Kalapuya High School

Last Wednesday, students from Kalapuya’s Community 101 class presented four Eugene-area nonprofits with funding to continue their work in supporting our community. Community 101 is a state-wide program of the Oregon Community Foundation that gives students the opportunity to learn about nonprofit organizations and community service work by providing them with $5,000 dollars that they can allocate to the community organizations of their choice. The Community 101 class decided to focus their resources on addressing child abuse, homelessness, and hunger, all of which affect the wellbeing of youth in Lane County. Several Kalapuya students, including Hayden Smothers, Genesis Ortega, and Isabella Garcia, were part of this after-school elective all year and also volunteered their time at Food for Lane County and Meadowview Garden Club. Students learned about key components of nonprofit organizations, including crafting mission statements, outreaching to community service agencies, creating press releases, and evaluating grant proposals. After much deliberation, the Community 101 class awarded Hosea Youth Services, Ophelia’s Place, HIV Alliance, and the Meadowview Garden Club with grant monies in order to continue meeting the needs of youth in Lane County. These students deserve a big round of applause for the beautiful presentation that was crafted for the awards ceremony and their dedication to community issues and service throughout the school year.  (Special thanks to Kelly Shilhanek for guiding this year-long course!)

The Lane Community College Dental Clinic is offering free dental care for children ages 5-18.

Services for uninsured and underinsured children include cleaning, x-rays, dental exams, and restorative services.

The next dental clinic is Saturday, May 11^th at LCC.

For more information and to make an appointment call 541-463-5206.

Last Friday students from Kalapuya High School and members from the Bethel Construction and Green Trades Program took part in the Hope in Action Youth Conference – Green Career and Education Fair.  This fair presented youth with the major ecological and environmental issues that face our world today through group discussions, small workshops, and even a short presentation from our very own Eugene city mayor, Kitty Piercy.  The event culminated with various small panel discussions about current “green” jobs that are forecasted to flourish in the coming decades, giving youth “hope” for the future of our economy and ideas of what environmentally conscious jobs they may acquire.

On Saturday April 20^th, 3 students from Kalapuya had the opportunity to speak to a panel of interested Eugene citizens at the Earth Day Eugene Celebration in support of Partners for Sustainable Schools.  Genesis Ortega, Holly Frey and Nathaniel Peaslee discussed how Kalapuya is aiming to become a “sustainable” school and what projects and programs are affiliated with this goal.  Some concepts that they presented covered the future of a student designed garden and large-scale greenhouse that will be constructed on the south end of our campus in June.  They also talked about the bee-keeping program that is already underway and how the Bethel Construction and Green Trades Program is helping youth get work experience in the field of “green” jobs.  A big kudos goes out to these young adults that set their nerves aside to talk and answer questions in front of some very impressed adults.

~ Will Larson, Green Trade and Construction Program

Explore the world in three hours at the Bethel International Fair. On Friday, April 26^th at 6:00 p.m. Prairie Mountain School will host this free event that will include tasty international food, fun entertainment, and an opportunity to meet international students from more than a dozen countries on four different continents. Bethel students will receive their own passports and collect stamps as they learn facts about cultures from around the world. The International Fair is brought to you by the Willamette High School Latinos Unidos club.

Back by popular demand, we will be hosting a Kalapuya Fair this Thursday (April 18^th) from 6:30 to 7:30 pm!  The Kalapuya Open House earlier this year was a huge success, and students and staff decided to host parents and community members once again to show off the students’ accomplishments.

This year students put forward considerable work to improve their writing skills and prepare for the state test.  Prior to Spring Break all students took the state-required writing test.  The last two weeks of this term students have been taking elective classes (including drama, beekeeping, film-making, cooking, college visitations, physical education, and art).

Students will be highlighting their work in an Open House atmosphere from 6:30 to 7:00 – and we will hear directly from students at 7:00 as they share out what they have learned.

Parent/Guardian participation brings meaning to every open house and student-led conference we host.  Thank you in advance for coming.

Best,

Stefan Aumack
Principal, Kalapuya High School