OCR Text |
Show OREM GENEVA TIMES Thursday, March 1 2006 fot'i;V:H!f es Page 4 not fj f W S A U D E A 1 r " I I k irl " ?; ' r f f -r-X- p UU -r- ' ' " A " .JSLfff X-'l " Tpjf J " . . iff II i! I b' I tl II I J 1 &nm2 mm M i I n a 1 i ' f . T"v-'- JEREMY HARMON North County Date Groesbeck, a counselor at Orem High School, goes over some papers in his office at the school, where he has worked for twenty yurs Counselor lends his experience Jamie Custer This is Dave 'roestec'k's 2'Mh year at (Jrem High Sch'Kjl l-letaughn hnglish lor )4 yars and (or the pasl live years he has served as one of the school counselors. coun-selors. With his minor iri coaclung. some of his time has hen spent coaching track and cross country. Groesheck rei.eived lus bachelor's degree at Bng'ham 'oung University. He earned his masier s degree at the University of Utah. When he heard that one o! the counselors was reiu'ing he decided to get lus (.Counselors Certil'ica-tion Certil'ica-tion from the University of Phoenix. "1 (ei strongly ahoul getting a well rounded education at dillerent inslitu-tions." inslitu-tions." said (jroestieck. With lus father m the Air f orce. Uroesheck was horn in Okanawa, Japan. Ja-pan. f)u! raised in Utah Valley. He has tliree sons attending Orem Schools. "Tliis is a great place to live and work," said Oroesbeck. "1 have been extremely satisfied with my career at Orem High School. 1 wouldn't want to Orchard Elementary Melissa Mayntz With a disco ball, sirens and bell botloms. Orchard Flemen-lary Flemen-lary boogied into the night last Thursday w'lth a free family 70s Disco Night J ull of fun activities and contests (or everyone. Disco Night was one of many lamiJy-onented lamiJy-onented activities that embrace 1he school's "ohana" (family in Hawaiian) theme this year. "We are Incused not only on sludents' families, but on the whole school lietng a f amily together." to-gether." said Nina Bingham, t he school s PI A president. "We want the whole school to be more connected." Principal Brent Palmer agrees. "The 'ohana' theme has lieen a great thing." he said "A school really is a partnerslup of students, parents and teachers that make a family." . It's still too early for students to catch Brayden Santo NOI'Im ' 'j It.' " :.'AM February flew by, and March came in with some warm weather. But don't get spring fever yel because another winter strike could come The keyword is "could." Spring doesn't come officially of-ficially until March 20 so the sky's the limit with the weather. East week in school there were several things going on. It was "Freedom Week." No school Monday, because of Presidents Day. There were festivals for band and choir on Tuesday F ft 0 1 C L A be anywhere else." Groesbeck is counselor for students whose last names begin with A through F. He is also in charge of Home and Hospi-1al Hospi-1al students. "Thai means 1 co-ordinate school work f or those students who are out due 1o illness or injury and are either at home or in the hospital, so that they don't get behind and lose the opportunity opportu-nity to graduate," said Groesbeck. Financial Aid and Scholarships is also an area Groesbeck is responsible. Through the National Gearing House Division 1 Sports, fie makes sure that at filet es meet all requirements. "Youixjuldn't ask for better staff and faculty members to work with," said Groesbeck. The students here are lucky to have such an outstanding principal in Jane Lindhoul . This is a school where it is easy for the students to make friends. There are amazing academic programs, tremendous sports opportunities and great teachers." "One area that makes Orem High unique is the Concurrent Enrollment program," said Groesbeck. "UVSS pro-lessors pro-lessors come to this school and teach in With more than GHO students, Orchard Element ary is a big family. Bingham is pleased with parents' par-ents' support of the PTA. and the school has had more than a 20 percent increase in membership member-ship t lus year. There are now more than 220 members involved with the PI A. The Disco Night was not originally one oflhe school's planned events, but came about as a bonus when the)' arranged a beach-themed student appreciation appre-ciation day tor the end of March with UJ Kris, a disc jockey who works with school events from Box Elder County to Utah County When schools arrange a paid event during the day, Kris Operhal. who has worked with schools for the past five years, offers them a free evening activity ac-tivity with their choice of a '50s sock hop or 70s disco theme. bruin and Thursday, concerts on Wednesday and an assembly on f nday. Wednesday was also "wear red. white and blue day," Thursday was "camouflage day," and Friday was "best dressed day." Unfortunately for me, I got sick on Thursday and wasn't able to go to the assembly or wear the load of "camo" that I have (not). Last Saturday, our girl's ROOMS ATJD EDUCATORS brings back the 70s "I enjoy seeing the kids and families have fun dancing and boogying." Kris Operhal, the DJ, on Disco Night Operhal arranges more than 90 different school events each year for student appreciation, grade recognition, perfect attendance at-tendance and other rewards. "I enjoy seeing the kids and families have fun dancing and boogying," Operhal said. Throughout the evening, Operhal taught kids funky dances such as the hokey pokey and the hustle, and he offered a variety of prizes for the best participants as well as the best three 70s costumes. Operhal himself sets the theme of the event with his own 70s basketball team took it to the state championship final up at Salt Lake Community College. The pep band was there and everything. Unfortunately, we lost, by 10 points. Rachel Konishi said, "It was still really fun, even though we lost." As for this week, not too much is happening, but the choir had their festival on Monday. Thursday, all the ninth graders at Orem Jr. and Lak-eridge Lak-eridge get to come to Mountain Moun-tain View to brief. J bet they are really excited to get out of junior high and into high school. - our classrooms. It is a great opportunity for the students as they get college credit while attending high school classes, class-es, very cheap financially." While Groesbeck enjoys great respect from his co-workers and an office of his own, it hasn't always been so. "When I first started my teaching internship here," said Groesbeck. "1 didn't have my own classroom. 1 had what you call, a floating classroom. I used a grocery cart with saddlebags on the sides and my teaching supplies inside. With my little beE, I would push my cart from classroom to classroom. Teachers here still remember that. "Although I don t miss reading and correcting all those papers, I really miss the classroom," said Groesbeck. "However, "How-ever, as a counselor it is really thrilling when you see that you finally reached a student. You see that they get it; that what they do right now impacts the rest of their life. My motto would probably be, 'Do the best you can and enjoy the ride.' " Groesbeck plans to continue turning on those lights for students until he retires re-tires from Orem High School. costume, complete with afro, and many students arrived with flashy fabrics and afros. For Bingham, the event is just good fun. "The best part is just seeing families coming out together," she said. Operhal said he appreciates the family focus and incorporated incorporat-ed daddy-daughter and mother-son mother-son dances into the evening. Nearly 300 students and parents par-ents participated in the event. "Many people have contributed contrib-uted to making it a great year," Bingham said. "Everyone loves the 'ohana' theme and we've just had a lot of fun." Thursday's party included not only 70s music, but a mix of popular '80s and '90s tunes that appeal to everyone. Snack booths were available to purchase treats, and the students stu-dents could purchase glow-in-the-dark trinkets to match the groovy atmosphere. spring fever The boy's basketball state tournament is happening this week, and our boys did take it to state. More updates on that later. Just some quick reminders, no school on Monday and band students need to put some more money into their band tour funds, because the next deadline was actually yesterday. Region festivals are also coming up, which means that you need to work even harder on your piece to make it to state. That's it for now, because I am out of space (and things) to write. Thanks for reading this week. AliSCHOOLS Professional development day Monday is a professional development day for teacher collaboration and there will be no school for students. OREM HIGH SCHOOL STRIPES applications Students interested in joining STRIPES (Students Together Representing Individuals Indi-viduals and Participating in Everyday Service) can pick up applications now in the Counseling Coun-seling Center or room C-15. Applications are due back no later than April 7. I VocalPiano Solo Ensemble The Region Vocal'Piano Solo Ensemble is pleased to present an evening of musk on Tuesday. For more details please contact Mr. Keyes. I Honors banquet The OHS girls' basketball team has planned its honors banquet for Tuesday at 6 p. m. in the Unified Uni-fied Studies Room. For more information, call 227-8765. MOUNTAIN VIEW HIGHSCHOOL 'Comedy of Errors' Mountain View High School students wiD perform per-form William Shakespeare's "Comedv of Errors" March 9, 10, 11 and 13 in the MVHS auditorium, 645 W. Center in Orem. Advance tickets sold at the school are $5 for general, $3 for students and $1 for children 11 and under. A family fam-ily pass is also available for $15. Prices will be higher after March 7. For questions call the theater department at 227-2400 227-2400 Ext 171. I Jazz Band concert The Mountain View Jazz Band will present a free concert of traditional tradi-tional and contemporary jazz music on March 8 at 7 p.m. in the MVHS auditorium. 645 W. Center, in Orem. LAKERIDGE JUNIOR HIGHSCHOOL Jazz Band Lakeridge's Jazz Band Concert has been scheduled for March 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the bandroom. I Small ensemble orchestra The school's small ensemble orchestra concert will be March 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the school auditorium. ASPEN ELEMENTARY Dr.Seuss Birthday Party Aspen Elementary will celebrate cel-ebrate the success of its reading read-ing incentive program with a Dr. Seuss Birthday Party family today from 7-8:30 p sxl There will be games, prizes and of course cake and ice cream. Students wearing their Dr. Seuss hats will get in free! Please remember that at least one parent needs to accompany accom-pany his or her student to the party. For more information, please call the Main Office at 227-8700. I Knowledge Bowl The Knowledge Bow is coming up fast and students need help studying their geography for this Jeopardy -style tournament. tourna-ment. Volunteers are asked to contact Kiersten Armknecht. Bonneville Bementary CampRead-a-Lot This week is the "Camp Read-a-Lot" buy-one-get-one-free book fair in the Media Center. The school will have prizes and drawings to encourage en-courage summer reading, and this is a great opportunity to stock up. For more information, informa-tion, please contact the Media Center. I PTA Election Meeting The PTA Election Meeting for voting for next school year's PTA officers will be Tuesday at noon in the Home Reading Trailer. For more information, please call Michelle Muhles-tein. CASCADE ELEMENTARY UteracyWeek Join Cascade Elementary as students and teachers celebrate cel-ebrate Literacy Week this week with library trivia contests, con-tests, book exchanges and more. For more information, please call 227-8707. I PTA Board Meeting The next PTA Board meeting will be Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in the Media Center. All members mem-bers are welcome to attend. I Storytelling evening On March 9 Cascade Elementary is proud to present our Evening Eve-ning of Storytelling from 1-8:30 1-8:30 p.m. There win be ten different dif-ferent themed rooms complete with puppets and props, and refreshments will be available. For more information, please contact the Main Office. CHERRY HILL ELEMENTARY Spring pictures Spring pictures for all Cherry Cher-ry HID elementary students will be taken March 8 and 9. For more information, call 227-8710. I Dr. Seuss birthday Cherry Hill is ready to celebrate Dr. Seuss 's birthday with visits from author Rick Walton today and tomorrow to share exciting creative writing techniques with our students. This is a great opportunity for everyone as we share our school's love of reading and literacy. ORCHARD ELEMENTARY Teacher Appreciation Week This week is Teacher Appreciation Ap-preciation Week at Or chard Elementary. Let's work together to-gether to show our teachers how much we value their hard work by drawing pictures, writing poetry and making them thank -you cards. I Literacy Night March 8 is the school's Literacy Night program from 6-8 p.m. We will have a guest speaker and numerous classroom activities for parents and students. For more details, please call 227-8723. SUNCREST ELEMENTARY Beach party An in-school beach party will be held Friday. The event will be an academic award party, and each class is earning earn-ing the opportunity to participate. par-ticipate. Prizes are going to be given for the best beach attire. FOOTHILL ELEMENTARY Storytelling festival Students will participate and compete in a storytelling festival fes-tival March 8 in the gym. Parents Par-ents are invited to watch their kindergarten through third grade students at 2 pjn. and f ourth through sixth grade students at 12:30 p.m. N0RTKRIDGE ELEMENTARY Report cards Parents, watch for report cards coming home with your children on Friday. I Storytelling contest North-ridge North-ridge students will participate in a storytelling festival and contest March 10. Parents are invited to watch as students present original or memorized stories and receive awards at morning and afternoon assemblies assem-blies based on grade level. WESTM0RE EUMENTARY Conferences Parent teacher conferences have been scheduled for today from 4-7:15 p jh. I Dr. Suesi's birthday West-more West-more Elementary will celebrate cel-ebrate the joy of reading today, Dr. Seuss'6 birthday, with a community read-a-thon. Parents are invited to come read with their children in the school gym from 3-2:15pjn. "poor |