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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2001)
Page 10 The INDEPENDENT, March 21, 2001 Banks teachers honored Presidential Award for Excellence The 2001 STARS mentors from Vernonia High School are, from left, Waylon Buchan, Christy Benes, Bonnie Buchan, Elisabeth Brookins, Myriam Gendron-Herndon and Megan Serra- Marshall. STARS expanded to three classrooms STARS (S tudents Today A ren’t Ready for Sex) mentors from V ernonia H igh S chool have com pleted another year of helping sixth grade students learn both why and how to say no to early sexual involvement. Working in three classrooms In tbs Servioe Crystal M. Kizer Army National Guard Pvt. Crystal M. Kizer has graduated from the light-w heel vehicle mechanic advanced individual training (AIT) course at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During the course, the stu dent was trained to perform maintenance on vehicle power assisted brake systems, wheel vehicle suspension systems, wheel-hub assemblies, m ech anical and hydraulic steering system s and w heel vehicle crane, hoist and winch assem blies. K izer is the d a u g h te r of Katherine V. Kizer of Banks. this year, two at Washington Grade School and one at Mist, the six mentors - Christy Be nes, Elisabeth Brookins, Bon nie Buchan, W aylon Buchan, Myriam Gendron-Herndon and Megan Serra-Marshall - led 75 sixth graders through exercis es to help them learn how to be assertive in saying no without losing friends, a m atter of great concern to middle schoolers. The six mentors were cho sen from among 14 Vernonia students who applied, a situa tion that both pleased and dis tressed Vernonia Coordinator Juanita Dennis. “ It was the first time we had more students apply than we could use,” said Dennis, “and I thought that was wonderful. Then I realized I had to make decisions about who would or w ouldn’t be in the program.” After taking two full days of training, this year in St. Helens with students from all five high schools in Columbia County, the mentors split up in three teams to lead five sessions in each of the three sixth grade classroom s. Siblings W aylon and Bonnie Buchan composed one team; Benes and Serra- Marshall, who both live in Mist, team ed up at M ist School; Brookins and G endron-H ern don were the third team. M entors throughout the state will all be invited to partic ipate in a celebratory event lat er this spring. Tammy Schrader, a science teacher at Banks Elementary School, was named by President George W. Bush as a recipi ent of the 2000 Presidential Awards for Excellence in M athe matics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). She was selected from more than 600 finalists from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, United States Territories and U.S. Departm ent of Defense schools. Each year, a national panel of distinguished scientists, m ath em aticians and educators recommends up to 216 teachers to receive the award. There are approxim ately 2 million science and mathem atics teachers across the country eligible for the PAEMST honor. The W hite House then recognizes the best of the nation’s K- 12 mathem atics and science teachers with this highest honor. The awards are adm inistered by the National Science Founda tion (NSF). Each Awardee receives a $7,500 educational grant for his or her school and a trip to W ashington, D.C. Schrader was in the nation’s capitol from March 6 through 10 to receive the award and participate in a variety of educational and celebratory events. She met with members of Congress and the adm inis tration, discussed the latest issues in mathem atics and science teaching and had the opportunity to share expertise with col leagues. The PAEMST, established in 1983, honors the nation’s lead ing mathem atics and science teachers in four categories: ele mentary mathem atics, elem entary science, secondary m athe matics and secondary science. Schrader’s award was for her work in Elementary Science. She is a graduate of Pacific University. Inspirational Teacher Award Freshman honor students at Eastern Oregon University have selected tw enty-six educators from throughout the coun try to receive EOU’s 2000 Inspirational Teacher Award. Students who achieved Dean’s List standing during the fall term were asked to nom inate a teacher who was inspirational to them on their road to higher education and academ ic excel lence. Andrea Herinckx, a 2000 graduate of Banks High School, nominated Pat Ball, a Social Studies, Governm ent and Eco nomics teacher at Banks High School, to receive one of the awards. Herinckx, an Agriculture and Business Management m ajor at EOU, is the daughter of Bob and Donna Herinckx of Banks. “W e at Eastern believe it is im portant to recognize first-year students who dem onstrate high academ ic excellence and the teachers w ho inspire them ," said EOU P resident Phil Creighton. “Students who participate in this program have achieved success that is shared by less than five percent of EOU’s incoming freshm an.” r The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. March 30th 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.* March 31st 10:00 a.m. - 4 p.m. F ar / ï \ woa \ an ' s N ursery GRAND OPENING A pril 5-Ô • 10 am - 6 p/n J oin us for C hili , B everages $ C ookies 12&91 K easey R oad 7 mi. out of V ernonia • V ernonia 503-429-4451 Reg. Hours will be Thurs. thru Sun, 10 am - 6 pm •featuring: Color Photography by Christopher Burkett Ceramics by Jeff Patterson Woodcarving & Miniature Oils by Esteban Tosoni Black & White Photography by Dale Horchner v Watercolors by Ruth Brown Oils by Joe Naspini *-» Woodworking by Hardwood Originals GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE 10 G al S hade , F lowering $ F ruit T rees ..... 12 99 eup *A rtists will be present. Please join us, we look forward to seeing vou. Dan & Heidi Brown 879 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064 • 503-429-2787
