, ,

Gift Store Teaches Hathaway Students About Commerce, Holiday Giving

Washougal WA — Volunteers at the Hathaway Elementary Gift Store are providing students the opportunity to learn the joy of holiday giving first hand. Now in its fifth year, the store is filled with new and gently used gift items that students “purchase” using “Pawsitives” coupons earned as a reward for positive behavior.

“You will find, normally before the holidays, kids can get anxious and excited and can lose some focus at school,” said Pam Clark, Hathaway Gift Store organizer. “The ability to earn Pawsititves to “spend” at the gift store for holiday giving is a powerful motivator to help students focus on positive behavior.”  The store is open each Tuesday and Thursday morning before school during the month of December.

Hathaway fourth grade student, Ruby Lacey, earned her Pawsitives by starting early on projects, being polite and listening in class. She was excited to be able to get a gift to put under the tree for her mother. “She is going to love it,” she exclaimed.

“It is really interesting to see how the kids make their choices,” said Clark.  “They will say they want something blue since it is their mom’s favorite color, or they see a type of toy or a book that they know a sibling would like. They seem to really enjoy the opportunity to surprise loved ones with a thoughtful gift.”

One year a student even bought a gift for the school principal.

Washougal School District Superintendent, Mary Templeton, also dropped in to assist shoppers on December 4.  “I love seeing how their positive behavior is rewarded in a way that allows them to give to friends and family,” she said.

“To stock and staff the store takes a large group of volunteers but each year the number of helpers grows,” Clark said. “Once you come and help you are hooked, and you’ll be back the next year.  That is just what happens!”

According to Clark it is the expression of excitement on children’s faces when they find that perfect gift that keeps the volunteers coming back.  “And the kids are always so polite and seem grateful for the opportunity we are providing,” she said.  “That is reward you feel deep in your heart.”

Finding items to stock the store takes place all year, with volunteers looking at garage sales and around their homes. The word has gotten out about the store and now local businesses and organizations are offering items.

One of the most popular gifts are coffee mugs.

“Last year we had 300 mugs and they all went!” Clark said. “Sometimes we’ll add a packet of hot cocoa mix, microwave popcorn or other small item to make them more special.”

Other gifts include ornaments, small toys, games, books, holiday décor, and even scarves and neckties.  To donate items, contact Clark at angels@airspd.net.

“I just need to thank everyone who helps with this project,” Clark said.  “Without help from the community, volunteers, businesses and my friends, we could not do what we are doing.”

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Gause Elementary Reduces Waste Through Green Schools Program

Washougal WA — Gause Elementary has a new team.  It’s the Green Team!  And, their goal is to make the school and world a better place by participating in Waste Connection’s Clark County Green Schools program to reduce school waste. Waste Connections works with Clark County Green Schools.

“It is important for kids this age to learn about how to care for the environment and understand the importance and benefits of recycling,” said Ellen Lancaster, Gause Day Custodian and Green Team Adviser.  “We want to start good habits and build a culture of recycling at Gause.”

As a part of the Green Team program the school received receptacles for use during cafeteria meals to sort waste.  “These containers make the process of separating food scraps from garbage and recycling easy to do and understand with colorful bins and clear labels,” said Lancaster.

And this is where the Gause Green Team, comprised of around a dozen third to fifth graders, springs into action.

“Our members monitor the containers at lunchtime and watch to help make sure students are sorting items properly and using the correct receptacles,” Lancaster explained.

Waste Connections picks up the food waste from a cart left with regular recycling and garbage containers.  Waste Connections partners with Dirt Hugger to transport food waste to Dirt Hugger’s composting facility in Dallesport, Washington. Once there, food scraps decompose and are turned into a nutrient-rich soil additive.

“The production of waste has enormous impacts on environments, economies, and societies throughout the world,” said Ellen Ives, Waste Connection Sustainability and Waste Reduction Educator. “Each of us has a responsibility to understand the impacts of the waste we produce, how much we produce, and how we can make choices to reduce waste and protect natural resources and human health.”

Flu

www.tvc.org/flushot

An important step in Gause earning Green School Certification, is to perform a waste audit that took place on December 5 after school.

“We worked with Ellen Ives and Clark County Green Schools staff to look at a day’s recycling and garbage from classrooms and the cafeteria,” said Lancaster. “Students sorted out each waste stream and determine what is recycling and what is garbage.  They also asked themselves, ‘Was this put in the right place?’”

Fourth grade student, Olive Krysak, was a part of the audit and was amazed at how much recyclable materials and reusable items were in the classroom trash.

“It was really kind of sad,” she commented.  “A crayon might be broken, but you can still use it!  People need to learn the proper way to throw away things, so recyclable items and everything are in the right place.”

Washougal School District Superintendent Mary Templeton was also on hand to help sort trash during the audit.  More Washougal schools are becoming involved in the Clark County Green Schools program.

“These school waste audits help students recognize the enormity of solid waste production, disposal, and issues, the impacts of waste produced at their school and community and feel empowered to make choices which reduce these impacts,” said Ives. School waste production data collected during the audit will be used to create a plan for improving waste reduction and disposal at the school.

Waste

Students place waste in the proper receptacles.

“A part of the process is to understand how many dumpsters we fill on a regular basis and then work to have less going into the land fill and more in recycle but also to create less waste overall,” said Lancaster.

As a part of the Green Schools program the students will take a field trip to a Waste Connections transfer station.  Waste Connections Clark County pays all program costs for school participation.

“I want kids to look up, look out and see what’s there and take care of it,” Lancaster explained.  “I want to help teach them how to be responsible and aware of their world.”

Gause Green Team members meet before school on the first Tuesday of each month. “We also discuss ways to reduce, reuse and recycle,” said Lancaster.

Other initiatives include encouraging use of school water bottle fill stations with a reusable bottle rather than drinking from a carton or plastic water bottle; Crayola ColorCycle program to collect and repurpose used Crayola markers; and the Trex Challenge, to collect plastic grocery bags, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, ziplock & other re-sealable bags, produce bags and more.

“Everyone who participates in the Trex Challenge gets a plaque, but the school who collects the most bags in a region will earn a Trex plastic bench for their school,” Lancaster said.

One of three Clark County schools Green Team advisers that is a custodian, Lancaster feels that it is a good fit.  “The club is a great way for me to connect with the kids at Gause in a different way,” she said. “They are all my kids.”Green

Lancaster’s goal for the program is to inspire students to help them understand their impact on the environment and know how they can make this a better place.

“There’s just one world!” she said.

/0 Comments/by
, , ,

UW Marching Band Bus Accident: George Residents Feed 325 Students, Staff

George, Washington — A bus accident in Central Washington changed many lives on Thanksgiving Day, including Battle Ground City Councilor, Shane Bowman, his family, and the small town of George.

Moments after bus three in a six-bus caravan transporting University of Washington Marching Band and Spirit Squad members to Pullman slid and rolled on the icy highway, Bowman said he heard the sirens of fire trucks and ambulances passing through George.

“I grew up in Central Washington four miles from George, we were visiting for Thanksgiving, working outside and we heard some police sirens and ambulances, so we assumed there was an accident,” said Bowman. “We finished our work and pulled up the news and learned that a UW band bus rolled over just six miles from us. My son said we should go see if we they need any help.”

So they did.

Within moments, the Bowman’s found out they were triaging victims at George Elementary School. So, they called the fire chief and asked if they needed anything.

“They said they needed food and blankets,” said Bowman. “We rounded up everything we had and headed down there. All the buses were there, five in total. So, we just took in everything that we had, we called a few friends to gather food, and we went to the gas station and cleared out all the hot pockets and burritos we could buy. We bought a couple hundred of them.”

Bus

Local community members brought everything they could to feed the 325 students and staff.

Using the tiny school’s kitchen, they heated up the food, put out the snacks, and watched local community members bring in their delicious Thanksgiving food.

“We fed all of them,” said Bowman. “We had enough water and people showed up with everything — soups and enchiladas. Everything.”

From 6:15 pm until the UW buses departed at 10:30 pm, Bowman’s family, including his son, Trey, and his parents, Alan and Sue (and a total crew of about 10) stayed for the duration. Another 15-20 families came in and dropped off food.

“We’d been down there quite a while, and a whole bunch of food came in — the kids just snacked on anything we had,” said Bowman. “Then a bunch of people brought in more food, blankets and mattresses. A couple even came in from Wenatchee on those icy roads. We thought they were going to spend the night at the school at first. It was chaos, but I was impressed with how professional everyone was. The UW students and staff are incredible. They had a lot to deal with. No complaining from anyone. The whole group was very professional.”

Bowman also got to spend time with Union High School graduate, Tommy Strassenberg, who used to live in Battle Ground. Strassenberg was a phenomenal wrestler who is now part of the UW Cheer team.

Everyone was equally impressed with the first responders — especially given the resource constraints an accident this size causes in rural Washington. Bowman said each little jurisdiction has ambulances, but they don’t have the resources here to deal with something this big.

The UW students are dealing with a spectrum of injuries — from sore backs and lacerations to broken bones and concussions, however, Bowman said it could have been a lot worse.

“I spoke with the bus driver of bus 4 who said he nearly hit bus 3,” he said. “A second collision would have made things a lot worse. We’re very grateful there were no fatalities. There was a lot of ice on the road. We have four-wheel drive pickups and the roads were slick. It was bad out there. There was freezing rain and sleet for about an hour.

“Regarding the response, I don’t expect anything different. I was in Battle Ground when we had the tornado come through, and we had the same thing there. People just stepped up, and put aside all their differences, and that’s what was cool. All the Fire Departments here are volunteers. It’s refreshing to see everyone help out.”

The UW students spent the night at Moses Lake, and will likely return to Seattle tomorrow morning. They won’t attend the Apple Cup, which was their destination.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Washougal Transitions to Council-Manager Form of Government

Washougal, WA — Washougal voters passed Proposition 8 changing the City’s form of government from mayor-council to council-manager in the November 6 general election. Current Mayor Molly Coston will become the eighth member of the Council, and current City Administrator David Scott was appointed Washougal’s first city manager at the November 19, 2018 Council meeting. All changes will go into effect November 27, 2018. Mayor Coston will serve as the eighth councilmember until the expiration of her current term in December 2021, at which time the Council will revert to seven members. At the December 3, 2018 meeting, the Council will select a mayor from among its eight members.

“I am very pleased with the turnout of voters and am looking forward to the transition to the new form of government,” Mayor Coston noted. “I think this change is positive, that this will even out the playing field, where there’s not too much executive power vested in one individual. We have a great team in Washougal, and the transition is going very well. I look forward to returning to being a member of the Council and the opportunity to continue serving our community.”

In March 2018, Mayor Coston appointed the Citizens Government Advisory Committee and charged them with the task of determining whether it was the right time to transition to a council-manager form of government. The Citizens Government Advisory Committee recommended that the City Council place on the November 2018 ballot a measure to adopt the council-manager form of government for the City of Washougal. On May 29, 2018 the Council adopted a resolution placing this issue on the November 2018 ballot.

Councilmember Julie Russell served on the committee and said, “I appreciated being appointed to the Citizens Government Advisory Committee by Mayor Coston. After reviewing all of the information regarding the two forms, I reached the conclusion that the council-manager form would be the best for our community moving forward. The Council is strongly committed to ensuring that our transition to the new form continues to go very smoothly.”

Council-manager

David Scott.

Under the council-manager form of government, the city manager has general supervision over the administrative affairs of the city, including daily operations, handling personnel functions (including appointment and removal of employees), and preparation of the budget for submission to the City Council for their review and approval.

Scott has served as city administrator since 2010. On his appointment to city manager, he remarked, “It is an honor to have the confidence of the Council. I am very grateful for the opportunity and look forward to working with the team to serve our community.”

The City of Washougal will join 53 other cities across the state of Washington that are organized under the council-manager form of government, including Battle Ground, Ridgefield and Vancouver in Clark County. More information about the council-manager form of government can be found at http://mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics/Governance/Forms-of-Government-and-O….

 

Laser

www.VancouverLaserSkinCareClinic.com

/1 Comment/by
, ,

Camas Mayor Candidate: Turk Sees “Great Opportunity in Camas”

Camas City Councilor Shannon Turk is one of four candidates who recently applied to be the city’s next mayor.

The September resignation of former Mayor Scott Higgins leaves the office vacant, and it will be filled by City Council appointment. Four have applied for the job — City Councilors Melissa Smith and Turk — as well as Georerl Niles, who is Chair of the Camas Parking Commission (a volunteer position), and former Camas Mayor, Dean Dossett.

A 2011 city resolution requires the council to interview them all.

“We have seven on council and so the five remaining council members will decide who becomes the next mayor,”said Camas City Administrator, Pete Capell. “They will interview all the candidates with pre-prepared questions. They will work it out until a candidate has a majority.”

Applications were due Friday, October 26, and the special interview meeting is scheduled for November 14. There will be a public swearing-in at the council meeting on November 19. The new mayor will complete the existing term, and then run again next Fall.

Turk, who has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, was appointed to the council in July 2011 to fill the vacant seat left when Scott Higgins became Mayor. Turk would run on her own in November 2011 to finish the Higgins term, and then ran again in 2013, then again in 2017.

“People call me a four-term councilor,” said Turk. “But it’s really two terms that I’ve been representing Ward 3, Position 2 with Greg Anderson. That’s the area by Dorothy Fox, west of Sierra.”

With seven years of experience on the council, what has Turk learned?

“I’ve learned that even though I knew things take time to happen, they take more time than I anticipated,” said Turk. “It takes time to get good policy passed. I think a good strategic plan may help shorten it. Right now, it feels like the community has varying goals. People are moving in many different directions. The firefighters, the pool, the budget.”

Is there a leadership vacuum?

“There’s a lack of leadership focus, because I think there’s a tendency to respond to every email, to every citizen concern that comes up, but when you do that it’s bad from a comprehensive view. I think it’s more lack of focus. People are sincerely trying to help, but there’s a lot going on. There’s a tendency to take too much on. There are big things going on, but we’re going in many different directions. It’s hard to always resolve everything so quickly.”

Turk says in a small town “it’s easy to get bogged down by multiple initiatives because you have to be all things to everybody. You have to know a little bit about a lot of things.”

Turk said she would start using the city’s strategic plan, and would go further into the community and identify the goals of what people want us to focus on time on.

“Do we need another firefighter station? I really want to know what we need to do. Then we can set our priorities,” Turk said. “With the pool — it’s a funding issue. First we have to decide what we want. I agree with John Spencer, we need to go big or go home. We need a competition pool. We have a need for more sports fields, too. If you build it they will come.

“We have to first get public input and then we have to decide if people are willing to pay for it. How do we get the rest of the people to agree on it, and pay for it. This council is exceptionally good at compromising. They always find a middle point to get things done so everyone gets a little piece of victory.

“I would agree we should have a plan, or an idea of what we should be doing. We also need to have a plan for a firefighter district, or a regional fire authority. It’s essentially a tax for just a fire service. These two things need to happen concurrently.”

Tree

Alicia King addresses the City Council during a public hearing on the Camas Urban Tree Program.

What Are Turk’s Skill Sets?

“Primarily, I’ve worked in government and have done that for 25 years as a budget analyst,” said Turk. “It’s about making recommendations to leadership with full knowledge of the subject. I know this well. I have a way of bringing diverse opinions together and coming to a consensus. I don’t have any problem being yelled at when I know we’re doing the right thing.”

Turk, a mother of two adult children, Emma, 18, and Lanie, 20, touts her volunteer activities as a basketball and cheer coach. Her family makes a point to deliver meals on Thanksgiving, and encourages her daughters to be involved in the community. As an animal lover, she helps out at West Columbia Gorge Animal Shelter.

She’s worked at City of Vancouver for 11 years, and previously worked for Multnomah County, and for the city of Gresham — in budgeting and as a management analyst. Currently, she oversees warehouse and support staff.

“I’ve had a lot of opportunities to grow professionally and I’ve learned from them,” said Turk. “If we had a good strategic plan, we could make decisions based on that plan. I feel very comfortable having a full-time job and being the mayor. The employees would feel that empowerment.”

Does The Mayor Position Need Full-Time Attention?

“We have a professional administrator, but the mayor administers the policy the council sets, and the administrator does the day-to-day operation of the city,”said Turk. “My job is very flexible. They have been very accommodating of my schedule. As long as I get my work done, and I account for every minute. It would be stressful, but no more stressful that having to come up with the other things I’ve been doing.”

So, what are her top three reasons for running?

1- Opportunity

“I see so much opportunity in Camas,” Turk said. “There are so many things — the community center/pool, which will drive me for a long time. I want to impact the community so that my kids want to come back here. We need to make changes to affordability. We need to have kids and seniors be able to afford to live here. If we had unlimited resources, we could make sure cost of living here is affordable. This is done through zoning and creating incentives for development to include affordable housing. I want to do this to make the community better.”

2- Professional Growth

“It’s just closely tied to opportunity and having a sense that I left the world better,” Turk said. “I’ve always worked for the councilor-manager form of government, aka ‘weak mayor’ so in a way being a councilor has prepared me as I’ve been exposed to multiple facets of city administration. I’ve learned a lot about policy and administration and the differences.”

3- Legacy Building

“I want to make the world a better place,” said Turk. “I want to build something that will outlive me. It’s about legacy building. I just want to be in the room when it happens. I want to be part of the decision-making. I’d like to get more people engaged in the community and to be more face-to-face. I think we’re also missing civility.”

Day One

Turk said the city has a public relations problem, and as mayor would encourage more face-to-face ward meetings.

“Hazen’s (former city councilor) resignation last year created a distrust,” said Turk. “We just need to become more transparent, and engage the citizens more. Have more meetings where you bring citizens in, and explain what we do. There’s a general distrust of government across the country. We need to explain how we do our work. This needs to be explained to the people. To get to truth is to come up with a plan, decide what it is, and then actually follow through and do it. Stick to the plan, and do what you say you’re going to do.”

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Camas Kindness Week: Local DECA Campaign a Major Success

Camas, WA — The Camas DECA Club organized a successful “Keep It Kind” public relations campaign this week, begining with getting the City Council to declare November 9 as a city-wide “Kindness Day” and ending with the signing of 1,000 Kindness contracts at Camas High School.

The objective of the campaign, which encompassed six schools, was to remind people that kindness matters, especially in the wake of school shootings in Parkland, FL and so many other schools and locations in the United States.

“Personally, I learned how important kindness is to so many people our community,” said Skylar Becerra, a DECA Club leader. “It’s a universal concept and the overwhelming support from everyone we came across gave was astounding and how so many people felt it was missing in our society.”

Kindness activities included the following:

  • A red out (which ended up getting huge participation).
  • Be the Change Club (Becerra’s and Amie Beld’s random acts of kindness club) holding all entrance doors open and when students came in we told them good morning and gave them a slip of paper with a kindness challenge to compliment two people in the next 10 minutes.
  • At lunches club leaders walked around with contracts and bracelets and talked to people at tables.
  • Had a booth set up at lunches and people could come up sign contracts and spin a wheel for different prizes while we talked about kindness.
  • All the kindness contracts that were signed during the week were put on a wall, and people could go up and try to find theirs.
  • Throughout the week, DECA worked with another student to promote writing letters to deployed troops and got the three biggest clubs to help participate.
Kindness

www.resultsfitnesstraining.com

“The Kindness Contract was a means to earn the Keep It Kind bracelets at the high school and in the community,” said Becerra. “At First Friday and all week at the high school during lunches we ran a booth and when people can up we told them what we are doing and a little about reminding them to be kind and had them sign a kindness contract to serve as a reminder to be kind and got the bracelet. We had 1,000 and ended up running out on Friday. We also had these hung on a wall at lunch.”

 

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Early Election Results: Local GOP Maintains Power; Some Races Tight

Vancouver, WA — According to early election results, local Republicans will maintain power with wins in many key races, from the 3rd Congressional district to state and local seats. The race for Clark County Council Chair, however, is led by Democrat Eric K. Holt, who currently holds a 1,200 lead over Republican Eileen Quiring.

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, with 52.2 percent, is likely to win her relection bid against Carolyn Long. Herrera Beutler spoke to supporters and volunteers in Vancouver following election returns. Long outspent Herrera Beutler by more than $1 million.

“People know truth when they see it,” said Herrera Beutler. “Just let me say thank you, thank you, we have an awesome team heading to the State Legislature. We have a daunting task ahead but I look forward to this fight and many others alongside you for the people of this region and this country. Thank you so much and God bless.”

Asked what the national results say about the mood of the nation, Herrera Beutler said: “I do feel like folks here in SW Washington want a representative who’s a local representative who focuses on local issues.”

Political newcomer, Larry Hoff, a Republican, is embarking on his second career following 35 years working for credit unions. He will likely serve in the LD 18, Pos. 2 seat which is currently being vacated by Representative Liz Pike.

“I feel great, I’m one-for-one,” said Hoff. “It feels great. It’s a reflection on all the work we did, and all the volunteers. We’re ready to get to work. I’m excited to go to work and be part of solutions, common sense solutions. I learned that you cannot do this alone, and I’m excited about the fact that we had a wonderful team.”

His opponent, Kathy Gillespie, a Democrat, is losing her second bid for this seat. It was a tough night for her.

“I feel grateful to all of our supporters and the people who worked for the campaign these past 15 minutes who demonstrated their support,” said Gillespie. “I think sometimes progress comes slower than we want to see it come. Certainly, I would have preferred to see a different vote total tonight, but we’re proud of the work that we’ve done.”

Election

Eric K. Holt holds a slight lead over opponent, Eileen Quiring.

State Representative Brandon Vick, LD 18, Pos. 1, a Republican, handily won his seat and said he looks forward to working on the next budget.

”We have a lot of work to do on McCleary,” said Vick. “And we promised voters we’d lower their property taxes.”

Eric K. Holt holds a 1,200 point lead, and he was cautiously optimistic at the Democrat event.

”What this is telling me is that we’re still really a divided country and that we need to do a lot of healing,” said Holt. “I will bring us back together as a county, as a country so we can work together as Americans.”

Temple Lentz, a Democrat, is handily winning her race for Clark County Council.

State Rep. Vicki Kraft, 17th LD holds a slight lead over Tanisha Harris. Clark County Assessor, Peter Van Nortwick, handily won his reelection, as did State Rep. Paul Harris, also a Republican.

“I feel grateful we’re in the winning position,” said Kraft. “We are up by 500 votes, which is exactly where we were in 2016, and we just continued to trend up, so I’m really thankful for the support …”

Stay tuned for updates on these close races.

 

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Camas Mayor Pro Tem Declares November 9 as Kindness Day

Camas, WA — As part of the Camas DECA weeklong Kindness public relations campaign, City of Camas leaders declared Friday, November 9 as “Kindness Day” in an official city proclamation Monday night.

The campaign is in response to the shootings at Parkland, FL and other schools across the country in an effort to remind people that “kindness matters.”

Skyler Becerra and Amie Beld from DECA received the proclamation from Camas Mayor Pro Tem, Don Chaney.

Chaney said this campaign “captures where we all want to be in our hearts.”

After receiving the proclamation both Beld and Becerra addressed the council.

”This campaign promotes kindness, and overall our goal is to be able to have a safer and kinder community within Camas for all citizens,” said Beld.

The DECA campaign is working with six schools across Camas.

”Each of whom are running a kindness day or kindness week currently, right now, to help encourage and impact younger students and help form habits that can impact them for the rest of their lives …,” said Becerra.

DECA member Caden Wengler handed out special bracelets to council members and those in attendance as a reminder to be kind.

Camas High School is penning letters to veterans and doing lunchtime activities to reach out to students in their campaign.

Kindness

 

 

 

THE OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION

”WHEREAS, our days are often filled with information regarding school violence, crime and disaster in the world, often causing feelings of sadness and fear; and

“WHEREAS, kindness is something that can be improved on at all ages and levels of life, it is important to act to create a kinder environment for everyone within the Camas community; and

“WHEREAS, the support of the community and government leaders know that citizen support is one of the most effective ways to improve kindness within our communities; and

“WHEREAS, the daily acts of kindness that occur in our community are largely unseen and ignored; and

“WHEREAS, by recognizing these acts of kindness, all members of our community will be made aware of the importance of being kind to others throughout the year; and

“WHERAS, the purpose of Kindness Day is to remember the simplest acts of kindness that allow our community to be kinder, and safer place to live our lives; and

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, Don Chaney, Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Camas, do hereby proclaim November 9, 2018 as:

“KINDNESS DAY”

“In the City of Camas, and urge all citizens to join me in spreading kindness, generosity and respect of others at all times.”

Jewelry

 

 

 

PHOTO GALLERY

 

 

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Canyon Creek Middle School Plays Host to Parents in the Classroom

Washougal, WA – Canyon Creek Middle School parents and special guests experienced “A Day in the Life” of their students on Monday, October 29 at the seventh annual “CCMS Take Your Parent to School Day.”

“The goal is to bring these parents in for first-hand experience in the classrooms and to see what their students are learning and how they are being taught,” said CCMS principal, Sandi Christensen. “It’s great for them to see our wonderful teachers in action and get the chance to spend this time with their middle school child.”

Christensen said she hopes this time together will help promote conversations at home about friends, teachers, classes and what students are learning.

“Once parents see their student in their element here they can be better able to provide support in their education,” she said.

More than one-third of CCMS students had an adult accompany them to classes.  “It was our most well attended parent day yet,” Christensen said.

Parents were not the only ones who took part in the day with many grandparents, aunts, uncles and other special adults in attendance.

Jemtegaard Middle School held their parent day on October 25, 2018. The Washougal School District will continue to do these events.

 

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Washougal Technical Education Connects With Business Leaders

Washougal WA – Washougal area employers, business leaders and educators came together for an evening of collaboration on October 25 at Washougal High School to help the Washougal School District (WSD) Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department leverage existing school programs to prepare the future workforce.

“Businesses are asking us for skilled workers,” said WSD CTE Director, Margaret Rice.  “We want them to understand the current work being done and the programs offered here to prepare our students for their post-secondary education and careers. An important step in this process is to create meaningful standards that, once met, demonstrate to potential employers that this student has learned the skills needed to be successful in a specific industry.”

Keynote speaker Brock Smith, from Precision Exams and Industry Engaged, explained to the nearly 50 attendees that standards are the common language between industry and schools to help quantify the education experience for employers.

“We need industry to be involved and help to set these standards to assist in shaping curriculum and prepare students to be the future workforce,” he said.

Establishing meaningful standards is where Industry Engaged, an online survey program comes into play.

“Employers can use this tool to become a part of the ongoing review and revision of the standards, assessments and available certificates of more than 170 CTE offerings,” Smith explained.  “This ensures that by the time a student has earned a certificate, or a stackable credential, that the knowledge and skills employers desperately need are represented and recognized by those very same employers.”

“I felt the evening was successful,” said Rice. “Creating meaningful opportunities for business and industry folks to partner with education has not been an easy endeavor, with the typical ask being more than most can give.”  Rice pointed out that this industry engagement tool is not only simple to participate in, it’s easy to pass on to others.  “It also provides the added bonus of a direct benefit to students by way of certifications,” she said. “It’s a win-win-win all the way around.”

According to Smith, the ability to connect industry and education with a tool to review and give input on standards will result in teachers teaching and students learning the skills employers look for when making hiring decisions. “When businesses dedicate time to review education standards in subjects their future workers are learning, it benefits more than just their business; it helps our local economy, is a tremendous help for educators and is a great advantage for students,” Smith said.

CTE

Culinary students prepared the dinner.

“Helping a student discover an aptitude and area of interest early in their education provides greater purpose, empowers them, builds confidence and brings meaning to learning,” Rice said.  “It answers the question every student has, ‘When am I ever going to use this?’ because they apply their learning in a practical way that links to their career pathway which keeps them more engaged.”

That engagement is why research shows that CTE students graduate at a 12 percent higher rate than those students who are not CTE concentration completers (360 hours of CTE instruction in one focus CTE area of study).  The positive impact of a high school graduate on a local economy is significant and measurable in increased consumer spending and an increase in contributed state and local taxes.

The evening was sponsored by current business partners.  Harry White from Waddell and Reed sponsored the dinner and Heather Jones and Starbucks sponsored the coffee bar.  The event was staffed with skilled WHS students from Advanced Culinary who planned, prepared and served the dinner, by Future Business Leaders of America members who welcomed guests and assisted participants with signing in. Even the artistic table centerpieces were created by Fine Arts Woodworking and Metals Craft & Production students.

“Our goal this evening was to help bring awareness to local businesses of the programs we offer as well as our work to connect classroom learning with the skills businesses are looking for in their employees,” said Rice. “Input from local industry coupled with recognition of the Career Skills certificates adds tangible value for students as it directly ties the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to a pathway leading to high-demand jobs with local employers.”

Rice is working with her teachers to expand WSD local partnerships to gain insight into the needs of industry. One way they are doing this is through their Program Advisory Committees. These committees focus on providing direction, help to set and achieve goals, and assist in accessing resources to support students within specific program areas within the CTE Department.

“We have found that the key to developing the future workforce is connecting employers with the right students and job candidates early in their educational process,” Rice said. “We also want employers to see the validity of these certifications and give students who have met the standards they have helped develop an opportunity to show them what they know maybe through a professional interview or internship.”

To learn more or to become involved in the engagement process asked of local employers, visit https://industryengaged.org/   If you have questions, ideas or want to get involved in Washougal CTE initiatives, contact Rice at (360)954-3121, margaret.rice@washougalsd.org

/0 Comments/by