B12
Columbia Gorge News
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
www.columbiagorgenews.com
District principals report on reopening progress
In the first regular board
meeting since the White
Salmon Valley School
District’s reopening process,
Superintendent Jerry Lewis
updated the board on the
progress of the multiple
bond projects nearing com-
pletion, and administrators
gave reports to the board on
how each school is handling
the transition to a hybrid
model of reopening.
Bond project update
Lewis told the White
Salmon Valley School Board
that the projects funded by
the school district’s 2018
bond are nearing comple-
tion, including the health
and wellness center and the
multipurpose facility.
School district officials
are hoping for a mid-March
opening date for the health
and wellness center. The
officials heading the project,
including Henkle Middle
School Principal Haley
Ortega and District Health
and Wellness Coordinator
Michelle Ward, have iden-
tified furnishings for the
new center. The furniture is
being funded, in part, by the
school district as well as a
donation given to the White
Salmon Valley Education
Foundation, said Lewis.
“I’m really proud of that
facility, it’s going to be
something that’s going to
benefit this district for years
to come,” said Lewis.
Lewis told the board that
the recent snow caused work
on the multipurpose facility
to be delayed, and that the
school district is looking at
completion near the end of
March.
“I’m really impressed with
our contractor. They’re doing
a first-rate job,” said Lewis.
Commissioner Laurie
Stanton questioned if the
school district could use the
building to bring in more
students once construction
is complete. The answer,
according to Lewis: Not yet,
until there is more guidance
from the governor’s office
and the Washington Board
of Health. Lewis said the
main restriction is the 6-foot
distancing rule, and what the
parameters will be of.
“I’m hoping some time
in March to get some more
clarity on that,” said Lewis.
Stanton also raised
concerns that the covered
play structure installed
near Wallace and Priscilla
Stevenson Intermediate
School as part of the bond
project is constantly wet. In
response, Lewis said that
maintenance staff are work-
ing on plans to install gutters
on the building nearby, but
are waiting for better weath-
er to perform the work.
Principals’ reports
Lewis asked principals to
report on their experiences
with reopening. The meeting
marks the first time the
board has formally met with
district officials since the
reopening process began.
Whitson Elementary
School Principal Todd
McCauley told the board
that the process has gone
“incredibly well, thanks to
the hard work, dedication,
and flexibility, and commit-
ment of every staff member
here at Whitson, and also the
support of the district staff.”
Families and students
have done a great job
keeping up with new respon-
sibilities of entering the
classroom, said McCauley.
Students are remembering
to complete their wellness
check before they arrive,
and they’re ready to learn
when they enter school, said
McCauley.
“We spent a lot of time
working on, developing, re-
vamping, revisiting, walking
through procedures and
routines,” said McCauley. At
the covered play structures,
students are divided into
two zones for safe playing,
and they are following the
routines and guidelines set
before them, such as making
sure to stay 6 feet apart.
Teachers have different ways
making sure kids understand
that, he said, like giving
kids a visual of “feet on the
floor” to make sure they stay
compliant.
Wallace and Priscilla
Intermediate School
Principal Brian Frasier
echoed McCauley’s senti-
ments about making plans
work thanks to the flexibility
and adaptability of staff.
“If things came up, we
were understood why we
were doing what we were
doing, and we were able to
change the plan and make
them work for everybody
safely with the kids’ best in
heart,” said Frasier.
Frasier said assessing
student learning is easier
to do in a classroom setting
than in a distance learning
program, because the ability
to walk around the room and
see how they’re getting it,
“it’s a much more stream-
lined process.”
There about 100 students
in the building each day, and
to Frasier, it seems like kids
are adjusting now, thanks to
teachers who have helped
students feel comfortable
and safe in the building.
Frasier reported that some
students are not bringing in
sufficient food for breakfast
or a snack. Because of all the
changes in operations, stu-
dents who get snacks from
the school must go and get
it in front of all their peers,
when before everyone typed
in their PIN for food and it all
looked the same. School offi-
cials are seeking a solution to
the problem and raised the
matter to the board.
Reporting on Henkle
Middle School’s reopening
progress, Ortega said that
it is “just joyful every single
day right now having kids in
the building.
“Kids are happy. They’re
so excited,” said Ortega.
Some students are
WALLACE & PRISCILLA STEVENSON
INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
nervous, and one teacher
brought up that students,
who are normally supposed
to be learning social norms
and interpersonal skills right
now, were being shorted on
learning those skills through
the course of the pandemic.
“They’re doing this behind
masks and 6 feet apart, so
that is one of our really big
focuses moving forward,”
said Ortega. “Looking at, we
have these learning stan-
dards, we have this con-
tent that we’re going to be
delivering, but how are we
engaging kids, and how are
we teaching them these so-
cial norms to prepare them
to move onto high school
and for the future?”
Ortega said the adminis-
tration polled students on if
they would like to continue
to have student voice, a
program of electives, which
was put on hold at the end
of trimester two. Students
responded that they would
like that time back, so it will
be returning at the start of
the third trimester.
Columbia High School
Principal Craig McKee
reiterated the joy Ortega
expressed during his report,
saying, “It has been an
amazing four days for the
high school” since the return
of 9-12 graders last week.
“They just charge your
batteries, it fires you up,” said
McKee.
McKee said he’s noted
some new hairstyles, and
something that surprised
him was how tall students
have grown since he has
seen them.
McKee said social distanc-
ing guidelines are going well,
saying students are parking
in the correct lots, which,
“you may not think it’s a big
deal, but it’s a huge deal.” He
credited success to the staff’s
work to prepare for reopen-
ing and making the new rues
clear to students.
Students
of the Month
Barret Smith, Grade 4
Destiny Totlhua, Grade 5
Benson Zendt, Grade 5
Lani Viramontes, Grade 6
Bridget Donica, Grade 4
Luther Thomas, Grade 6
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© 2021 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 37, No. 14
aya Angelou was born
Marguerite Ann Johnson
on April 4, 1928 in St.
Louis, Missouri. Today she is one
of the most honored women in the
world, recognized as a poet,
memoirist, novelist, educator,
dramatist, producer, actress,
historian, filmmaker and civil
rights activist. She has won
three Grammys for her
spoken-word albums, and in 2011,
President Obama awarded her the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
for inspiring young people with
her words.
Maya’s life didn’t have an easy
start. After her parents’ divorce,
Maya is one of four poets in U.S. history to read a poem at a
presidential inauguration (the others being Robert Frost, Amanda
Gorman and Elizabeth Alexander). The poem Maya read is “On
the Pulse of Morning.” Here is the last stanza. Can you replace
the missing vowels?
Can you do something
physically active for one hour
every day of the week?
Complete the circle charts below,
one for each day of the week.
Each wedge in the charts equals
10 minutes. If you dance for 20
minutes, color in two wedges.
If you play basketball for one
hour, fill in an entire circle.
Source: america.gov
Standards Link: Art: Know that ideas are used to communicate meaning.
she was moved from home to
home for many years, living in
turn with her mother, her
grandmother and her father.
For a while she was homeless.
As a young woman, Maya was San Francisco’s
first African-American female cable car conductor.
She worked hard to support herself and her son.
But she didn’t let the poverty,
pain or suffering of her childhood
destroy her. In response, she
created works of art.
Find
the two
identical
cable
cars.
Look at the list of art forms. Circle the ones with even numbers.
These are art forms that helped Maya become famous.
Standards Link: History: Students understand that specific individuals can have a great impact on history.
Maya loved to perform. She started singing and
dancing in nightclubs and changed her name to
Maya Angelou. Maya came from her brother’s
nickname for her, “my-a-sister.” Angelou came
from her first husband’s name, Angelos.
After Maya was cast in the opera Porgy and Bess,
she traveled throughout Europe performing in the
show. While on tour, she learned the languages of
the countries she visited. Follow the maze to see
which languages she learned.
SPANISH
ITALIAN
ARABIC
FANTI *
FRENCH
Maya died in 2014. She
published more than 30
best-selling books. She
wrote a series of books
about her life. To
discover the name of
her first book, hold this
page up to a mirror.
419 State Street
Suite 4
Hood River, OR
541-387-8688
*
JOURNALIST
LANGUAGES
CONDUCTOR
PERFORM
POVERTY
HISTORY
POETRY
EDITOR
PULSE
OPERA
CAGED
CABLE
TEXT
PAIN
ART
T S I L A N R U O J
W E D I T O R O R D
M A X Y T R E V O P
R R S T R I A E N C
O E Y R O T S I H A
F P C A B L E S P G
R O T C U D N O C E
E I R P E N I A P D
P L A N G U A G E S
Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical
words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.
Picture Details
Good writing includes lots of interesting
details. Practice being a detail detective by
carefully studying a photograph from the
newspaper. Then, make a list of all of the
details you observe. Can you list 25 or more?
GERMAN
RUSSIAN
ARABIC
FANTI *
GREEK
Standards Link: Investigation: Know that understanding comes
from detailed investigation.
A West African language
Standards Link: Behavioral Studies: Understand
that people learn about each other in different ways.
From the
newspaper, select
images and words
that represent Maya
Angelou. Use these
to make a poster
about her.
Standards Link: Visual Art:
Know a range of subject
matter in the arts.
Maya’s first book was an
autobiography. Based upon what
you know of Maya’s life, what do
you think the title means to her?
Standards Link: Comprehension: Respond to
questions citing evidence.
=A
= B
= E
= H
= I
= O
= R
= S
=T
=V
Who is the woman you most admire?
Explain why.
Standards Link: Physical Education:
Understand how to monitor and maintain
a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.