SKY HIGH: CLASS TAKES KITE FLYING TO NEW HEIGHTS

A class of eighth-grade art students have taken kite flying to new heights.

Despite the fact that the artwork on their kites was of the Ninja Turtles, the Simpsons and Motley Crue, these kids took Nell Holcomb's annual kite flying contest seriously.

"It's the design," said Todd Brooks when asked why the kite, which he and his friend, Bobby Thorne made, flew the highest. "We used double strings and had more weight on the back than anybody else's (kites)."

Brooks and Thorne were only two of the students in the contest held Thursday afternoon. Their teacher, Marion Weiss, said the students learn not just how to fly a kite, they learn a little about aerodynamics.

"We only have art once a week so it takes them about a month to make their kite," Weiss said. "We do this from scratch. They design it, construct it, the whole bit.

"Plus, they get to express themselves creatively and they learn to work together. We don't have any discipline problems during this part of the class. They're having a ball."

Another high-flying kite belonged to Corey Taylor and Brandon Farrow. Taylor said the black kite with the words "POW-MIA" on it took two weeks to construct and paint.

"We didn't want to have one like everybody else's," Taylor said, "and my dad was in Vietnam."

His father, Dan, videotaped the contest. He said his son first got interested in the Vietnam War a few years ago when the Moving Wall came to Cape Girardeau.

"It took him a while to design the thing, but he's pretty good in art," he said.

Weiss said the kites were not just judged on how well they flew. Kites were judged in other categories like most creative, cutest, prettiest and most original.

Halfway through the contest, a kite made by Jennifer Thomure and Jill Lynch ripped. Thomure said she thought the kite, with its painted picture of a baby Ninja Turtle on it, was still worthy of the "cutest" title.

"We were hoping it would fly, though," Lynch said.

Susan Kirkwood's kite was shaped like a heart. On it, she drew pictures of trees and flowers with pastel-colored pencils. It didn't fly for long.

"It goes up but it won't stabilize," she said. "I can't keep it from flopping from side to side."

Kirkwood said she hoped her kite would win in the "most original" category. "That's what I usually win. I'm not really a wonderful artist, but I'm original."

Silver dollars are awarded by the school's parent-teacher organization to winners in each category.

"They don't realize they're learning about science," said school Superintendent Wayne Presley. "They're really having a good time, and at this time of year, they need a diversion."