All fifth-grade students will be, or have already, completed the Albany Bike Safety Education Program during their Health class. One-quarter of the fifth-grade class completed this program during the fall and the remaining three-quarters will go through the course in the spring.
This program is an award-winning, 10-hour course in which students demonstrate that they know how to safely ride his or her bicycle on the streets of our community. Timber Ridge School has the highest number of students who bike to school each day, making this program especially important and useful.
Program Partners: Mid-Willamette Family YMCA and Albany Parks & Recreation Department. This program has been made possible through the generous support of the following: Greenwell Family Foundation & Mid-Valley Bicycle Club
SAHS sophomore Austin Smith will travel to Arizona at the end of December to show his pigs in the Arizona National Livestock Show.
Preparation is time-intensive. In addition to his school work and football practice, he works year-round to ready his livestock for the event. The events are very competitive, drawing participants from around the country.
He breeds the competitive show pigs and chooses four for the event in December. If his pigs place well, he is eligible to sell them at the Junior Auction in Arizona.
Austin is 15 and has competed extensively in livestock shows locally and nationally, showing both swine and sheep. He has won Champion Intermediate Showman at the Linn County Fair.
Ten student musicians from West Albany High School will travel to Washington in February to perform in the 2017 All-Northwest Honor Ensembles.
They will travel to Bellevue, Wash., in February to rehearse and perform with students form Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Oregon.
“There were over 4,600 auditionees this year for the band, choir, orchestra and jazz ensembles,” said WAHS band director Stuart Welsh. “To be selected is one of the highest honors a high school student can receive.”
Congratulations to the following students:
Band
Colton Byers, Trumpet
Brandon Dodd, Oboe
Emilia Soot, Clarinet
Emma Brennan, Bassoon
Connor Welsh, French Horn
Choir
Charlie De Rose
Marissa Fieland
Elizabeth Lake
Kate Looney
Eli Nicholas
Western International Band Clinic Honor Bands
WAHS band students recently performed with the Western International Band Clinic Honor Band in Tacoma, Wash.
Pictured above:
From left (front row): Brandon Dodd, Emily Molinar, Curtis Allen, Cindy Wong, Zoe Ames, Mary Howells, Amanda Givens, Hannah Washburn (second row) Emma Cushing, Sienna Pigg, Olivia Friedel, Anna Soot, Eve Vetter, Emily Harding, Avery Moen, Connor Welsh, Justin Elliot, August May, Colton Byers, Ceanne Elliot (third row) Luke Hise, Jacob Nestor, Paul Sprague, Ryan Nelson, Daniel Beard, Arthur Veremchuk, Emily Soot, Jessica Woodall, Sharolyn Smith, Sydney Beers, Emma Brennan
All-State Band and Orchestra
The following students were selected for All-State Band through an audition-based process. They will join student musicians from around the state. Pictured are students who will participate in All-State Orchestra, All-State Wind Ensemble, and All-State Symphonic Band.
Emma Brennan, Bassoon; Brandon Dodd, Oboe; Connor Welsh, French Horn; Olivia Friedel, Bass Clarinet; August May, Clarinet; Ryan Nelson, Bassoon; Paul Sprague, Euphonium; Cindy Wong, Tuba; Colton Byers, Trumpet; Daniel Beard, French Horn; Emilia Soot, Clarinet
Not pictured: Amanda Givens, Oboe and Bailey Filley, Trombone
This year, Albany Options students have an opportunity to learn computer programming skills. AOS teacher Danny Corliss is offering a new computer coding class at the school for this high-demand skill.
Albany Options School is one of only 40 percent of schools nationwide that offer computer programming.
The Greater Albany School District has a long history of partnering with the staff of the Albany Community Pool to offer water safety instruction.
The week-long program for elementary students teaches water safety and helps students become comfortable around water. In addition to learning basic swimming skills, children also learn to how to properly wear a flotation jacket and to not panic if their boat or canoe tips over.
The District considered cutting the program when budgets were tight, but an anonymous community member who supported the program offered to fund it. This benefactor has funded the program each year. This year the cost exceeds $60,000.
Although the swimmers do not know the name of the donor, they write thank you notes to the donor after they receive swimming instruction.
