The Applegater

Applegater Winter 2021 23 NEXT GENERATION | SCHOOL NEWS Newly funded music, PE positions well-received at Applegate School Williams School students visit corn maze, nature center BY STEVE FULLER BY JEAN HALL Now serving burgers! A p p l e g a t e School staff and students rejoice over in-person learning and the opportunities for field trips, J o g a t h o n , sports activities and classroom p a r t i e s . T h e music program has produced a g r e a t d e a l o f j o y, a n d the promised second semester PE program has kindled a lot of excitement. Both the music and PE positions are funded by the state Student Success Act. Kindergartners and first graders began the year studying the life cycles of a butterfly and an apple. e students were able to visit the caterpillars and chrysalises that Mrs. Linda Kappen kept ready for student viewing. Second- and third-graders, with teacher Mrs. Halsted, joined Mrs. Hirschmugl's K-1 class for a long-awaited field trip. Perfect weather made the trip to Fort Van n oy Farm an d Pum p kin Patch especially enjoyable. Students rode the Cow Train, explored the corn maze, and picked pumpkins to take home. A l l Ap p l e g a t e s t u d e n t s e n j oye d classroom Halloween parties and doing the school's traditional "Ghost Walk" in costumes. On November 4, the whole student body took part in the long- established Jogathon, which had to be canceled last school year. Be s i d e s w o rk i n g o n g r a d e - l e ve l curricula in math and reading, Mr. Scull's fourth- and fifth-graders are studying early settlements by the French, Spanish, Dutch, and English. In science, the students are learning about energy and how it gets transferred into useful forms. ey are also practicing cursive writing. Seven of Mr. Scull's students are preparing for the Battle of the Books by reading the required 16 novels. e class recently held nominations for class president. M i d d l e s c h o o l s t u d e n t s h a v e participated in a variety of electives, including drama, art, crafts, and PE games. e school has secured equipment that will allow students to explore robotics, circuits, 3D printing, and laser printing. e student leadership group has planned mini-lessons and skits to teach younger students the character traits assigned to each month of the school year. Middle- school boys were delighted to learn they could have a basketball team this year. Mrs. Gourley's classes have been reading numerous stories from a wide variety Williams Elementary has been open on-site for in-person instruction since the normal start of school on August 30. Staff, students, and families were eager to return to school this fall. Williams School is excited to offer two new programs for the 2021–2022 school year. Michelle Daw has joined our team as the new music teacher. With daily music instruction for every student, this class quickly became a big hit at the school. Starting in the second semester, Mrs. Daw will be trading places with the PE teacher at Madrona Elementary. en the students will receive daily PE. is October, Williams students were able to participate in their first field trips in over a year. The kindergarten and first, second, and third grades visited the Fort Vannoy Farms pumpkin patch and of genres, and one class did a readers' theater. I n s o c i a l studies, sixth- g r a d e r s h a v e been exploring geography and learning what it means to be a geographer. S e v e n t h a n d eighth graders h a v e b e e n studying early North America a n d C e n t r a l America (Meso America) and did a quick tour of the Renaissance, Reformation, Silk Road, and early African kingdoms to prepare for the study of exploration and colonization of America. With a $1,500 grant for science equipment, Mr. Fall has purchased alternative energy models and kits, including a KidWind class set of wind turbines (kid scale) that produce and measure electricity produced from various designs. Grant money also allowed purchase of solar panels, a model fuel cell car, a plasma ball, and a scale model of a fossilized T-Rex head. Mr. Fall is hoping to raise money to purchase a GlowForge. Applegate School has had the wonderful opportunity to welcome Mrs. Daw as the leader of a daily music program. Her focus for K-5 has been learning and playing rhythms, using rhythm sticks, and learning about melody. Students have made great progress at reading and hearing rhythms, as well as echoing and improvising. Studying melody through singing and the use of boom whackers, they focused o n s o n g s f r o m Pa t r i o t s' D a y a n d Halloween. Mrs. Daw says the students are learning to match pitch, echo sing, and sing with a group. She hopes to be able to put on a holiday program for the school and community. Meeting the challenges with the middle school program to see what could be done with such a large group and still maintain COVID protocols could have been daunting. However, Mrs. Daw saw bucket drumming as a way to teach rhythm and group unity. With the help of Casablanca, who donated 75 pickle buckets, and Mrs. Daw's husband, who washed them, the students have excelled at reading rhythms and learning how to play as a group. Mrs. Daw added a choir class in the second quarter. Her dream is to have a beginning band program. May your dream come true, Mrs. Daw! Jean Hall Jhall80@juno.com Applegate School kindergartners through third graders made a field trip to the Fort Vannoy Farm and Pumpkin Patch. Shown here are the second and third graders. Pictured in the back from left are Mason Lane, Madison English, Coach West, Naomi Blanton, and Ashlyn Falkenhagen. In the middle row are Caitlyn Miller, Lillian Wieberg, Emma Lovell, and Erin Moline; and, in front, Anna Frandsen. Younger students from Williams Elementary School have a blast at the Fort Vannoy Farms pumpkin patch and corn maze west of Grants Pass. Photo: Steve Fuller. corn maze. A grand time was had by all. Also in October, Mrs. Bingham's fourth- and-fifth-grade class visited the North Mountain Nature Center in Ashland. ey participated in outdoor education and community service. Williams students enjoyed a lively costume parade outside on our new track, followed by separate classroom Halloween parties, on ursday, October 28, which happened to be the last day of the first quarter. en on November 3–5, parent-teacher conferences were held. Parents and guardians had the option of in-person or virtual conferences this fall. It is great to meet with people face-to-face when possible. Steve Fuller, Principal Williams Elementary steven.fuller@threerivers.k12.or.us Applegate Cougars volleyball team has winning season T h e A p p l e g a t e Cougars fielded a junior varsity volleyball team this year. "Even though we had only one team," said school Principal Steven Fuller, "it was a great experience for the players to get back to school sports after the 2020 season was canceled." e team had a great season, finishing with 10 wins and 2 losses. Double your money! Donations to the Applegater made by December 31 will be doubled by NewsMatch, a nonprofit news organization fund drive the Applegater qualified for again this year. Donate online at applegater.org, or mail a check to the Applegater, PO Box 14, Jacksonville, OR 97530. • • • Keep your news in your newspaper coming! ere's never been a better time to give.

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