Recognizing Success
Recognizing Success highlights any type of achievement by staff and students. Anything from getting awards, to a new science project or amazing art. If you would like to submit a story to Recognizing Success, write to info@salkeiz.k12.or.us. |
North Salem JROTC excels at Oregon-Washington championships
On Saturday, March 13, North Salem High School’s Army JROTC unit, the Viking Battalion, went head to head with the top JROTC teams from Oregon and Washington and added more honors to its already impressive list. Competing at Roseburg High School in the Oregon-Washington Two State Championship, the Vikings brought home championships in six events.
Color Guard B, commanded by senior Dustin Muravez, took first place in the tough Color Guard #1 event. Other members of this team are seniors McKenzie Lyon and Zach Cranny and junior Samantha Pries.
Color Guard A, commanded by senior Samantha Betz, took first place in the Color Guard #2 event. Other members of this team are senior Reba Neal and juniors Michaela Betz and Elizabeth Manzo.
This sweep of the two Color Guard competitions gave the Vikings their first overall Color Guard championship in twelve years of competition. In addition to their competitive schedule, North’s color guards make over fifty public appearances a year in the Salem area.
The Unarmed Drill Team, commanded by senior Samantha Betz, also finished in first place. Members of this team are Elizabeth Manzo, Michaela Betz, Reba Neal, Lexy Davis, Ashlee May, Becca Eikenberry, Ashly Read, Minna Hooker, Elizabeth Loyola, Tianna Bissell, Bailee Winterrowd, Bre Dunigan, Gabee Perez, Zulema Garcia, Emma Espino, and Diana Rios. In addition to their overall team honors, the Lady Vikings finished first in all three phases of the unarmed drill competition.
The Precision Air Rifle Team, commanded by senior Jenny Helms, took the championship in this event for the second consecutive year. Other members of this team are seniors David Kinkade and McKenzie Lyon and junior Jon Munson. Their performance Saturday added to their recent Oregon State Junior Championship.
Seniors Reba Neal and Tianna Bissell won the championship in Dual Unarmed Exhibition Drill. Junior Zulema Garcia and sophomore Emma Espino finished second, only one point behind.
Numerous Vikings won individual honors as well. Among them were Ramon Villa (physical fitness), Bre Dunigan (unarmed drilldown), Jenny Helms, David Kinkade, Jon Munson, Brad Walston, Karen Ramirez, and Jed Adams (air rifle) and Zach Cranny and Russell Adams (Armed Exhibition Duals). Both drill team commanders--Samantha Betz and Dustin Muravez--earned first place medals.
The Armed Drill Team finished fourth, and the Physical Fitness Team, commanded by sophomore Jorge Rico, finished fourth.
Jenny Helms, who is also the commander of the Viking Battalion, said “It has been a very emotional weekend for our graduating seniors. It is hard to imagine that we will not be part of the elite team that we have grown so close to over the years. But we are proud to have left our mark and gone out with a performance like this.”
To get to the Two-State Championship meet, North had to compete in a grueling schedule of drill meets from November through February in Walla Walla and Yakima, Washington, Bend, Oregon, and here at North Salem. Practices are held throughout the school year in the North Salem gymnasiums at 6:15 AM.
Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Morse, the coach of North’s drill teams and color guards, said, “This performance is a great tribute to the commitment and dedication of our cadets. We start practice in September and finish in mid-May, which requires great mental and physical stamina. I am very proud of all the team members.”
For additional information, contact--
Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Morse (North Salem High School JROTC), (503) 399-3241
Middle school students succeed at science fair
The Central Western Oregon Science Expo was held on March 6 and was a great success for Salem-Keizer schools. Out of six awards possible, Leslie and Houck middle school students received half of the awards.
- Emily Boring, Leslie Middle School, was honored as one of the outstanding projects in the middle school fair for her project, “The effects of 2,4-D on Microtubules of Fruit Flies."
- Andrew Soltesz was awarded the U.S. Navy’s Outstanding project in science and engineering for his project on “Torrefacation: A Viable Alternative to Charcoal."
- Tunya Dhevaphalin, Houck Middle School, received The Office of Naval Research Naval Science Award for her project on seeds, sunlight, glucose and photosynthesis.
More than 30 students participated from the two schools. Many received special recognition from the judges. The science projects included presentations on pets, football safety, ballet, pesticides, energy and skateboarding.
Majority of the students will present their work at the Northwest Science Expo in Portland on April 2.
South students talk to elementary kids about aiming for college
On Thursday, March 11th, South Salem High School’s WOU Project students paid it forward by teaching Richmond Elementary School’s 5th graders about the importance of getting a high school diploma and going on to higher education.
The WOU (Western Oregon University) Project is a part of the school district’s College Preparation Program, coordinated by Cathy Tilley. The WOU Project is located at various Salem-Keizer High Schools and consists of a group of students who are personally guided through the entire college application process beginning in the summer of their senior year. These students are motivated to go on to higher education and will be the first in their family to graduate from college. The premise of the WOU Project is to “Pay It Forward” to friends and family members with the information they have learned in order to help others go on to higher education.
For more information about the WOU Project and College Preparation Program, contact Cathy Tilley at 503-399-3000.
Salem-Keizer's best spellers qualify for regional contest
The best spellers in the Salem-Keizer School District squared off Wednesday (March 10) during the annual Salem-Keizer Spelling Contest at Crossler Middle School.
In the end, 13 students - five elementary, five middle and three high school - were recognized among their top spelling peers. The first place winner in each division will represent the district at the Regional Spelling Contest in April.
Division I - Elementary School
- First place - Isaac King, Salem Heights
- Second place - Preston Ellis, Harritt
- Third place - Katie Larson, Pringle
- Fourth place - Luke Goldsworthy, Schirle
- Fifth place - Cole Roseborough, McKinley
Division II- Middle School
- First place - Freya Ruehr, Crossler
- Second place - Shanti Basu, Judson
- Third place - Zach Abbas, Whiteaker
- Fourth place - Natalie Carlisle, Judson
- Fifth place - Christopher Keltz, Stephens
Division III - High School
- First place - Andy Zhang, South Salem
- Second place - Elizabeth Cheney, McNary
- Third place - Alex Hugie, McNary
The top five finishers in Divisions I and II combined and the top three finishers in Division III all received cash prizes from the Salem Kiwanis Club.
The written form contest was co-sponsored by the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation and the Salem Kiwanis Club. It featured 21 elementary, 31 middle and eight high school students representing 35 Salem-Keizer Public Schools.
The Oregon Statewide Spelling Contest takes place September 4 at the State Fairgrounds.
Information submitted by the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation.
Leslie Middle School helps set world record in math
On March 3, 2010, Leslie Middle School math students cooperated with 1,133,246 students and 56,082 schools from 235 countries to set a new world record, correctly answering 480 million math questions in one day! Leslie students played timed math mini-games with students from 56 countries, and earned over 16,000 correct answers toward the global record.
While all students had fun representing our school and our country, these top performers deserve special mention:
James Chen 1,016 answers
Maira Pelayo 735 answers
Anthony Rosario 698 answers
Richard Saavedra 613 answers
Ryann Prestwich 544 answers
Top-scoring single games were won by Tyler Blankenship, Richard Saavedra, Riley Kargel, and Mayra Rivas.
Leslie will be participating again next year, making World Maths Day an even bigger event, as it becomes part of the 2011 World Education Games!
Students cover big topics like domestic violence during a conference
Salem-Keizer's Early College High School and the Teen Parent Program hosted a conference on domestic violence Monday, March 8th. Students from all over the district attended workshops about sexual abuse, reading to children, healthy relationships, and appropriate masculine behavior. Keynote speakers were Tammi Burns, CEO and founder of Break the Chain Apparel and Mark Speckman, head football coach of Willamette University. This conference honors Dori Madrid, a former graduate of Roberts Teen Parent Program, who was murdered by her estranged husband December 3, 2000.
Claggett Creek named 2010 Celebrating Student Success Champion
The Oregon Department of Education has named Claggett Creek Middle School as a 2010 Celebrating Student Success Champion. Claggett Creek is recognized for making significant progress in closing the achievement gap and helping minority and low income students succeed. This local Salem-Keizer school was one of 15 to be recognized statewide.
As part of the award, Claggett Creek will receive a $3,000 grant as well as be featured in the Oregonian newspaper on Sunday, March 14.
For more information on this prestigious award, please view the announcement from the Oregon Department of Education.