Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2009)
Ma’s # News Senior recognition practices undergo change M ary W ood Staff Reporter This year, the administration is reshaping senior recognition practices which honor outstanding seniors, altering recognition evenings and changing the requirements necessary to be an honor graduate. In the past, recognition took place on two evenings, the Honors Grad night, during which honors students were recognized and spoken about by teachers, and the Evening of Excellence, during which students were given specific department awards and scholarships. "All we've done is put those evenings together," Lou Bailey, principal, said. In addition to recognizing honors graduates and those receiving special awards, the evening will recognize those receiving school- sponsored and other college scholarships. The event will be called Evening of Excellence. "I think we've made it better," Bailey said. "We've improved it by honoring all kids at the same time." One of the biggest goals of the change was to find a balance between personalization and a reasonable time frame. Seniors will still have a personalized slide with their photo and information about about each student for five minutes," Bailey said of the their high school career, but teachers won't make speeches about them. "On one hand, it was special that the teachers spoke Sustainability Fair showcases green awareness A dam H olmes Staff Reporter Sustainability is a subject of district-wide focus although its treatment has varied from school to school. Projects range from using energy-efficient light bulbs and installing high efficiency boiler systems at some schools to conducting environmentally friendly experiments such as whether disposable food trays or what is happening with sustainability in our schools and community," Erickson said. In addition, past environmental Jane Goodall Science Symposium projects with recycled art created by students. Nike sponsored a tennis shoe recycle. A showing of the documentary "Flow," capped the evening. "There are various things that people can do to help m i»p '.... w a sh a b le fo o d tra y s are more efficient. Changes around the school include adding a new library printer donated by Thriftway which can print text on both sides of the paper and sending out e-mails to students and staff about what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint. This district-wide green initiative was showcased at the Sustainability Fair, involving all the schools in the district, on May 20 in the Main and Auxilary gyms. The fair, co-chaired by Stacy Erickson, Teacher Librarian, and Nell Achtmeyer, AmeriCorps volunteer, with assistance from Jim Hartmann, science teacher, was a joint effort of students and staff. It also acted as a teaching platform about sustainability and environmental awareness. The fair featured various proposal projects created by students from Hartmann's Advanced Placement Environmental Science classes, which covered various environmental issues, proposals involving green designs for the 700 Building. There were also proposals from fellow science teacher Geoff Bingham's Geology classes. Bingham's ecology class worked on the 700 building projects. They were focused on recycling and composting. "We just want to get people together to celebrate Corey Bigoni, sophomore, glues recycled photo test strips onto a grid marked with black, white and shades of gray. The combined test strips formed a picture of Albert Einstein, and was a submission from the Advanced Photos classes that was showcased at the Sustainability Fair. Photo by Hannah Zaayer were presented, and there was a showing of the production of Dr. Seuss's "The Lorax," performed by last semester's Chidren's Theatre class. In total, there were 60-80 projects presented, including several from the elementary schools. This idea originated two years ago when Erickson decided to start the fair to show ways to "green up the district." Last year's fair was held at Marylhurst University in partnership with Jane Goodall, well known for her environmental activism and awareness. "I wanted to help make this happen, and no one else wanted to do it, so I said 'yes," Erickson said. Guests from around Oregon spoke on topics such as green cleaning products, solar energy and other ways to live green. A trashion show, in which people designed and wore clothing made from recycled materials and discarded items was featured along the environment, such as reducing carbon footprints, reducing use of toxics and home-care products and energy use. We need to make more sustainable choices," Hartmann said. format. "On the other hand, by the time we got to students at the end, a lot of people had left." An addition that Bailey is particularly excited about is a social dessert at the beginning of the evening. Seniors, their families and teachers will have the opportunity to mingle prior to the recognition part of the evening. "It seems more personalized when kids can hang out with their families and teachers," Bailey said. Evening of Excellence will take place on May 26. The social dessert will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the new commons, and the recognition will begin at 7:15 p.m. in the auditorium. In addition to these changes, the requirements to be an honors graduate are changing. The main changes . to the requirements are for the Class of 2011 and beyond, but the class of 2010 is also being affected. Starting next year, the valedictorian and salutatorian will be chosen based on a weighted grade point average, regardless of whether a student has received a grade of less than an A-. This will allow a bit more flexibility and eliminate the possibility of not being eligible for the positions because of a small number of lower grades, better reflecting which student has received the best grades. "I think that's great because a lot of people who really deserve it get a B in one class," Kristen Tremaine, junior, said. Bailey agreed. "A few of our students with the highest GPAs aren't qualified this year," he said. For the Class of 2011 and beyond, a few things have changed regarding eligibility for the honors graduate program. First, the basic requirements for GPA and honors credits have been simplified. Instead of having three different categories of honors credits / and GPA to fall into, there will be one requirement. Students must have 12 honors credits and a GPA of 3.6 or higher in order to qualify. Additionally, the amount of honors credits required per category has increased. At the moment, students need a minimum of two humanities credits and two math or science credits, but this year's sophomores and freshmen, as well as future students, will have to earn at least four credits in each category. Students will also be required to participate in an extracurricular activity to qualify, such as sports, clubs or arts. The increase in requirements may seem daunting, but Bailey is confident that it's for the best. "It wasn't toughening up, it was cleaning up," he said. To increase the options for students, more honors classes have been added to the curriculum, including Advanced Art and Symphonic band. "Adding more classes gives kids more options," Bailey said. For more information about the honors graduate program, visit the school's website at www.wlhs.wlwv. kl2.or.us. Two vice principal positions tentatively filled for next year J ennifer S itton Staff Reporter With the loss of vice princi pals Curtis Scholl and Kim Carlson, two administrative positions were up for grabs for next vear. Those positions have been tentatively filled bv Aaron Downs, Teacher On Special Assignment, and Mark Martens, currently an Assistant Principal atTuala- tin High School. Downs taught for 10 vears at W LH S and this year is currentlv working as a TOSA. According to Lou Bailee, principal. Downs has spent the last \ ear working in the administrative office learning the ink and out < of a d m in i s tra ti on, red e fini n g re- lationshipsand working with staff, students and parents. He has also worked to reorganize the Academic Center and has been involved in the math Aaron Downs, Teacher on Special Assignment Photo by Patrick D Arcy renewal process. M a rten s, in a d d itio n to i m pi em enti ng a n A d v a need P1 a cemen t a n d 1 n tern a ti on a 1 Baccalaureate program at Tualatin, taught English for 13 years. He has held manv roles inclu d ing su p erv is ing athletics, activities and staff, academ ic monitoring, curriculum and instruction. According to Bailey, Martens wras highly recommended bv many people and was held in very high esteem in his former district. Both Downs and M artens have been recommended to the school board for hi re and will not official 1\ be hired until they are appro\ ed.
