Students top funds goal, so principal dons a dress
SANDY -- Blessed Sacrament School has netted around $15,000 to put toward computers for math, science and English.Principal James Markosian made good on his promise to shave his mustache, wear a dress and play secretary for a day if students sold $30,000 -- the school gets half that amount -- in a gift-wrap fund-raiser. Students actually sold $32,000 worth.
Secretary Elaine Papworth also got to be principal for the day as part of the deal.
"We are all very proud of the students and the support the families have given us," Markosian said. "I am just glad I didn't agree to shave my head."
Cedar City school wins at Shakespearean Festival
CEDAR CITY -- The Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts has won the first-place sweepstakes award in the Utah Shakespearean Festival at Southern Utah University.
The first-year charter school was among 57 participating schools from Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California and Idaho. All 130 Tuacahn students participating in the event were coached by Richard Hill.
"I was so impressed that our student held their own with schools seven or eight times their size," said Tuacahn CEO Kevin Smith. "These kids are living proof that charter high schools can produce results."
Workshop for teachers aims at exploring natural world
ST. GEORGE -- Teachers are invited to a Project Learning Tree Workshop to learn how to encourage students to explore the natural world.
The Nov. 5-6 workshop, geared toward fourth- through eighth-grade teachers, is hosted by the Interagency Information Center in St. George. Participants receive materials and information on the FireWorks curriculum.
Admission and fees are $15; one credit hour is available through Utah State University for an additional $15. Registration is due Nov. 1.
Call Teresa Rigby, 435-688-3345, for more information.
Essay contest offers prizes for writing on Rand novelette
High school juniors and seniors are invited to enter an essay contest on Ayn Rand's novel, "The Fountainhead," with the top winner receiving $10,000.
High school freshmen and sophomores may write essays on Rand's novelette, "Anthem," for a top award of $1,000.
Essays typically are centered on characters and ideas. "Fountainhead" entries are due April 15; "Anthem" essays are due April 1. Winners will be announced June 1, 2000.
For more information, visit (www.aynrand.org/contests).
School's benefit concert to feature Julie de Azevedo
Julie de Azevedo will sing at a benefit concert for Highland Park Elementary School Friday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m.
Azevedo will feature songs from her latest album, "Dive Deep," at the school concert, 1738 E. 2700 South. Tickets are $10 at the door; proceeds fund science, technology and fine arts projects.
For more information, call principal Gene Klatt at 481-4833.
Many Utah school districts eligible to apply for grants
The State Office of Education has received a $7 million federal grant to help children read by the end of third grade.
The U.S. Department of Education's Reading Excellence Act grant, intended for high-poverty schools, will trickle in over the next two years.
The following districts are eligible to apply for funds: Alpine, Carbon, Granite, Jordan, North Sanpete, Ogden, Salt Lake City, San Juan, Sevier, Tintic, Tooele and Washington. Money must support local reading improvement initiatives or tutoring programs.
For details, call Jan Dole at 538-7823 or Laurie Lacy at 538-7501.
Local grocery store gives $20,500 to Davis schools
Dick's Market, a longtime area grocery store in Bountiful and Centerville, has presented the Davis School District Foundation $20,500.
Dick's Market has been a strong supporter of schools in the past, having sponsored and backed a plethora of breakfasts, club car washes and similar activities.
The year, Dick's decided to donate the large amount of money in a way to cut down on the amount of time and effort students spend in holding area fund-raisers. The foundation will divide the contribution by earmarking $1,500 to each high school, $1,000 to each junior high school and $500 to each elementary school located in south Davis County.
Las Vegas student gets theater scholarship to SUU
A senior theater arts major from Las Vegas will attend Southern Utah University during the 1999-2000 academic year as recipient of the Robin Bishop Memorial Scholarship.
Melinda Pfundstein, a graduate of Las Vegas High School and an actress who has taken roles in the Utah Shakespearean Festival the past two years, has been presented the annual scholarship from an endowment fund created in memory of the late Robin Bishop, a 1981 SUU theatre arts graduate.
The Robin Bishop Memorial Scholarship was established in the name of the graduate of Cedar City High School and SUU. Bishop was active in theatre arts. The endowment, which funds a theater arts scholarship annually, was created after her death in a southern California homicide. Her parents are Merlin and June Bishop, Cedar City.
Alumni at USU select 4 for school's Hall of Honor
Four alumni of Utah State University have been named to the Alumni Association's Hall of Honor. They are Richard Roberts, Michael Hamby, Alan Parrish and Gordon Snow.
The Hall of Honor acknowledges the unsung heroes whose quiet and unending support of Utah State and the Alumni Association, according to Patty Halaufia, director of major events for the association.
Roberts retired as director of high schools for the Cache County School District. He had also been a principal at four schools, an assistant principal and a teacher. He has been president and vice president of the USU Alumni Association and an eight-year member of the executive committee. He has been involved with the Big Blue Club since it started and served as a member of the USU Board of Trustees. He is also on the board of the Friends of the Library at USU.
Hamby is the artist who created the Meet the Challenge bull sculpture that stands near the Aggie athletic facilities on the corner of 1000 North and 800 East in Logan. He also did the mountain man sculpture located east of the Natural Resources building. After playing Aggie football, Hamby was drafted by the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. He played in Buffalo four years. His artwork has been commissioned by the NFL, Merrill Lynch, USA Today and others.
Parrish is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. Before that he directed the LDS Institutes of Religion at UCLA and Harvard. He is now completing a biography of President John A. Widstoe, USU's fifth president. In Los Angeles he was Alumni Council representative for the Southern California Chapter. He has been active in the Utah County alumni chapter and was president of the chapter.
Snow is co-owner of Century 21 Country Realty and Snow Construction Company in the Uintah Basin. He is also a representative for Duchesne and Wasatch counties in the state Legislature. He chaired the USU Uintah Basin Branch Campus advisory board six years, helping develop a scholarship program and acquire new buildings and housing. He helped organize and was president of the USU alumni chapter in the area.