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Greetings and Happy New Year! As we ring in 2015 at Prune Hill Ele-mentary, our teachers and students are ‘in the zone’ of teaching and learning. The students have sprouted taller over the break, and have quickly settled back into their rou-tines. We registered some new pen-guins, as well! As a parent myself, I share the belief that student safety is our number one priority in our schools. We have a safety committee that meets three times a year to review our emergen-cy plans as well as building emer-gency plans created in conjunction with the Camas Police and Fire De-partments. Safety procedures here at Prune Hill include routine fire drills, earthquake drills, and lockdown drills. We model and expect calm behavior while conducting these drills, as the biggest threat to our school continues to be a natural dis-aster (earthquake). We appreciate your support in explaining to your students how these drills are im-portant and their role to stop, look, and listen to the nearest adult is their job. Please continue signing in and out at the office when you visit, wearing a visible visitor’s badge, and calling in your student’s absences. We will ask for ID from those we don’t recog-nize. While at times we may come across as hyper-vigilant, we are! we are! we are! we are! Our biggest priority is your child’s safety while here at school.

Last year we had school closures in January due to inclement weather. We’ll see what this year brings! In regards to school district closures, here is some helpful information that may address questions and/or con-cerns that we hear:

• We don’t make school delay/closure decisions lightly because we know it can be an inconvenience for parents.

• Starting at 4:00 AM our Transpor-tation Director as well as other transportation personnel drive the roads to check on conditions. Based on what they find, as well as up to the minute forecasts, a recommenda-tion is made to either have school, a late start or close school.

• Automated calls go out to all pri-mary phone numbers. Please be sure we have your updated address and phone in case of a closure or delay.

• The CSD is large and has a wide range of elevation within our boundaries. It ranges from 250 feet at the low point up to 2,300 feet on Livingston Mountain. We transport many students from the Fern Prairie/Livingston Mountain area and many high school students drive from that area as well. While it may look like a snow or ice-free day in town, it can be treacherous in the upper reaches of our district, especially for the ear-ly run when it is still dark.

If we make an error in calling a late start or snow day, we will always err on the side of safety.

Hopefully we’ll have very few days this school year to make up in June! **We hope to see you all here for our Family Math Night coming up on January 22nd 5:30-7:00! Sincerely, Julie Swan Principal

360-833-5730 phone 360-833-5731 fax

1601 NW Tidland St Camas, WA 98607

Prune Hill Penguin News January 9, 2015

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Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

4 5

Choir Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

6

Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

7 AM K 8

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PTA Birthday

Table

Reflections Art

Submissions Due

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11 12

Choir Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

Camas School Board

meeting 5:30 ZAC

13

Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

14 PM K

MLK Assembly 9:15

15

AIMSweb Testing

16

AIMSweb Testing

17

18 19

NO SCHOOL

MLK Day

20

Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

21 AM K

5th Gd. Water

Quality Monitoring

22

Family Math Night

5:30-7:00

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24

25 26

NO SCHOOL

Secondary

Grading Day Camas School Board

meeting 5:30 ZAC

27

Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

28 PM K

29

PTA General

Membership Mtg.

6-7 Library

30

Spirit Day

Sports Day

Read to Feed Ends

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January 2015

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 ex-

pect. Please take a moment to show your apprecia�on to our five wonderful school board members this month!

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Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Choir Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

3

Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

4 AM K

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6

Winter Wonderland

Dance 6-8

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8 9

Choir Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

Camas school board

meeting 5:30 ZAC

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Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

11 PM K

Read to Feed

Assembly 9:15

12

100th Day of

School

Winter Box Tops

Contest Ends

13

Snow Make Up Day

School is in

Session

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15 16

NO

SCHOOL Presidents’ Day

17

Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

18 AM K

19

20

Spirit Day

Color War Day

Birthday Table

21

22 23

Choir Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

Camas school board

meeting 5:30 ZAC

24

Recorder Rehearsal

8:00-8:45

25 PM K

26

27

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February 2015

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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: www.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 quest- ions 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

• 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 Carol Cone through e-mail at car-ol.cone@camas.wednet.edu or by phone at 833-5768 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 entrées for breakfast ($1.50) or lunch ($2.50) or to just purchase milk (.65) when they bring cold lunch..

Our fourteenth 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 dis-

tribute to families “in need” in the Camas/Washougal area.

The program will go until January 30 and the Read-to-Feed assembly

will be Wednesday, February 18. Watch for details to come.

For current information for Camas School District and Prune

Hill Elementary check out the CSD website:

http://www.camas.wednet.edu/

Also take a look at the PH blog for web calendar and to be in-

formed of activities at Prune Hill:

http://schools.camas.wednet.edu/prunehill/

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Three Tips to Consider With Children and Lying Information adapted from www.justparentingadvice.com

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 tell-

ing 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 sham-

ing the individual. Parents who consistently model appropriate behaviors are providing a steady re-

minder 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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PTA NEWS – Happy New Year! Winter Wonderland Dance – Friday, February 6th – 6-8pm

Winter Wonderland is just around the corner! Join us on Friday, February 6th from 6-8pm in the Gym/Cafeteria for dancing and Principal For a Day Silent Auction! Fun for the whole family! It’s never too late - Join the Prune Hill PTA

Membership envelopes are available in the office. PTA Membership helps to support all the pro-grams 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 obliga-tion to volunteer if you are a member. Box Tops Fall Box Top collection class winner: Mrs. Holscher’s class. Thanks for all your hard work. Next collection will be in February, start collecting now and stay tuned for more information and up-dates on dates.

General Membership Meeting Join us for a PTA General Membership Meeting on Thursday, January 29th from 6-7pm in the school Library. Yearbook Orders Yearbook order forms will be going out beginning of February and orders can be placed during the month of February. Be on the look-out for order forms coming home and available in the Office starting the first week of February. UPCOMING DATES:

January 9: Birthday Lunch Table January 19: MLK Holiday - No School January 26: Secondary Grading Day - No School January 29: General Membership Meeting - 6-7pm in Library February 6: Winter Wonderland Dance - 6-8pm

Visit us on Facebook or at www.freewebs.com/phepta Email us at prunehillpta2@gmail.com

Welcome 2014-2015 Board of Directors

President Vice President Co-Treasurers

Alex Ryan Amy Walker Cassandra Moore & Autumn Travers

Secretary Fundraising Membership

Katie Flanagan Kris Blair Stacey Turnage

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Book Swap for Kids and Teens

Trade your used books with the library or with others. Free! Take home as many books as you bring! It’s ok to bring more than you take home. The library will donate several boxes of books to the swap. Friday, February 20th @ 3-5pm; come any time.

The Lego Club A gathering of Lego lovers! Every third Thursday of the month at 4 pm. All ages welcome. A new Librarian’s Challenge every month, free play, and thousands of Lego bricks and minifigs! No regis-tration 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 both come to the meeting, and then you get to keep the book for free! Sign-up required. Snacks and an activity, too! Every second Tuesday of the month at 4:00 pm. Call (360) 834-4692 for more info.

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

TODDLER STORY TIME Wednesdays 10:30 & 11:30 am 30 minutes

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME Tuesdays & Fridays 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.

Holiday Closure The Library will be closed on Monday, January 19th for Martin Luther King Day and Monday, February 16th for President’s Day. Books and other checked out ma-terials may still be returned via the drop box. For questions or hours, please call (360) 834-4692.

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