Oser Appointed to School Board

A S T O R I A S C H O O L

D I S T R I C T

W W W . A S T O R I A . K 1 2 . O R . U S Astoria Schools F E B R U A R Y , 2 0 1 6

C O M I N G

U P I N O U R

S C H O O L S

February 29 - No School—Teacher In-Service

March 8 LC Fultano’s Pizza Night

March 11,12,13,16 AMS and AHS Production of “The Wizard of Oz”

March 14 Band Concert

March 16,17,18 Conferences

March 17—18 No School

March 21—25 Spring Vacation No School

Teresa Crouter who is a Prevention Specialist and Coordinator for Northwest Parenting

held a Positive Discipline Strategies workshop for Astoria School District Parents at Astor in January. The workshop, which had favorable reviews from parents, was held in both

English and Spanish.

For our first workshop, we had 22 families who attended. Out of the twenty-

two families, nine were Spanish speaking. Food, prizes, daycare and great parenting strategies helped to make this an event that will be offered again.

David Oser, the chief financial officer for Craft3 lending company in Ilwaco, Wash-ington, is the newest member of the Asto-ria School Board.

Oser, 66, replaces Martin Dursse, who resigned in November. The term runs until 2019.

Oser was voted in unanimously on Tues-day by board members Jenna Ricken-bach, Shawn Helligso, Grace Laman and Jeanette Sampson.

“Public education, K-12, is the single most critical service that a city provides to its residents,” Oser said.

Oser said he hopes his financial expertise can help the Astoria School District, along with his prior experience on boards. He has served on the Clatsop Community College Foundation Board for four years, the Columbia Memorial Hospital Board for two years and the Astoria Public Library Board for four years.

Oser moved to Astoria from the Chicago area five years ago with his wife, Patsy, a former teacher and librarian known for reading several days a week to kids at Astor Elementary School. The two have raised four kids who range in age from 25 to 40, which Oser said also provides him with a unique perspective.

“I do not have any specific agenda items that I’m pushing,” Oser said. “I want to do every-thing I can to strengthen the school system.” (Story courtesy of The Daily Astorian)

Positive Discipline Workshop Update

P A G E 2

Parent-Teacher Conferences Schedule

Smarter Balanced Testing

Oregon is part of

a team of states

working together

voluntarily to

develop K-12

assessments in

English language

arts/literacy and

mathematics

aligned to

Oregon’s

Common Core

State Standards.

These tests are

called Smarter

Balanced

assessments.

Parent Teacher Conferences for Astoria School District are scheduled for Wednesday, March 17, 2016 and Thursday, March 18, 2016. There is school on Wednesday, March 17, 2016. Conferences begin at 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, March 17, 2016. There will be no school on March 18th and 19th. Parent teacher conferences help to communicate to parents the areas their child is excelling in and to give parents specific ideas of how to improve upon their child’s performance in school. Parents are encouraged to attend confer-ences with their children. Below is specific information about parent teacher conference schedules.

Wednesday, March 17, 2016

Parent/Teacher Conferences – 5:00 – 8:00 P.M. Astor School – Parents will be notified of specific conference times Lewis & Clark School – Parents will be notified of specific conference

times Astoria Middle School conference times: 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. Astoria High School conference times: 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Thursday, March 18, 2016

No School – Parent/Teacher Conferences

Astor School – Parents will be notified of specific conference times Lewis & Clark School – Parents will be notified of specific conference

times Astoria Middle School conference times: 8:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. – By Invitation Only 1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. – By Invitation Only 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. Astoria High School conference times: 8:00 A.M. – Noon - By Invitation Only 1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. - By Invitation Only 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Friday, March 19, 2016

No School Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s school for questions regarding parent/teacher conferences.

P A G E 3

Last month the Oregon

Department of Education

announced that the four year

graduation rate for the state of

Oregon increased to 73.8

percent statewide.

AHS experienced

significant growth in its

graduation rate, celebrating

its highest four year

graduation rate in more than

a decade, at 75.0 percent.

The partnerships with community mentors, systemic interventions for demonstrations of Essential Skills,

and the dedication and effort of staff and students alike, have helped increased levels of students reach this

academic milestone. While the graduation rate represents aggregate data, the work and support offered

from staff to students is done on an individual basis. It is through these supports and relationships that As-

toria High School optimistically looks forward to celebrating continued improvements of our students’ aca-

demic achievements.

Jump Rope for Heart Raises Thousands For the last 22 years, Astor PE teacher, Brian Babbitt, has had his students jumping for a good cause. This year the students raised the bar a little higher and received pledges for over $8,000 to be donated to the American Heart Association to help their efforts to prevent heart diseases. 92 students participated in getting pledges and then followed up by jumping until they couldn't jump anymore. Way to go kids!

P A G E 4

Lennon Tour Bus Provides Magical Experience

A S T O R I A S C H O O L S

Stopping in Astoria on their way

across the country, the John

Lennon Educational Tour Bus

provided a once in a lifetime

experience for seven AHS

students when they were able to

spend the day creating an

original song, recording it and

then making it into a music

video.

Along with four talented and

energetic staff members, the

non-profit bus, which is on it’s

way to California, is equipped

with over a million dollars worth of state of the art recording and video equipment to help

teach kids about the recording process at no charge to the district.

AHS students, Beth Mathre, Jared

Rivera, Sarah Miller, Evan Falls,

Nate Hawkins, Jasmin Mabry, Henry

Meiners and Emmanuel Goicochea

were chosen by music teacher Matt

Pierce to participate in the amazing

and magical experience. Their origi-

nal song according to the Lennon

staff members, “may be the best one

of all the schools they have visited.”

Editing and polishing the final

version of the video is being done by

the crew and will be made available

on YouTube in a few weeks.

You can see more pictures of the students day by clicking here.

P A G E 5

A S T O R I A S C H O O L S

AHS Teachers Unveil Writing Website

AHS and AMS theater students are coming together for a production of “The Wizard of Oz,” on March 11th(7:00), 12th(7:00), 13th(2:00), and 16th(7:00) in the High School Auditorium. The production is the Astoria School District's first ever joint performance between the Astoria Middle School and High School. It is a musical that is family-friendly with many humorous jokes! We also have awesome promotions going on! The 11th is a free adult ticket with every paid child, the 12th is half off for anyone in performing arts, the 13th is half off if you're wear-ing green, and the 16th is half off for all middle schooler's. Please come and support these talented and excited young actors.

189 AHS students made the honor roll for the first semester earning a 3.5 or better. 84 of these students scored straight A’s. Tom White who now lives in Harrisburg, Oregon donated books to the Astor library. Tom's son used to go to Astor many years ago. He loved the school so much that he wanted to give back. Tom has given books to the Astor library on multiple occasions in previous years. It is part of Tom's tradition to go to Barnes and Noble and pick out the books to send to Astor. We are lucky to have such positive support and generous donations for our library.

Astor Elementary students had the privilege of hosting the Coast Guard as guests for lunch. The Coast Guard service men and women helped serve lunch, tie shoes, open con-tainers, and chatted with students. Many students were so excited to have them that they had to be reminded to eat. The service men and women are often asked for their auto-graphs. The Coast Guard is such a big part of our Astoria community and we are very lucky to have them involved in our schools.

The Lewis and Clark Parents Club is working this year to update the playground at the

school. The playground is lacking an adequate number of activities for kids during their re-

cess times. Also there is a large field that is under water most of the year due to drainage

problems. The plann is to fix the drainage and then add more activities such as soccer goals, a

play structure for climbing, obstacle courses, and many more elements.

Astoria School District has an active Facebook page.

Please check us out at https://www.facebook.com/Astoria-School-District-362765341958/

Short and Sweet News

P A G E 6

AMS Focuses on Personal Responsibility

A S T O R I A S C H O O L S

One of the main reasons schools exist is to produce future citizens that are academically and socially competent. Positive relationships between students, parents, and school staff are the cornerstones to achieving this goal. Dr. James Comer from Yale University wrote, "No signifi-cant learning occurs without a significant relationship." The first teachers of any child are their parents. The initial nurturing and bonding between the parent and infant must occur for normal, healthy development. From this point the child watch-es and emulates everything that their parent does. Each child's teacher builds on the founda-tion of the last. In an effort to support the relationships between parents, students, and school, Astoria Middle School held our first every 'Bring Your Parent to Lunch' week. During the week of January 25-28 we had nearly 70 parents come and enjoy lunchtime with their students. This time allowed parents to get to know their child's peers, lunch time routines, and take a little tour of the school. Each month the PBiS team uses school wide data to identify areas of concern for re-teaching expectations and areas of success for celebrating. This month we combined the two in our end of the month activity. One feature of PBiS is being responsible, and one we needed to practice. In order to participate in the celebration activity, each student had to write a respon-sibility goal using the SMART goal format. Taking personal responsibility for academic suc-cess is an essential skill that our students need to master. At the end of the month, each stu-dent reflected on the level of success they had with their goal and used it as a ticket into a fun afternoon activity.

Do you know a teacher or staff member that is

making a difference in the lives of our students?

Astoria School District Board of Directors in partnership with the Astoria School Foundation

has created a staff recognition program called “A Tradition of Excellence” that recognizes

exemplary work by Astoria School District employees.

Nomination applications are now available online.

Questions concerning “A Tradition of Excellence” program can be directed to (503) 325-6441.

P A G E 7

Free Workshop for Preschool Parents

A S T O R I A S C H O O L S

School preparedness begins at home— The Northwest Regional Education Service District is presenting a series of Early Literature classes to provide parents with the infor-mation they need to prepare their children for school. Please consider registering for these three workshops, each two hours long, which will cover early literacy skills, brain development, and activities that you can use at home to support your child’s development (ages birth to five).

March 1 – March 15 Tuesday evenings 5:30- 7:30 p.m.

NWRESD Clatsop Service Center 3194 Marine Drive, Astoria OR

Provided by Northwest Regional Education Service District NWRESD Clatsop Service Center

Class taught by Jackie Bergerson and Stacie Peeler—Early Childhood Educators Register by calling Angie at NWRESD (503) 338-3377 Registration is required to attend

Kids and teens today are using the immense power of

digital media to explore, connect, create, and learn in

ways never before imagined. With this power, young

people have extraordinary opportunities, and yet they

face potential pitfalls, too.

Meanwhile, schools are dealing with the associated

ramifications like cyberbullying, digital cheating, and

safety and security concerns. These issues underscore

the need for students to learn — and for teachers to teach — digital literacy and citizenship

skills.

Astoria School District is addressing those needs by implementing a Digital Literacy and

Citizenship Curriculum for grades K-12. A variety of lessons will be taught in the

classroom on a regular basis and coming soon is a website with lessons and resources for

parents to remind their kids about internet safety.

Internet Safety is a District Priority

P A G E 8

School Board Honors P&L Johnson

A S T O R I A S C H O O L S

The Astoria School District Board of Directors recognized P & L Johnson, specifically co-owners Dale Johnson and Paul Radu at their February 10, 2016 regular board meeting. P & L Johnson is a heating, cooling and refrigeration sales and service company. Astoria School District and P & L Johnson have steadily built a collaborative partnership for many years. Over the past 5 years specifically P & L Johnson has guided the Astoria School District in reducing energy consumption. Electronic controls for boilers and other heating systems have been installed at the last two buildings needing them; Astor and Astoria High School. Other systems re-ducing energy consumption include updated timers for heating systems and upgraded refrigeration units for our many coolers were all installed with the guidance and professional service of P & L

Johnson. Controlling temperatures and fan systems during non-scheduled building use times reduces a significant amount of energy waste.

In addition to their work around energy conservation, P & L Johnson has been instrumental with working with District officials to plan for the future. They have begun creation of an equipment replacement list for future needs. We have had several conversations about up-grading antiquated systems that will serve the needs of our students better in regards to heat-ing and refrigeration. Lastly, P & L Johnson, as of fall of 2015 moved all of our buildings to remote access monitoring and serviceability. This will reduce service calls and allow P and L Johnson to monitor problems before they causes disruptions. P & L Johnson charges a reduced rate for all service calls and continually donates labor and supplies at cost for system improvements. P & L Johnson places high importance on service calls Astoria School District makes. Techni-cians are often there within an hour. Owners make themselves available at night and on weekends to make sure that buildings are always ready for students should situations arise. Their commitment to quality service is second to none. Astoria School District staff, students and parents appreciate the strong partnership with P & L Johnson. Astoria School District looks forward to continuing this partnership with P & L John-son as we work together to meet the needs of our students.

School board member Jenna Richenbach and

P&L Johnson co-owner, Paul Radu.

P A G E 9

Making the District Energy Efficient

A S T O R I A S C H O O L S

The Astoria School District Board of Directors recognized Wadsworth Electric and manager Cass Liljenwall at their regular board meeting on February 10, 2016. Wadsworth Electric is a private organization that provides electrical ser-vice and repair for businesses and homes on the north Oregon coast. Astoria School District and Wadsworth Electric have built a collaborative partnership for over the last decade. Specifically this year school year Wadsworth has helped the District convert indoor and outdoor electrical fixtures to more energy efficient LED styles. They have taken care of the leg work involved in applying and receiving Oregon Energy credit monies to help with these projects. In addition to their work around energy conservation, Wadsworth has been very generous to the District with donations. This year alone they have donated the use of their utility bucket truck to change exterior parking lights at no charge. They have installed con-duit and electrical outlets for an additional cooler needed at Lewis and Clark Elementary School and recently hooked up the Lennon Educational Bus to the power needed to run their equipment. Wadsworth regularly puts Astoria School District as a high priority whenever we need work. They keep an inventory of parts and supplies on hand to better serve the needs of our stu-dents. Astoria School District staff, students and parents appreciate the strong partnership with Wadsworth Electric and look forward to continuing this partnership as we work together to meet the needs of our students.

School Board Member, Grace Laman presents

Cass Liljenwall with certificate of appreciation.

P A G E 1 0

Foundation Provides Grants to Teachers

Tradition of Excellence

Mark your

calendar

The Astoria

School

Foundation and

Astoria School

Board will be

honoring

teachers, staff

and education

groups at a

special

ceremony on

May 4.

You can

nominate a

teacher or staff

member for

special

recognition at

the ceremony.

See page 6 for

details.

The Astoria School Foundation recently awarded over $8,000 for classroom projects throughout the district. With a mission to enhance the educational experience of students in Astoria School District through public support, teachers were encouraged to apply for funds to improve opportunities for stu-dent achievement.

Here’s how the foundation helped our teachers with grant support:

IXL Math program for students in the classrooms of LC teachers Jordan Martin, Mona Foss, Dindy Fischer.

Short throw computer projector for MS teacher Kacie Lofstedt

Sets of early reader books for LC students in Stephanie Sparks classes.

Two Samsung tablets and early reading program, MobyMax, to be used by students in Astor teacher Tiffany Golden’s class.

$1,000 to help AHS teacher, Matt Love, publish the work of student stories, poetry and art in hardbound book.

Projector to work with LC teacher, Emily Jenkins, classroom Smartboard.

Partial funding for Astor second grade teacher, Renee Fruiht, to complete a classroom project to interview residents at Clatsop Care Center and make a book of their interviews.

Laptop computer and Adobe software for HS journalism teacher, Clint Hill, to help publish the Astor Post.

Yoyo’s and Hoola Hoops for student activities in Stanette Klatt’s AMS science classes.

Two Samsung tablets for student use in the classroom of third grade LC teacher Mona Foss.

The foundation is proud to be able to support the classroom needs of our stu-dents and recognize the accomplishments of our teachers.

Clatsop County high schools in partnership with Hampton Affiliates have received a $305,000 grant as part of a Career Technical Education (CTE) Revitalization Grant. These funds were provided by the state legislature. The CTE Revitalization Grant funds are designed to serve diverse communities around the state with programs focused on advanced manufacturing, engineering, agricultural sci-

ence, app development, robotics, tourism, forestry, home renovation and health care. The grant provided for over $9 million in funds to school districts throughout the state. Clatsop County high schools will work directly with Hampton Affiliates, which is the largest privately held forest products company in Clatsop County, in providing skill career path-ways options in the field of Industrial Electronic Repair, Industrial Machinery Mechanics, Millwrights, and Machinery Maintenance. The program provides a hands on mobile lab experience for high school students, class-room time, and in the field opportunities for high school students to take what they learn and connect it to real work experience. The Career Technical Education grant will pro-vide opportunities through modern technology to build a solid foundation, using logic, trou-bleshooting skills, critical thinking and hands on application. Clatsop Community College is a partner to the program and students will receive Career and Technical Education college credit for participating in the program. In addition to Hampton Affiliates other partners of this grant include Clatsop Electric, Bogh Electric, Wadsworth Electric, Lektro, Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce, Work-source Oregon, Clatsop Economic Development Resources, and Columbia Pacific Eco-nomic Development District. The portable Career Technical Education lab is scheduled to be available for student use

in the Fall 2016.

CTE Grant Provides Hands on

Training for High School