Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Friday, May 09, 2008
Students sample karate, send rockets flying during Goodview’s annual Adventure Day
 Trey Standridge, 7, right, attempts a kick Thursday, demonstrated by karate instructor David Evenson of Winona, during Adventure Day at Goodview Elementary School. The students participated in classes, taught by parents and volunteers, ranging from woodworking and ceramic painting to karate and football. (Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
In one room, little hands and legs kicked and punched the air furiously, but the instructor was not satisfied with the exuberance of the owners of those limbs.
“You sound like you’re snoring!” exclaimed the teacher.
The students took deep breaths and upped the decibel level while they blocked the strike of an imaginary foe.
“Better!” the teacher said, approvingly.
Just around the corner, scientists with goggles much too large for their faces filed through a doorway outside, carrying rockets set for liftoff. Propelled by a potent mix of baking soda and vinegar placed in plastic film containers, the aspiring astronauts and NASA engineers watched in amazement as their miniature space shuttles tried to break the force of gravity.
One senior scientist, coming to the aid of a charge who experienced a failure to launch, ignored the rules of safety and had a plastic cap pop into his face, to the glee of those watching.
“That’s why we wear goggles, kids,” the chief scientist said, mocking his assistant who wiped imitation rocket propellant off his face.
Cheers were heard as soccer goals were scored in the distance, and amateur carpenters learned their trade indoors. These were the sights and sounds found at Goodview Elementary on Thursday.
This was Adventure Day.
Plenty of excitement
It’s hard to tell who gets more excited for Adventure Day: the students, the teachers or the volunteers and parents who come to the school to help lead the events. A tradition at Goodview for years, Adventure Day is an event when students get to pick from an array of classes they would normally never get the chance to take part in, and all the programs are taught by members of the community.
Organized by the Goodview Parent-Teacher Association, everybody seems to have fun.
“The kids just like it so much,” said PTA member Pam Rinn. “It’s great to be a part of it.”
A variety of classes are offered, chosen by what kids have said they liked the best in years past, and sprinkled with new offerings organizers believe the students might enjoy. This year, programs offered included dance, drama, gymnastics, hockey, woodworking, cartooning and ceramic painting.
The day was split in two, with third- and fourth-graders partaking in events in the morning, and kindergarten through second grade joining in during the afternoon. The building was flooded with activity, with volunteers selected because of their expertise in the subjects leading activities in different corners.
“It’s a day in which we get the parents and community involved,” said Goodview Principal Judy Davis.
Fizz, Bang, Wow!
Andrew Ferstl, a professor of physics at Winona State University, tried to round up the rocket boys and girls.
“Scientists, over here please,” he pleaded.
Ferstl, a Goodview father when he isn’t teaching at WSU, led the science program, along with a parent and two WSU students. Students in his class not only built rockets, they also lit lights with hand crank generators, marveled at how liquid nitrogen deflated a balloon and helped shatter a banana, and squealed with joy at an odd slingshot-type contraption that gave out a burst of air from yards away.
“The banana was my favorite part,” said first-grader Jacob Ruiz, 7. “It broke into a bunch of little pieces.”
This was the second year Ferstl has done Adventure Day, joining after the PTA decided to add a science program to the event. The selection has become popular in just two years, and watching children so young enjoy his passion is something special for the professor.
“It’s fun to see kids get excited in what we’re doing,” Ferstl said.
In the next room, karate instructor David Evenson, along with his son Cody, were busy teaching basic self-defense techniques to students. The children learned basic moves, along with their Japanese names and the philosophy behind karate.
An instructor of classes at the YMCA and the Japan Karate-Do Genbu-Kai of Minnesota, Evenson has more than 30 years of martial arts training.
“Have you ever got really mad at your parents or your brothers and sisters?” Evenson asked his class. “I want to hear you guys yell like you’re that mad.”
Outside the room, near the entrance to Goodview, the instructor’s mock displeasure with his students volume could be heard. “You guys sound like squirrels,” Evenson said.
Not every class was so animated, as a variety of events were offered, allowing students to pick exactly what they wanted. At a long table near the school office, second-grader Lindsey Giebel painted a race car she had put together in her woodworking class.
“I made it like this because I want to give it to my dad,” Giebel said. “He likes these colors.”
Administration and teachers at Goodview credited the work of PTA members for the continued success of Adventure Day. Shana Johnson, a first-grade teacher who volunteered last year to teach a knitting class, sat at her desk and watched her kids spend a couple of hours doing what they wanted, while still learning.
“If it wasn’t for the PTA, we couldn’t do this,” Johnson said.
While Johnson said she enjoys the event, both for the fun and the satisfaction she has watching the students get so wrapped up in it na student of hers brought her a plate of couscous she had made earlier-Adventure Day is best experienced in small doses. All the excitement can be a little too much to handle, as kids talk about the day for weeks before it happens.
“I think for the sanity of us all, once a year is just fine,” Johnson said while laughin.
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