News

Forty-one students from NAMS attended the annual Teen Summit in Benton County this week. The free event for students in grades 8-12 is sponsored by Strengthening Rural Families and was held at Oregon State University.

North Albany Middle School science teacher Katy Kelly accompanied the students, who had the opportunity to participate in a variety of workshops “with the goal of offering workshops for youth to come together, network, and learn more about important issues that affect their lives.”

North Albany Middle School will have new leadership for the remainder of the school year. Timber Ridge Assistant Principal Tristan Heisley will take over principal duties through June.

Principal Marshall Jackson is out on emergency leave. He shared more information in a letter to families: “Unfortunately, I found myself having emergency surgery during the holiday break. It was not life-threatening, but a situation that needed to be addressed urgently. I am currently out and will be for some number of weeks, I just don’t know how long.”

Tristan has been an assistant principal at Timber Ridge for four years and a high school principal before that in Arizona. “Tristan has the talents to be a principal and is ready to lead NAMS,” said Superintendent Jim Golden.

Dani Blackwell will replace Tristan as assistant principal at Timber Ridge. She had previously been in the district office in charge of overseeing Secondary Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment.

Jazz bands from West Albany High School and North Albany Middle School brought home awards from the West Salem Jazz Festival last weekend.

The West Albany High School jazz band is directed by Stuart Walsh. The North Albany Middle School jazz band is directed by Andy Nelson.

West Albany Jazz Band II: 1st Place – High School Novice Division
West Albany Jazz Band I: 2nd Place – High School Heavy Division
NAMS Jazz Band: 1st Place – Middle School Intermediate Division

The sixth annual event drew high school and middle school bands from around the state in classifications ranging from no festival experience to established programs with extensive experience.

The high school novice division is for bands with no festival experience; the heavy division is for bands with established programs, medium to difficult charts, mature concept of style and mature soloists.

In addition to performing and listening to other student performances, the students attended a concert by guest artist Jeff Coffin, a professional saxophonist.

A joint meeting of the Albany City Council and the GAPS School Board is scheduled for tonight. District representatives will update the Council on the District’s strategic planning, bond project developments, school programs and emergency management.

See the agenda

The meeting will be held at Albany City Hall, 333 Broadalbin Street SW. It will begin at 7 p.m.

On Friday, the Calapooia Middle School Life Skills class carried and passed the Olympic Torch through the Calapooia hallways. Students from all classes lined up along the lockers to watch, cheer, and celebrate the beginning of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Calapooia’s Basecamp classes have all chosen a country participating in the games to closely follow over the next couple of weeks. Base Camp is part of the school’s CLIMB initiative to engage students and motivate them to overcome obstacles and reach goals. The program started in 2016.