Karl Wood of the Price Lions Club stands with the winners of the Castle Heights Elementary Constitution Bee, which includes Dawson Johnson (first place), Amelia Murray (second place) and Tehya Divranvian (third place). Each winner received a cash reward ranging from $75 for first place to $25 for third.
Carbon School District Press Release
One of the big events in all elementary schools in October is Halloween. Tied with that holiday celebration this year was Red Ribbon Week at Castle Heights Elementary, which was very special.
“That last week of October was exciting and memorable for the students,” said Castle Heights Elementary Principal Wendy Fluckey. “The whole week of activities was planned and set up by Kendra Seeley and she did a fabulous job.”
On Monday of that week, the school celebrated with police officers who came and talked to students about the dangers of drugs and how they can change peoples’ lives.
Tuesday was career day and that was held in the gym. Two grade levels at a time came in and listened to speakers who spoke about the professions they are involved in.
“We had a doctor and a nurse, a firefighter and some people from the National Guard,” explained Fluckey. “They spoke about their careers and the choices kids could make about what they want to do later in life. They spent some time talking about making good choices in life as well.”
On Wednesday. there was a health segment about what smoking does to a person’s body.
“A representative from the Southeastern Utah Health Department came in and did a presentation showing what smoking does to someone’s lungs, and they demonstrated it by using pig lungs,” she stated. “They had a healthy pig lung and one that was unhealthy, and the students could wear a rubber glove and touch those lungs to not only see the difference, but to feel how smoking affects the lungs.”
There were also some jars that showed the amount of tar in someone’s lungs when exposed to secondhand smoke.
“They tied those problems into vaping as well as to the dangers of cigarettes,” explained Fluckey.
On Thursday, the school was visited by athletes from Carbon High who went out on the playground with the students during lunch and talked to them about sports. Finally, Friday was the Halloween parade and then there were classroom parties afterward.
Two other big events at Castle Heights in October were the Constitution Bee and a penny drive by the PTA for funds to be used at the school this year.
The Constitution Bee had more than a dozen students participate while the school and parents looked on in the gym. The Price Lions Club sponsors that event as a way for students to be motivated to study the Constitution of the United States and to answer, what are in some cases, very challenging questions about what they have learned.
The winners of the event were Dawson Johnson (first place), Amelia Murray (second place) and Tehya Divranvian (third place). Each winner received a cash reward ranging from $75 for first place to $25 for third.
The penny drive that the PTA put on raised $2,000 dollars.
“It was a huge success. Through a system of rules, students could actually do things to raise their class’ point level and decrease the level that another grade had gained. It was a fairly complicated system of sabotage,” she said as she smiled.