Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2018)
September 21, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A ‘A great day for Seaside!’ Community enjoys celebration of new campus By R.J. Marx Cannon Beach Gazette Visitors flocked to the Heights Elementary School in Seaside Saturday, Sept. 15, for a groundbreaking and cel- ebration of the new campus construction project. “What a great day for Sea- side!” State Sen. Betsy John- son said. “You guys have laid down an example not only for this town, but Clatsop County and this state in preparedness and visionary determination to bring this to a conclusion. Today’s the start. We’ll be back when we open the doors and cut the ribbon.” Johnson, U.S. Rep. Su- zanne Bonamici, Seaside May- or Jay Barber and others re- ceived welcome from Seaside School District Superintendent Sheila Roley in the public groundbreaking for the project, designed to move endangered schools out of the tsunami in- undation zone and to a safe site in the Southeast Hills. Access to the construction site for visitors at the school dis- trict’s public groundbreaking. PHOTOS BY R.J. MARX Seaside School District Sheila Roley at the groundbreaking for the new campus. From left, in rear, Mark Truax, Dan Hess, Suzanne Bonamici, Betsy Johnson and Jay Barber. “A community that cares for its children is where I want to live,” Barber said. “And this is a testament of how we care for our children.” Representatives of the de- sign and construction team, BRIC Architecture, Hoffman Construction and project managers DAY/CPM joined the event and hosted equip- ment tours. Everything is falling into place, according to architect Dan Hess. “We’ve spent so many years on these plans and now it’s coming into place,” Hess said. The steep site and soils make it “technically challeng- ing, but nothing insurmount- able.” Project Manager Jim Henry agreed that this was a “challenging project.” “There are a lot of things that happen on a day-to-day basis, and it’s important to have a great team,” Henry said. Former school district Su- perintendent Doug Dougherty received credit from speakers including Roley and school board member Mark Truax for Dougherty’s nearly two decades of advocacy for the relocation. After an initial $128 mil- lion bond was defeated in 2013, voters approved $99.7 million for a revised plan in November 2016. The campus will bring students from three schools located in the tsunami inunda- tion zone to the new location on 89 acres just southeast of Seaside Heights Elementary School. A new two-story building will house middle and high school students. Gearhart Elementary School students will attend a renovated and expanded Sea- side Heights. Bonamici recounted her own advocacy for the new schools, inspired by a stu- dent-produced video demon- Academy welcomes the school year Academy from Page 1A Leticia Campos, who teaches Spanish, is “thrilled we’re going to have Spanish five days a week,” in addition to a new Spanish curriculum. Her goal is for students to know short phrases, as well as sets of words like the months of the year and days of the week, by the end of the year. Introducing the students to a second language at a young- er age, and giving them more practice, makes it easier for them to absorb the informa- tion and learn the language. “I’m really happy the par- ents in the community are very visionary, you could say, toward their children’s edu- cation,” Campos said. “From what I’ve seen from last year and what I’m seeing this year, it’s a wonderful community.” Building blocks Dawn Jay and Ryan Hull, who teach the kindergarten through first-grade class and second- through third-grade class, respectively, are also looking forward to potential developments in their areas of instruction. During the first week, the school conducts placement tests for all students that are precise and show to what lev- el the students have mastered the material. Hull described the academy’s program as “very much like steps in a house.” “You have to accomplish the first step to get to the next step,” he said. “And if you have holes, you fall through. So if a child has not mastered the material, we remediate and retest.” They also are introducing the students to a new program called Rocket Math, a curricu- lum that teaches math fact and math fluency. Hull used the curriculum for about a decade while teaching in Portland. If implemented properly, he said, it takes only 15 minutes per day, but it keeps students ac- tively engaged during that time and allows each one to advance at an individualized pace. “When they meet their mark, they get to the next step,” he said. “No one gets frustrated that it’s too hard, no one gets frustrated that it’s too easy. It’s right at their own pace, so it pushes them, but it keeps them busy.” Jay, who taught only kin- dergartens last year, is looking forward to her young students growing and learning. She feels confident about the team assembled by the academy and the cohesive environment they provide. “We work well togeth- er and we have each other’s back,” she said. A different option As the academy moves forward, the board and ad- ministration are looking at ways to increase enrollment, as well as draw in more vol- unteers. Each class is capped at a maximum of 25 students, but with the current attendance levels, there is room to grow while still maintaining small- group instruction. “I love small groups and small class sizes, but we need to get our enrollment up,” Frederickson said. “Even with 25, if we had full class- es, that’s smaller than many of the other schools in the area.” She added, “It provides a more well-rounded social in- teraction for students when there are more kids their age around.” Last year, the academy had grant money to advertise on a billboard at the southern end of Seaside, and that was successful, Dewey said. They also focus on maintaining a strong social media presence and promoting their events and activities through news- papers and other media. Some people remain unaware the charter school is tuition-free and offers free breakfasts and lunches to students regardless of income, so the school is trying to clear up that confu- sion, Dewey said. Jay and Hull feel they also have a role to play as teach- ers in promoting the academy through word of mouth, espe- cially because it’s located in a small community. “I think it’s vitally import- ant for us to always be talking and being ambassadors for the school,” Hull said. “Being a public charter school, we have a different option than what you’d get at a tradition- al public school, and we’re proud of that.” Because of small class siz- es and the ability of teachers to assume supportive respon- sibilities — such as providing technological assistance or lunch duty when they lack volunteers — in addition to instruction, the students get to experience consistency and closeness. “I think it’s beneficial for the kids to have that environ- ment constant,” Hull said. “That connectivity of prox- imity, that togetherness, is a huge benefit.” strated that students didn’t have enough time to evacuate to safer, higher ground in case of an earthquake and sub- sequent tsunami. The video prompted Bonamici to sup- port the efforts of students, staff and community. “I early on understood the need to move this to saf- er higher ground,” Bonamici said. “It’s all about these kids in school and the kids in school for generations to come.” Shovels hit the ground in June with grading, clearing, excavation and erosion control. Phil Broome of Hoffman Construction said the project was making good headway and “we should be on target.” The opening for the new campus is scheduled for 2020. FLOORING CCB# 205283 CCB# 205283 y ou ou r r w ep alk ut o at n io n Luxury vinyl planks and tile. you walk on our reputation Flooring Flooring Installation Installation Carpet Cleaning 3470 Hwy 101 Suite 102 • Gearhart, Oregon 503.739.7577 • carpetcornergearhart.com PAINTING Randy Anderson Licensed • Bonded • Insured CCB# 89453 36 Years Experience Anderson Painting (503) 738-9989 • Cell (503) 440-2411 • Fax (503) 738-9337 PO Box 140 Seaside, Oregon 97138 www.andersonpainting.biz “Custom Finishing” CONSTRUCTION B oB M c E wan c onstruction , inc . E xcavation • u ndErground u tiitiEs r oad w ork • F ill M atErial s itE P rEParation • r ock owned and operated by M ike and C eline M C e wan 503-738-3569 34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR P.O. Box 2845, Gearhart, OR S erving the p aCifiC n orthweSt S inCe 1956 • CC48302 LANDSCAPING Laurelwood Compost • Mulch • Planting MacMix Soil Amendments YARD DEBRIS DROP-OFF (no Scotch Broom) 503-717-1454 34154 HIGHWAY 26 SEASIDE, OR Laurelwood Farm CONSTRUCTION SUB-BIDS REQUESTED “Helping shape the character of Cannon Beach since 1973” Residential • Commercial • Remodeling New Construction • Storm Damage Repair Full Service Custom Cabinet Shop Seaside School District 503.436.2235 New Middle/High www.coasterconstruction.com • CCB# 150126 LAWN CARE Schools Free Estimates • Storm Clean-Up Seaside, Oregon Bid Package: #4 CEU credits available! JIM’S LAWN CARE All Other Work onderstanding alzheimer’s and dementia 503-325-2445 Bids Due: Oct 4 th , 2018 2:00pm Bid Documents: www.hoffmancorp.com/ subcontractors 805 SW Broadway, Suite 2100 Portland, OR 97205 Phone (503) 221-8811 Bid Fax (503) 221-8888 BIDS@hoffmancorp.com Hoffman is an equal opportunity employer and requests sub-bids from all interested firms including disadvantaged, minority, women, disabled veterans and emerging small-business enterprises OR CCB#28417/LIC HOFFMCC164NC AND effective cdmmonicatidn strategies Alzheimer’s is nut nurmal aging. It’s a disease uf the brain that causes prublems with memury, thinking and behaviur. As peuple living with Alzheimer’s disease and uther dementias prugress, and the abilities tu use wurds is lust, families need new ways tu cunnect. Juin us fur back-tu-back educatiunal classes that explure Alzheimer’s disease stages and risk facturs, current research, treatments available tu address sume symptums, Alzheimer’s Assuciatiun resuurces, and cummunicatiun strategies tu help yuu cunnect and cummunicate at each stage uf the disease. date ldcatidn register Wednesday, Oct. 17 10 a.m - 12:30 p.m. Cannun Beach Cummunity Church 132 E. Washingtun St. Cannun Beach, OR 97110 This class is free, but registratiun is required. Tu register, call 800-272-3900 Presented in collaboration with: LAWNS • SHRUBS • GUTTER CLEANING BARK • BRUSH CLEARING & REMOVAL WEEDING • HAULING • MONTHLY RATES STORAGE STORAGE AVAILABLE CANNON BEACH BUSINESS PARK 10’ x 10’ Heated Contact Holly at 503-436-2235
