Learning briefs 11/9/07

School News

• The Central Methodist University Chorale will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 and 10:30 a.m. Nov. 18 at the New McKendree United Methodist Church in Jackson. The choir will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau.
• Kelly High School FCCLA members collected 280 cans for the Ronald McDonald House by going trick-or-treating for charity in Benton, Mo. FCCLA stands for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
• Author Stephanie Tolan will speak at 9:30 a.m., 10:15 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday in the library at Central High School in Cape Girardeau. She will speak about gifted education at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Tolan's latest children's book, "Surviving the Applewhites," was a 2003 Newbery Honor book.
• High school students who qualify can participate in the National Vocabulary Championship for a chance to win $40,000 to apply toward college tuition. Students can take an online qualifying exam at www.winwithwords.com. Top scorers will take an exam at a Princeton Review location, and finalists will be selected from regional contest events to participate in the national event held in Los Angeles in March. The championship is sponsored by Charter Communications and the Game Show Network, and goes beyond a traditional spelling bee to include the testing of word definitions and word comprehension.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Three students from Eagle Ridge Christian School won at an ACSI, or Association of Christian Schools International, spelling bee held Nov. 1 in St. Louis. Andrew Hileman won first place for sixth grade and fourth place overall. Jennifer Galemmo won second place for seventh grade and third place overall. Bethany Miget won second place for eighth grade. Hileman and Galemmo will advance to a regional spelling bee in February in Dallas.

-- From staff reports