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Show Thursday, December 18, 2008 OREM TIMES Page 11 NEWS AND IDEAS Birds of prey Melissa Mayntz NORTH COUNTY STAFF Education was flying high at Scera Park Elementary School on Dec. 12 with a special Birds of Prey Assembly by Eagle Vision Vi-sion Presentations. Four birds of prey a great horned owl, merlin, peregrine falcon and Harris's hawk were part of the unique wildlife presentation that not only thrilled students with free-flight free-flight demonstrations, but also educated them about different differ-ent birds of prey in Utah. The presentation was conducted by Jason Jones, a master falconer and presenter with Eagle Vision Presentations. "In Utah, birds of prey are a common type of wildlife but many people don't have a chance to see them up close," Jones said. "I think it's important impor-tant for students especially to have exposure to this type of wildlife." Jones's presentation began with a brief multimedia lecture that described each type of bird the students would be seeing that day, as well as other common com-mon birds of prey in Utah. He discussed where students could see the birds in the wild as well as bird anatomy, flight patterns, pat-terns, eyesight and behavior, including information about how the birds he brought with him were trained. Jones held the microphone so Tiana Cole Bruins, we're on the home stretch. Well, sort of. For this half of the school year, at least. Friday is the last day we have to come to school for the rest of 2008, and after that, we Mon-Fri 10 am 6 pm Sat 9 am Provo 374-5520 nor? odd K3 raioneDiLEn ON ALL PURCHASES OVER $1000 ft t'-it5- Sid -: IL - "V Starting 10 Days or LESS .-. That's EXPRESS!!! Eroviding all of your Coutitertop & Cabinetry Needs - from LUxury :. Homes to the Humble Abode . fitiift ttoiirs: Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm Saturday 801-756.3200 - Office & Fax - 801.755-8337 - Rick : 801-514-8477 F R 0 IVf CLASSROOMS AND EDUCATORS thrill, educate kids at Scera Pk, Elem. I illftm l I ASHLEY FRANSCELLNorth County Jason Jones with Eagle Vision Presentations talks to students at Scera Park Elementary about birds on Friday in Orem. students could hear the birds' different vocalizations, and he explained what each bird was doing during its free-flight demonstration. dem-onstration. Three of the birds were released re-leased to fly in the school gym, swooping close over students' heads and eliciting delighted but muted cries from the students. stu-dents. Jones had cautioned students at the beginning of the presentation about the need for a subdued audience, and students kept quiet and still to keep the birds comfortable during dur-ing their flights. Jones admitted that while the birds are well-trained and know what to expect from these presentations, the exact events of each presentation can be unique depending on students' reactions. The birds are wild animals, but Jones has only have a week left of the semester. From my perspective, life is like a river. There are rapids that whip you downstream so fast that you can hardly understand what's going on, and then there are the slow, lazy points that seem to take a lifetime to get through. Occasionally, Oc-casionally, you are dropped off the edge of a completely unexpected waterfall, and you have to shake yourself off and get your bearings all over again once you've hit bottom. 5 pm 268 West Center Street www.artista.net rxno fnl rvn BERHETTE LIACIIltlES From order to install on in-stock worked with birds of prey since he was 12-years old and he can accurately gauge how they will react to different situations. "These are the predictable ones," he said. The biggest challenge Jones faces during these presentations presenta-tions is not the birds' behavior, but the students' reactions. Depending on the ages of the students, he said it can be a challenge to keep their attention atten-tion throughout the 45-minute assembly. To do so, he breaks up the lecture portions of the assembly with each free-flight demonstration to keep the excitement-level high. "It's educational, which is our number one priority, but he's very entertaining," Tom Carter, the school's principal, said. "He just covers it all so well." In addition to introducing stu This past year has had its share of rapids, slow spots and waterfalls. Overall, though, time seems to have gone by all too quickly. I remember reflecting re-flecting on the events of 2007 at about this time last year, and it doesn't seem like it was all that long ago. Where has the time gone? Christmas is in exactly a week. I guess I should probably prob-ably start wishing people a "Merry Christmas" now. But how can I, when I can barely believe that it's that time of KateErickson Few events compare to the phenomenon known as the high school assembly. There is nothing quite like the compression of bodies and backpacks as tired teens (for assemblies are usually morning events) are funneled through the bulging door frames of the auditorium. Music that is orem pleasant grove alpine LENDCl cabinets by appointment - LaVal j 1 dents to the different birds of prey, Jones can tailor the presentations pre-sentations to include a variety of subject areas, including ecology, ecol-ogy, biology, medieval history and even Shakespearean literature. litera-ture. Because of that versatility and the amazing experience of the wildlife encounter, the Birds of Prey Assembly has become one of the most requested wildlife wild-life assemblies in Utah. Jones estimates that he does approximately approxi-mately 50 presentations each year. Presentations can also be arranged for Scout groups, science sci-ence fairs and other events. At the end of the presentation, presenta-tion, Jones introduces the students to another type of bird, his own pet African grey parrot, Zanzobar. Jones talks about the responsibilities of taking tak-ing care of a pet, especially a long-lived bird African grey parrots can live 60 years or longer and he shares some of the bird's fun behavior over the microphone. Zanzobar has an extensive vocabulary including includ-ing meows, sneezes, whistles, laughing, kisses and short phrases that bring even bigger smiles to students' faces. "He is the comic relief at the end of the program," Jones said. For more information about the Birds of Prey Assembly and Eagle Vision Presentations, visit online at www.EagleVisionPre- . sentations.com. year again already? We did get a tree, though (finally), and we have snow and freezing weather, so I guess it's about time to accept the season. The following Thursday, a new year begins. Then, lo and behold, we are back in school. Hopefully, time can slow down just a little bit here at the end of the year. Let's savor sa-vor the last few days of 2008 ... and our winter break. Please? unidentifiable by the majority of the student body blares from outdated speakers. Somewhere, a voice sternly coaches students of varying levels of enthusiasm into an increasingly crowded space. Finally, everyone settles into an auditorium chair and for a moment, anticipation hangs in the air. Many assemblies have exceeded expectations with a clever sketch by the student council or a professional quality qual-ity performance by the dance team. The quality of an assembly assem-bly can be determined early and unanimously by the experi Sometimes, saving money isn't easy. We can help. Whether you're looking for a simple savings account, a CD, an IRA, or automatic transfers from checking to savings, we have the savings vehicles for every need. Call 222-9006. i ft All Schools Holiday Break There will be no school from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2 for the winter holiday break. Classes resume Jan. 5. Orem High School Class Changes Students can make class changes for their second semester schedule free through Friday. Changes made after Dec. 19 will cost $5 per class. Contact the counseling counsel-ing office for details. Yearbooks on Sale Friday is the last day to reserve yearbooks year-books for $40. After Dec. 19 the cost will be $50. Canyon View Junior High School Concert Rehearsal The holiday music concert dress rehearsal is today at 2:30 p.m. The assembly is Friday. Angel Tree Delivery Deliveries De-liveries of Angel Tree gifts are Friday. Many thanks to everyone for donating gifts for this holiday tradition. Cascade Elementary Christmas Sing The Christmas Sing for parents is today from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 12:30-1:30 p.m. Call 227-8707 for details. Save Receipts Parents are reminded to save all receipts from the Orem Macey's location loca-tion to help Cascade Elementary Elemen-tary earn money through the School Cents program. Only receipts from the 800 North store location are valid. Newsletter Survey Parents are urged to return the survey from the December newsletter newslet-ter to share their opinion on whether the newsletter and other school bulletins should be distributed electronically to save paper and money. Foothill Elementary Spelling Bee Students in fourth through sixth grades who want to get a head start on preparing for the January spelling bee can visit www. myspellit.com for details. enced students in the audience. A poor show will commonly produce a noticeable glow reflecting re-flecting on the faces of captive students in the audience. The intensity of the light cast by hundreds of flipped-open cell phones represents a search for more engaging entertainment outside the confines of the auditorium. au-ditorium. This is often a better indication of assembly success than laughter or applause. Then, at the end of each assembly, as-sembly, tradition commands the student body to rise in tribute to the royalty, athletes, veterans, veter-ans, scholars or any number ave for J- Introducing the new Antalgic-Trak" (The Only One In Utah!) ir Revolutionary new treatment (Avoid Surgery) COME EXPERIENCE AVOID SURGERY DRUG FREE PAIN RELIEF fit Ml7T. tfifcTTift tf.TiUilIMir.Ti) Hillcrest Elementary Christmas Sing The annual Sing Around the Christmas Tree continues today and Friday Fri-day at the beginning of school. PERC Drive The PTA is sponsoring a donation drive for the Orem Parent Education Resource Center. New or gentry gen-try used educational games, nonfiction children's books, flashcards, puzzles, parenting books and building toys are welcome. Contact Cissy Ras-mussen Ras-mussen at 494-2074 for details. Scera Park Elementary Choir Performance The Scera Park Singers will perform per-form today at 6 p.m. in the gym. All parents are welcome Christmas film A holiday film will be shown to students Friday. Call 227-8730 for more information. Volunteers Needed The PTA still needs volunteers for different projects. Any amount of volunteer time is appreciated. Contact Heather Redd for details. Sharon Elementary First-Grade Program First-grade classes will present pres-ent their annual Christmas program today at 7 p.m. in the gym. Students should wear a red, white or green shirt. Spelling Practice Second-grade Second-grade students should practice their spelling words daily. Words are getting progressively progres-sively harder and more practice prac-tice is essential. Box Tops The next PTA box top collection drive is ongoing on-going and runs through February. Feb-ruary. Parents are urged to continue saving box tops and UPC symbols to raise money for Sharon Elementary. Noah Webster Academy Free and Reduced Lunch Program Pro-gram The free and reduced lunch program will begin Jan. 5. Parents can contact the school at 426-6624 with eligibility eligi-bility questions. of persons, honors or events. A fanfare rolls out of a corner of the auditorium to prelude the school fight song. Sporadic clapping drowns out the few voices that can actually pair the words of the song with the melody of "Roar for OHS!" Applause explodes and the assembly is over. Quickly, the auditorium is relieved of the tension of too many students as kids meander back to their classes commenting on their recent exposure to another high school tradition and contemplating contem-plating what awaits them at the next school assembly. one. n WestemA-il Community tfanK Life's needs. Life's bank." WltTINNCOMMUNITYIANK.COM THE DIFFERENCE! 3 1"1VJ. Aain St. Aaemcan Fokk 23 JL |