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Schools

December 18, 2012
Grass Valley Elementary School kindergarten teacher Ellen Keller and her students participate in an interactive math lesson. Grass Valley has been named a statewide "School of Distinction," for improving performance for all students.

Schools recognized for high improvement

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.

December 18, 2012
WHS band and choir students accepted into the annual National Association for Music Educator's All-Northwest/All-State honor groups include, back row, from left: WHS band teacher Kelly Ritter, Riley Miller, Austin Smith-Brown, Bret Wade, Zoe West, WHS vocal music teacher Jen Mahorney and Nick Stevens. Front row: Crystal Saltmarsh, Sydney Niemi and Allix Fisher.

WHS performers earn honors

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.

December 13, 2012

School notes for Dec. 4, 2012

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.

December 11, 2012

School notes for Dec. 11, 2012

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.

December 11, 2012
WHS student Cheyene Dady is collecting mittens, scarves, coats and hats for the homeless as a part of her senior project.

WHS senior collecting items for the homeless

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."

December 4, 2012
Umpqua Bank recently donated $2,000 to Jemtegaard Middle School through its "Give Back to School Fund." Pictured here are, left to right, Principal Ron Carlson, parent/nominator Jenny Dayley, student Cameron Dayley, special education teacher Lou Peterson and fund organizer Lori Wick.

Giving back to schools

When parent Jenny Danley clicked "like" on Umpqua Bank's Facebook page, she never imagined it would result in a $2,000 grant for her son's school. But that's exactly what happened. Jemtegaard Middle School in Washougal was randomly selected as one of Umpqua's "Give Back to School Fund" winners. Every "like" generated $1 for the fund, totalling $20,000.

November 27, 2012
The Two Rivers Heritage Museum volunteer Carol Phillips reads the story of Princess White Wing to second-graders from Hathaway Elementary School.

Hathaway Elementary students enjoy new experiences through field trips to downtown Washougal

Hathaway Elementary School students had the chance to connect with their community recently with a fifth-grade field trip to the Washougal Library, Community Center and City Hall, while second-graders visited the Two Rivers Heritage Museum.The fifth-graders from the classrooms of Andy Schlauch, Erin Hayes and Carol Dinnel walked to and from school during the field trip. "It is important for the students to get to know their community," teacher Andy Schlauch said. "This is our second year and it was better than the first. We hope to make it an annual fifth- grade trip that all Hathaway kids look forward to." A highlight for several students was time spent visiting with Mayor Sean Guard.

November 27, 2012

School notes for Nov. 27, 2012

Clark College concerts coming soon The Clark College band and choir groups will present their fall concerts.

November 20, 2012
Students fill a school bus with non-perishable food items during last year's Stuff the Bus food drive, which generated 61,000 pounds of food. Organized by the Camas-Washougal Business Alliance, the effort is a friendly competition between Camas and Washougal high schools and involves students in all grade levels.

Stuff the Bus: Neighbors helping neighbors

An annual food drive that brings together hundreds of kids to help generate thousands of pounds of food for the needy is underway. Stuff the Bus, organized by the Camas-Washougal Business Alliance, is a friendly competition between Camas and Washougal high school students. Each and every school in both cities' school districts participate by collecting donations. Last year, 61,000 pounds of food was raised, and organizers are hoping to top that this year.

November 20, 2012

School notes for Nov. 20, 2012

CYT works under a new name Christian Youth Theater VanPort has changed its name. The new organization is now called Journey Theater Arts Group. Organizers hope the new affiliation will better serve its participants.