Dear Parents and Friends of VSAA: - Vancouver School of Arts and ...

Dear Parents and Friends of VSAA:As we approach the holiday season, please note these very special events on your calendars:Strings Concerts: December 4Vocal Concert: December 16Band Concert: December 18Homecoming and Alumnii reception: Dec. 18from 5-7pm in VSAA’s Black Box TheatrePlease note that a $ sign on the calendar means that the event requires admission.$$Inside this edition of the newsletter you will find meeting minutes from the Parent AdvisoryCouncil convened on November 25th. I encourage you to attend the next Parent AdvisoryCouncil meeting on January 27th at 7am in the Media Center.Congratulations to Judy Goff, Andy Bleiler, Dave Chartrey, and Breanna Beck, cast andcrew of Twelfth Night! In spite of flu and colds which overtook various cast and crewmembers, the show went on every performance and they did an outstanding job withShakespeare’s comedy. Kudos to all involved.The schedule committee has met three times: November 17th, December 1st, and December 8th.If you have questions, please contact me or any member of that committee: Heath Angelbeck,Scott Barnes, Deb Cushman, Rie Gilsdorf, Susan Lagsdin, Bonnie Little, Gina Mariotti-Shapard,Don Peterson, Jeri Swatosh, Fern Tresvan, and Adele White. Parent representatives: PattyRaedy and Brad Miller. Student Representatives: Val Raedy and Elan Tomlinson. Ourfacilitators and research consultant are from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory:Newton Hamilton, Deanna Woods, and Michael Koslowe. We are making progress and justbeginning the development of a survey.*Please note that the annual VSAA magnet information night is FEBRUARY 3rd, 2004.$$Also, an explanation about “why you have to pay at your child’s VSAA concert”. Other schools(high schools in particular) generate a significant amount of revenue through their athleticprograms: football, basketball, etc. gate receipts. All of that money goes back into the ASB(Associated Student Body).In our case, we do not have athletics as a source for student revenue. The money we charge forthese concerts goes back into the ASB budget and is spent entirely on our students’ activities inthe arts and any other extra-curricular events. I realize that this may not be the case at other VSDmiddle schools, however, we are configured as a 6 -12 school and we need to be able to supporta rich and varied extra-curricular program for all of our students. If this expense is ever ahardship for you and your family, please know that you can call me (313-4600) or even saysomething at the ticket table and we will accommodate your request.Happy Holidays!Chris Olsen

VSAA Guest Artist NewsColumbia Dance Ensemble will be presenting its annual production of the Nutcracker onDecember 11 -14 and 27-30. VSAA students will be able to view excerpts from the productionat our showcase on Monday, December 8.Amadeus Trio (January 6) - Friends of Chamber Music Grant Performance.“A world-class ensemble. Yes, world-class” (Los Angeles Times). “A rousing performance . . .the players poured their hearts into the music!” (Cleveland Plain Dealer). “The trio played withconviction and ravishing beauty” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Critical reviews such as these havebecome commonplace for The Amedeus Trio, one of the most dynamic chamber music groupsperforming today. Recognized for their brilliant virtuosity and superb musicianship, the threeartists, pianist Marian Hahn, violinist Timothy Baker, and cellist Jeffrey Solow also enjoy awardwinningsolo careers.Other Upcoming ArtistsJames Westby - (Film Director)Northwest Dance Syndrome - (February)Gilles and Colors (April 26) - Friends of Chamber music grantperformance.Walter Thompson (March) - New York based interdisciplinary artistPortland Opera Young Artist Program (Feb. 27)ZMusic Makers (June 18) - Eugene based Polka bandApplication/Orientation NightThe Application/Orientation Night has been moved to Tuesday, February 3, 2004 at 7 pm in theDurst. On this evening you will be able to get information about the VSAA program and receivean application. If you are unable to attend that evening, you may pick up an application in themain office starting February 4th. The deadline for all application materials will be Friday,March 5th.Vitamente Sinfonietta and Level One Stringsby Ann MedellinFirst, the Level One String Class will be referred to as the Volta Prima Orchestra! We aregearing up for our first concert!!! They need to have their black and white outfits ready! It isreally going to be exciting to hear them play- many have solos and I know they are going to dotheir personal best!We have been very lucky to be treated to Dr. Paul Elliott Cobbs and the Red Priest as our guestartists! I thought both performances/workshops were excellent and informative. We are looking

Making VSAA History!We are proud to report that we have earned our first trophy! Placing first in the school district’sStudent Chest Drive for bringing in the most money per student, Erin Burrows and Amy Jeffriesaccepted the award at the School Board meeting held on Monday, November 24. We will bedisplaying the trophy for one year, where we will have the opportunity to win it back in nextyear’s Chest Drive. We’d like to thank all of our volunteers that made this year’s drive sosuccessful and hope to reach the same success in future years. Start saving your pennies now!Coming EventsDec 5 Clark College Band/Choir Concert7:30 pm in DurstDec 11 2-HOUR LATE STARTDec 12 Progress Reports Go HomeDec 12-19 CDE NutcrackerDec 27-30 CDE NutcrackerDec 15 Hockhalter/McKinney Art Show inGallery, 6-8 pmDec 16 Vocal Concert, 7 pm, in Durst $Dec 18 Alumni Homecoming & Receptionin Black Box, 5-7 pmDec 18 Dave & Andy Show, 7 pm $Dec 22-Jan 2 WINTER VACATIONJan 19 NO SCHOOL (MLK Holiday)Jan 24 Winter Formal at JPCJan 29 2-HR LATE STARTJan 29-30 Dance InformanceJan 30 End of SemesterFeb 2 NO SCHOOLFeb 3-6 Core WeekFeb 3 Application/Orientation Night, 7 pmFeb 5 Interdisciplinary Showcase, 7 pmFeb 6 Evening of Chamber Music FundRaiser $Feb 7 Dist. SoloEnsemble Contest (FVHS)Feb 9 8th Grade High School OrientationNight at 7 pmFeb 10 Grades Go HomeFeb 13 NO SCHOOL (President’s Day)Feb 16 NO SCHOOL (President’s Day)Feb 19 Cookie Concert, 7 pmFeb 24 PCAC Meeting, 7 am in MCFeb 26-28 Dinner Theatre, 7 pm $Mar 2,4,6 Dinner Theatre, 7 pm $Mar 5 Application Deadline

Maggie HamiltonBenjamin HayfordMaika HorjusStacy Marie JacobsRachel KoskiJenny MockfordOlivia MoonDevin MoranJennie MowattJarek PoloneyAva SchlossmacherCassie StenbergCameron TownsendTrick-or-Treat for UNICEFDuring the month of October, members carried “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” boxes aroundschool and door to door on Halloween night. Over $60 was raised for this great cause!Student Chest DriveNHS also worked with ASB to run the Penny War for the Student Chest Drive. This activity wasan amazing success. Congratulations to VSAA for having one of the highest per capita donationrates in the school district, at over $2.00 per person! More than $1200 from VSAA will benefitthe Vancouver SchoolDistrict Foundation and the United Way. Thank you to everyone who participated!Food Drive in DecemberStay involved, we still need your help! NHS is sponsoring a food drive. From December 8 th -19 th ,each color team will have their own barrel for collecting food donations. The color team with themost items will be awarded the VSAA Spirit Stick.Cell Phone Collection in JanuaryGetting a new cell phone for Christmas? In January, NHS will be collecting old cell phones todonate to the YWCA. More information will be available soon.Yearbooks On SaleToo Early to Think About Holiday Gifts?The 2003-04 yearbook is on sale now, and just $35! Every student wants one! Make your checkout to the VSAA ASB and drop it off in room 308 or mail it c/o Sandra Burk, VSAA, 3101 MainStreet, Vancouver, WA 98663. This year’s book will include extra color and funny stories fromthroughout the year. If you have a funny story to contribute sometime during the year, pleasedrop it off in the office or email Gina Mariotti-Shapard at gmariott@vansd.org.

Blood DriveWill your student be 17 years or older by March 24? As part of a New Year’s Resolution,encourage them to donate blood at VSAA’s March Blood Drive. All donors need positiveidentification. 17 year olds need a signed parent consent form (given out at the beginning ofMarch). You can donate up to January 24 and still be eligible for the Red Cross Blood drive atVSAA on March 24.Volunteerism At VSAAAs the calendar year winds down I find myself becoming somewhat retrospectively introspectiveand so I pause to take a look at the volunteer program here at VSAA.VSAA depends a lot on volunteerism. Basically, we couldn’t do it without you! From helpingout in the front office, sorting books in the media center, chaperoning field trips, dances andsocials, altering vocal focus dresses, feeding the multitudes, holding the hand of a first-timeblood donor, etc., etc., etc., our community flourishes with your help. And after all, you are theparents of the wonderfully gifted children who attend VSAA so it would stand to reason that youwould have some pretty amazing gifts of your own to share! And you do!So, how does one become a volunteer and from whence do they cometh? Well, it all starts in thefall. Parent Partnership registration forms are sent to each parent who is then encouraged to fillthem out and return them to their child’s advocate. Those forms are given to me. Theinformation from them is entered into the computer and voila¢! We have a volunteer data basefrom which to recruit! The information taken from the parent partnership forms and now storedin the computer tells me who is interested in doing what type of volunteering and theiravailability so that when a staff member comes to me and says, “I need some parents who mightbe willing to supervise next week’s dance performance,” I can generate a list of all parents whoindicated an interest in that particular area and start calling them.To ensure the safety of all our students, Vancouver School District requires that all volunteers gothrough a clearance process. So, the next thing is to get you cleared to volunteer! That part isreally quite simple: just filling out some paperwork and waiting 2-3 days for clearancenotification. Once you are cleared to volunteer then you simply stop by the front office, sign in,pick up an ID badge and we’ll put you to work!So, why volunteer you ask? Well, here are just a few of the many reasons:Add new meaning to your lifeMeet new peopleAdd sunshine to someone’s dayStay young at heart

Enjoy new experiencesPut caring into actionHave funSee others smileInspire othersFor the love of childrenConnect with your communityBe a positive influenceBuild self-esteemImpact a child’s futureSpread joyPass along wisdomGive and gainThe list goes on and on……………..and I am sure you probably have many of your own goodreasons!As I pause this holiday season and look back over the year, it has been another wonderful yearhere at VSAA and I am so thankful to be your volunteer coordinator and appreciative of all youdo. What a great community in which to serve!Joyfully Yours,Melodie Bertheau313-4627mberthea@vansd.org“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”James ThuberVolunteers NeededThe costume shop is in the process of being cleaned and organized. If you would like to helpwith this worthwhile project, please contact Melodie Bertheau at 313-4627 or email her atmberthea@vansd.org.Needed:The costume shop is in need of some black bow ties and cummerbunds. If you would happen tohave any that you’d like to donate, please drop them off in the office.VSAA Parent/Community Advisory CouncilNovember 25, 2003 • 7:00 AM – 8:45 AM

Attending: Mary Rose Allred , Lou Ames, Scott Barnes, Janet Cook, Amber Cruz, Dianna Cruz,Deb Cushman, Phil Harding, Jim Jeffers, Shula Karr, Bonnie Little, Carolyn Noack, Chris Olsen,Dale Rice, Doug Sessions.TWELFTH NIGHTThe performances of the fall play were wonderful despite illness among the cast.OPEN FORUMGallery Show - Amber Cruz encouraged everyone to come to the Gallery Opening for WorkingClass Heroes on December 15. This was a joint project of Chris McKinney’s visual arts class andJennifer Hockhalter’s literary arts class in which students interviewed people and interpretedtheir experiences through artwork and literary pieces.Tours – Although we don’t accept students from outside the district, we will arrange tours oroffer information for those who are moving into the district and want to know more about theschoolParking – We are still looking at ways to help our parking situation.ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE (AIR)Scott Barnes went over the list of upcoming guest artists for the school year. They include:Red Priest – a group which performed last weekChamber Orchestra-Kremlin – will be performing at our showcase. We are expecting studentsfrom throughout the district to attend.Clark College – orchestra and band concertsAmadeus Trio – will come in January, a group from Los AngelesJames Westby – in the spring – a MIA guest artistNW Dance Syndrome From Cornish in Seattle – will be here for one week in FebruaryWalter Thompson – Week-long residence involving “sound scapes” – will culminate with acollaborative performancePortland Opera – February 27Z Music Makers – Polka Band for end of the year.UPCOMING EVENTSChris Olsen spoke about performances in the next couple of month:Strings Concert: Dec 4Vocal Concert: Dec 16Band Concert: Dec 18Dance Informance: Jan 29. 30ADMISSIONSWe have done a lot of work to refine our admissions procedures. February 3 will tentatively bethe date for the application information meeting at 7:00 PM in the Durst. We want to attract morehigh school students to our program. VSAA presentations will be made to 8 th graders at allmiddle schools.March 5 will be the deadline for the applications.

Workshops will probably be done in one day. A rubric has been established using the five corevalues identified as those we are looking for in students : an interest in the arts, collaboration,respect, self-motivation, and academic readiness.Each applicant will participate in all three components of admissions: application, interview,and workshop.The waiting list will be for one year only. Everyone on the waiting list will need to reapply thefollowing year.We discussed:* looking for students willing to make a long-term commitment, who will want to stay for theirhigh school experience,* marketing to high school students, where our waiting lists are not lengthy,* recommitment of our students at the end of 8 th grade,* the natural evolution of the school.SCHEDULE COMMITTEE/SURVEYSThe first meeting of the committee to look at the school schedule was held on November 17.Members of the committee include staff members, administrators, parent representatives, andstudent representatives. The committee is being assisted by two facilitators from NW RegionalEducational Laboratory. At this introductory meeting, we participated in some team-buildingactivities and looked at research. The next schedule committee meetings will be December 1 and8 in the Media Center.We anticipate having a survey ready with the help of research from the NW RegionalEducational Laboratory in January or February. The survey will be used by the schedulecommittee to make a proposal to the faculty. The faculty is the final decision-making body in theschool.District Survey: In addition to our schedule survey, the district will have all high schoolsconduct surveys based on the Nine Characteristics of Highly Successful Schools in the spring aspart of our School Improvement Plans.PERFORMANCE BASED ASSESSMENTThe group of faculty members who are working on the assessments for the arts classes, met withthe arts consultant, Suzy Watts, on November 13. We are looking at performance standards ineach area and looking at assessments of those standards in relation to moving between the levelsof our arts classes. On December 3, the staff will work on these targets and assessments at alonger faculty meeting. They will continue this work on the two-hour late start in-servicemeeting on December 11. We hope to pilot this for the end of 1 st semester.The next Parent Community Advisory Council meeting will be Tuesday, January 27 at 7:00AM in the Media Center.Submitted by Deb Cushman, VSAA Secretary

“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can lookup and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”Louisa May AlcottFROM THE COUNSELORSeniors who are planning to attend a vocational/technical college, a 2-year community college,or a 4-year college should file a FAFSA application for federal financial aid. January 1 st is thefirst day that you can mail or submit an application online for Federal Financial Aid(www.fafsa.ed.gov). Both parent and student must have a PIN # before they can apply onlinewith the FAFSA. You can apply for the PIN # by going to the website. Paper copies of theFAFSA were given to seniors before Thanksgiving. If you want a copy of the paper application,you may request one from Bonnie Little or Marianne Cool (Career/Counseling Clerk).Financial Aid/Scholarship Information Nights. Free Workshops about the financial aidprocess and applying for scholarships:Tuesday, December 9 th WSU-Vancouver, Student Services Building - 6pmThursday, December 18 th Clark College, Gaiser Hall 7-9pmTuesday, February 3, 7-9pm: Information session about scholarships awarded byClark College to students who plan to attend there during the 2004-05 school year. More than$300,000 in merit-based awards are available each year.Juniors are encouraged to take the SAT or ACT this winter or spring. Check the websites forregistration and dates.SAT www.collegeboard.comACT www.act.orgWebsites for college search:www.collegenet.comwww.princetonreveiw.comwww.usnews.comWebsites for financial aid:www.studentaid.ed.govwww.finaid.orgwww.ed.gov/directloan/calc.htmlwww.petersons.comwww.campustours.comwww.mapping-your-future.orgwww.fafsa.ed.govwww.fastweb.comThe following Career Exploration Web Sites are provided by the Vancouver School District toassist students in researching occupations, labor market information, and training. Please use theID and passwords listed below. Students may access these websites from school or home.www.wois.org (Washington Occupational Information System)Go to Online Information. It will ask you for ID and password.ID: schoolofaaPassword: wrm347www.cx.bridges.com

Click on American and then on StudentUsername: 0066539Password: artskids