News

Photo by KMTR TV.

West Albany High School student Taylor Pokorney is honoring her father by organizing a 5K run/walk to support the Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund. She organized the fundraiser in memory of her father and in support of the nonprofit, which helped her and her mother after her father was killed in action in Iraq when she was two.

“These intrepid centers help military members that come back with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and TBI (traumatic brain injury) and other conditions,” Taylor says. “They sacrifice everything every day for us. So why not give back?”

Read more and see a video interview of Taylor. 

The 5K run is open to all. It is scheduled for Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. There is also a 5K walk, which will begin at 9:15. The course starts at West Albany High School. See more information and register online.

There is still time to register. Sign up today to support Taylor’s work on behalf of injured service members and their families.

Read this post from Clover Ridge Elementary School’s website about their new strategies for helping students build self-management skills:

At Clover Ridge, we teach our students that they can solve small problems on their own, using Kelso’s Wheel.  Interim Principal Kilee Sowa helped create a great visual for our kids that reminds them of the many options they have to deal with small issues as they arise, such as:

• Wait and cool off
• Tell others to stop
• Go to another game
• Talk it out
• Walk away
• Apologize
• Share and take turns
• Ignore it
• Make a deal

If you are interested in implementing/reinforcing Kelso’s Wheel at home,we have flyers in the office that you can stop in and pick up anytime.

If your neighborhood needs a local library, you can purchase one from West Albany High School students later this month. The “little libraries” are constructed by students in Jeff Hawkins’ trades class and decorated by art students in Babette Grunwald’s art class.

Mr. Hawkins expects to charge $300 for a new, decorated library structure. If you are interested, email him at jeff.hawkins@albany.k12.or.us.

Read more about the project in the Democrat-Herald.

Students love lessons that connect real-life with instruction. Sunrise Elementary School used a symbol from the fall season – a pumpkin – for a lesson in estimation skills.

The annual Sunrise Elementary School pumpkin contest had two winners who guessed the exact weight of a 48-pound pumpkin. Second grader Thomas (pictured left) and fourth grader Katie are pictured with Principal Pat Weidmann.