3B MARSHALLNEWS.COM
FRIDAY, FEB. 21, 2014
Gilliam School prepares Miami school starts to prepare eighth graders for EOC testing students for high school by Jesse Brown Staff Writer
Jesse Brown/Democrat-News
Gilliam School is located on the corner of North and Bartlett streets in the town of Gilliam, off of Hwy 240 in Saline County.
by Jesse Brown Staff Writer Gilliam School is taking steps to prepare its eighth graders for high school. The state is requiring a new mandate next year in which eighthgrade students will take a test to judge their level of preparedness for high school. Principal Cindy Beltz is working to get a step ahead. “Our eighth graders are going to have to take EOC, which is end-ofcourse testing. It’s a high school-level class, but they’re not really instructed in it,” Beltz said. “It’s high school-preparedness is what DESE is calling it. They take it as eighth graders to show where they’re at.” Eighth-grade students will take these tests and also MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) tests. Beltz said Gilliam will also be taking MAP tests electronically, so the school has made an emphasis in improving and upgrading its technology.
While the school has bought all-new textbooks for math and communication arts, the school has also bought new SMART Boards to bring their total up to four, one for every classroom. The classrooms are paired together as kindergarten and first grade, second and third grade, fourth and fifth, and sixth, seventh and eighth. The sixth-, seventh- and eighthgrade class received the first SMART Board and after seeing the positive influence it had, Beltz said the school decided to install them in every classroom. “The kids love them. It’s education and it looks like a game,” Beltz said, with a laugh. While the school is small, Beltz appreciates the closeness of relationships the school facilitates. “It’s a very family-oriented atmosphere,” Beltz said. “Everybody takes care of everybody.”
Miami School District Principal and Superintendent Lori Price is providing the opportunity for students to prepare for the future. “One of the things that’s new with Miami School District is we have incorporated a class for our fifth through eighth graders after lunch that incorporates the STEM education, which is science, technology, engineering and math,” Price said. “It’s something that the kids are thoroughly enjoying and it’s challenging and it helps them think critically.” The class began in August, and Price said the school is doing what they can to prepare their students for the high-school level. Next year, the school is planning for fifth through eighth graders to each have a laptop as the school continues to push towards next-generation standards. “I just think it’s going to be beneficial for them in the long run whenever they go onto high school and society as a whole,” Price said. Miami has welcomed seven new staff members to their rank this year: Diane Sullivan, secretary and bookkeeper; Lucy Taylor, cook; Amy Young, third-grade teacher; Laura Riley, fourth-grade teacher; Brenda Heilman, english, language and arts teacher for the middle school; Edie Taylor, math teacher for the middle school; and Bobbie Jo Kraft, special education and physical education teacher. “I couldn’t have asked for a better school honestly,” Heilman said. “It took me awhile to get where I’m at and when I landed this job, it has been wonderful – the whole experience.” In agreeing with Heilman, new teacher Amy Young said she’s felt very welcomed and she doesn’t even mind the 45-minute drive from Pilot Grove, where she lives currently. Both Young and Riley said they appreciate how the school itself is like family. “This is the most comfortable place to work,” Riley said. “... I feel like if I need anything, somebody is always there to help. I can’t brag on it enough.” Contact Jesse Brown at jbrown@marshallnews.com
Contact Jesse Brown at jbrown@marshallnews.com
Jesse Brown/Democrat-News
Above: From left to right, Miami students Karley Land, Holly Barney, Tyler Driskell and Haylee Scheid learn about robotics for the school’s new STEM class after the lunch. Principal and Superintendent Lori Price said the class is to help fifth- through eighth-grade students prepare for the high-school level.
Jesse Brown/Democrat-News
One of the four SMART Boards Gilliam School uses to teach its students.
Pool continued from page 2B
the new slide in the 2014 pool season.” Gene Griffith said the slide will be installed before the next pool season. “We ran the water line already so all we have to do is set the new slide,” he said. “We figured the water line would be the biggest, or the hardest part, so we ran it after the pool closed.” Because the slide is over 6 feet tall, the city is required to put 3inch pads around it. “The new one is 6foot 7 inches to the top,” he explained. “It’s not monstrous. … It’s just a curl and being over six-foot we had to have the three-inch mats.” Griffith said they
hope for a grant for the mats. “We have put in a grant for the three-inch pads that go around the slides to make insurance happy,” Griffith said, explaining the grant was for pads made of scrap tire materials through the Department of Natural Resources. He also said they would find out in midFebruary if DNR is going to accept grants for things like park benches or lifeguard stands. Griffith said they would like to apply to get new lifeguard stands. The stands Griffith said they would like to apply for are made of PVC wood with ladders on both sides and he said they cost approximately $1,900 a piece.
“I looked at some metal ones too with the plastic covered seat,” he said. “They were a lot cheaper too. If we don’t get the grant we will probably go with the metal ones.” Griffith said the only other improvement project planned at the park is a new roof on a shelter house because the shingles are curling up. Contact Kelsey Alumbaugh at kalumbaugh@marshallnews.com
Jesse Brown/Democrat-News
Above: Jeanna Taylor (center) teaches her first- and secondgrade students on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Miami school.
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