schools
april19
2018
13
Schools Update: The End of Another School Year
By Superintendent Aaron Miller
It is hard to believe that the end of another
school year is upon us, but the last day of school will be
here before we know it. This time of year is a busy one
at school, so here is a list of upcoming school events
that staff and students would be overjoyed to see you
attend. Unless otherwise listed, all events will take
place in the Vernonia Schools building.
• MS Academic Awards Assembly – Tuesday, April 24
• Superintendent/Community Chat – Wednesday, April
25 at Noon at La Cabana Restaurant
• VHS Blood Drive – May 1: 9 am - 4 pm
• Budget Committee Meetings – Thursdays: May 3,
May 10, and June 14 at 6 pm
• Teacher Appreciation Week – May 6-12
• School Board Meetings – May 10 and June 14 at 6 pm
• Kindergarten Registration – Call for an appointment
on Thursday, May 10, 3:45-4:45 pm or 6-7 pm
• Spring Band and Choir Concert – Tuesday, May 15
• VES Family STEAM Night (Science-Technology-
Engineering-Art-Math) – Thursday, May 17, 6 pm
• Snow Make-Up Day – School in Session – May 18
• Junior Salmon Auction – Thursday, May 24
• No School – May 25 and 28 Memorial Day Holiday
• VHS Graduation – June 2
• 8 th Grade Promotion – June 4
• VES Field Day – Wednesday, June 6, 12:30-3 pm,
Volunteers Needed
• Last Day for Students – Friday, June 8
If you have any questions about these or other
events in the Vernonia School District, please call (503)
429-1333 for answers.
1; the Board later voted to accept those resignations.
Miller said the District has openings for a Kindergarten
teacher, MS/HS Language Arts teacher, a Wood/Metal
Shop teacher and a MS/HS Art teacher.
Loggers who received All League recognition were
Clay Sullivan, Jakob Handegard, Kale Sullivan, and
Gaven Everett; Clay Sullivan was also named to the
All State Tournament Team and led the tournament in
scoring.
In Middle School sports, girls basketball play-
ers of note were Brooklyn Walters, Nita Cook, Megan
Zavales, and Kortni Adams. In wrestling outstanding
athletes included Roman Martin, Trevor Wolf, Jeremi-
ah Arroyo, and Cody West.
School Board Report
At the April 12, 2018, Vernonia School Board Meet-
ing:
Board Meets at Mist School – The Vernonia School
Board held their regular meeting at the Mist School.
The Board has met at Mist twice this school year.
District Considers School Resource Officer – Super-
intendent Aaron Miller told the Board he is exploring
the possibility of combining financial resources with
the City of Vernonia to hire and share a Student Re-
source Officer (SRO). The officer would spend more
than half time at the school and provide security and
safety for the building, and assist with attendance and
truancy. Miller said agreements between the City and
District and the role of the position are still being for-
mulated, but said the position is included in the pro-
posed budget for next year.
Board Approves Calendar for Next Year – The Board
approved the proposed District Calendar for school
year 2018-19. The first day of school will be Septem-
ber 5 (Kindergarten starts September 6) and the last day
of school will be June 7, with graduation scheduled for
June 1. The calendar includes 159 student days, the
same as last year.
Board Approves OSEA Contract – The Board ap-
proved a new collective bargaining agreement with
the District’s Classified Employees. The agreement
includes a 3% Cost Of Living Adjustment for 2018-19
and 2019-20.
Behavior Data Update – Vice Principal Rachel Wil-
coxen provided the Board with a report on data collect-
ed on discipline referrals. The data included referrals
per month, by type of problem behavior, by location,
by time of day, by individual students (names were re-
dacted), by day of the week, and by grade. Wilcoxen
said she will continue to collect data so the District can
identify whether behavior modification techniques are
being effective.
Superintendent Report – Superintendent Aaron Mill-
er told the Board he has scheduled upcoming Commu-
nity Chats on April 25, 12:00-1:00 pm at La Cabana, on
May 23, 6:30-7:30 pm at Black Iron Grill, and on June
27, 12:00-1:00 pm at Blue House Café.
Miller told the Board the plans for the At-
Home School Program to assist home-school families
will be put on hold for one year because the Oregon
Department of Education is considering changing the
rules that govern these types of programs.
Miller told the Board that enrollment has
stayed stable through this school year and was at 537
students after starting the year with 534; Miller added
that the District had inquiries about seven more stu-
dents enrolling that week.
Miller said he is working with the Mist Ele-
mentary School to add more students to that program
next year. Miller said there are currently 14 students
attending Mist and would like to have 18 next year.
Miller said an announcement for the Summer
Intern Program would go out soon. The program em-
ploys six students, two at the schools in maintenance
and groundskeeping, two with the Upper Nehalem
Watershed Council doing field work, and two at Stub
Stewart State Park.
Miller updated the Board on Bond projects and
said the gym roof at Mist School had been replaced,
work on the Mist School building roof would start
soon, and other repairs and installation of play equip-
ment would take place this summer.
Miller told the Board he had received letters of
resignation from high school teachers Randy Shockey,
effective August 16, and Linda Allen, effective July
Principal Reports – High School/Middle School Prin-
cipal Nate Underwood provided a written report for the
Board that noted that all Foreign Exchange Students
were visiting the state capital in Salem on April 12 and
would also visit a PowWow at the Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs on April 18-19; 8 th grade students
were leaving for the Washington D.C. Close Up trip
April 15-20; 8 th graders completed their 8 th Grade Proj-
ect on First Ladies; high school science students will
host a science fair on May 4; National Honor Society
students are working to bring the SKID presentation
the week prior to prom on May 5; Project Based Learn-
ing students are exploring the purchase of a community
digital reader board; senior Haley Lindsay has received
a $20,000 scholarship to Linfield Col-
lege. Underwood also told the Board
he is exploring reducing the required
credits needed to graduate from Ver-
nonia High School to align with state
requirements – currently Vernonia re-
quires 25.5 credits and the state only
requires 24.
Elementary Principal Aaron
Miller also provided a written report
noting that May 7-11 will be Teacher
Appreciation Week; the annual Run
for the Arts was held on April 10
to fund cultural programing at the
school; and Kindergarten registration
will be May 10.
Board Meets in Executive Session – The Board met
in Executive Session under ORS 192.660 (2) (b) “to
hear complaints or charges brought against a public
officer, employee, staff member or agent...” and under
ORS 192.660 (2) (i) “to review and evaluate the perfor-
mance of the chief executive officer or any other public
officer, employee or staff member...” Upon returning
to Open Session, the Board took no further action.
Public Comment – Janice McGuire
updated the Board on progress by the
community group working to save
the Greenman Field Grandstands and
asked if the District would consider
utilizing the facility for all future
Homecoming events as a way to gen-
erate revenue to maintain the grand-
stands.
Winter Sports Report – Athletic
Director Gordon Jarman updated the
Board on the recently completed win-
ter sports season, noting that both the
boys and girls basketball teams quali-
fied for state playoffs and wrestling
won the District Title for the second
year in a row. Wrestling
sent six athletes to the state
tournament with Wyatt
Jones placing 4 th and Josh
Rice placing 3 rd . The Girls
basketball team finished 3 rd
in the Northwest League
but were eliminated from
the state playoffs in the
first round. Lady Loggers
recognized for All League
honors were Jordan Wal-
ters, Joyce Everett, and
Courtney Barklow. The
boys basketball team also
finished 3 rd in the North-
west League, beat Monroe
in the state playoffs and
then beat Knappa and Oak-
493 Bridge
land to take 3 rd in the state
VERNONIA
tournament as the #11 seed.
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