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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, January 21, 2010 Board told Site Council seeks members The January 14 Vernonia School District board meeting started off in a party atmos- phere, with presents and cake, for January Board Appreciation Month. Superintendent Dr. Ken Cox gave certificates of appre- ciation to each board member before cutting and handing out pieces of cake to the board and audience. Middle/High School Principal Nate Underwood’s report in- cluded information on Site Council. The VHS and VMS Site Council is seeking interest- ed community members and/or parents to join. The Site Coun- cil is responsible for efforts to improve school programs and climate, assist staff in meeting student needs, and student/ staff recognition. Contact the District Office (503-429-5891) if interested. New schools project manag- er, Steve Effros, reported pro- gress on Missouri Ave. and Hwy. 47 improvements, wet- land permitting process, anoth- er environmental review pro- cess, and the Oregon Solutions and public funding processes. Cox gave the board informa- tion on a Graduation Require- ments policy, asking for their in- put, although the board doesn’t take action on such administra- tive rules. The district is consid- ering a Vernonia diploma for 26.5 credits versus an Oregon diploma (24 credits). The Ore- gon diploma would be used in some circumstances, with ap- proval, when students are un- able to obtain the 26.5 credits needed for a regular diploma. Cox gave a FEMA update that indicated the district may receive funds to buy out all three school building, although the middle school building is also being considered for relo- cation to the new site. In other business, the board: • Approved 10 updated dis- trict policies; • heard that Northwest Exca- vation Services bid of $2,800 has been accepted to replace a sewer pipe by the grandstand that has been damaged by tree roots. There may be up to $1,000 more in gravel and per- mit costs; • heard from student repre- sentatives about topics current- ly being studied, and that the Winter Formal will be held Jan- uary 27; • heard that Fundraising and CLASS Grant Coordinator Bet- sy Miller has obtained two grants. One for $1,500 to invite two classified staff onto the CLASS grant Design Team. The other is a $15,000 annual grant for a secure online data- base to be used for the new schools capital fund raising campaign in the next few years. The next board meeting will be on February 4, instead of the previously scheduled date of Feb. 11, at 6:00 p.m. at the District Office. Help 8th graders get to Washington, DC Vernonia eighth grade stu- dents participating in the Close- Up Washington, DC/Williams- burg trip are within only three months of heading back east. They have worked very hard on their fund raisers and hope to get community help to bring them up to their goals! The Trailblazers donated a 2009/10 autographed pennant that will be used for a silent auction. The winning bidder will be announced on February 12. To make a bid contact Kin- nell Steward at mtskys@veri zon.net or call 503-819-0143. The students will sell home- made baked goods at Middle School girls basketball home games, along with 50/50 raffle tickets. There will be two sepa- rate raffles for 1-1/2 cords of fire wood. Tickets for wood will be 1 for $1.00 or 6 for $5.00. The wood will be delivered to the winner on Saturday, Febru- ary 6. To purchase tickets con- tact Ashley Rogers at arogers @vernonia.k12.or.us. Mark your calendars for din- ner and fun on Saturday, Feb- ruary 27, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. when the CloseUp stu- dents will host a spaghetti din- ner and bingo night in the Ver- nonia Middle School cafeteria. Spaghetti dinner tickets are $5.00 per person and can be purchased ahead of time from Ashley Rogers or CloseUp stu- dents, and also at the door on the night of the dinner. Bingo cards will be $1.00 per card or 6 for $5.00. Some great prizes have been donated, in- cluding a brand new bike, din- ner out at different locations, tickets to Mariner Square in Newport and two tickets to Ore- gon Children’s Theater per- formance of “Sideways Stories from Wayside School”, plus much more. If you have any items you would like to donate toward prizes for bingo night, please contact Kinnell Steward at mtskys@verizon. net. Page 11 Chalk Talk Chalk Talk is a column of information about Vernonia schools. This column was provided by Washington and Mist Grade School Princi- pal Aaron Miller. The self manager program is in its second year at Washington Grade School. This program has given our students who are good citizens a chance to take on responsibilities and privileges that help serve the school and community. Self managers are third, fourth and fifth grade students who have been recognized as being safe, kind, respectful and respon- sible. To become a self manager, students fill out an application that includes ratings from their teacher, parents, and another adult concerning how safe, kind, respectful and responsible they are. Students also write a paragraph explaining why they believe they are a self manager. Sometimes the application reveals an area that needs work. Perhaps they are kind at school, but not considerate to siblings at home, or they may be responsible at school, but don’t pick up af- ter themselves at home. Self managers are students who are con- sistent in all settings, so if the application reveals an area that needs work, students are given a period of time to improve and the application will be reviewed again. When the application is approved, the student receives a cer- tificate and a badge that is worn at school, with their picture on it, which says “self manager”. Self managers are called on to help in various ways in the school. We have fifth grade self mangers who are lunch buddies for kindergarten and first grade students. Lunch buddies eat lunch with the younger students once a week and provide companion- ship and encouragement, as well as being good role models for younger students to learn from. We have fourth grade self man- agers who assist afternoon kindergarten students at lunch, then line them up and escort them to class after lunch. Our third grade self managers will be conducting a canned food drive for the food bank. Other tasks that self managers have helped out with at school include delivering district mail, helping out in the office, escorting families during kindergarten roundup and staffing the bee buck store. We are always looking for additional ways to get these stu- dents involved in the community. Call David Spackman, school counselor, at 503-429-7941 if you have suggestions or would like more information on the self manager program. New musical instruments purchased from Isted estate The Vernonia Middle/High School music program recently received 18 new instruments, valued at over $3,500, from the estate of Robert Isted. Isted taught music in Vernonia for many years and often used his own resources to buy instru- ments for students. “It came out of nowhere”, said Principal Nate Under- wood, when Isted’s brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Sharon Isted, showed up at the school office and asked to see him. “They said they would like to donate some instruments,” Un- derwood said, “then introduced themselves.” Vernonia students and staff were thrilled, as were the Ist- eds, who said they had been “waiting for the day” when they could make the donation. Sev- eral students and Vernonia mu- sic teacher Rob Izett joined the V ALLEY V ETERINARY C LINIC R ABIES S PECIAL $ 50 The donkeys are coming on Feb. 6 Hee Haw…the donkeys are coming! The Vernonia commu- nity again has the opportunity to enjoy laughter-filled enter- tainment during Donkey Bas- ketball. On Saturday, February 6, teams from Black Bear Coffee Shop (“Hot Shots”), Sentry Market (Cougars and Kittens), Wauna Federal Credit Union (The Buck-ette$) and the VHS Junior Class will hop aboard their donkeys and compete to become the Donkey Basketball Champions! The Vernonia Vol- unteer Fire Dept. Cheerleaders will be making their first ap- pearance! Game time is 7:00 p.m. at the VHS Gym. Come early and enjoy the Zack Rumbolz Memorial Schol- arship taco feed beginning at See Donkey on page 20 impromptu celebration and un- loaded about 15 instruments. It is appropriate that the pas- sion of Bob Isted, for music and for students, will continue long after his death. 8 Per vaccine, per animal Through February 2010 Open Thursdays From 9 am to 5 pm 1-503-556-3084 58376 Nehalem Hwy. S. Vernonia