Destination America: a French exchange student's view
u S ylvie B ecchia ____________
Contributing Writer
As I am attending
journalism in West Linn High
School, Ore., USA. Ann, the
journalism teacher, suggested
that I write an article about
the great experiences I am
having here in America, and
immediately I agreed.
My name is Sylvie and
I'm 15 years-old. I'm in this
journalism class (which is
not an elective at my school)
thanks to my high school
English class exchange
program.
I arrived here on March
30 with great excitement.
Entering the parking lot
where I would depart to meet
Sylvie Becchia, French exchange student, hangs out at a Marylhurst
neighborhood park on a nice day in April. Her journey to America
was the highlight of her sophomore year and she hopes to return
some day.
Photo by Shoshana Koon
Budget cuts will reduce staff, teachers
Budget Cuts_________________ u
been about 6.4 billion, it
is a major cut. That will
translate into about a four
However, given the
million dollars in deficit the
amount of staff members
schools will need to make
retiring this year, or leaving,
up in order to maintain the
the difference has been
current state of the schools
resolved.
and staffing according to
"The problem is that
Woehl.
not all staff members are
There has also been talk
leaving from the correct
of Oregon schools either
departments," Woehl said.
cutting back on their athletic
This issue could force the
departments or completely
School Board to dismiss
eliminating them to make
some of the newer teachers
up some budget loss, but
while still hiring specialty
West Linn will not be among
teachers.
them.
For example, Hitomi
"We are in a better place
Tamura, the Japanese
than most school districts
teacher who is retiring at
around the state," Woehl
the end of this school year,
said. "For the amount of
cannot be easily replaced
money we pay for coaches
by current staff members.
for what they do, it is a
Another option the School
small amount for how much
Board may utilize is
time they put in."
expanding class sizes so
According to
Woehl, removing this
extracurricular activity
would barely put a dent
in the deficit. This is why
the School Board is going
to monitor the department
very closely and put a freeze
on the funding for next year.
A change for next year is
the dismissal of all early bird
class funds. This decision
came from the question,
"What is a normal school
day?" The board determined
a typical school day can be
broadly interpreted, which
is why they decided to
include the fee for early bird
in the budget.
"With athletics, early
bird classes, class materials
and other fees, parents are
already paying about $1,000
per student. We are going
to lift the burden from the
parents' shoulders onto our
own," Woehl said.
With only a small amount
of time left in the school year
the WLWV School Board
was notified there would be
nearly a two million dollar
budget cut.
'This is, has been, and
As expected budget cuts continue over the next two years, empty teacher continues to be, one of the
most difficult and complex
desks may become a more common sight due to staff layoffs. Teachers
budget process we have ever
voted to sacrifice two days of pay this year to help offset the immediate
shortfall.
*
Photo fey Mark Poppert faced," Woehl said.
continued from page 1
that fewer teachers will be
needed.
According to Woehl, the
School Board must come
up with a number to gage
the budget for next year.
The School Board wasn't
informed of the official
budget for next year until
May 15, but they predicted
it would be between 5.4
and 5.9 billion, so they
appropriated for 5.7 billion.
However, the State
allocation to the district
does not account for the full
$5.7 billion. That is a two
year state-wide budget of
which the district receives a
share based on the number
of students enrolled in the
WLWV District.
Given that the average
amount the state has given
the district in the past has
my host family (Shoshana
Koon and Rachel Metzler,
sophomores), I saw American
families shouting and waving
French flags with great
enthusiasm, which is not a
typical custom in France.
After having hugged my
friends, I was ready to go
home to share a different
way of life in a totally new
country.
For my first day of school,
I shadowed Shoshana who
was very welcoming and
immediately made me feel
comfortable and at home.
First I was amazed by the
many differences I was able
to notice. For example the
classrooms I found were
way more decorated than
those in France. Here, the
entire school is indoors and
the students walk from
classroom to classroom each
changing period, whereas in
France it is the teachers who
change classrooms every
time.
It was a very new
experience when I took
the school bus because all
of them were yellow and
identical! The school buses
in France are the opposite
because each one is unique
and colorful.
Looking back on the
beautiful weekends I spent
with my host family, it was
truly amazing. I visited
gorgeous sites such as
Multnomah Falls, OMSI,
Saturday Market and the
Oregon Zoo.
Now that I have lived
here for the past three weeks
and I only have two days
left before I return home, I
want to thank you all for this
wonderful present you've
given me by welcoming me
in your awesome country
and for the experiences I
lived on the other side of the
Sunny days beckon to students
m P atrick P ’A rcy ____________
Staff Reporter
The sunny days I spend
inside during school make
me feel that my soul is
somehow being sucked out
of my body. I find myself
daydreaming about being
teachers to make the call.
But Bailey has stated that he
will not tolerate any classes
interfering with other classes.
He said teachers should use
caution in letting students go
outside of class unsupervised
because some students will
abuse that privilege. Making
While discussing "Romeo and Juliet", Lisa Root's English 9 class
enjoys the outdoors. The administration does allow teachers to go
Photo by Patrick D'Arcy
outside with classes if it is constructive.
outside. I wonder why we
can't discuss "Siddartha"
while communing with
nature. I can understand if
the class is doing a lesson
that requires an overhead
or a TV, but for lessons that
don't require note taking, I
think we should be able to go
outside. Students are usually
in a better mood when they
are outside on nice days.
The administration, led by
former Principal Kim Noah,
was very strict about classes
going outdoors. No class was
to be taken outside unless it
was related to the lesson that
was being taught. This rule
didn’t help class attendance,
as many students would opt
to skip class and go outside,
especially during the end of
May.
The new administration
has given teachers the
choice of whether or not
to go outside. Lou Bailey,
principal, trusts the
professional judgement of
up reasons to go outside just
because it is a sunny day is
also not acceptable.
So what does this mean
for students? We finally have
a set of guidelines outlining
rules and cautions that
come with the privilege of
going outside during class.
The maturity of some of the
students is one of the things
teachers have to consider
when a class is going outside.
Many of my classmates lack
the basic maturity necessary
to be trusted on computer
porches or to read quietly
in class which puts the
opportunity to go outside in
question.
If the administration trusts
us and we act maturely by
finding appropriate times to
go outside and not badgering
our teachers every single
day about how nice it is, we
should be able to go outside.
Balancing classwork and
enjoying the nice weather is
now possible.