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
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