The Mt. Pleasant Youth Bridge Program has completed two classes last month
The Mt. Pleasant Youth Bridge Program has completed two classes last month with 24 Middle School 6th graders in the 2nd quarter of the 2009-2010 school year. The two classes were held early in the school day, in the school library, on Tues. and Friday mornings. The early morning classes in the library were really appreciated by the two bridge instructors, Phyliss Paine and Roy Gilleard.
Sunday afternoon play time and some intermediate classes are continuing on Mon and Friday mornings during the 3rd quarter school year. These students have taken the Iowa Test of Basic Skils and are being "tracked" to ascertain the impact of bridge instruction on their average test scores.
A school wide tournament is scheduled for Friday, 12 March in the library at 7 pm with parent assistance. Attendance by the yourth bridge students is also planned for the Hills Sectional, 26-28 March and Mt Pleasant Sectional May 21-23.
The Youth NABC is in New Orleans this year and we have decided not to attend, but instead to attend Dr. Chris Shaws Bridge Camp in Carlinville, Il. It is scheduled 3-8 July with lots of opportunities for bridge education and recreational activities at the Williamson Christian Camp, plus scholarships at a reduced cost of attendance.
We are also considering an invitation for a youth game at the Nebraska Regional in Aug., where our bridge program got started including a luncheon with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
Youth bridge at over 18 locations through out the states are instructing over 1,000 school students each year. Mt. Pleasant is the only location in Iowa, and we sincerely appreciate support from the unit, district and individuals.
Thanks, Zip
Zip and Mary Mettenburg 307 S Walnut St, Mount Pleasant, IA 52641-2304 --- Email
Mt. Pleasant Middle School starts 4th year
and students need donations for Youth NABC in Washingon D.C.
The fourth year of school bridge in the Mt. Pleasant Middle School began this school year with the first of four classes being conducted every other day, for 7th graders every quarter (9 weeks) in the Enrichment Curriculum.
We have 23-24 students in each class, conduct a tournament the last two days of the class. We received T-shirts for all the students taking the class, plus trophies from ACBL. The class has a home room teacher taking attendance and maintaining discipline. The students are instructed on 16 lessons from the Kitty Cooper Teacher manual, aided by an duplicate bridge adult "aid" at each table,and graded with inputs to the home room teacher.
The second Youth NABC will be held in Washingon D.C. 30 July-1 August, 2009 and we plan on taking 10 students this year ( we took 8 last year to Atlanta). Four adults with the 10 strudents will travel by van ( one provided by the School District) leaving two days early to have a scheduled White House and a Capitol tour arranged by Senator Grassley. Additional memorial tours and sites will also planned before or after the tournament. This trip will be more costly than Atlanta, due to higher hotel costs and some additional travel. The students have already started fund raising and all donations are appreciated.
Zip and Mary Mettenburg 307 S Walnut St, Mount Pleasant, IA 52641-2304 --- Email
School bridge kids at Iowa School Board Convention
in Des Moines
Early this year the local School Board was briefed on the Middle School
Bridge
Program. At that briefing the School Board recommended that the
information be
provided at the annual Iowa School Board Convention "Show and Tell"
session.
Four Mt. Pleasant School Bridge Students attended the Iowa School Board Association "Show and Tell" Convention 16 November at the Polk County Convention Center. Bernard Pollmeier, Hannah Taylor, Jessica Tone and Ross Werner were the high school students that had previously graduated from the Middle School Bridge Program. They were accompanied by Sue Loescher and Rosemary Peck, the middle school teachers responsible for the "Enrichment" program. Steve Rod and Della Appel, bridge instructors, assisted in explaining the school bridge program.
Dr. Chris Shaw and wife Mary from Carlinville, Il. also attended, to explain the results of their community "experiment" in teaching bridge to students, that had resulted in significant improvement in subsequent Iowa skill tests in multiple academic areas.
The Middle School Bridge Program is in its third year and will have 200 sixth to eight grade students having had duplicate bridge instruction at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. I think Mt. Pleasant has the only School Bridge instruction in the curriculum (Seventh Grade Enrichment) in Iowa.
Pictured are bottom left clockwise kids; Hannah Taylor, Jessica Tone, Bernard Pollmeier, Ross Werner. Seated at left: Teacher Sue Loescher. Standing at right; Teacher Rosemary Peck.
Reported by Zip Mettenburg
Four Mt. Pleasant School Bridge Students attended the Iowa School Board Association "Show and Tell" Convention 16 November at the Polk County Convention Center. Bernard Pollmeier, Hannah Taylor, Jessica Tone and Ross Werner were the high school students that had previously graduated from the Middle School Bridge Program. They were accompanied by Sue Loescher and Rosemary Peck, the middle school teachers responsible for the "Enrichment" program. Steve Rod and Della Appel, bridge instructors, assisted in explaining the school bridge program.
Dr. Chris Shaw and wife Mary from Carlinville, Il. also attended, to explain the results of their community "experiment" in teaching bridge to students, that had resulted in significant improvement in subsequent Iowa skill tests in multiple academic areas.
The Middle School Bridge Program is in its third year and will have 200 sixth to eight grade students having had duplicate bridge instruction at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. I think Mt. Pleasant has the only School Bridge instruction in the curriculum (Seventh Grade Enrichment) in Iowa.
Pictured are bottom left clockwise kids; Hannah Taylor, Jessica Tone, Bernard Pollmeier, Ross Werner. Seated at left: Teacher Sue Loescher. Standing at right; Teacher Rosemary Peck.
Reported by Zip Mettenburg
Twelve Students at the July Des Moines Regional.
