Kiana Donat won the Waid Morgan Award and student council president Nathan Haas made introductory remarks at the Haines Middle School promotion May 25 at the elementary gym. Twenty-three students, including two with Haines Correspondence School, were promoted. The winner of the Waid Morgan Award for leadership is chosen by class members. Nine students won the Presidential Award by attaining a 3.5 grade-point average for seventh grade and the first two quarters of eighth grade as well as high achievement on test scores. They included: Donat, Aurora Alten-Huber, Dylan Chapell, Morgan Cloke, Marirose Evenden, Kirby Faverty, Megan Whitermore, Raine Winge and Siyel Galindo-George. Promotion was followed by a grades 7-8 dance.
Photographer John Hagen was recently awarded an Artist-in-Residency at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. Hagen will spend February and March creating photographs and prints at the school. He will be speaking about his art at the IAIA campus, School for Advanced Research, Museum for Contemporary Native Arts and institutions around Santa Fe.
Eight family members visited Becky Hill for the Haines High School graduation of daughter Corinna and eighth-grade promotion of daughter Lindy. Visitors included the girls’ grandmother Jane Hill and aunt Lynn Sinclair, Becky’s aunt and uncle Carol and Allen Kerns, brother and sister-in-law Chris and Jessica Keigley, and Becky’s father George Keigley and companion Brenda Francis. Highlights included bonfires, barbecues, and a group rafting trip with Andy Hedden that included a close-up sighting of a moose and newborn calf.
Mori Hays was promoted to Ikkyu in seibukan jujutsu Monday at the Chilkat Center. Ikkyu is the last step before black belt. Hays demonstrated pins, takedowns and defense against staffs, knives and swords. Teacher Chorus Bishop, brother Kai Hays and friend Russ Lyman participated in the demonstration.
Shannon Donahue recently visited her parents Brian and Sandy Donahue in the Boston, Mass., area, where she also went out for pizza with former Haines resident Paul Nicastro. Shannon also attended a Boston Red Sox game and saw “Swan Lake” at the Boston Ballet with graduate school friend Bethany Taylor. Shannon then headed to Missoula, Mont., for the Great Bear Foundation’s 15th Annual Multicultural International Bear Honoring. Donahue is executive director of the nonprofit organization. The event, which welcomes bears out of hibernation, also honored Donahue’s mentor and founder of the organization, Chuck Jonkel, who died recently. On her way back to Haines, Donahue stopped in Seattle to visit friend Lindsay Warshaw and soak in the Scenic Hot Springs near Stevens Pass, Wash.
Haines authors descended on Skagway for the North Words Writers Symposium last week. Mark Zeiger, Mandy Ramsey, Maggie Stern and Joe Ordonez attended, along with organizer Dan Henry and faculty member Heather Lende. Brian Doyle, editor of Portland Magazine, was the symposium’s keynote speaker. Lende said highlights included taking Emily Wall’s haiku class and getting to know Eowyn Ivy, author of “Snow Child,” which was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize. The group also took a train ride to Glacier Station and hiked to Laughton Glacier.
The Hammer Museum’s two summer interns have arrived. Katelyn Dickerson, from Schoolcraft, Mich., is receiving her master’s degree from Eastern Illinois University in historical administration. She has a bachelor’s in history and political science from Hope College. Katelyn is working on revamping the Hammer Museum’s website. Jason Leuthold of Decorah, Iowa, has a bachelor’s degree in history and museum studies at Luther College. Katelyn and Jason will be organizing a summer fundraising event.

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