will use them in a quilting project this summer. 

Regardless of who gets the St. Ambrose quilts, they’ll get something extra special. Everyone knows that security blankets are good for kids. But, maybe mothers need one once in awhile too.
 
 

“The best kind of sleep under heaven above is under a blanket handmade with love.” That is a slogan for Project Linus. 

The organization started with one chapter in 1995. Now, it has about 400 chapters worldwide and has delivered over 270,000 blankets and quilts. 

Kathy Piwowarczyk of Ballwin started the St. Louis chapter in 1997. She is now assisted by Barbara Glover of St. Louis. About 125 individuals and groups affiliated with the local Project Linus chapter. 

The organization is always looking for more people to make blankets and quilts. 

Locally, you could call Piwowarczyk at (636) 230-9486 or Glover at (636) 227-6829. Or you could write to the local Project Linus chapter at 1004 DelEbro Dr., Ballwin, MO, 63011. 

For information about the national organization, log on to www.projectlinus.org. Or you could call 1-309-664-6684.
 

Books

Even if you don’t pay much attention to the news, you must know we have a new president of our country.  There is a paperback book for children about the life of this new president.  The title is “President George W. Bush, Our Forty-third President,” written by Beatrice Gormley. 

George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, shortly after the end of World War II.  His father, George Bush, was a student at Yale University when the new baby, “Georgie,” was born.  George Bush, the father, had been a fighter pilot, a war hero, during World War II.   He had also been a baseball star during his school years.  So Georgie, the Bush’s first child, had a lot to live up to. 

He had a little sister, Robin, who died of an incurable disease when Georgie was seven years old. He also had three younger brothers, all of whom are grown men today. As Georgie grew up, he came to be called “George W,” so he wouldn’t be just “George,” like his father’s name. 

George W’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, a Republican, had been a congressman and a senator from the state of Connecticut, as George W. was growing up.  George W’s father had been successful in the oil business in Texas. He, too, wanted to enter politics.  However, in Texas at that time, Republicans, especially ones who came from the East, had a hard time being elected to office. 

George W, as a young man, worked hard in his father’s campaigns as his father ran for office.  Yet George W never saw himself as one who would ever run for political office.  He worked in the oil business.  Later, he became visible throughout the state of Texas as the spokesman for a group of investors who owned the Texas Rangers, the popular major league baseball team. 

George W’s father, in the meantime, had held a number of positions in the national government.  After serving as Ronald Reagan’s vice-president for eight years, he had been elected the forty-first president of the United States in 1988. In 1992, the senior Bush was defeated by William Clinton, who became the forty-second president of the United States. 

In November 1994, George W was elected governor of Texas. A popular governor, he was reelected for a second term.  As a successful governor of a large state, he came to be viewed as a strong Republican candidate in the presidential campaign of 2000.  After one of the closest elections in the history of the nation, George W became the forty-third president of the United States.

This little paperback tells some of the details of George W’s growing up.  It tells about his close ties with his family and how he met Laura, his wife and the country’s current first lady.  Some of the details of his disputed election to the presidency are also presented.
 
 

“Odd Moments in Sports” is a collection of short descriptions of strange things that have happened in sports over the years.  We’ve all heard of the football lineman who picked up the loose ball and ran for a touchdown – the wrong way!  We are less likely to have heard about the basketball player who got down on his knees and barked like a dog.  His team was throwing the ball in and hoping to score in the final moments of a game. Since all the members of the other team were looking at the “barking dog”, his team was able to get the ball inbound and score the winning basket.

If you like stories about strange plays, superstitious ball players, and practical jokes that ball players play on one another, you will love this book. 
 
 

“Taking Chances,” by Lauren Brooke is the final book in a series of four paperbacks published by Scholastic, Inc. The setting is a horse farm located in Virginia.  It differs from other horse farms in that it specializes in healing horses that have become unmanageable because of mistreatment or some kind of accident.  Sixteen-year-old Amy is the heroine.  She has inherited her mother’s gift for being able to reach horses that others cannot train. Unfortunately, Amy’s mother is killed in a terrible accident in Book One of the series.  Amy is helped in running the horse farm by her older sister, her grandfather, and a young hired hand named Ty. It is clear, though, that it‘s Amy’s talent with horses that keeps the horse farm in business.

In “Taking Chances,” Ben, the son of the rich owner of a competing horse farm, comes to Heartland to learn Amy’s approach to retraining horses that have been mistreated.  Even though Ben’s mother is paying for his time at Heartland, Ben is supposed to be working as a stable hand.  He doesn’t pull his weight in working around the stables, and, in other ways, causes trouble between Amy and the usually friendly and hard-working Ty. 

For young readers that like to read about horses, teen-age romance, and the resolving of conflicts – all in one little book – this is the book for them.  Reviews of the first two books in the series, “Coming Home” and “After the Storm”, can be found in the June 2000 issue of Young Saint Louis.com.
 
 

Start out with a thirteen-year-old loner named “Grady Jacobs.”  Make him a genius who has been grand champion for two years running in the National Science Fair.  Also make him a wisecracking smart alec. He uses his wit to protect himself against the fact that he is not accepted by his classmates, who tend to be older than he is. At the beginning of the book, he is being terrorized by a couple of bullies at school who resent his being so much smarter than they are. 

Grady’s work in plant biology has brought him to the attention of the world famous researcher, Dr. Carter.  Carter is engaged in research to restore the tropical rain forests in Brazil. Carter hears of Grady’s science fair research and offers him a short-term chance to work with the Brazilian research team.  Grady travels deep into the jungles of Brazil only to find out that Dr. Carter expected to be hiring a helper who was much older than thirteen years of age. 

Grady finds himself in a situation where he must use all of his talents and intellect just to survive.  In addition, he finds out that Dr. Carter is a mad scientist who really is going to destroy the tropical rain forests, rather than save them.  The trees he is planting are poisonous and ultimately will completely upset the ecosystem. What can a thirteen-year-old do in such a situation?

A knowledge of science and computers plays a part in this story.  However, it is Grady’s sense of humor and his falling into one implausible adventure after another that makes the book as much fun as a roller coaster ride.
 

Outdoors
 

St. Louis showing March 16

St. Louis kids will get a chance this month to learn about Missouri’s wildlife and outdoors through a special video. 

Jan Syrigos is a naturalist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. But, she’s also a singer who likes to tell kids about nature through songs she’s written.

In the video, she teamed with some young kids from a Jefferson City drama group. The video is called “Critter Rock.” 

A premiere showing of the video will be held Friday, March 16, in St. Louis. The event starts at 7 p.m. at the Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center in Kirkwood. That’s at the intersection of Interstates 270 and 44. 

For directions, call (314) 301-1500. 

Syrigos has recorded a lot of her original songs that teach outdoor lessons. The “Critter Rock” CD and tapes included 18 different songs. Half of them are sing-along tunes. 

Now, she has taken six of her favorites and added film and other visual images.

The filming was where the kid actors and singers came in. There is a performance group in Jefferson City called A Children’s Theatrical Performing Arts Core. That’s ACTPAC for short. 

Syrigos and the kids went on location around Missouri to sing some of the songs as well as dance to the tunes. The six songs on the video are: 

• “Habitat” That includes film clips of prairies, caves and other Missouri wildlife areas. 
• “Reptile Rap” Pictures of snakes, turtles, alligators and lizards that are native to Missouri are included. 
• “Jabber Jaws” Missourian Ralph Duren recorded 40 different wildlife calls. He’s the U.S. Wild Turkey Call champion. 
• “No Trash-passing” That includes film of cleanup efforts by Stream Teams in Missouri. Those are groups of adults and kids who adopt a stream and promise to keep it clean. 
• “Hairy not Scary” That’s all about bats in Missouri. 
• “Pioneer” This was filmed on the Hi Lonesome Prairie near Sedalia. It also includes a reenactment of a pioneer wagon going across the prairie. 

Syrigos has been with the department since 1993. As a naturalist, she gives wildlife talks and programs across the state. But, she’s a song writer and performer in her spare time. 

That led her to create original wildlife songs for her conservation talks. “I wanted the kids to go home with a special message about the outdoors that they’d remember,” she said. 

The department began recording the performances. First, there was the CD and tapes. Those recordings won a 1999 Parents Choice award. Next was a sing-along song book. 

In addition, Syrigos has performed outside of Missouri. She’s taken her “Critter Rock” shows to as far as Belize in Central America.

The video is the latest effort to provide the unique outdoor messages that kids would appreciate and remember, she said. 

As far as what’s next, the “Critter Rock” video will be nominated in April for an Emmy award. It also will be entered in the latest Parents Choice competition. 

Syrigos also said, “I’ve got about five new songs written so I imagine a new recording will be coming in the future.”

If you want to get copies of the video, CD, tapes or songbooks, you can log on to the department’s webstore at www.mdcnatureshop.com. Or you can order by writing to:
 

Also, you can phone in your order to (573) 751-4115, Ext. 3828.
 

Health
 

Despite his arthritis

Eleven-year-old Agassi Swisher has arthritis. But, he also takes part in dancing competitions. And, he plays basketball and football.

The sixth-grader at Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts School is determined to lead a full life despite his illness. 

But, he admits, “Sometimes I can’t keep up because my knees start to hurt.” 

But, concerning the dancing, he said, “I do all the different types of dancing.” That includes tap, ballet and even hip hop. 

About football, he said, “I do that in the summer. My knees don’t hurt in the summer.” 

Swisher’s mother is Dina Howard. She said her boy’s arthritis pain comes and goes. The outbreaks don’t seem to be connected to weather, she said. 

December was one of the coldest on record in St. Louis. But, she said, “He was real active in December.” 

He takes three different types of medicine for his arthritis, two during the day and one at night. They are designed to reduce inflammation in his joints. 

Most pain is in his joints. But, the arthritis also makes his arms and legs feel weak at times. 

He started at the Carr Lane school this fall so he could pursue an entertainment career. In addition to regular academic classes, Carr Lane specialize in performing arts.

Swisher is taking both dancing and drama. The school also has many music classes, including classical. 

(Last fall, Young Saint Louis.com featured students from Carr Lane in a story about their opera, “Sukey and the Mermaid.” Opera Theatre of St. Louis arranged for a premiere performance of the student-written, acted and produced opera. To read that story, go back to the home page and click on archives. Then, call up the August, 2000, edition.)

In addition to dancing classes, Swisher participates in dancing competitions. Sometimes he dances solo and other times as a member of a group.

Concerning sports, he plays basketball at school and baseball in the neighborhood. The football competition comes during summer vacation. 

He and his family also are active in their church, Believers Temple Word Fellowship in Florissant. 

Swisher credits his prayers and reading of the Bible with helping him live with his arthritis. “The praying helps a lot,” he said.

Concerning the future, Swisher said he expects to go to Cardinal Ritter High School. Then, he’d like to go to college at UCLA in California. He likes that school because of the emphasis on entertainment careers. 

“I might like to be a singer,” he said. 

His mother said, “The doctors say he will be dealing with his arthritis all his life. But, they say it shouldn’t keep him from having a productive life.” 

For him, there’s nothing like a little hip-hop dancing to keep him physically active now.
 
 

If you want to know more about kids’ arthritis, the Eastern Missouri Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation can help. 

The office is located at 8390 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63124. The phone number is (314) 991-9333. 

The local office also has a website at www.easternmissouriarthritis.org. A national website is at www.arthritis.org. 

The local office has a variety of videos and books. Also, there is information about grant programs to cover costs of medicines and equipment. The local office also provides special activities for kids with arthritis. One event this month is Cabin Fever Weekend.
 

Games
 
 

Why was the computer so tired when it got home?
     Because it had a hard drive!

What do computer hackers eat for lunch?
     Chips!

What kind of tea do football players drink?
     Penaltea!

Enny:  A noise woke me up this morning.
     Menny:  What kind of noise?
Enny:  The crack of dawn!

What do you say when you meet a two-headed monster?
     Hello!  Hello!

Why are monsters covered in wrinkles?
     Have you ever tried to iron a monster?
 

A List of Dumb Inventions:

• Solar powered flashlight.
• Window screens for a submarine
• Inflatable dart board
• A book on how to read
• A dictionary index
• Powdered water

• “America’s Longest River” by Misses Hippy
• “The Color of Eggs” by Sommer Brown
• “History of Texas” by Al E. Moe
• “How to Groom Your Yard” by Rake Leaves
• “Old Furniture” by Anne Teak

Junior nationals this month

Weightlifting isn’t just for boys anymore. 

Eleven-year-old Rebekah Searcy of the Nipher School junior weightlifting team is one girl who has started to pump iron. 

She started the sport this year. But, she’s already earned a first place in a local meet while competing against boys. She was entered in the 25- and 30-kilo classes. Figured in pounds, that’s the 55- and 66-pound divisions. (A kilogram is 2.2 pounds.)

Her first place was for her lifting technique, not for the most weight lifted. 

Coach Ed Bielik said, “At their ages, mastery of technique will make them stronger when they get older. Loading up and squeezing out an ugly lift will get you nowhere.” 

Rebekah is the only girl on Nipher’s 32-member junior team. 

But, women’s weightlifting got a big boost last summer. It became an official sport at the 2000 Olympics Games in Australia.

American Tara Nott won a gold medal in the 48-kilo class. That even got attention of some boys on Bielik’s team. 

Trip Gender is a second-year member of the Nipher team. He said, “I saw her (Nott) at a meet and got her autograph.” Nott was at a recent tournament in Charleston, Ill., where Gender and others were competing. 

The Nipher junior weightlifters also have some good role models right on their own team. 

Eighteen-year-old Ben Overkamp started lifting five years ago when he was at Nipher. Now, he’s a senior at Saint Louis U High and is ranked first in the junior nationals at the 94-kilo class. 

Overkamp credits weightlifting for making him a better student. He said, “Weightlifting is always a challenge. You have to be committed. That helped with my study skills by making me committed there also.”

Overkamp will be one of more than a dozen members of Bielik’s team who have qualified for the 2001 Junior National Championships this month. They will be held March 16-18 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill. 

Thirteen-year-old Ivan Aubuchon is another one of the qualifiers. The seventh grader will compete in two events in the 56-kilo class. 

He is in his second year of lifting. He said, “All my friends were doing it so I thought I’d also be on the team.” In his workouts, Ivan definitely shows the improved technique that Bielik stresses in his workouts. 

Coach Bielik said the emphasis on technique over heavy lifting helps to make weightlifting safe for young competitors. “Studies show that there are fewer injuries among young weightlifters than there are among cheerleader squad members,” he said. 

Eleven-year-old Sean Willcox is another first-year team member. The stocky sixth grader said, “Mr. Bielik asked me to come out for the team.” 

Sean thinks weightlifting will help him when he plays hockey and lacrosse. “It’ll make me stronger so I’ll have a harder shot,” he said. Sean plans to attend a summer ice hockey camp at Miami of Ohio University this year. 

The Nipher weightlifting team has had a lot of success in the junior national tournaments in the past. Bielik said the team has had 15 junior national winners in the last four years.

Rebekah Searcy is pretty sure she won’t qualify for the national tournament this year. But, she said, “I hope I’ll make the tournament next year.”