Helen Baller Elementary 1954 NE Garfield Street Camas, WA 98607-1143 Phone: (360) 833-5720 December 1, 2010 Fax: (360) 833-5721 www.camas.wednet.edu/helenballer Dear Helen Baller Families, I hope you had a relaxing Thanksgiving Break with your family and friends. Principal: Aaron Parman It is pretty amazing that we had snow this early in the year and missed a Secretary: Margaret Rhode Student Services Coordinator: day of school! Hopefully that is not a sign of things to come. Over the Michelle Morse break my family and I went to Richland, Washington to spend time with , District Office: 335-3000 Grandma. It was fun to see family, but very cold. Before you know it, it will Transportation: 833-5585 be Christmas. Staff emails: The past month was full of great events which included the Mini Olympics. FirstName.LastName I was shocked at what all the kids accomplished during the event. They @camas.wednet.edu were very impressive. Several records were broken for the school includ- ing Jefferson Jackson going up and down a rope hanging from the ceiling INSIDE THIS ISSUE: fourteen times! I don’t think I could get half way up the rope. TJ Brossard broke a school record by holding his body in a chin-up position for two PTA & Volunteer Info 2 minutes and thirty seconds. Monthly Birthday Table 2 & Teacher Birthdays We also had a Veteran’s Day assembly that Mrs. Hardi, Mrs. Houle and Counselor’s Corner 3 Mrs. Houle’s class planned and presented. Mr. Kerby, a member of the Army, came and shared about what it is like to be a member of the Armed Learning Gardens 3 Services. The kids loved listening to him. They all did a wonderful job pre- Success Book Roll Call 4 senting. Health Room Reminders 4 December will be a short month. The big event we have is the C.A.R.O.L. Spirit Wear News 4 Food Drive. We are asking families to support others who are in need. More information is coming soon. Teachers will also be sending report Family Holiday Asistance 4 cards home on Friday, December 10. Mini Olympics & P.E. News 5 Here are a few other things to please remember: As the weather gets colder, please have your child/children dress appro- Teacher Wish Lists 6 priately for going outside to play. They should have a warm coat, gloves Veteran’s Day Assembly 7 and a hat. If your child stays home sick, please notify the office so we can record the C.A.R.O.L 7 absence as excused. If there is no notification to the office the absence is Inclement Weather 8 considered unexcused. Staff Binder 8 Lastly, if at all possible, please avoid picking up your child/children early from school. They miss important learning time if they are picked up early. Student On-Line Lunch 8 We would appreciate your support with this matter. Options If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to con- JDZ Winter Camps 8 tact me. I hope you and your family have a wonderful December. Calendar of Events 8 Infectious Diseases 9 AAaronaron Parman, Principal PTA Website: www.helenbellerpta.com PTA President: Kathi Hansen [email protected] Vice President: Diana Sterle Secretary: Amy Sturbelle Treasurer: Kelli Lawson December Birthday Table Fundraising: Seth Sjostrom Membership: Julie Brown Newsletter: Jeanne Brooks CALLING ALL PARENTS WITH KIDS WHO Spirit Wear: [email protected] HAVE DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS! Volunteers Needed You are invited to join all of the December birthday kids at the Baller Birthday Table on Friday, December th Website - Create and update PTA website. 10 from 11:25am to 12:30pm. We would love for you to be there during the entire lunch period to sit with Baller Blast- Coordinate this annual event. Current and chat to the birthday kids to make their birthday chair will assist new chair with the 2011-2012 event. celebration that much more enjoyable. If you can only Baller Beautification - Looking for someone to lead attend for a short period of time, you could join your up grounds and improvement projects at Baller. This child during his/her lunch. year we will be focused on the courtyard. This individual might enjoy gardening and working with students to cre- Note: All health concerns and allergies are being ate educational and pleasant landscaping at Baller. closely monitored and can be accommodated for your child to participate in the birthday table. Field Day Coordinator - Coordinates this end of the year day of fun and activities. There are always LOTS If you have any questions, would like to volunteer your of parent volunteers to help out with this very popular and fun event. time or donate ice cream treats for the event, please contact Cheryl Johnson at 844-5797 or email her Movie Night - Position Filled! A big thank you to at [email protected]. You may also sign up Cheryl Johnson for keeping our movie nights happening! at Signupgenius.com and enter [email protected] in Nominating Committee - Help select and seek out the search. individuals for officer and chair positions for next fall. School Supply Kits - Research companies that pro- vide school supply kits for parents to order, select a company and organize details this spring for school sup- plies for 2011-2012. If no volunteers step forward to help on any of these committees, then the associated events / opportunities will be cancelled. Happy Birthday to our Teachers Shelley Houle on December 29th. November Birthday and Belated wishes to: Table Sept- 9th Paula Perkins, 14th Julie Andros, 30th Patti Hardy Oct- 31st Marilyn Gola Nov- 8th Kathy Scurrah, 10th Pam Gospe, 11th Diane Loghry, 20th Heidi Echeverio 2 November is National Career Development Month. This newsletter will highlight some of the strategies that we utilize at school to help children become aware of the world of work and their personal career development process. Despite the current economic recession, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) projects a growth of 15.3 million U.S. jobs during the 2008-2018 period. Students need a solid foundation in reading, oral and written communication, mathematics and science. Not only do students need mastery in these areas, they need to be able to apply these con- cepts to the real world. Your elementary aged children are already developing the work habits to become productive members of society. To- day our society is more reliant than ever on technology; there will be jobs in the future that we can’t yet conceive. This is both exciting and daunting. How do we prepare our future work force for skills we might not know they need? The following school readiness skills directly relate to career development: • Be punctual and present. Teaching children to arrive on time for the school day teaches them to value the time spent and prepares them for the highly scheduled world in which we live. Poor attendance at work is one of the top reasons why an employee can be terminated. Start good attendance habits now and set your child up for success. • Be prepared. Coming to school with the right materials, meeting deadlines and staying organized are life skills that will support ca- reer and work goals. After all, deadlines are more than mere suggestions. Adults can’t perform their jobs without their tools; children can’t learn their best if they aren’t prepared. • Be involved. Volunteer opportunities exist in the school. Safety Patrol, S.O.S. Squad [Save Our Scraps] and classroom jobs give children a chance to try out different roles. As children increase their self-awareness of their interests and their abilities, they will make connections with activities that suit them well. • Be respectful. One of our school rules, teaching children to be respectful and follow directions relates to the world of work. The num- ber one reason adults are terminated from their jobs is for insubordination and inappropriate work behavior. • Be accurate. Teaching our children to do their best work is a skill that will benefit their future career. Mistakes in the world-of-work can be costly or even life-threatening. We are teaching students to take care and pride in turning in their best work. Even though unemployment rates and the economic recession are on the minds of many, it’s important to instill a strong work ethic in our children. We thank you for partnering with our school to develop these work habits and traits. Camas School District Counselors Learning Gardens are Growing at Helen Baller! Children can learn so much from gardening, from math and science to art and poetry. Baller students are lucky to have access to two learning gardens—the courtyard garden by the library and the Camas Roots Garden, across the street from the school. Starting early next year, we’ll be planning for how to get students more involved in using these garden spaces to enrich their learning experience. If you would like to get involved in this fun activity, please contact Elisa Wells at 833-0925. No gardening experience is required! 3 Success Book Roll Call Health Room Reminders: Below is a list of students who have signed the ♦ Success Book during the month of November. Keep ill children home, and always update the office Any Helen Baller staff member can have a student sign with any new contact information. the Success Book for being successful with academics, ♦ Continue to check daily at home for head lice. behavior or work ethic. Several of the students ♦ Medications at school need a medication authorization signed the Success Book multiple times, but I have form completed by your Doctor (even cough drops).