Bees are very social creatures that depend on each other for survival, said beekeeper Paula Owen, and humans can learn a lot from them.
“One-third of everything we eat is directly related to honeybees, so they’re pretty important,” she told students at Eisenhower Elementary School.
Owen and hundreds of other presenters visited Eisenhower Jan. 27 for Kansas Day. The day, which celebrates the day that Kansas was founded as a state on Jan. 29, is organized each year by school counselor Debbie Sack. Sack gets help from local organizations, farmers and parent volunteers who work to make the day a special learning experience for the children.

Principal’s Honor Roll
(GPA 4.00)
9th Grade — Jessica Brunson,Taylor Brunson, Anna Lahmon, Brian Riggins, Madeline Snow, Jorden Warren  

2011 Scholarships for Military Children recipient Jordan Cherry said receiving extra money for college lightened her financial load.
“This scholarship definitely decreases the financial burden of school, which we all know is a big benefit,” she said.
 Applications for the 2012 Scholarships for Military Children Program are now available at commissaries worldwide as well as online through a link on http://www.commissaries.com and directly at http://www.militaryscholar.org.

The Fort Leavenworth Unified School District 207 Board of Education reviewed the district’s bad weather policy at its regular November meeting. The following policies apply to all schools on post.
When the decision is made that schools will be open, some parents may choose to keep their children home because weather conditions may be considered marginal. Such absences will be excused and work missed may be made up without penalty.

Each week, Soldiers from the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, take a break from regular duties to read to children.
Gayle Bertram, principal at MacArthur Elementary School, said Soldiers who volunteer through Fort Leavenworth’s Adopt-A-School program bring an important aspect into children’s lives.

Patton Junior High School volleyball player Ariel Okorie tries to get the ball past cheerleader Kelli Macyszyn without losing a flag during the second annual Patton powder-puff football game Oct. 27 at Normandy Field. The blue team won 18-12. Teams were comprised of volleyball players and cheerleaders, and football players performed cheers while dressed in traditional cheerleading attire.

Kindergartener Alexa Reeves, holding her character’s book “Barbie Mariposa,” shivers as the Eisenhower Elementary School character parade winds through the foggy parking lot to enter the auditorium Oct. 28 at the school. Bradley and MacArthur schools’ students also participated in parades, capping Red Ribbon Week with “Show Good Character, Be Drug Free” by dressing as book characters.

Patton Junior High School announces 1st quarter honor rolls

Students from six area Kansas high schools were honored Sept. 28 by the University of Kansas Alumni Association and KU Endowment.
A total of 101 seniors from high schools in Leavenworth County were recognized for their academic achievements and named Kansas Honor Scholars at a 7 p.m. program and reception at the Riverfront Community Center, 123 S. Esplanade St., Leavenworth.
During the ceremony, each student received a Webster’s New College Dictionary presented by Danny Lewis, director of alumni programs for the KU Alumni Association.

After years of being bullied in school and online, 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer was reaching his breaking point.
The openly gay teenager talked about his experiences in a video he posted on YouTube last spring.
“They’d taunt me in the hallways, and I felt like I could never escape it,” the Buffalo, N.Y., native said. “People would just constantly send me hate.”
Afraid of what lay ahead for him in high school, Rodemeyer committed suicide last month.
In the past, bullying was deemed a rite of passage, but that’s not the case any more, a Defense Department official said.

Firefighter Rob Dokos picks up Eisenhower Elementary School first-grader Isabella Ross to demonstrate how a firefighter would carry a child out of a fire during a visit Oct. 14 to Fort Leavenworth Fire Station No. 2. Children from post schools and daycare visited the fire station to learn about fire safety during Fire Prevention Week.

Museums are usually quiet places, but Isaac Dabkowski and Rebecca Hollister want to give children a chance to scream at the top of their lungs at Union Station’s Science City.
The Patton Junior High School seventh-graders are working on a project, “Battle of the Brains,” to compete for their exhibit to go on display at the Kansas City, Mo., museum. The winners will also receive up to a $50,000 grant to support science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEM, education in their schools.

Fort Leavenworth’s deputy superintendent of schools was awarded the M. Claradine Johnson Excellence in Education Award Oct. 4.
Geri Parscale has been with the post schools for 10 years. She’s worked as a teacher, principal and professional developer for 25 years in Kansas, working in rural, urban and suburban education.
Parscale and a handful of educators in the state were presented the award for their work with the AdvancED, North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement and AdvancED Kansas. AdvancED is an accrediting organization that provides districts and schools with research-based methods for improvement.

Fort Leavenworth schools found out Sept. 30 they may not have to pay more than $700,000 for a discrepancy over military impact aid.
In July, Unified School District 207 was notified that the U.S. Department of Education had overpaid the district $710,249.19 for the fiscal year 2010. The funding is determined by and distributed by the U.S. Department of Education, said William Heinen, chief financial officer for USD 207.
The local school district planned for an appeal utilizing the U.S. Department of Education’s internal justice system, but was notified last week that the federal government will work with the district to find the source of the problem and a solution.

Patton Junior High School ninth-grader Jared Belardo sprints down the field, followed by West Platte players Kyle Howerton and Chris Spears, to score for the Tigers Sept. 26 at Normandy Field. Ninth-grader LeShawn Nash also scored for Patton with two touchdowns. The Patton Tigers lost to the West Platte Bluejays 56-18.

Military families with children in local school districts might see a “First Count” survey soon.
The survey helps determine, in part, how much funding the schools receive.
Fort Leavenworth School Liaison Officer Jessica Brushwood said schools depend on families to fill out the survey and return it to the child’s school district so that district can continue to support education of military children.

Cheerleaders and other Patton Junior High School students, including Paige Cox, Ann Veneziano, Vanessa Stuckmann, Rose Johnson and Jared Belardo, do their best “Macarena” in a line-dance competition with Patton Principal Dr. Steve Bock and teachers Kim Ellis, Chris Gaylor, Chris Clemmons, Misti Steven and Marilyn McGeorge during a pep rally Sept. 9 at Patton. Vying students and teachers also danced the Electric Slide, YMCA and other well-known moves associated with specific songs. Students and teachers usually participate in a competition during seasonal pep rallies.

Most children attending the Fort Leavenworth Schools’ Freedom Walk Sept. 9 have no memory of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
However, they’ve endured the absence of one or both parents over the past 10 years serving a nation at war.
For the fourth year, students at each of Fort Leavenworth’s four schools walked to Normandy Field to sing patriotic songs and share their American spirit. They also practiced all the verses to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which some are required to learn as part of their music education curriculum in school.

A new Defense Department school policy underscores the importance of student attendance, while also considering military families’ unique needs, the acting director of the Department of Defense Education Activity said.
The policy, which went into effect Sept. 1, requires students attending DoD schools to be in attendance for 180 instructional days per academic year, barring illness and emergency situations. Most schools typically have 181-183 days scheduled per school year.

Munson Army Health Center is now booking school physical appointments for school-age children (kindergarten and up) for the next school year.  Appointments can be made through the appointment line at 684-6250. Special Saturday sessions are planned for Aug. 6 and 13. Students with a chronic health condition, enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program or requiring medication refills should not use the Saturday appointments. Parents need to bring completed physical forms and the child’s immunization record to the appointment. Physical forms can be downloaded from the MAHC website at https://www.munson.amedd.army .mil. To streamline the process, the parent portion of the physical forms should be completed before the physical time. Children must wear athletic clothing to the physical. For more information call the triage nurse at 684-6621.