CHS Students Athletes Set Personal Best

Grade point averages (GPA’s) at Camas High School hit an all-time high for the 2008-09 school year. Among the 371 varsity student athletes, the average GPA is 3.38. Way to go Papermakers!

Sport – GPA (Number of varsity students)

Fall
Cheer - 3.22 (12)
Boys Cross Country - 3.56 (9)
Girls Cross Country - 3.56 (9)
Dance - 3.22 (18)
Football - 3.06 (49)
Boys Golf - 3.38 (12)
Boys Tennis - 3.11 (23)
Volleyball - 3.57 (11)
Girls Soccer - 3.5 (20)
Girls Swim - 3.74 (19)

Winter
Boys Basketball - 3.07 (12)
Girls Basketball - 3.38 (12)
Gymnastics - 3.37 (17)
Boys Swimming - 3.31 (22)
Wrestling - 3.11 (22)

Spring
Baseball - 3.26 (16)
Girls Golf - 3.50 (7)
Boys Soccer - 3.45 (19)
Girls Softball - 3.32 (16)
Girls Tennis - 3.40 (9)
Boys Track - 3.55 (18)
Girls Track - 3.40 (19)

Volunteering, Raising Awareness

CHS senior Alyssa Everett is volunteering at the Southwest Washington Humane Society in conjunction with her senior project. In an effort to raise awareness about animal adoptions, Alyssa is promoting a how-to flyer detailing process and hours of operation. Click here to view the flyer.

Skyridge Student Earns Grant

A team Skyridge students spent a Saturday in April at the Student Environmental Leadership Forum (SELF), a free all-day student conference held at Clark College in Vancouver, WA. Sponsored by Clark County Solid Waste Program, attendees learned about a variety of environmental topics and leadership development skills through multiple educational sessions. The goal of SELF was that students gain a greater knowledge about environmental topics and leadership skills to enable them to create ‘action plans’ with solutions for environmental issues within their community.

This month brought about an opportunity to apply for a mini-grant of up to $500 for the “action plan” projects they had developed through the SELF Forum. Seventh grader and Green Team member Allison Emmet wrote and was awarded the full $500 funding for her “Envirotote Lunchbag” project. She will be using the money to purchase cloth lunch bags with the Skyridge colors and name for students to purchase. Allison hopes this will cut down on the amount of lunch garbage generated each day by students. Since the bags are washable and reusable, Allison is looking forward to a positive reaction to this example of practicing good environmental stewardship.

Romp Around the Lake

Camas High School seniors Rachel Pierce, Bailey Johnson, and Shayna Nerland are hosting a fundraiser run to raise funds throught the O Ambassador program to build either a school or a water well in East Africa. The run will take place on May 9 at 8 AM. Click the link below for more information.

http://www.camas.wednet.edu/district/press_room/romp_around_lake.pdf

Camas HS Science Olympiad Team Places 3rd

The Camas High School Science Olympiad Team took home the third place trophy, for the second year in a row, at the State Tournament at Clark College on April 18. The team performed tremendously, and several talented Camas students took home first place medals, with a narrow 15 points separating the top three teams.

Camas High School teacher and Science Olympiad coach Ron Wright has done an outstanding job building the program from its infancy just three years ago to becoming a state level competitor. In addition to the high school team, Wright led the effort to create both elementary and middle school Science Olympiad teams. In fact, Liberty Middle School also qualified for the state competition and took home several medals.

“In three short years we have established ourselves as one of the premier teams in the state,” commented Wright. “Congratulations to the team, parents, and Camas School District staff.”

Events included: Cell Biology, Disease Detectives, Ecology , Health Science, Herpetology, Astronomy, Dynamic Planet, Fossils, Remote Sensing, It’s About Time, Physics Lab, Trajectory, Chem Lab, Environmental Chemistry, Forensics, Egg-O-Naut, Electric Vehicle, Elevated Bridge, Junkyard Challenge, Experimental Design, Picture This, Technical Problem Solving, and Write It Do It.

Science Olympiad is a team competition that encourages high school and middle school students to apply their technical knowledge and abilities. The Camas High School team formed in 2006 and has competed at the state level each year, taking third at the State competition in 2007 and first in the past three regional competitions.

Safety Night at Prune Hill

The Prune Hill Elementary PTA would like to invite Camas elementary families to an event organized in honor of National Internet Safety Week. This free Safety Night will be held on Wednesday, April 29, 6 - 8 PM at Prune Hill Elementary.

Representatives from the Camas Police Department, Vancouver Computer Forensics, and the YWCA will present information to parents about the Registered Sex Offender Program and Internet Safety. Meanwhile, East West Premier Martial Arts and Clark County Sheriff's Office will keep children busy teaching them about Stranger Danger, Water Safety and Bike Safety.

Light Humor, Serious Music

Combining the warm sonority of the Double Bass with the soaring melodic beauty of the Cello, the Bottom Line Duo tastefully and artfully presents a concert for all ages and musical backgrounds. Fans have come to expect a concert program that is masterful, warm-hearted, charming, entertaining, and educational. Concert goers are delighted to share with Spencer and Traci Hoveskeland the great diversity in music, from classical to modern works, and are amazed at what these two instruments are capable of. Don’t be surprised if Mozart is followed by Duke Ellington!

Click here for a Liberty MS Fundraiser Coupon.

Tiffani Pekkala Blood Drive

Tiffani Pekkala, an eighth grade student at Liberty Middle School, was diagnosed with Primary Immune Deficiency Disease, four years ago. This means her body is unable to make antibodies to protect her from infection, and as a result she has infusions twice weekly.

In Tiffani's Honor, Liberty Middle School, in cooperation with the American Red Cross, will hold a blood drive on Tuesday, April 28, from 2 -7 PM at Liberty.

If you would like to donate, schedule your appointment by visiting www.givelife.org and use “libertyschool” as the code. You can also contact Bette-Jo Poser by phone at 833-4673 or by e-mail at bjposer@hotmail.com.

Liberty Student Brings Home Gold

Over spring break, Liberty seventh grader Nick McAfee won first All-Around at the Region 2 Men's Gymnastics Championship in Bozeman, Montana. His received gold medals for high bar, parallel bars, floor, rings, plus the all-around gold. He also received the bronze medal for pommel horse. This is Nick's third consecutive year to win the title. He also hold the AA Regional Championship for the last two years. Congratulations Nick!

Papermakers Rocking D-Town

The Camas High School Marching Band spent spring break in Disneyland where they marched in the Disneyland parade. Band Director Richard Mancini reports that the parade went very well despite a bout of illness among some of the band members. They were allowed to take part in a great Disney workshop “recording session” where they received compliments from Disney’s clinician and stage managers.

The students also toured Universal Studios, spent a night on Catalina Island, and ended the trip with a tour of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood—home of the Academy Awards.



“The kids were fantastic on the whole trip and represented the state of Washington with the highest standards of behavior,” remarked Mancini.

Superintendent Mike Nerland was visiting his daughter in California and took in the parade. “The CHS band gave a stellar performance, and Mr. Mancini does fantastic work with the kids,” commented Nerland. “Camas really has something to be very proud of in our marching band.”

The band trip was paid for through fundraisers and the Associated Student Body (ASB) fund.

Photo Credits: Greg Anderson, Hank Garner, Laurie Kepfer, Cherrie Melton, and Jody Pieters. Thanks for sharing your photos!

New Boundary Exception Request Timeline

The Camas School District normally begins the annual boundary exception process each summer, making decisions in late August in order to accommodate the influx of new students typically seen just before the beginning of school. Due to the fact that enrollment growth has leveled off in recent years, and in light of anticipated budget cuts, the district has moved up the boundary process for certain groups of students. This accelerated schedule will allow principals to staff their schools efficiently while providing families a higher level of consistency and assurance for the year to come.

Click the link to view detailed information about the boundary process, timelines, and frequently asked questions: Boundary Exception Facts and FAQ.

Community Education Summer Opportunities

Are you wondering how you or your students will fill the long weeks of summer? You may have heard that the Camas School District was not able to include its summer school program in the budget this year, but fear not! In addition to the plethora of classes already to be found in the Community Education catalogue, plans are well underway for a summer, day-camp style set of classes for students entering grades one through eight. Kids will have the opportunity to sign up for one class or a set of classes that can fill a six-hour day. The camp will take place during the last two weeks of July and will be located at Liberty Middle School.

So if you have an elementary or middle school student who needs an exciting and fun camp this summer, or if you have a talent and would like to be become a Community Education instructor, contact Mary Weishaar or Karen Rudolph at 954-3836.

Please note: Camas High School will still offer the summer credit recovery program.

Dancers Wow Competition

The Camas High School Papershakers dance team returned from state dance competition in Yakima with a second place in the Pom category! They also placed third out of six teams in dance category beating both Columbia River and Union. They received an Exceptional rating in Pom and Excellent ratings in Hip Hop and Dance categories.

These girls represented Camas High School well and are making a name for themselves as a competitive dance team! Way to go, Papershakers!

CHS Mock Trial Team Prevails

The Camas High School Mock Trial team set a new personal best for themselves over spring break at the YMCA Mock Trial Competition. They claimed first place in Clark County while beating worthy opponent Ft. Vancouver High School for the very first time. The competition placed Camas ranked fourth in among public schools in the state and ninth overall.

“Camas has never made it into the top 10 at state,” commented coach Jackie Hofer. “And they are bound and determined to be in the top 5 next year!”

Camas had a bevy of accolades including nominations of seven out of eight witnesses for Best Witness—more than any other team at state. Additionally, three of five attorneys were nominated for Best Attorney.

“The kids were amazing and considering two-thirds have never participated in the program before… well, we were proud!” Hofer added.

The trip was smooth, the kids were great. Thank you all for your support along the way. Those Camas kiddos really are impressive!

Saying Goodbye to Baller

How can you say, “Goodbye,” to the old Helen Baller building? It is simple! Make plans to stop by the old building on Saturday, May 16, between 11 AM – 3 PM to bid farewell at our community event. Staff, students, and parents have a number of festivities planned for that day including slideshows, historical scrapbooks, and a community photo in front of the school at 1 PM. Absolutely everyone in town is invited! If you or someone you know has had any involvement with Helen Baller Elementary in its 50+ year history, tell them to come at 1 PM and take part. During the open house we are encouraging visitors to write their thoughts and memories on the walls, floors, and ceilings. So don’t miss this event, and be sure to tell your friends, families, and acquaintances.

Whole Foods Market Hosts 5% Day for Camas Roots

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 8, when the Vancouver Whole Foods Market will host a 5% Day for the Camas Roots Garden. On that day five percent from all purchases will be donated to the garden project, which is located next to JDZ Elementary and serves students from preschool to high school. As part of the 5% Day, Camas Roots will be featuring a garden story time from 10-11 AM and will have information about the garden on display during the day. We hope to see you at Whole Foods Market (164th and SE Mill Plain) on April 8!