Gladstone School News Blast
Gladstone Schools • Growing Great People • 11.30.22
Education Foundation supports classrooms, family services
Over $35,000 will flow to classroom learning, after school programs, and social services in Gladstone, thanks to 11 grants funded by the Gladstone Education Foundation [GEF].
Projects funded included after school science classes for elementary students, culturally diverse books for grades K-2, 3D printers for middle school technology classes, and a video studio at Gladstone High School.
The GEF also supported three more projects at Gladstone High School, including safety mats to expand the high school cheerleading program, stereoscopes and field guides for environmental science, and transformation of a meeting room into a calming space.
Two vital social service programs in the community were also supported. GEF provided an added freezer and refrigerator space for the Gladstone Food Pantry and new clothing racks to reorganize the Gladstone Kids Clothes Closet.
While the GEF could not fund every request, private donors stepped up to provide more than $2,500 for two additional projects: a district-wide initiative to boost school attendance and a device-charging station in the high school library.
Tax-deductible donations to the Gladstone Education Foundation can be made online.
Kraxberger takes art to the next dimension
With the shift to a 7-period schedule at Kraxberger Middle School, students have more opportunities for elective classes. One of the most popular is 3D art, taught by Audrey Delgado. She launched the new class last year.
The year-long course is open to seventh and eighth grade students, who have the opportunity to create in a range of media, from paper, kiln-fired clay, metal, plaster casting, wire, yarn, and cloth.
"We created 'Staircase' sculptures from foam board. Next we built paper maché sculptures over armatures, painted with acrylic paint," said Delgado. "It was a very complex project with plenty of planning, sketching, and building." The sculptures were modeled after Pedro Linares Lopez's Alebrijes and are currently on display in the three glass cases at Kraxberger
This class teaches students to think three-dimensionally and view artworks from all perspectives, which is very different from 2D Art. There is a ton of planning and experimentation that needs to take place to ascertain that the finished sculpture can stand or be presented in the way that the artist envisions.
"This class is way cooler than I thought it would be," one student said. "I didn't know we'd be doing so many different kinds of projects. 3D sculpture is just a really different way of thinking about making art."
Monthly bike raffle incentivizes good attendance
Gladstone High School students with good attendance have a chance to win a free bike thanks to a donation from WashCo Bikes and Free Bikes for Kids, non-profits that refurbish donated bicycles and give them to students. Each bike winner will also receive a free bike helmet donated by the Gladstone Police Department.
At Gladstone High, each week that a student has perfect, on-time attendance, they earn a ticket for the monthly prize drawing. They could win one of 10 bikes donated by WashCo Bikes, a local non-profit. The school hopes the incentives will motivate students to attend school regularly.
Joe Kurmaskie leads two bike giveaway non-profits -- WashCo Bikes and Free Bikes for Kids Portland. His operation pays 19 bike mechanics at three sites to refurbish used bikes gathered by companies like Ridwell and TriMet. Together, the two companies are the largest free bike distributors on the west coast, donating 5000 bicycles this year to 55 schools, 6 hospitals, and women's shelters.
"My goal is to get unused bikes out of garages so teens and kids can ride them," said Kurmaskie, a best-selling author and travel adventure writer. After donating bikes to Gladstone High, he also plans to donate bikes to Kraxberger Middle School and John Wetten Elementary this school year.
If you have a used bike to donate, call 503-844-9740 or email info@washcobikes.org. The non-profit also takes cash donations.
Toy donations needed by December 8
Help make the holidays brighter for Gladstone families by donating new, unwrapped toys, games, or sports equipment for kids from birth to age 12.
Please drop off toys by December 8 at these locations:
• Gladstone Public Library: 135 E. Dartmouth
Sat/Sun/Mon/Fri 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tues/Thurs noon to 8 p.m.; Wed 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
[Also gathering non-perishable food donations all month.]
• Christian Books and Vegetarian Foods – 19700 Oatfield Road
Sundays 11-4, Mondays to Thursdays 10 to 5:30, or Fridays from 10 to 2. [Closed Saturdays]
• Gladstone Fire Station #22: 555 Portland Avenue
8 a.m. to 8 p.m., all days
Gifts and food boxes will be distributed by Gladstone’s Adopt-a-Family project. The effort is a partnership between Gladstone High School, Rotary of Gladstone/Oak Lodge, the Gladstone Police Department, Fire District 1, Gladstone Kiwanis, Gladstone Public Library, The Clackamas Bookshelf, and the Oregon Conference of Seventh Day Adventists.