INSIDER
OPS
A newsletter for people working with kids in ontario public schools
Vol. 10 No. 8
April, 2004
Tech Dept.’s latest project: mobile labs
Several of our schools have new computer
labs. That statement in itself isn't necessarily jolting, but when you consider that the lab is on
wheels, well, you want to learn more, don't you?
OMS Principal LaVelle Cornwell told the
Ontario School Board of Directors at its March
meeting that she and her staff were very grateful
for the work the district’s technology department
did at the middle school, using words such as
“outstanding,” “professional,” and “appreciated.”
Operations Manager Bob Nelson said State
Tech Grant funds were used to purchase 30
computers at OMS, 25 at Pioneer, 26 at May
Roberts, and eight at Cairo. The district matched
funds and also constructed the moveable tables.
“Buying computers was the last task,”
Nelson said, explaining that first came a concept,
followed by a design, then the construction of a
prototype. About 160 man hours were used to
create the computer lab at Alameda alone.
Alameda Principal Paul Erlebach said, “Our
lab involved many people, decisions, options,
creativity, and most importantly - opportunities
for students and staff to use technology as an
instructional tool."
Please continue reading on Page 2
Sound Bites
The Calendar
Congratulations goes out to those
who will be recognized by the Malheur
Valley Bilingual Educators Association
at its annual banquet, Wednesday,
May 5, at Fiesta Guadalajara:
Middle school student: Angélica Pérez
High school student: Bianca Gastelum
University student: Vanessa Ramírez
Paraprofessionals: Sam López and
Clarissa Helliwell.
Teacher: Germán Corona.
April 15: School Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
April 20: Monthly Mother-Daughter
Night OMS, 5:30 - 7 p.m. Mother's
Day Activities (Cards, flowers, quilting)
April 22: Alameda Spaghetti Feed, 58 p.m. 9th GR-adult/$5; 4 yrs.-8th
GR/$3; ages 3 and under no charge.
April 23: Staff Development Day
April 26: Taste of Ontario Volunteer
Appreciation Event, FRCC, 4-5:30 p.m.
May 7: OMS Baked Potato Feed.
Quotable
"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a
subject ourselves, or we know where
we can find information upon it.”
- Samual Johnson
“You should arrive at retirement day
with an absolute, deep belief that life
so far has been just a prelude to now,
that it has all been a part of making
you who you are today, so that you
can concentrate less on the doing and
more on the being.”
- James A. Autry
THE ONTARIO SCHOOL DISTRICT now is home to four
portable computer labs. These girls were some of the first
students to sit one of these mobile desks. Ease of movement
will help make the use of schools’ precious limited space as
efficient as possible.
C
Page 2
April, 2004
OPS Insider
Mobile lab
Continued from Page 1
Nelson and network admininstrator Todd Stephan
met with Erlebach to determine the optimimum location
and design. Staff input helped to fine tune the concept.
"Alameda staff wanted to retain the commons area as
a multi-purpose area where technology blended with the
initial intent of the space," Erlebach explained.
The final result at Alameda is a 30-station lab on
moveable tables with a Smart Board and teacher work
station. The lab also will have an eight-inch high area that
can serve as a stage. This can hide the wiring and gives
teachers a platform when they use the Smart Board to
enable students better visibility of the board.
Petterson credited his staff with constructing the stage,
and installing the Smart Board and its pull-down projection screen as well as custom-making the ceiling projection mount and projector.
“Keep in mind, all of this was accomplished while still
maintaining other school buildings and keeping up with
snow removal at the schools and district office,” he added.
After the sawdust finished flying, the techies entered
the picture, assessing the impact on the network.
“A good portion of the computer hardware switches
are found under these tables, with all the machines at the
table running to that one switch,” Nelson said, explaining
the next step is a lengthy process called ‘imaging.’ Once
it has been determined which operating system and software programs the computers need, the tech staff gets the
package perfected and shoots it out to each machine.
“The last step is for technicians to go to the school for
a couple days to make sure things work smoothly,”
Nelson said. “From start to finish, it’s an amazing project
requiring different departments to collaborate and cooperate. The district can be proud.”
NEWLY-BUILT computer work stations grace
Alameda’s multi-purpose room. The tables feature
wheels for easy movement when the space is needed
for something other than a computer lab.
AIKEN ELEMENTARY got downright tacky during
Love of Reading Week. Students and staff (such as
Mrs. Kim Hill) dug into the back of closets and bottom of drawers for wild prints, mismatched styles,
and clashing colors for the day, but it didn’t stop
them from reading lots of great books!
The OPS Insider is published monthly
during the school year, for all employees,
by the Public Information Office
of Ontario Public Schools.
195 S.W. Third Avenue
Ontario, OR 97914
www.ontario.k12.or.us
1-541-889-5374
Superintendent . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Dennis Carter
Board Chairman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Carl Judy
Board Vice Chairman . . . . . . . . . Marlow Pounds
Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . .Evelyn Dame
Dr. John Phillips
Pamela Russell
Public Information Director/Insider Editor
. . .Katherine M. Collins, APR
April Issue, 2004
!"
Ontario Public Schools: An Equal Opportunity Employer
OPS Insider
April, 2004
Page 3
Artist teaches lessons in geography, history,
vocabulary, teamwork, self-esteem - and art
The artist in residence who helped coordinate the creation of a mural at Ontario High School last year,
brought her talents back to Ontario this year. Carol
Poppenga visited Alameda School in March, helping students to create a mural representing Ontario, and
Alameda students. The colorful wall, just outside the
office, features cougars, onions, and the view from an
airplane - a patchwork of farm fields and crops.
kept saying, ‘I can’t draw, I can’t draw, I can’t draw,’” said
Poppenga. “But she stuck with it and did a nice job on
the wheels, taking into consideration their movement,
the dust, the proportion of front wheels to back.”
A mural project such as the kind Poppenga does,
finds students expanding their vocabulary as well as their
knowledge of local history and geography. What is art?
What is a line? What is a traffic pattern? What is composition? Poppenga added that music is also a source of
inspiration, so she plays instrumental music while students are working.
The Alameda mural depicts a smaller cougar at the
beginning, symbolic of the children entering the school
as kindergarten students. Small paw prints serve as a
border for the mural, getting larger as they go around to
the big cougar, symbolizing the academic and physical
growth of the students as they move to 5th grade and
beyond. The mural also features several “pop-outs,”
highlighting the transition from urban to rural.
“We had a lot of students who were very interested
in this project,” Poppenga said. “I would open it up after
school, and even though the weather was nice, we would
have about 15 students ready to go. They were an enthusiastic bunch!”
STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-5 at Alameda were responsible for coming up with a theme and design for the
school’s newest mural. They also did the painting!
Poppenga said she starts such projects with a brainstorming session, during which she acts as facilitator.
About 150 students in grades 3-5 took part in the process.
The ideas came totally from students, Poppenga said.
“While we were sketching it, we talked about relative
relation and proportion,” Poppenga said. “Often, then,
students self-correct, or correct each other. Because each
student works on just a little bit at a time, it is up to that
student to know exactly what his or her task is, so it can
be passed on to the next student artist.”
Poppenga said about four students worked on the
small airplane - from the original chalk outline to the finished painting. During the typical day, groups of five to
seven students were allowed to work on the mural for 15
minutes at a time.
“One student who was doing the covered wagon
KATJA ASBILL was one of many guests at May
Roberts recently who read stories from her native
country. Among the school’s students, parents,
and staff, several languages and cultures are represented including Spanish/Mexican, Japanese,
Russian, and Finnish. Students enjoyed some
great stories as they became more aware of the
diversity within their own school.
Page 4
April, 2004
OPS Insider
Let’s Hear Some Applause, Please!
Clarissa Helliwell, Migrant Consultant, and Gérman
Corona, Ontario High School teacher
“Thanks so much to Clarissa Helliwell for translating
Talented & Gifted (TAG) forms into Spanish for us and
to Gérman Corona for doing the final proofreading and
editing. That helped our TAG Committee a great deal.”
- Steve Bishop, Principal & TAG Coordinator
Kim Alexander, Secretary at OHS
“I would like to give applause to Kim Alexander. She
is one of the most hard-working and kind-hearted people I know. I have never worked with someone so organized. She needs a standing ovation!”
- David Hopper, OHS Counselor
Rosa Erlebach, May Roberts parent center coordinator, and Jeanne Patton, district webmaster
“I would love to thank Rosa Erlebach for all of her
work in helping me with translating my weekly notes to
parents. She is quick and ALWAYS helps with a wonderful smile. A big thank you also to Jeanne Patton for continuing to help me with my classroom web page. It has
really been awesome to work with both of these ladies!“
- Mary Christensen, May Roberts teacher
Verla Holton, ESL instructor, OHS
“Verla Holton, Director of the Project Team for the
Title III grant at OHS deserves some applause. She has
done a great job guiding the team and facilitating the
details of the grant.”
- Dalila Mong, OHS instructor
Maintenance and Grounds Crew members
“I would like to give recognition to those working for
me: Bob Bennett, Doug Kaechele, and Buckley
Plummer, Maintenance; Antonio Corona and Manuel
Rios, Grounds; Norm Hasebe, warehouse; Nancy Davis,
laundry; and Tim Barklow, temporary help. Their continued outstanding performance and support has been the
key to the success of these departments. After 30+ years
in Maintenance, I can honestly say I have never had a
better crew to work with than the one I have today.”
- Jim Petterson
Pat Jacobsen, OMS Media Specialist
“I would like to acknowledge Pat with a huge round
of applause! She has spent endless hours creating an
extremely student-friendly OMS library. Pat works handin-hand with teachers to increase the quality of classroom
projects through library resources and technology. She
has spent the past seven years creating one of the most
extensive Accelerated Reading Libraries in the state!
Thanks, Pat, for all you do! “
- Donna Edwards, OMS instructor
Mishawn Bertram, Janet Rodriguez, Jeannie Ackroyd,
and Bobbi Allison, Pioneer Instructional Assistants
“Pioneer Elementary is fortunate to have four awesome
I.A.s. Their dedication and caring is reflected on a daily basis
at our school, and the students and staff love them. They
make the job of teaching much easier, and their enthusiasm
and positive attitudes are so refreshing. They also overcome
challenges, like meeting NCLB testing requirements, with a
great attitude. It is a compliment to our school district that
these individuals are willing to invest their own time and
energy to meet whatever expectations are placed on them.
Thanks for all your hard work and dedication!”
- Jody Greif, Pioneer teacher
George Mendoza, OMS Associate Principal
“George has done a great job as associate principal this
year. He has been thorough in investigating a recent situation at OMS, and has dealt fairly and equitably with the students involved. I admire his tenacity in bringing this to a
conclusion in a timely manner, and in giving us teachers
enough information to keep the problem from being any
worse than it was. My applause to George for taking a
tough situation head-on, even though it wasn’t very pleasant to go through!”
- Dean Solterbeck, OMS instructor
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