European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday May 14, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 9 education student fair has Success written All Over it by Jimi Jones education writer Span Dahlem a West Germany a about 55 High school students from Pitburg joined Joyce Wilson the bad Kreuz Nach District superintendent of american schools in West Germany As guest teachers at the Span Dahlem elementary school May 2. The writing was on the Wall. Or rather it was hanging around in hallways. And More was going on in classrooms. The hanging decorations were writings and drawings created by the school s More than 1,200 students for its annual creative writing fair. Other writings were attached to elaborate displays in the Media Center. Each year the we Klong fair centers around a theme. This years a under the big top a was broken Down into circus sea and sky. Presenters prepared class projects accordingly. Each class from kindergarten to eighth Grade owned one of the displays in the Media Center. Though most classes chose the circus theme some tied it All together a like the class that did a Martian circus underwater. The writing fair began four years ago As part of the school s improvement plan a process used to enhance parts of a schools curriculum. A we needed to come up with a unifying theme to make writing and Reading come alive for our kids Quot said fifth Grade teacher Nancy Cox a program coordinator. In addition to improving Reading and writing the school needed a plan to build Unity lost through the separation of students and teachers who occupy portable classrooms. Quot Wco re so spread out in our Many buildings Quot that the plan had to be a bonding one Cox said. The program has grown from simply inviting guest teachers and trading teachers in House to a Community wide event Cox said. Quot each year we be added a  the idea to gel the High school involved came three years ago and has Quot been wonderful Quot Cox said. High school student groups taught about four classes. A another exciting tiling is we can bring parents in those with backgrounds in education or just those we know Are a real dynamic personality or others in the Community who ordinarily would not come Quot she said. A German couple who Are authors met with children in Small groups to show their books and explain their work. A German Illustrator also visited. A so it combines career education Loo Quot a of said from a not Only the american Community but German Quot As Well. This years theme provided an Opportunity for children to a integrate science with their writing a Cox said since science too. Is an area the school emphasizes. A amps Jimi Jones Pitburg High school senior Chad Carter above uses the first letter of kindergarteners a names to create drawings during Span Dahlem creative writing fair. Doreen Goerts right asks first grader Chloe Ellis about the Story she wants to write. Top High school students help conduct creative writing fair for younger kids by Jimi Jones education writer Span Dahlem a West Germany a faced with what is expected to be a critical shortage of teachers by the year 2000, Pitburg High school is putting some of its students at the head of the class. For the third consecutive year the school used its brightest students to help conduct the creative writing fair at the elementary school at nearby Span Dahlem. A a we be found that As Little As one clays student teaching has hooked some of our brightest students a said Linda Larson an English teacher at Pitburg. A if we want to Lead our finest Young people into teaching we probably need to let them try it  the 55 student teachers included i Ltd and i2th-graders in honors programs the schools literary Magazine Sophomore staff and others according to student interest Larson said. A after the first class i was ready to teach second graders for the rest of my life a wrote Loris Mekelburg in a report about the Day. A it was great. I would gladly do it again and All the time and a after the first class i was ready to teach second graders for the rest of my  a Loris Mekelburg Effort that we put into this was definitely Worth  the student teachers who worked in groups of three and four were helped by pairs of wandering artists and storytellers. Lessons ranged from the name game a poetry exercise using the color of a students name for first and Sec Ings to adapted mini mysteries Tor grades five and six Larson said. Some snowed videos to stimulate More creativity. Students were a exhausted nearly speechless on the ride Back to Pitburg a Larson said. A one Young woman was so tuckered out from her strenuous transmission of electrifying verbs and textured imagery that she fell asleep on the  the students had some interesting thoughts on what Larson described As their a fledgling teaching  a we ran out of time on almost every class we did which was really sad because 1 really enjoyed teaching them a senior Kristen Glassey wrote. A another thing we did is that we gave the teacher a copy of what we were doing. Most of them seemed to enjoy our taking the time to explain. A so if you need another teacher for next year 1 am willing to  another student asked a How did we know that we had thought up and chosen a creative and fun activity for third Grade classrooms the single word a Ash of wow a said in a three syllable tone of disappointment As we exited was More than enough  last year one of  Stop three graduates said the Day had been the turning Point in his decision to become a math teacher. This year wandering storyteller Dianne Todd said at one Point she had wanted to teach but changed her mind. But after this year s trip to Span Dahlem she said she just might change it again. Education Briefman counts team to compete in . Wiesbaden. West Germany a amps a four math students from the Germany Region will represent the military a overseas school system at the National mat counts Competition Friday in Washington. Kevin Scaldferri of Brussels. Douglas Carlson of Owci Brincken Damien mar tons of Heidelberg and Stefanic Lowas of Ramstein will form the four student team in the annual mathematics Competition. The seventh annual Competition is being held under the auspices of the National society of professional engineers. Until this year a local Branch of the society of american engineers has picked up the Tab for the regional winners travel to the Washington contest. However mat counts is paying Dodds students expenses this year. Mat counts a spinoff of spelling bees held in the United states requires seventh and eighth graders to solve a variety of math problems individually and As a group