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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2015)
schools Vernonia School Board Report At the April 9, 2015 Vernonia School Board Meeting Board Sets Date for Charter School Decision - The Board set a date of Tues- day, April 21 at 6:30 PM to hold a special meeting to make a decision on whether to submit a Charter School application to the State Department of Education. completion of the Spencer Park, shop building and green house construction projects. He noted that the Sierra Ser- vice Project did several projects around the school campus and community. He also informed the Board that plans are moving forward to move the District Of- fice into the main school building and converting the current District Office into a high school Life Skills facility. Student Reports - Alexis Baska and Summer Snow, representing the High School leadership class, updated the Board on events. They reported that it’s a busy time as seniors are working on scholarships, getting ready for the Se- nior Trip to Disneyland and beginning to prepare for graduation. Leadership stu- dents are preparing for Dylan Taylor’s Presidential Challenge - a Doernbecher Week of fundraising events and activi- ties. Students just completed a Sustain- ability Day. A blood drive will be held at the end of the month. Board Tables Calendar Decision - The Board tabled a decision on the 2015-16 Instructional Calendar after being pre- sented with five options. High School principal Nate Underwood told the board that the committee was propos- ing several options that provided 160 student days, 184 contact days and the required 990 hours. The District has been unable to provide these numbers for several years. The Board chose to table a decision until April 21 because of concerns about the state education bud- get which has not yet been determined and how much funding the District will receive from the state next year, as well as the pending decision about whether Building Reports - High School princi- the District will submit an application to pal Nate Underwood provided a calen- become a Charter School. dar of upcoming events. Elementary Principal Aaron Board Appoints Handegard to Budget Miller updated the Board on prepara- Committee - The Board appointed An- tions for state testing for 3 rd , 4 th and 5 th gie Handegard to serve a three year term graders, informed the Board about the on the Budget Committee. upcoming Special Education Night on April 21 and the Kindergarten Roundup Board Approves Out of State Trips - on April 30, and told the Board about the The Board approved the Senior Trip to Run for the Arts event held that day. Disneyland and the 8 th grade Close-up trip to Washington DC. Maintenance Report - The Mainte- nance Report included several acts of Board Approves Superintendent Con- vandalism. School District staff spent tract - The Board approved a single con- three hours of labor and had to borrow tract for Superintendent Aaron Miller the City boom truck in order to clean up which was described as a full time su- toilet paper on school grounds. Principal perintendent contract which will have Nate Underwood said the culprits had Miller serving as “acting elementary been caught and both spent a vacation school principal.” day doing clean up around the campus. In addition there was vandalism to sev- Superintendent’s Report - Superin- eral door knobs, the lock on the boy’s tendent Aaron Miller told the Board the locker room had to be replaced again, District will hold a ceremony on Satur- there was damage to the fire strobes day, May 9 at 10:30 AM to celebrate the in the boy’s locker room again, there school being awarded LEED Platinum was food smeared on the boy’s locker and Three Green Globes status. The room wall, and damage to some lock- Vernonia School is the first K-12 school ers. “This shows a lack of respect for in the nation to receive LEED Platinum everyone in this community when stu- status. Miller also updated the Board on dents do things like this,” commented the budget process and said if the state School Board Chair Bill Langmaid. funds schools at the currently proposed $7.325 billion it will mean $8 less per Title One Report - Deb Stahlnecker student for the District, which will be provided an annual report on Title One difficult. Miller also gave updates on the activities. Title One is a federal grant START RIGHT. START HERE. SM Donʻt wait for the sun! Get your MOWERS tuned up now! Oil Change • Sharpen Blades Filters • Cables • Pull Ropes We pick up & deliver! Family owned & operated for over 45 years 834 Bridge St., Vernonia (503) 429-6364 april16 2015 15 program. Because Vernonia is a Focus School, Title One funds can be used school wide at the Elementary level and allows teachers and aids to work one- on-one with students who are below level on reading or math. Stahlnecker reported that the District has been using assessment testing to gather the informa- tion needed to focus instruction in better ways. Stahlnecker said the District has recently been targeting phonics, compre- hension, and fluency in reading. Julia Fletcher was also First Team All- League, Player of the Game in two of the State Tournament games, and the second leading scorer overall at the State Tournament. Máca Veselkova was named Second Team All-League and Lisa Paje was Honorable Mention. Jarman also updated the Board on Middle School boys’ basketball. The 8 th grade team ended their season with a 3-7 record; the most outstanding player on the team was Jakob Handegard. The 7 th grade team had a 6-4 record and Winter Sports Report - Athletic had three standout players: Josh Rice, Director Gordon Jarman gave the Board Gunner Harrall and Kale Sullivan. a report on what he called “one of the most successful winter sports seasons overall,” in several years. Jarman reported that the wrestling team finished the season with nine wrestlers, of which five qualified for the state tournament. The boys’ basketball team battled back from a very rough start to take second place in the District Tournament before losing in the first round of the state playoff to number one ranked Irigon. Freshman Clay Sullivan was named First Team All-League, sophomore Brett Elliot was named Second Team and sophomore Tristan Adams was named Honorable Mention. The girls’ basketball team had the most successful season making their first ever trip to Pendleton and finishing fourth in the state tournament. The Lady Loggers finished their season with a 24-4 record and went undefeated in league play. Meghan Sullivan was First Team All-League and the League Player of the Year. Vernonia School District Volunteer of the Month March 2015 Ernie Smith Vernonia School District’s Volunteer of the Month for March 2015, is Ernie Smith. Ernie is another “behind the scenes” volun- teer. He does so much for our school and community, a lot of which goes unrecog- nized. Ernie is a Vernonia native that 100% believes you should give back to the commu- nity you live in. “You do what you can, when you can.” Ernie has served as a school board member since July 2006. As a school board member, he has served on both the Negotiations Committee and Facilities Committee, working endlessly on behalf of the students and patrons of the Vernonia School District. Ernie has two children that attend VHS and is very involved with them and their activities. Whether it’s volleyball, basketball or softball, you’ll see Ernie supporting not only his own girls, but the team as well. Ernie is also the Assistant VHS softball coach and has volunteered countless hours to coaching and diligently working on the softball field, including purchasing and installing the new home run fence. In addition, Ernie runs, operates, and owns a local business in Vernonia. As an active community member, Ernie holds the position as Chair for the Jamboree committee. “The heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others.” ~DeAnn Hollis