Page 12
The INDEPENDENT, January 18, 2012
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a column of information about Ver-
nonia schools. This column was provided by Su-
perintendent Dr. Ken Cox.
The other day I was in Washington Grade
School just before school started and, as I was
leaving, a parent volunteer was coming into the
building. She had been out in the freezing
weather since 7:30 a.m. making sure that chil-
dren could cross Bridge Street in safety before
the student crossing guards arrived. This parent
was Kimberley Brandt who has hardly missed a
day volunteering for this important and (lately)
cold task. Earlier this year Janet Rethwell was
also helping out. To both of them I would like to
say THANK YOU! for serving the kids of Vernon-
ia.
I would also like to say thank you to Sheril
McWhirter for her excellent service in this same
capacity for many years. She has put together a
meaningful, quality program that has a 100%
safety rating. Our thanks to her, our other in-
structional assistants who help out in the cold,
and our student crossing guards, who all work
together to make our schools a safer place for
our children.
We could use some additional volunteers to
help with this task. It only takes half an hour and
See article on page
20 for ways to help
the Class of 2012
raise money for
their prom.
helps so many parents
rest easier knowing
that their children are
being watched out for
on their way to school.
If you have some time and would like to volun-
teer for even one day a week, please contact Mr.
Miller at WGS.
I would also like to make sure you know
about Oregon’s Healthy Kids Program. Healthy
Kids is a no-cost or low-cost health coverage for
all of Oregon’s uninsured children and teens up
to their 19th birthday. Healthy Kids is a compre-
hensive coverage offering medical, dental, vi-
sion, prescription, behavioral health coverage
and more. No family makes too much money for
Healthy Kids. Parents’ income will determine
whether a child is eligible for the no-cost or low-
cost coverage option. For example, a family of
four that earns as much as $67,200 a year may
qualify for low-cost coverage.
For more information about how to get your
children signed up for this service simply contact
DeAnna Pearl in Vernonia at 503-369-7370, or
Healthy Kids Columbia County Outreach Coor-
dinator Patricia Ortiz in St. Helens at 503-396-
3834.
Spring ball sign-ups start Feb. 1
It’s time to sign-up for Ver-
nonia spring ball teams. Sign-
ups will be held February 1 and
February 23, from 6:00 to 8:00
p.m., in the Washington Grade
School library. T-ball, baseball
and softball will all be accepting
sign-ups at these meetings.
For more information, con-
tact Maria Lemay at 503-429-
1067 for t-ball, Brooke Morri-
son at 503-726-8427 for base-
ball, or Katie Poetter at 503-
429-0700 for softball.
Exclusion Day is February 15 so
be sure your child is immunized
The new year is here and
the Oregon Immunization Pro-
gram is reminding parents that
now is the time to make sure
kids’ vaccination records are
complete. State law requires
that all children in public and
private schools, preschools,
Head Start and certified child
care facilities have up-to-date
immunizations, or have a reli-
gious or medical exemption.
Parents or guardians will re-
ceive a letter in late January or
early February if their child’s
immunization record shows
that he or she has not received
the required vaccinations.
Children will not be able to
attend school or child care
starting February 15, if their
records on file show missing
immunizations.
“We want to make sure chil-
dren can go to school in a safe,
healthy environment free from
vaccine-preventable diseases,”
said Stacy de Assis Matthews,
immunization school law coor-
dinator in the Oregon Health
Authority’s Public Health Divi-
sion.
This year, parents should
take note of some important in-
formation:
• Tdap vaccine requirement:
Tdap vaccine is required for
seventh- through 10th-graders.
Tdap is a tetanus, diphtheria
and
pertussis
(whooping
cough) booster. Whooping
cough is a serious health con-
cern in Oregon with about 300
cases recorded in 2011.
• Hepatitis A vaccine require-
ment: The hepatitis A vaccine,
which protects against a com-
municable viral infection, is a
two-dose series now required
for children 18 months through
third grade.
Parents seeking immuniza-
tions for their children should
contact their health care
provider or local health depart-
ment, or call Oregon SafeNet
at 1-800-SAFENET or 1-800-
723-3638. No one can be
turned away from a local health
department because of the in-
ability to pay for required vac-
cines. Additional information on
school immunizations can be
found on the Oregon Public
Health immunization website at
http://public.health.oregon.gov/
PreventionWellness/Vaccines
Immunization/GettingImmu
nized/Pages/school.aspx .
Families: “Be out there” with kids
by Chris Thomas, Oregon
News Service
Now that all the Christmas
electronics have been given a
good workout, how about the
kids using them? A pre-holiday
Nielsen survey found 44 per-
cent of kids between ages six
and 12 had an iPad on their
wish list. No report on how
many saw that wish come true,
but electronics certainly domi-
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nate the lives of young people
these days.
The National Wildlife Feder-
ation (NWF) is trying to help
families pare down the average
eight hours a day that kids
spend in front of screens. Ac-
cording to NWF Naturalist
David Mizejewski, even in out-
doorsy states like Oregon, kids
still tend to prefer technology,
“It’s not that there’s anything
necessarily inherently bad
about all those great technolo-
gies, but I think anyone would
agree that eight hours a day for
a kid to be indoors – sedentary,
in front of electronic media – is
too much.”
He points out that there are
plenty of ways to use technolo-
gy to enhance outdoor experi-
ences – like researching loca-
tions for new adventures, and
downloading applications onto
phones or tablets to help iden-
tify plants, trees and critters.
NWF’s tips for parents are on-
line at www.nwf.org/BeOut
There.
And why should parents
care? There’s a vast amount of
research showing that outdoor
time for kids is good for grades,
behavior and health, says
Mizejewski, “Parents can make
it a resolution – ‘In 2012, I’m
going to make this a priority, to
get outside with my kids, or
build some outdoor time back
into my kids’ schedule’ – be-
cause it’s an important thing to
do.”
Sports are one way to get
kids outdoors, although he
says the best outdoor time for
kids should be unstructured –
just letting them poke around
and explore, with friends or
parents. The American Acade-
my of Pediatrics recommends
a total of 60 minutes of unstruc-
tured, outdoor play for kids
every day.