kirkwood school district | Staff members in the district have received two $500 grants from the Missouri Retired Teachers Association Foundation (MRTF) to support community initiatives. Patty Goeke, science teacher at Nipher Middle School, will use the funds to purchase hydroponic gardening supplies. Tashia Nelson, the technology specialist at Kirkwood High School, will use her grant to train the school’s therapy dog, Pioneer Penny. The two grants awarded to Kirkwood Schools were part of 126 teacher grants and 28 PEERS grants awarded across the state by MRTF this year.
micds
Senoir Zoe Zlatic earned a flight on NASA’s Zero-G plane to run an experiment she designed. She was selected while attending a summer internship with the STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES), a joint program between NASA and the University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research. Her project is Testing Procter & Gamble’s Water Purification Powder in Micro and Artificial Gravity. Over the next few months, Zlatic will work with a team of engineers, scientists, administrators and teachers to design a centrifugal experiment, write test procedures and select instrumentation to capture results—all in preparation for her flights out of Fort Lauderdale in late November.
ladue horton watkins high school
Congrats to the school’s Science Bowl Team! Last spring, they finished among the top 16 teams at the National Science Bowl in Washington D.C. The event brought together more than 60 teams from around the nation to solve technical problems and answer questions on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth and space sciences, physics and math. The Ladue Horton Watkins team also won two team challenges at the competition.
whitfield school
Seventh grader Nathan Chien received three first place awards and one runner-up placement in the youth category in the American Iris Society (AIS) Photography Competition. His family has grown, shown and photographed irises since 2015. He and his brother have numerous blue ribbons and best youth entries at the Missouri Botanical Garden for horticulture and design entries. They also established a Classroom Iris Program at Chesterfield Montessori School through the American Iris Society. This was Chien’s first time entering the AIS Photography Competition.
parkway south high school
The school’s library was named one of nine libraries in the state to receive the Exemplary Library Program award from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The award highlights the library program for its commitment, collaboration and engagement with its students and staff in several areas of literacy. To earn this recognition, libraries must demonstrate excellence in five main categories: instruction, leadership, library environment, library management and staffing. Parkway South’s library is led by library media specialists Dawn Murray and Katie Pendleton.
