June
Beat summer boredom: new ideas spice up the season
M ary W ood
The countdow n has
begun. Students desperately
aw ait the arrival of summer,
of freedom. Soon there will
be sun, sleeping in and
sw im m ing, but w hat will
happen w hen the inevitable
boredom ensues? The warm
days will drag on, the family
vacation will com e and go
and there will be less and
less to do.
Instead of spending
all day on Facebook or
w atching m arathons of
Jersey Shore reruns to kill
time, look into new options.
Sum m er is a w onderful
opportunity for activities
there isn't time (or weather)
for during the school year.
One classic option is
going to Oaks A m usem ent
Park in Sell wood. Only
a short drive away, Oaks
Park provides a small but
fun variety of rides, and
during the sum m er they
have some great deals such
as their "Sum m er Discount
Days" featuring buy-one-
get-one-free tickets. Specials
on typical carnival fare like
corn dogs and cotton candy
are also offered. The roller
rink on site allow s visitors to
skate the day or night away.
Speaking of skating, ice
skating is another great way
to spend a sum m er day and
avoid the heat. Places like
Lloyd Center in Portland
and Sherw ood Ice Arena
offer nearby locations.
Lloyd Center has specials
like a Friday night "Rock
n' Skate" and Saturday
night skating, special rates
com bining adm ission and
skate rental. At Sherwood,'
"Date Night" package,
includes admission, skate
rental, pizza and soda,
any night. They also have
"Pick-up Hockey" sessions
on Thursday and Sunday
mornings.
If you can afford to
splurge a bit, a fun option is
to take a day trip up to the
Wild Waves theme park in
Federal Way, Wash. Though
admission is steep at $39.99
16-19 can join their Summer
Conservation Corps and
head out to do some outdoor
work and earn some money.
It does cost $195 dollars to
join along with $56 weekly
food costs, but the non-
taxable "stipend" of $1,225-
$1,470 (depending on the
program length), along with
weekly bonuses for program
completion, dependability
and safety, will more than
make up for the cost. They
Earth Day's 40th anniversary calls for
increased environmental improvement
N ora H and __________________
Forty years after 20 million
Americans participated
in the first Earth Day, the
environmental movement has
grown to involve over a billion
people around the world. Even
so, issues like trash, which has
increased by 38 percent per
person since 1970, are still a
concern.
At WLHS, students were
shown a video created by
Am-aili lo i»Uu, juiruor, that
included a news report on
"The Great Garbage Patch" of
the Pacific Ocean. Here, plastic
and sea life have a ratio of 6:1.
Improperly disposed plastics
from around the world have
created an island that is now
about twice the size of Texas.
"I felt like I needed to do
something," Tostar said. "In
years past we haven't done
much for Earth Day and I felt
we had to do more especially
on the 40th anniversary."
According to Earth Day
Network, the world is
environmentally in greater
peril than ever.
"People are more likely
to take action if they are
informed," Tostar said. "We
often don’t pay attention to
the negative effects that are
already happening."
Jim Hartmann,
environmental science
teacher, recommends that
before buying a product,
people should think about the
packaging, where and how far
it came from and where it's
going to go.
The "Three R's" are
commonly referred to as
a guide for sustainability.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. The
school takes major part in
recycling paper and plastic
bottles, but what is often
ignored are the first two major
parts of the "Three Rs"; reduce
and reuse Hartmann said.
Earth Day was first
organized as a protest for
the country to become aware
of environmental threats.
Thousands of schools, colleges
and communities were making
a difference and participating
in Earth Day.
At WLHS, water bottle
refill centers have been set
up in the cafeteria and near
Student Street reducing the
need for plastic water bottles.
"Bring a refillable stainless
Photo montage by Tayior White
Taylor White, junior, created a photo montage for the Sustainability
Fair which was held on May 19 at Wilsonville High School. The
Sustainability Fair featured the Trashion Show, businesses that support
clean energy, goats that could clear the land and student projects that
demonstrated sustainable living.
steel water bottle to school,"
Hartmann said. "Ninety
percent of plastic bottles go in
the garbage patch."
Though recycling is a
great way to help out the
environment, recycling the
wrong materials also has
its drawbacks according to
Hartmann. Little things, such
as water bottle caps, can
interfere with the recycling
process. If there are too many
un-recyclable items in one
load, it can end up just being
thrown away.
"It only takes one person
to ruin the efforts of another,"
Hartmann said. He added that
even things, such as plastic
bags, are not recyclable at the
school except if done on an
individual basis.
"Beside what we can recycle
at school, in the ComTech
Lab we recycle plastic bags,
rigid plastics and compostable
food scraps," Ann Breyne,
journalism and photo teacher,
said. "We just collect it and
when there’s enough, I take it
to the Foothills Road recycling
center in Lake Oswego."
Despite being named an
Oregon Green School, more
can be done to improve the
school's carbon footprint such
as buying recycled paper,
printing less and shutting
down computers and other
electronics at the end of the
day. Some of these measures
are used to varying degrees.
Resources and landfill space
are being used and according
to Hartmann, it is time to start
learning from nature, where
even waste is turned into
something useful. "Appreciate
what you have," he said. "If
we don't care for it, who will?"
For more information
about recycling, trash and
sustainable living, access
the Oregon Metro website
at www.oregonmetro.gov/.
Metro also has a recycling
information hotline number
at 503-234-3000 for questions
about recycling.
Photo by Libby Kara
The Spider ride at Oaks Amusement Park takes visitors up, down
and around for fun on a summer day. For other ways to beat summer
boredom, take a look at ice skating rinks in the Portland area or the
Wild Waves park in Federal Way, Wash.
plus tax (plus a $10 parking
fee per car), the park
provides fun thrill rides like
the 1-5 Sky Dive and Ring
of Fire, and tamer rides
like the Giant Slide and the
Paratrooper. There are also
plenty of big water slides,
raft rides and pools.
If you can’t afford or don’t
feel like a day at the theme
park, try a day of fun close
to home. Head to a park in
the area like Mary S. Young
or Wilsonville Memorial and
plan a potluck/game day.
Have friends bring different
types of food for the
ultimate picnic, then play
large scale games such as
Capture the Flag, Hide-and-
Go-Seek (or Sardines), or
tag. Going back to childhood
fun is sure to be a good time.
Need to make some
money this summer? Look
into Northwest Youth Corp.
For five to six weeks, teens
also have a four week
"Teens-n-Trails" programs
for those aged 14-15, but
the cost is higher and the
stipend is lower.
Looking to give back to
the community? Choose
a charity and hold a
fundraiser. Good summer
options are lemonade
stands, car washes and
garage sales. Make signs
advertising your cause and
display your great attitude,
and people will soon
come your way with their
donations. If you're holding
a garage sale, encourage
friends and family to donate
some of their unwanted
belongings to the cause to
make the sale even bigger.
Anything that isn't sold can
be donated to organizations
like shelters for people
facing domestic violence,
which are almost always
seeking donations.