schools
november2
2017
Schools Update: Behavior System
By Rachel Wilcoxen
This year I am serving as the K-12
Vice-Principal for the Vernonia School District.
My task is to work with discipline issues that
can arise with students from all grade levels;
kindergarten through 12 th grade.
The nuts and bolts of our school disci-
pline system is as follows. The school has es-
tablished behavioral expectations. Data shows
that about 85% of our students follow these ex-
pectations without need for other intervention.
These students help support a positive learning
environment and earn, and deserve, acknowl-
edgement for their positive behavior. Students
that behave outside these expectations are re-
minded, and retaught as needed, the expected
behavior. This reminder may come in the form
of teacher/staff direct intervention, a written be-
havior reminder, or a written office referral. Of-
fice referrals are mailed home and in most cases
include a parent/guardian phone call.
One of the resources we have to as-
sist the discipline program is our Opportunity
Room (OR). We use this tool when a student
needs time away from his or her classroom for
a plethora of reasons.
• The student may need a break. In this case, the
student appropriately asks permission to take
a short break (5-10 minutes) and returns to the
classroom ready for engagement.
• The student is requested to leave the regu-
lar classroom. This may be so the teacher can
teach, other students can learn, and the student
can refocus. In this case, the student arrives at
the OR and must complete tasks as assigned;
such as a reflection piece, class assignment, and
remain in the OR until ready to participate in
regular class activities, remain for a set amount
of time, or other such requirements that fit the
situation.
• The OR is also a placement for class work
completion during recess, Lunch Detention
(commonly called Noon Platoon), After School
Detention (ASD), and In-School Suspension
(ISS).
In addition, our student handbook in-
cludes a chart of behaviors and consequences;
one being Out of School Suspension (OSS).
One of the clear differences with this conse-
quence and ISS is that teachers are not required
to provide make up work when students are as-
signed OSS; ISS is the preferred method to try
and keep students in school.
As a final note, our system for keeping
kids in class, helping students grow and learn,
and creating future problem solvers is in con-
stant development. I truly appreciate the role I
have been asked to take on and I truly would
appreciate any and all input on how to move
the program forward as we continue to work to-
wards improving student behavior.
VHS Fall Sports Update
22:27.7, followed by Jenna Handegard
in 22 nd place with a time of 23:16.5.
At the District 2 Championship
both the Vernonia boys and girls teams
finished in 5 th place, with the top three
boys teams and top two girls teams qual-
ifying for the State Meet. For the girls,
Cousseau was again the top Vernonia fin-
isher, placing 6 th with a time of 22:39.6
and earned All District First Team Hon-
ors, followed by Jenna Handegard in 13 th
place with a time of 24:19.3 and earning
Second Team honors. Cassie McFalls,
Sona Zakaryan and Katie Goodman
rounded out the scoring runners for Ver-
nonia.
“The girls kept improving all
season,” said Roady. “Adele was prob-
ably the best example of this. She was
struggling with a knee injury earlier in
the season. By district however, she was
our number one runner. Freshman Jenna
was steady for the team all season, and
has a very bright future ahead of her.”
For the boys Jakob Handegard
finished 11 th with a time of 18:18.9 and
was named Second Team All District
followed by Massengo in 22 nd place with
“Community Chats”
with the Superintendent
Vernonia School District Superintendent Aaron
Miller will hold his next “Community Chat” on Wednesday,
November 15 from 6:30-7:30 am at Mariolino’s. These chats
are an opportunity for community members to ask questions
and discuss issues regarding District business, or education in
general.
If unable to attend, Superintendent Miller is always
willing to set an appointment (in person or by phone) and talk
whenever a question or issue arises. Just call (503) 429-5891
to set up a time.
All “Community Chats” are scheduled for Wednesdays
and include the following dates:
• January 24 from Noon-1 pm at Subway
• February 28 from 6:30-7:30 am at the Black Iron Grill
• April 25 from Noon-1 pm at La Cabana
• May 23 from 6:30-7:30 am at the Black Iron Grill
• June 27 from Noon-1 pm at the Blue House Café
We hope you can join us at one of our scheduled
“Community Chats” so we can continue to partner and make
the Vernonia School District, and the community of Vernonia,
the best that it can be. Together we can truly make a difference.
Vernonia School Board Meetings are held on the
second Thursday of each month. The next School
Board Meeting is scheduled for November 9 at
6:00 pm in the Schools Library.
continued from page 10
a time of 19:07.6 and then Sullivan, Wil-
liams, and Cook. The team from Taft ran
away with the District Title, with a score
of 35. The Logger boys scored 124
points, just 7 points out of 3 rd place and a
spot in the State Meet.
“Clay Sullivan finished 3 rd on
the team and his time was a personal
best for Clay,” said Roady. “He knew the
team was depending on him to run well
and he came through. He is the defend-
ing state hurdles champion in track, so
we were hoping some of his track speed
and athleticism would pay off. Mekhi
Williams and Byron Cook were just off
their personal bests. Both of these wres-
tlers had great seasons, and were instru-
mental in our team success this year.”
“It was a great finish to the sea-
son for us,” said Roady. “I’m looking
forward to the upcoming track season
where I feel many of these kids will
leave an indelible mark on the program.”
Vernonia’s middle school run-
ners finished their season at the Pre-
District Challenge, with eighth grader
Sadie Gump finishing 22 nd with a time
of 13:12.5 and sixth grader Delany Drae-
ger finishing 50 th with a time of 14:17.1.
Max Anderson finished 57 th for the
Vernonia boys with a time of 12:31.0,
followed by Peter Hahn with a time of
12:37.2
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