News

Albany Options School is going through an accreditation process, which includes a site visit by a team of visiting educators. The team observes classrooms, reviews programs and speaks to students and educators.

Albany Options put together this video of graduates from the class of 2017, the largest graduating class to date with 57 graduates.

The school has also earned recognition as one of the top alternative high schools in the state.

The video was posted on Facebook, boasting, “We are also excited to show the accreditation team this video with some of the graduation slideshow photos. Makes us emotional and proud every time we see these incredible graduates and think back on how much they grew, overcame challenges, and accomplished during their time with us. We can’t wait to put together the video for the class of 2018.”

Sunrise fifth-grade students got the chance to learn new technology skills that combined design, new software skills and 3D printing.

The lesson was a collaboration between Sunrise fifth-grade teacher Jessica Boland and West Albany High School teacher Matt Boase, who is working on his administrative license.

Boase brought a 3D printer from WAHS, found an online contest that presented a design challenge for ocean cleanup, and helped guide the students through the process from research to design to printing.

Read more and see additional photos in the Democrat-Herald. 

Congratulations to SWARM, the South West Albany Robotics Maniacs team, for qualifying for the FIRST Robotics world champion competition.

Fifteen team members from South Albany and West Albany high schools and Oregon Connections Academy will travel to Houston, Texas, next week to join 400 teams from around the world for a chance to be a FIRST Lego Robotics champion.

The team qualified by earning second place at a March qualifying competition in Wilsonville and Lake Oswego. Combined with a good showing at the regional competition, they ranked 15th among teams in the Pacific Northwest and earned a chance to compete in the world event.

Congratulations, SWARM, and good luck in Houston!

Read more in the Democrat-Herald.

This month’s Art in the Boardroom display includes drawings by Timber Ridge seventh- and eighth-grade students in Elizabeth Mann’s drawing class. The drawings are one-point perspective drawings – a method of showing how things appear to get smaller as they get farther away, moving toward a point on the horizon.

Each month, student art from around the district is exhibited at the District Office for School Board directors and members of the community to enjoy.

West Albany junior Patrick Spence is the next YMCA Oregon Youth Governor. Spence, who also serves as a student representative on the School Board, campaigned for the office at a Youth and Government legislative conference last weekend. He was one of four students running for the office.

Youth and Government is a program for high school students across Oregon. It provides the opportunity to experience the legislative process firsthand and for the student voice to be heard.

Spence’s campaign platform includes increasing student participation rates in the statewide program. Oregon has a lower student participation rate than most states. His platform includes increasing visibility and reaching out to other schools.

As governor, Spence will travel to Washington, D.C., in June.