IN Bethel Park Summer 2014 | Page 57

nventors and Inventions” was the theme of this year’s Elementary Gifted Expo, which was held at the Bethel Park Community Center, with 42 students participating. Students were asked to select a specific inventor and an invention, conduct research on the past, present and future of the invention; prepare a tri-fold board showing their research and be prepared to present their findings to the attendees at this year’s Expo. Some of the inventions highlighted at this year’s Expo included the light bulb, Memorial second grader Ryan William Penn fourth grader Stefi DPrampero talked about Barbie at Tierney was one of several students who chose the Model T this year’s Expo. as their invention. telephone, airplane, Barbie, Model T, computer, vacines, television, shark cage and the guitar. Gifted Coordinator Michelle McClellan was extremely impressed with the students’ research and the quality of their presentations. The television was the topic of Lincoln fourth grader Mallory Franklin fourth grader Katerina Davey researched the history of the Teddy Bear for her Gifted Expo Velisaris’ presentation. project. Ava Layman adds ingredients to her bag of trail mix. Washington fourth grader Tory Krapp followed her interest in Sports and was prepared to share her research at the Gifted Expo. Olivia Kitchen writes a note of thanks to American servicemen. WASHINGTON FIRST GRADERS MAKE TRAIL MIX FOR SOLDIERS W ashington Elementary School First Graders participated in a service project where they made trail mix and wrote notes of thanks to American soldiers who are currently stationed in Afghanistan. The students sent their treats and notes to United States Air Force Tech Sergeant Rory Haplin, who is stationed in Afghanistan, for distribution to the soldiers in his unit. Tech Sgt. Haplin is a friend of Washington Reading Specialist Nikol Galentine. The students had a great time making the trail mix and writing notes to accompany their treats. Some of the messages on the notes to the soldiers included, “Thank you for protecting us,” “I hope you are safe,” “You’re doing a great job,” and “You are very brave.” They also had an opportunity to use their writing skills to tell the soldiers a little bit about themselves as well. It was a great learning opportunity for the students and a nice thing to do to support the troops. Bethel Park | Summer 2014 | icmags.com 55 B E THE L PARK S CHOOL DIS TR IC T I “ Bethel Park GIFTED EXPO HIGHLIGHTS INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS