22 Summer 2016 Applegater
NEXT GENERATION
APPLEGATE SCHOOL
“Next Generation” features the talents of our local students and school news and updates.
All schools in the Applegate Valley are encouraged to submit news, art, writing, photography
and any other creative pieces to gater@applegater.org.
RUCH SCHOOL
‘Applegate to Africa:
Communities connect’ project
Twenty-some years ago, Ruch
School partnered with the Jacksonville
Rotary Club to plan and execute a
service-learning project in Tanzania.
“When the picture that portrayed a child
taking care of a small lamb was offered to
the children of the tribe, the bridge was
built and the connections began,” recalls
Rotary member Platon Mantheakis.
Now, Ruch School and the Rotary
Club are planning another community-
connecting project for 2016-17.
Named “Applegate to Africa:
Communities Connect,” this project will
connect students at Ruch School with a
village in Tanzania. Ruch students have
begun raising the funds to drill a well to
bring residents of the village clean water
close to home.
Be g i n n i n g w i t h t h e a n n u a l
Jog-A-Thon held on May 20, 2016,
Ruch students collected donations
for laps walked or run. Plans are in
the works for geographical research,
African art and music appreciation,
culinary experiences, and learning about
similarities and differences between our
two communities.
A year from now we hope to send
students to Africa as ambassadors to see
the project to completion! This is what
a community school does.
If you would like to know more
about this service-learning project and/
or would like to donate to Ruch School
Jog-A-Thon (the deadline is the last day
of school in June), please contact the
school at 541-842-3850 or email Julie
Barry at julie.barry@medford.k12.or.us.
Julie Hill Barry
Principal, Ruch Community School
julie.barry@medford.k12.or.us
Ruch School: A global community
“Why am I here?” I thought as we
ran and ran and ran.
“Self-defense number six!” Mr.
James yelled. We immediately stopped
running and started the form. Our legs
still burning from the miles already run,
we set off again. Why was I here? Because
I had wanted to try something new.
Something fun. Something that could
teach me how to respect others. I was in
the last stages of my black-belt testing
in karate, at the upper end of Emigrant
Lake. After the last mile was run, the last
punch thrown, the last form shown, we
got back into the van that took us back to
the karate center where our parents were
anxiously waiting. Earning my black
belt in karate taught me that things that
seem impossible at first can be achieved
through persistence and hard work.
That’s a lesson I bring to my work
at the school I attend, Ruch Community
K-8 School, a community-based school
with opportunities for students to help
the community grow. One project
that I’m involved in is “Community
101.” This year we had $5,000 to
donate to nonprofit organizations in our
community. We reached out to them
and asked if they would like to submit a
grant application. Once we have received
all the grant applications, we will divide
the money up to a few organizations that
we think will benefit the community the
most. At the end of the school year, we
will publicly announce the recipients
and officially give away the money to the
selected organizations.
I’m also involved in an exciting
project to help a community in Africa.
Our principal, Mrs. Barry, has proposed
an idea: 25 years ago our school was
contacted by the Jacksonville Rotary
Club and raised $5,000 for a village in
Tanzania. Now the Rotary Club wants
us to help them raise money to dig
a well in the village. We took on the
project because this is a kind of global
community.
Community 101 and the project
in Africa have helped me in more than
one way. Community 101 has taught
me to take time and be patient about
listening to others. It has also helped
me think about my community in the
Rogue Valley and ways to help it grow
and thrive. The idea of helping an entire
village in Africa be able to get water
without walking miles is exciting. It
supports the idea of a global community,
one community helping another. I like
the idea that a small school in Oregon,
through persistence and hard work, can
dig an entire village a well.
William della Santina
Sixth-grade student
Ruch Community School
williamds@sonic.net
Ruch School Annual
‘Night in the Valley’ Auction
On Friday, June 24, residents of our beautiful Applegate Valley will
come together at Red Lily Vineyards to celebrate—and fundraise for—Ruch
Community School! Donations to the “Night in the Valley” auction are being
accepted now to help support enrichment programs, technology upgrades,
sports opportunities, sustainability practices, and academic resources for
students throughout the year.
If you would like to attend the auction or support the school with a
donation, contact Ruch School at 541-842-3850. Thank you for your support!
Applegate students share science
with younger peers
Substitute teachers are hard to
come by, so perhaps the second-grade
and third-grade students from Applegate
and Williams schools took no notice
that their new science teacher on May
11 was a middle schooler!
Applegate middle-school students
wrapped up their year-long Applegate
Field Study by sharing what they learned
this year with their elementary school
counterparts.
The focus was on river life, and the
elder students spent two weeks preparing
themselves to teach six different stations
during the event: Mammals 1 and 2,
Salmon Life Cycle, Birds, Reptiles and
Amphibians, and Macroinvertebrates.
The teaching kits for each of the six
stations were obtained from Southern
Oregon University.
The event was a culmination of
visits to Cantrall Buckley Park to collect
water samples, plant indigenous plants,
learn about river history and its effect on
human life, and study the life in the river.
The study was initially designed by
Applegate teacher Jill Howdyshell. When
Jill left for an extended absence, her
middle-school partner Michelle Stone
took over.
The animal study is a great way to
spark interest in science among younger
students. The older students worked hard
to prepare their lessons, and Michelle
Stone did a fantastic job of organizing
and implementing this valuable project.
Applegate School students claim science prizes
Five Applegate School students were recognized with ribbons for their
science projects at the Three Rivers Science Fair and Competition held on
Wednesday, March 9.
Top ribbon winner was Masey Embury, a fifth-grade student who received
a Gold ranking, followed by Silver ribbon winners Zeyna DiBiasi, grade four,
and Sydney Lock, grade five.
Laura Kliewer, grade four, won a Bronze, and Azalea Stinson, grade five,
was awarded a Participant’s ribbon.
Gifts from Parent-
Teacher-Student Group
Applegate School’s Parent-Teacher-
Student Group (PTSG) has given to its
school in some big ways recently.
The group offered students $500
to support the all-school field trip to
Emigrant Lake on Wednesday, June 15,
and they also purchased a new swing set
for the school. The cost of the four-swing
structure, along with a purchase of new
tetherballs, totaled $2,000.
Seana Hodge, the current head of
PTSG, is in the process of handing the
reins over to Casey Embury. The PTSG
is in continual search of additional
volunteers so they will be able to even
better enrich students’ education at
Applegate School.
For more information about the
PTSG, call the school office at 541-
846-6280.
‘Moving On’ ceremony is
June 14; eighth-grade
trip follows
Applegate School staff members,
parents, and community members will
honor the nine years of effort that their
eighth-grade students have made to get
to high school.
The Moving On ceremony, which
will be held on Tuesday, June 14, at 6
pm in Applegate School’s gymnasium,
will include speeches by each of the
members of the class moving on to high
school. Community members are invited
to attend.
The ceremony is part of a big week
for the eighth grade. The students are
currently raising money to go to Raging
Waters at the California Pavilion in
Sacramento, then proceed to Vallejo
where Six Flags awaits. Students sold
pancake feed tickets for the May 28
Applebee’s Grants Pass event, as well as
discount cards for pizza.
Johnathan DiBiasi
donates new greenhouse
The Applegate community has
been highly supportive of their school,
but Johnathan DiBiasi’s offer to supply
and build a new greenhouse was a bit of
a shocker!
“This is no small project,” said
Principal Darrell Erb. “That Mr. DiBiasi
is willing to donate so much of the
needed supplies and complete the
labor on a greenhouse of this size is just
incredible!”
M r. D i B i a s i h e a d s Ev o l v e
Greenhouse Systems, so he’s no stranger
to putting up quality greenhouses. Why
is he willing? For the same, simple reason
that many parents step up in such a
large way: “My children love Applegate
School, and we saw the need for a new
greenhouse,” he said.
The greenhouse, made of structural
steel, will be 24 feet by 32 feet when
completed. At this point, the gravel that
provides the base has been placed, and
construction will begin soon.
Mr. DiBiasi wants to thank Robin
Pfeifer for pitching in on this project.
Copeland Paving Sand and Gravel also
deserves to be recognized for donating
the gravel and hauling it to the site.
School Volunteer Tea
slated for June 3
School staff members will host a
Volunteer Tea on Tuesday, June 3, at
1:45 pm. This event is held each year
to allow the school’s staff to formally
thank the many amazing volunteers.
Applegate School teacher Debbie Yerby is
organizing the tea. For more information,
call the school office at 541-846-6280.
School information provided by
Darrell Erb Jr., Principal
Applegate and Williams Schools
darrell.erb@threerivers.k12.or.us
