Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2009)
vernonia’s voice schools march 09 2009 VHS Band Prepares for Disneyland WGS Students Earn Reward The Vernonia High School Marching Band is making final preparations for its trip to Disneyland this month. Thirty-four students, along with band director Rob Izzett, were hard at work practicing some of the numbers they will play during a live performance on the back lot at the California Adventure Theme park. The students will get to spend almost four full days at Disneyland, with some structured activities, including their live performance, but also lots of time to go on rides and enjoy just being kids. One special planned activity is a workshop in a recording studio, where the band will learn, rehearse and record a new piece of music, which will then be set as the sound track to a short film. DVD’s of the film and their peformance will be available for the students to pur- chase and bring home as a souvenir of their trip to California. Senior Allee Chadek has been to Disneyland twice before. “I’m looking forward to going on vacation with friends,” said Chadek. The Vernonia High School Band is busy practicing for their trip This is going to be a fun year for in March to Disneyland. Chadek-- she is planning to go back to Disneyland with the senior class later this spring. Freshman Kaytee Burghard has been practicing a few extra hours each week to pre- pare. “I’m really excited, it’s the first time I’ve been to Disneyland.” Kaytee said she wants to ride on a roller coaster when she gets there. Freshman Jackson Miller has been helping with all the fundraisers for the trip, and is excited to ride Splash Mountain. This will be Freshman Jonah Oo- ten’s first trip to Disneyland, and he’s been working all the fundraisers to raise money for his trip. According to Band Director Izzett, the band is still short “...around $1300 to $1400 dollars.” He said to watch for upcoming opportunities to help the band with their trip, including a Car Wash sometime in the next few weeks-- weath- er permitting! The VHS Band is sounding good as they prepare to head to Disneyland (right). A Good Deed Gets Done Jessica Llanos saw a chance to do something good, and she took it. Llanos, an eighteen-year-old junior at Vernonia High School, helps out in the school library as a teachers’ aide. While sorting through some books that had been donated, Library instructor Dana Hyde came across an old yearbook from 1957. Inside the yearbook were military discharge papers from the Coast Guard from 1961. Hyde, whose father was in the military, knew the significance of the paperwork, and knew it was important to someone. But Hyde wasn’t sure how to begin looking for the owner-- one Charles Ronald Grey. That’s where Jessica Llanos stepped in. “My Mom and I got on Zaba Search on line, and found him,” said Llanos. It turned out that Charles Grey now goes by “Ron,” which made him a little trickier to find. But Jessica was persistent, and, within a couple of hours, was speaking to Ron Grey on the phone. “It was the best feeling in the world,” said Llanos. “It had all his personal information on it.” Grey, who lives in Hillsboro, had recently donated some boxes of books to the Vernonia Library. He never knew his paper work was missing until Llanos called, but he was happy to get it back. Grey, who graduated from David Douglas High School in Portland in 1958, spent eleven months in electronics school in Seattle with the Coast Guard, as well as one year stationed in Italy. Grey has numerous connections to Vernonia-- his wife, the former Donna Snyder, used to live in Vernonia, and he helped install a cellular tower in Vernonia just after the 1996 flood. Now he has another connection. While trying to figure out how to find Mr. Grey, Llanos noticed that Grey’s birthday was coming up in a couple of weeks. She decided she should get him a birthday card, and had the opportunity to hand it to him when they met the next day in mid-February. That’s the kind of kid Jessica Llanos is. Grey in turn handed Jessica a thank-you card. Dana Hyde and Jessica Llanos look on as Ron Grey opens a birthday card from Llanos. Llanos helped return military discharge papers Grey had misplaced, and ended up in donated books in the Vernonia school library Vernonia’s Washington Grade School students earned a school-wide reward for accumulat- ing over 2000 Bee Bucks as a school. The reward the students helped choose was a walk around Vernonia Lake which took place Thursday, February 19, from 1-2 PM. 236 students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade from all 12 classrooms took part in the walk. Bee Bucks are tickets that students receive when they are following school rules. The four Bs are: Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Respectful, Be Responsible. They are basically rewards for indi- vidual students when they are “caught being good.” Students who receive Bee Bucks can either put them into monthly drawings for Washington Grade School students earned a walk around Vernonia Lake prizes, or can spend them for good behavior at the Bee Bucks store where there are varying levels of kid prizes (pencils, stickers, small games, notepads, bouncy balls, etc.). When students “spend” their Bee Bucks in the drawing or at the store, they are counted toward earning a school-wide reward. Every 2000 Bee Bucks earned by the entire school earns a reward. The idea for the walk around the lake came from one of the students. In the past, there have been root beer float par- ties, hat day, a popcorn and movie party-- all sorts of ideas that come from the kids and the staff. Washington Grade School students enjoy an afternoon outside. Students chose a walk around the lake as a reward for accumulated points for good behavior. Relationship Lecture Held For VMS and VMS Students By Brandy Fosdick On February 17, the Tuesday following President’s Day, students in Vernonia were wel- comed back with a little surprise. As they sat in their classes yawning and trying (or maybe not trying) to stay awake, it was announced that there would be no classes after lunch. In- stead, the high school and middle school students would be in the logger dome listening to a lecture by Brad Henning. The lecture was on relationships and the issues that come along with them. Mr. Henning focused on three main topics: the differences between men and women, what love is, and the pro’s and con’s of sex. He went over major personality differences between men and women, trying to help each understand the other just a little bit better. He showed the different ways each thinks and the way each perceives the phrase, “I love you.” He also pointed out some more technical differences, such as the fact that woman say about 24,000 words a day while men only say about 12,000. Mr. Henning also introduced the students to what his definition of love is. He says that love is choosing the highest good for the other person-- meaning caring enough to be selfless and willing to risk everything for the person you love. The last subject he broached was probably one of the most important for high school kids in this day and age--sex--and when and why you should or should not have it. He showed that people who use abstinence have much longer and more meaningful relationships. He also showed examples where people found that they actually knew the person they were with much better when they spent time together on something other than sex. He also showed examples of times where a person was later extremely guilty or unsatisfied in their marriage because they did not wait. Along with this, he pointed out obvious and well-known, but also commonly ignored factors such as teen pregnancy, abortion, the risk of getting STD’s, and the consequences of a bad reputation. Mr. Henning had given another lecture at our schools two years ago. There were many students who were excited to get to listen to him a second time, and many who hope he comes back before they graduate. He was very helpful and taught the students some important things that may make high school just a little bit easier, and he did it in a fun and interest- ing way. There wasn’t a time when everyone in the gym wasn’t either listening closely or laughing themselves to tears. Any students who want a little more insight on sex, love, and relationships might want to read his book, Don’t Take Love Lying Down. Students can check it out at the school library or you can purchase it at www.bradhenning.com. If you want or need some advice, or just want to comment on his lecture you can write him at: Life Re- sources, P.O. Box 121, Puyallup, WA 98371. Or, you can e-mail him through his website-- he answers ALL the letters sent to him. If you need more immediate or personal advice, you can reach him or his wife by phone at: (253) 848-2239.
