schools
Schools Update: Bullying
By Dr. Ken Cox
One of the ongoing challenges
we face at school is that of bullying
between students. I can remember being
on the receiving end of it myself when I
was at school and I doubt that there are
many adults that can’t say the same thing.
While it often starts as friendly banter,
teasing or joking around, it can become
vicious and very hurtful, especially
during the middle school years.
While it is very difficult to
eliminate bullying completely, we are
working to address it in our schools. In
the elementary grades, Mr. Spackman
works with students on a regular basis
to help them learn how to deal with
conflicts between each other. He helps
the students understand that “Bullying is
unfair and one-sided. It happens when
many electives as in the past. Reducing
the elective requirement would not take
away from the required curriculum
but would allow more flexibility in
scheduling.
SHAW Clinic Report-Sherrie Ford
from the Public Health Foundation
of Columbia County reported that the
Spencer Health and Wellness (SHAW)
clinic has been closed due to personnel
situations. Ford informed the Board
that a new staff member, Physicians
Assistant Sandy Kosik would be
starting the next day and that the
clinic would be reopened on Fridays
from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM to provide
primary care services. Ford said that
a second employee, Nurse Practitioner
Carol Opheikens, would be starting
after Spring Break and the clinic would
be open a second day on Wednesdays
from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Ford noted
that during the closure 24 of the 43
students who had established care
at SHAW had been seen at the local
community clinic. She also noted that
an additional 72 school aged children
had established care at the Vernonia
clinic.
Volunteer Coordinator Report-
Volunteer Coordinator Amanda Wolf
presented a report to the Board and
told them the District has 378 approved
volunteers
with
approximately
fifty active. She noted that to date
volunteers have logged 1,654 hours
of time. She told the Board that a
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someone keeps hurting, frightening,
threatening, or leaving someone out
on purpose.” Teasing crosses over
to bullying whenever someone who
has been asked to stop doesn’t. Mr.
Spackman also works with the younger
children to learn the difference between
reporting and tattling so that students
will know when they need to report
bullying to an adult.
Life gets a little more
complicated in middle school where it is
not considered ‘cool’ to talk to an adult
about little things, which unchecked,
often turn into bullying. The district
Positive Behavior Instruction Support
(PBIS) team is concerned about this and
has reached out to students to get more
information from students on bullying
at our schools. Mr. Weisel has set up
regular small group meetings with some
School Board Report
march20
students and we are looking into ways to
do more to address this issue. He also
points out that “bullying is not caused
by the school. It is a community issue
and over time happens any place where
children/students congregate (parks,
churches, and especially online).”
We are asking two things of you
as parents: first, talk to your children
about bullying and set the expectation
that bullying will not be tolerated;
second, please contact your child’s
building principal at the first report
from your child of bullying. It is also
important that you work with your child
and impress upon them the importance
of being open and honest in reporting
just what is going on. It is particularly
challenging when a principal gets a
report of bullying from a parent, and
when they visit with the student to find
13
out more information, all they get is “It’s
no big deal,” or the student denies that
there is a problem.
As a parent, I know that it can
be frustrating when you see or hear that
nothing is happening. When a principal
does address the issue they must maintain
confidentiality and so can’t tell you all
that is going on behind the scenes. I
would ask that you be patient and if you
are NOT getting the results you want,
after visiting with the principal, please
feel free to contact me and I will find out
what I can.
Bullying, in any form, is not
acceptable in our schools and we are
working to address it. If you have
suggestions or ideas please feel free to
share those with me or the principals
as well. We are here to listen and to do
what we can to protect our children.
continued from page 9
“Volunteer of the Month” is being
recognized in Vernonia’s Voice. Wolf
told the Board that new software used
to track volunteer hours has been very
helpful. Wolf listed over sixteen school
activities and events she has supported
and participated in as Volunteer
Coordinator. There will be a Volunteer
Appreciation Dessert this spring; Wolf
invited the Board to attend.
Community Indicator Presentation-
Bill Langmaid and Scott Laird made a
presentation to the Board on the Vital
Vernonia Indicator Project (VVIP).
The VVIP is an effort to explore
community vitality in Vernonia by
setting forth a series of goals that can be
used to monitor community progress.
School Schedule Task Force-
Members of the Task Force, which
will be investigating the possibility of
switching to a four day school week,
were in attendance. Dr. Cox presented
a list of possible outcomes for the Task
Force to consider. Board members
Jim Krahn, Carrie Levenseller and
Tim Bamburg were assigned to work
with the group. An initial meeting was
scheduled for Thursday March 20 th at
7:00 PM at the District office.
Vernonia School District
Volunteer of the Month
February 2014
Gennifer Hanner
Vernonia School District's Volun-
teer of the Month for February is
Gennifer Hanner. Gennifer
volunteers in Mrs. Campbell's 5th
grade classroom. She has been
coming in and spending the whole
day on Fridays with Mrs. Campbell
and periodically throughout the
week. In addition to helping in the
classroom, Gennifer has also
helped Mrs. Campbell move her
entire classroom three times.
Gennifer also purchases Mrs.
Campbell's kids’ incentives for
when they have all their work
turned in. She works with kids one on one and helps them when they do
not understand an assignment. She corrects papers endlessly without
complaint. Mrs. Campbell says, "Gennifer truly cares about our kids.
The love, patience and kindness she shows our students is amazing. She
is truly dedicated to our school." Thank you Gennifer for all of your time
and dedication to our students!
Budget Committee Vacancies-Dr.
Cox informed the Board that there
are four empty spots on the Budget
Committee.
Anyone interested in
serving should contact the District
Office.
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Vernonia’s Voice
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