Richland School District music teachers performed a variety of vocal and instrumental selections at a special concert in January 2010. All proceeds were used to support District music programs.
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To Where You Are - Greg Fryhling ( Music ) -
Messin 'Round - A. Barnett, D. Black, S. Duberstein, R. Sanders and D. Teague ( Music )
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Tango - Sarah Berglund (My Four Ladies String Quartet) ( Music )
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The Magic Trumpet - Robin Sanders ( Music )
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Horovitz Sonatina, Mvt. 2 - Jason Rose ( Music )
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Monograph IV - Carri Rose ( Music )
4th Annual Guest Artist Concert with Scott Wendholt on trumpet.
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Doxy by Sonny Rawlins ( Music ) -
Lady Mac by Duke Ellington ( Music )
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Miss Missouri by Benny Carter ( Music )
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Just a Pretty Little Thing by Tom Kubis ( Music )
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Beyond Thursday by Scott Wendholt ( Music )
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Yardbird Suite - Richland High Jazz Band ( Music )
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Cantaloupe Island - Hanford High Freshmen Jazz Band ( Music )
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Bandstand Boogie - Hanford High Jazz Band II ( Music )
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Feetbone - Hanford High Jazz Band I ( Music )
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Over The Rainbow - Chief Joseph Jazz Band ( Music )
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Caccia - Wind Ensemble ( Music )
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Celestial Journeys - Marching Band ( Music )
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Celtic Voyage - Concert Band ( Music )
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Ghosts of Brandenburg - Orchestra ( Music )
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R.H.S. Fight Song - Marching Band ( Music )
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Erik Nelson & Sherry Meng of Richland High ( RSD Videos )
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Michael Alva & Sydney Dale of Hanford High School - 1/10 ( RSD Videos )
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Hannah Lake & Tasha Kulmus of Richland High - 12/09 ( RSD Videos )
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HHS senior earns Eagle Scout award - 9/09 ( RSD Videos )
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Read 180: Making a Difference in Students' Lives - 6/09 ( RSD Videos )
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Erica Toebe & Hannah McIntosh of River's Edge - 5/09 ( RSD Videos )
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Alyssa McElroy & Kelly Jette of Hanford High - 4/09 ( RSD Videos )
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Eric Turner & Deborah Wright of Richland High - 3/09 ( RSD Videos )
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Pat Mahoney & Jereny Mendoza of River's Edge High - 3/09 ( RSD Videos )
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Tenesha Shelby & Valerie Sewart of Hanford High 2/09 ( RSD Videos )
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Cassie Bender & Elizabeth Andrews of Richland High - 2/09 ( RSD Videos )
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Richland High School 1958 State Championship Basketball Team ( RSD Videos )
November 22, 2009
By Bethany Woo, Tri-City Herald staff writer
RICHLAND -- For 97-year-old Herschel Crose of Richland, the secret to staying young is how you live, what you eat and most importantly, reading.
Once a week Crose visits Badger Elementary School in Richland to spend a half-hour reading with a boy 89 years his junior.
"It's fun to meet Herschel and fun to read with him," said Riley Johansen, Crose's 8-year-old reading partner at Badger. "(Reading) is very fun and it makes you smarter."
Crose launched a program eight years ago to connect community reading volunteers with kids needing extra reading time.
"I belong to Kiwanis and think it's important for younger people to learn how to read, so I have organized a group in Kiwanis that reads with different elementary schools in Richland," he said. "I've been reading ever since then and will continue as long as I'm able."
Crose's program, Volunteer Reading, has five volunteers at Badger Mountain Elementary, three at Lewis and Clark Elementary School and four at Marcus Whitman Elementary School.
Badger Mountain Principal Gail Ledbetter is a fan of Crose's ongoing pursuit of educating her students.
"A lot of times, as people age, they don't have that connection with kids anymore, and he's choosing to stay connected. And he sees what great citizens our kids are and for a person that old to say, 'I believe in kids,' that's pretty cool," she said.
Crose, born in Colorado on Oct. 18, 1912, moved to Richland in 1944 and worked in the 100 areas at Hanford.
About 10 years ago, he began volunteering at Eastgate Elementary School in Kennewick. Two years later, he joined the Kiwanis Club of Richland and began seeking volunteers interested in reading to children in Richland schools.
"After about one week, I could see the value in this," he said. "Then I got to thinking, if there's a problem here, there's got to be problems in Richland schools."
The Badger REACH program, which works with about 30 students, coordinates with Crose's program, pairing volunteers with students who either need more reading time or someone to connect with for 30 minutes each week.
Staci Kump, chairwoman of the REACH program, said Crose has been working with Badger for five years. "He not only comes and helps, but he's a big help in recruiting more readers. It's been very helpful having him," she said.
Crose said his sessions consist of taking the student to a little desk in the hall where the student will read from a book the teacher has picked out.
"If the student has problems pronunciating or with timing, I will help them along," he said. "Reading is probably one of the most important studies -- if you can't read, you can't do anything."
Ledbetter appreciates his attitude: "It really makes a big difference to those kids who are paired with a reading tutor. They really look forward to that reading session each week. It has a great impact on our kids, not just with helping them with their reading skills, but also with that one-on-one connection that a kid can make to another caring and concerned adult in their life," she said.
Crose impresses many with his agility, sharp wit and cheerful personality.
Aside from volunteering at schools, Crose, a widower since 2003, volunteers four hours each Friday at CREHST museum, giving tours about life in Richland in the early '40s, and is an active member at Southside Church in Richland. He walks a mile every morning before breakfast and frequently refers to The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren for inspiration.
"He inspires us because of his age, attitude, memory; he's just very loving and giving," said Kelly Glaser, a secretary at Badger Mountain. "He's a wonderful person for the kids to emulate."
His daughter Judy Snowhite, 69, of Richland, said her father jokes that his short-term goal is to reach the age of 100 and that he will set his long-term goal after reaching that one.
Volunteering is another secret to Crose's staying young.
"It's a very rewarding effort," he said. "I recommend everyone who has time to spare, volunteer their time. These young kids will be our leaders one day. One of the objectives of Kiwanis is to see the needs of the children are taken care of. This is an ideal place for this to take place."
 Chelsea Lucas, Charcoal, Richland High School |
 Sara Osterloh, Acrylic, Hanford High School |
 Veda Verada, Pen & Ink, Hanford High School |
 Dean Wattenburger, Pen & Ink, Hanford High School |
 Elspeth Jensen, Pen & Ink, Hanford High School |
 Vance Alexander, 5th Grade, Sacajawea |
"Most of our students live only one to two miles away and are not aware that the Farmer's Market is available to them and their families throughout the summer," explains teacher Wendy Holsten. "It's great for them to see and taste the different kinds of fresh produce that is grown by local farmers. We walk along the beautiful Columbia River trail to get there and talk about the environment which ties in with our ecosystems science units that we will be doing later in the year.
"Also, we study adding and subtracting decimals. What better way to teach decimals than with real money? We have the students complete a worksheet that has them finding certain vendors at the Farmer's Market and figuring out problems related to the produce prices.
"I came up with the field trip idea when I came back from teaching English at an International Summer School in Austria. In Austria, we walked everywhere! This inspired me to find a place to walk to that was educational, free (to the students and the school district), and close enough to walk to. That's when I saw the Farmer's Market sign and decided the market would be an excellent place to go!"
Farmer's Market 2009 Photo Gallery - click on photos to enlarge
Passion Projects Challenge Students While Giving Back to Community
By Kristina Rawlins, Teacher, Carmichael Middle School
It’s all about making a difference in my classroom. Language Arts is more than just writing. It’s connecting with the community of the classroom, Carmichael Middle School and Richland, where we live. This project is assigned at the beginning of the year and due in June. Each student has an opportunity throughout the school year to render service and compile the project.
I require students to complete a seven part “Passion Project” in which they render service and write their thoughts into an expository essay.
To begin, the students turn in one paragraph describing the plan of action, where it is located and what particular service they are rendering. Some students perform more than one act of service such as volunteering to groom the school baseball fields and putting up Christmas decorations at the Union Gospel Mission in Pasco (see photo at right and photo gallery below).
Students keep a log of the days worked, time spent, and service provided signed by a parent or administrator.
Students write a one page expository paper describing the service provided plus their “personal” connection to the experience. The paper explains the project, how the student went about the duties and, most importantly, what the student learned about himself and others.
A photograph is required with a creatively designed border representing the service provided.
Students write thank you notes to the organizations where they served.
An evaluation letter from the person in charge indicating the service the student provided and overall performance evaluation is required.
Last of all, students give oral presentations about their experiences.
Almost 120 students participated in this project last year. Service rendered included: helping serve food at the homeless shelter; entertaining and spending time with the elderly at elder care centers; working at Pet Over Population and the Humane Society; and cleaning the Carmichael computer lab and library.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all.” ~Leo Rosten
“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” ~Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Fifth-grade students at Lewis & Clark Elementary School understand more about salmon anatomy and the life cycle of salmon after a hands-on dissection and discussion led by Rachel Little of the Benton Conservation District. Click below to see the Tri-City Herald photo gallery.