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Nonpublic consultation meeting
On Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., Columbus Public Schools will conduct a meeting at the Columbus Public Schools/ ESU7 Student Center, 2563 44 Ave. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide an opportunity for parents and representatives of nonpublic schools to participate in the development of a plan for providing special education services to children with disabilities who attend nonpublic schools and home schools which are within the Columbus Public Schools District for the 2012-2013 school year. Parents of a home-schooled child or a child attending a nonpublic school who has been or may be identified with a disability and attend a nonpublic school within the boundaries of Columbus Public Schools, are urged to attend. If you have further questions, please contact Jason Harris, Executive Director of Student Services for Columbus Public Schools at 402 563-7000.
On Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., Columbus Public Schools will conduct a meeting at the Columbus Public Schools/ ESU7 Student Center, 2563 44 Ave. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide an opportunity for parents and representatives of nonpublic schools to participate in the development of a plan for providing special education services to children with disabilities who attend nonpublic schools and home schools which are within the Columbus Public Schools District for the 2012-2013 school year. Parents of a home-schooled child or a child attending a nonpublic school who has been or may be identified with a disability and attend a nonpublic school within the boundaries of Columbus Public Schools, are urged to attend. If you have further questions, please contact Jason Harris, Executive Director of Student Services for Columbus Public Schools at 402 563-7000.
Kimmel receives School Bell Award
Walt Kimmel wants kids to be interested and excited about learning.
Walt Kimmel wants kids to be interested and excited about learning.
“If you peak a kid’s curiosity, they will want to learn,” Kimmel said. “Why is a good question.”
This is exactly what Walt has been in doing with the third graders in Chris Smith’s classroom at West Park.
“He brings a wealth of knowledge he shares as he explains concepts to students,” Smith said about Kimmel. “He’s added to many of our units of study with his own research on a topic or brought in examples such as rocks, shells and mind puzzles.”
For these reasons, Kimmel was chosen as the School Bell Award winner for Columbus Public Schools. This honor is given to a person in the community for his or her service to the youth of Columbus.
Kimmel has been coming to the third graders’ classroom for one to two hours a day since 2008. He said Smith approached him about volunteering when he was retiring.He said he has the easy job compared to a teacher.
“A teacher can’t work individually with every person,” he said. “A lot of the things they are getting, I didn’t get until beyond third grade. There is a lot expected of these kids.”
Kimmel has helped with a wide variety of things. He works with students on comprehension skills, spelling practice, fluency, math facts, grammar and whatever else needs to be done.
“We call him Mr. Walt, and the kids can hardly wait to have their turn,” Smith said. “His gentle spirit, deep caring and positive comments can be heard as he works one-on-one with the students.”
Kimmel said he often learns something new from helping the students. He recently learned it takes the moon 27 days to rotate around the earth.
“I’m learning right with the kids,” he joked.
Students often don’t see the usefulness of what they are learning.
“I want to help them to understand what they are doing does matter and give some relevance to it,” Kimmel said.
He also tries to stress the importance of school. Kids don’t understand what they are learning now will help them get a good career later in life, he added.
“I tell all the kids I want to see you graduate from high school, and to them, this seems like a long distant goal,” Kimmel said.
Smith said she feels luck to have Kimmel in her classroom.
“Walt Kimmel wants students to succeed and always reminds students how important their education is and that it is up to them to do their very best,” she said.