Camas Schools: A Tradition of Caring and Quality

Take a few minutes to view this video which highlights the significant support our students have received from our community. Images from the Two Rivers Heritage Museum, and the Camas Community Center are included with interviews from Burt Duncan, Gail Welsh, Doug Quinn, and, of course, Mel Cardon. From our earliest days of educating students through our outstanding programs today, we have much for which to be thankful. 



This video was produced by ESD 112 and can be seen on TV ECT Comast channel 28.

Camas Transportation Ridership Week: October 1-7, 2010

School districts in the State of Washington receive funding based on the number of students who utilize busing services. Each fall, districts conduct a ridership count for one week. This count is used to report average student ridership to Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. If the Camas School District regularly transports your student, please have them ride the bus to school during the week of October 1-7, 2010.

If you have questions, contact the Transportation Department at 833-5585.

Way to Go, Ms. Clark!

Camas High School teacher Melanie Clark was one of 40 teachers nationwide chosen to participate in a food science workshop developed and implemented in a partnership between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the Graduate School at Washington DC. The one-week workshop for middle and high school science and family and consumer science teachers took place in Washington, DC, this summer.

The workshop is part of the FDA/NSTA Professional Development Program in Food Science, a sustained effort that also features curriculum implementation, a follow-up conference, and participant-led workshops. The goal of the program is to educate teachers and students about critical food safety issues such as foodborne illnesses by exploring the science behind them. The program arms teachers with a unique new topic and curriculum with which to teach science. In addition, participants learn about nutrition and food allergies from FDA experts and receive nutrition material to help teach their students how to use the Nutrition Facts Label to make better food choices.

At the workshop, teacher participants learned firsthand about the development and spread of foodborne illnesses; the vulnerability of at-risk populations; and the science behind safe food handling, storage, and preparation. These teachers also learned how to better use the Nutrition Facts Label to assess the nutritional value of foods. In addition, the teachers talked with scientists from FDA and conducted laboratory experiments at the University of Maryland to further increase their understanding of food science.

For example, the teachers investigated how a single bacteria cell can multiply to millions in just a few hours, and they observed how different temperatures (heating, room temperature, chilling, and freezing) affect the growth of bacteria. The teachers explored these concepts by putting their culinary skills to the test. After cooking hamburgers to various temperatures, the teachers tested them for bacteria and other organisms that cause disease.

The food science program is centered on a standards-based curriculum developed by FDA in partnership with NSTA. The Science and Our Food Supply curriculum is available at no charge to any middle level or high school science teacher; it explores the science behind the production, transportation, storage, and preparation of our nation’s food supply, and contains a video, hands-on experiments and activities, and evaluation tools. Other parts of the curriculum explore little-known facts about food science that affect millions of people every day, such as how the passage of time affects the nutritional value of produce, the likelihood of certain foods to cause foodborne illness more than others, and reasons why salt serves as a good preservative. 

Healthy Youth Survey

It is fall and that means many of our middle school and high school students will be asked to participate in the Washington State Healthy Youth Survey which measures health risk behaviors that contribute to morbidity, mortality, and social problems among youth in Washington State. 2010 marks the twelfth year of the statewide survey of Washington's students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12.

The results gathered are an important source of needs-assessment data for school districts, community-based organizations, local health and human service agencies, and state agencies. The results are used to monitor the health status of adolescents and track progress on state and federal education and health-related goals. The information from the Healthy Youth Survey may be used to identify trends in patterns of behavior over time. 

Click here for more information.

CEF Auction Tickets Available Now!

The Camas Educational Foundation is proud to present the 12th Annual Auction on Saturday, October 23, at Camas Meadows Golf Club. Tickets for the event are just $35. This year’s raffle winner will receive a one-week stay in Hawaii; tickets for the raffle are only $10. Event registration and raffle tickets are available online at www.cefcamas.org.

Over the past eleven years, CEF has given over $740,000 to Camas Schools: $267,500 through its strategic grant program and over $475,000 in "mini-grants." The 2009 auction brought in more than $61,000 which is distributed directly to teachers and students for innovation in the district.

Seeking Name Suggestions

The Camas School District has broken ground on the new east-side elementary school. This building is set to open in the fall of 2013. Planning Principal Jan Strohmaier is looking for your input on naming our newest school. If you have any ideas, please let us know in this web survey:

Take the survey.

The survey responses will be collected until Monday, September 27, 2010.

District seeks advisory committee members

In preparation for the new school year, the Camas School District is seeking volunteers to serve on the district’s Citizens Advisory Committee. CAC consists of 18-25 school district patrons who advise school administrators and board members on a variety of issues.

Meetings are held the first Monday of each month during the school year. Interested citizens are encouraged to visit the next CAC meeting on October 4, 2010, at Helen Baller Elementary School, 1954 NE Garfield Street, at 5:30 p.m.

Applications to CAC can be completed at the meeting, online at www.camas.wednet.edu or by contacting Lynette Marshall at 833-5412. All completed applications should be returned to the Camas School District Administration Center by no later than Wednesday, October 1, and will be forwarded to the School Board for appointment.

Thanks to WaferTech Employees!

Employees at WaferTech have demonstrated their generous support of our Camas scholars by donating essential school supplies for our students in need. For several years the staff at WaferTech have participated in this employee-driven cause.

Pictured above are CSD administrators accepting this gracious donation. Thank you for your support!

Lacamas Lake Cleanup

Join our community of service leaders in the annual Lacamas Lake Cleanup!

Saturday, September 18, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Meet at the Heritage Trail boat launch parking lot on Lake Road. Click here for more information.