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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2016)
June 10, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A Jazz Society supports aspiring student musicians By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal Passing the torch from “old to young” is among the missions of the Lighthouse Jazz Society. Once again they are showing support with donations to Seaside High School’s aspiring musicians. “That was a huge sur- prise,” Seaside High School Band Director Terry Dahl- gren said. “This will go for music and making the bands go, which is extraordinarily helpful.” The society’s sponsorship of the annual Seaside Jazz Festival brings renowned performers and fans together for a long weekend in Febru- ary. It also puts Seaside High School’s young musicians onstage. “We’ve had a great re- lationship with the jazz so- ciety,” Dahlgren said. “The jazz band has played there before, and we’ve continued it through the years, back when it was called the Dixie- land Festival.” Based in Seaside since 1992, the Lighthouse Jazz Society is devoted to tra- ditional jazz and the many genres that have developed from it. They provide scholarships from a raffl e at the jazz fest, this year bringing in more than $2,000. In February, the jazz band took the stage at the Seaside Jazz Festival, presented by the Lighthouse Jazz Society. “We always get great au- dience feedback,” Dahlgren said. “Last year we were vot- ed one of the favorite bands, so it was really fun.” Early this month, the jazz band performed for the 100th reunion of Seaside High School. Support from the Light- house Jazz Society has been ongoing, Dahlgren said. “They’ve been sending kids to camp for years, even be- fore I started here.” SEASIDE SIGNAL/SUBMITTED PHOTO Scholarship recipients James Harkins, Kelsi Ellen Leer, Lucy Swenson and Hayley Rollins. Local students are recognized for their dedication to the arts SEASIDE SIGNAL/SUBMITTED PHOTO Seaside High School Band Director Terry Dahlgren and Janet Todd. Todd provided the high school with a donation on behalf of the Lighthouse Jazz Society. SEASIDE SIGNAL/SUBMITTED PHOTO SEASIDE SIGNAL/SUBMITTED PHOTO Autumn Frye and Joyanna Sage, both eighth-graders at Warrenton Middle School. This year scholarships were awarded to Seaside High School junior Jacob Brien, a bass clarinetist and baritone saxophonist. Eighth-graders Autumn Frye Baritone saxophonist Jacob Brien is one of three Lighthouse Jazz Society music camp scholarship winners. and Joyanna Sage, both clar- inet players at Warrenton Middle School, also received scholarships. The society describes the camp as a setting where students receive instruction from top musicians. Students learn music theory and im- provisation skills, develop a better understanding of mu- sic and make new friends. Brown says she’s ‘not done contributing’ to education Brown from Page 1A As for Brown, she looks forward to having additional time for her rec- reational pastimes, such as kayaking, hiking and skiing. However, she also imagines both she and her husband, Mike Brown, who also is retiring from Seaside High School this year, will want to continue working part-time or invest- ing some hours into education. “I don’t think we’re done contribut- ing to that fi eld,” she said. Changing course Education was not Brown’s orig- inal career choice. She fi rst received a degree in parks and recreation from Central Washington University. She planned to settle down in central Wash- ington. Brown attributes her original em- ployment goals and ideals to growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, when career options for women were limited. In the following era, with its expanding hori- zon of gender equality, Brown wanted to grasp new, burgeoning possibilities. She spent time as a forest fi refi ghter and a Washington State Parks employee, among other jobs. She was uncertain about teaching as a profession because it seemed too “clichéed.” “I didn’t want to be teaching, be- cause that’s what women typically had done,” she said. When her husband took a job at the high school, the couple moved to Sea- side and Brown worked at the Sunset Empire Park & Recreation District for a few years. While there, she soon dis- covered she favored the aspects of her job that related to education, such as teaching classes. She started taking courses at Clatsop Community College and then fi nished her teaching degree through Pacifi c University and by doing a student teaching segment at Banks High School. Brown started her tenure in the Sea- side School District as an English and journalism teacher at the high school in 1990. She also oversaw the high school’s yearbook and news magazine, worked in alternative education and helped establish and coach the high school’s swim team. In 2002, Brown was hired as the as- sistant principal at Broadway Middle School. The following year, she main- tained a portion of that role while also serving as principal of Gearhart Ele- mentary School. Brown was the principal of both Gearhart Elementary and the Cannon Beach Elementary School in 2005, be- fore serving solely as the Gearhart prin- cipal starting in 2007. She fi nished making her rounds of the Seaside schools when she became the principal at the Heights in 2014. In fact, she said, her one “claim to fame” is having worked at every school in the district. As to which teaching gig was her favorite, Brown said, “I’ve enjoyed them all, and I think that’s the sign of a true educator” — the ability to be com- fortable and content teaching any age group. In 2014 former Cannon Beach stu- dents were assimilated into Seaside Heights Elementary School. Having served as the Cannon Beach principal and knowing many of the students and their families, Brown felt poised to lead the two schools’ merging. “I wanted to be here to help bring everybody together,” she said. Benefi ts and challenges About fi ve years after moving to Seaside, the Browns had the opportuni- ty to move to central Washington when Mike Brown was offered a teaching position there. They chose to stay in Seaside. Brown can point to several features she values about the Seaside School District: the location, the students, the hugely supportive community, her fel- low educators and the good balance between veteran staff and adminis- trators and new faces who bring with them fresh ideas. “I think that has benefi ted our dis- trict greatly,” she said. She also has found a variety of op- portunities in the district to keep her interested and excited, she said. She is currently director of the district’s English Language Development pro- grams. She also served on the district’s Language Arts Team, which selects and implements new reading and writing courses aligned to the Common Core State Standards, Dougherty said. Brown is the lone administrator of the largest staff in the Seaside School District. Over the past two years, Dougherty said, she has “successfully brought together employees from three schools to create a cohesive instruction- al team and strong school identity.” Educators are becoming increas- ingly responsible for ensuring students have access to food, clothing and men- tal and physical health care — all the things that ultimately would affect their learning and well-being. Brown said she believes “it’s defi nitely gotten to be more stressful for educators.” She appreciates the support she re- ceives from community members and organizations who run programs that provide children with supplemental clothes and food. She also consistently fi nds way to collaborate and encourage parents to play active roles in their chil- dren’s education, Dougherty said. From Brown’s perspective, the in- teractions she shares with fellow edu- cators, students and their families are rewarding for herself, as well. “I learn every day from my kids and their parents and my staff,” she said. Sande was uncertain about teaching as a profession because it seemed too ‘clichéed.’ ‘I didn’t want to be teaching, because that’s what women typically had done,’ she said. As part of its mission to provide fi nancial resources to artists in the Cannon Beach community, the Cannon Beach Arts Association annually awards scholarships to sup- port students who are pursuing higher education in the arts. This year, CBAA had the pleasure of awarding schol- arships to four different stu- dents: Lucy Swenson, James Harkins, Kelsi Leer, and Hayley Rollins. Each student actively participates in dif- ferent art forms ranging from musical arts and theater to vi- sual arts. Three of the student will soon be continuing their education in the arts by pur- suing degrees at universities throughout the nation. Swenson, a multi-talent- ed student from Seaside high school, loves to write her own music and has taken lessons in piano, guitar, fl ute, oboe and voice. She will be at- tending Bennington College starting in fall 2016 in hopes of studying music education, composition, or music therapy. The second recipient, James Harkins, has been in- volved in theater and has been the lead in several pro- ductions. He has also been an assistant director in a produc- tion of “Urinetown.” Harkins plans on attending Old Dominion University in Virginia to continue his edu- cation in theater arts or fi lm/ creative media. Kelsi Leer is a visual artist with a deep interest in anima- tion and illustration. She has completed several art classes at Seaside high school such as Graphic Design and Drawing. Leer is planning on attending Clatsop Community College to study art and pursue her interests in animation. She later plans on transferring to Academy of Art University in California. Hayley Rollins is our fourth recipient, and will be receiving the her award in rec- ognition of her efforts to pass an Oregon bill establishing April 14th as Honorary Artists of Oregon Day. To celebrate and honor this day, Rollins worked with the Seaside High School staff and community to have 25 local artists come into the school and teach art workshops for all the students. The bill made April 14 Honorary Artists of Oregon day to celebrate art and artists, and to promote art education in the state of Oregon and to encourage engagement in ar- tistic endeavors. New coaches are named at three area schools Changes in football, basketball soccer coaches By Gary Henley EO Media Group It’s the season for new coaching hires, and so far, Sea- side, Astoria and Warrenton have all added new coaches for the next school year. At Seaside, two new coach- es will start this fall, as Chad Smith replaces Jeff Roberts as the Gulls’ varsity football coach; and Josh Garhofer was hired as the varsity girls soccer coach. Smith was an assistant under Roberts last season, and before that was the head coach for the 2014 season at La Grande. Pre- viously, he served as the offen- sive line coach at Madras High School. La Grande made big strides during Smith’s one season at the helm, as he took the Tigers from a 2-6 league record in 2013 to a 5-4 mark in 2014, and a Greater Oregon League championship. Roberts resigned when he became the new principal at the high school. He coached the Gulls for four years, going 5-4 in 2012 and 8-3 in 2013. Seaside was 5-4 in 2014, and fi nished 1-4 in league last season. Garhofer is replacing Matt Johnson as the girls’ soccer coach, after serving as an assis- tant last year. Seaside was 4-8-2 overall last season, 4-6 in league. Mike Hawes — a longtime assistant in both girls and boys basketball at Seaside — is the new varsity girls basketball coach at Seaside. Hawes was chosen to re- place Wally Hamer, who recent- ly resigned. In his three years, Hamer led the Lady Gulls to Cowapa League titles in 2013- 14 and 2014-15, three straight 20-win seasons, a 26-4 record in league play and state tourna- ment appearances in each of his three years. EO MEDIA GROUP/FILE PHOTO Mike Hawes will take over as head coach of the Seaside girls basketball team next winter. Warrenton The Warriors have hired their third football coach in three years, as Jason Edwards replaces Travis Freeman, who left after succeeding Ian O’Brien. O’Brien coached from 2012-14, following John Mat- tila’s run from 1974 to 2011. Edwards, from Seaside, coached the Warrenton ju- nior varsity last season, and worked with the varsity of- fense. A familiar face will be back on the sidelines for Warrenton volleyball, as Jim Hackwith replaces Jenny For- ney-Smith for the 2016 sea- son. Forney-Smith coached the last two years, after Hackwith coached the Lady Warriors from 2005-2013. He previ- ously took Warrenton to the state tournament four straight seasons, 2006-09. Warrenton volleyball has had just three varsity volley- ball coaches over the last 31 years (Dianne Dick, 1985- 2004), followed by Hackwith and Forney-Smith. Astoria Jessie Todd has been hired as the Astoria varsity volley- ball coach, replacing Angee Hunt, who has stepped down because of an increased work- load outside of coaching. Hunt coached a total of nine years, leading the Lady Fish to a state championship appearance in 2013.
