Alex Paul
Bus loads of 14 and 15 year old freshmen embarked on a new adventure Tuesday as they entered high school for the first time.
The SHHS Class of 2008, has the added bonus of being the first to start and we hope, finish classes in the new Sweet Home High School.
In fact, this class is the first to be able to take, or possibly complete, a community college degree on the same campus, thanks to the new Linn-Benton Community College Center that?s located on site.
It?s an exciting time for all involved.
Hats off to those who took a dream and breathed life into it. A strong committee that brought the 25-year bond to the community and saw that it passed was headed up by folks like Dr. Michael Alperin and Joel Keesecker with the support of many.
Former District 55 Supt. Bill Hampton worked tirelessly to set the plan in motion. Along with former LBCC President Jon Carnahan, the duo put together a far-reaching agreement that gives SHHS students immediate contact with a college education. There?s no reason that our seniors can?t receive their high school diploma and chalk up a year?s community college credits at the same time.
It?s being done elsewhere.
Dr. Larry Horton (School District 55) and Dr. Rita Cavin (LBCC) picked up where their predecessors left off and without skipping a beat, pushed the project forward to completion.
For the staff and student body at SHHS, the past two years has been chaotic at times. First, it was completion of the new gymnasium and remodeling of the swimming pool complex.
Then, last year, it was demolition of the main high school which forced development of makeshift offices from former classrooms.
SHHS Principal Pat Stineff has been a trooper through this transition. Even as late as last week, while other staff members were busy getting their new office spaces ready for opening day, Mrs. Stineff was dealing with her own missing furniture and made due with what was available.
Her leadership to staff and students was valuable throughout a time of great change.
Teachers and students also make the best of the at times trying situation. The result though is well worth the wait.
SHHS is now a first class building on the inside and out. No longer will custodians have to put together makeshift equipment to keep the heating systems up and running.
A quick walk through should silence even the most ardent naysayers.
The new library and business offices are impressive.
The new kitchen and dining areas are outstanding.
At our high school, 30 years ago, we remember a hot lunch program that operated out of a basement cubby hole. Lunch menus were minimal.
Not so today.
SHHS students have no excuse for not eating a healthy meal at school, so parents, don?t fall for any lines about poor lunches at the school
The dining room is bright, airy and seats up to 500.
The daily lunch menu reads more like a fancy deli than a high school cafeteria.
Students can even order specialty sandwiches and they will be ready at a kiosk for them at lunch time.
We?d call it pampering but it?s really good marketing.
We hope the students appreciate the sacrifices made to develop the new school building.
It complements the community?s efforts over the last decade to improve its main facilities: new fire hall, new police department, new Senior Center/Boys and Girls Club, remodeled City Hall, etc.
These projects all came with a price tag as does the new SHHS complex.
This class of freshmen, if they choose to return to Sweet Home after college or after a few years in the work world away from here, can expect to help pay for the new building until they are about 40 years old.
It?s important that students treat the new building with respect and with a long-term outlook.
It?s also important that the school board make the building maintenance fund a priority in budgeting so that expensive repairs aren?t added on top of the bond payments for many years to come.
This project is another example of a community short on high-paying jobs, that leads with a big heart for its kids.
An open house for the new high school and LBCC complex is planned for September 20.
The LBCC open house will be at 4 p.m. and the SHHS open house at 7 p.m.
It will be well worth your time to take in both.
A.P.By Alex Paul
Publisher
Bus loads of 14 and 15 year old freshmen embarked on a new adventure Tuesday as they entered high school for the first time.
The SHHS Class of 2008, has the added bonus of being the first to start and we hope, finish classes in the new Sweet Home High School.
In fact, this class is the first to be able to take, or possibly complete, a community college degree on the same campus, thanks to the new Linn-Benton Community College Center that?s located on site.
It?s an exciting time for all involved.
Hats off to those who took a dream and breathed life into it. A strong committee that brought the 25-year bond to the community and saw that it passed was headed up by folks like Dr. Michael Alperin and Joel Keesecker with the support of many.
Former District 55 Supt. Bill Hampton worked tirelessly to set the plan in motion. Along with former LBCC President Jon Carnahan, the duo put together a far-reaching agreement that gives SHHS students immediate contact with a college education. There?s no reason that our seniors can?t receive their high school diploma and chalk up a year?s community college credits at the same time.
It?s being done elsewhere.
Dr. Larry Horton (School District 55) and Dr. Rita Cavin (LBCC) picked up where their predecessors left off and without skipping a beat, pushed the project forward to completion.
For the staff and student body at SHHS, the past two years has been chaotic at times. First, it was completion of the new gymnasium and remodeling of the swimming pool complex.
Then, last year, it was demolition of the main high school which forced development of makeshift offices from former classrooms.
SHHS Principal Pat Stineff has been a trooper through this transition. Even as late as last week, while other staff members were busy getting their new office spaces ready for opening day, Mrs. Stineff was dealing with her own missing furniture and made due with what was available.
Her leadership to staff and students was valuable throughout a time of great change.
Teachers and students also make the best of the at times trying situation. The result though is well worth the wait.
SHHS is now a first class building on the inside and out. No longer will custodians have to put together makeshift equipment to keep the heating systems up and running.
A quick walk through should silence even the most ardent naysayers.
The new library and business offices are impressive.
The new kitchen and dining areas are outstanding.
At our high school, 30 years ago, we remember a hot lunch program that operated out of a basement cubby hole. Lunch menus were minimal.
Not so today.
SHHS students have no excuse for not eating a healthy meal at school, so parents, don?t fall for any lines about poor lunches at the school
The dining room is bright, airy and seats up to 500.
The daily lunch menu reads more like a fancy deli than a high school cafeteria.
Students can even order specialty sandwiches and they will be ready at a kiosk for them at lunch time.
We?d call it pampering but it?s really good marketing.
We hope the students appreciate the sacrifices made to develop the new school building.
It complements the community?s efforts over the last decade to improve its main facilities: new fire hall, new police department, new Senior Center/Boys and Girls Club, remodeled City Hall, etc.
These projects all came with a price tag as does the new SHHS complex.
This class of freshmen, if they choose to return to Sweet Home after college or after a few years in the work world away from here, can expect to help pay for the new building until they are about 40 years old.
It?s important that students treat the new building with respect and with a long-term outlook.
It?s also important that the school board make the building maintenance fund a priority in budgeting so that expensive repairs aren?t added on top of the bond payments for many years to come.
This project is another example of a community short on high-paying jobs, that leads with a big heart for its kids.
An open house for the new high school and LBCC complex is planned for September 20.
The LBCC open house will be at 4 p.m. and the SHHS open house at 7 p.m.
It will be well worth your time to take in both.
A.P.
By Alex Paul
Publisher
Bus loads of 14 and 15 year old freshmen embarked on a new adventure Tuesday as they entered high school for the first time.
The SHHS Class of 2008, has the added bonus of being the first to start and we hope, finish classes in the new Sweet Home High School.
In fact, this class is the first to be able to take, or possibly complete, a community college degree on the same campus, thanks to the new Linn-Benton Community College Center that?s located on site.
It?s an exciting time for all involved.
Hats off to those who took a dream and breathed life into it. A strong committee that brought the 25-year bond to the community and saw that it passed was headed up by folks like Dr. Michael Alperin and Joel Keesecker with the support of many.
Former District 55 Supt. Bill Hampton worked tirelessly to set the plan in motion. Along with former LBCC President Jon Carnahan, the duo put together a far-reaching agreement that gives SHHS students immediate contact with a college education. There?s no reason that our seniors can?t receive their high school diploma and chalk up a year?s community college credits at the same time.
It?s being done elsewhere.
Dr. Larry Horton (School District 55) and Dr. Rita Cavin (LBCC) picked up where their predecessors left off and without skipping a beat, pushed the project forward to completion.
For the staff and student body at SHHS, the past two years has been chaotic at times. First, it was completion of the new gymnasium and remodeling of the swimming pool complex.
Then, last year, it was demolition of the main high school which forced development of makeshift offices from former classrooms.
SHHS Principal Pat Stineff has been a trooper through this transition. Even as late as last week, while other staff members were busy getting their new office spaces ready for opening day, Mrs. Stineff was dealing with her own missing furniture and made due with what was available.
Her leadership to staff and students was valuable throughout a time of great change.
Teachers and students also make the best of the at times trying situation. The result though is well worth the wait.
SHHS is now a first class building on the inside and out. No longer will custodians have to put together makeshift equipment to keep the heating systems up and running.
A quick walk through should silence even the most ardent naysayers.
The new library and business offices are impressive.
The new kitchen and dining areas are outstanding.
At our high school, 30 years ago, we remember a hot lunch program that operated out of a basement cubby hole. Lunch menus were minimal.
Not so today.
SHHS students have no excuse for not eating a healthy meal at school, so parents, don?t fall for any lines about poor lunches at the school
The dining room is bright, airy and seats up to 500.
The daily lunch menu reads more like a fancy deli than a high school cafeteria.
Students can even order specialty sandwiches and they will be ready at a kiosk for them at lunch time.
We?d call it pampering but it?s really good marketing.
We hope the students appreciate the sacrifices made to develop the new school building.
It complements the community?s efforts over the last decade to improve its main facilities: new fire hall, new police department, new Senior Center/Boys and Girls Club, remodeled City Hall, etc.
These projects all came with a price tag as does the new SHHS complex.
This class of freshmen, if they choose to return to Sweet Home after college or after a few years in the work world away from here, can expect to help pay for the new building until they are about 40 years old.
It?s important that students treat the new building with respect and with a long-term outlook.
It?s also important that the school board make the building maintenance fund a priority in budgeting so that expensive repairs aren?t added on top of the bond payments for many years to come.
This project is another example of a community short on high-paying jobs, that leads with a big heart for its kids.
An open house for the new high school and LBCC complex is planned for September 20.
The LBCC open house will be at 4 p.m. and the SHHS open house at 7 p.m.
It will be well worth your time to take in both.
A.P.By Alex Paul
Publisher
Bus loads of 14 and 15 year old freshmen embarked on a new adventure Tuesday as they entered high school for the first time.
The SHHS Class of 2008, has the added bonus of being the first to start and we hope, finish classes in the new Sweet Home High School.
In fact, this class is the first to be able to take, or possibly complete, a community college degree on the same campus, thanks to the new Linn-Benton Community College Center that?s located on site.
It?s an exciting time for all involved.
Hats off to those who took a dream and breathed life into it. A strong committee that brought the 25-year bond to the community and saw that it passed was headed up by folks like Dr. Michael Alperin and Joel Keesecker with the support of many.
Former District 55 Supt. Bill Hampton worked tirelessly to set the plan in motion. Along with former LBCC President Jon Carnahan, the duo put together a far-reaching agreement that gives SHHS students immediate contact with a college education. There?s no reason that our seniors can?t receive their high school diploma and chalk up a year?s community college credits at the same time.
It?s being done elsewhere.
Dr. Larry Horton (School District 55) and Dr. Rita Cavin (LBCC) picked up where their predecessors left off and without skipping a beat, pushed the project forward to completion.
For the staff and student body at SHHS, the past two years has been chaotic at times. First, it was completion of the new gymnasium and remodeling of the swimming pool complex.
Then, last year, it was demolition of the main high school which forced development of makeshift offices from former classrooms.
SHHS Principal Pat Stineff has been a trooper through this transition. Even as late as last week, while other staff members were busy getting their new office spaces ready for opening day, Mrs. Stineff was dealing with her own missing furniture and made due with what was available.
Her leadership to staff and students was valuable throughout a time of great change.
Teachers and students also make the best of the at times trying situation. The result though is well worth the wait.
SHHS is now a first class building on the inside and out. No longer will custodians have to put together makeshift equipment to keep the heating systems up and running.
A quick walk through should silence even the most ardent naysayers.
The new library and business offices are impressive.
The new kitchen and dining areas are outstanding.
At our high school, 30 years ago, we remember a hot lunch program that operated out of a basement cubby hole. Lunch menus were minimal.
Not so today.
SHHS students have no excuse for not eating a healthy meal at school, so parents, don?t fall for any lines about poor lunches at the school
The dining room is bright, airy and seats up to 500.
The daily lunch menu reads more like a fancy deli than a high school cafeteria.
Students can even order specialty sandwiches and they will be ready at a kiosk for them at lunch time.
We?d call it pampering but it?s really good marketing.
We hope the students appreciate the sacrifices made to develop the new school building.
It complements the community?s efforts over the last decade to improve its main facilities: new fire hall, new police department, new Senior Center/Boys and Girls Club, remodeled City Hall, etc.
These projects all came with a price tag as does the new SHHS complex.
This class of freshmen, if they choose to return to Sweet Home after college or after a few years in the work world away from here, can expect to help pay for the new building until they are about 40 years old.
It?s important that students treat the new building with respect and with a long-term outlook.
It?s also important that the school board make the building maintenance fund a priority in budgeting so that expensive repairs aren?t added on top of the bond payments for many years to come.
This project is another example of a community short on high-paying jobs, that leads with a big heart for its kids.
An open house for the new high school and LBCC complex is planned for September 20.
The LBCC open house will be at 4 p.m. and the SHHS open house at 7 p.m.
It will be well worth your time to take in both.
A.P.By Alex Paul
Publisher
Bus loads of 14 and 15 year old freshmen embarked on a new adventure Tuesday as they entered high school for the first time.
The SHHS Class of 2008, has the added bonus of being the first to start and we hope, finish classes in the new Sweet Home High School.
In fact, this class is the first to be able to take, or possibly complete, a community college degree on the same campus, thanks to the new Linn-Benton Community College Center that?s located on site.
It?s an exciting time for all involved.
Hats off to those who took a dream and breathed life into it. A strong committee that brought the 25-year bond to the community and saw that it passed was headed up by folks like Dr. Michael Alperin and Joel Keesecker with the support of many.
Former District 55 Supt. Bill Hampton worked tirelessly to set the plan in motion. Along with former LBCC President Jon Carnahan, the duo put together a far-reaching agreement that gives SHHS students immediate contact with a college education. There?s no reason that our seniors can?t receive their high school diploma and chalk up a year?s community college credits at the same time.
It?s being done elsewhere.
Dr. Larry Horton (School District 55) and Dr. Rita Cavin (LBCC) picked up where their predecessors left off and without skipping a beat, pushed the project forward to completion.
For the staff and student body at SHHS, the past two years has been chaotic at times. First, it was completion of the new gymnasium and remodeling of the swimming pool complex.
Then, last year, it was demolition of the main high school which forced development of makeshift offices from former classrooms.
SHHS Principal Pat Stineff has been a trooper through this transition. Even as late as last week, while other staff members were busy getting their new office spaces ready for opening day, Mrs. Stineff was dealing with her own missing furniture and made due with what was available.
Her leadership to staff and students was valuable throughout a time of great change.
Teachers and students also make the best of the at times trying situation. The result though is well worth the wait.
SHHS is now a first class building on the inside and out. No longer will custodians have to put together makeshift equipment to keep the heating systems up and running.
A quick walk through should silence even the most ardent naysayers.
The new library and business offices are impressive.
The new kitchen and dining areas are outstanding.
At our high school, 30 years ago, we remember a hot lunch program that operated out of a basement cubby hole. Lunch menus were minimal.
Not so today.
SHHS students have no excuse for not eating a healthy meal at school, so parents, don?t fall for any lines about poor lunches at the school
The dining room is bright, airy and seats up to 500.
The daily lunch menu reads more like a fancy deli than a high school cafeteria.
Students can even order specialty sandwiches and they will be ready at a kiosk for them at lunch time.
We?d call it pampering but it?s really good marketing.
We hope the students appreciate the sacrifices made to develop the new school building.
It complements the community?s efforts over the last decade to improve its main facilities: new fire hall, new police department, new Senior Center/Boys and Girls Club, remodeled City Hall, etc.
These projects all came with a price tag as does the new SHHS complex.
This class of freshmen, if they choose to return to Sweet Home after college or after a few years in the work world away from here, can expect to help pay for the new building until they are about 40 years old.
It?s important that students treat the new building with respect and with a long-term outlook.
It?s also important that the school board make the building maintenance fund a priority in budgeting so that expensive repairs aren?t added on top of the bond payments for many years to come.
This project is another example of a community short on high-paying jobs, that leads with a big heart for its kids.
An open house for the new high school and LBCC complex is planned for September 20.
The LBCC open house will be at 4 p.m. and the SHHS open house at 7 p.m.
It will be well worth your time to take in both.
A.P.
By Alex Paul
Publisher
Bus loads of 14 and 15 year old freshmen embarked on a new adventure Tuesday as they entered high school for the first time.
The SHHS Class of 2008, has the added bonus of being the first to start and we hope, finish classes in the new Sweet Home High School.
In fact, this class is the first to be able to take, or possibly complete, a community college degree on the same campus, thanks to the new Linn-Benton Community College Center that?s located on site.
It?s an exciting time for all involved.
Hats off to those who took a dream and breathed life into it. A strong committee that brought the 25-year bond to the community and saw that it passed was headed up by folks like Dr. Michael Alperin and Joel Keesecker with the support of many.
Former District 55 Supt. Bill Hampton worked tirelessly to set the plan in motion. Along with former LBCC President Jon Carnahan, the duo put together a far-reaching agreement that gives SHHS students immediate contact with a college education. There?s no reason that our seniors can?t receive their high school diploma and chalk up a year?s community college credits at the same time.
It?s being done elsewhere.
Dr. Larry Horton (School District 55) and Dr. Rita Cavin (LBCC) picked up where their predecessors left off and without skipping a beat, pushed the project forward to completion.
For the staff and student body at SHHS, the past two years has been chaotic at times. First, it was completion of the new gymnasium and remodeling of the swimming pool complex.
Then, last year, it was demolition of the main high school which forced development of makeshift offices from former classrooms.
SHHS Principal Pat Stineff has been a trooper through this transition. Even as late as last week, while other staff members were busy getting their new office spaces ready for opening day, Mrs. Stineff was dealing with her own missing furniture and made due with what was available.
Her leadership to staff and students was valuable throughout a time of great change.
Teachers and students also make the best of the at times trying situation. The result though is well worth the wait.
SHHS is now a first class building on the inside and out. No longer will custodians have to put together makeshift equipment to keep the heating systems up and running.
A quick walk through should silence even the most ardent naysayers.
The new library and business offices are impressive.
The new kitchen and dining areas are outstanding.
At our high school, 30 years ago, we remember a hot lunch program that operated out of a basement cubby hole. Lunch menus were minimal.
Not so today.
SHHS students have no excuse for not eating a healthy meal at school, so parents, don?t fall for any lines about poor lunches at the school
The dining room is bright, airy and seats up to 500.
The daily lunch menu reads more like a fancy deli than a high school cafeteria.
Students can even order specialty sandwiches and they will be ready at a kiosk for them at lunch time.
We?d call it pampering but it?s really good marketing.
We hope the students appreciate the sacrifices made to develop the new school building.
It complements the community?s efforts over the last decade to improve its main facilities: new fire hall, new police department, new Senior Center/Boys and Girls Club, remodeled City Hall, etc.
These projects all came with a price tag as does the new SHHS complex.
This class of freshmen, if they choose to return to Sweet Home after college or after a few years in the work world away from here, can expect to help pay for the new building until they are about 40 years old.
It?s important that students treat the new building with respect and with a long-term outlook.
It?s also important that the school board make the building maintenance fund a priority in budgeting so that expensive repairs aren?t added on top of the bond payments for many years to come.
This project is another example of a community short on high-paying jobs, that leads with a big heart for its kids.
An open house for the new high school and LBCC complex is planned for September 20.
The LBCC open house will be at 4 p.m. and the SHHS open house at 7 p.m.
It will be well worth your time to take in both.
A.P.