Energy Star Certified
The Caps Have Been Counted!
Published May 24, 2013 | 
Our year-long bottle cap collecting resulted in an unbelievable grand total of 112,238 plastic threaded bottle caps saved from the landfill!
Last year’s total over just a few weeks was 5,586. What an amazing accomplishment to have amassed so many caps for recycling, Grass Valley! Thank you to EVERYONE who saved, counted and bagged caps of all colors and sizes! Did you know that plastic caps are typically made of polypropylene (#5 plastic) while bottles are usually polyethylene (#1 plastic, for instance). Some recyclers do not accept lids with bottles and the
caps get sent to the landfill. Even though Columbia Valley in Evergreen won the competition with 132,000 bottle caps, we were the only two schools to compete. Together we saved almost a quarter of a million bottle caps from the landfill!
Sorelle Spa Salon is rewarding BOTH schools with a popsicle for each student and a $20 certificate for each staff member to apply towards a service of his or her choice.
Keep saving your bottle caps! This is the last year Sorelle is sponsoring the competition but with a little help, we might hold a grade-level competition in the next school year. Any caps turned in to school between now and the end of the school year will be recycled OR you can bring caps to your nearest Aveda salon including Sorelle on 192nd Avenue in the QFC shopping center. We will advise families near the end of the year of any over-the-summer school competition.
~ Mrs. Della Valle, 1st Grade Teacher
GRASS VALLEY RECEIVES CEF MAJOR GRANT AWARD
Published May 23, 2013 | Picture this: GVE kids in a circle discussing elements of a story, responding to inferential focus questions, giving opinions with supporting reasons, asking each other questions, and really analyzing what they have read. Yes, even our youngest readers will have the opportunity to do this next year with the Junior Great Books (JGB) program. Thanks to the CEF for funding our major grant and to the PTA for their support, we are excited to announce that our school will purchase the JGB Program for grades K-5 for next school year. All teachers will participate in training early next school year and your child will enjoy a multitude of benefits in a single well-designed program that will stretch beyond reading.
JGB uses a shared inquiry approach which helps students improve their critical thinking, reading comprehension, writing, listening and speaking skills. At every grade students will have unique opportunities to grow. We are thrilled to be implementing this program next school year!
Big Learning for Little Learners
Published February 27, 2013 | 
Please join us for an evening of family-focused learning activities to support early learning and school readiness skills. This program is open to young learners ages 3-6 in the Camas School District. We will focus on early literacy and math skills and provide free materials for you to take home and use to continue the learning at home. Space is limited to the first 40 families.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 6:00-7:30 p.m. Helen Baller Elementary School 1954 NE Garfield Street Camas, WA 98607
Please register by completing the form and returning it to Helen Baller Elementary. The form can be returned by e-mail to diane.loghry@camas.wednet.edu, mailed, or dropped off in the school office.
Childcare and refreshments provided!
Registration Form (Word) (PDF)
Grass Valley students raise money for Humane Society
Published February 20, 2013 | 
Fifth-graders Megan Bauer, seated left, and Lily Thompson, seated right, accept donations from Hossana Abbay, top left, and Autumn Aho at a donation drive for the Humane Society for Southwest Washington.
Two Grass Valley Elementary School fifth graders took their strong interest in helping animals to the next step last week by organizing a large-scale donation drive and assembly at their school.
Megan Bauer and Lily Thompson, both 11, are part of the Kids Club at the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. They decided to take extra strides toward the cause of aiding animals in need by putting on the week-long drive, where they set up shop in their school and asked for contributions. The girls were helped in their mission by Grass Valley jazz teacher Natalie Wilson, Principal Patricia Erdmann and Humane Society customer service manager Shonda Feathers.
The drive kicked off with an assembly held to talk about the girls’ goals of spreading awareness and bringing in needed items and money for the Humane Society. Donations flowed in throughout the week, including cat and dog toys, collars, blankets, pet food and kitty litter. One student dropped off a small bag of collected coins.
Retreived from The Columbian
Levies pass!
Published February 15, 2013 | Thanks to all the voters in Camas who stepped up and voted to uphold our standards for our students, and the community in which we live. While we only needed a simple majority to win the levy elections, it warms the heart to see the overwhelming support.
Grass Valley Calls for Big Brothers and Big Sisters!
Published February 15, 2013 | 
Grass Valley Elementary staff members are launching a new mentoring program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clark County. They are looking for volunteers, over the age of 18, to act as “big” mentors. The only requirement to be a volunteer is the ability to make a weekly commitment to the program and a desire to make a difference in the life of a child.
Volunteers will be matched with a student in the third or fourth grade and will begin the partnership by visiting their “little” for lunch at school (about 40 minutes – 1 hour). Volunteers may eventually engage in recess or other educational games with their student. It is the hope that pairings will continue at least through the 2013-2014 school year. All adults will be given training from Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as a background check and interview. We know that this will be a truly rewarding experience for our volunteers as well as our students!
If you or someone you know is interested, or if you have questions, please contact: Chrys Royall by phone at 360-335-3000 extension 79154 or email at christina.royall@camas.wednet.edu.