School notes for Oct. 9, 2012

Informational session on hosting exchange students set

The Camas/Washougal chapter of AFS International programs is hosting an informal question and answer meeting at Zion Lutheran Church, 824 N.E. Fourth Ave., Camas, on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 6:30.

This meeting is for anyone interested in hosting an exchange student or sending a student to study abroad for the 2013 – 2014 school year.

There will be past and current exchange students attending, along with local representatives. This event is for families, students or anyone who wants to learn more about the AFS program.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact Ruth Ladage, chapter chairwoman at Mladage60@frontier.com or 835-2573.

Skills Center to host luncheon, tour

For the first time in the 2012-2013 school year, the Clark County Skills Center will open its doors to the public on Friday, Oct. 26 for a tour and lunch. It runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Skills Center main campus, 12200 N.E. 28th St., Vancouver.

The tour will give visitors an opportunity to interact with students, learn about the state-of-the-art equipment and technology as well as sample a gourmet lunch in the American Culinary Federation-affiliated Skills Center Restaurant.

To book a reservation, call Jan Strickland at 604-1050, Ext. 2151, by Friday, Oct. 19. The cost for lunch is $5.

The Skills Center is owned and operated by 10 southwest Washington school districts, including Camas and Washougal, and provides technical and professional training programs to prepare high school and college students for the workforce

More than 1,600 pounds of chemicals removed from county schools

Clark County, in cooperation with school districts and Educational Service District 112, has removed more than 1,650 pounds of unwanted or unsafe chemicals from 14 schools this year.

Scott La Bar, senior loss control specialist with ESD 112, said the recent collection effort has made Clark County schools “safer places this year for our staff and students.”

Chemicals were removed from classrooms and other facilities. Participating school districts included Battle Ground, Camas, Evergreen, Hockinson, Ridgefield and Vancouver.

The effort to remove unwanted chemicals from schools dates back to 2003, when the county received a grant from Washington State Department of Ecology to launch a program patterned after King County’s “Rehab the Lab.”

The Clark County program helped school staff identify and dispose of unwanted chemicals. During the first year, more than 2,700 pounds were collected.