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MEMO BLOG | |
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To fully serve the community, the Mid-county Memo offers this section to showcase upcoming special events, celebrations of milestones in our readers’ lives, those seemingly small accomplishments that often do not receive the recognition they deserve, and everyday events that should be shared with friends and neighbors.
Memo Pad submissions for the August issue are due by Tuesday, July 15. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Or mail submissions to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave, Portland, OR 97230. To leave a phone message, call 503-287-8904. The fax number is 503-249-7672.
Knott Park gets new message boards
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| To help improve communication among neighbors, Parkrose Heights Association of Neighbors, through a city grant, recently installed a message board in Knott Park. Soon, another message board will be installed on the other side of the park at Northeast 117th Avenue and Knott Street. |
| MEMO PHOTOS: TIM CURRAN |
High on the list of concerns was the issue of traffic. In conjunction with Safe Routes to School, PHAN has received approval for speed bumps along Northeast San Rafael Street in the Heights neighborhood.
As a result of the survey, PHAN decided a centralized message center would help improve communication throughout the neighborhood. The board applied for and received a grant from East Portland Neighborhood Small Grants for a pair of message boards. A freestanding, two-sided message center has been installed next to the playground in Knott Park, Northeast 117th Avenue and Knott Street. Another message center is due to be installed on the west side of the restroom in the near future.
These message centers will display PHAN board contact information as well as community announcements. Be sure to check them out the next time you visit Knott Park.
Five schools have new principals in fall
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| Ericka Guynes |
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| Rolando Florez |
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| Kate Barker |
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| Andy Long |
| Submitted photos |
Kate Barker will become the principal at North Powellhurst Kindergarten Center; Rolando Florez will step in at Mill Park Elementary; Ericka Guynes will take the lead at Earl Boyles Elementary; James Johnston has signed on at Alice Ott Middle School; and Andy Long is the new Menlo Park Elementary principal.
Barker has been principal at Mill Park for the past four years. She will take over the new Kindergarten Center at North Powellhurst, but she will also serve as principal-elect of the proposed new elementary school to be built on district-owned property off Deardorff Road. The goal is for that school to open for the 2009-10 school year. Barker began teaching in David Douglas in 1991 and was appointed the district’s reading specialist in 1997 prior to becoming principal at Mill Park.
Florez will replace Barker at Mill Park. For the past four years, he has served as vice principal at Floyd Light Middle School. Florez taught in Seattle and Portland before joining the David Douglas School District in 2004.
Guynes has served the last two years as the district’s positive behavior support coordinator and is credited with implementing a district-wide program that has borne dramatic results both in student behavior and achievement. She has been an educator for 16 years, teaching at both Cherry Park and Gilbert Park elementary schools before coming to the district office to serve as its 21st Century grant coordinator in 2005.
Johnston comes to David Douglas from the Beaverton School District, where he has served as vice principal at both Beaverton High School and Mountain View Middle School. Johnston taught and served as an administrative intern in southwest Washington before moving to Beaverton.
Long has served this year as the school improvement coordinator at Gilbert Heights Elementary School, which this year was named one of six Celebrating Student Success Champion Schools by the Oregon Department of Education for its sharp rise in student assessment scores. He began his career with David Douglas in 1997, teaching second grade at Ventura Park Elementary. He also taught at Earl Boyles Elementary before becoming an administrative intern at Menlo Park three years ago.
In addition to the new principal appointments, David Douglas High School has announced that Kevin Taylor will serve next year as a vice principal. Taylor is currently vice principal at Cleveland High School in Portland and prior to that taught in the Salem and David Douglas school districts. He taught science at David Douglas High School 1992-96.
All of the above appointments are effective July 1, 2008.
PHS students earn induction to Thespian Society
The Thespian Society induction and awards ceremony is among the many end-of-year activities at Parkrose High School. According to drama teacher Ms. Zena, 23 students earned induction into the theater honor society this spring.
The International Thespian Society originated in 1937 to honor student excellence in theater arts. Senior Cam Schwartzkopf was honored as Outstanding Thespian for his work above and beyond the duties and expectations of a thespian.
To be considered for induction, students must participate in the school theater program, onstage or backstage, and earn points toward qualifying for induction. A minimum of 100 hours of exemplary work and participation in at least two major productions opens that door.
This year, PHS Thespian Troupe #1783 inducted the largest number of students in many years. New members are freshman Ciara Elkins; sophomores Paris Mayhew, Ciera Willis, Kendra Biver, Jackson Singleton, Mackenzie Billick-Smith, Oly Arelleno, Belinda Washington, Olivia Beck, Heather Grassel and Sara Herd; juniors Grant Weston, Sterling Arkills, Irina Alonso, Sara Sullivan, Morgan Freiermuth, Izzy Woolner, Victoria Kerr and Derek Herman; and graduating seniors Jacob Pratt, Jason McGhee, Alex Eastwood and Erin Heiden.
The Thespian Society takes its name from Thespis, the first known Greek actor to step out from the chorus to speak alone.
DDHS grad earns college degree
Carolyn Ham graduated May 18 from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. Ham, a 2004 graduate of David Douglas High School, received a degree in international political economy with a minor in comparative sociology. She is the daughter of Vernon and Terrie Ham. She earned a 3.5 GPA and is the first member of her family to graduate from college.
While a student at Puget Sound, she was a member of Rotoract, performed with the theater group, worked as a coordinator for diversity programs and volunteered with the Pierce County AIDS Foundation.
Foundation ends year on high note
The Parkrose Educational Foundation capped off the 2007-08 school year by awarding a number of grants.
Funds were made available to the Parkrose High School band to purchase new instruments, to the PHS drama department for wireless microphones, to Parkrose Middle School in support of its Read-a-Book project, to Russell Academy for a Willamette River bridges field trip for third-graders, and in support of the Book Casting Club at the PHS library.
To learn how to support PEF or to view the list of grants awarded, please visit www.parkroseedfdn.org.
Veterans offered tuition break
Qualifying veterans attending Mt. Hood Community College will only be required to pay half of their tuition costs for their first term of enrollment.
The new Veteran Student Tuition Waiver is aimed at recognizing veterans and their service to this country. Its purpose is to assist veterans in a smooth transition from their military life to a civilian life.
“Mt. Hood Community College wants to continue to provide the best service possible to our veterans, and this waiver is a good example of that,” stated Duke Shepard, MHCC board of education chairman.
Veterans eligible for the waiver must be Oregon residents who were discharged under honorable conditions and are members of either Chapter 30 or 1607 as defined by the Montgomery G.I. Bill.
Veterans interested in obtaining more information on this new waiver can contact the MHCC Office of Veterans Services at 503-491-7346.
Church celebrates playground, anticipates anniversary
St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church celebrated the installation of a new, fenced play area with a ribbon-cutting on Sunday, June 8. This secure playground was developed to create an outdoor space that children can call their own.
Next year the church at Northeast 174th Avenue and Glisan Street will mark its 50th anniversary. The Rev. Scott Dolph looks forward to reuniting past parishioners with current members, noting accomplishments of the congregation and celebrating the history of St. Aidan’s.
Photos, memorabilia and volunteers will be needed. Contact the church office at 503-252-6128 to get involved.
Greeting cards recycled for cash
They call themselves Christian card sharks. They hover around a big table in the SnowCap Community Charities conference room and resurrect discarded greeting cards. The process requires sorting and snipping apart old cards, then carefully and creatively putting them back together to be reused. They are sold at SnowCap for less than $1 each.
Sales of these recycled cards support the SnowCap food box program.
“We try to reuse those images that illustrate the sentiments our customers most often express. That means lots of Merry Christmases and Happy Birthdays. But, there are also lilies for sympathy and colorful bouquets for get well wishes,” said Danni Mooney, a SnowCap staffer who coordinates this project. “These cards are a wonderful way to say, ‘I’m thinking of you,’ ‘Congratulations,’ ‘I care,’ or, ‘Thank you,’” she added.
Cards can be purchased from SnowCap by visiting the office at 17805 S.E. Stark St. to make a personal selection. Cards may also be ordered by the dozen via Mooney at danni@snowcap.org or 503-674-8785, ext. 19. She will ship them to you.
MHCC instructors rated excellent
The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development has recognized two instructors from Mt. Hood Community College. The organization chose Valory Thatcher, instructor of anatomy, and Janet Campbell, political science, as recipients of its Excellence Award. NISOD is a consortium of more than 700 community colleges and universities worldwide that has a 30-year history of recognizing faculty, staff and administrators for outstanding contributions to teaching, leadership and learning.
Thatcher and Campbell were nominated by the MHCC Teaching and Learning Cooperative because of their commitment to student learning, their excellence in the classroom and their leadership and inspiration of fellow faculty members. Both instructors are active members of the TLC, a faculty-operated organization that provides training opportunities for both faculty and staff through weekly seminars and workshops.
The awards were announced at the International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in Austin, Texas.
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