Farwest Jazz Night, scheduled for Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m. at Fort Steilacoom, has been cancelled.

The Dental Hygiene all-applicant meeting scheduled for November 28 has been rescheduled to Thursday, January 18, 2007.

The IBEST Certified Nursing Assistant orientation scheduled for Nov. 29 at Puyallup has been rescheduled to December 7. Students will be contacted with more details.

Pierce College District offers a variety of arts, entertainment, and educational events to enrich the lives of the community members we serve. In addition, some departments like Pierce College Theatre and Music offer hands-on learning opportunities for our students.

To request disability accommodation for any event, contact the Access and Disability Services Office at least 10 days in advance at: (253) 964-6468/V, (253) 964-6228/TTY, or dssaccess@pierce.ctc.edu.

Dec. 3: Pierce College Music Department JazzAfternoon with Jay Thomas
Pierce College Jazz Ensemble I and II will perform with trumpet and saxophonist Jay Thomas at this popular annual event on Sunday, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m. at JazzBones in Tacoma. Tickets are $5 for the general public. Pierce College students are free. College credit is available in all performance groups. JazzBones is located at 2803 6th Ave., Tacoma. For more information, contact Dr. Jere Knudtsen at (253) 964-6572.

Dec. 5: Pierce College Fall Film Festival
The Fall Film Festival features films by Pierce College students but is open to submissions from the general public. The event is Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 2:30 and 8 p.m. at the Pierce College Fort Steilacoom Theatre. The event is free and open to the public. Films should be submitted to the Humanities Desk, Cascade Bldg., Room 365 by 4 p.m. on Nov. 30. Pierce College Fort Steilacoom is located at 9401 Farwest Drive, S.W., Lakewood. For more information, call: (253) 964-6659.

Dec. 8: Pierce College Music Department Performs Winter Concert
The Pierce College Fort Steilacoom Concert Band and Fort Steilacoom and Puyallup Concert Choirs will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 at Pacific Lutheran University’s Lagerquist Hall in Tacoma. Tickets are $5 for the general public. Pierce College students are free. College credit is available in all performance groups. For more information, contact Dr. Jere Knudtsen at (253) 964-6572.

January 8 - 30 Pierce College Fine Arts Gallery exhibits Philip Govedare paintings
Paintings by Philip Govedare, art and painting faculty at the University of Washington, is the January Exhibit at Pierce College Fine Arts Gallery. Govedare’s work is not intended as a literal depiction as much of it is imagined. According to the artist’s statement, his work “presents a fiction and a metaphor, placing landscape in a context that is both contemporary and historical”. The works are on loan courtesy of the Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays. Pierce College Fort Steilacoom is located at 9401 Farwest Drive, S.W., Lakewood. The Pierce College Fine Arts Gallery is located in the Olympic Building, Room 265. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

January 11, 2 p.m. - Pierce College Theatre auditions for The Laramie Project
Auditions for Pierce College Theatre’s production of The Laramie Project will be hosted on Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. in the Theatre. Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project explores the reaction of the town of Laramie, Wyoming to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, widely considered to be a hate crime motivated by homophobia. Actors portray a variety of characters, drawn from hundreds of interviews conducted with town members. The production will be performed Feb. 23, 24, March 2 and 3 at 7 p.m. and March 1 at 10 a.m. For more information, call (253) 964-6683.

For those thinking of earning their GED or taking Adult Basic Education classes, registration is open for winter quarter. Tuition is only $25 per person per quarter, and tuition waivers are available for students who qualify. Students may register at the orientation session or at class at the site where they wish to attend.

Daytime classes:
Old Country Buffet at Lakewood Towne Center. Classes meet 9 - 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Classes begin Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007. Orientation will be held the following days, times and locations:
* Tuesday, Dec. 5, 1 p.m., Tillicum Community Center
* Tuesday, Dec. 12, 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., Pierce College Fort Steilacoom
* Wednesday, Dec. 13, 9 a.m., Pierce College Fort Steilacoom

Bethel Family Center, Building P, 18020 “B” Street East, Spanaway. Classes meet 9 - 11:40 a.m., Tuesday and Thursday. Orientation is Tuesday, Dec. 12, 9 a.m.

Tillicum Community Center, 14916 Washington Blvd. SW, Lakewood. Classes meet 8:45 - 9:45 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Orientation is Tuesday, Dec. 5, 1 p.m.

Evening classes:
Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, C528, 9401 Farwest Dr. SW, Lakewood. Classes meet 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Monday and Wednesday. Orientation will be held the following days and times:
* Tuesday, Dec. 12, 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
* Wednesday, Dec. 13, 9 a.m.

Thompson Elementary School: 303 159th Ave. East, Spanaway. Classes meet 5:30 - 8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday.

Note: All classes run 10 weeks.

For more information, call: (253) 964-6657.

The Pierce College Foundation celebrates the success of our students by presenting the Eleventh Annual Distinguished Alumni Awards in 2007. The award is presented to alumni who have extraordinary achievements in their personal, professional, academic and community service lives. Anyone can make a nomination. Award nominations are due Friday, Jan. 12, 2007. Nomination forms are available online at http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/foundation/alumni or by calling (253) 864-3261 for more information.

To date, forty-eight former students have been recognized at previous events. Several deserving alumni will join this select group at the April 12, 2007 Distinguished Alumni banquet at Pierce College Puyallup. Last year’s recipients included Patricia Bosmans, City Attorney, Sumner; Ryan Hauge, Engineer, TORAY Composites, Puyallup; Brigadier General (Ret.) Oscar B. Hillman, Deputy Commanding General, I Corps, Fort Lewis, 2005-2006; Karl Ickes, Archaeologist, Tacoma; and Wayne R. Mangan, Sales Manager, BMW West Building Materials, University Place.

The Pierce College Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to helping Pierce College students by building relationships with the community to acquire resources that support academic excellence and educational access.

Ashley Svarthumle and Sarah Curley, members of the Pierce College Raider softball team, have signed national letters of intent to attend Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, next year. Svarthumle was a first-team Western Division All-Star utility player on coach Chris DeMiero’s 23-7 Raider team in 2006. Curley was a second-team all-star outfielder.

The duo are expected to be the first of as many six Raider softball team members to sign with four-year university softball programs, according to Raider Athletic Director Duncan Stevenson.

“It is a great statement on the job that Coach DeMiero and his staff are doing with the program,” Stevenson said. “Their hard work and commitment to the college and the program are dramatically changing the reputation of our softball program. We are now considered one of the teams to beat in the NWAACC.”

Note: date correction for Farwest Jazz Night

Nov. 29: Farwest Jazz Night
Pierce College’s Farwest Jazz vocal jazz ensemble will perform with special guests on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Fort Steilacoom Performance Lounge in the Cascade Building. The event is free and open to the public. Farwest Jazz consistently wins the highest awards at regional jazz festivals and regularly performs at the International Association of Jazz Educators convention. For more information, call: (253) 964-6652 or visit www.pierce.ctc.edu/music.

Dec. 3: Pierce College Music Department JazzAfternoon with Jay Thomas
Pierce College Jazz Ensemble I and II will perform with trumpet and saxophonist Jay Thomas at this popular annual event on Sunday, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m. at JazzBones in Tacoma. Tickets are $5 for the general public. Students are free. College credit is available in all performance groups. JazzBones is located at 2803 6th Ave., Tacoma. For more information, contact Dr. Jere Knudtsen at (253) 964-6572.

Dec. 8: Pierce College Music Department Performs Winter Concert
The Pierce College Fort Steilacoom Concert Band and Fort Steilacoom and Puyallup Concert Choirs will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 at Pacific Lutheran University’s Lagerquist Hall in Tacoma. Tickets are $5 for the general public. Students are free. College credit is available in all performance groups. For more information, contact Dr. Jere Knudtsen at (253) 964-6572.

To request disability accommodation for any college event, contact the Access and Disability Services Office at least 10 days in advance at: (253) 964-6468/V, (253) 964-6228/TTY, or dssaccess@pierce.ctc.edu.

Pierce College was one of the big winners during the annual National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) District VII Medallion Awards. The awards recognize the best public relations work done in 2005-2006 at community and technical colleges in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta and the Yukon Territories.

Pierce College received the gold award for its student handbook, designed by Publications Manager Teri Platt. The newly designed quarterly catalog, which is also designed by Platt, took a silver award. Also taking silver was an athletics department note card created by graphic designer Amy Foster. Ken Murphy’s poster design for the Pierce College Theatre’s production of Darker Face of the Earth won a bronze award, and new outreach banners used at high schools and community events, designed by Platt, also took bronze.

This year’s Medallions included 168 entries from 30 institutions. Only Clark College in Vancouver and Kwantlen University College of British Columbia earned more awards than Pierce. Five of the seven entries Pierce submitted were judged to be among the top three in their respective categories.