Coach Minder Retires After 24 Years

In spring of 1995, Minder showed up to hold his first tryouts as a head coach and was faced with a daunting scene: 67 boys turned out from Camas and Washougal (the schools co-opted a team at the time).

Just months after being tapped as the new head coach, he didn’t have any assistant coaches. Days before, the JV coach, perhaps anticipating a rough transition, stepped down. But Minder had a plan. He just needed time.

He didn’t have highly technical players, he said, so he emphasized three factors: superior fitness (conditioning three times a week in the winter), a simple system and a change of mentality.

No longer would Camas soccer be a “doormat.” That meant running a tight ship, which drew resistance. Read more at The Columbian

Helping others help others…

Reece Marciel, 17, a senior at Camas High School, stands outside the Blessing Box at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Camas, on Oct. 26. Marciel’s senior project involves organizing the box, filled with donated items such as food, clothing, toiletries and shoes that people in need can access any time of day or night.

For one Camas High School student, senior year is all about helping others help others.

“I didn’t think it was going to be used as often as it is,” said Reece Marciel of the Blessing Box located outside St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Camas, which allows community members to anonymously donate everyday items to their neighbors in need.

A member of the St. John’s congregation since he moved to Camas from Hawaii in 2014, the 17-year-old Marciel is tackling the Blessing Box for his senior project at Camas High. He spends 20 minutes here, 35 minutes there, organizing the donations and tracking what people put in — and what those in need take out of — the box.  CW Post Record

CHS Green Team #MakeADifferenceDay

Pictured Left to Right: Andrew Kim (10), Cole Geenty (12), Nils Brainard (12) and Nolan Ouchi (12)

This past weekend, Camas High School‘s Ali Coker and the Green Team planted trees for #MakeADifferenceDay, hosted by Stream Team of Clark Public Utilities.  Stream Team helps build healthy watersheds by fortifying stream beds with native trees.  More than 1,000 team members donate over 3,500 hours of their time each year to save salmon. StreamTeam members include utility employees, Stream Stewards, AmeriCorps members, scout groups, college students, youth groups and many other dedicated individuals. For a printable schedule of StreamTeam’s 2018 events, click here.

The Camasonian: Choir at CHS

“Choir isn’t just about singing, it’s about getting to know each other and being a family,” said Mercedez Jones, a freshman at Camas High School. The choir at CHS has around 160 students and they all have a different voice. Mr. Ethan Chessin, the choir teacher here at CHS said, “What I love about choir is that there is a mix of everybody. It’s something that anybody can do and everyone can feel a part of.” One of the changes that Chessin made this year in the choir program is that he is assigning homework. He said it is “exciting to grade, but it’s only about five minutes. It’s not much but it is an opportunity to get a snapshot of where each of the individuals in the class is, and their vocal growth.”

Since CHS now has an orchestra, the choir can do more pieces than before. The vocal ensemble will be singing a song at the beginning of the year called Ave Verm Corpus by Mozart. This will let the choir get a feel of how they sound with the orchestra. This winter the orchestra and the vocal ensemble will be performing all of Vivaldi’s Gloria, which is a half hour long.  Chessin said, “It will kind of be like going to a professional choir performance.” Vivaldi’s Gloria has twelve parts, instrumental solos, singing solos, duets, and so much more.

On Tuesday, October 19th, the choir gave their first performance of the school year. One of the songs they performed was Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie, which included body percussion. By: Isabelle MacDonald (9) – Read more at the Camasonian

Scholarships & Community Art Projects

The 2018 Arts Ambassador scholarship recipients, from left: Aaron Greene, Zayah Shore, Cassidy Watson, Zoe Hill and Zachary Lipinski pictured above.

The 2018 Arts Ambassador scholarship recipients were honored at the Enspire Arts Celebration Gala, held Oct. 13 at the Black Pearl. The newly established program offers $500 scholarships to students in grades 6-12 throughout Clark County. The scholarships can be used toward instruction in any art form. Each recipient will provide an arts-based community gift to serve residents.

Cassidy Watson (flowered dress), a junior at Camas High School who’s project, called The Joy of Dance, will offer three contemporary dance workshops to youth around the county. The 2019 scholarship program opens in March, and more information can be found at www.enspirearts.org. Read more at…The Columbian