PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 5, 2021
KeizerCommunity
KEIZERTIMES.COM
McNary teachers earn
honor from district
Submitted
Isabella Biondi’s pieces, Coat and Sunset Wanderer, are displayed in the Keizer Civic Center
along with a collection of her other work.
Commission names emerging artist
Keizer teen Isabella Biondi had a milestone
day on Jan. 19.
Biondi was recognized as part of the Stu-
dent/Emerging Artist program offered by the
Keizer Public Arts Commission and was ap-
pointed to the committee as its youth liaison.
Biondi will have four pieces – Sunset Wan-
derer, Nighttime Vibes, Icarus Fashion and Coat –
displayed on a wall reserved for youth artists at
the Keizer Civic Center.
Civic
Nominations due for
Center
Chamber awards
clean-up
March 31
At least 100 volunteers
are needed to help clean up
around the Keizer Civic Cen-
ter Saturday, March 31.
Each year, the Rotary Club
of Keizer and Claggett Creek
Watershed Council host a
morning of work ranging
from picking up trimmings
from trees, shrubs and grasses
to removing weeds and more.
The clean-up is sched-
uled from 9 a.m. to noon, but
many hands make light work
and could mean a quicker
fi nish. Pandemic-related safe-
ty protocols will be in effect
throughout the effort.
Volunteers can simply
show up the day of the event
and are encouraged to bring
wheelbarrows, plastic trash
cans, rakes, tarps, pruners,
weed pullers and other tools
that might be useful.
Unless there is an inch or
more of snow on the ground,
the effort will not be can-
celed. Long pants, sturdy
shoes, gloves, hats and coats
are encouraged.
The Keizer Civic Center
is located at 930 Chemawa
Road N.E. A collection box
and disposal are being donat-
ed by Loren’s Sanitation.
Serve on
the Claggett
watershed
council
The Claggett Creek Wa-
tershed Council (CCWC) is
seeking volunteers from the
community to serve on its
General Council (board of di-
rectors).
Currently there are three
opportunities:
a property
owner adjacent to Claggett
Creek; a resident of Salem; and
a resident of unincorporated
Marion County.
The CCWC is involved in
the local community through
its stewardship of the Claggett
Creek watershed and atten-
dant natural resources. This
involvement is aimed at the
development and implemen-
tation of sustainable practices
for enhancing and restoring
watershed health while rec-
ognizing the need to balance
a variety of environmental,
social, and economic interests.
For more information con-
tact Mark Caillier by email
markcaillier@claggettcwc.org,
call or text 503-930-7481 or
go to www.claggettcwc.org or
fi nd the group’s page on Face-
book.
The Keizer Chamber of Commerce is looking for
award nominees in several categories leading up to the
annual First Citizen’s Event Saturday, March 20.
Awards are presented for First Citizen, Service to Ed-
ucation and Merchant of the Year. Nomination forms
can be downloaded at tinyurl.com/2dzkhtlj. Nomina-
tions are due by March 7. They can be emailed to cor-
ri@keizerchamber.com or mailed to the Chamber of-
fi ce at 4118 River Road N. Keizer, OR 97303.
Qualifi cations in each category are:
First Citizen Award - given to an individual(s) that
exemplifi ed City of Keizer’s motto of Pride, Sprit, and
Volunteerism within their work, volunteerism, or ac-
tivism for the community. Nominations should include
involvement during the past fi ve years and detail how
the nominee has dedicated time and/or talent to benefi t
the quality of life of our past, present, or future.
Service to Education Award - given to an individual
that is a Keizer area administrator, teacher or volunteer.
Nominee should be actively involved in the community
and has made an outstanding contribution to the bet-
terment of education. Nominee must serve, volunteer,
or dedicate time and/or talent to benefi t the youth of
Keizer.
Merchant of the Year Award – given to an individ-
ual and/or business that did the most in 2020 for the
Keizer Business Community. Nominee must be a Keizer
Chamber member and have assisted moving forward the
organizations objectives, including developing the cur-
rent and future workforce, promoting Keizer, advocating
for business and economic development in government
relations, servicing members, and assuring organizational
vitality.
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Even though they haven’t
seen their students in person
for almost a year, McNary
teachers Ashley Gruber, Andy
Thomas and Josh Rist have
rallied together over the last
11 months to collaborate their
classes (media production,
choir and audio production).
“In the arts, we always had
a collaborative mindset, but
we had to move to the next
level for distance learning,”
Thomas said.
The virtual collaboration
effort started in March 2020
when an individual suggest-
ed to Rist that the McNary
choir put together a socially
distanced performance.
“I knew how much work
would go into it. I wasn’t go-
ing to even try and do it by
myself, which is why I reached
out to Ashley and Andy asking
for help,” Rist said.
Rist instructed his students
to fi lm themselves singing
to the melody of “Smile” by
Nat “King” Cole and then
send their fi nished product to
Gruber and Thomas, who had
their kids’ work on the editing
and audio production.
The fi nal product was re-
leased on YouTube in May
and has received nearly 5,000
views. The performance was
also featured on KGW.com
“It was defi nitely a ton of
work, but because there were
many hands and minds in-
volved, it actually was a lot
better together than it would
have been apart. That kind of
made us realize that our pro-
grams sync together super
well,” Rist said.
The three teachers have
continued to have their stu-
collaborative
opportunities
that have been both thera-
peutic and helpful during this
pandemic, while simultane-
ously preparing (students) to
a pathway for future success,”
McNary principal Erik Jes-
persen said during the board
meeting. “We’re so proud of
our educators and students.
Working together is what
we’re all about here at Mc-
Nary, and it’s inspiring to see
the caliber of work of these
students and teachers that
have been created in their liv-
ing rooms.”
After giving virtual in-
struction for nearly a year,
Gruber, Thomas and Rist are
preparing for limited in-per-
son instruction later this
month. Now that all three of
their classrooms are connect-
ed thanks to the renovations
from the McNary bond proj-
ect, the opportunity for many
more collaborations between
the departments could in-
crease dramatically.
“I think you’re going to see,
once we get kids in the build-
ing and once we get down
to our routines, that this will
become a part of the normal
culture at McNary, between
these departments.” Rist said.
“The fun is just beginning,”
Thomas added.
dents collaborate on projects
over the last several months,
including a project in which
kids virtually created scenes of
The Princess Bride, as well as a
performance of Happy Christ-
mas by John Lennon.
“It just made sense because
it gave the kids stuff to do to
get that hands-on experience
of working with others…
When you’re doing stuff with
other people and for oth-
er people, it gives you a little
more pride and a little more
responsibility,” Gruber said “I
have seen kids grow a ton in
their skill because they want
to show that they care.”
Most recently, the crew
created a video during the
holidays featuring numerous
students partaking in activities
at their house while the Mc-
Nary choir gives a virtual per-
formance of Home by Phillip
Phillips.
The collaborations didn’t
go unnoticed by the Sa-
lem-Keizer School District.
On Jan. 12, during a Sa-
lem-Keizer school board
meeting, the three teachers
were given the Spotlight on
Success honor for their efforts
during comprehensive dis-
tance learning.
“This partnership between
classes provides unique and
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