Prune Hill Penguin News - Camas School District

[Pages:8]Prune Hill Penguin News

January 5, 2016 1601 NW Tidland St Camas, WA 98607 360-833-5730 phone 360-833-5731 fax

Greetings and Happy New Year! Last year we had school closures in Hopefully we'll have very few days

As we ring in 2016 at Prune Hill Ele- January due to inclement weather. this school year to make up in June!

mentary, our teachers and students We'll see what this year brings! In

are `in the zone' of teaching and

regards to school district closures, Sincerely,

learning. The students have sprouted here is some helpful information that

taller over the break, and have

may address questions and/or con-

quickly settled back into their rou- cerns that we hear:

tines. We registered some new pen- Starting at 4:00 AM our Transpor-

guins, as well!

tation Director as well as other

Julie Swan

As a parent myself, I share the belief transportation personnel drive the Principal

that student safety is our number one roads to check on conditions. Based

priority in our schools. We have a on what they find, as well as up to

safety committee that meets three the minute forecasts, a recommenda-

times a year to review our emergen- tion is made to resume school, call a

cy plans created in conjunction with late start or close school.

the Camas Police and Fire Depart-

ments. Safety procedures here at Automated calls go out to all pri-

Prune Hill include routine fire drills, mary phone numbers. Please be sure

earthquake drills, and lockdown we have your updated address and

drills. We model and expect calm phone in case of a closure or delay.

behavior while conducting these

drills, as the biggest threat to our The CSD is large and has a wide

school continues to be a natural dis- range of elevation within our bound-

aster (earthquake). We appreciate aries. It ranges from 250 feet at the

your support in explaining to your low point up to 2,300 feet on Living-

students how these drills are im- ston Mountain. We transport many

portant and their role to stop, look, students from the Fern Prairie/

and listen to the nearest adult is their Livingston Mountain area and many

job.

high school students drive from that

Please continue signing in and out at area as well. While it may look like a

the office when you visit, wearing a snow or ice-free day in town, it can

visible visitor's badge, and calling in be treacherous in the upper reaches

your student's absences. We will ask of our district, especially for the ear-

for ID from those we don't recog- ly run when it is still dark.

nize. While at times we may come If we make an error in calling a late

across as hyper-vigilant, we are! Our start or snow day, we will always err

biggest priority is your child's safety on the side of safety.

while here at school.

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January 2016

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

3

4 5

6

7

No School due to Choir Rehearsal Early Release 1:10

Inclement Weather

8:00-8:45

Fri

Sat

8

9

Recorder Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

10 11

12

13

14

15

16

Reflections Art Submissions Due

Choir Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

Martin Luther King Assembly 9:15

Early Release 1:10

AIMSweb Testing

Recorder Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

AIMSweb Testing

Camas School Board Meeting 5:30 ZAC

Birthday Table

17

18 19

20

21

NO SCHOOL MLK Day

Choir Rehearsal Early Release 1:10 8:00-8:45

22

23

Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

Spirit Day/ Color War Day

24/31 25

NO SCHOOL Secondary Grading Day

26

Choir Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

Camas School Board Meeting 5:30 ZAC

27

28

29

30

Early Release 1:10

Recorder Rehearsal

PTA General Mem-

8:00-8:45

bership Meeting 6:00-7:00 Library Winter Wonderland

Dance 6:00-8:00

January is School Board Apprecia on Month!

It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and our school board members devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level. They make the tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying educa on issues and regula ons in order to provide the kind of accountability our ci zens expect. Please take a moment to show your apprecia on to our five wonderful school board members this month!

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February 2016

Sun Mon 1

Tue

Wed

Thu

2

Choir Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

3

4

Early Release 1:10

Fri

Sat

5

6

Recorder Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

Yearbook Orders Begin

7 8

9

Choir Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

10

11

Early Release 1:10

Camas School Board Meeting 5:30 ZAC

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15 16

17

18

NO SCHOOL

Presidents' Day

Choir Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

Read to Feed Food Collection Ends

5th Grade Watershed Monitoring 9:15-12:15

Early Release 1:10

12

13

School is in Session Snow Make Up Day

100th Day of School

19

20

Recorder Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

Birthday Table

21/28 22/29

23

Choir Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

Camas School Board Meeting 5:30 ZAC

24

25

Read to Feed Assembly 9:15 Early Release 1:10

26

27

Recorder Rehearsal 8:00-8:45

For current information for Camas School District and Prune Hill Elementary check out the CSD website:

Also take a look at the PH blog for web calendar and to be informed of activities at Prune Hill:

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Our fifteenth annual "Read-To-Feed" is in full swing True, this is a reading incentive program. But, it is also a service to the community. The "Read-To-Feed" program is an "At Home" reading incentive program with two primary goals:

To encourage students to read a variety of literature to strengthen reading skills.

To collect canned food for "Treasure House" who will then distribute to families "in need" in the Camas/Washougal area.

The program will go until February 16 and the Read-to-Feed assembly will be Wednesday, February 24. Watch for details to come.

Prune Hill Families,

If your family qualifies for the National School Lunch Program (Free or Reduced), you may be eligible for $10 a month internet service through Comcast. The only catch is that you have to be a new Comcast customer. Please follow the link below for more details. If you need any assistance with this, please feel free to contact me. I'd love to help!



Mike Durfey Counselor Prune Hill Elementary (360) 833-5730 ext. 79086 Michael.durfey@camas.wednet.edu

LUNCH ACCOUNTS Attention Parents: You may apply for school meal benefits at any time. Applications are available in

the school office or from the District website: camas.wednet.edu/parent-forms. Students who qualify for free or reduced lunches also get breakfast for free.

What did my child eat for lunch today? Why is my son/daughter already out of lunch money? These questions and more can be answered online through the districts MealTime program. Parents can see how often their students eat lunch or breakfast and for secondary students, they can even see what menu items they chose to eat. Additionally, parents can also deposit money into their child's account. Some items to consider: When writing checks for students meal account, please indicate the child's name on the check memo line.

Checks should be made out to Camas School District. Only one check is needed for families with multiple children at PH, just list each child's name on the check. Most families with more than one child at PH have a household meal account. That means even though the balance for one

child may be more than another, that money is shared and transfers automatically to the child who needs the money. Online deposits take one day to process with a minimum deposit of $25 and there is a small fee. To make deposits online and to view your child's account balance online, please contact Amy Best through e-mail at

amy.best@camas.wednet.edu or by phone at 833-5750, ext. 78133 to get a password. If your child is on the Free/Reduced Meal Program, your child will need extra money from home if they want to purchase extra

entr?es for breakfast ($1.70) or lunch ($2.55) or to just purchase milk (.65) when they bring cold lunch..

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PTA NEWS ? Happy New Year!

General Membership Meeting Join us for a PTA General Membership Meeting on Thursday, January 28th from 6-7pm in the

school Library.

Winter Wonderland Dance ? Friday, January 29th ? 6-8pm Winter Wonderland is almost here! Join us on Friday, January 29th from 6-8pm in the Gym/Cafeteria for

dancing and Principal For a Day Silent Auction! Fun for the whole family!

We need someone to help with the Auction part of our Winter Wonderland dance! Short term project! Email the PTA president below if you are interested! Thank you!

Calling all Helpers! Do you like to shop? PTA is still in need of some helpers to make our Spring Carnival amazing! Please respond to Megan Ryan at megward13@ if you are interested in helping put on this year-end event. Remember, lightening the load makes it more fun for everyone!

Kids Raffle- If you love to shop and find great Flyers and Marketing

deals this is for you. I would like to find Decorations

someone to coordinate this ASAP so they Volunteer coordination

can capitalize on Christmas sales. Food Vendors

Ideas and planning Carnival Games

It's never too late - Join the Prune Hill PTA Join now Online at join or check out under the membership tab to print out your membership form. Membership envelopes are also available in the office. PTA Membership helps to support all the programs we provide throughout the year and your chance to get involved in the school community. Memberships start at $12 for Individual, $20 for Family and $50 for Businesses. There is no obligation to volunteer if you are a member.

UPCOMING DATES: January 04: Return to School January 15: January Birthday Table January 18: No School ? MLK, Jr. Day January 25: No School ? Grading Day January 28: General Membership Meeting ? 6-7pm in Library January 29: Winter Wonderland Dance

Visit us on Facebook or at Email us at prunehillpta2@

President Cassandra Wooden

Secretary Katie Flanagan

Welcome 2015-2016 Board of Directors

Vice President

Co-Treasurers

Shawn Keller

Amy Walker & Autumn Travers

Membership Stacey Turnage

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DID YOU KNOW

You can always donate your gently used books, DVD's, and CD's to us! Just drop your items off at the service desk; tax receipts are available upon request. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept magazines, VHS cassettes, or encyclopedia sets, or items that are moldy, dirty or water damaged. Kid and teen books are especially welcome! Your donated items will be evaluated for addition to the collection. If they don't make the cut, they will be set aside for one of out Used Book Sales. For other ways to support your library, please contact The Friends & Foundation of the Camas Library.

The Lego Club

A gathering of Lego lovers! Every third Thursday of the month, 4-5 pm. All ages welcome. A new Librarian's Challenge every month, free play. Thousands of Lego bricks and minifigs! No registration required.

Page Turners Book Discussion Group

For 4th grade and up, and their parents! Borrow a special copy of the book from the library, you both read it, you come together to the meeting, and enjoy snacks and activities. Attendees get to keep the book. Sign-up required. The next book is Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein. Tuesday, January 12th at 6:30 pm.

Storytimes

BABY STORY TIME Thursdays 10:30 & 11:30 am 20 minutes For children who are infants or age 1.

TODDLER STORY TIME Wednesdays (and Tuesdays starting in January) 10:30 & 11:30 am 30 minutes For children who are age 2 or 3.

Holiday Closures

Friday, Jan. 1st: closed for New Year's Day

Monday, Jan. 18th: closed for MLK, Jr. Day

You can always return items to the outside book drop when the library is closed. For questions or hours, please call (360) 8344692.

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME Tuesdays & Fridays (just Fridays starting in January) 10:30 & 11:30 am 30 minutes For children who are age 4 or 5. Please attend only one of the four weekly Preschool Storytimes (books and songs are the same in all four). This will help prevent overcrowding.

SPANISH STORYTIME Wednesdays 11:00 am 30 minutes For children who are infant - age 5.

NOTE: All storytimes have a limit of 40 people: first come, first served.

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Three Tips to Consider With Children and Lying



Information adapted from

Tip #1: Reinforce Times When They Tell the Truth

It's easy to assume that if you want a child NOT to do something, you have to make him feel bad about doing it. But by focusing on what you don't want them to do, you're only drawing more attention to that behavior. It also teaches your child to motivate himself with guilt and fear. Ouch! So instead of making your child feel bad about times where she might be lying, reinforce and acknowledge the times that your child tells the truth.

What if you were to stop punishing for lying and instead focused on praising your child when she told the truth? Try phrases like: "Thank you for being honest about that." "I'm glad that you told me that." Or, "I like knowing the truth. Thank you."

Tip #2: Understand the Reason for Lying

The main reason people lie (kids and adults included) is because they're afraid that if they tell the truth, something unpleasant will happen. So try seeing lying as what it really is. It's a defense mechanism. It's an attempt to protect oneself from perceived danger. People who lie tend to be scared in some way.

If you suspect that your child is lying, instead of jumping on him immediately and accusing him of lying, consider that he might be afraid to tell you the truth in that moment. Have some compassion. People (including kids) are more willing to tell the truth when they're not afraid. So to support your child in telling the truth, show your child that she is safe and loved and respected. Listening without judgment is one great way to do this.

Tip #3: Take Your Own Advice

If you think that your children shouldn't lie, make sure you abide by this same rule. Especially with your kids, see if you can be completely honest in your interactions with them. When they ask you why they can't go play outside, instead of making up some arbitrary reason that isn't really true, look for the real reason and share it with them. Let them in on your process of wanting to be honest with them. And if the honest answer is that you don't know, go ahead and tell them that.

Remember, a child that tells a lie is not uncommon. It doesn't mean there are deep seeded issues with them. Taking a step back and reviewing the possible reasons of why the behavior occurred can give you understanding. Accountability for lying behavior is important, and can be accomplished without shaming the individual. Parents who consistently model appropriate behaviors are providing a steady reminder on what is expected from their children. When the times arise where children need to be held accountable for their actions and fix a problem they've created, it can be done with an empathetic ear and approached as a learning opportunity rather than punishment.

Please contact your schools counselor if you would like further information on this topic.

Thanks,

Mike Durfey Counselor Prune Hill Elementary Michael.durfey@camas.wednet.edu 360.833.5730, ext. 79086

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Internet Safety Tips for Parents with Elementary School Kids

Internet Safety Basics Help your kids understand that they should:

Never share their names, schools, ages, phone numbers, or addresses. Never send pictures to strangers. Keep passwords private (except to parents). Never open email from strangers- it may contain viruses that can harm a computer; and Immediately report to an adult if something mean or inappropriate happens.

Strategies for a Responsible and Safer Online Life

Visit only age-appropriate sites. Check out the site before your kids visit it. Know what features and what content exist and make sure they're good for your kids.

Search safely. Use safe search settings for young kids or think about applying filtering software to limit inappropriate exposure.

Avoid strangers. Tell your kids that people aren't always who they say they are in cyberspace. Explain that if someone they don't know talks to them, they shouldn't respond but should let you know.

Be a good cyber citizen! Remind kids that an internet playground is still a playground and they need to play nicely. A good rule of thumb: If they wouldn't do something in real life, they shouldn't do it online. Find out how your children can report mean behavior or unkind content on their favorite sites and teach them how to do it.

Keep the computer in a central place. So you can see what's going on.

Establish expectations and limits about the amount of time your children spend online and what they do. Make an agreement as a family so it's clear for everyone.

View your own habits carefully. You are their role models.

But, mostly, be involved and have fun with them! Keeping kids safe and teaching them how to use digital technology responsibly is all about staying involved. Start by showing interest in the sites they visit and the games they play and your job will be a lot easier when they start exploring these technologies more independently.

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