schools
november6
2014
Schools Update: Making Adjustments for Overcrowded Classrooms
By Aaron Miller
Increased enrollment is a great
thing for the vitality and diversity of our
schools, as well as for the long-term,
financial health of our community and
school district. Enrollment is up this year,
and we expect that trend to continue.
While this is very positive for
our schools and community, it does
come with some complications in terms
of effectively meeting the needs of those
extra students while still being funded
based on lower enrollment numbers
from the past. Fortunately, we have been
able to work through these “growing
PTA Press
pains” with some additional hiring since
the beginning of this school year.
In addition to an increase in our
primary grade enrollment, we have also
seen larger class sizes in third, fourth
and sixth grades. The following staffing
increases have already been added to
help alleviate larger class sizes:
• One full-time Kindergarten-2 nd Grade
Teacher
• One full-time K-12 Behavior Specialist
• One extra period of math instruction
at the Middle School
• Three middle school/high school
teachers increased their schedule by
one period per day, increasing their
hours to full-time
The following staffing increases
will occur prior to the start of the second
quarter to address the needs of larger
student populations in fourth and sixth
grades:
• Two part-time Instructional Assistants
moved to full-time (one will help with
the behavior program, and one will
help with increased numbers in the
intermediate grades).
• Three more middle school/high school
teachers will add one more period of
instruction to their day to decrease high
6 th grade class sizes in Science, Math and
Language Arts, as well as to decrease
13
numbers in our first period Middle
School PE course.
These additions have already
proven to help alleviate some of our
issues due to large class sizes, and we
are confident that the changes happening
at the end of the first quarter will provide
further relief.
We continue working hard to
meet the needs of our students, while
still living within our budget. If you have
any questions or concerns regarding our
increased enrollment and how we are
addressing these changes, please call
Aaron Miller at the District Office: 503-
429-5891.
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
By Melissa Zavales
funds raised. This year’s winner was 5th
grade student Sadie Gump; congrats Sa-
Leaves have fallen and so are die! Sadie’s sponsorships totaled $300.
the temperatures. But Vernonia Commu- Finishing a close second was Remi Win-
nity PTA is still surviving!
ningstad with just under $260. Thank
We have enjoyed volunteering you to all the AWESOME sponsors that
our time and innovative ideas to help
with the 2nd phase of the playground.
We are so grateful for the community’s
support. So far this year we have held
a Bike-a-thon, a fall carnival with a
haunted corridor, and an open house
BBQ.
The Bike-a-thon was our first
time attempting this event. It was a lot
of fun and a great physical activity for
kids of all ages. We partnered with the
NW Bicycle Association and were able
to provide free helmets to all who at-
tended. We had over two dozen riders,
some even on trikes! True Value gener-
Sadie Gump won a new bicycle for raising
ously donated a new bike to the winner. the most money in the PTA Bike-a-thon. The
The winner was based upon the most bicycle was donated by Vernonia True Value.
Robotics Returns for 2014
Robots are alive and well in Vernonia with the
start of a new school year. Over the last three years the
LoggerBots have competed at the highest high school
level available through the FIRST Robotics Competition
(FRC) and have experienced success at both the state
and regional levels. With the FRC program primarily
targeting high school students, there has been a desire
to expand the program to younger age groups to build
experience and exposure to the technology around us.
To meet this goal, the program has grown in
2014 to include the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC).
Similar in nature to FRC with aspects of design,
programming, electronics and fabrication skills, it
starts at a younger age and comes at a lower cost, which
helps increase participation opportunities. The benefit
of adding FTC as well is that it is complementary to the
FRC program regarding timing as FTC runs September
through January and FRC goes from January to April.
helped us raise $1600. We would like
to give a big shout out to Natalie Gro-
shong and Jared Ames. They both ped-
dled along for 20 laps. IMPRESSIVE! A
special thank you to the Vernonia Lions
Club for volunteering their time to help.
The very next weekend we had
our annual PTA Fall Carnival. We had
a terrific turnout. From the popular
cake walk, to balloon creations, silent
auction baskets, spectacular prizes,
and a scary haunted corridor set up for
all ages, it was a great family fun night.
We are always looking for volunteers,
new ideas, suggestions, and any do-
nations to help the carnival remain a
great success.
Lastly we decided to give back
to our community at the Elementary
School Open House. We hosted a BBQ
and served over 200 hot dogs. It was
exciting to see so many people and in-
troduce them to our PTA and what we
This provides students interested in science and
technology a year-round opportunity to work hands on
with technology and real-word challenges.
Even though this is their inaugural year, there
has been enough interest in the program to sponsor
two teams. The “Red Shirts” is the high school team
(the name is a reference to Star Trek for those fans
out there), while the middle school team has named
themselves “Squirrel?!” Having two teams allows
for design and programming collaboration as well as
friendly competition as they build towards upcoming
league meets. With over 165 teams in Oregon, they’ll
have stiff competition to get to state.
The challenges the teams confront are new
each year and occur in 3 minute rounds with 4 robots
on the playing field at one time. This year’s challenge
requires the robot to first release 164 whiffle balls of
various sizes and then pick up and place them in various
do.
We are always asking for new
members. We love people joining our
hard working group. If you can’t commit
monthly then at least join us and help
with a fundraiser or two. We want you!
If you would like to become a member
please contact our member rep Camrin
Erryick at 971-258-9994.
Thank you, Vernonia! Please
watch for some of our upcoming events:
Holiday Candy Grams, Teacher Giving
Tree, and Bring Your Parents to School
Week.
We are currently accepting do-
nations for the remaining phases of the
playground. If you wish to donate please
mail your checks to:
Vernonia Community PTA
c/o Vernonia School District
1000 Missouri Ave
Vernonia, OR 97064
size cylinders. The cylinders are intentionally taller
than the robots to inspire ingenuity and creativity in
completing the task. Additional points can be received
by dragging these cylinders to various zones on the
court. During each round there is an autonomous phase
where the robot controls its own actions followed
by a time where the robot is controlled by a human
driver. With multiple robots on the field at the same
time playing both offense and defense, it’s always an
exciting game.
The team continues to exist and expand only
because of the support received through the community.
They receive no funding from the school and rely
exclusively on donations. Equally as important,
numerous mentors supply their time and expertise to
this program, which can equate to hundreds of hours
individually over the year. The commitment from all
to make this program happen is very much appreciated.
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(503) 429-7867
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