Friday, January 18, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A7 DOLLARS FOR DOERNBECHER Students raise funds for children’s hospital By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal Seaside High School’s traditional Winter Week fi lled with festivities adopted a more philan- thropic tone this school year as student leaders simulta- neously hosted their Dollars for Doernbecher fundraiser, bringing in more than $1,500 for the Portland-based chil- dren’s hospital. By mixing the fundraiser with Winter Week, junior class president Xcaret Bello said, “It kind of gave it a purpose,” beyond dressing up and decorating doors. Fundraising efforts kicked off Dec. 14 with a “money run” during a school-wide assembly, which raised $63 and built momentum in a mere few minutes of Associated Stu- dent Body and class offi cers running through the crowd. During Winter Week, from Dec. 17 to 21, they con- ducted several fundraising activities that both students and community members could participate in. “I was nervous when we made the goal $1,500,” stu- dent body vice president Shelbylee Rhodes said. What they received from the get-go, however, was school-based and commu- nity support in spades. “That’s what really got us in motion, just seeing how ready the community was to help us and how much they cared,” Rhodes said. “We weren’t alone in this.” By mid-week, the stu- dents were more than half- way to their goal. By the end, they had surpassed the $1,500, although students leaders did not expect to have an exact total until after winter break. Raising money for pediatric care One successful fundrais- ing activity featured about 200 red Christmas orna- ments bearing the school’s logo, which student leaders sold for $5 apiece at lunch each day, at a Seaside City Council meeting, during the Holiday Classic Tournament games, and on an individual basis. Even after covering the cost of the ornaments, the students were able to donate approximately $4 per ornament in proceeds to the children’s hospital. For another activity, community members were WELL-RECEIVED Not only were the class offi cers actively involved, but the fundraiser was also well-received by the entire school. invited to make free-throws during the Holiday Clas- sic games held in Seaside. Everyone who made their shot received one ticket per $1 donated to be entered into a drawing for one of three baskets, brimming with gift cards and other items donated by local busi- nesses. Anyone who wanted to enter the drawing with- out attempting a free-throw could have Seaside’s Ever- est Sibony or Lilli Taylor, talented freshmen basket- ball players, take the shot for them. The drawing winners were announced during the boys’ championship game Saturday, Dec. 22. Additionally, the fund- raiser included a punch wall set up at the high school. During lunch, students could pay $1 to punch through paper-covered compart- ments in the wall in hopes of fi nding the hidden prize. Each school year, the high school’s ASB offi cers select different goals that address needs at the school level, community level, and national level. Dollars for Doernbecher was their national goal for the 2018- 19 school year. The chil- dren’s hospital was chosen as the benefi ciary for the “amazing” healthcare ser- vices they provide pediatric patients, Rhodes said. She also registered the school with Doernbecher Chil- dren’s Hospital Founda- tion’s Kids Making Miracles philanthropy program. Cookies, karaoke and Christmas Although the Doernbe- cher fundraiser was a new endeavor this year, Winter Week is a longstanding tra- dition at the high school. The fi ve school days leading up to winter break included a classroom door-decorating contest and karaoke in the cafeteria at lunch. The ASB offi cers also covered the cost of ingredients for the culi- nary arts program to bake cookies that were delivered to each student. “We wanted to make (the school) feel homey,” Rhodes said, adding they wished to counteract how rough the holiday season can be for some people. “Christmas shouldn’t be sad.” What made both Winter Katherine Lacaze/For Seaside Signal Seaside High School junior class president Xcaret Bello sells ornaments at the school during lunch Dec. 20 as part of the Dollars for Doernbecher fundraiser put on by student leadership. During the fundraiser for the Portland-based children’s hospital, which ran the week before winter break, they sold about 200 ornaments to students, parents and community members. Week and Dollars for Doer- nbecher successful, accord- ing to Rhodes, was the extensive involvement from not only the ASB leadership but also class offi cers. Each class took responsibility for one element—such as the free-throw contest, deliver- ing cookies, or selling orna- ments — and worked hard from start to fi nish to see the task through, Rhodes said. Not only were the class offi cers actively involved, but the fundraiser was also well-received by the entire school. “It’s nice to see students care,” Bello said. Maggie and the Katz headline Gathering Jazz concert coming to Times Theatre Concert raises funds for student activities Ensemble, high-schoolers onstage By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal Going fi ve-years strong, the annual Tillamook Head Gathering continues pro- moting a mission of fi nan- cially supporting the arts at Seaside High School while offering a festive, family friendly night fi lled with live entertainment, a silent auc- tion and appetizing food. The headliner at this year’s fundraiser, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 19, at the Seaside Civic and Conven- tion Center, is Maggie and the Katz. High school stu- dents will play music as guests are arriving, and then locally acclaimed musician Maggie Kitson and her band will take the stage at 7. “They’ve been playing together a long time and it shows — they’re really tight,” said Mark Mizell, a former Seaside High School teacher and founder of the gathering. Throughout the evening, guests can place silent auc- tion bids for items donated by local artists and businesses, or receive a mini-swing dance lesson from Seaside High School teacher Vinh Pham. Additionally, The Stand will serve light fare. Funding the arts Proceeds raised at the annual event help cover the cost for various arts-re- lated workshops, fi eld trips, activities, and other tangi- ble items. Last years, some funds were used to help off- set the cost for approxi- mately 15 students to go to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, and attend a private session with award-winning cow- boy poet Paul Zarzyski. “It was a wonderful expe- rience,” said Mizell, who has taken several groups of students to the festival over the years. “We created some lifetime memories on that trip,” Funds also were used to bring the Dave Ben- nett Quartet, a nation- ally acclaimed band from Detroit, to play at a high school assembly, and for professional singer-song- writers to lead workshops. This year, some Tilla- Seaside Signal On Wednesday, Jan. 30, the Seaside High School Jazz Ensemble will be per- forming a joint concert with the North Coast Big Band at the newly reno- vated Times Theatre in downtown Seaside. Phot courtesy of Maggie and the Katz Maggie and the Katz will perform at the Tillamook Head Gathering on Jan. 19. mook Head Gathering funds are designated to purchase acoustic guitars, as per the request of choir teacher Kimber Parker, who is instructing an acoustic gui- tar class and wants students to be able to participate even without owning personal instruments. Funds also will help cover costs for teacher Susan Baertlein to take stu- dents to the Oregon Shake- speare Festival in Ashland to attend workshops and plays. “It’s wonderful Seaside High School is creating funding for the arts rather than eliminating them as so many schools are doing,” said Kitson, whose daughter Bridget graduated from Sea- side. “We are honored to be asked to be a part of it.” About the performers Kitson herself was the daughter of avid performing artists and she grew up in the theater. She was named after Maggie the Cat, from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” by Tennessee Williams, whose brother was her godfather. “That connection prompted me to act in most of (Williams’) plays and procure the performing ‘bug,’” she said. In 1979, she segued into music, seeing it as a tena- ble way to make a living. Through the years, how- ever, music has become “the essence” of her life, and she doesn’t consider performing a routine job she’s obligated to do. “It’s my vocation, my heart and soul,” she said. She sings and plays light percussion with Maggie and the Katz, whose core mem- bers include Richard Thom- asian — a virtuoso guitar player and vocalist — and Dave Quinton — “a great steady bass player who keeps us in line and has a velvety voice,” Kitson described. For large ven- ues, the group sometimes adds a nine-piece horn sec- tion, and other musicians occasionally sit in for select performances. Kitson, Thomasian and Quinton’s music covers a broad range of genres, but they tend toward blues, soul, R&B and “anything New Orleans,” Kitson said. They emphasize three-part vocal harmonies, as Kitson loves “the fullness of sound, vibra- tion and soul they deliver.” The group typically plays small venues, involving the audience and creating a tem- poral yet poignant connec- tion with them. “For me, that connection and shared emotion is what it’s all about,” Kitson said. New Year, New Look! The North Coast Big Band is a community jazz band made up of adult/stu- dent musicians from all around the North Coast area. The concert starts at 7 p.m. and admission is free. Each band will perform a 30-40 minute set of clas- sic jazz standards from the 1930’s and ‘40s. Families are welcome and dance space available. The Times Theatre is located at 133 Broadway; 503-739-7188. DINING on the NORTH COAST Great Restaurants in: GEARHART • SEASIDE CANNON BEACH Excellence in family dining found from a family that has been serving the North Coast for the past 52 years Great Great Great Homemade Breakfast, lunch and pasta, Clam    but that’s dinner steaks & Chowder, not all... menu,too! seafood! Salads! Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days) Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily) Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144 MAZATLAN M E X I C A N R E S TA U R A N T Phone 503-738-9678 20 1445 S. Roosevelt Drive • Seaside WANNA KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO? % 20 % • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner off select select Signature Series Signature Series Call now Call for now your for your free in-home consultation! Call now for your free in-home Call now for your consultation! free in-home consultation! in-home consultation! Oregon Coast Lincoln SW Washington Oregon free Coast Lincoln City SW City Washington Call now for your 503.738.5242 541.994.9954 503.738.5242 Oregon Coast Lincoln City SW 503.738.5242 Washington 503.738.5242 541.994.9954 Oregon Coast 541.994.9954 Lincoln City SW Washington 503.738.5242 503.738.5242 free in-home consultation! 503.738.5242 541.994.9954 503.738.5242 Oregon Coast Lincoln City SW Washington BEST BREAKFAST IN TOWN! • Lighter appetite menu • Junior Something for Everyone menu Fish ‘n Chips • Burgers • Seafood & Steak Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight All Oregon Lottery products available 1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am www.budgetblinds.com www.budgetblinds.com www.budgetblinds.com www.budgetblinds.com