Idyllwild middle school students on the trail. Photo courtesy of Heather Mello <\/figcaption><\/figure>Idyllwild School Principal Matt Kraemer devised a literal \u201coutside the box\u201d solution to a problem posed by a number of his middle school teachers attending a workshop. Rather than pay five substitute teachers, costing the district an additional $600 in an already challenged school budget, Kraemer and 10 adult volunteers took the 82-member middle school, including special ed students, on a hike of the Ernie Maxwell Trail on Tuesday Sept. 20. \u201cAt least half of them had never been on the trail,\u201d said Kraemer.<\/p>\nAlong the way, students identified trees and plants as part of a nature treasure hunt. Kraemer said the students responded enthusiastically. Among the volunteers were Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit volunteer Lee Arnson, Nature Center Ranger Jyoti Kintz, Dr. Bill Blaschko, PTA volunteer Heather Mello, geologist Larrynn Carver, parent Mike Vladika, and retired teachers Jeri John, Jane Davis, Jim Taylor and Nobuko Christenson.<\/p>\n
In another creative success, Kraemer noted the overwhelming community response to the residency of the Missoula Children\u2019s Theatre (MCT). As part of the school\u2019s commitment to promoting theater arts, for the second year MCT instructors spent a week working with 59 Idyllwild students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The result was an original children\u2019s musical, \u201cThe Jungle Book,\u201d by Michael McGill of MCT. <\/p>\n
The PTA raises the money, about $3,100, to pay for MCT\u2019s residency. Last year, ticket sales raised half that amount. This year, according to Kraemer, ticket sales, including a $500 donation from a student actor\u2019s grandmother, amounted to $2,800, a very big success. \nIdyllwild School children act in a play last week during the second year of the school\u2019s Missoula Children\u2019s Theatre residency, in which instructors spent a week working with 59 student. Photo by Marshall Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Idyllwild School Principal Matt Kraemer devised a literal \u201coutside the box\u201d solution to a problem posed by a number of his middle school teachers attending a workshop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"amp_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[20],"yoast_head":"\n
Idyllwild School principal promotes creativity • Idyllwild Town Crier<\/title>\n \n \n \n\t \n