Volunteers needed to serve on Walla Walla High School Senior Presentation panel
Volunteers are needed to serve on the Walla Walla High School Senior Presentation panel for the Class of 2011. Volunteers will listen to seniors as they share their personal stories, successes and struggles, academic accomplishments, community volunteer experiences, and future plans.

Volunteers may sign up for multiple panel dates, but they will only need to attend the training session on the first day they have selected to participate.

“Every year, I am filled with anticipation to experience this amazing event,” Walla Walla High School Associate Principal Mira Gobel said. “Many of our volunteers are becoming veteran panel members who look forward to this event each year.”

 Senior Presentation Panel Dates:
- February 14 & 15 (Monday & Tuesday)
- March 23 & 24 (Wednesday & Thursday)

Senior Presentation Day Agenda:
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. - Panel Orientation: Walla Walla High School Commons
4:30 – 4:45 p.m. - Presentation #1: Various classrooms
4:50 – 5:05 p.m. - Presentation #2: Various classrooms
5:10 – 5:25 p.m. - Presentation #3: Various classrooms
5:30 – 5:45 p.m. - Presentation #4: Various classrooms
5:50 – 6:05 p.m. - Presentation #5: Various classrooms
6:10 – 6:25 p.m. - Presentation #6: Various classrooms
6:30 – 6:45 p.m. - Presentation #7: Various classrooms
6:50 – 7:05 p.m. - Presentation #8: Various classrooms
7:05 – 7:30 p.m. - Debrief and collect evaluation sheets: WWHS Commons

To sign up, contact Gobel at: 509.527.3020 or by email at: mkgobel@wwps.org.

Lincoln Alternative High School student Talent Show to support Holiday Food Drive
Lincoln Alternative High School is planning its first annual Talent Show and  Mexican Spiced Cocoa & Cookies Social Wednesday, December 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the school gym. The event is open to the public and supports the district’s Holiday Food Drive. Admission is a nonperishable food item and/or donation to “THE LIFT” Lincoln’s After-School Program. All food donations will be donated to the Blue Mountain Action Council Food Bank.
 
Contestants must have at least one Lincoln High School student or staff, which includes the Lincoln Health Center, in the act. Students may pick-up entry forms and turn them in at the school’s main office. Auditions will be held Tuesday, December 7 immediately after school in the gym.
 
Information:
Jeremy Gradwohl - The LIFT, 21st Century Program Director
Lincoln Alternative High School
509.526.8516
421 S. Fourth St.
Walla Walla, WA 99362

“Fill the School Bus” event Saturday support district’s Holiday Food Drive
Look for Walla Walla Public Schools buses parked in front of area grocery stores Saturday, December 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. as part of the district’s Holiday Food Drive. All food donations will be delivered to the Blue Mountain Action Council Food Bank. Last year shoppers donated more than 5000 pounds of food during the “Fill the School Bus” event. Food collection barrels are also at all district schools and the central office through Friday, December 17.

“Fill the School Bus”
Saturday, December 4
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Albertsons
Harvest Foods
Safeway (Plaza)
SuperOne

2010 Holiday Food Drive Chairs:
Christina Price-Huntington, Pioneer Middle School Para-Educator
509.527.3050 or e-mail: cpricehuntington@wwps.org

Lori Finn
Lincoln Alternative High School Teacher
509.527.3083 or e-mail: lfinn@wwps.org

Pioneer Middle School students team with Grocery Outlet for food drive event this weekend
- Dates: Saturday, December 4 and Sunday, December 5
- Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Location: Grocery Outlet (on 9th Ave. near McDonalds)
- All food collected will be donated to the Blue Mountain Action Council Food Bank
- Information: Explorers Program Teacher Dan Calzaretta - dcalzaretta@wwps.org

2011 Columbia REA Scholarship program enrollment opens
Application packets are now available for the Columbia REA scholarship program. The program will provide scholarship funding for the school term beginning in the fall of 2011. The scholarship program is available to members or dependents of members with an active account served by Columbia REA. The four scholarships will be awarded on a competitive basis to eligible applicants.

Three are academic scholarships. One of the three, in the amount of $1500, will be awarded to the highest scoring applicant and is the Clark A. Brewington Memorial Scholarship. The remaining two scholarships will be in the amount of $1000 each. Once awarded, these scholarships will be renewable for up to three additional consecutive years provided the recipient remains a student in good standing with at least a 2.75 grade point average at an accredited institution.

A fourth scholarship is available for eligible applicants wishing to pursue a career in the electric industry as a journey lineman. This scholarship was established in remembrance of Jeff Meredith, a journeyman with CREA. The Jeff Meredith Scholarship is for $1,000 and for one year only. Application packets are now available at Columbia REA’s offices in Dayton and Walla Walla and at all high schools within Columbia REA’s service area. A complete application packet is also available on the Columbia REA web site at www.columbiarea.coop.

The deadline for submitting applications is February 18, 2011. Recipients will be notified by March 31, 2011. The winners of the scholarships will be introduced at the annual membership meeting in April 2011. Columbia REA is a member owned electric cooperative serving customers in Columbia & Walla Walla Counties in Washington and Umatilla County in Oregon.

Whitman College Youth Baseball Winter Camp scheduled
- Athletes ages 8 to 18 are invited to the Whitman College Baseball Winter Camp
- Mark Michaud, pitching coach for the Whitman College baseball team and the Walla Walla Sweets baseball team, will direct the camp which will cover baseball fundamentals.
- Saturday, December 4 and Sunday, December 5
- 9 a.m. to 12 noon each day
- Location: Sherwood Athletics Center, Whitman College
- Cost is $60 per student (includes a camp t-shirt)
- For more information, contact Mark Michaud Jr. at 509-522-4438 or michaum@whitman.edu.

Wa-Hi FFA Holiday Wreath sale
- 16" ring (the wreath will be 20"-24" wide when it is finished)
- Bow colors: Red, White or Blue
- Cost: $20 (payable upon delivery or pick-up)
- Deliveries begin Wednesday, December 1
- To place an order, contact FFA Advisor Arch McHie - amchie@wwps.org / 527-3020

High school debate students perform strong at regional tournament - By Coaches Jean Tobin and Erica “Riki” Wauchek
Students from Walla Walla High School and Lincoln High School joined forces to attend the first District Speech and Debate tournament of the year. The tournament was held at Eisenhower High School in Yakima, Washington on November 19-20. Eight other schools attended the tournament including: Wenatchee, Moses Lake, Chiawana, Pasco, Eisenhower, Othello, Ephrata, and Ione. Walla Walla’s team had a successful tournament, earning 1st place in Individual Events and 1st place Overall. Those prizes are awarded by combining the points of all the top finishers in each individual event and each debate category.

Jean Tobin, coach of the Wa-Hi team said, “There was an incredible camaraderie on our team as the awards were announced. Last year, as a brand new team, we’d watched as other schools had received the majority of the awards. This year we were so excited to earn not only individual awards but also the honor of top team.”

Students traveling to the tournament from Wa-Hi included: junior Machado Mijiga; sophomores Carrie Moore, Rosa Tobin, Calvin Brigham, Konor Clark, Marisol Beck, Bryan Preston, Kera Parsons, Julia Cosma,, Sean Hamilton, Hope Grant-Herriot, Corey Swentik; and freshman Allie Shrouf, George Lopez-Vargas, and Kendall Dunovant.

In Individual Events many students were very successful. In Original Oratory Rosa Tobin took 3rd place. In Interpretive Reading Hope Grant-Herriot took 1st place and Kera Parsons took 3rd place. Bryan Preston took 1st place and Machado Mijiga took 2nd place in Impromptu Speaking. Rosa Tobin placed 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking. The team of Carrie Moore and Marisol Beck took 2nd in Dual Interpretation and the team of Calvin Brigham and Bryan Preston placed 3rd. In Expository Speaking, Marisol Beck placed 1st, Hope Grant-Herriot placed 2nd and Carrie Moore placed 3rd. Hope Grant-Herriot also earned a 2nd place trophy in Tall Tales. In novice division Kendall Dunovant earned 3rd place in Impromptu,

Walla Walla also had a strong showing in the debate events. In Senior Division Lincoln Douglas debate, three of the top four competitors were from Walla Walla: Machado Mijiga, Rosa Tobin and Carrie Moore. Rosa Tobin took 3rd place. Carrie Moore placed first, competing in the final round in front of the tournament audience against Colton Smith from Wenatchee High School. Carrie won the round in a 3-0 decision, earning the ballots of all three judges. Coach Jean Tobin commented, “Colton is an extremely strong debater and was also in the final round of the Snohomish tournament (which we did not attend). Carrrie prepared an excellent case and did a great job of staying calm and clearly defending and explaining her arguments. I am so proud of her efforts and the way she represented Walla Walla High School.” In Novice Division Lincoln-Douglas, Konor Clark placed 3rd. “Konor just joined our team a month ago and is a very enthusiastic participant – he has done well at the last two tournaments and has shown an amazing commitment to improving his skills as a debater,” said Jean Tobin. Lincoln-Douglas debaters were debating whether drug abuse should be treated as a public health concern or a criminal justice issue.

In Public Forum debate Kera Parsons and Julia Cosma placed 3rd in Open Division. This is only their third tournament and they have made steady progress, increasing their number of wins each time. They were debating if NATO’s presence has improved the lives of Aghanistan citizens. In Congressional Debate Hope Grant-Herriot made many impassioned speeches, including one that earned top marks defending the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. She placed 3rd overall. The team is currently preparing to research new topics for December and January. In Public Forum the new topic has already been released and students will be debating whether cyberbullying should be illegal. The next District tournament is in Pasco on December 11th. Students are also working to raise money to attend several prestigious tournaments in January and February.

Lincoln High School sent five students to the competition. According to Wauchek, the Lincoln students were amazing.
“At the beginning of the trip we were two schools, but by the end we were one team,” Wauchek said. “It was amazing to see the Wa-Hi students accept our students on their team.”

The Wa-Hi team came home with the most trophies out of the 11 schools in the tournament. Lincoln won large trophies for first place in the entire tournament and 1st place for all the individual events (IE). In the office is the large trophy for 1st place in IE events that we will keep at Lincoln. Reyn Hodgson took 2nd place in dramatic interpretation and he was just two points away from first place. Lincoln student Johannah Paine took 3rd place in interpretive reading and Stephen Barfoot, Bailey Peterson-Huff, and Heather Teem performed strong, according to Wauchek. The next tournament is December 11 at Pasco.

Winter weather is here! School closure procedures
At Walla Walla Public Schools, we make every effort to post up-to-the-minute school closure information due to inclement weather or any circumstance that would delay or cancel the normal school schedule.

Decisions to delay or close school usually are made by 5:30 a.m. or earlier. This triggers the district’s comprehensive school closure/delay announcement plan. The district makes every effort to begin announcements by 6 a.m.

Announcements include:
- Media release (radio, tv, newspaper)
- Telephone automated message (staff and parents)
- Web posting (www.wwps.org)
- Staff e-mail (GroupWise)
- E-news message (sign up on the district web site: www.wwps.org)
- Twitter message (twitter.com/wwschools)
- Facebook page message
- Orange signs posted in front of schools

District 5th grade teachers tour Walla Walla Foundry
Monday district 5th grade teachers toured the Walla Walla Foundry to prepare for student tours of the facility later this month. The student tours are part of the “Picture Lady” art program organized by Augusta Farnum and nearly 70 Walla Walla volunteers. Walla Walla Foundry Special Projects and Digital Operations Director Dylan Farnum led the teachers on the tour of the facility.

Green Park Elementary 5th grade teacher Elissa Stites said the Walla Walla Foundry is a local treasure and will facinate her students. Berney Elementary 5th grade teacher Laura Grant said the tour experience will reinforce the academic subjects, especially math, the students have been working on in class all year long.

5th Grade Walla Walla Foundry Tour Schedule
Blue Ridge: December 10 - 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.
Assumption Elementary: December 10 - 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.
Sharpstein Elementary: January 28 - 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.
Prospect Point Elementary: February 4 - 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.
Green Park Elementary: March 18 - 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.
Edison Elementary: April 22 - 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.
Berney Elementary: May 20 - 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.

“Picture Lady” Board
Augusta Farnum, Chair
Tricia Harding, Program Administrator
Denise Slattery, ReUse and Materials
Mari Sanders, Outreach
Heidi Cohan, Volunteers

Begin the holiday season at the Walla Walla Public Library Saturday!
Several special events are planned at the Walla Walla Public Library Saturday, December 4 during an evening of special extended hours.

Schedule of events:
- 4:30 p.m.: The Eugene Ballet Company will give us a “sneak peek” at the Nutcracker Ballet
- 5:00 p.m.: Volunteers from Whitman College’s Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority will help young people create holiday cards
- 6:00 p.m.: Watch the Macy’s Parade of Lights from inside the warm Library
- Cider and cookies will be provided by Friends of the Library

Classroom Close-Up features Pioneer Middle School teacher
This week Pioneer Middle School Physical Education/Health teacher Cami Coers is featured as part of the district’s Classroom Close-Up series. A fun, information filled newsletter will be posted on the district website next week — (www.wwps.org).

A public service announcement radio spot featuring Coers is now playing on regional stations.