schools
march21
2013
Vernonia School Board Report
At the March 14, 2013 School Board Meeting:
Reports-Middle School Student Annika Johnson and
instructor Ashley Rogers reported on the recent trip stu-
dents took to the state capitol in Salem, where students
met with State Senator Betsy Johnson, toured the Capi-
tol Building and sat in on legislative sessions. Middle
School Leadership Class students are getting ready for
Spring Fling on April 4; chaperons are needed. The
Close Up group is getting ready for their trip to Wash-
ington D.C. in April. Sixth Grade students are creat-
ing a garden outside their classroom. Track for Middle
School students is starting. Miss Campbell’s 8 th class
took a walking field trip to see Dave Anderson’s art ex-
hibit about the holocaust at the VCLC. Students were
also encouraged to attend a Vernonia Library program,
featuring holocaust survivor Evelyn Banko for bonus
points. Geography students are studying Europe and
will have several foreign exchange students as guest
speakers; students are continuing to produce “Topper
News”; art students are studying prehistoric art and are
making chalk drawings that simulate cave drawings.
High school student Alexis Baska reported that
Leadership Students and foreign exchange students
also visited the capitol in Salem. Spring sports are
underway. The Leadership Class is organizing Doern-
becher Days from April 8-13 to raise money to for the
Children’s Hospital. The Leadership Class is working
with the school newspaper to write some articles. OS-
SOM is working on a SKID presentation and a health
fair. Students took part in Sustainability Day by plant-
ing trees and plants around the wetland area.
Winter Sports Report-Athletic Director Gordon Jar-
man recapped a very successful winter sports season.
Girls Basketball had a large turnout and one of the
most successful seasons in years, ending their season
as Northwest League and Tournament Champions and
earning a state playoff berth. Wrestling sent four wres-
tlers to the State Meet; T John Wolf took fourth place.
Boys Basketball was the only team from the Northwest
League to advance to the State Tournament in Pendle-
ton. The boys brought home a trophy for the second
year in a row; Austin Cutright was twice named player
of the game at the tournament and Jared Leone was
named player of the game once. Cutright was named
1 st Team All State.
Graduation Data-High School Principal Nate Un-
derwood reported Graduation Data for Vernonia High
School for the 2008-09 to 2011-12 Cohort. Data
shows that Vernonia is above the state average in over-
all graduation rates with a 69.57% graduation rate for
all students; the state average is 68.4%. Male students
in Vernonia graduate at a rate of 62.5%, female stu-
dents graduate at a rate of 79.3 %. Underwood report-
ed that there are some areas for improvement and he is
especially working to help freshman be successful and
improve middle school attendance.
Title I Update-Deb Stahlnecker, the Title I teacher,
presented the Annual Report. Title I is the program
that provides school wide reading assistance. Title I
is working with local preschools to help students get a
good start before entering kindergarten. Title I holds
parent trainings to teach skills which are not well at-
tended. The Barnes and Noble Book Drive provided
2,000 books; parents who attended trainings received
free books for their children.
Collaboration Grant-Juliette Saifer updated the
Board on the Collaboration Grant which provided
$54,000 through state bill 252. The funds have been
used in a variety of ways, including several positions in
the district. Safier explained that they have also used
the funds to revamp teacher evaluation process which
is being required by the state.
13
formance of the executive officer or any other public
officer, employee or staff member.”
Teacher and Administrator Contracts-Upon return-
ing from Executive Session the Board voted to approve
Resolution 1213-04 which renews for two years the
contract for all teachers recommended for renewal.
The Board also voted to approve Resolution 1213-05
which renews the contracts for three years for adminis-
trators Aaron Miller and Nathan Underwood.
Purchase of “Green Building”- After a discussion the
Board took no action towards the purchase of the old
Middle School building, often referred to as the “Green
Building.” The Board was considering purchasing the
building back from the contractor doing the decon-
struction of the old school campus with the intention
of using the building at the new school campus. Board
members cited a lack of funds as the reason they are
passing on this opportunity that the district had previ-
ously been pursuing.
Middle School Band Trip-The Board approved an
out-of-state Middle School Band Field Trip to
Battle Ground, WA.
Budget Committee Appointment- The Board
approved the appointment of Lilja “Tobie”
Finzel to the Budget Committee.
Budget Calendar-The Board approved the
Budget Calendar which provides for Budget
Committee meetings on May 9 and 23 and a
Public Hearing on June 13 as part of the regular
School Board Meeting.
Emergency Facility Use MOA-The Board
approved an update to the MOA with the Pub-
lic Health Foundation of Columbia County to
use school facilities in the event of a vaccine
emergency. The MOA now lists the new school
campus as the site in the event that emergency
vaccines needed to be distributed.
Transfer Limitations-The Board set the limit
of the number of students allowed to transfer
into the district at five. Under HB 3681, school
districts are required to set a limit; school dis-
tricts in Columbia County have an unofficial
agreement to set that number at five.
Executive Session-The Board recessed and
entered into Executive Session under ORS
192.660 (2) (I) “To review and evaluate the per-
Vernonia School District
Volunteer of the Month
February 2013
Laura Blacker
Laura Blacker is a popular volunteer in the 5th grade. She
teaches small groups some big math concepts. She was instrumental
in guiding students through their
expert group projects on the
Revolutionary War. Laura helps
students with creative writing,
proofreading and editing. She
helps to correct papers and keep
students on track. She also just
volunteered to help coach the
VHS golf team.
Laura is a creative, kind,
patient, and friendly addition to
Vernonia Elementary School.
She is the greatest!
VHS Winter Sports Awards
Girls Basketball
Stephanie Castro
Maina martin
Samantha Lindauer
Samantha Wallace
Boys Basketball
Austin Cutright
Jesse Edgar
Kendrick Leaverton
Jared Leone
Lauri Andersson
Wrestling
Dawson Shay
David Kovelda
T John Wolf
Mikol Pihl
Damian Young
Ethan Johnston
1 st Team All League
1 st Team All League
Honorable Mention All League
Honorable Mention All League
Most Valuable,
1 st Team All League,
NW League Player of the Year
1 st Team All State
Most Inspirational,
2 nd Team All League
Coaches Award,
Honorable Mention All League
Most Improved
Coaches Award
Most Valuable,
1 st Team All District
1 st Team All District
2 nd Team All District
2 nd Team All District
Most Inspirational
Most Improved
Spencer Health and Wellness
School Based Health Center
is open to patients on
Tuesdays and Fridays from 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM
291
A
Street
call Kim
Lovable service at
a reasonable price
• Bathing
• Haircuts
• Nail Clipping
• Nail Polishing
• Specialty
Shampoos
Silkscreen printing
Printing while you wait for small orders
Vinyl lettering and heat transfers
Teams, groups, special events
Hoodies, dress shirts, aprons & more
No order too large or too small
No set-up fees
711 Bridge Street, Vernonia
(503) 433-4278
kavila@kaptanskraft.com
