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About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2009)
4___________ ________________ News__________________________May«# ASB winners promise innovative ideas for next year J essi B roberg Staff Reporter After all the catchy slogans and promises from the sophomore and junior Associated Student Body candidates, the ballots have been counted and the winners have been decided. The voting took place April 22, and the winners were announced the last period of that day. Representing the seniors next year will be Valorie Wallace, Natasha Pitzer, Kelsey Bradshaw, Mollie Bushnell, Andre Armattoe, Chelsea Benge and Zachary Valentine, juniors this year. "There is a lot of good energy in the incoming ASB groups. In their interviews, they each had new and exciting ideas for the '09- 10 school year. I'm excited about the next students that comprise the new ASB," Mario Schwarz, ASB adviser, said. All of the winners have experience dealing with planning, leading, and exploring new options for the school since they have worked in leadership programs and with others in the school. The leadership experience has helped them to understand what the students want from their student government. The candidates promised their peers four day weeks, a swimming pool, a field day and parking spot priority for people who carpool next year. The newly elected Junior and Senior ASB Officers: (Back): Andre Armattoe, Valorie Wallace, Zachary Valentine. (Middle): Mollie Bushnell, Natasha Pitzer, Chelsea Benge, Kelsey Bradshaw. Katie Hughes (Front): Thomas Ward, Gracie Meyers and Alexander Nelson Photo by Zack Mueller Some, however, said that they were not going to promise sophomores. The sophomore campaigns ranged from ten reasons why they should be elected to making a creative spin on the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" theme song. "I'm super happy that I get the chance to make a difference and the group we have is really great. I couldn't ask for a better opportunity," Ward said. Most of those running promised to be approachable, and have an open door policy making sure all ideas are heard and understood. "I'm really excited about next year, with the group we have, it will be a fun year," Myers said. Science awards abound; Levy earns math honors C hristopher E rbin Staff Reporter Avi Levy, senior, is not your typical test-taking high school student. Levy does not take tests, he destroys them. "A lot of kids freak out over tests," Levy said, "But how does that help? I find that I do better when I just relax. I just see each test as a new challenge." Competing with over 200 WLHS students in last month's American Mathematics Competition, Levy was the top scorer of the 75 minute, 25 multiple choice question exam, and the only participant Davis named Presidential Scholar Kathryn Davis, senior, was named a Presidential Scholar and will represent Oregon in Washington D.C., June 20 24. Students are judged on criteria including academ ics, comm unity and social serv ices, le a d ersh ip and artistic abilities. Davis ex things that they might not be able to fulfill. Most candidates promised a fun and productive year full of surprises and something to look forward to. "Lets just say I have Ideas that will change the school next year," Armattoe said. Most of the ASB members feel confident that their individual impact can make a difference. "I feel confident about next year. It will be great to be able to change certain aspects of the school year, and make it a fun and exciting year for the seniors and everyone else in the school," Wallace said. Representing the juniors will be Gracie Myers, Alexander Nelson, Katie Hughes and Thomas Ward, cels in all categories, but is most widely known for her outstanding jazz bass and vocals. "I feel honored to get to be am ong som e of the m ost academically and artistically gifted people in America," Davis said. to qualify for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad. The US AMO, a six question, two day, nine hour essay and proof examination, took place on April 28-29. Davis placed 80th in the nation. While Levy has been breaking through barriers in mathematics, science students and teachers have also received accolades. Nancy Monson, science teacher, is one of three teachers in Oregon who were awarded an extension in grant money from the Murdock Charitable Trust. Monson recently finished her two year research fellowship with the program. Awards from the grant go into buying equipment for the science department. Eileen Oppelt, science teacher, also received notification that her application to become a "Teacher Partner" in the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust "Partners in Science" Program was accepted. She will spend the next two summers working with her professor and research partner at Lewis & Clark College. She will present her findings at the Partners in Science National Conference in San Diego, Calif, next January and will have a final showing in January of 2011 at the end of her second year of research. Jonathan Davies, science teacher, will take a one year leave of absence to accept a position he earned as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship. (See related story on Page 3). Teachers weren't the only ones making noise in the science department this month, five students also claimed awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair held in Reno, Nev. Ann Bernert and Haley Epperly, sophomores, took third place overall for their experiment on the effects of Bio-Control on blackberries. The project, which involved applying a fungus called "blackberry rust" to stop the growth of invasive blackberry species, won the girls $12,500 scholarship to the Sierra Nevada College, as well as an additional $1,000 cash reward. "It was surprising and exciting," Bernert said. "It was nice knowing we wouldn't disappoint. We felt so accomplished. I still can't really grasp that we did so well!" Rosa Bhutarak and Hayley McCrae, juniors, also received a $12,500 scholarship to Sierra Nevada College. Their project studied the effects of multi tasking on short term memory. In their experiment they tested students abilities to memorize an extensive list of vocabulary words while having to respond to text messages. Avilash Cramer, junior, received an honorable mention from the United States Coast Guard for his project which featured a remotely operated underwater device that he engineered. The device is meant to be used for rapid deployment in flooded scenarios to help gather information for search and rescue crews. Cramer also received $12,500 scholarship money to Sierra Nevada College, as well as a $5,000 scholarship to the Oregon Institute of Technology. HHI ■H i m wmmm. m m V - ffiga ^ is ¿is v ■ No Out-of-State Tuition EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY One University Blvd. | La Grande, OR | 97850-2807 www.eou.edu | 800-452-8639
