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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2015)
Retrospect One hundred years for Seaside High School Staff, students hope to highlight special occasion throughout the year By Katherine Lacaze Seaside Signal All impending school years carry some sense of trepidation, excitement or anticipation for incoming students, teachers, adminis- trators and staff. For Seaside High School, the 2015-16 school year is a milestone, Principal Sheila Roley said. The class of 2016 will be the 100th class to graduate from Seaside High School. Throughout the school year, students and staff look forward to making a big deal out of the “100th Class” cele- bration, Roley said. “In general, students are the ones with the really good ideas,” she said. She designated Associated Student Body Senior Class President Alie Zagata to lead a team in putting together a history of the school and planning activities and events throughout the year, includ- ing a community event — to be determined — next spring. Students are considering a time capsule to store memo- rabilia and messages to future generations. They are in the early stages of planning, but “it’s going to be a big proj- ect,” Roley said. About 100 years ago, Sea- side, Gearhart and Cannon Beach each had their own district for elementary stu- dents, but educators and com- munity members determined it would be best to start a high school run by a separate uni- ¿ed school district with its own board of directors. In November 1916, after sev- eral delays, the communities dedicated a recently ¿nished $35,000 Union High School in Seaside. KATHERINE LACAZE/SEASIDE SIGNAL KATHERINE LACAZE/SEASIDE SIGNAL Seaside Museum displays a plaque from the old Seaside Union High School, erected in 1916. The class of 2016 will be the 100th class the graduate from the school designed to serve students from Gearhart, Cannon Beach and Seaside. “Seaside can well feel proud of this excellent edu- cational building, and those instrumental in the building of this valuable adjunct to this great resort can feel high- ly elated at the result of their labors,” the Seaside Signal wrote Nov. 16, 1916. Another Signal article de- scribed the new school would be “bigger in its enrollment” and “better in its equipment, broadened till it stands second to none in the county.” J.W. Branstator was the principal at the time. Un- ‘Those instrumental in the building of this valuable adjunct to this great resort can feel highly elated at the result of their labors,’ Seaside Signal, Nov. 16, 1916 der his direction, the district planned to expand its curric- ulum so the caliber of Union High School would equal that of Astoria High School. Union High School was located directly west of the current facility, along what is now North Holladay Drive. Some time in the 1950s, the district constructed a new building that became the core of the current high school. That facility was added on to in 1962, increasing the capacity of the school to 600 students. A gymnasium large enough for two basketball courts and folding bleachers was a highlight of the upgrade. Fast forward to now, as the school prepares for its 100th year of serving high school students in South County. Roley, Assistant Principal Jeff Roberts and other staff members and teachers are preparing for the arrival of approximately 450 students for the 2015-16 school year. A photo at the Seaside Museum depicts the Union High School built in 1916 that served stu- dents from Gearhart, Seaside and Cannon Beach. Freshmen and new stu- dents will come the Tues- day after Labor Day, Sept. 8, for a program called Link Crew. Junior and senior crew leaders will show the new students around the school and put on several team-building exercises to help them get acclimated before the remaining stu- dents arrive Sept. 9. “It’s a great transition pro- gram,” Roley said. Incorpo- rated about 20 years ago, she added, it is “one of the most signi¿cant changes for set- ting a positive school climate we’ve ever made.” Personally, Roley is en- tering her 30th year as an educator, and she said the “excitement and anticipation has never diminished one bit for me.” “I anxiously await the arrival of the staff and kids each year,” she said. Each year, she anticipates leading the high school into the future. Educators are nev- er satis¿ed, she said, because “they know there is growth we can continue to make.” G e a r ha r t G r o c e r y Proud Supporters of Seaside High School Seagulls! Sandwich Punch Cards Lunch Specials Soup & Friday Clam Chowder Salads • Pie • Cake Catering Premium Meats 599 Pacific Way, Gearhart G O GULLS ! www. w hiteshea ting a nd sheetm eta l .com Bob White • Scott White 2964 Highway 101N, Seaside 738-6361 - Builder #161035 503.738.7312 Wed-Mon 9 to 6, Closed Tues Sunday 9 to 5 Comfort Specialist Seagull Pride • Spring 2015 • Seaside Signal/Cannon Beach Gazette • 11