[For more information about Missouri’s Ancient Cultures (MAC) Quest Program
(mentioned in the article below), which is geared for 4th graders and their
teachers, visit http://associations.missouristate.edu/mas/macquest/index.html .
Also, the person behind the MAC Quest Program, Mark Leach, will be the guest
speaker at the August 7 installment of the Mound City Archaeological Society’s
(MCAS) monthly lecture series at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. For
more information, visit the MCAS listserve at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MAS-MCAS/ . One more bit of trivia: the person
after whom both the Chesterfield award and mound are named, Leonard Blake, was
one of the founders of the MCAS way back in 1963. -- Greg]

Riverbend Elementary teacher honored for dedication to history

Thursday, May 10, 2007

By Mary Shapiro

River Bend Elementary School teacher Michelle Weissenborn describes feeling
"thrilled" that she'll be presented with the second annual Chesterfield Ancient
History-Leonard Blake Award.

Weissenborn will receive her award during the May 21 City Council meeting at
Chesterfield City Hall.

"My students should also receive the award - they did a lot of work in my
projects," she said. "I was more of a facilitator."

But Jan Minor, principal of River Bend, at 224 River Valley Drive in
Chesterfield, said Weissenborn more than deserves the award.

"We are proud of her. She's an excellent teacher, hands-on with the kids, and
has great relationships with students and parents," Minor said.

This year, Weissenborn is teaching fifth grade. This is her seventh year of
teaching fourth and fifth grades at River Bend in the Parkway District, but her
16th year in teaching. She formerly taught at Glasgow Elementary School in the
Riverview Gardens School District.

Weissenborn, 38, of O'Fallon, Mo., said fourth grade traditionally studies
Missouri history in its curriculum and "we really go into ancient cultures,
because River Bend is located on an ancient Indian site."

"I want to get especially Chesterfield students involved in ancient cultures,"
she said. "People were living right where children today are walking around at
school, and they think that's amazing."

The award is named for the state's preeminent amateur archaeologist, the late
Leonard Blake, said Mark Leach, with the Chesterfield Landmarks Preservation
Commission.

Blake's documentation of prehistoric Native American archaeological sites in the
area in the 1940s led to a large swath of Chesterfield being placed on the
National Register of Historic Places as the Bonhomme Creek Archaeological
District.

The award recognizes individuals and organizations that have made significant
contributions toward better understanding of the various ancient cultures that
flourished in Chesterfield for over 10,000 years.

"Michelle Weissenborn is being recognized for her ongoing efforts that will help
to ensure that children growing up in our area will possess a deeper
appreciation of Chesterfield's ancient past," Leach said.

Leach said Weissenborn has worked with members of the Chesterfield Landmarks
Preservation Commission to plan, test and promote the MAC Quest Program, a Web
site designed to help students learn about Chesterfield's ancient cultures. The
use of this Web site is spreading across Missouri, Leach added.

Weissenborn also worked with the Parkway School District's social studies
curriculum coordinator to include the MAC Quest Program in the district's
fourth-grade social studies curriculum.

She recently hosted an Archaeology Day for the fifth-grade classes at River
Bend, which was filmed for use in two local television specials on HEC-TV
(Higher Education Channel on Charter Cable). These specials helped teach other
teachers about incorporating local ancient history into their curriculum, she
said.

Weissenborn promoted teaching about Chesterfield's ancient cultures through
granting media interviews, which resulted in articles in publications such as
the Missouri Archaeological Society Quarterly.

And, if that wasn't enough, she worked with school administrators at River Bend
School to approve the inclusion of a permanent exhibit in the school's lobby
featuring ancient archaeological sites at and near the school. She also arranged
for the use of two lockable display cases to be allocated for use in housing the
exhibit.

"I'm anxious to do even more," she said. "Every day is a teachable moment.
There's so much about these cultures to learn."

[Submitted photo: River Bend Elementary School teacher Michelle Weissenborn
stands near a permanent exhibit in the school's lobby featuring ancient
archaeological sites at and near the school. She is a recipient of the second
annual Chesterfield Ancient History-Leonard Blake Award, honoring her dedication
to teaching students about local history. Weissenborn will receive the award
during the May 21 City Council meeting at Chesterfield City Hall.]

Copyright © 2007 St. Louis Post-Dispatch L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Link to original article:
http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2007/05/10/news/sj2tn20070508-0509\
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