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December 25, 2012
School notes for Dec. 25, 2012
Camas resident makes dean's list Cameron Kwan, a second-year student in Rochester Institute of Technology College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, has made the dean’s list for the fall 2012 quarter.
Camas resident makes dean's list Cameron Kwan, a second-year student in Rochester Institute of Technology College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, has made the dean’s list for the fall 2012 quarter.
"It is better to give than receive," is a common phrase. But what does it really mean? Cape Horn-Skye Elementary School fourth-graders found out when they participated in "The Giving Tree Project," which allowed them to help the less fortunate at Open House Ministries in Vancouver. The students made crafts and ornaments in class. Then, they held a craft fair at the school holiday concert where parents "purchased" their creations by donating food and clothing for people in need, instead of paying with money. Their efforts netted more than 850 items.
The Camas-Washougal Rotary Club kicked off its Gift of Words project Nov. 30 at Gause Elementary School in Washougal. The club delivered nearly 700 dictionaries; giving one to every third-grader in Camas and Washougal. Rotarians across the U.S. participate in the Gift of Words Project to promote literacy in their local communities. The project in Clark County is sponsored by iQ Credit Union, US Bank, Columbia Vista Corporation and local Rotary clubs. In total, $9,000 was raised to help provide more than 5,000 dictionaries to students in 58 Clark County schools. Out of the 14 regions in Rotary District 5100, the Clark County region gives out more dictionaries than any of the other districts, according to the organization. Locally, dictionaries were presented by members of the Camas-Washougal Rotary along with Camas Superintendent Mike Nerland and Washougal Superintendent Dawn Tarzian.
At some point in the not-to-distant future, all-day kindergarten could be required from every school district in the state. In an effort to prepare for this, the Washougal School District conducted an informal building capacity study at all of its schools. All of the schools are currently well below design capacity, but utilizing that space would mean making decisions on how to use that space most effectively. Design capacity is defined as all places where a teaching station could be placed. "The district has to decide what is protected educational space," said Dawn Tarzian, superintendent. "Such as, music will have a space, but art will be taught in the regular classroom. If we have an influx of kids, we need to make decisions on where they will go. Sometimes you see classrooms on a stage or in the cafeteria, and we have to decide how long we'll run things until capacity is reached and we need to expand. We need to get the kids out of those portables and build the space to fit the capacity needs."
Camas resident makes dean's list Lisa Nicholson has been named to the annual dean’s list at the University of Washington. To be named to the annual list, a student must earn quarterly dean's list honors for three of four quarters. Nicholson is from Camas.
Two local elementary schools have made the prestigious statewide, "Schools of Distinction" list. The awards were created by the Center for Educational Effectiveness in the summer of 2007, to recognize the highest improving schools in the state. This year, Grass Valley Elementary in Camas and Cape Horn-Skye Elementary in Washougal were honored. "The awards are not designed as a replacement for state and federal accountability measure of school performance, but rather as a supplemental measure to recognize and celebrate school staff, students and leadership who improve performance for all students over a sustained period of time," stated the CEE website.
Several Washougal High School band and choir students were recently accepted into the annual National Association for Music Educator's All-Northwest/All-State honor groups. This is the largest combined group of students from WHS to qualify.
Locals perform in 'The Nutcracker' Local residents Hannah Gutkind, Molly Bartley and Lizzie Schneider will perform with Columbia Dance in the holiday classic, “The Nutcracker,” on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14 to 16 at the Royal Durst Theatre, 3101 Main St. Vancouver.
WHS cross country booklet seeks advertising The Washougal High cross country team head coach Terry Howard is seeking advertisers as a fundraiser with "End of Season" results booklets.
Most of us will never know what it is like to stand shivering on a cold street, homeless, with nowhere to go.But for some, it's a way of life. Washougal High School senior Cheyenne Dady wants to make the winter a little more bearable by collecting new and gently used hats, scarves, coats and mittens for those in need. "I wanted to help the homeless in our community," she said. "Last year, I handed out coats to the homeless with my church, and really enjoyed it."