The INDEPENDENT, January 15, 2004
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a monthly column of information about
Vernonia schools. It is written by various staff mem-
bers.
By Mike Funderburg, Superintendent
Vernonia Administrative School District 47J
The Vernonia School District is joining the oth-
er 198 Oregon school districts in celebrating
January as “School Board Recognition Month.”
During the past year and a half, I have had the
pleasure of working for and with the following in-
dividuals while they were on the board: Carla
Strand, Jim Krahn, Randy Hansen, Darrell Ham-
blet, Cari Levenseller, Tim Titus, Leslie O’Leary,
Ed Buckner, Gienah Cheney, and Phil Doyle.
These men and women volunteer countless
hours of unpaid time not only providing the best
possible education for all our students, but also
serving as the corporate board of directors for
one of our community’s largest employers. As
your elected officials, they represent you in their
continuing commitment to the community and
decision-making for our public schools. Too often
the efforts of the school board members go un-
recognized, unappreciated, and unrewarded.
Sometimes, they are unfairly criticized for doing
the best job they can do to make our schools
safe for the students.
The key work of our school board is to support
student achievement by:
➤ Creating the vision and guiding principles
for what we want our school district to become
and how we will focus on student achievement;
➤ Establishing standards for what we want
our students to learn and be able to do;
➤ Ensuring assessment occurs to determine
if we are reaching those standards;
➤ Being accountable for the outcomes of de-
cisions and actions;
➤ Adopting an operating budget that reflects
how the district’s human and financial resources
should be used;
➤ Creating a safe
and orderly climate
where
students
can learn and
teachers
can
teach;
➤ Forming collabora-
tive relationships and sub-commit-
tees to solve problems and support successes;
and
➤ Focusing on continuous improvement by
questioning, examining, revising, refining, and
revisiting issues and policies.
Even though we are making a special effort
during January to show appreciation for school
board members, we recognize that they, and all
the volunteers in our district, contribute year-
round to our students, staff, and schools.
Frankly, with all the budget cuts and loss of rev-
enue from the state, we could not accomplish
our goals without the many volunteer hours do-
nated by the community and school board mem-
bers. It is a shame when some individuals or the
media attempt to create controversy and sensa-
tionalism when they do not agree with a decision
or have all the information. Part of what makes
America great has been our sense of volun-
teerism and “Good Samaritan” attitude. The re-
cent winter storm is an excellent example of how
people stopped to help others. I truly hope peo-
ple continue to volunteer without fear of undue
criticism. You can choose to be part of the solu-
tion or part of the problem. We are thankful for
our board members and most of the community
members that choose to be part of the solution.
Thank you.
Our board works together extremely well and
operates through sub-committee and/or board
consensus. Very few decisions are made in a
vacuum. They are dedicated individuals who are
committed to improving student achievement
and to fighting for the best for all our students.
Managing stress in the family is possible
What is stress? It’s your
body’s reaction to a challenge
or threat. Stress can make your
heart beat faster and your mus-
cles tense.
Stress can be helpful, it gives
you the energy to meet life’s
challenges – from job inter-
views to personal tragedy. But
stress can be harmful, too. Your
body isn’t meant to run in high
gear all the time. Too much
stress can wear you down,
physically and emotionally.
Why learn about stress? Be-
cause parenting can be a
stressful job. Stress is built in to
family life. The demands of ca-
reer, children and personal
needs are often at odds.
Change – which all families ex-
perience – is a big source of
stress.
Learning to handle stress is
vital. It’s important to your fam-
ily’s health and happiness. For-
tunately, there’s a lot you can
do to keep stress under control.
Some causes of stress in the
family are common to many
households:
• Poor understanding of chil-
dren. Many parents see chil-
dren as small adults, and ex-
pect them to act that way.
When children don’t, parents
may feel frustrated and angry.
• Lack of support. Parenting
takes time and energy. Parents
may have trouble meeting
chilrens’ needs and their own.
Without support from family,
friends and the community,
many parents become worn
out.
• The myth of the “Perfect
Family”. Some parents judge
their family against an imagi-
nary “perfect family.” The pres-
sure to live up to this ideal
leads to stress.
• Low self-esteem. Many
parents are unsure of their par-
enting skills. They have trouble
taking the ups and downs of
family life in stride. Each frus-
tration is seen as a personal
failure.
• Other sources of family
stress. Everyday problems – in-
volving work, illness or money
– can also build up and affect
the family.
It’s possible to learn how to
manage the stresses of parent-
ing. For more information, con-
tact Columbia Community
Mental Health at 503-429-
1053.
Not too late for
PCC classes
It’s not too late to register for
winter term at Portland Com-
munity College.
The college has extended
registration hours after four
consecutive days of closure
last week due to a storm that
dumped heavy snow and ice in
the district. PCC is extending
the period of open registration
for its students through Friday,
Jan. 16. The college is also ex-
tending business office hours,
as well as bookstore, college
facilities and operations to en-
able students to conduct busi-
ness with PCC.
Students may register in per-
son at any campus, by phone,
503-977-4933, or TTY at 503-
977-4939, or on the Web
(www.pcc.edu) for classes as
long as space is available and
there are no other restrictions
on entry to the class.
Page 9
Dance Jan. 24
at Grange Hall
Join the fun at a Saturday
night dance at the Vernonia
Grange Hall, January 24.
If you’re learning how to
dance or just want to brush up,
lessons in ballroom-type danc-
ing will start at 7:00 p.m., with
the dance following the les-
sons. The cost will be $2.00
per person for the evening.
There will be also be a
“Sweethearts Ball” at the
Grange on February 14.
The Grange hall is located
at the corner of North Street
and Washington Avenue.
Mon. Januar y 26
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Vernonia Scout Cabin
Hawkins park (Park Drive)
Vernonia 503-429-8031