schools
august3
2017
Vernonia
Dental
D
About The Oregon
Community Foundation
The mission of The Oregon Community
Foundation is to improve lives for
all Oregonians through the power
of philanthropy. OCF works with
individuals, families, businesses and
organizations to create charitable
funds to support the community causes
they care about. Through these funds
OCF awarded more than $108 million
in grants and scholarships in 2016. For
more information about OCF, please
visit: www.oregoncf.org.
Parents of incoming kindergar-
ten students who have not yet registered
their student(s) can do so beginning
Monday, August 7 when the Vernonia
Schools office reopens after summer
break. If you or a friend has a kinder-
garten age student who has not yet reg-
istered, please come in and sign them
up.
In addition to starting school,
incoming kindergarten students in the
Vernonia School District (VSD) will
once again have the opportunity to par-
ticipate in Kindercamp from Monday,
August 14 through Monday, August 28.
Kindercamp is a two-week “pre-ses-
sion” for kindergarteners to provide
them with a great opportunity to begin
their academic career in the big school
without other, older students present.
This allows students a chance to meet
their teacher and assistants, to become
acquainted with their classroom and
school, to learn the routines of a typical
school day and begin getting to know
each other better prior to having the
halls filled with tall people that can be
somewhat intimidating.
Last year Kindercamp was a
huge success with our new, little stu-
dents making the adjustment to school
quickly, and feeling like the building
was their school to start with, and they
now just have to share it with some tall-
er students once all students begin at-
tending school. We are certain we will
see similar results again this year.
During Kindercamp there will
be two information/training dinners
for parents and families. The first night
of Kindercamp, Monday, August 14
will be the first dinner, with spaghetti
on the menu and babysitting available
following the meal. The second dinner
will feature tacos and babysitting, and
will take place on Thursday, August
24. This is a great opportunity for par-
ents to learn how they can support their
students in kindergarten, connect with
other kindergarten families, and to feed
their family for free.
If you have not yet regis-
tered your student for kindergarten or
Kindercamp, please do so, so we can
plan accordingly for the “final” number
of students who will participate. Please
have immunization records and a copy
of your child’s birth certificate when
registering.
Another element in place to
help kindergarten students, and parents,
transition into school more easily is our
free backpack program. If your student
is in need of a backpack and/or school
supplies, just let the office know and the
school can provide these items free of
charge. This is a part of our on-going
student backpack program supported
by The United Way and private donors,
as well as from a grant through the NW
Regional Educational Service District.
If you have any questions re-
garding kindergarten, Kindercamp, or
any other school issue, please call the
school at (503) 429-1333, or the Verno-
nia District Office at (503) 429-5891.
DM
Community 101 is a collab-
orative effort among foundations,
donors, educators, students and non-
profits to engage young Oregonians
in their communities. Now celebrat-
ing their 20th anniversary, Commu-
nity 101 was created in 1997 by the
PGE Foundation to connect classroom
learning to the community and intro-
duce students to the importance of
civic engagement, leadership and phi-
lanthropy. In 2008, The Oregon Com-
munity Foundation (OCF) partnered
with the PGE Foundation to expand
the program to more schools statewide.
Today, the PGE Foundation continues
to be the top funder of the program.
“What’s wonderful about
Community 101 is the exposure stu-
dents have to the power of philan-
thropy and volunteerism,” said Kregg
Arntson, Executive Director of the
PGE Foundation. “We’re honored to
have created this program and cel-
ebrate the lasting impacts it has had
across Oregon over the last 20 years.”
During the last 20 years, Com-
munity 101 has taught civic engage-
ment, grant making, leadership and
teamwork skills to Oregon students;
approximately 20,550 Community 101
students have granted $4.5 million to
thousands of organizations through-
out Oregon, volunteered 90,000 hours
and raised more than $200,000 to give
to causes they care about. Community
101 provides an opportunity for young
Oregonians to speak up for what they
feel is important, openly discuss issues
that impact their lives and their futures,
learn about the role of nonprofits and
charitable giving, and grant funds to
causes they care about.
North coast region participants
in the Community 101 program during
the 2016-17 school year included Ver-
nonia High School, Scappoose High
School and Tillamook High School.
“As high school students,
it’s not every day that we get to wit-
ness the amazing things people do for
our community, but Community 101
helped open us up to that. That sense
of purpose was very inspiring, and
our committee at Southridge High
School couldn’t be happier knowing
that we helped make a difference in
others’ lives,” affirmed Olivia DeSim-
one, Southridge High School student.
Community 101 is grateful
for the donors, nonprofits and particu-
larly to the many teacher advisors who
make this program possible. “Our hope
is that Community 101 students take
this experience with them throughout
high school, college and their adult
lives. We’d like them to look back
and remember what it felt like to give
time and/or money to causes they care
about and in turn, continue to sup-
port their community through chari-
table giving and volunteering. Whether
it’s $5 or 5 hours, Oregon youth are
making a difference,” said Jennesa
Datema, Associate Program Officer,
The Oregon Community Foundation.
Administered by OCF, Com-
munity 101 provides student leadership
and civic engagement through chari-
table giving. For information about
how to become involved or to support
a class in your community, please con-
tact Jennesa Datema at The Oregon
Community Foundation, jdatema@
oregoncf.org or (503) 227-6846.
By Aaron Miller
e rm
Students, teachers and donors
celebrate the joy of commu-
nity service and grant making
Schools Update: Kindercamp
an
Celebrating
20 Years of Community 101
Vernonia School Board
Meetings are held on the
second Thursday of each
month. The next School
Board Meeting is scheduled
for August 10 at 6:00 pm in
the Schools Library.
Summer
is here!
Green Mountain Grills & Pellets in stock!
Water Toys • Lawn Chairs
Camping Supplies • Coolers
Batteries • Sporting Goods
Family owned & operated for over 45 years
834 Bridge St., Vernonia (503) 429-6364
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622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064
phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881
