Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2009)
Eppelsheimer celebrates 30 years at WLHS — 5 Twilight fans overjoyed as "New Moon" rises to top of box office — page 13 jfm ^ A fi Football team advances to quarterfinals for first time since 1998 —page 9 à w Published Since 1921 Official Student Publication of West Linn High School December 2009 Volume 98, Issue 3 - Students give back to surrounding community L exi W elp With over 12,000 cans raised, WLHS fell short of beating long time rival Oregon City in the canned food drive competition. However, this competition was not about beating OC; it was not about winning a pizza party in second period or going to a Blazer game. In fact, many believe the drive was still a success because the Oregon Food Bank benefitted from the long held competition. The Oregon Food Bank is a nonprofit, charitable organization. It is a statewide organization with 20 regional food banks and 915 agencies and programs that serve Oregon and Clark McDevitt, science teacher, said. WLHS collected 12,230 cans, down from 17,500 last year when the Lions won the competition. The C o u n ty , W ash. T h ro u g h these outlets, 96,000 people were served food from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009. "It is healthy for us to stop on occasion and think about others. Helping others is often one of the most rewarding experiences. I once heard someone say, 'The quickest way to forget about your own problems is by helping someone else with theirs," Shawn Photo by Zack Mueller Justin M cKee, junior, Michael MacClanathan, senior, and Jade Chang, junior, collect cans during sixth period to contribute to the canned food drive. WLHS gathered more than 12,000 cans for the drive, which supports the Oregon Food Bank. second period class of Todd Jones, social studies teacher, ranked first in the school by bringing in 1,432 cans as a class. "Being number one was not our goal. Our goal was to collect at least 1,100 items, a goal set by the class. We surpassed our * goal, and we're happy," Jones said."At the start of the food drive we took a class period to visit the West Linn Food Pantry. I think it was powerful for students to realize that hunger is an issue right here in our community." According to Jones the cool thing about his second period class, was that nearly everyone contributed to the drive. " Almost every Tuesday, which was over 200 cans! I spent some quality time at the grocery store that evening," Mario McKennon, language arts teacher, said. Her second period class ranked second out of the school. "I am really proud of my second period class! Kelsie Galloway and Bryan Steele, sophomores, brought in the majority of our cans, but we had contributions from so many students," McKennon said. Galloway contributed over 900 cans, along with Alex Frye, senior, contributed over 500 cans to top student donations. "I've gotta say I freakin' love the Blazers, so I was pretty motivated to win those. stu d e n t b r o u g h t in at le a st 10 ca n s a n d six stu d e n ts B u t as I b e g a n co lle c tin g , T re a liz e d h o w e a sy it w a s to brought in over 100 cans," Jones said. Each teacher had a different way of motivating students to contribute such as promising to match any cans their students brought in. "I told my class that I would match the number of cans they brought in on make a difference and that kept me collecting," Frye said. "The most important reason for doing the canned food drive is to help others, especially during these difficult times," McKennon said. "It gives all of us an easy opportunity to give back if we are able to do so." Jazz Band competes in "A Storm of Cool Jazz" Wiley leaves lasting legacy E mily R eed _______________ After winning the Three Rivers League title only a week before, the Jazz Band looked to excel at the Skyview High School Festival where they placed third out of 23. Joshua Grelewicz, junior, received soloist recognition on tenor saxophone. In addition, West Linn was the highest scoring band in the Sight- Reading room. The Jazz Band competed in the open division of the "A Storm of Cool Jazz" festival. Among them were 20 bands from around Washington and Oregon, such as David Douglas and Battleground jazz bands. The featured pieces included "Which Craft?", "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Summertime." The Jazz Band also competed in the Three Rivers League Jazz Festival on Nov. 24, with several soloists recognized for their performances. They include: Georgia "This was the twenty- second year that we won the league title," Kevin Egan, band director, said Photo courtesy of David Grelewicz The WLHS Jazz Band celebrates a successful performance after the Skyview Jazz Festival. The band placed third out of 23 bands in the competition and was the highest scoring band in the Sight-Reading room. Muggli, junior (bass), Grelewicz (tenor sax), Carson McLeod, junior, and Michael Biancardi, senior (alto sax), John Rognlie, junior (rhythm section) and Katelynn Schultz, junior (trumpet). of the TRL victory. The audition process for the Jazz Band takes place in the spring and the requirements differ from instrument to instrument. "Jazz is really cool," Grelewicz said. L exi W elp & M ary W ood When Hannah Wiley, former Health and PE teacher, took health leave in 2007 after one year at WLHS, her goal was to return to teaching. She was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia in June of 2007 and passed away on Nov. 18, 2009. "T hrou ghou t all of her suffering Hannah re mained upbeat, positive and an inspiration to all of those who loved her. She would share how she was learning to be more patient and sensitive to others through her own suffering," Susan Ibarra, long-term substitute for Wiley, said. "She loved her job and missed being sur rounded by her students." CML is a cancer of the blood in which the body produces too many white blood cells in the bone marrow. Wiley had a bone marrow transplant in 2008 Photo courtesy of Rebekah Wiley Hannah Wiley after the school year ended. Following the transplant, she suffered infections and other complications, in cluding contracting pneu monia and the H1N1 virus this fall. After her long battle with disease, the damage done to her lungs was not reparable, and her condition deteriorated. "She didn't teach a sub ject, she taught life," Ibarra said. "Her legacy is love and her final teaching mo ment is being such a role model for positive think ing and making us want to be better people."
