Salem High alumni and Andrew Lewis Middle School band members joined "The Pride of Salem" marching band on the field to play Salem's fight song -- and many also joined in the band section (in case you were wondering why they sounded especially robust!).

Interested in sharing your travel experiences with World Geography students in Salem?

Andrew Lewis Middle School's World Geography classes are looking for citizens from the community who have traveled and would like to share their experiences with students.

In World Geography classes, students gain a better insight into a country and culture through first-hand experiences of people who have been there.

Teacher Judith Painter hopes to find people who have traveled/lived in the United States and/or in other countries.

The idea is to eventually expand the database for other classes.

They would prefer volunteers who are willing to share artifacts and photos.

Anyone interested should contact Painter at jpainter@salem.k12.va.us or call the school at 387-2513.

Taking a break from their routine Glenvar Middle School lunch, eight life skills students put their classroom learning to the test by ordering a meal at Mac and Bob's on Friday, October 8.

"We practice the real life situations they're going to be in," said teacher Kathy Mallette. Mac and Bob's let the students borrow menus before the lunch date so they could practice at school. In addition to their academic curriculum, they learn skills that will enable them to function more independently.

When a student ordered a sweet tea without ice, server Deanna Mungle let her know that it would be very hot. The student had to think on the fly to change her choice to a Coca-Cola. Mallette explained that out in the community, people usually defer to the special needs person's caregiver for questions and other interactions. That sort of buffer can hinder crucial social skill development.

"A lot of times, people [in the community] don't interact with them. They'll turn to the parent and ask them [the questions]," she said. At school, they practice things like making a grocery list, setting the table, washing dishes, and social skills. Every other month, the eighth graders even do volunteer work with a teacher cleaning a church.

"There are people in the church they have to interact with and talk to," Mallette said.

Other local businesses have also been generous with their time and resources. Lowe's and Home Depot have donated build-it kits, and Home Depot hosted a Saturday workshop for the students on a weekday. Whitt Carpet One in Salem donated a large piece of carpet for the special education room.

-- Miranda Beck

The kids at Community School in Roanoke are climbing up and down, hiding under and over, and generally having fun on the 10-foot-tall triangular playground teepee that Salem High junior Brian Stephenson built for his Eagle Scout project.

Stephenson went to Community School through the eighth grade, and he likes to build things. He also needed an Eagle project. So last fall, he asked the school's director, Michi Hines, if there was anything he could build. It's a good thing he doesn't mind math much, either.

After visiting family in Indiana over Christmas, Michi returned with photos of a playground structure she'd seen there, said Brian's dad, Bob Stephenson. He found a basic copy of the design, but it took some figuring to combine the triangle sides with round phone poles.

"The wood itself is rectangular so it gets kind of complicated with geometry," said Brian. Of his woodworking experience: "I learned a little bit from my dad when I was younger and I've built mediocre tree houses along the way." His uncles, dad and grandfather helped build a summer house in Maine together by hand.

Construction began at the beginning of this summer and finished up in August, just before Community School's fall session started. The teepee is three-sided: One side is a climbing wall with pegs, one has a knotted rope and the other exposes the ground floor and has a small window on the second floor. He had to comply with playground regulations: six feet of mulch around the entire structure, and the wood couldn't be processed with certain chemicals.

The city of Salem donated telephone poles and cut them to the length Brian needed for the supports.

Brian is currently dual-enrolled at Virginia Western Community College in a mechatronics course. While he doesn't have college plans yet, he wants to go somewhere with a good engineering program, like Ohio State. He is part of Troop #352, which meets at Locust Grove United Methodist Church in Glenvar.

-- Miranda Beck