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.