A Platte County High School student provided the Board of Education meeting room with a showcase piece of artwork.
Throughout the first semester senior Joel Rodriguez worked on a wooden circle which features the Platte County School district’s compass logo etched into it. The new piece was unveiled at the latest Platte County R-3 Board of Education meeting on Thursday, Jan. 18, at the Platte County District Education Center.
When the crowd assembled, a black cloth draped the artwork, which was unveiled by Dr. Michael Reik, prior to Rodriguez talking about the project.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Platte County senior Joel Rodriguez, who used technology provided by the district to design the school’s logo on wood that is now on display in the Board of Education meeting room, discusses the project that he started this year. His artwork was unveiled during the meeting on Thursday, Jan. 18.
The senior, a two-time all-state choir pick that will attend the University of Missouri in the fall, presented a power point presentation on how he got the artwork designed.
He took large pieces of wood and cut them into strips and then glued them together, holding them in place with clamps. The project was nearing completion right before Christmas break, but when Rodriguez returned he found the wood had warped.
He went back to the drawing board by cutting the pieces again and gluing them back together – essentially doing the same thing he did earlier.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said with a hint of sarcasm that drew laughs from the crowd.
He used Aspire, CorelDraw and Microsoft Publisher to design the artwork
He used lacquer and sanded it down to make it smooth before using a cherry stain.
“I want to give a special thanks to the district for supplying us with the tools to do this amazing artwork,” Rodriguez said. “Most kids don’t get to do this and I’m greatly honored.”
He presented each of the board members as well as administrators with a plaque.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Platte County Superintendent Dr. Michael Reik listens during the Platte County R-3 Board of Education meeting on Thursday, Jan. 18. Above his head is a piece of artwork completed by Platte County senior Joel Rodriguez, who used technology provided by the district to engrave the school’s logo on wood.
“He is a very impressive young man. It is nice to see young people so eloquent in how they speak to adults and his presentation was well put together,” Reik said. “In terms of the artwork and I say would less a work of art, more a finished project of technology and engineering. For that reason, I really enjoyed seeing that finished project. I know what went into that for Joel and what went into that was a real-world experience.”
No Election
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, the school district announced it will not have to have an election this year as Lenora Miles and David Sharp have withdrawn their candidacy for the board.
That means remaining two candidates, Doug Doll and Amy MacCuish, will be sworn in on April 12. They will each serve three-year terms.
ENERGY STAR Schools
Five schools in the district were given certificates for their performance in earning ENERGY STAR designation.
Schools are ranked on a handful of categories judged by the United States Environmental Protection Agency with analysis on building size, number of personal computers, walk-in refrigerators, hours of operations, weather and climate to name a few.
To earn the ENERGY STAR designation, schools have to rank in the top 25 percent. Siegrist Elementary was the highest in the district, checking in at the 97 percentile. Barry School came in at 96 percent and Compass Elementary at 88. Pathfinder Elementary came in at 83 percent and Platte County Middle School at 80.
Platte County High School came in at 70 percent and it was noted aging equipment could be a factor.
Northland Career Center didn’t qualify for the rating system since it applies only to K-12 schools.
NEWS AND NOTES
Doug Ryun was honored as the ‘SCHIVIR’ Me Timber award. The maintenance employee was described as a ‘catch all’ in the department that has some specialized workers. His ingenuity helped lead to the creation of special platforms for student restrooms, allowing independence for those students who usually need help from staff.
Pending approval next month, there will be a penalty after June 1 for teachers who break contracts to leave for another district.
The 2018-19 school district calendar was formally approved with one change, moving a district in-service day from Feb. 8 to Feb. 15. The start of school will be Aug. 16 and the last day is tentatively scheduled for May 22. Spring break is March 18-22, while Christmas break is Dec. 20-Jan. 2 and Thanksgiving break is slated for Nov. 21-23.