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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2018)
OPINION / NEWS A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Boycott graduation It’s a shame a handful of individuals rewrote Hermiston High School history by altering the 2018 commencement. They decided to move the ceremony out of state in another city. With all the property they gained from the vacant fairgrounds they could have housed a ceremony with more than ample parking. Imagine being educated in Hermiston but now your special day others decided to move it out of state. Talk about an inconvenience. Boycott your graduation — boycott. The high school still has to give you your diploma. Hold your own ceremony in Hermiston. Shame on the individuals who came up with this plan. It’s obvious they weren’t thinking and probably most are not Hermiston alums. DON HANSON, HERMISTON, PRESIDENT, CLASS OF 1968 Food drive a success On behalf of the clients of the Agape House, I want to extend our great thanks to the Hermiston postal carriers and the people of the Hermiston area for the great results of the postal carriers’ food drive on May 12. Through their effort, over one and a half tons of food were collected. If you would like to see the results of their effort, I invite you to visit Agape House and see the happy faces of those being served. Again, thank you all. DAVE HUGHES, HERMISTON Thanks for helping homeless I am proud to say that Starbucks in Hermiston deserves a big applause for how they treat our homeless! I was meeting some people at Starbucks and got there early. There was one of our homeless gentlemen with his little doggie sitting in one of the chairs. He was pretty much at home sitting there holding his little companion. I noticed the staff had placed a small container of water by his chair for his little buddy. I sat there and smiled and felt such a warm feeling in my soul that no matter how bad things look on the outside there really are good people who run good caring businesses who aren’t out there just for that mighty dollar! I have given plenty of food and whatever I can to help out my people on the streets, because I’ve been there myself. But I don’t usually see a business do that. And Starbucks isn’t the only one I’ve experienced that help their people in need. I was at The Dollar Store and one of our down-and-outs was sitting outside. I asked him if he would like something to eat. He said yes please. He waited while I went in and bought a couple of sandwiches for him. I had to remember to get him something he could chew with very few teeth. The manager allowed me to heat up the sandwiches and I took it and a bottle of water outside and gave it to him, along with an easy to open can of dog food for his companion. I want to thank both of those managers for caring and treating everyone with respect and dignity. Thank you. BERNIE SANDERSON, HERMISTON STAFF PHOTO BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN Hannah Thompson, Courtney Wheeler and Stephanie Miears, students in the Oregon Teacher Pathway class, will study education at EOU starting in the fall. Students become the teachers By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER Many students would love to get inside the mind of a teacher. For the past two years, some Hermiston students have been taking a class that allows them to do that — with the hopes of finding out if they’d like to be teachers themselves. Students in the Oregon Teacher Pathway class con- ducted research projects, each focusing on a specific aspect of teaching and how it impacts student success. The 18 students presented their findings at the sec- ond annual Oregon Teacher Pathway Research Night, at Hermiston High School’s library on Monday. In its second year at Hermiston High School, the research-based class aims to foster diversity in the field of teaching, give students the opportunity to gain college credit while still in high school and encourage them to become teachers. Participants in the class can also get a signif- icant discount on majoring in education at Eastern Ore- gon University. Research topics students in the class chose included changing core requirements to affect the dropout rate, the benefits of preschool programs, including career and technical education in core requirements, and how handwriting instruction impacts student success. Some students picked a topic to which they had a personal connection. Senior Stephanie Miears wrote her paper about teach- er-student relationships in the classroom — a topic she said was inspired partly by her own experience. “I’ve had good teach- ers,” she said. “Our rela- tionships have made me want to be a better student.” Courtney Wheeler’s research paper was about programs that low-income schools offer to students. “I thought it would be easy to relate to, because we have so many low-income schools here,” she said. She said she found out about projects like the back- pack program, which sends students home with a back- pack full of food supplies, as well as helping students afford clothing or activities. “We just had our prom, and upstairs (at Hermiston High School), there was a place to donate dresses,” she said. “If you couldn’t afford it, you could find a dress there.” Hannah Thompson’s project focused on how teachers can reach stu- dents with different learn- ing styles. “One thing I learned is that students benefit from knowing what type of learner they are,” she said. Thompson said she was able to observe some of the different learning styles in action while working at a local elementary school. During math lessons, she said, styles would become more apparent. “One liked to use graphs, and one would prefer a number line,” she said. Students spent the whole year in the Oregon Teacher Pathway class learning about different aspects of teaching, and honing their research skills. “We’re used to the ‘intro paragraph, three body paragraphs, closing para- graph,’” Thompson said. These essays were lon- ger and more detailed, she said, and students learned how to navigate some of the research databases that will become frequently-used tools in college. Teacher Ericka Keefau- ver said the program has grown, from nine students last year to 18 this year, and she hopes to see even more sign up in the future. Four of this year’s stu- dents, including Miears, Thompson and Wheeler, are headed to Eastern Ore- gon University to study education. MEMORIAL DAY May 22 - June 4 Start your SUMMER with great deals on the TOYOTA that gets you to your next ADVENTURE! 0 . 9% 2018 APR for 60 months OR $1750 Cash Back 2018 OR $2000 Cash Back AWD Excludes Hybrid Thank you Dr. Gifford for serving our community! 2018 Every new Toyota comes with Gas or Hybrid NHTSA 5-Star Safety Rating LEASE A NEW 2018 XLE Crew Max SR5 AWD Excludes TRD Pro 4X4 $ 399 $ 309 mo. 36 mos. mo. 36 mos. JOSEPH R. GIFFORD, M.D. After 26 years of continued service to our community, it is with deep respect and gratitude that we announce the retirement of Joseph R. Gifford, M.D., Family Practice $ 0 Security Deposit $ 0 Security Deposit $ 3,099 Due at Signing $ 3,199 Due at Signing Physician. As of April 2018, Dr. Gifford is no longer seeing patients at the Gifford Medical Center. TRD 4X4 Excludes TRD Pro Off-Road Double Cab $ 299 mo. 36 mos. We wish Dr. Gifford and his family the best of $ 0 Security Deposit $ 1,849 luck as they embark on their new journey. Due at Signing (541) 567-6461 or 800-522-2308 ToyotaOfHermiston.com Mon-Fri 8:30a - 7:00p Sat 8:30a - 7:00p • Sun 10:00a - 5:00p All financing on approved credit through TFS. All vehicles subject to prior sale. All prices plus tax and title. $75 dealer doc fee. Offers end 6/4/18. For more details call 1-888-21-TOYOTA. 610 NW 11th St. | H e r m i s t o n , O R 9 7 8 3 8 | w w w. g s h e a l t h . o r g
