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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2003)
The INDEPENDENT, January 16, 2003 Page 9 Everybody’s favorite teacher, Marguerite Nice, taking retirement Vernonia School District board meetings begin with in dulgent smilee when Chairman Carla Strand starts to recite the pledge of allegiance and the adults and children in the audi ence attempt to synchronize their cadence. Eventually, the singsong voices of the children and the more placid adult voic es find a rhythm and manage to end the, somehow more mean ingful, pledge together. Board meetings are also attracting a larger audience in their new lo cation at City Hall than had at tended in the past. Marguerite Nice Retires With the June retirement of long-time teacher Marguerite Nice on the agenda, elemen tary schools Principal Kirk Sherrill stood to emphasize the tremendous respect he has for Mrs. Nice, saying that he could not simply recommend that the board accept her resignation and “remain silent about her gifts as a teacher.” Administra tors do not lightly throw around the title “Master Teacher,” Sher rill said, but he was told when he came to Vernonia five years ago that Nice was such a teacher. He told the board that on every visit to Nice’s class room he observed three quali ties of her outstanding teaching ability. First, Nice is completely invested in her students. Ac cording to Sherrill, she “pours herself into them” in almost a parental role. Second, Nice loves the children in her class room liberally. And, finally, Nice is able to see the deep potential in all students. Superintendent Mike Fun- derburg praised Nice’s ability to “keep her passion” for teach ing. Board member Randy Hansen, who first met Nice when he was a member of the football team coached by her husband, concluded the emo tional remarks, praising Nice’s contributions. Board member Jim Krahn received trem en dous support from the board U p h o lstered T H upper ' s F SWIVEL ROCKERS ome urnishings s199 RECLINERÀ” ROCKAWAY n«« ¡fs w fc KAfe JO O < S ofa *449 L oveseat *419 S ofa *549 L oveseat *499 lo w o u MISSION OAK BEDROOM SET Queen Bed w /R ails............... s449 Dresser vv/Mirror................... s649 5 Drawer Chest...................... s499 N ightstand..............................$219 and the audience for his at tempt to move that the board NOT accept Nice’s resignation, but the board, regretfully, met its obligation by accepting the resignation. School Reports One of the district’s greatest assets, Sherrill told the audi ence, is having two very valu able music teachers, which al lows children as young as third grade to experience music edu cation. Four students from Mrs. Eagleson’s class performed for the board and audience, both individually and as a group. Junior high student Heather Bassett told the board that Washington and Lincoln Schools had collected over 2400 cans of food for the Vernonia Cares Food Bank. Mist School collect ed over 500 cans of food, which were donated to the Mist Fire Department. Bassett also told the board that a new slide in stalled at WGS was made pos sible by donations from the Gwins and the McClellans. Vernonia High School Princi pal Mike Durbin introduced stu dent Samantha Purvee as the new public relations represen tative, a position previously un filled this year. Purvee reported that VHS had donated over 1,000 cans to the food bank, held a successful Winter Festi val on the last day of school be fore Christmas break, and an nounced the members of Win ter Formal Court. The targeted charity of the student body is the Juvenile Diabetes Associa tion (JDA), again this year, and several fundraisers have raised $714 to date, according to Purvee. She also told the board and audience that a Red Cross blood drive would be held Feb ruary 16. Durbin told the board about a special benefit concert given, as part of his senior project, by Jake Brock and his band “Bro ken Glory.” (See page 8) Durbin also reported that stu dents recognized Raymond Mott, of the Oregon Depart ment of Transportation, for his work to pave the high school parking lots. Mott was present ed with a plaque at the Renais sance Assembly. Senior Trip approved The board approved this year’s senior trip after a pres entation by advisor Rena Titus. Board member Leslie O’Leary asked whether the issue that occurred last year, when some students managed to come home with pierced ears or tat toos, had been addressed. Ti tus said that this year’s itinerary is more closely scheduled and does not allow a “free day," as in last year’s itinerary. The ap proximate cost this year will be $639. About 40 members of the class have signed up and are working to raise funds. High School Schedule A major portion of Funder- burg’s report concerned inade quacies in the trimester sched ule to meet students’ academic needs. Students could attend 24 to 36 weeks on the trimester schedule, he said, without re ceiving instruction in core sub jects such as math and English. 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