Image provided by: Vernonia Public Library; Vernonia, OR
About Vernonia freedom. (Vernonia, Oregon) 1978-198? | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1981)
Pep band By Thorgen Brown What are those harmonious notes that one hears upon entering the VHS gym for a basketball game? Why, it is the VHS pep band. This ensemble of different people is composed of trumpet players with strange hats, woodwinds looking prim and proper, and a loud and radical bass section waiting for an opportunity to bug Mr. Ward Nelson, the quiet, gentle looking man who conducts these master musicians. One of the major functions of the group is to entertain spectators during sporting events. Do people feel that they add much to the atmosphere? ‘Yes!’ said one Logger fan. ‘The band generates energy in the crowd, adding to the entire mood of the game.' Sometimes you don’t see that quiet man up front, and in his place is a fuzzy-haired kid making spasmodic motions with one hand and holding a trumpet in the other. This is student director Dave Proehl. Members of the VHS band have done many things and have participated in many honor groups to broaden their musical horizons.—They have played in All-State Band, and Music In May. They have taken tours to other schools in Oregon to play, and participate annually in the Northwest League Band Festival. Still, other members are content just playing for occasional games, giving their support to the teams, and playing at the four or five annual concerts. ‘It’s fun and very interesting!’ replied Kurstyn Hostettler, a junior clarinetist and recent addition to the group, when asked what it is like to play with these young Benny Goodman’s and Doc Severenson’s. VHS pep band warms-up in preparation for an early morning rehersal for the up- coming playoffs. Proposed changes in sight for VHS English curriculum in 1981-82 Sophomore Shawn Brewer toots on the tuba during another exciting and enlightening band rehersal. By Vickie Pitt ‘Many of the goals from this year’s English programs will be stressed in next year’s proposed programs, with additional considerations for students’ individual potentials in learning English skills,’ said Mr. Jeff Smith, English teacher and member of the curriculum committee at VHS. Proposed changes in the English curriculum were brought about by the joint cooperation of the principal and English instructors to improve options in the courses of study for students. Because of state policy on the adoption of textbooks, all textbooks must be updated every seven years. Next year will mark the seventh for the VHS English Department, so new materials will be purchased. Also, the state requires all students to complete a full year of composition skills, with this new policy, so English staff felt that this was a good time to implement some changes without Home-ec students participate in Dartmouth project By Salena McDonald Options Project, US Department of Education at Dartmouth College is a career development curriculum for rural high school students. Thirty-thrOe percent of the high school in the northwest are helping design the program, and VHS is one of these. Students who participate in the proiect learn time management techniques decision making, and study specific cases to learn better problem-solving techniques. Filling out a job application, writing a resume, determining jobs they can do, starting a new business, and real life practice skill units are some of the tasks of the Dartmouth Project. Most kids think the same way their parents and grandparents did. Girls think of growing-up and marrying, having children and depending on their husbands for support. Boys think of raising a family with their wife, working and everything being somewhat marvelous. These situations are no longer realistic in society today. Ninety- nine percent of all women work part- and full-time jobs, and of those, six percent are single and have at least one child. ‘Dartmouth Project forces kids to look realistically at their future,’ says Mrs. Clarice Schorzman, VHS home economics teacher and instructor oi the program. Students are tested before and after completion of the project to determine changes in attitude and outlook. A majority undergo dramatic turn-arounds in opinion. ‘I learned a lot from it. Things are not always what they appear to be. Decisions made too quickly do more . harm than making no decision at all,’ says Melody Sauer, one student participating in the class. difficulty. This proposal for changes would create a Communication Arts Curriculum to meet the needs of students with differences in abilities, while raising the minimum level of achievement to a standard level expected of all graduating students. The curriculum design is planned for college-oriented as well as vocational-oriented students at VHS. Communications Arts Curriculum would require four minimum competencies in basic communications skills in order to graduate from VHS. They are that students can apply (1> listening skills to comprehend oral communications, (2) speaking skills to present information orally, (3) reading skills in seeking information, ideas, and directions, and (4) writing skills in communicating information, ideas and directions. A total of four units (8 semesters) of credit in communication arts are required, also. In ninth grade, one unit is required in a course called Communications Arts Survey. The remaining three units must be acquired in writing, reading, and elective courses. As a final requirement for graduation from VHS, the students must pass a standardized test measuring reading and writing skills. The student will be expected to achieve at least a seventh grade level of proficiency in reading and writing as measured by this test. Courses that will be offered next year will be operated on a semester level, with the exceptions of English I, French, drama and journalism, which will be offered as one-year courses. Dartmouth students sophomore Shane collage entitled, ‘People’s Work.’ Cutright and senior Ann Serby work on New courses offered are Communications Arts Survey, mentioned earlier. This is a class for ninth graders which includes working on study skills, writing and editing sentences, writing paragraphs, vocabulary and spelling and continued on page 4*
