Polk County Education
16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 7, 2016
Education Foundation
awards teacher grants
Itemizer-Observer staff report
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Morrison Campus Alternative School students spent Friday setting up Santa’s living room at Winterfest in Dallas.
The volunteer effort is just one of several projects students at the school take on throughout the year.
Making a winter wonderland
Morrison students create Winterfest magic, volunteer for Christmas projects
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Anyone who
has put up Christmas lights
can relate to Brandon Oster-
berg’s frustration.
“No, no, no! Don’t do
this,” he said to a tangled
string of lights he was trying
to hang on the tents that
make up Santa’s shelter at
Winterfest.
A Morrison Campus Alter-
native School student, Bran-
don volunteered with a
group of his schoolmates to
help put up the decorations
Friday morning.
“I love my Morrison stu-
dents,” said Chelsea Met-
calfe, the event’s organizer.
She said the school has
been helping the Dallas Area
Chamber of Commerce with
preparations for the annual
Christmas kickoff for the last
three years.
Friday’s chilly tempera-
tures and rain didn’t detract
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Lights, trees and decorations were put up on Friday.
from the holiday cheer the
students were feeling.
“It’s just like Christmas
with family,” said Mary
Wyckoff, a junior.
“It’s pretty cool,” chimed
in senior Emily Jones. “You
get to help the community.”
This isn’t the only way
Morrison works to give back.
In addition to Winterfest
decorating, students volun-
teer ringing bells for the Sal-
vation Army and helping
pack and distribute food
and gifts through Dallas
Adopt-a-Family program.
Students at the school have
long helped prepare and
host the chamber’s Trick-N-
Treat event for Halloween.
Morrison teacher Charlotte
Vidrio said her students want
to find ways to continue do-
nating their time in the
spring. One idea is get in con-
tact with organizations serv-
ing seniors or those with dis-
abilities to help with yard
work.
She said those projects
aren’t necessarily part of a
class.
“It’s part of who we are,”
she said nodding toward her
students working like
Christmas elves on Winter-
fest decorations.
The class would wrap up
decorations in the afternoon
only to return to help with
crowd control once the Win-
terfest kicked off at 5 p.m.
They stayed to tear down the
event afterward.
Vidrio said she and her
students are happy to put in
the long day.
“They are just so kind,”
Vidrio said. “For some of
them, this is the only Christ-
mas they have. This is their
family; this is their Christ-
mas.”
Have ideas for volunteer
projects for Morrison stu-
dents? Contact Vidrio: char-
lotte.vidrio@dsd2.org.
DALLAS — The Dallas Education Foundation awarded
grants to 17 Dallas School District teachers, totaling
$6,503.19.
The foundation received 30 applications asking for
more than $13,000, said Lisa Borja, the foundation presi-
dent.
Of the total given, $3,000 was donated by the Dallas
Community Foundation.
Here are the 2016 grant recipients:
Heather Shinn, autism team, for sensory and social
classroom support; Anna Tally, Dallas High School, for
geometry compasses; Jack Davis, DHS, for classroom li-
brary; Samantha Hauck, DHS, for classroom library; Ma-
lynda Shook, LaCreole Middle School, for art supplies;
Jacob Gradek, LaCreole, for materials for project-based
learning; Merryellen Price, LaCreole, books for sixth-grade;
Jennie White, Lyle Elementary School, ADHA adaptable
seating; Liz Blake, Lyle; two Chromebooks; Melissa Glazn-
er, Morrison Campus Alternative School, for science lab
materials; Amy Ebner, Oakdale Elementary School; sup-
plementary reading materials; Kristine Nightengale, Oak-
dale, for fidget tools; Brian Rebischke, Oakdale, bass bar
and mallet; Theresa Lehman and Jena Vessell, Oakdale
and Whitworth elementary schools, for six microscopes;
Yvette Allen and Diana Christensen, Whitworth, for flexible
seating; Chris Lund, Whitworth, for Ozobots; and Brian
Williamson, Whitworth, for Ozobots.
Fo r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n : d a l l a s o re d u c a t i o n
f o u n d a t i o n @ g m a i l . c o m , o r o n Fa c e b o o k a t
https://www.facebook.com/DallasEducationFoundation/.
Donations can be made at dallaseducation
foundation.com or mailed to Dallas Education Founda-
tion, PO Box 392, Dallas, OR 97338.
SCHOOL NOTES
Winter program on tap at KVCS
KINGS VALLEY — Kings Valley Charter School’s Winter Pro-
gram is Thursday starting at 6 p.m., at the school, 33840 Kings
Valley Highway.
Mrs. Hanson, Mrs. Kohanek and Ms. Bobbi's students’ pro-
gram begins at 6 p.m. Mrs. Lodge & Mrs. Zaback's students’ pro-
gram will begin at 7 p.m.
Treats will be for sale at the program and will help raise
money for a field trip to OMSI Outdoor Experience for Mrs.
Lodge and Mrs. Zaback’s classes.
For more information: ddemasi@kvschool.org.
USDA official to visit Ash Creek
MONMOUTH — Kevin Concannon, the United States Under
Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, will visit
Central School District on Monday.
His stop will include the district’s after school enrichment
program, Beyond the Bell, at Ash Creek Elementary School in
Monmouth.
Beyond the Bell serves meals to 225 students in the district
daily.
The Oregon Department of Education is hosting Concannon,
whose agency includes the United States Department of Agri-
culture Child Nutrition Program.