Happy 20^th Birthday!!

Submitted by Peggy Lintula

A Primary Connection (APC), South Lane's Family Resource Center, turns 20 this year! APC first welcomed families on Oct. 9, 1990. The Center was originally located at the District Service Center, then at Lincoln Middle School and now in Room One at Bohemia Elementary School. All Center activities are free and open to everyone. APC is open every Tues. and Thur. that school is in session, from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. All services and classes are available in English and Spanish.

APC's mission is to Support Families, Schools and Communities by providing resources, building on strengths and embracing diversity.

Activities and services include:

• Drop-in hours for parent/child activities
• Play groups
• Parenting classes and support
• Homework help
• Learning games
• ESL classes
• Computer/fax/phone
• Lending library

What some parents have to say about APC;

"My children and I found a haven here...a place unique in its ability to offer support to us in all aspects of our life."

" We came the first time in desperation ( from being cooped up because of the rain) and discovered a wonderful world that focuses on children. We were thrilled!"

"I come because it is a great place for social interaction, NOT just for the kids, but for me!"

APC is one of eleven Family Resource Centers in Lane County. Every February Lane County celebrates FRC Week around Valentine's Day. Our theme for the week is: "FAMILIY RESOURCE CENTERS, at the HEART of it ALL."

We invite you to join us on Tuesday, February 9th and Thursday, February 11th for special Valentine projects.

"What's Right in South Lane School District . . ." is a district communication from the Superintendent's office that highlights great things that are happening throughout the district. If you have ideas to share with the district about the great things that are going on, please send your information in an e-mail to Julie at jdepauw@lane.k12.or.us

School Board Members- Volunteers Extraordinaire!

Submitted by Krista Parent

School boards represent the community's beliefs and values. Who better than these community representatives to shoulder the responsibility for preparing children to live productive and satisfying lives? Your school board is the advocate for your community when decisions are made about children's education. The school board represents the public's voice in public education, providing citizen governance for what public schools need and what the community wants.

January is "School Board Appreciation" month in Oregon, and our South Lane School Board is appreciated each and every day for their outstanding volunteer work in the district.

Please salute the work of South Lane School District board members: Chair Judy Cunningham, Vice Chair Tom McVey, Jim Goes, Sherry Duerst-Higgins, Carrie Gilmore, Cheryl Mueller, Joe Raade. Each one of our board members brings special gifts, passions and talents to the boardroom, but they all have one thing in common - Kids Come First!

Meet our Board Members:

Chair Judy Cunningham - was originally on the board in 1994, then worked for the district office in personnel before returning to the school board in 2009. Judy has been a lifelong advocate of public education and both her daughters are teachers.

Vice Chair Tom McVey - has been on the board since the 2005-06 school year. Tom is retired from the postal service and is also active in VFW. Tom is a master bagpiper and shares his talents with the community.

Jim Goes - has been on the board for eight years and is the past board chair. Jim led us during some difficult budget cycles and his leadership during that time was invaluable. Jim has two sons that attend South Lane Schools.

Sherry Duerst-Higgins - likely needs no introduction. Sherry has served on the board for 23 years and has been in the board chair role several different times. Her passion for public education and her commitment to serve kids in South Lane is evident in everything that she does. Sherry's children attended South Lane Schools and now her grandchildren are continuing that trend. Sherry has also been the president of the school board's association for the state of Oregon.

Carrie Gilmore - has served on the board for the past five years and was an active parent club member prior to that time. Carrie is a wonderful advocate for all kids and more specifically for the Arts. Carrie has two sons that attend South Lane Schools. Her thoughtful, calm nature is a tremendous asset to the board.

Cheryl Mueller - began her tenure on the board during the 2003-04 school year. Cheryl also has two children in South Lane Schools and shares her passion for a quality education through her board work. Cheryl has served on various textbook adoption committees during her time on the board.

Joe Raade - is a graduate of South Lane Schools and is a wealth of knowledge in regards to history and events in Cottage Grove. Joe works hard to represent the viewpoints of his constituents and provide the best for South Lane students. Joe has three children that attend South Lane Schools.

If you haven't done so already, please let our school board members know how much we appreciate them.

"What's Right in South Lane School District . . ." is a district communication from the Superintendent's office that highlights great things that are happening throughout the district. If you have ideas to share with the district about the great things that are going on, please send your information in an e-mail to Julie at jdepauw@lane.k12.or.us

South Lane School District is proud to announce...

Submitted by Tim Rochholz

2009 - 2010 Classified Employee: Marlene Culp

In 1979 Marlene started her career with South Lane as a Cafeteria Manager at Delight Valley Elementary. In 1981 she transferred to Harrison Elementary as Cafeteria Manager. In addition to serving healthy, wonderful food to her students Marlene was selected for this prestigious award because of her willingness to help when needed. She has demonstrated that by helping with the school carnival, fundraisers and outdoor school.  She promotes goodwill, tireless enthusiasm and a positive attitude with students, parents and staff. She often provides catering for outside events, manages the summer lunch program and promotes good will towards co-workers and members of the OSEA, which she serves as the co-president.

2009 - 2010 Teacher of the Year: Geriann Walker

Geriann has been a teacher for 22 years. She has taught Advanced Placement Chemistry, General Chemistry and Physical Science at Cottage Grove High School for the past six years. Geriann is an extremely committed teacher who believes in her students and pushes them to achieve their best. She is constantly learning and trying to improve her instruction, gain new knowledge and participate in professional growth. Her approach to teaching is "hands on" which brings the classroom and the lesson to life for all students. She gets them involved, working together, taking data, practicing inquiry, and most of all; learning. She truly takes to heart the responsibility as her student's teacher, that each and every student is successful in her class. If the student's success requires extra time and effort on her part, Geriann willingly gives what the student needs.

On January 22 the Chamber of Commerce will recognize Marlene and Geriann at their 61st Annual Awards Banquet. Their photographs will soon reside on the Employee Hall of Fame Wall at the District Service Center. Please join us in congratulating them.

"What's Right in South Lane School District . . ." is a district communication from the Superintendent's office that highlights great things that are happening throughout the district. If you have ideas to share with the district about the great things that are going on, please send your information in an e-mail to Julie at jdepauw@lane.k12.or.us

VFW District 13 Names Dennis Flagg Teacher of the Year January 15, 2010
Kudos to Dennis Flagg, a teacher at London School, who was named VFW Teacher of the Year.  Dennis has taught Grades 6 to 8 in a mixed grade classroom for the last seven years at London. During the past two years, Dennis has made the VFW Patriot Pen Contest a class project.  His students worked diligently to write essays that captured the spirit of patriotism from the eyes of middle school aged student. Dennis inspired his students to produce quality essays for the contest.  Congratulations Dennis!

"What's Right in South Lane School District . . ." is a district communication from the Superintendent's office that highlights great things that are happening throughout the district. If you have ideas to share with the district about the great things that are going on, please send your information in an e-mail to Julie at jdepauw@lane.k12.or.us

Fall Book Club- January 8, 2010

Twenty eight teachers just finished Children's Literature Book Club for Fall Term. We read great graphic novels, non-fiction texts, and new novels. After much debate, here are the top recommendations for new picture books and young adult novels for Fall 2009:

Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies, Sarah-Fox-Davies - A perfect introduction to non-fiction for beginning readers, also a good cuddle up and read with a loved one book.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Fast paced yet has depth, ethical dilemmas, and ties to contemporary society.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix - Guarantees interest from the beginning piece of mystery, "You are one of the missing."

Graveyard by Neil Gaiman - A clever, dynamic plot that makes the story accessible to low readers while offering a depth of subtlety for advanced readers.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - A mystery that sucks you in, tricks you and then surprises you. You'll finish it and want to immediately reread it or place it in your students' hands.

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman - The story of how one girl-who has been trained to be quiet and obedient by her school, family, church and culture-learns to speak up for herself. The story is set in the 1950's in the shadow of McCarthyism and the beginnings of the Cold War.

So head to the library, grab a book and start reading!

"What's Right in South Lane School District . . ." is a district communication from the Superintendent's office that highlights great things that are happening throughout the district. If you have ideas to share with the district about the great things that are going on, please send your information in an e-mail to Julie at jdepauw@lane.k12.or.us

Delight Valley Students Explore the Final Frontier

Submitted by David Bascue

On December 11th, NASA scientist Dana Backman visited, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students at Delight Valley Elementary.  He presented on the history and future direction of space exploration including an exciting new mission currently in development at the nation's space agency.

The SOFIA project will employ a converted Boeing 747SP with an 8.2-foot diameter telescope to help astronomers learn more about the birth of stars, the formation of planetary systems and other space-related mysteries.  From its operating altitude at or above 41,000 feet, SOFIA will avoid more than 99% of the obscuring water vapor of earth's atmosphere, enabling it to make observations that are impossible for even the largest ground-based telescopes.

Judging from the rapt attention and quantity of questions from our intrepid students, the interest and imagination of Delight Valley's potential future astronomers and space explorers was certainly captured.  Questions addressed to Mr. Backman ranged from "How do you become an astronaut?" to "Was the Moonwalk invented on the moon?"  (There's one in every crowd!)

Following the assembly, 4th grader Haley Winters commented that she really wants to learn more about space and that she thinks she just might be interested in someday becoming an astronaut.  Fifth grader Jordan Cooper, who has long desired to become an inventor, was fascinated at the prospect of conducting experiments in the gravity-free environment of space.  Jordan commented that he was very interested in what he learned about inventions coming out of space laboratories designed to assist people with physical disabilities.

Of particular interest to many students, Mr. Backman announced that starting in 2010, NASA would be accepting applications not only from scientists, but from teachers who are interested in being members of future SOFIA flight crews.  They couldn't help but notice that 3rd/4th grade teacher, Laurie Melendy, requested and received one of these application forms at the end of the assembly.  Delight Valley Mustang in space?  Upon further inquiry regarding her intentions to apply, Mrs Melendy responded, "Perhaps..."  

A special thanks to Pete Barrell and the City of Cottage Grove for their sponsorship of Visions of the Universe.  Pete was instrumental in making sure that such inspiring scientists were accessible to the students in our schools.  Bohemia and Dorena also hosted Dana Backman at their school.

"What's Right in South Lane School District . . ." is a district communication from the Superintendent's office that highlights great things that are happening throughout the district. If you have ideas to share with the district about the great things that are going on, please send your information in an e-mail to Julie at jdepauw@lane.k12.or.us

Science Day at LMS (December 7, 2009)

Submitted by Eric Cullander

Question:  How do you get sixth graders excited about ribosomes, golgi complexes, endoplasmic reticulums and lysomes ?   

Answer:  Mix up CGHS teachers Eric Cullander, Jeff Roth-Vinson, and Jim Settelmeyer with LMS teachers Ken Hubbard, Ben White, Deedre Huff, add a dash of knowledgeable high school science students and you have a recipe for an exciting afternoon of hands-on inquiry of cell structures.  

As part of an Advanced Placement Grant, this team of teachers designed an afternoon of science explorations centered on cell structures.  Topics included:

• Cells and organs
• How cells form
• Prokaryote and eukaryote cell types
• Building proteins
• Cells under the microscope
• Diffusion, osmosis & cell membranes

Students rotated between a wide range of engaging activities including dramatic renactments of moving molecules across cell membranes, forming cells with everyday items as the organelles, and  building proteins with legos.  All involved agreed that the level of excitement about science and understanding of cells was enhanced by the day's lessons.  It was hard to tell who was having the most fun- teachers or students!  Teachers  are already looking forward to the next Science Day for 7th graders.

"What's Right in South Lane School District . . ." is a district communication from the Superintendent's office that highlights great things that are happening throughout the district. If you have ideas to share with the district about the great things that are going on, please send your information in an e-mail to Julie at jdepauw@lane.k12.or.us