Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2007)
News 2 Teachers w on't return for second semester Meg Courtnage Math a E mmalie C ox _______________ Staff Reporter Meg Courtnage, math teacher, will be leaving at the end of first semester to pursue her dream job. After five years of teaching she has resigned in order to take a position in an education- related field of curriculum development. Courtnage began teaching Meg Courtnage File photo in 2005 after working at a combination of public schools and private education companies. W hat began as a part time job with Inspiration Software evolved into a full time position. Courtnage will be working to design curriculum to accompany a new software program for data, statistics and algebra. She will also get to work with teachers to help them integrate the program into their existing curriculum. "I knew that this was something I was interested in doing in the long run because teaching taught me so much about curriculum," Courtnage said. "My agreement to take this job hinged upon their ability to work within my contract at West Linn and honor my students' needs." Because of this, she did not begin full time right away and will remain part time until the end of the semester. Replacing her will be Marv Walker, a teacher who retired from West Linn. "This is an amazing opportunity. I will miss the students and staff very much," Courtnage said. She plans to come back and visit every now and then. Aprill Sarkisian Health/PE m L auren L evine _____________ co-Editor-in-Chief With the end of this semester comes the end of Aprill Sarkisian's teaching career to pursue a position in pharmaceutical sales. Sarkisian, who enjoys clinical studies and was interested in a more clinical career, had considered pharmaceutical sales after moving to Oregon three years ago. "A few of my friends were in the career and they loved it," Sarkisian said. After a lot of thought, she finally came to the decision that it was time to make a career change. "A fter much soul searching and networking with people in the field, I decided that a job in pharmaceutical sales was for m e." At her new job she will be teaching health care providers about the best new medicines to help patients live better lives. "I am most excited to make a difference and challenge myself. It should be interesting and dynamic," Sarkisian said. Taking her place will be Stephanie d 'Agostino, a recent graduate of Lewis and Clark who has spent the last six months teaching at a private school in the area. "W LH S is lucky to have her," Sarkisian said. "She seems like a wonderful person who is passionate about students and the subject area." W hile she is excited about her new career, Sarkisian will not forget her time at WLHS and especially her students. "I will miss almost every aspect of WLHS; it is a great Aprill Sarkisian Fife photo place to w ork," Sarkisian said. "On a daily basis I will miss those students who brought smiles to the faces of their classmates." She also comes away having gained other life lessons. "I have gained a great understanding of the value of communication and patience. I am quite a high energy person but quite a bit of the time I was forced to slow down and listen," Sarkisian said. Green Team proposes paper conservation project m S imon K irsch ____________ Staff Reporter Paper is used every day, and often, this resource is used rapidly, carelessly and usually w ithout a thought to how m uch is wasted. Green Team has decided that this problem needs to be addressed. Students and staff rem em ber w ell the headaches caused in the days before Thanksgiving break w hen all the netw ork printers w ent down for several days. Projects were late, and hom ew ork was left unfinished. Since there was no printer use, there w as no paper use. The school saved hundreds of sheets and boxes of paper. "It w as unbelievable how m uch was saved," Angie Ham m ond, Inform ation Technology Specialist, said. "Each year we purchase approxim ately 600 cases of paper costing $3,000 per 100 cases," Julie Kahle, Secretary to the Principal, said. As there are 500 sheets per ream and ten reams per case, about three m illion sheets of paper are used each year costing the school $18,000. During the printer-less w eek, close to 15 cases were saved, saving the school about 70,000 sheets of paper. The Green Team took that w eek seriously. With the help of H am m ond, Jim H artm ann and Geoff Bingham , advisers, led the group in brainstorm ing w ays to conserve and to get students and staff involved. They will begin by educating students and teachers. M any don't know that there is a w ay to pass inform ation back and forth betw een teacher and pupil, w ithout ever turning on a- printer. The Green Team hopes to have its plan up and running by early to mid- February. With a little com m unication, Green Team m em bers feels that there are easy w ays for students and teachers to save paper. School supported e-m ail is used b y every teacher and is available to each student. According to H am m ond, everyone is trained, but m any students don't know how to use this tool properly. "It's really easy," Hartm ann said. "Just e- m ailing instead of printing can save so m uch paper, w hich prevents harmful chem icals from entering the environment." Along w ith e-mail, every class has a virtual hard drive called the "K" drive. By saving essays and school w ork to this drive, no paper is needed, since teachers can read these on their computers. The Green Team proposed to shut down printers for Journalism students raise money to help fund Rwandan boy's education m G alley L athrop ____________ Staff Reporter In hope of making his dream of becoming a journalist come true, four journalism classes which include Yearbook and Amplifier and two sections of Intro to Publications, collected $300 in one week to sponsor August Banamwana, a teen from Rwanda. In addition to paying for his education for a year, the money will provide Banamwana, his six siblings and their elderly father with health care and will provide other aid. "I'm really happy that we were able to help; to look beyond ourselves," Christina Becker, Green and Gold staff member, said. The country, tom by war and genocide, has left many chil dren homeless, orphaned and struggling. Ann Breyne, jour nalism teacher, and her family sponsored a child and when looking for a second child to sponsor, noticed the aspiring journalist. A light went on and she thought she would propose helping Banamwana to her classes. "The need is overwhelm ing. If we take it one person Kelsey Schrader, sophomore, updates the count that shows how much money was raised for a Rwandan boy, August Banamwana, to help support his dream of becoming a journalist. Four journalism classes raised $300 to sponsor Banamwana through the Itafari Foundation. Photo by Cal ley Lathrop at a time, then we can make a huge difference," Breyne said. With that, she hopes to sponsor more children with the help of students and faculty. Breyne began co n trib u t ing to Itafari in 2006 when the organization was started by form er co-w orker Bethe McChesney and her friend Karen Freelander. They at tended a speech given by a native Rwandan, and realized the immense need for help in Rwanda and other war- torn countries. McChesney and Freelander began the non-profit volunteer organi zation, Itafari, with the aim to provide help to Rwandan children and their families. Itafari em phasizes that something needs to be done because there is so m uch need, but that it happens one person at a time. To sponsor a child, one can visit the Itafari's website, www.Itafari.org. It costs $300 to sponsor a child for one year, but any donation is gladly accepted. Sponsors select a child from books that give informa tion on his or her childhood, family and dreams. Breyne stated that trying to select someone was very difficult because so many need help. If you are interested in donating or sponsoring a child, contact A nn Breyne at breynea® wlwv.kl2.or.us. one day a w eek or a few days every other week. "If we could get kids to print ahead of time or not print at all, the school would save lots of paper on that day," H artm ann said ^ fc. "Students need to think about w hether or not they actually need to print. If everyone chips in, the school can make a difference." The m ain problems w hich stem from paper production are the bleaching chem icals left after paper is produced, and the unnecessary deforestation. Chemicals were spewed into the W illamette River at the Blue Heron Paper M ill in Oregon City, but they no longer produce new paper, instead opting for more environm entally-friendly recycled paper. This reduces the chem ical output and the wasted tree pulp. Saving the environment is not the only benefit of cutting paper use. "Paper for the school costs about $18,000 a year. And that is only the w hite paper... it doesn't account for large sized w hite or any colored paper," Kahle said. "Most paper is used during finals, so maybe the teachers could design on-line finals, or have kids e-m ail final papers to them." "One school saving paper can't save the rivers, or remove chemicals from water, but it gets the ball rolling," Hartm ann said. "This could set the foundation for something much greater, and in the long run it helps the school and the environment."
