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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2018)
schools june21 2018 13 School Board Report At the June 14, 2018 Vernonia School Board Meeting: Board Approves Budget – Follow- ing a public hearing at which there was no testimony either in favor or against, the Board voted to approve the 2018- 19 Fiscal Year Budget. The budget, which was recommended for approval by the district Budget Committee, is for $14,171,608 and imposes a tax rate of $5.0121 per $1,000 of assessed value on property within the district. PBL Class Presents Safety Report – Jim Krahn, the instructor of the Project Based Learning (PBL) class, presented a report prepared by his students con- cerning school safety and school shoot- ings. Krahn said his students researched various facets of the issue. The students ranked the issues in order of importance and the ability to impact student and fa- cility safety. The following solutions were presented by Krahn with a writ- ten explanation about how students felt they could improve the school facility: 1. School Resource Officer, 2. Programs emphasizing kindness and respect, 3. Female Councilor on staff, 4. Arming staff members, 5. Regular interaction between the school, City, and Fire De- partment so a plan of action is in place, 6. School Discipline, 7. Metal Detectors, 8. Evaluation of the facility by a safety expert. schools. Underwood’s report said in- structor Robin Manning will be the new advisor for the Vernonia Chapter of the National Honor Society and announced 16 new members for the 2018-19 year: Lauren Ely, Dakota Willard, Emily Obe- nauf, Kendra Steffan, Larissa Vandehey, Joyce Everett, Sean Coffey, Whitley To- lonen, Kale Sullivan, Abigail McGuire, Michael Holmes, Elijah Bozied, Jes- sica Butcher, Katie Goodman, and Tyler Wolf. Underwood said new class of- ficers for the 2018-19 school year in- clude Presidents: Charity Coleman – se- niors, Dakota Willard – juniors, Larissa Vandehey – sophomores, and Lanaya Clapshaw – freshmen. Student body of- ficers include Joyce Everett – President, Savannah Norman – Vice President, Joshua Rice – Secretary, and Jackson Fletcher – Treasurer. Elementary principal Aaron Miller told the Board four students will be added to the enrollment at the Mist School this upcoming year. Miller said VES has received a grant to provide Kindercamp prior to the start of the school year. This is the third year VES has hosted this successful pro- gram which allows new students to be- come familiar with the school building and routines prior to the start of the year. Hands On Art Makes Donations – Bill Langmaid, along with his sons Calvin and Henry, representing Hands On Art, presented the Vernonia Art Department with $2,000 for art supplies and $300 for the Band Department. All funds were raised through the annual Junior Salmon Auction, a collaboration between the community arts group and the District. Langmaid said that in the 10 years the Junior Salmon Auction has been held the program has donated $13,600 back to the School District. RTI Report – Elementary Vice Princi- pal Michelle Eagleson provided a report on the Response To Intervention (RTI) program. RTI tracks data through the school year on students that have been identified as needing Intensive and Stra- tegic assistance in reading and math skills. Eagleson reported that while data does not show big shifts in mov- ing students from Intensive to Strate- gic, and from Strategic to benchmark, there have been great gains shown in reading accuracy, fluency, and phonics skills for reading, and slight shifts in math proficiency. Principal Reports – High school and middle school principal Nate Under- wood was not in attendance, but provid- ed a written report that highlighted end of year activities and awards for both Special Education Report – Gienah Cheney provided a detailed budget of how special education funds are spent within the District. Cheney said the VSD has a total of 102 students, or Vernonia School Board Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month. The next School Board Meeting is scheduled for July 12 at 6:00 pm in the Schools Library. Don‛t worry. We‛ll go to Meyer‛s Auto Body. I hear they‛re out of this world. 18%, who are identified as Special Edu- cation Students. The State of Oregon only provides excess funding for Special Education for up to 11% of a District’s population. Cheney said the District employs four teachers, 15 instructional assistants, and a compliance officer in the Special Education Department. Cheney also discussed details of the pro- gram including transportation for stu- dents that need to go outside the district for programs, specialists provided by the Education Service District, early child- hood testing programs, and supplies and equipment. Spring Sports Report – Athletic Direc- tor Gordon Jarman updated the Board on the recently concluded spring sports season. Jarman reported that both base- ball and softball qualified for the league playoffs but both lost in the first round. For softball, Joyce Everett, Allegra Poet- ter, and Jordan Walters were all named First Team All League, and Jessica Butcher was named Second Team. In baseball Brendyn Mullikan was named First Team All League and Gaven Ever- ett and Gunnar Harral were named Sec- ond Team. In track and field 15 athletes qualified for the State Meet, with Clay Sullivan winning two hurdle events and placing in two others. Andrew Vasquez placed in the 400 meters and Odessa Roberts just missed placing in the high jump. In middle school track and field, ten athletes competed at the District Meet, with five placing, including Sadie Gump - 2 nd in the 3,000 meters, Sydney Smith - 3 rd in the discus, Delany Draeger - 5 th in the 1,500, Audrey Hill - 5 th in the 100 meters, and Conor Lemay - 6 th in the shot put. Jarman reported that there will be some slight adjustments in the leagues VHS competes in next season – leav- ing the Northwest League will be Life Christian and Delphian and joining will be Portland Christian. Warrenton will play football in the Northwest League next season. AVID Report – Student Isabella Neufer, a sophomore this past year, spoke about the impact the AVID program has had for her. AVID (Advancement Via Indi- vidual Determination) is a college readi- ness program designed to help students develop the skills they need to be suc- cessful in college. Vernonia is continu- ing to expand their program to include more students; last year the program included sophomores, juniors and se- niors. Since she joined the program Neufer said her GPA increased from 2.7 her freshman year to 3.3 this year. She said the program taught her skills that help her set goals and be more organized and consistent in her school work. “Last year I did not envision myself going to college. Now since joining AVID I hope to get into a college or university. It’s not just helping me be a better student, it makes me want to be a better student.” Instructor Juliet Safier, the Site Coordinator for AVID at VHS, said next year eighth grade students will be added. Safier said eight district instructors will attend three days of AVID training in Se- attle this summer. continued on page 16 Vernonia Students of the Month May 2018 Elementary School Front Row: Calleigh Breiden- bach (2), Luke Coburn (K), Emma Swart (1), Elijah Erb (K) Back Row: Matthew Naeve (3), Jonathan Swart (3), Alek Josephson (4), Lila Eckert (5), Addie Coburn (4) Lanaya Clapshaw Grade 8 Lanaya is considered by her teachers as an amazing and mature student who gives her best effort. Lanaya is already taking high school math and says after math, her favorite subject is social studies. She was just elected class president for next year’s freshman class and she also partici- pated in track this year. In her spare time she likes trap shooting. Andrew Vasquez Meyer’s Auto Body Grade 12 Andrew is an accomplished athlete who started on the varsity basketball team that finished 3 rd in the state this year, was a member of the Logger football team, and placed 7 th in the 400 meters and was part of the 4x100 relay team that finished 9 th at state track. Andrew was part of the Project Based Learning class this year. Next year he plans to attend PCC. 493 Bridge Street VERNONIA • 503-429-0248 Sponsored by State Representative Brad Witt
