School notes for May 17, 2016

Excelsior names Student on Fire Kasey Edwards is the Student on Fire at Excelsior High School for March. "He has worked extremely hard to earn the credits needed for graduation," a press release stated. "Kasey decided to return to school to finish his education and complete the work for his diploma. The staff is so proud of his efforts and will miss his enthusiasm and friendliness." The press release added that Edwards' smile and determination to graduate has inspired others. "Kasey has represented Excelsior at School Board meetings and he exemplifies what the EHS mission statement is all about. We will certainly miss him." Reiter earns master's degree Jason Reiter of Camas has earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University. A commencement ceremony was held May 8. Reiter will continue work to obtain a PhD at Pennsylvania State, which is funded by a fellowship awarded by the Department of Defense. His parents are Adam and Dawn Reiter. CHS student earns Donna Roberge Scholarship A Camas High School senior is one of four Clark County students selected to each receive a $1,500 scholarship from YWCA Clark County in support of their future educational endeavors. Papermaker Corinne Bintz was awarded the Donna Roberge Scholarship and will attend Middlebury College. Other winners include Gabrielle Apana of Evergreen High School who was awarded the Soroptimist International of Vancouver Scholarship and will attend UCLA, Baochau Tran of Heritage High School who was awarded the Friends of YWCA Young Woman of Achievement Scholarship and will attend the University of Washington, and Kaitlyn Hill of Vancouver iTech Preparatory who was awarded the Soroptimist International of Southwest Washington Scholarship and will attend Seattle University. Each student has contributed extensive volunteer hours to their schools, local nonprofits, faith-based organizations and their community as a whole. YWCA Clark County has been honoring young women with its annual educational scholarship award in recognition for exemplary volunteerism, commitment to community, and leadership since 1985. Camas School District wins communication awards The Camas School District was one of several ESD 112 districts recognized in an awards ceremony by the Washington School Public Relations Association at its annual conference. Camas garnered awards for its annual report and excellence in writing. Clark College may offer new bachelor's degree program Clark College received approval earlier this month from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to offer a new bachelor of applied science degree in applied management. Next, Clark is seeking approval from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, the college's regional accrediting body, to offer and begin the applied management program in January 2017. "This is an exciting and important step towards being able to give more students access to a bachelor's degree program that is relevant, affordable, and available where they live and work," said Dr. Tim Cook, vice president of instruction at Clark College. "Students who earn this degree increase their opportunities to advance in their careers, earn higher wages and salaries, and to start and own businesses. These are all vital to the health and economic stability of our region." The BAS in applied management is designed for students who have completed an associate in applied science or associate in applied technology degree. The program combines technical, academic, and professional courses to help students earn a bachelor's degree that provides the applied managerial knowledge and expertise employers are seeking. The program structure includes in-person, online, and hybrid evening classes that allow students to earn a bachelor's degree in as little as two years. This would be the college's second applied baccalaureate degree program. Last year, Clark began offering a BAS in dental hygiene to provide additional job opportunities to students while adding few additional courses to their degree plan. The BAS degree program availability at community and technical colleges is the result of legislative efforts that began in 2005 with the passage of House Bill 1794. In 2010, the Legislature moved the program out of pilot status as part of SSB 6355, the system design plan bill, and removed the limitation on the number of colleges that could offer the programs. New BAS degree programs must address the following areas: regional student and employer demand with an emphasis on serving place-bound students, alignment with existing programs offered by the college, a rigorous curriculum, qualified faculty, appropriate student services, and capacity to make a long-term commitment of resources. Local students honored at recognition event The American Association of University Women recently held their annual high school scholars' recognition event at Washington State University Vancouver. There, local young women were honored for their talent in science, math and technology. The guest speaker was Catherine Darley, whose topic was, "Advocating for Teen Sleep, Health and Academics." Local students honored were Holly Eriksen, Kaitlin T. Eck and Emily Apple of Washougal High School, and Sabine Postma, Rachel Duquette and Grace Rouleau of Camas High School. CHS DECA students place in the top 10 Camas High School DECA students recently returned from competition at their international DECA conference. Three Papermakers placed in the top 10 in their competitive categories. Cameron Vega and Noah White were in the top 10 in the automotive services category while Kendall Mooney placed in the top 10 in restaurant management. It was the third time in four years that Vega has placed in the top three. Other finalists who completed the first day of competition to compete in the finals were Kevin Chen, Jack Kelly, Quentin Lebeau, Michael Jurna, Amanda Lebowsky, Kendra Horvath, Satya Hariharan, Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, Luke Huckvale and Ben Peterson. Students competed in role play and written events against some of the top marketing students from the U.S. and Canada. Each competitive category had approximately 130 competitors, which was then trimmed down to 20 for a final round of competition. In the final round of competition, the top 10 students were awarded medals and the top three received plaques.

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