Education 5
SUMMER 2004
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went on several intense hikes this summer, one
to Drift Creek Falls, Coast Creek Trail and also
Agency creek. They loved it. Many Tribal mem
bers volunteered their time to come and teach
culture to our children; dance, chinuk, drum
ming, stick games, paper making, weaving, lots
of crafts and beading. Archery was offered to
the children and they LOVED it. Literacy night
was incorporated into our program in February
and has been well attended by our children and
their families.
Our goals are to keep the children active, edu
cated and having a great time doing it. All of
the staff and students participated in our "quiet
hour" after lunch, doing reading, math and writ
ing activities. Basketball camp, Volleyball camp
and a mini-soccer camp were fun and busy ac- .
tivities associated with our Summer Program
One of the great things about the sport camps
we were able to offer is that they were coordi
nated by either our high school interns or our
substitutes. We were able to offer Culture Camp
to the local Tribal children for 6 weeks. 6 Tribal
children signed up for our Culture Camp.
The Summer Youth Employees started July
6 and spent time training and participating
with the K-5 Children. Ten Youth trainees
joined us and were a lot of fun for our staff
and students. It was a busy and exciting summer.
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Kids attended archery camp as part of the Tribe's Summer Youth Pro
grams. Kids are encouraged to join the summer programs.
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Tribal youth at the summer volleyball camp, which provides a positive
outlet for students during the summer.
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Students jump in the pool during a swimming lesson provided by the Triba
Youth Education Department.
By Marie Heimburg
The Youth Education staff contin
ues to strive to provide enrichment
activities that create a positive ex
perience for each Tribal youth.
This year, 159, 6-12th grade
Tribal youth members were identi
fied in the Willamina and Sheridan
school districts. Sixteen Tribal
youth graduated from high school
and all of the 12 local graduates will
be attending college this fall! Five
graduates received scholarships and
just as important, 14 local Tribal
eighth graders graduated. Stu
dents, parents and Tribal members
should be very proud of their accom
plishments! Academic achievement does not
happen without commitment, disci
pline and hard work from the stu
dent. Just as important is consis
tency and support from parents.
Parents can participate in their
youth's education in numerous
ways. As a parent, consider asking
yourself the following questions:
In your busy day, do you take
time to listen and talk to your youth
about their day at school?
Do you regularly attend teacher
parent meetings, sports or other
school events that your youth par
ticipates in?
B Do you make certain that your
youth attends school on a regular
basis?
D Do you attend Youth Education
Parent Committee meetings?
B Do you assist your youth with
their homework or arrange for
someone else to assist?
Let's take a moment to discuss
these questions. Though our adult
lives are overwhelmed with respon
sibilities, we need to make time to
listen to our youth. Attending
teacher and parent meetings keeps
us up of our youth's achievement
and can prevent academic prob
lems. Attending their school func
tions gives them pride and self-esteem.
Making certain that they
regularly attend school is crucial.
It is so important that students
regularly attend school! Assisting
youth with their homework rein
forces to them that you care. Fi
nally, participating in the Youth
Education Parent Committee and
other activities lets your voice be
all
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Tribal Youth Education staff (I to r) Brian Campbell, Tiffany Greenberg,
Marie Heimburg, Travis Mercier, Ashlee Merrill and Chris Bailey.
heard. We encourage all parents to
attend at least one meeting a year
so that we, the staff, can create pro
gramming that you want your
youth to experience. We have a
luncheon meeting once a month but
are willing to change the time to ac
commodate others. The staff is here
to make a positive difference in all
Tribal youth's lives but we need
you to participate!
The Youth Education Program
had many new experiences during
the past year. The after school pro
gram provided cultural based edu
cational, recreational and cultural
enrichment activities. 23 students
actively participated 1,167 times
during the year! Chinook wa wa
classes were offered, as well as,