North Wasco County School District #21 E-NEWS Issue 05, November 9, 2011

Veteran’s Day Assembly, TDMS 2011 Superintendent’s Corner

Congratulations to The Dalles Middle School for an excellent Veterans Day Assembly. The community, especially our Veterans, look forward to this event every year. This year it was exceptional, from the respectful attentiveness of the students during the assembly to the gracious welcoming of Veterans to the lunch served after the Ÿ assembly. Thank you students and staff of TDMS, I am extremely proud of you. BREAK A LEG Ÿ Stephen Jupe is continuing to move forward in his new role as our Director of Curricu- New Staff lum and Instruction. This morning he engaged administrative staff in a beginning step Appointment for for evaluating, designing and implementing a meaningful District-wide Assessment Jupe Plan. Nicely done Stephen! Ÿ Plant Science North Wasco County Education Foundation Board members, some of our Board members, and several community partners had a chance to visit Patrick Getchis’ Plant Ÿ Veteran’s Day Science Class today. Mr. Getchis and the students did an excellent job of walking us Assembly through the different elements of the class. This class is a welcome addition to our high school course offerings! Ÿ SMART Celebration

The local SMART Reading Program is marking its 20th anniversary here in The Dalles Ÿ Understanding next week at Colonel Wright Elementary School. The celebration will take place Domestice Violence Tuesday, November 15th beginning at 1:00 PM. Ÿ NOVEMBER We have reached the end of our first Quarter already, can you believe it? The next two Calendar months promise to be challenging with all of the planned activities and chaos that can accompany them. In anticipation of what we will be facing, I hope you have a restful holiday weekend. I am headed to the Oregon School Boards Association annual convention in Portland, but if you are here and have the time, attend the Veterans Day Parade on Friday. Our Marching Band will be in it. Thank you Mr. Viemiester!

Have a great week! –Candy Armstrong TDWHS DRAMA PRESENTS BREAK A LEG Submitted By: Lowry Browning

The Dalles Wahtonka High School Theatre Department will perform John O’Brien’s comedy “Break a Leg” a comedic performance proving that if anything can go wrong it will. Cast and crew of a high school play perform a disastrous dress rehearsal and drive their exasperated director crazy. A train wreck unfolds when actors can’t remember their lines, answer the phone before it rings, open doors before anyone knocks, turn on house lights in the middle of the show and the set falls apart. The show will be performed at the school’s auditorium with doors opening at 7:00 p.m. and the performance begins at 7:30 pm this Thursday, Friday and Saturday! Tickets can be purchased at the door. Tickets are $ 6.50 for students and adults and $ 5.00 for senior citizens and children. So come one and all and see what a high school rehearsal really looks like!

Stephen Jupe has accepted a new staff assignment in addition to his duties as Principal at The Dalles Wahtonka High School. Recently, Jupe was appointed Director of Curriculum and Instruc- tion. In this capacity, Mr. Jupe will be responsible for oversight of the District’s implementation of Credit for Proficiency. He will be working primarily with staff at The Dalles Wahtonka High School and The Dalles Middle School as they continue the work that was begun last year. Mr. Jupe will also continue to provide information and presentations to community groups regarding best practices in instruction and Credit for Proficiency. CONGRATULATIONS!

PLANT SCIENCE with Mr. Getchis Submitted by: Trudy Townsend

The D21 Education Foundation provided funding to support a year-round Plant Science class at TDWHS this year. Patrick Getchis took on the challenge of creating an experiential learning environment centered around the science of growing plants and food. On November 9th, this class held an Open House to share with the community and especially members of the D21 Education Foundation the things that they are learning and doing in class. Students shared their journals that showed how they had learned to make the most of a small gardening space, they showed off the garden plot greenhouses that they have built and nurtured, and they gave mini-lessons on composting and soil composition. The students in this class say that they love the hands-on experience, the fact that there is virtually no homework and that they get to do something different each time they come to class. Submitted By: Candy Armstrong

The Dalles Middle School held their annual Veterans Day Assem- bly on Tuesday, November 8th. Every year this is a highlight for our staff, students and community. This year was truly exceptional. The assembly began with the posting of the colors by uniformed members of The Dalles National Guard. Mr. Consoliver then welcomed our honored guests (veterans from the community and the local Veterans Home). Mr. Fairclo took the time to explain the objective of the assembly to the students by telling them that we are not here to glorify war, but to celebrate peace and to thank and recognize those who have sacrificed so much so that we have the freedoms we do today. Timarra Roth, TDMS ASB President, lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by Mr. Beasley introducing the guest speaker, Mr. Dan Manciu. Mr. Beasley asked Mr. Manciu questions about his service followed by Mr. Manciu showing video clips of his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Mr. Manciu has the distinction of having served two tours of duty in Vietnam and then, at the age of 58, being the oldest active duty helicopter pilot to be assigned a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Under the direction of Mr. Greg Angeloni, TDMS Select Choir sang the National Anthem followed by TDMS Band performing Marches of the Armed Forces. As each march was played, the veterans from that branch of service stood to be recognized. Mr. Fairclo then gave a very moving speech about his father who had been a distinguished soldier in World War II. The speech was followed by Mr. Hedberg telling the students the history and meaning behind Taps, which was followed by Josiah Chrisman playing Taps. Mr. Consoliver gave the closing remarks and all of the veterans were invited to join some of the students for lunch. On the inside cover of the program was the following:

The Soldier It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag.

--By Charles M. Province

The students were very respectful during the assembly and those who joined the veterans for lunch were most gracious. Thank you to all of the staff and students who made this such a worthwhile and memorable event. The SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) program helps kids become confident readers by providing individual volunteer attention and new, take-home books for children. Each year, SMART recruits, trains and manages up to 10,000 volunteers throughout Oregon. These volunteers spend an hour each week reading with the same two students (½ hour each) over the course of a school year. Other volunteers donate entire days to coordinate and manage the volunteer reading program. Students in grades K-3 are nominated by their teachers for participation in the program. Students may be nominated due to low reading skills, need for positive social interaction, or just because that student could benefit from the positive influence of an adult volunteer. On Tuesday, November 15th Colonel Wright Elementary will host an event celebrating the 20 Year Anniversary of the SMART - START MAKING A READER TODAY program in Oregon. The Celebration will take place at 1:00 PM. If you can, please plan to come and show your appreciation of the enormous commitment on behalf of volunteers in our community.

Submitted by: Trudy Townsend

On Wednesday, November 9th a collaborative of local partners including Therapeutic Solutions Inc., HAVEN, Domestic Violence Council, Dept. Of Human Services, North Central Public Health District, and the Wasco County Commission on Children and Families sponsored a local training and community conversation about Domestic Violence. Valuable information about the preva- lence of domestic violence and the “Power and Control”wheel were presented by staff from the HAVEN for Domestic Violence. They shared how the victims are affected, dispelled myths about domestic violence and educated the audience about some of the challenges that victims face when they try to leave a domestic violence relationship. Included in the training was information about Teen Dating Violence and stalking. After the presentation, a panel consisting of local law enforcement, District Attorney’s Office and staff from HAVEN answered questions. For more in- formation about Domestic Violence and what you can do, contact HAVEN or visit their website at: http://www.haventhedalles.org/index.html. The National Education Association was one of the creators and original sponsors of American Education Week. The first observance of American Education Week occurred December 4-10, 1921, with the NEA and American Legion as the cosponsors. A year later, the then U.S. Office of Education joined the effort as a cosponsor, and the PTA followed in 1938. The conventions of both organizations subsequently adopted resolutions of support for a national effort to raise public awareness of the importance of education. In 1921, the NEA Representative Assembly in Des Moines, Iowa, called for designation of one week each year to spotlight education. In its resolution, the NEA called for: "An educational week ... observed in all communities annually for the purpose of informing the public of the accomplishments and needs of the public schools and to secure the cooperation and support of the public in meeting those needs."

November 2011 Wednes- Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday day 1 2 3 4 5 6

TDWHS Drama Performance “Break a Leg” @ 7:30 PM

End of Quarter 7 8 9 10 Teacher Work 11 12 13 Community Training Day - No School for Veterans Day Domestic Violence Students 9am-Noon TDWHS Drama Performance “Break a Leg” @ 7:30 PM 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 American Education Week Carnival of Cakes Civic Auditorium Internet Safety SMART 20yr. SCHOOL BOARD Training Celebration MTG 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Thanksgiving No School for Students or Staff — Thanksgiving Break

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