Getting in the Games
The students at Parkview/ Centerpoint Elementary School in White Bear Lake, Minn., are using an inside source to learn more about the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Kelly Roethlisberger, a 1st grade teacher at the school and the wife of John Roethlisberger, a member of the U.S. men’s gymnastics team, is helping the 500- student school keep up with the goings on Down Under through e-mail.
This will be the last Olympics for the 30-year-old Mr. Roethlisberger, who also competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.
“It has been a grand experience for our students,” Principal Max DeRaad said. “Kelly and John have such a great perspective on this experience. They are so gracious to let us follow along to learn about the country.”
Though both the men’s and women’s gymnastics teams lost their bids for a team medal last week, the students at the school 30 miles north of St. Paul will continue with their own mock Olympics.
Students and teachers held an opening ceremony, and a display case in the main hallway highlights Mr. Roethlisberger’s career.
In the meantime, classrooms have taken on the names of competing countries, and students are following their progress. In addition to teaching about the culture and geography of their adoptive countries, teachers are tying lessons in math, reading, and physical education to the Games.
“We’re really trying to promote learning through this,” Mr. DeRaad said.
Mr. Roethlisberger, who plans to stay in Australia with his wife until the Games are over, has been invited to participate in the school’s closing ceremonies.
“We’re really hoping he will be able to come back to Parkview,” the principal said.
—Adrienne D. Coles
