Nc Dedicates New Building

The scent of smoldering sweet grass, sage and cedar wafted through the North Central High School gym last week as members of the Spokane Indian Tribe joined in the school’s official dedication ceremony.

Students gathered with invited guests, teachers and administrators to dedicate the work - more than $5 million spent for an expanded library and remodeled locker rooms, and new weight-training room, multipurpose room, health room, four science classrooms and a 25,000-square-foot gym.

The Spokane tribe holds a special position at NC as the source of the school’s symbol - the Indians. During the ceremony, tribe members beat a drum and sang a song as a thank you, and tribal elder Pauline Flett made a request.

“Always be aware and care for the environment,” she said. “Because by doing that you show you care for each other.”

Thanks also were dispersed by school and district officials to those who did the building and planning, those who provided the funding, those who oversaw the project, and those who put up with the sounds of construction for so long.

Spokane School District Superintendent Gary Livingston gave special thanks to community members for their investment in education and challenged students to take advantage of those dollars that were spent on their behalf.

St. Thomas More patrons raise money for bells

In honor of former St. Thomas More Principal Ann Doherty, who died July 2, several close friends recently donated about $10,000 to purchase a set of digitized carillon bells.

The bells, which were installed in a steeple of the St. Thomas More Church, ring at noon and 6 p.m. every day, and are rung at funerals, weddings and before Saturday and Sunday Mass.

The donors preferred to remain anonymous, but say the bells’ ringing remind them daily of Doherty’s presence.

New tech program to start in 2001

For the first time ever, area high school students will have the opportunity to take a series of courses that could land them a job as a Cisco certified network administrator right out of high school.

The Cisco Networking Academy gets students started on a track that, if they stay with a networking career, can lead to a six-figure income over time, said Cisco Systems Inc. Regional Manager Mike Peterson.

Through a partnership with Spokane Community College, area high schools will offer professional/technical classes in the high schools that will give students industry certification and the skills needed to manage network systems. Such professionals are in high demand, Peterson said.

Districts involved include Mead, Riverside, Central Valley, East Valley, West Valley, Cheney and Spokane.

“Currently there is a shortage of 850,000 information technology professionals nationwide,” Peterson said. “That number is growing not shrinking.”

Cisco Systems Inc. is an international company based in San Jose, Calif., that makes computer hardware like routers and switches. It is the world’s number-one producer of network connecting equipment, and had more than $20 billion in annual sales for fiscal year 2000.

The four-semester class, which uses a curriculum produced entirely by Cisco, will start with the basics of what a network is and move toward diagnosing and troubleshooting problems.

John Keith, director of professional and technical education for the Mead School District, said the classes are not recommended for those just curious; the rigorous program will be better suited to those who have a good idea that they want to be systems managers.

Students who don’t finish all four semesters of the class in high school have the option of transferring credit and continuing where they left off at Spokane Community College.

Schools plan to offer the class in February, with an initial class size of about 20.

Students choose mural as project

Deer Park High School students Jon Vensel and Mark Erickson chose a senior project that will have a lasting impression - especially on middle-school students.

The two have started work on a 30-foot-by-8-foot mural at Deer Park Middle School that stretches along a hallway from the gym to the band room.

“We wanted to do something related to the talents we have, and be productive and have fun,” Erickson said.

The mural contains a morning scene of a young deer (the middle school mascot) on a hill in a forest, which blends into an afternoon scene of downtown Deer Park and then transitions to a Vincent van Gogh-esque “Starry Night” over Deer Park Middle School. The whole thing will be topped by a 3-dimensional banner proclaiming “Deer Park Middle School.”

Deer Park seniors must complete a senior project that involves 20 hours of community service to graduate. Vensel said he and Erickson originally wanted to teach a drawing class for younger students, but when that idea was turned down by the administration, they came up with the mural.

Both boys graduated from the middle school and wanted to give something back with their project.

“It’s saying thanks for giving us what we have,” Erickson said.

It’s also giving current eighth-graders Marchand Fragie and Arielle Reed and seventh-graders Jeremy Street and Chris Miller a chance to be part of the project. The four have been working for about three weeks to help sketch the mural in pencil.

Now they are waiting for the paint delivery so they can start making the mural a permanent part of the school.