Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Columbia Gorge news. (The Dalles, OR) 2020-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2021)
www.columbiagorgenews.com Columbia Gorge News Wednesday, October 13, 2021 3 EDUCATOR SPOTLIGHT Second-grade teacher emphasizes importance of social and emotional learning Alana Lackner ■ By Columbia Gorge News are most important. And it definitely took a village.” Families stepped up to support and teach at home, For teachers, one of the Vaught said. She said families biggest themes throughout and school staff became the pandemic has been formulating and maintaining more of a team, which was incredibly rewarding. relationships with students “We all kind of learned even in an online classroom. together a new way of doing For Jennifer Vaught, a sec- ond-grade teacher at Colonel school so it made those family relationships with Wright Elementary School, the school a whole lot more this held especially true. meaningful and strong,” Vaught struggled with the she said. “ Our staff and our transition to online school, families have really shown to mostly because she was be resilient and courageous. worried about being able to support her students as well Throughout this we’re all showing up and doing our as she wanted to. “I couldn’t do my job how best and working together, I normally would, and didn’t trying new things … That’s something that’s really been feel like I had the tools or inspiring to be a part of.” the training or definitely the Vaught said by March 2021, experience, to feel very confi- dent or successful in meeting the hybrid school model was much needed. She said the the needs of my students,” teachers missed being with she said. “We had to adapt the students and the students quickly and then adapt over and over to the ever changing missed being with each other. She said that during hybrid new regulations, and nothing learning, she had 12 kids in was certain. That was really her classroom for half of the difficult.” day. Vaught said that normal “(That) was really import- routines and ways of doing school were thrown out of ant for I think some healing the window, which made that needed to take place af- things difficult in many ways, ter all this,” Vaught said. “Just especially emotionally. It was having more adult-to-kid a lonely time for students and ratio, interaction, building staff both, she said. those relationships, talking “Even though we worked about what we’ve been hard to make those mean- through and how we felt, and then just figuring out school ingful connections with all over again.” students over screen, it still However, even with the just couldn’t replace that face-to-face relationship that half days in the spring, full- we were used to having,” she time in-person school came as a shock to everyone’s said. systems this fall, she said. Because communication Vaught said there have with the kids was more diffi- cult due to the online format, been learning gaps that need- Vaught said working with the ed to be addressed, and it has families was more important been difficult as a teacher not than ever. to feel overwhelmed. “I think no teacher would “There’s pressure to kind argue that the fact that strong of make up for what has been relationships with students lost, some might say,” she and families are import- said. “But it’s also important to just take a look at the big ant and have always been picture and think about it a important,” she said. “But I think going through this year little bit differently, that noth- and a half of pandemic has ing has really been lost. These really made it clear to all of kids have still been learning us that these relationships and growing.” Jennifer Vaught, a second-grade teacher, stands in her classroom at Colonel Wright Elementary. in the classroom,” she said. “So the kids kind of trickle in in the morning for about 15 minutes, as they get dropped off, and they come in and Jennifer Vaught they’ll get breakfast, or have a morning activity to work on. Colonel Wright Elementary But I use that time to really connect with each kid one- As such, the red quadrant on-one in the morning and One of the biggest focuses is high-energy uncomfort- check in with them and see this year has been on social how they’re doing. It seems and emotional learning, able feelings such as anger to start our day off really well. Vaught said. Her classroom or agitation, and the yellow All the kids feel like they’re currently uses a “Mood quadrant is high-energy welcome, and they’re excited Meter,” where kids are taught comfortable feelings like that I’m excited that they’re to identify the emotions excitement or joy. The blue there and they know that they they’re feeling and place quadrant is low-energy are important to our school them on a square. uncomfortable feelings like to me.” The meter has four sectors: sadness or exhaustion, and Vaught said she’s been glad Red, yellow, green and blue. the green quadrant is low-en- to help students through so- Red and yellow are on the ergy comfortable feelings top half, and blue and green like calmness and a more cial and emotional learning, are on the bottom. The top because emotions have been peaceful happiness. indicates high energy levels, Vaught has also found difficult throughout this past whereas the bottom half is a way to use mornings to year and a half. lower energy levels, and the focus on students and their “It has been a scary time left side is uncomfortable emotions. and so much is out of our feels whereas the right is “One thing I’ve enjoyed control, and just navigat- comfortable feelings. this year is we do breakfast ing this fear with staff and “We all kind of learned together a new way of doing school so it made those family relationships with the school a whole lot more meaningful and strong.” Contributed Photo students and families in our community has been hard,” she said. “But I think because so much felt out of our con- trol, the things that we could control became even more important, like just loving the people in front of us. And being intentional about creating the world that we want to be within our realm of influence. For me, this starts every morning, in my classroom with each student that walks in the door. Again, I can’t tell you how excited I am right now that they are actually walking through the door. So it’s been pretty cool to be able to be neat, in person and full time. And definitely, you know, there are challenges, and they feel so full and so busy right now. But it feels more like how it was supposed to be.” Managing your land to reduce wildfire danger Olson ■ By Wasco Shilah County Soil & Water landscape. Fire will typically move more quickly uphill than downhill or on flat Whether you have a small terrain. It is also important lot or a large acreage, you can to determine the prevailing implement environmentally wind direction as this will influence the path that a fire friendly land management will follow. strategies to reduce fire Wildfire fuels include danger and prevent future everything from native trees catastrophic loss. First, you must understand fire behav- and grasses to landscap- ing ornamentals, and even ior. With that knowledge, inventory your land and buildings and homes. We can manage fuels by reducing assess the risks to create a site-specific plan that reflects their amount, height, and your personal land manage- continuity. Take note of the density of fuels across your ment goals. landscape and refer to your All fires require heat or map to consider how steep an ignition source, fuel, and slopes and prevailing winds oxygen. Once a fire starts, its behavior is influenced by might cause a fire to burn faster or hotter. weather, topography, and Consider possible igni- fuels. Each of these fac- tion sources. Two major fire tors must be considered to causes are lightning and hu- develop an effective man- mans. Not all human causes agement plan. Weather and topography are largely out of are arson or carelessness. Fires can also be sparked by our control, so the area we can have the most meaning- powerlines, railroad tracks, or faulty mechanics. Note on ful influence upon is fuels. your map areas with the most Fuel management can help prevent fires from starting in likely ignition sources, which the first place and make them may extend well beyond your more manageable when they property but can give you an idea of the direction(s) that do start. fire may come from. A good aerial photo and Once you understand topographical map can the fuel loads and how a help you understand how fire might move across your fire might move on the Conservation District Thank you Hood River and Stevenson for 10 YEARS IN BUSINESS FALL RUN NOW IN! KLICKITAT DIP-NET TED FISH Fresh Salmon Caught Daily Wild Columbia Salmon KING SALMON $20/lb Vacuum-sealed packages 108 Hwy 35, Hood River - next to Lampoei’s $20/lb columbiasalmon@gmail.com - This location closing for the season Nov. 1 land, you can design ways to strategically reduce fuels. Not everyone will have the same goals for their property, but fire management strate- gies can work with many different priorities. There are several ways to manage vegetation. This can be done mechanically by mowing or cutting, through chemical means such as herbicides (this should always be done selectively and in accordance with the label), or biological means including grazing with livestock. For structural protection, it is critical to create defensible space around homes and buildings. This can be done by creating fuel breaks of bare ground or low vegeta- tion close to the structure and pruning branches on trees to reduce the risk of flames climbing into the tops of trees. Thinning vegetation and overgrazing can have negative impacts on wildlife habitat so it’s important to find a balance. Decrease thinning activity in areas of flatter terrain and along wa- terways. Determine proper stocking rates and develop a prescribed grazing plan prior to turning animals out. Consider leaving clumps of brush for animals to nest and hide in, and strategically leave some dead trees and down logs for habitat and to return nutrients to the environment. While wildfires can be frightening, they have always been a part of our landscape. Residents and landowners can work to meaningfully reduce the threat of a cata- strophic wildfire. Your local Conservation District can help you achieve land and fire management goals while balancing watershed health and economic strategies. ••• Conservation Districts are local, non-regulatory, public agencies charged with assist- ing landowners and residents with responsible natural resource management and stewardship. Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District in Hood River, Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District in The Dalles, and Underwood Conservation District in White Salmon are available to assist with a variety of natural resource issues, including soil health, water quality, fish habitat, wildfire risk, forest management, noxious weeds, pollinators, wildlife, livestock and agriculture. FALL PEONY SALE! Shop our annual, bare-root peony sale this weekend at the Hood River County Fairgrounds! Over 75 different varieties. Also yellow Itoh intersectional peonies TRASH TALK Q. Is there a place where can I take old QA computers, VCR’s and other electronics for recycling? Jared, The Dalles A. Jared, I don’t’ know of any local options for VCR or stereo recycling. You do have an option in our area for “e-waste” though. The Oregon Electronics Recycling Program (E-Cycles) accepts seven items for free: computer monitors and towers, T.V.s, laptops, printers, keyboards and mice. Three drop sites: Hood River Transfer Station, The Dalles Disposal, and Sherman County Transfer Station near Biggs Junction. questions to: S T E V E N S O N L O C A T I O N 230 1st Street, Stevenson, WA Commercial Kitchen, Cedar Smoker We Open daily 10am-6pm pm We accept VISA and Mastercard (541)-506-2636 www.tricountyrecycle.com
