Helen Baller Newsletter, February 2013 - Camas School District

Dear Helen Baller Families,
Baller
Bear
News
February 2013
I hope you all had a terrific Winter Break and Happy New Year! My family stayed around here for most of the
break and then headed to Richland, Washington to spend a few days with my mother. My youngest daughter,
Maya, turned nine years old so we had a huge birthday party that included thirteen eight and nine year old girls
running around. Her birthday happened to be at the same time as the Packer game. It was hard to concentrate
on the game!
When we returned to school the staff and students reviewed the rules and expectations at Helen Baller. The
students have been excellent this year. We keep track of discipline data and this year we have the least amount
of referrals we’ve had since I have been at Helen Baller. The students work hard to follow the Baller Big Three
which are to be responsible, respectful and safe. Keep up the good work!
Stuff the Bus was a huge success this year. Thank you for all of your support. The students met their goal of
bringing in 2,500 cans of food. The whole district collected over 4,000 pounds of food. It feels great to be able to
help others!
At the beginning of January the students participated in Aimsweb testing. We test students in the areas of
reading and math. AIMSweb is a progress monitoring system based on direct, frequent and continuous student
assessment. The results are reported and analyzed to determine if our instructional strategies are meeting the
needs of all learners.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars came to Helen Baller and presented awards to four of our students who won an
essay contest. The students are Conner Murphy, Emily Elwell, Anna Walbruch and Bella Distante. We are proud
of all our students who participated in the contest.
On February 21 st we invite you to an Open House that will take place from 6:00 to 7:30. It will be a great chance
to see all the work your child/children have been doing in school. It should be a lot of fun and we hope to see
you there! More information will be coming home soon.
If you ever have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at aaron.parman@camas.wednet.edu
Thanks for your continued support. Have a terrific month.
Aaron Parman
Helen Baller Elementary 1954 NE Garfield Street; Camas, Washington 98607-1143
Pnone: (360)833-5720 Fax (360)833-5721 Website: schools.camas.wednet.edu/helenballer/

February
Baller Bear
Calendar of Events
1 No School – Grading Day
2 Groundhog Day
4 Read To Feed begins
8 Birthday Table
8 Bingo Night & Spaghetti Feed 5:30pm
10 Chinese New Year (Snake)
11 School Board Meeting
12 PTA board meeting (2pm-3:15)
12 Election Ballots Due – Camas School District
M&O & Tech Levies
(information available at http://www.camas.wednet.edu/levy)
14 Valentine's Day
15 No School. President's Day
15 Newsletter submissions due for March
18 No School. President's Day
19 100 th Day of School
19-21 Winter Book Fair
(PTA Members get a 10% discount)
21 Open House, 6pm-7:30pm
28 Read To Feed ends
March
2 Dr Seuss' Birthday
6 Drama Team performance “Respect”
9:15am and 10:30am
10 Daylight Savings Time begins
14 Pi Day
15 Birthday Table
15 PTA board meeting (2pm-3:15)
17 St Patrick's Day
22 Baller Spring Performance (CHS)
ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK!
Orders for your
2012-2013
yearbook
will be taken all
month long...
Don't delay,
especially if you
want to have it
personalized.
PTA Information:
PTA Website:
www.helenballerpta.org
PTA President: Cheryl Johnson
president@helenballerpta.org
Vice President: Temple Jackson
vicepresident@helenballerpta.org
Secretary: Diana Sterle
secretary@helenballerpta.org
Treasurer: Kim Newell
treasurer@helenballerpta.org
Spiritwear: Diana Sterle
spiritwear@helenballerpta.org
Newsletter: SueAnn Murphy
newsletter@helenballerpta.org
Fundraising: David Van Cleave
fundraising@helenballerpta.org
Your time is a gift...
Thank you for
Volunteering!
How do I sign up? Check out
Signupgenius.com
And enter
volunteer@helenballerpta.org
To see a wide variety of ways
That you can help!
Need more information on the PTA:
info@helenballerpta.org
Check us out on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/helenballerpta
Do you have a submission for the
March 2013 newsletter?
Please send them to
newsletter@helenballerpta.org
for consideration by February 15

Baller Birthdays!
All students with January birthdays were invited to sit at the Birthday Table and enjoy an ice cream
treat on January 18th. Thanks to all the parents and family members who were able to attend. The
kids love having family members there.
A special thank you to the Sjostrom and Mallari families who helped support the January Birthday
Table. Your donations are greatly appreciated.
We will be celebrating the next Birthday Table at lunchtime on Friday, February 8 th . Watch for
invitations to come home with your child the week prior. Parents and other family members are
invited to attend. We hope to see you there!
If you would like to volunteer your time or donate for the event, please sign up at Signupgenius.com
and search volunteer@helenballerpta.org. Thank you to all our wonderful Baller families who have
helped make the Birthday Table a huge success!

Congratulations to our Baller Bear winners of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars/Ladies Auxiliary
Essay Contest!
How
I show love
for my
Country...
Anna Walbruch, Conner Murphy and Emily Elwell
Conner won 1 st place out of the Third Grade level Emily won 2 nd place out of the Third Grade level
Anna won 2 nd place out of the Fifth Grade level
Also, Congratulations to Bella Distante, who won 1 st place out of the Fourth Grade level.

Success Book Roll Call
Below is a list of students who have signed the Success Book during the month of January. Any
Helen Baller staff member can have a student sign the Success Book for being successful with
academics, behavior or work ethic. Several of the students signed the Success Book multiple times,
but I have only listed their name once. Way to go Helen Baller Bears! We are proud of you!
Aaron Ackman
Aaron Geigenmiller
Adam King
Aleena Enz
Alex Hostetler
Alex Johnson
Alexia Johnson
Allie Holloway
Allyson Stoller
An Bui
Anna Bedont
Anne Califf
Annika Stupfel
Anthony Flores
Ariya Briscoe
Ashley Gillespie
Autumn Sterle
Bella Distante
Ben Floyd
Bradley Cox
Brady Carrick
Brian Cooper
Brig Griffin
Brooklyn Mathison
Caden Socquet
Chloe Mallory
Clark Dinh
Courtland Anderson
Cyenna McCusker
Daisy Wagner
Daniel Dyra
Deitrich Vu
Delaney Anderson
Dominic Colletto
Dylan Bohannon
Eddie Twyman
Elise Olsen
Elizabeth Gillespie
Ella Shannon
Ellianna Sabatini
Emily Asbury
Ethan Gieker
Ethan Jud
Evanee Schell
Gage Reynolds
Gavin Jones
Gilly Woolsey
Grace Orfield
Grace Raney
Grace Varsek
Isabel Newell
Isabella Fazio
Isabella Hankins
Isabella Tumasian
Jack Booth
Jackson Wright
Jacob Gianan
Jasper Lane
Jenna Lukowiak
Joshua Costian
Julia Marsh
Kailey Beaudoin
Kaylah Kribs
Kenny Wright
Kevin Espitia-Doty
Laila Markland
Lance Stuck
Laura Berson
Lindsay King
Logan Hansen
Logan Reichert
Luke Bales
Macynn Schmid
Maddie Johnson
Maizy Arbogast
Maren Lyman
Mason Mathison
Matthew Manginelli
Mia Henry
Michael Huynh
Nicki Wasson
Ohvion Crawford
Paige Cody
Payton Strickler
Phoebe Berg
Raigan Hammack
Regan VanCleave
Renae York
Riley Gallardo
Riley Howard
Riley Robbins
Riley Tiedeman
Samuel Jones
Sara Buchholz
Sarah Greenhill
Sarah Maddux
Seth Lyman
Shaylyn Maloney
Skip Dickson
Stephanie Kartashev
Timothy Jones
Torin Pasa
Tristen Manginelli
Ty Sturbelle
Tyler Dinh
Tyler Jack
Vineh Bhui
Willie Bump
Xander Acain
Yvonne Lee
Zachari Landacre
Zachary Woodward

.
NIGHT
&
SPAGHETTI
FEED
FEBRUARY 8
5:30pm

Helen Baller PTA and Amazon.com have
teamed up to make fundraising fast and
easy!
Helen Baller can now earn money for any item
you purchase at Amazon, including gift cards,
books, clothes, toys, tools, electronics, or
anything else you can find at Amazon! Simply
visit our website (www.helenballerpta.org) and
click on the link that says
***Click here to earn money for Helen Baller
PTA when you shop at Amazon.com!***
That's it! There is nothing else to do. Just visit
our website whenever you need to shop at
Amazon, click on the Amazon link on our
homepage, shop as you normally would on
Amazon, and a portion of your purchase will be
donated to our school!
Thanks for supporting Helen Baller PTA!
Www.helenballerpta.org
https://www.facebook.com/ballerpta
PTA Fall Budget Snapshot
INCOME (minus event expenses)
Amazon.com: $208.38
Baller Blast: $8,473.54
Box Tops: $861.78
Dine Around @ Burgerville: $302.00
Fall Book Fair: $1,187.64
Family Movie Night: $276.75
Misc. Donations: $204.50
Payback Books: $9,838.64
PTA Membership Dues: $762.03
USWC TaeKwonDo: $660.00
EXPENSES
All School Enrichment: $4,200.00
(includes partial funding for the school-wide iXL licensing)
Back-To-School Night: $294.07
Birthday Table: $38.55
PTA Executive Board Training: $124.55
PTA Office Expenses: $109.19
PTA Liability Bond & Insurance: $150.00
Staff Appreciation: $68.00
Teacher Grants: $2,483.89
We need to thank two people who worked with us to put together a couple of the
above events. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Mr. Ronnie Romero, Camas Burgerville
Mr. Gabby Obegi, USWC TaeKwonDo Owner and proud
Baller parent
Additionally, a huge “Thank You” to all Baller students, parents and their family
members who either volunteered your time or attended any of the above events.
We greatly appreciate your support!

AAP News Parent Plus
INFORMATION FROM YOUR PEDIATRICIAN
It’s late and your child is awake with a cough. What’s a tired parent to do?
Over-the-counter cold medications for children under age 2 were pulled from store shelves in
2008. Little proof existed that these remedies did anything to ease the symptoms of children
under age 6. In fact, studies have indicated that some simple remedies can be helpful, and
many can be found in your bathroom or kitchen cabinet. Following are tips from the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to help calm your young child’s cough and cold
symptoms so the whole house can sleep soundly.
Sweet dreams
Buckwheat honey was found to ease nighttime coughing and sleeplessness in children ages 2
and older, according to a 2008 study. Honey can be fed safely to children over age 1,
according to the AAP Nutrition Handbook. The AAP does not recommend giving honey to
infants under 12 months of age because it could contain a bacterium that causes infant
botulism. The AAP advises starting with ½ to 1 teaspoon as needed. If honey is not available,
corn syrup may be used.
Saline solution
Saline solution offers a way to keep the tiniest noses clear. Babies can benefit from nasal
washes prior to nursing or bottle feeding. Make saline solution by combining ½ teaspoon of
table salt per 1 cup of warm tap water. Put two to three drops in the nostril and use a bulb
syringe to suction it out. Older children also can gargle saline solution to ease sore throats.
Vapor rubs
For children older than age 2, topical vapor rubs can help ease chest and nose congestion. A
2010 study found that vapor rub containing camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oils relieves
symptoms and aids sleep in children with colds. Rubs never
should be given by mouth or rubbed under the nose. Follow instructions on the label and rub
on the chest.
If all else fails, consult your pediatrician if your child’s symptoms last longer than a week, he
or she has a mild fever for more than two to three days (call the pediatrician right away if
your infant under 2 months has a fever), your child has severe ear pain that does not go away
or has a sore throat accompanied by fever and swollen neck.
-Trisha Korioth
©2011 American Academy of Pediatrics.
This Parent Plus may be freely copied and distributed with proper attribution.
©Copyright 2011 AAP News
2ww.aapnews.org