Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2009)
| ----------------- — Does the high price of prom keep students from enjoying this time-honored tradition? Exploring our differences: what makes us each unique? — page 5 — page 8 Three-peat at State? It's possible after Sharon Shin, sophomore, beats the field and takes the State golf championship. — page 15 -------------------------- ccitement, drama, and a little tgic are coming: out the new releases. ior Insert, page 1 Official Student Publication of West Linn High School Published Since 1921 May 2009 - Volume 97, Issue 7 Budget cuts require School Board to create last minute solutions u L exi W elp & H aley E pperly Staff Reporters Since most of the district budget has been used for the year, the only option left for the School Board was to cut school days, effectively lowering staff members' salaries. One teacher work day has been cut, as well as a student contact day, making the official last day of school for students, not including seniors, Tuesday, June 16. Because the budget is unsure for next year, Dr. Roger Woehl, superintendant, and the School Board are attempting to appropriate funds without overestimating what the district will receive. Cuts in teachers will most likely be necessary, but extracurricular activities will not be affected. "Eighty-three percent of our budget is designated for staff members," Woehl said. There are many expenses in keeping the schools open for even a single day such as those related to natural gas and electricity bills. This is what about 17 percent of the Mock Trial takes 18th at Nationals J ennifer S itton ■— — SjaH R;< ;■ •' ■ "The Georgia team's witness for Ln ior MH:iu»h w.i- \ urv flamboyant." YlbxanJVa Mink, junior, said. \ ie destroyed his own credibility due to his over- the-top performance.” The team receiv ed one win ning ballot in every round they competed*— the judging is in three judge panels, each inde- The junior Mock I nal Team traveled to Atlanta, Ga. May 4-10 to compete against teams from all ov er the country. They placed 18th out of 41 teams in four rounds of competition, each one consisting of a sepa ra te trial of the same case. In the first round, the VVL team b e a t the team from Louisiana: Jesuit High School. " B e - cause they w e r e an Zack Mueller, Nathaniel Earp, Colleen Douglas and all b o v s Kelsey Bradshaw, juniors, prepare for one of the four s c h o o 1 , trials in which they participated at the National Mock their wit- Trial Competition. The junior team finished in 18th nesses were place out of 41 teams. Photo submitted by John Mueller h a r d e r to pendently scoring and giving control because they were more 0 u t g o i n g ," C o 11 e e n D o 11 g 1 a s, a win or loss. Don glas recei v ed two a wa rds junior, said. for being outstanding attorney In the second round, West 1 .inn took the side of the prose d u ring the com petition The junior team qualified cution and lost to the team from for Nationals when it won first Ohio. According to Nathaniel place at the Oregon State Com Earp, the team used objections petition in April. The team has not found in the Mock Trial been practicing non-stop, four rules, but it did not lose any days a week since October. points for doing so. Composed of jiiniorsenrolled in Thev scored an easy win Honors Law A taught bv Matt in the third round against the Kellogg, social studies teacher, Nebraska team. Thev faced a tough Georgia team that gave Mne ream included Hannah Bradford, kelsev Bradshaw, a sti\>ng opening statement aiui Douglas, Earp, Neelou Etesami, was able to c a m that strength through theentiretrial. This led -Rachel HeiMerkomp. Mink, to the fourth round and a final /lack Mueller. I ucv Walker and loss for the Lion team. Va lorie Wa . M : general fund is allotted to, but there are also categories within the fund for special education, construction and technology. Most of the fund has been used in its designated area by now, which is why the staff voted to sacrifice two days of pay to make up the deficit. "It is hard, financially, to give up two days of pay, but I am grateful to at least still have Michael Gage, sophomore, reads the ROAR on one of the flat screens during break. Although some students wonder why they can't be sold, to help make up the current shortfall, funding comes from dedicated accounts and cannot be used for other types of expenditures. Photo by Patrick D'Arcy a job. If we don't all sacrifice some days of pay then some teachers would be laid off, so I think that it is a good compromise to save jobs," Gabe Flynn, Spanish teacher, said. There will be about $640,000 in reductions to classified staff (about 34,000 hours) for next year according to Woehl. This will be the start of reducing the deficit for next year. To continue making up the budget deficit, the district will also need to cut 28 teachers. Budget Cuts • _____________ a continued on page 7 Honors Humanities Night demonstrates deep thinking u S ean F ebler ______________ Staff Reporter Honors Humanities offers an opportunity for select seniors to think deeply about philosophy. The class chooses one philosophical question to answer during the year, and then creates some sort of visual representation which supports each individual's answer. The question this year was: What is the significance of beauty to the human experience? On May 11, the students had one night to present the projects on which they had been working since early November. Guests were invited to share "An evening of Artistic Expression" as individualized by each of the 23 students. "I felt like it was a great celebration of all we had accomplished. I was kind of surprised about how well the public liked them," Andra Sturtevant, senior, said. Projects included different types of art, writing, music, photography and film. Some of the sertiors wrote stories about the significance of beauty, while others created 3-dimensional pieces of art to depict their answer. "The projects that are most impressive to me are by the people who throw themselves into the project, and when the process itself is as important to them as the product," Barb Murray, Honors Humanities teacher, said. The evening began with a small assembly in the Auxiliary gym, where the students explained what they had been doing for the past six months and how they answered their philosophical question. After that, they each showcased their presentations. Murray has invested a lot into the class of question. "My piece of art was in the gallery. I had a book of photos and text, and I also wrote a piece of music to accompany it," Sturtevant said. - Murray encouraged the students to question and struggle while creating their projects. She expected Tyler Harmon, senior, displays his piece of art answering the question "Why is beauty significant to the human experience." Students in Barb Murray's Honors Humanity class presented their answers on Honors Humanity Night which was held on the evening of May 11. Photo by Zack Mueller 23 students and was excited to see their final outcomes. "I want them (the students) to do two things. I want them to really understand the themes and connections among great thinkers in Western philosophy. And I want them to know their own answers to these questions," Murray said. "Although I care more about the second, they need to understand the first." Each student had a unique and different way of presenting their answer to the them to put everything they had into their projects and ponder the true significance of beauty. Murray hopes students not only take this class for a grade, but also enroll in it to look deeper into human experiences. "I hope that this is the kind of class where kids say it was the best class they've ever taken. It's not because I think it's the best class specifically, but because kids can really gain something personal from it," Murray said.
