Cape Horn-Skye Elementary Students Swing into Golf

Cape Horn-Skye Elementary School 3rd - 5th grade students got into the swing of golfing with a special PE lesson from representatives of the Washington Youth Golf Academy at Camas Meadows on May 21 and 22.

The short golf class gave students basic instruction and practice on how to hold and move the clubs through chip and putt swings.  The instructors were Camas Meadows Golf Pros Bryce Poulin and Chris Garrison, who will work to introduce the game of golf to approximately 3,000 students in several local school district during the 2014-15 school year.  The two used humor and visual cues to help the young golfers understand safety and swing techniques.

Poulin also invited students to participate in the upcoming Junior Demo Day on Saturday, May 30 from 3-5 p.m. at Camas Meadows.  The WYGA event is free to attend and will feature practice aiming at the large inflated Golfzilla, meeting the golf teaching staff, junior club fittings and complimentary ice cream.

“The event is completely free for all youth and the first of our many great WYGA special events at Camas Meadows this summer,” Poulin said.  “The core value of the WYGA is community outreach and providing a place for youth to learn golf and skills for life,” For more information about the WYGA contact Poulin at 833-2000 or at http://camasmeadows.com/EventJuniorDemoDay2015.asp

Cape Horn-Skye Students Give Gift of Hope

Cape Horn-Skye Elementary School students in Darcy Hickey’s third grade class decided to give the gift of hope as a holiday project this year.

“After reading the book The Giving Tree, students discussed how they could give this season,” Hickey explained.  “They decided to write inspirational quotes on paper ornaments and decorate Christmas a tree with them.”  The quotes are intended to encourage those who are hurting and need some words of encouragement.  The tree was delivered to Prestige Care in Camas on Friday, December 19.  Residents and patients are able to visit the Giving Tree and choose an ornament that will help them if they are having a difficult time.

“The tree will make people happy,” said student Leila Tienhaara. “If they are sad or if they have no one to visit them they can go to the tree and read something to make them happy.”

“I have been in tears reading some of the thoughtful words on our tree,” Hickey said.  “I have no doubt these words will make a huge difference in a lot of people’s lives.”

Student Jack Ringo agrees that the tree will help brighten the day of those who may need it. “This is nice because they might be suffering and sick. If they have someone help them get to the tree and read something on it they will cry because they are happy.”

The students researched inspirational quotes from famous people online.  They also came up with their own words to share.  “I like the one that says 'You are a shooting star," said Nikko Speer. “It’s written on a star.  And it is on top of the tree, because it is a star.”

Delivery of the tree became a class field trip when the kids expressed that they would like to go along too.  “I thought it was too late to arrange, but it all came together,” Hickey said.  “The kids also had the idea of singing their concert songs and caroling around the building.  Students have the best ideas.  This has been a wonderful project.”

Students Participate in Battle of the Books at Washougal Elementary Schools

The stage is set for the Battle of the Books at Washougal Elementary schools.

“The idea for the battle started at a Professional Learning Community (PLC) meeting of elementary library assistants last year,” said Kathy Stanton, Hathaway Elementary Librarian.  “We decided then to have a competition between our schools in April of this year.”  Library staff at Gause, Cape Horn-Skye and Hathaway Elementary schools chose twenty books for the battle and in September began encouraging students to read those titles. 

“A student must read eight books to qualify to compete on a battle team,” Stanton explained.  “There are four or five 4th and 5th graders per team. Teams are asked questions from any of the 20 books. Each question begins: "From what book....?", and each team answers with the title and author of the book they think the question is from.”

Points earned with correct answers decide the winners.

This spring, each elementary school will have an in-house battle to choose their top two teams. Then, on April 14, the winning teams will meet at Washougal High School to battle for the top honor.

Hathaway Elementary fifth grader, Brienna Elliott, from Erin Hayes’ class, was recently recognized for having already read 14 out of the 20 battle books.  Her prize?  She was given a special parley with the “Pirate King,” aka David Tudor, Washougal School District Curriculum Director.  The two sat down in the library over lunch last week and discussed her accomplishment and chatted about the books she had read.  Tudor also visited classrooms to help spur on excitement in the contest. 

Cape Horn-Skye Students Give to Animals in Need

Fourth grade students at Cape Horn-Skye Elementary received a lesson in empathy this week as they create snuggle blankets for animals that find themselves living at the Clark County Humane Society shelter in Vancouver.

"A sense of compassion for animals, as well as people, is important for our students to experience," said Cape Horn-Skye fourth grade teacher Alice Yang.  The students worked in small groups to create a unique blanket to donate to an animal in need. "The project also teaches them that it can feel great to do something good for someone else.  Plus they are having fun and learning to work together with friends."

The next step for the students will be an actual visit to the Clark County Humane Society to see the animals there.  Half of the fourth graders went on January 23 and the balance will visit on January 30. "They will get to see the process the animals go through when they arrive and also see the vital role the volunteers play."  Students will even have the opportunity to watch spaying and neutering procedures through an observation window.  "Many students this age dream of being a veterinarian," said Yang. "This will give them an idea if they have the stomach for that type of work."

Fourth grade student Julianne Baker said she is looking forward to visiting the Clark County Humane Society   Although she has never been there, her family did adopt a puppy from the shelter.  "I don't think it will be a very happy place," she said. "I hope the blankets make the animals happier."

Cape Life Skills Assembly

The area of study of Cape Horn Skye Elementary 4th and 5th graders goes beyond reading, writing, science and math as they participate in monthly "Life Skills" assemblies.

“The 4th/5th grade teachers got together to determine which social skills (or Life skills) would be most important to teach to send kids on from Cape as responsible students,” said fourth grade teacher, Darcy Hickey. “Each month another life skill is showcased; in September our focus was on integrity, October was organization, and this month is friendship.” Other life skills the teachers will feature are effort, initiative, problem solving, flexibility, and perseverance.

“We also felt that it was important for the fifth grade students to be put in a leadership role during these assemblies by creating posters, as well as participating in skits that display the life skill of the month,” Hickey explained.  The friendship assembly featured 5th grade students speaking as famous people who had tremendous friends help them in life.

Fifth grader Hayley Courtney spoke as Helen Keller and the importance of her special friendship with teacher, Ann Sullivan. 

Washougal Schools Celebrate Veterans Day

Students Honor Veterans for their Service There are a number of wonderful Veterans Day Programs happening in Washougal schools. Veterans, teachers, staff, and volunteers work together to help instill in our students an appreciation of the sacrifices made to preserve our democratic freedoms.

- Lt. Matthew Bezold, flying in from Naval Air Station Lemoore in California, will present at an assembly for Cape Horn-Skye students. Immediately afterwards local veterans and current military are invited to a brunch hosted by Cape Horn-Skye staff. The staff are expecting around 30 guests.

- Hathaway Elementary students will honor veterans at a special assembly where the WHS X-tet choir will perform. Students and staff are inviting veterans they know and have created a Wall of Honor with photos and stories of veterans from their families that is on display

- Gause Elementary traditionally commemorates the holiday by having 5th graders perform a patriotic music program for the entire school. Veterans are invited to attend in uniform, and are recognized and honored at the end of the program, with each student in the school shaking their hand and saying thank you for their service.

The Washougal School District thanks all veterans for their service and time, and to those who came to share their experiences with our students.

Harvest Festival at Cape Horn-Skye

Students, parents, siblings and teachers of Cape Horn-Skye Elementary enjoyed a fulfilled evening at the annual Harvest Festival carnival on Saturday, October 26.  A big thank you to the many volunteers who worked hard to make this great community/school tradition so successful.

Artifact Detectives Program Gives Students Hands on Experience with History

Third graders at Cape Horn-Skye Elementary got a hands-on opportunity on Thursday, October 17 to explore area history participating in a new “Artifact Detectives” curriculum developed by their teacher, Lucia Willeman.  Students not only learned about early life in the Northwest, but were allowed to take on the role of an archeologist as they brushed, washed, measured, discussed and categorized real local artifacts.

The project was supported through a Teaching American History (TAH) grant, administered by Carol Boyden, Federal Projects Director for the Washougal School District, and by the Clark County Historical Museum.

Washougal students raise funds with Sport a thon

Cape Horn-Skye Elementary (CH-S) students earn money for their school through the Booster’s annual Sport-a-thon fund raiser September 25-27 . Students had friends and family sponsor them to reach their goal for completing a number of activities including football tosses, basketball shots, and Frisbee throws.
 The kindergarten event was a carnival style format with fifth grade students as escorts.  "We depend on the kindness and support of our older students to ensure the kindy children enjoy the event," explained Kim Daniels, Physical Education Teacher.

All of the money raised goes to the school and this year funds will be spent to purchase a new portable sound system that can be used in music class and for events.  Also, ten percent of the money raised will be donated directly to the CH-S physical education program. The sport-a-thon is the CH-S Boosters largest fund raiser and brings in between $6,000-$7,000 annually.

Battle of the Books inspires love of reading

The Battle of the Books wrapped up its fifth year April 16 with a fun competition on Battle Day. The program promotes literacy as Cape Horn-Skye and Canyon Creek students read and summarize a series of books in preparation for the final celebration and competition.

The voluntary reading program kicked off last June when a list of 30 book titles was released so students could read over the summer if they wished. Students are required to read and verbally summarize 10 books to qualify for Battle Day. This year 84 Canyon students and Cape 5th graders submitted at least one book summary. Twenty-one students qualified for Battle Day and two students read all 30 books!

On Battle Day, students are divided into teams with a mixture of different grade levels on each team.

This year the theme was:

SURVIVOR : Canyon Creek

Out Play - Out Wit - Out READ

Decorations and food centered around the Survivor TV show and the reading list had a number of adventure/survival type selections as well. Students played four preliminary rounds in the morning with the top two scoring teams compete in the Grand Battle after lunch in the gym in front of an audience from both schools. 

Food service staff Mark Jasper and Chef Dave treated Book Battlers to a South Pacific lunch of skewered chicken and jicama salad with pineapple and strawberries. Students created colorful posters and signs to give the school a festive look and played Survivor-type relay games including Elephant Bowling.

Librarian Holly Vonderohe coordinates the event with the help of 32 staff and parents who help with the monthly reward parties and on Battle Day.

In the end, Team Amazon won the Grand Battle but not by much. Both teams did a great job.

Team Amazon: Cody Harding, Emma Hein, Rebekah Muir, Megan Stogin, and William Weihl.

Team Borneo: Eric Brown, Victoria Corkum, Samantha Eakins, Cameron Hatton, Gus Shelley, and Hadley Warta.

 

The Grand Battle Winners with organizer and librarian Holly Vonderohe.

Kam Lawrence and David Tudor,
judges for the morning battle.

Superintendent Dawn Tarzian and Boo Stevens
review the rules before the Grand Battle.

The winners of the Grand Battle.

A group discussing an answer.

Cape Horn Skye Elementary Students Experience the Joy of Giving

Cape Horn-Skye Elementary fourth graders’ “The Giving Tree Project,” allowed them to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate at the Open House homeless shelter in Vancouver.

The students made Christmas crafts in class and then “sold” them to parents for donations of food and clothing for people in need.  The project collected more than 850 items and was a combined effort of students in Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Hickey’s classrooms.

“The gift was about giving, not only did your school give lots of food and non-perishable items, but the gift they gave was kindness, love, and interest in our families who live at our shelter,” said Lucy Gaspar from Open House Ministries.  “We truly appreciate all the hard work the school staff and students did in collecting all of the items.”

VFW Essay Contest Winners

Two Cape Horn-Skye students, Tyler Conrad and Maddox Edwards were among a group of Washougal Students recognized by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for their essays written for Veteran's Day.   The students were honored during an assembly, and received a certificate from Bill Menton, Ray Loney, and Bob Hitchock.  

Pictured left to right, in the back row are Bob Hitchcock, Ray Loney, and Bill Menton, with Tyler Conrad and Mattox Edwards in the front row.

Here are their winning essays:

I show love for my country in lots of different ways. Some of these

ways are by learning USA history, protecting others and respecting our

leaders.

Learning United States history is important to me because it helps me

learn about veterans and wars. It also helps us understand how our

freedom was won. Lastly, learning about our history will help me

understand what our country's values and laws are.

Protecting others is really important to me. Stand up means to stick

up for someone if they are getting hurt. Stand up means to help a

friend. If your friend needs help you would find another friend or a

teacher to help.

Our leaders, the president and our city's mayor are important. We

need to respect them by following the laws and talking kind and

respectful about them. Others we need to respect would be our moms

and dads. We should always be polite to them and follow their

directions.

I show love for my country by respecting my family, my leaders,

following laws and rules, loving others and learning everything that I

can about my country.

 - Tyler Conrad

The best way to show love for my country is to celebrate the Fourth

of July. Celebrating the Fourth of July is celebrating the birthday of

America. I celebrate the Fourth of July by shooting Roman Candles,

lighting sparklers, and participating in many other colorful and loud

displays. To show my love for my country I can wear red, white and

blue to be patriotic. I can walk in a parade to celebrate my country's

birthday.

Another way that I show love for my country is to donate time,

money, toys, clothes and food to nearby charities. Showing love for

others is showing love for my country. My family and friends donate

furniture and clothes to a local clothes closet. Our church and its

members, including me, make care packages for the homeless. The

packages include socks, food, toothpaste, a toothbrush and a Bible.

Another way to show love for my country is to recycle. My family and

I recycle paper, plastic glass and metal. Twice a month we take the

recycling items to the transfer station. Recycling is also a way to help

the environment and the Earth. I can also show love for my country and

the Earth by picking up trash and not littering.

I like celebrating the Fourth of July, but I know that when I help

others and when I recycle, that also shows my love for my country.

 - Mattox Edwards

Fifth grade classrooms pilot iPad project

This fall, Washougal fifth graders began piloting an exciting project using iPads in their classrooms. Three classrooms (one at each elementary school) plus a group of special education students are taking part in this technology integration experiment into subjects including Science, Social Science and Language Arts.

In preparation for an all-new teaching and learning model, teachers Chelsea Meats, Erin Hayes, Erin Maier and Stephanie Closson received an intensive “boot camp” training over the summer and will continue to receive training and support throughout the year.

Classroom use varies by class and subject, depending on what students are studying at a given time. Teachers work with students to use iPad features, such as text-to-speech and built in word definitions and dictionaries that help students answer questions immediately. These tools have been particularly helpful for struggling learners and also help bridge the achievement gap between student groups. When asked the question, "How has the iPad changed the way you learn?" one student responded "We can do class activities together where we're all on the same website instead of just using one computer or having to share a few computers."

In Erin Maier’s class at Gause Elementary, students used the iPads to film themselves presenting to their peers. The students could then immediately review their work and answer questions such as “Did I speak clearly?” “That was huge in terms of helping them explain their thinking,” said Maier. “Hearing themselves speak helps with clarity of thought.”

Technology Director Les Brown says the project opens doors to new resources. “Technology can engage students in meaningful learning experiences where they research topics they are interested in, receive and give peer feedback, and carry their work through to completion or publication.”

Parents were included in the roll out process, with meetings were held at each school to define expectations and explain what the district hopes to gain through the project.

Curriculum Director David Tudor hopes the pilot will significantly impact student learning based on the experiences of other districts. “We anticipate seeing increases in student achievement particularly in Reading and Math, and especially among struggling students,” he said. “We’re hoping to see gains for special education students and students below grade level in reading.  We anticipate seeing lower attendance problems, fewer discipline referrals, and increased time on task.” 

Maier says the devices have increase motivation and engagement in her classroom. “When we use the iPads, I automatically have 100 percent participation. This is their world and they are quick learners.”

District staff will measure the project’s success by comparing test score data between iPad and non-iPad classrooms to gauge the impact on student academic achievement.  Staff will also consider data on student attendance, discipline, and surveys on student/family perceptions about technology.

Cape Students Create "New Years" Cards for Military Service Men and Women

Cape Horn-Skye Elementary students created more than 150 beautiful handmade cards for Gorge-area residents serving overseas in the U.S. military. The Happy New Year cards will be sent in January as part of a gift package through the Gorge Heroes Club.

Washougal resident Margie Coursey coordinated the cardmaking project after she heard about the Gorge Heroes Club and its efforts. Coursey gathered donations from friends and purchased supplies, which she delivered to Cape Horn-Skye Principal Mary Lou Woody. Cape Horn-Skye staff worked with students to create the beautiful, individual cards.

Coursey said she was thrilled with the result. “It was really fun,” she said. “You wouldn’t believe how cute the cards are.”

Cape Horn-Skye Elementary staff and students regularly work with Veteran’s of Foreign Wars Post 122 on events throughout the year, such as canned food drives and essay contests.

“Our community really supports those who have served in the military,” said Principal Mary Lou Woody. “We have many military families and showing our support through partnerships such as this one is an important part of our community,” she said.

The Gorge Heroes Club is a non-profit based in Hood River, Ore. For more information on the Gorge Heroes Club, visit http://gorgeheroesclub.blogspot.com/