Smoke Signals
SUMMER 2004
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New Graduates Grand Ronde Tribal High School graduates were presented with Pendleton blankets at this year's Honor & Recognition Ceremony. From left
are: Caitlin Zimbrick, Brenda Ambrose, Rachel Clark, Daniel Garrison and Andrew Spitzer.
2004 Honor & Recognition Dinner And Awards
By Marion Mercier, Education Manager
rhe 2003 -04 academic year seems
to have flown by and we are be
ginning a new one. Many pro
gram and individual accomplish-
irf V i ments were achieved throughout
the year as will be evident when you read this
year's Special Education Edition. I would like
to start by saying 'thank you' to our accom
plished Smoke Signals staff for taking the time
and effort to spotlight the division activities
and events and to showcase our student ac
complishments throughout the year; they all
do a great job!
Early Childhood Education (ECE) Programs
have focused on promoting healthy students
and families by offering the 13 week Options
Parent Training seminar, increasing dad in
volvement through 'Father Figure' activities,
hosting the 2nd Annual Grandparents' Day
that was attended by 20 extended family mem
bers and by incorporating mental and nutri
tional health curriculum into the daily class
room schedules. One of the ECE Programs
most successful family activity is the monthly
Literacy Night offered at both the Pre-school
Program and the K-5 Program. We generally
have 15 to 20 families participate in the event
and our students end up with a library of 10
books by attending this activity throughout the
year. Another program focus this year has
been on culture curriculum. Through a De
partment of Education grant awarded to the
Tribe this year, the ECE and Youth Educa
tion programs have been able to hire five high
school interns to develop and bring culture
related science and math curriculum into the
pre-school classrooms. This has resulted in a
lot of learning about the world around us for
everybody involved. We have great teachers
and staff in the ECE program; they provide a
nurturing and educational environment for
the kids as well as putting forth that extra ef
fort to make learning fun for the kids. Nine
teen Pre-school graduates were honored at the
August 19, 2004 graduation ceremony on the
Tribal pow-wow grounds.
The Tribal Youth Education (YED) Program
serves youth in grades 6 - 12. The Youth Edu
cation Program has seen a lot of changes this
year. First, we have three new staff members,
each brings an expertise and experience to
their position that has allowed for program
growth and accomplishments. I would like to
take this time to thank previous YED Program
staff for laying the program groundwork, mak
ing the connections with the local school dis
tricts, building relationships with the students,
developing policies and forms. This ground
work has been instrumental in paving the way
for our new program staff to move into other
areas of program need. Thanks Lisa, Richard
and Dustin. Current staff has made signifi
cant strides in increasing student participation
in afterschool programming and academic
camps. The program has developed and offered
needed culture curriculum and camps as well
as facilitating a three-day Summer Youth
Leadership Conference with local student lead
ers. Tutoring services in the local schools in
creased and we have seen academic improve
ment with many of the students. Twenty
eighth grade graduates and 19 high school
graduates were recognized at the Annual Edu
cation Honor & Recognition Dinner. Thanks
YED staff, you're doing a great job.
The Adult Education Program is fortunate
to have an exceptional teacher on staff; much
of the program success can be attributed to
Joanne Carr's excellent teaching style and the
genuine demonstration of caring and support
given to each student. Student success in the
Adult Education Program continues to be at
an all time high. Fifteen Tribal members
earned their GED Diplomas this year, for
Education contined
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