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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2018)
PAGE2A10,2KEIZERTIMES,2DECEMBER221,22018 STUDENTS, continued from Page A1 also just fun. It's fun to go out and release your energy and do stuff with your hands.” The class is taught by Bill Kirkwood and Robert Robison. Kirkwood was an architectural designer for four years before spending the last three years teaching math at McNary. Robison, on the other hand, was a building contractor for two decades before coming to teach at McNary three months ago. “This class is a wonderful fi t for our school,” Kirkwood said. “It's also just a ton of fun giving students applicable life skills. A lot of the kids have really come out of their shells.” “Most of the kids had no prior experience with using tools or construction at all, but they come in and now they're all running around and just doing their thing.” The idea to bring this class to McNary came two years ago when principal Erik Jespersen went to a Career and Technical Education Conference in Las Vegas. Jespersen was originally planning on going to several different sessions, but when he saw the presentation on Geometry in Construction, he soon ditched his prior plans. “When I went to that fi rst session, I was immediately fascinated,” Jespersen said. “I was really intrigued so I just continued to go to their sessions.” The presentations were given by a pair of teachers from the Construction/Geometry program at Loveland High School in Colorado, which was put in place in 2006. Even though the ideas for the class captivated Jespersen, he still wanted to see kids engage in this program with his own two eyes. So he put a team together to fl y out to Colorado and wittnessed the class in action. After his trip to Loveland, Jespersen was convinced that this program needed to be available for the students of McNary. And at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, the Geometry in Construction class came to fruition. “I think that this type of learning is really important,” Jespersen said. “There will be some kids that will go into a four-wall math class and be just fi ne. But there are other kids that need to see the math. They need to manipulate and build with the math That's the beauty of (Geometry in Construction).” “It's not an easier path. In fact, you could make an argument that it's harder. But I believe we're going to get better outcomes with a lot of kids because it's how their brain works.” Even though the class is brand new, the students have already completed some fun projects. For their fi rst assignment, the class was given plans for a full-size house that needed to be built to a smaller scale. Their following project consisted of making cornhole boards, where they had to Santa drops in on Cultural Center KEIZERTIMES/Matt2Rawlings Young visitors to the Keizer Cultural Center on Saturday, Dec. 15, left with a gift from Santa and the opportunity to make ornaments and hear Christmas stories. Mcnary2student2Sampson2Cutlip2cuts2a2block2of2wood2with2a2 saw2for2his2project2in2Geometry2in2Construction2class. apply what they had learned during the geometry portion of the class to make sure the legs and angles were correct on the board. Currently, the class is working is on building a 12 to 15 foot barns for a goat farm in Sublimity. “Math for me has always been sitting down and crunching out numbers, so it's nice to get the ability to see Make this Holiday One to Remember what the math can do for you,” McNary student Coleman Young said. “I would regret not taking this class because it has helped me progress as a student a lot.” While the students seem to have enjoyed their experience in the class thus far, they aren't the only ones who relish the opportunity to be in this unique environment. “This is the best job I've ever had. I love getting up in the morning to come to work,” Robison said. “This program shows why math is pertinent.” ABOVE:2Eva2John2with2Santa.2 LEFT:2Jaxon2Looney2makes2an2 ornament2for2his2tree2at2home. France2Dance2performs2Dec.221 France School of Dance’s Keizer studio will hold a per- formance and a fundraiser on Friday, Dec. 21, at North Sa- lem High School. The dance performance is at 7 p.m. Admission is $3 per person and per dancer. All pro- ceeds will benefi t the Keizer Community Food Bank. Ear- lier this year the school’s ben- efi t raised over $1,000 for the food bank. North Salem High School is located at 765 14th St. in Salem. puzzle2answers Free gift wrapping through Dec. 24 SPECIAL HOLIDAY HOURS Sunday, Dec. 23rd: 11am – 4pm Christmas Eve until 3 pm B OUCHER J EWELERS 4965 River Rd N 503-393-0701 ASPEN GROVE 3990 CHERRY AVE NE - KEIZER ASPEN PAIN CLINIC OPENS JANUARY VISIT OUR SALEM LOCATION CALL 503.364.9242 • SPORTS MASSAGE • FIRE CUPPING • REFLEXOLOGY NOW 2 CLINICS TO KEEP YOU ACTIVE CHIROPRACTIC ADVANTAGE NOW OPEN ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS — CALL 614.806.9746 CALL 503-391- 9112 NEW SOUTH OFFICE CHRYSTAL CLEAR AESTHETICS NOW TAKING APPOINTMENTS CALL 503.989.4704 1010 13th St SE, Salem 1797 Lansing Ave NE, Salem Your child’s classroom EN RO LL IN G W W W . N W F A M I L Y C H I R O . N E T NO W OVERCROWDED? It’s time you looked at private K-12 education Individualized Education • Affordable Tuition • Year-Round Enrollment We have an excellent teacher to student ratio. As our student population grows we add additional staff to keep the ratio low. Visit our website at OutlookChristianSchool.com for more information about us or CALL 503-371-7393 2638 Cascadia Industrial Street SE, Salem, OR 97302
