Tragedy at Newtown, Connecticut

As our hearts and prayers go out to the community of Newtown, Connecticut and the victims and families affected by today's senseless tragedy, we find a grave sadness in our hearts. I am including resources to use as we work with our own school family. Please refer to the following information from the National Association of Elementary School Principals contained below:

"Helping Children Cope With Tragedy" Report to Parents: http://www.naesp.org/resources/2/Report_to_Parents/2005/rtp11-05.pdf

"Coping With Loss" Principal magazine article: https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/Schonfeld_Quakenbush_ND12.pdf

"A Death in the Family" Principal magazine article: https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/Boris-Schacter_MA11.pdf

National Association of School Psychologists: www.nasponline.org

Students' Talents Shine Brightly!

Driving around town the other evening I noticed the brightly colored Christmas lights were twinkling through the misty evening sky.  As I continued making my way down street after street I could see the thoughtful care that contributed to each well lit display.  All of the lights in the creatively designed displays made me think of how our many students are similar to the displays.  The various colored lights, each with their contribution to the overall display represented our students and their growing talents and academic strengths.

Some of our students are great in mathematics and see things in a mechanical way.  For those students who exhibit a high level of interest in hands-on math, they have an opportunity at Columbia Central High School to participate in Mrs. Sampson’s engineering class.  As I walked through her classroom earlier this week, her students were involved in project based learning tasked with solving a multi-step problem simulating the sorting of refuse at a landfill.  They used mathematical and scientific properties to design and build a system to solve the problem.  The students were knowledgeable and motivated to succeed. Others of our students have a high level of interest and proficiency in technology.  Entering into Mr. Smith’s classroom, students were involved in learning how to use animation to connect to others.  Working at their individual computer stations they had the opportunity to design and animate their own graphic creation.  Not only did this assignment help to enhance their technological skills, it may have opened the door to a possible future vocation.

For those students who love to express themselves physically, Columbia School District offers physical education classes at every level.  Visiting with Mr. Iott’s physical education class at Columbia Elementary School you might find them outside doing laps on the track, learning a new game, or testing themselves against a challenge that he set up to build their skill while giving them a work out.  As the students race to complete a physical task, you can see their faces light up, much like the brightly colored lights in the Christmas displays.

Other students reveal their talents as their brightly colored lights shine while doing an art project.  If you haven’t ventured past Columbia Elementary in the past couple of days you may not have seen the adorable winter mural painted by students in the front windows which is a tradition at this time of year.  The parents had the paint all ready for the students as they excitedly approached the mural.  The students worked cooperatively as they painted various areas of the mural resulted in an experience many of them will remember forever.

Each student has positive qualities, talents, and strengths they will build on over their lifetime.  As a community, our job is to support our children as they grow and develop their interests and talents.  Over the past several months, the Columbia School District has worked to redevelop our budget to maximize those areas which especially support and enhance the maturing of our students’ talents and academic strengths.  As we join together to support our teachers and students there are ways you may partner with the Columbia School District.  Sign up to volunteer in our Buddy’s Reading program at Columbia Elementary.  Check out and join the Columbia Community Fitness Center through which community members work on their personal fitness goals while supporting the center which benefits our high school students by providing after school fitness activities, along with great fitness equipment they benefit from during their physical education classes.  Donate to help support bringing upgrades in technology to our students.  Your willingness to actively partner with the Columbia School District may change a child’s life forever and make their light brightly sparkle!  If you are interested in partnering with the Columbia School District, please contact me by email at pamela.campbell@myeagles.org or call 517-592-6641.

Creating Art Projects With Your Child

Providing sensory experiences for your child is positive for his development.  Creating and experimenting with art allows your child to use his senses and build his brain.  Playing with play dough, painting, drawing, and making collages all spark connections in the brain.  Having these experiences will help your child be more successful in school.  Christmas time gives us many opportunities to invent creative art project ideas which tie brain development together with the season.

You can help your child get the largest benefit from creating and experimenting with art by:

·        Encouraging him to enjoy the process of creating art.  The most important part of the creative process is that the child should interpret what the project should look like.  Your child will be more apt to explore his creative desires if we accept his finished project without any criticism.

·        Providing materials.  It’s great if your child has access to crayons, paints and paper.  Household items such as fabric scraps and catalogs are also fun to use when creating art projects.

·        Say something specific about your child’s artwork.  “You used a lot of yellow and blue in your picture.”  Your comment could also sound like, “It’s great how you incorporated Santa’s reindeer into your picture,” or “The sculpture of the penguin has a nice long beak and big feet.”

·        Hanging his creation on your refrigerator, setting a sculpture out on a shelf or giving the results of an art project to a favorite relative will make your child feel appreciated.  By displaying the artistic creation your child will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride.

By encouraging your child to be creative he will benefit by increased brain activity and a higher level of self-esteem.  Your attention to a project which he is proud of will help to spark his sense of ownership and will encourage him to experiment with his creative side to a greater degree.  Have fun creating with your child!  If you have questions about this article or about Columbia School District, please call me at 517-592-6641 or email me at Pamela.campbell@myeagles.org.

The Potato

Talk to anyone about their years in school and they will have many stories about teachers, classmates, tests, and athletic events. This year my grandfather, who was born in 1900, would have been 112.  As a small child I listened to him describe his experiences in school.  One story that stands out described a daily ritual through the cold winter months.  The scenario begins with how my grandfather and his friends would cook a potato at home in their old wood stoves.  The boys would then carry their potato to school and use it as a hand warmer in the cold winter weather as the snow blew across their paths.  Once at school they would put it in the wood fueled stove to keep it warm and later, they would eat it for a hot lunch. 

When my grandfather was young the schools were small and all the children were educated together in one room.  His school did not have a bus or any type of transportation.  Earlier this year, the Columbia School Board began examining the cost of maintaining our aging fleet. The cost of parts and tires were mounting and could be minimized if only our fleet was newer.  The newest bus in our old fleet was built in 2003 and one of the older busses was built in 1991.  Due to the age of the fleet, it was time to upgrade the safety aspects for our students and their drivers.  In the end, the cost of the old fleet, the parts, tires, and maintenance of our old busses was comparable to leasing a fleet of new busses.

After studying the bus situation the Columbia School District Board of Education arranged to lease new busses for two years.  This week the students who attend Columbia School District are riding on new busses!  One of the positive aspects of the new busses is that the seatbacks are taller and provide increased safety for our children.  Because the engines and transmissions are new and more reliable there is less chance of breakdowns.  In addition, the busses have digital cameras and new radios. 

As you are driving around town, keep a lookout for our new busses.  They are clean, shiny and most of all safe for their precious cargo.  If you are interested in taking a tour of one of our new busses or learning more about Columbia Schools, email me at pamela.campbell@myeagles.org or call me at 517.592.6641.

 

 

 

Renewing Our Committment to Our Students

The Columbia School District has a long and successful tradition of serving the students of this community in southern Jackson County.  Our supportive community has benefited our students by assisting us in providing a wide variety of academic choices and athletic opportunities.  Test scores in Columbia are among the highest in the county.  Our participation in the Jackson County Career Center gives our students an opportunity to leave high school with a career field and in some cases college credit.  Many of our students graduate and move on to higher education, trade schools or enter military service. 

We are proud of our students and their accomplishments both during school and as they become contributing members of our community.  The renewal of the Columbia School District operating millage is on the November 6^th ballot.  While it is a small item on a very long ballot, it is important to our students and their educational opportunities.  The operating is a non-homestead millage.  It is paid by people who own vacation property or business property.  This is not a new tax, but a renewal of an item which has been passed by our community in the past.  The operating millage provides the Columbia School District with funds necessary to ensure the operation of our school district and to provide an appropriate learning environment for our children. 

The Columbia School community has always been extremely supportive of our schools and our students, staff, board and administration appreciates all of the time and effort given to benefit our children.  We are proud of the communities we serve and strive to bring excellence in education to our students.  For more about the school funding at Columbia, check out the additional info blog at http://pamcampbellssoup.blogspot.com/2012/10/changine-seasons-in-school-funding.html

How is Education Like a Old Fashioned Flour Sack?

The other day I read a poem that was historical in nature.  The author, Marilyn Cox is a writer and historian who lives out west.  Marilyn’s poem was entitled; “In That Long Ago Time When Things Were Saved.”  In her poem she described many uses for a cotton flour sack: book bags, curtains, pillow covers, bibs, diapers and kerchiefs.  The lady who sent me the poem commented on how she and her sister would go to the store and carefully pick out the flour sack that was the prettiest.   She mentioned that the gentleman who ran the store would move the flour sacks around so the girls could get the perfect pattern, then they would anxiously await the time when their mother would use the empty sack to make a beautiful dress for them.    

When I read the poem I thought of all of the disposable items we have in our lives and compared them to the almost infinite uses of the flour sack… I missed some, dish rag, dish cloth, grease rag, juice strainer, a sling and I am sure many more!  One of the things in our lives that is not disposal is our education.  No matter how many years we live, we will always have our education.  Imbedded in our country’s very essence is the tradition of teaching our children and working collaboratively to provide them the best in a lasting, non-disposable education.  Education has been important in the growth of America. Puritan settlers established America’s first public school in 1635 in Massachusetts.  By the beginning of the 1900’s most children in America were attending school and many were preparing for college.  Schools have continued to evolve, expand services and grow stronger academically.

At Columbia Schools we begin with our preschool program which is available for both three and four year olds. The preschool curriculum is designed to provide essential learning activities during an important developmental time in our children’s lives.  For our elementary and middle school students, in addition to the core curriculum, we offer music, physical education and by working with our PTO are able to offer our students art education.  Our students benefit from services which help students by supporting them in our Reading Recovery program or through speech classes, Links or the resource room program.  Many Columbia friends and neighbors are treasured volunteers in our Buddy’s reading program and spend time each week reading with one of our great young students. 

At Columbia Central High School we support students who struggle, while also providing enrichment courses for students who want to be challenged.  Our students in Advanced Placement courses study all year long before taking a test in the spring.  Depending on their score the students could earn college credit.  In addition, our offerings in engineering, chemistry, music and art (to name a few) provide the extra challenge for those who are interested in excelling in a particular area.  The Clarklake campus houses our Options alternative education program along with online courses and our Adult Education program.

The education our students receive is of highest quality and will last them a life-time.  Just like the numerous uses of the historical flour sack, education will serve our students in many ways over their lives.  Please continue to support Columbia Schools by volunteering, attending events or voting for the upcoming non-homestead millage proposal.  If you have questions about how you or your child could participate in our life-long education program or would like to partner with the Columbia School District or to register your child for school, please email me at Pamela.Campbell@myeagles.org or call me at 517.592.6641. 

Changing Seasons in School Funding

As I rounded the corner, there it was a beautiful mix of colors and sizes of plants.  At the edge of the road grew bright yellow goldenrods, immediately behind them was a cluster of wheat grass just beginning to turn brown and standing tall behind them was a group of reeds and cattails.  That scene was only three weeks ago.  Last week, the goldenrods were gone and the wheat grass had withered.  The bright spot in the landscape was the vibrantly decorated trees! 

 This time as I rounded the corner and cruised up the hill the brightly colored leaves were peaking over the edge of the road, lightly waving in the fall breeze.  Each day as I have driven up that incline I have noticed the trees becoming more vibrant with their leaves almost leaping off of their branches, bursting with color!

 

Just as the colors of the leaves have gone from green to a rainbow of reds, oranges and yellows and the season has changed, so has the way schools are funded and the amount of funding received from the state. It all began in November 1978, when Michigan voters approved the Headlee Amendment which was considered earth-shaking tax reform in those days. 

Following the passage of the Headlee Amendment, the next step in school funding reform was in March of 1994, when state voters approved school-finance reform legislation (Proposal A), which replaced local property taxes with state level taxes, principally the sales tax. Proposal A revamped how schools would be funded and also provided educational reforms. Proposal A promised a minimum per pupil foundation allowance, more equity among local school districts, lower property taxes and more school accountability.  Proposal A dramatically decreased the amount of property taxes paid by Michigan residents and limited future increases.

Property is now determined by the state to be homestead or non-homestead. Homestead property is considered to be a Michigan resident’s home. Business property, rental housing, and vacation homes are considered to be non-homestead property. Property that is not a homestead and not qualified agricultural property can be assessed up to an additional 18 mills for local school operating purposes.

The result of the school funding reform has achieved less than stellar results as of late.  In 2003, the minimum school foundation allowance was $6700 per pupil and was designed to narrow the spending gap between low and high spending school districts.  Now, nine years later the foundation allowance received by the Columbia School District is only $6966 per pupil.  While Proposal A was ground breaking legislation and allowed the major share of the tax burden to be lifted from homeowners, the funding allowance for our district has not continued to increase much over the past several years.  In fact, funding for our district was rolled back from $7316 in 2011.  This year we remain a whopping $350 below the 2011 level.  Meanwhile we have tightened our budget, costs have risen and the loss of funding per pupil is crippling. 

Currently those who have property which is classified as non-homestead are levied 18 mills for local school operating purposes.  On November 6^th, Columbia School District will have the renewal of the 18 mill non-homestead property tax on the ballot.  Please remember that this renewal does not apply to a Michigan resident’s home or qualified agricultural property and the renewal is essential to fund learning opportunities for our children. 

If you have questions about this article or how you may partner with the Columbia School District or please email me at Pamela.Campbell@myeagles.org or call me at 517.592.6641.