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.
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