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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2009)
08 vernonia’s voice schools march 2009 VHS Winter Sports Report Vernonia High Schools winter sports teams wrapped up league play with mixed results. After a promising start, the boys’ basketball team struggled down the stretch, losing some key contests, includ- ing its opening playoff game. A season ending victory over NeahKahNie, put the Loggers in 5th place at the end of the season, and earned them a home playoff game against Warrenton. Unfortunately, the boys couldn’t pull off the win, and were eliminated from post season play. Two of the Loggers earned All League honors: Byron Schorzman was named First Team All League, and Jason Weller was named Honorable Mention. The Lady Loggers Basketball team showed great improvement this season, and played much more competitively than last season, while finishing in eighth place in the league. Although they didn’t qualify for the playoffs, Athletic Director Gordon Jarmen expects the girls to continue to improve next season. “We’ll get almost everyone back next year,” said Jarmen. “The girls showed a lot of improvement this year, and were in most of their games this year, and won quite a few more games than last year.” Senior Trisha Levenseller was named All League Honorable Mention. The Loggers Wrestling Team had a very impressive show- ing at the District Championship Meet in February, finishing 2nd overall, and qualifying seven wrestlers for the State Champion- ship Meet the last weekend in February. Justin Caputo at 152 pounds and Trever Gwin at 189 pounds were both district champions. Tylor Owen took second place at 160 pounds. Shylo Dooley at 112, Preston Roach at 130, Joe Benes at 135, and Calvin Barnes at 140 all won their last match to finished in third place. Other wrestlers who placed at the district meet included a fourth place finish for senior Caleb Rice at 171, and fifth place finishes for Dillon Dethlefs at 145 and Dakota Burch at 160. Trevor Gwin was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tour- nament for the upper weight classes. The Winter Sports Desert Banquet will be held on March 11th. Vernonia Basketball honored their seniors and their families at the last game of the season (above). Sign-Up for Free and Reduced Lunch---Everyone Benefits! Troubles with our economy are making it more difficult for most fami- lies to make ends meet. Our public schools are suffering from a similar problem. The Vernonia Prevention Coalition, with support from the Ver- nonia School District, have some important information to share about one of the Vernonia School District’s programs which can offer some support for both families who qualify and for our whole school community. Did you know that the percentage of students registered for the school lunch program directly affects funding that the district can receive? Deb Park, as a spokesperson for the VPC and School District, recently sat down to share the work being done to increase enrollment in the school Free and Reduced Lunch Program in order to take advantage of all the benefits of- fered to districts that qualify. Many families don’t know that a school district that has over fifty percent of students enrolled in the Free and Reduced Lunch program is eligible to apply for state and federal grants that support academic success for all students. Programs like Title 1, which provide supplemental Reading and Math assistance for students in elementary school as well as oth- ers which support secondary students’ progress towards high school graduation and post-secondary financial support. “There’s a lot of pride in being able to provide for your kids,” said Park, explaining why the Vernonia School District only has around forty percent enrollment, when she thinks many more families might qualify for the pro- gram. She went on to explain that program eligibility is based on family income and number of family members, is completely confidential, and that the hope is that all families would have the ability for their students to get a warm and healthy meal whenever they need it. Being enrolled in the pro- gram can be a good backup plan as well, to make sure kids get a good meal. “Kids who eat well tend to perform better academically,” explained Park. “Even for families who generally make a lunch at home for their students, it is a good safety net for those chaotic days that we all have when we just don’t get a chance to put together a lunch.” “Enrollment percentage is the number one determining factor for need in a community, and, often, people don’t realize that is the case,” said Park. Many folks have shared with Park that they don’t understand why our schools don’t receive more grant funds because we suffered so much with the floods. Reality is that in many cases, due to our Free and Reduced Lunch participa- tion percentage being less than 50%, we are not eligible for many of the program supports that could benefit all of our students. Income eligibility guidelines are as follows: Household Size 2 Justin Caputo is District Champion! (above) 3 Preston Roach took third place at districts, to qualify for the state tournament (below). 4 Vernonia qualified 7 wrestlers for the state Tournament (from left to right) Back row: Joe Benes, Calvin Barnes, Trever Gwin, Justin Caputo, Tylor Owen. Front row: Preston Roach, Shylo Dooley. Caputo and Gwin were District Champions, while Gwin was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament Calvin Barnes finished 3rd at the District meet (right). Jump Rope for WGS P.E. Department Healthy Kids Learn Better, Healthy Teachers Teach Better, One Step At A Time Washington Grade School & the Clever Cricket Toy Store are participating in a very special fundrais- ing project to help raise funds for the WGS P.E. Department (WGSPE). We’re joining in the fight against our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers-- cardiovascular disease and stroke. Jump Rope for WGSPE helps students learn about the benefits of regular physical activity and heart health while raising funds to help the P.E. program. The money raised, combined with funds donated by the PTA, will fund a new climbing wall and help buy more P.E. equipment. Most people don’t realize that the roots for cardiovascular disease in adults often begin in childhood from age 10 and even younger. That’s why it’s important to make changes now. Helping your children by teaching them to: eat healthy foods, stay physically active and live tobacco-free will ensure a happy and heart-healthy future. Jump Rope for WGS P.E. is a fun and effective way to teach heart-healthy living. It emphasizes the importance of physical activity as our children do something they enjoy-- jump roping. Jump roping is an excellent workout for both the lower and upper body. Jump roping improves fine and gross motor coordi- nation, agility and fluidity of movement, flexibility and lateral movement. It also helps improve rhythm, speed, power, timing and balance. Jump roping is one of the best and safest ways to improve physical fit- ness and athletic ability. It provides a basic foundation for just about any sport. Jump Rope for WGS P.E. Department will take place in P.E. Classes on March 2–March 20th. Collec- tion envelopes will be due on March 18th & 19th. Family and friends are welcome to support our students’ participation by making contributions. However, we ask that students not go door to door or ask strangers for donations. Checks should be made payable to Washington Grade School. Participants receive thank you gifts from the Clever Cricket Toy Store based on the donation level. The top three fundraisers will receive two free games of bowling and free shoe rental at Rainbow Lanes in Forest Grove. The top fund- raising class gets to pick their P.E. activity for one week. The goal is to raise $2000. With your cooperation, the school can achieve its goal! Your efforts can truly make a difference. 5 6 Annual Income $25,900 $32,560 $39,220 $45,880 $52,540 “Families tend to think they won’t qualify,” said Park. “But often fami- lies are surprised that the income eligibility levels are at a higher level than many expect.” Park has previously worked in three school districts where she was able to write grants and receive assistance for two programs-- Access to Student Assistance Programs In Reach of Everyone (Aspire) and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), and is especially excited to see these programs started in Vernonia. Both programs are designed to prepare students for educational opportunities beyond high school. The key to bringing these kinds of programs to Vernonia, says Park, is increased enrollment in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. “If we are able to get our district up over fifty percent, we will get those grants. I firmly believe it,” said Park. “I know how to do it, and I know how to make it work. And it would be transformational for our kids!” Park believes there are families who would meet the criteria, and just don’t know it. “If they signed up, we would know that every kid in our dis- trict was able to get a healthy lunch everyday,” said Park. “And even if they didn’t use the program every day, they could still help drastically improve the services and support within our community.” Park went on to explain that county health, mental health, drug and alcohol, and family counseling grants are dependent on enrollment percentages in school lunch programs as well. “This will make a drastic difference for our community,” said Park. “If we can help families understand the significance of signing up, then we change the paradigm from ‘This isn’t about me needing help, this is about getting support and services for our community and our kids,’” said Park. Applications are available at each of the school offices and at the District office, and can be turned in to the school secretaries or to Barb Carr at the District office. For more information, contact Barb Carr at 503-429-5891. Grade School Posters Around Town Are a Reminder As part of Washington Grade School’s (WGS) Positive Behavior Support (PBS) program, students at WGS recently made posters to provide their peers with remind- ers about our school rules: Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Respectful and Be Responsible. Besides placing these posters throughout the school hallways, students were also given the opportunity to display their posters in local businesses. Having their work displayed throughout the community helps give students a sense of pride, and demonstrates to the community the expectations that students at WGS are follow- ing. The project is designed to increase students’ connection to positive behavior at school, and within the community.