2
News
October
Becoming proficient in Chinese is made difficult
with announcement that course is being dropped
D erek F ieldhouse ____________
Chinese class was
unexpectedly cut last year
and will be phased out after
this school year. This is due
to two main factors: a small
amount of students wanting
to learn Chinese and severe
budget cuts.
"The district has a policy
that a certain amount of
students must be enrolled
in a class, and out of
approximately 400 incoming
students, only eight signed
up for Chinese I," Mark
Martens, assistant principal,
said.
With these two factors
combined, the district has
decided to cut Chinese.
Chinese I isn't the only
class that's being impacted
according to these criteria,
Photo by Derek Fieldhouse
During third period Chinese class, Meiling Liu, Chinese teacher,
writes an example on the board. The Chinese curriculum will be
d ro p p e d a fte r th is y e a r, le a v in g s tu d e n ts s e a rc h in g fo r a lte rn a tiv e
la n g u a g e
routes.
but there is only one
Chinese class this year, a
level II&III blend. They
couldn't split the levels
up because there were not
enough students to do so.
This causes problems
for students currently in
Chinese class. Students were
warned at the end of last
year that this would likely
be the last class offered in
the Chinese sequence, but a
few decided to continue.
"Chinese has interested
me since I was young. All
through middle school I
had wished there was a
Chinese class offered, but
I had to wait until high
school and now the Chinese
class is being cut," Nicholas
Gilmore, sophomore, said. "I
decided to continue on with
Chinese this year knowing
that next year 111 have to
find a tutor or see what I can
do about a Chinese class."
The juniors in Chinese
will be able to take three
years of the language, but
they won't have the chance
to receive honors credits;
a student must be in the
fourth level of a language
in order to do so. The
sophomores will only be
able to take two years and
wish to continue studying a
foreign language.
All students in Chinese
will attain the required
language credits for the
majority of colleges,
however, a select few
require three years or more
in one language. This means
the sophomores who chose
Chinese might not achieve
needed college language
requirements, unless
alternative routes.
The administration team
realizes these facts and so
they have offered a few
ideas for current Chinese
students, such as going to
a tutor, taking Chinese in
another school or going into
another language course.
If a student currently
enrolled in Chinese wishes
to continue they will have
to come up with their own
plan.
"Classes are like a puzzle,
we have to figure out what
the student body would like
offered for forecasting, who
would teach the courses,
what time the class would
be and where the class could
be held," Martens said.
Although Chinese is
being dropped next year,
it could be offered again if
there are enough students
who want to take it and if
there are the funds to have
a class.
"Thoroughly Modem Millie"
showcases dancing, singing
A lison F ieldhouse __________
For the first time ever,
the theater department will
be performing "Thoroughly
Modern Millie," a musical
about the worth of love
compared to the worth of
wealth.
"Millie" will be directed
a dance musical this fall,
which was also a deciding
factor for which musical they
would be performing.
"The dancing has it's
challenges; some days I
come home sore, but it's
completely worth it," Patricia
Palczewska, senior, said.
w ill h av e to ch o o se an oth er
lan g u ag e to take, if they
Community Task Force created to take stand
against illegal abuse of drugs and alcohol
teiwimity lasH force________
continued from page 1
"My role is to educate
when needed and be a
resource," Francis said. The
CTF, in accordance with
Francis, plans on having a
"no adults allowed" meeting
for youth where they can be
educated on what happens
to your body when you take
certain drugs or combinations
of drugs, as well as how legal
implications differ between
being caught with pot or
heroin.
A similar "adults only"
meeting will take place where
parents can find out what to
do if they suspect their child
is using and ask any other
questions they may have.
Parents' cooperation will be
the most important aspect to
secure if the CTF hopes to be
successful, according to Bailey
"Our role only goes so far.
We can't do anything about
the parents who turn a blind
eye to what their kids are
doing, or to the parents who
give their kids the alcohol or
drugs in the first place," Bailey
said.
CTF members are hopeful
that in bringing this topic to
conversation, parents and
students can band together
against those who are staining
the community. The best way
to make a parent understand
that what they are doing is
not right or fair to others is
to shun them, according to
Francis.
"Parents need to hold
other parents accountable
for their actions and shun
them from peer groups if
they don't," Francis said.
"As a parent, I can't imagine
doing something to get
myself shunned by the other
parents."
Another element that will
be incorporated into the CTF
is a Teen Advisory Board. Five
students have been selected
from each grade, independent
from school officials, who
will serve as an advisory/
mentorship board. They will
be asked to give input on
how various messages and
activities will best be accepted
by their peers. They will also
be expected to demonstrate
positive leadership skills
with and amongst their peer
groups.
"We're giving students
tools to go out and change
this," Bailey said. The school
has already started putting the
CTF's message on the student
radar. Bailey has spoken to
all fall sports teams, National
Honor Society, youth football,
freshman parents, ASB and
PTA's at district schools.
"We have great kids, but we
can't separate the kids who
are using from the kids who
aren't so we are covering all of
our bases," Bailey said.
The CTF also paired
with the West Linn Police
Department to emphasize
National Take Back Day on
Sept. 25, an event at which
people could drop off old
prescription drugs at the
police department.
The first goal of the CTF
and its members is to bring
this serious subject out into
the open.
"Problems cannot be
solved until someone takes
ownership of them and
works on fixing them. We as
a community need to take
ownership of the problem so
that we can work towards
solutions," Francis said.
The community is starting
to accept that this is a problem
and it is going to be dealt
with, which reflects the CTF's
goals, in addition to strong
outreach to every member of
the community. The greatest
accomplishment thus far is
that something has finally
been said and this movement
is finally in motion.
"There are kids that are
going to blow it off," Bailey
said. "But we're not going to
stop."
—
- .......................
Photo by Alex Houston
The cast of "Thoroughly Modem Millie" rehearses the opening scene
of the musical which requires the cast to leam specific dance skills.
The show opens on Oct. 28 and runs until Nov. 6. Tickets can be
purchased for $7 at the Box Office.
by Jessica Murray, theater
arts program director, and
assistant director, Robin
Bowles and features Caroline
Hitesman, junior, as Millie.
"I was absolutely ecstatic
about being cast as the lead,"
Hitesman said. "I couldn't ask
for a better part to play, and
I'm really looking forward to
growing into my character,
along with growing as a
performer." She had never
had a speaking role in a West
Linn play prior to this part.
"Modem Millie" is also
one of the few musicals
done by the school that
requires serious dancing
capabilities on the part of the
cast. A guest choreographer •
comes in on Mondays and
Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m.
to teach tap as well as other
choreography, as the dance
numbers require work and
not all cast members have
had prior dance training.
Murray wanted to perform
"We're all learning together."
Another factor was that
"Millie" features many
female leads. "We have a
lot of strong women in the
department and this musical
caters to that with all of the
female leads that it features,"
Lisa Wang, senior, said.
There are only two male
leads.
Because of the small cast
of 26, the musical is likely to
be an intimate and fun affair,
according to cast members.
"This musical is a great
way to start off the school
year because it's high on
energy, happy, and all-in-all
a lighthearted show," Wang
said.
"Thoroughly Modern
Millie" will be showing Oct.
28 to Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. with
a matinee performance for
the middle schools on Nov.
3. Tickets cost $7 and can be
purchased at the box office in
the music building.