PAGE B8, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 18, 2016
Honor students lend time, insight to fellow students at WMS
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
When Simon Hocker made
the leap from elementary school
in Bend to Keizer’s Whiteaker
Middle School, it caused more
than a little disruption.
“It was kind of depressing,
I came here and it seemed like
there were a few kids who just
didn’t like me,” Simon said.
A month ago, he received a
visit from Pat Curran, one of
the Whiteaker counselors, and
was invited into a new mentor-
ing program at the school that
pairs National Junior Honor
Society (NJHS) eighth graders
with sixth graders needing ex-
tra help in and out of class.
“The fi rst day we played
some games and I had a couple
of people I wanted to be part-
ners with, but they were already
taken. I was paired with Layla
(Climer) and she probably is
way better than the others
would have been,” Simon said.
Layla said she volunteered
for the program because it fi t
nicely with her own priorities.
“I really like helping people
and it’s fun to know you’re
making a difference and help-
ing someone else,” Layla said.
“The cool thing is that (Si-
mon’s) grades are getting better.
I’ve learned that if you work
hard for something you can
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Sion Springer works through math problems with mentee
Shawn Todd.
make it happen.”
More than 20 Whiteaker
NJHS students are volunteer-
ing to be mentors for sixth
graders at the school. Once a
week, the students meet with
their sixth grade mentees to
work on homework, get orga-
nized or just talk about how the
past week has gone.
It’s a pilot program at White-
aker, but one Curran has imple-
mented at other area schools.
“It’s as much about the social
piece as it is help with home-
work,” Curran said. “This pro-
gram gives the sixth graders
someone they can turn to ask
questions about life, teachers,
navigating the school and just
about anything else.”
Sixth graders are selected for
the program based primarily
on grades, but Curran and the
school’s other counselors are
also fi elding recommendations
from teachers who fi nd their
students aren’t making social
connections.
Both the mentors and the
mentees miss one of their regu-
lar classes each Wednesday to
participate in the program, but
early feedback has been posi-
tive.
“The teachers say it is help-
ing and it’s worth it for the
one-on-one help,” Curran said.
Most of the pairs spend
much of the time working on
School district expecting budget bump
By HERB SWETT
For the Keizertimes
The budget committee of
the Salem-Keizer School Dis-
trict held its fi rst meeting on
the 2016-17 budget Tuesday,
hearing school offi cials say
some increase was likely.
It was an organizational
meeting. The proposed bud-
get will not be proposed until
April 26. The budget adopted
last year for the current school
year was $665,720,876.
Board vice chair Nancy
MacMorris-Adix, presiding in
the absence of chair Rick Kim-
ball, was elected committee
chair. That position normally
alternates between board and
community members. Rachel
Dewey Thorsett, a community
member, was elected vice chair.
The committee consists of
the seven board members and
seven people from the com-
munity.
Board members besides
Kimball and MacMorris-Adix
are Chris Brantley, Jim Green,
Marty Heyen, Paul Kyllo and
Chuck Lee. Other community
members are Marcia Atkinson,
Mark Bateman, Lloyd Chap-
man, Levi Herrera-Lopez,
Adam Kohler and Betty Patac-
coli.
After reviewing the duties
and procedures of the com-
mittee, superintendent Christy
Perry asked that questions
about the budget be directed
to her and Mike Wolfe, district
chief operating offi cer, together.
“The second year of the bi-
ennium is looking very posi-
tive,” Wolfe told the committee.
“We are a growing district,”
Perry said, “so we are seeing
more revenue.”
Noting that availability of
teachers has increased, Perry
said the school system has be-
gun an early hiring process in
the hope of placing more of the
“right teachers in front of kids.”
Christy will present the
budget message April 26. The
committee will hold a work
session May 10, and budget
hearing dates are tentatively
scheduled for May 16 through
19.
In an effort to show customers that we're making
improvements to our food, our NEW Rotisserie-
Style Chicken is raised without antibiotics. This
offering is made with tender, hand-pulled all white
meat, slow-cooked and seasoned to perfection.
Who needs preservatives,
additives or sweeteners
when you have naturally
delicious ingredients?
Not-from-concentrate,
Simply Beverages ®
guarantee fresh taste.
Without artifi cial fl avoring
or preservatives,
this gluten-free
snack made
with expeller-
pressed
sunfl ower
oil; and
sea salt is
perfect for
those looking
for a tasty snack
without the guilt.
SUBWAY AT KEIZER STATION
2535 Jorie Lane NE • Keizer, OR 97303
math homework, and it’s as
much about providing good
role modeling as it is about
fractions and percentages.
Eighth grader Wyatt Kirk
works with sixth grader Jaren
Adams and the duo was em-
broiled in a math assignment
last week.
“I just try to teach what I
did to help him learn good
habits,” said Wyatt.
Sixth grader Hailey Carpen-
ter found herself falling behind
after missing a lot of school. She
received a note from one of her
teachers suggesting she give the
mentoring program a try.
“I had a lot of homework
to catch up on and it’s really
helped with that,” Hailey said.
Hailey was paired with
eighth grader Maya Luscomb.
Maya said organization was one
of the fi rst things they tackled.
“We worked a lot on keep-
ing binders organized so she
could keep track of all the as-
signments,” Maya said.
While much of the work
takes place across a table, men-
tors have even made fi eld trips
to lockers to help students get
organized there, too.
Eighth grader Madeline
Bielby had worked with anoth-
er sixth grader for the fi rst four
weeks of the program, but that
student transferred to another
school. Last week was her fi rst
meeting with her new mentee,
Elena Perreira.
Elena said she wasn’t sure
what to expect when she came
to the fi rst meeting.
“I fi gured it would be a
group of us, I didn’t think it
would have my own partner
to work with,” Elena said. “I
like this and I think I’m going
to score really big on my next
math assignment.”
Madeline, who saw great
success with her fi rst mentee,
knew that the help she provides
can make a big difference.
“At the end of the fi rst se-
mester, my fi rst partner was
struggling with her grades, but
she was up to As and Bs when
she transferred to her new
school,” Madeline said.
Vote online for Whiteaker coach
Longtime Whiteaker Middle School coach Scott Coburn has
been named one of three fi nalists for the Comcast SportsNet
All-Star Coach Program.
The coach who is awarded the All-Star Coach title for Or-
egon will receive $5,000 for the school where he/she coaches.
Voting has begun online at www.csnnw.com. The fi nal award
presentation will take place at the Portland Trail Blazers game
on April 2.
APRIL & BRIAN McVAY
503.510.6827
mcvaythree@gmail.com
CALL US TODAY to find out
about our upcoming listings.
KEIZER HOME FOR SALE
1030 Harbour Ln NE, Keizer
$279,900
Avalon Meadows 4 bedroom 2.5 bath,
1,848 sq ft. Meticulously maintained.
Scraped hickory hardwood fl oors,
granite counters, open fl oor plan. All
beds up with utility. Master has double
door entry, coved ceilings with walk-in
and dual sink bath. A must see. Near
Forest Ridge Elementary. MLS#700959