Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2018)
THE SIUSLAW NEWS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ❚ March 2018 SCHOOL ZONE A Monthly Newsletter for the Siuslaw and Mapleton School Districts and Community Groups MAPLETON COMPLETES CONSTRUCTION PHASE I Superstars Shine Mapleton School District announced earlier this year that the Phase 1 of construction remodel on Mapleton High School is complete. Phase 2 began during Spring Break last week. Mapleton High School staff moved into the lower hall at Mapleton High School on March 23. “We also had help moving from our high school stu- dents as part of our Beyond Me Program,” said Maple- ton Superintendent Jodi O’Mara. McKenzie Commercial is the contractor of the re- model project. Phase 1 involved remodeling the high school’s lower hallway, updating the plumbing and electrical systems, adding power and data to the classrooms, putting in new technology in each classroom, installing a new fire alarm and security system, fitting a newly updated science classroom with new gas connections and safety shower and installing new lighting in all classrooms with drop ceilings. In addition, each classroom now has a second exit, there is more storage in the lower hall and all flooring has been replaced. All classrooms and hallways have new paint. “It has created a new look to our hallway and class- rooms,” O’Mara said. “Our bathrooms have also been updated with new fixtures, flooring and plumbing.” McKenzie Commercial will continue to work on Phase 2 of the high school remodel. “Mapleton School District will have a community open house in the fall when all construction is com- pleted,” O’Mara said. “The whole community will be invited!” F P HOTOS BY J ARED A NDERSON /S IUSLAW N EWS PHOTO SUBMITTED BY J ODI O lorence Community PTA hosted stars at the an- nual Siuslaw Superstars Talent Show on March 8. “The evening was a huge success,” PTA Presi- dent Tiff any Holdahl said. “We are very proud of all the kids who performed, the parents and teachers who supported them and all of the fans from our com- munity who came out to cheer them on.” Elementary students sang, danced and joked their way through- out the night. ’ M ARA Mapleton High School’s Beyond Me Program students help district staff move classroom furniture around as McKenzie Construction completed Phase 1 and began Phase 2 of the high school’s remodel and construc- tion. S UBMISSIONS WELCOME Deadline for submissions is the 15th of every month. Be a part of School Zone, a monthly newsletter for students in the Siuslaw and Mapleton school districts. Email Siuslaw News Features Editor Chantelle Meyer at cmeyer@ thesiuslawnews.com ARTIST OF THE MONTH — Chamber choir Alex Kellerman Alexander Kellerman was cho- sen by choir director Mr. Morganti as the March Artist of the Month. Alex is currently attending his last year at Siuslaw High School and lives with proud parents Marcy and Andrew Kellerman. His favorite song is “‘Phantom of the Opera,’ which we are actu- ally singing right now.” Chamber Choir will have a choir festival in early April, and Alex believes the choir will “do really well. We’re really confi dent and the new people who have joined are catching on really quickly.” According to Alex, Mr. Mor- ganti is “one of my favorite choir directors I’ve had so far. He’s re- ally respectful and he really tries to help you learn what you need to do. I feel like I can competently sing better than I could a long time ago. When he started he took people that were recommended to him by the last choir teacher and then at the halfway point he let anyone in. Now whenever you want to join the class you have to audition.” Mr. Morganti has taught Alex and his classmates how to take “control of your voice better, and actually being able to know where you have to stay. He goes through the notes with you for certain things and tells you how it’s sup- posed to feel. It feels diff erent for certain notes, so me putting on a higher note I have to tighten up a little bit and a lower note I loosen up some. You can kinda tell, like some people can instantly know the notes they have to go and go there — I’m trying to learn how to do that. He’ll play the note or hum it to you and you hum it and try to keep that same feeling in your throat before the song is over.” Alex really likes Chamber Choir because “two of my best friends are in there. Th ere’s noth- ing to complain about in that class. It’s really chill and we’re al- ways friendly towards each other, there’s never two people that are “When words fail, music speaks.” – William Shakespeare B Y A UDREY L OWDER Siuslaw High School Student P HOTO BY CAROL JOLLEY Instructor Bruce Morganti says Siuslaw High School's Chamber Choir is a group eff ort. He chose Alex Kellerman (center, in short-sleeved shirt) as the March Artist of the Month. angry at each other.” Chamber Choir is made up of fi ve sopranos, four altos, four ten- ors and two basses. Alex is fairly excited about graduation. “It’s kind of weird to think that this is my last actual summer, like I don’t have to go to school aft er this summer,” he said. As for his future planes, he said, “I’ve been looking at a whole bunch of colleges but I just don’t know. To be honest, I want to be a game developer. You have to go to college if you want to be anywhere in the Triple A (video games pro- duced and distributed by a mid- sized or major publisher). “A lot of colleges actually do have programs that do this, and some colleges are strictly for game designers. I’ve taken a few [pro- graming classes] but I’m mostly self-taught. I’ve been using a lot of diff erent game design soft ware and I’m gonna try to make my own.”