![All smiles. The group poses for a photo with last year’s book, “This is Our House,” along with their award for third Best in Show. Meikle, who was an Editor-in-Chief for the yearbook last year as well, holds both and stands at the center of the group. “That was an amazing feeling, going and grabbing the third place award,” Meikle said. “All of it paid off. I cried so much over that book, being able to receive [the award] was one of the highlights of my high school career, it was like the coolest thing ever.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/8bookpose_philly-1200x800.jpg)
![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
Snow day Q&A with Mills
Students stuck at school after snow fell Dec. 14; Admin stayed late, gave snacks
Icy neighborhood streets like those in Arbor Cove prevented residents from traveling safely
Snow covered the city Dec. 14, causing problems for students and staff after their release at 3:10. Principal Kevin Mills shared information regarding the snow day over email Dec. 15. Here are his responses, which were edited only for journalistic style and grammar.
Q. I’ve heard some students’ buses came late and others were advised not to drive themselves. Do you have a rough estimate of the number of students who were stuck at West Linn?
A. Once the snow hit hard and we noticed driving becoming difficult for students to get out of our parking lots, we as an administration made the decision to not have students driving. We had one administrator and our SRO [senior resource officer] in the Trip Lot, and two administrators at the Senior Lot. Our main concern was keeping students safe and trying to avoid any accidents. We instructed students to make contact with parents and head inside the school where it was warm. In addition, we had four buses that were late, due to previous routes and traffic in the surrounding areas. Overall after school we had about 120 students who were either waiting for a bus or a parent to pick them up. By 6:00, all buses had arrived and most students had been picked up. At that time, we had about 10 students who the administration was staying with and communicating with parents to find a safe ride.
Q. What did faculty do to keep students safe and make them more comfortable?
A: We spent the time helping with communication, handing out snacks and ensuring that all students had a safe way to get home.
Q. How late did students and staff stay?
A:.All students had left the building by about 7:30 p.m.
Q. I want to focus on choices the administration made to keep students safe and comfortable. Is there anything else you think I should know?
A. I would like to thank my administrative team, SRO and district personnel for their commitment to making sure all our kids were warm, had some food and safe for the evening. We all have children and understand the stress that must have been going on with parents and were trying to do our best to ensure all kids were comfortable and safe. In addition, we’re working with our own families in getting our children safely home.
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