Cottage Grove sentinel., October 26, 2016, Image 25

School Zone
Oct ober 26, 2016
A mont hly newslet t er cover ing ar ea schools
N EW SCHOOL NEWS
Greg Mc-
Cracken of
BLRB Archi-
tects shows
drawings
of the new
elementary
school that
will replace
Harrison
Elementary to
current Har-
rison students
on Tuesday,
Oct. 18. Mc-
Cracken and
Mike Gorman
talked about
the job that
architects per-
form and so-
licited possble
names for the
new school.
Sentinel fi le photo
Harrison students help imagine new school
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
L
ast Monday evening,
Greg McCracken and
Mike Gorman of BLRB
Architects showcased the
evolving plans for a new el-
ementary school building in
Cottage Grove to members of
the South Lane School Board.
The next morning, McCrack-
en and Gorman shared those
same plans with a very differ-
ent audience — the students
themselves.
Students in all grade lev-
els at Harrison Elementary
School got a chance last Tues-
day to imagine what their day
may be like in a brand-new
school, one approved by the
voters through a bond issue in
May that is scheduled to open
for the 2018-19 school year.
“What an awesome experi-
ence,” McCracken said after
the fi nal presentation of the
day. “The kids had such fantas-
tic questions about the school
design, and they learned a lot
about what kind of work an
architect does.”
Of course, some Harrison
students will have moved on
to middle school by the time
the new building opens for the
fi rst time, and one fi fth-grader
reportedly exclaimed that he’d
like to be held back just so he
can experience the new school.
Younger students in grades K-
2 got a chance to color draw-
ings of the school and imagine
its color scheme, and others
utilized the qualities of the
Cottage Grove area to imagine
themes for various portions of
the school building.
During the fi nal presenta-
tion to a group of fi fth-graders,
questions included whether the
school’s playground will be
open after school, to which the
architects responded that plans
call for the school building to
be a community resource that
is available outside of school
hours. Another asked if the
old Harrison building would
be salvaged. One student even
asked if the school would be
a Poke stop, though the ar-
chitects responded that such
a determination wasn’t up to
them. Students were able to
imagine themselves in a new
grade and fi nd the appropriate
classroom.
Much discussion involved
the naming of the new school,
and one teacher stated that she
was quite partial to the exist-
ing Harrison name. It’s a con-
versation that’s been going on
among the older members of
the community as well, and a
link on the South Lane web-
site will allow those interested
to weigh in before Nov. 22.
Names from the students in-
cluded “Harrison Junior” and
“Harrison 2.0,” among many
others.
SCHOOL BRIEFS
Holistic support training
for Kennedy staff
Kennedy high school staff attend sessions to
learn about holisitic support for students.
Ongoing staff meeting presentations have
brought back the recent training to the whole
staff. The MMSAP (Masonic Model Student
Access Program) is now in place to assist staff
in providing more support for students.
London School Farm
Field Trips, Oct. 27 and 28
Kindergarten through third-grade students
will visit Ruby & Amber’s Farm in Dorena
on Oct. 27, and fourth through eighth-graders
will visit Lone Pine Farms on Oct. 28.
Buses leave at 8:30 a.m.
Parents are asked to make sure their child
dresses for the weather and wears rain
boots. Students will be bringing back pump-
kins from the farm.
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“We always gain a lot
of great insight as to what
makes a great learning space,
what is valuable to both
teachers and students,” Mc-
Cracken said. “It’s great to
engage with the kids, connect
and share ideas so everybody
can understand what we’re
getting into.”
Ducks, Beavers
square off in
reading challenge
In celebration of SMART’s
(Start Making A Reader Today)
25th year, Oregon State Univer-
sity Athletics and University of
Oregon Athletics have partnered
with the organization to raise
funds and awareness for its work
bringing a love of reading to Or-
egon kids.
From Saturday, Oct. 15
through Saturday, Nov. 26,
the teams will compete in the
SMART Literacy Challenge, a
campaign encouraging dona-
tions to benefi t local SMART
programs, which build reading
motivation and enjoyment in
Pre-K through third-grade chil-
dren.
“SMART is delighted that
both teams have stepped up to
the challenge, embracing the im-
portance of early literacy and the
role that they (and their mascots)
can play in inspiring children
to love reading,” says SMART
Area Manager Kari Rosenfeld.
Community members can
show their school pride by do-
nating to the campaign in the
name of their favorite team.
The winning university will be
crowned the SMART Literacy
Champion at the Civil War
football game between the two
teams, and honored for making a
signifi cant contribution to early
literacy. One lucky donor will
also select a local elementary
school for their team’s mascot
and student athletes to visit for a
school-wide reading assembly.
SMART Literacy Challenge
participants can donate online
at:
www.crowdrise.com/Bea-
versVsDucks.
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