PEOPLE & PLACES: Locals never stop learning
Published 8:00 pm Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Homeschoolers On Whidbey had their monthly meeting on Monday, Feb. 9. The theme of the month was “Take a Trip Around the World” A Geography Fair. Kids and parents visited all areas of the world and learned fascinating facts about the world. Organizers Renee’ Knutsen and Pacia Dixon ferried the children, wearing costumes from foreign lands and their favorite explorers, into a world of games and maps and explorations. All continents were represented even Antarctica!
When Oak Harbor Reads Stephen Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West” this spring, the community will enjoy a special visit from Ambrose’s daughter Stephenie Ambrose-Tubbs. An historian in her own right, Ambrose-Tubbs will present a program on the Lewis and Clark expedition and her own experiences growing up as the daughter of a Lewis and Clark enthusiast.
Ambrose, his wife and five children followed the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark expedition for 20 summers as he researched his book. Ambrose-Tubbs is the co-author of “The Lewis and Clark Companion: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Voyage of Discovery.” Saturday, April 3, Stephenie Ambrose-Tubbs will present the program finale.
The community is invited to read the book and talk about it at one of several discussions:
Thursday March 4, at 11 a.m., and Wednesday, March 10, at 7 p.m. both hed at the library; Tuesday, March 16, at 2 p.m. at Solid Ground; Wednesday, March 17, at 2 p.m., at Skagit Valley College Student Lounge, Old Main; Wednesday, March 24, at 2 p.m. at Daily Grind; Thursday, April 1, at 5:30 p.m., at Big Cup Coffee.
Copies of of the book and reading group guides are available at the library. Call 675-5115.
Each week during the legislative session, pages come to Olympia to learn firsthand about the legislative process. Sunny Vanderboll of Oak Harbor, sponsored by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, recently served as a legislative page for one week in Olympia.
Sunny, daughter of Mark and Mary Vanderboll, is winner of the 2002 Northwest Regional Harp Competition. She is home-schooled. Sunny, 15, enjoys Scottish country dancing, natural history, cave exploration and traveling.
While working in Olympia, pages spend two hours every day in Page School. During school they learn about the state legislature, write their own bills, conduct budget and legislative simulations and hear presentations from guest speakers.
During the mock bill exercise Sunny created an environmental protection bill to [prohibit] gas stations from being built on wetlands. she explained. “It was interesting to see the steps in action,” she said.
Pages provide an invaluable service to legislators by delivering messages to the floor of the House and Senate, relaying documents throughout the Capitol Campus and presenting the flag during floor sessions.
A tisket, as tasket, you can buy a basket. We aren’t sure whether these baskets are green and yellow but we know they are sure to be filled with delightful items. Oak Harbor Elementary School will raffled beautiful, bountiful baskets Friday, Feb. 20, at 6:30 p.m. at Oak Harbor Elementary School’s gym. All proceeds will benefit the school.
Cookie monsters get ready. Girl Scout cookie sales begin March 15 at locations around Whidbey Island. Green-clad girls will be offering toothsome confiseries in time-honored shapes and flavors for $3 a box. May troops will collect cookies for charities so no one has to worry about spiking their blood sugar. Proceeds from cookie sales support troop activities throughout the year. Go to www.girlscoutstotem.org to find cookie locations.
