For many Southwest Washington families, the beginning of this school year was particularly challenging, featuring teacher strikes and last-minute scrambles for child care. But one thing remained unchanged: Dozens of Clark College students could depend on Clark employees to purchase and fill backpacks so that their children could start the school year off prepared.

The Clark College Backpack Project is a long-standing tradition at the college. Names of the children are gathered and referred by Workforce Education Services, Financial Aid, Veterans Affairs, Transitional Studies, Child & Family Services, and the Penguin Pantry. Volunteers gather information about each child–grade level, supply list, color preferences, etc.–and send a shopping list to an employee who has agreed to sponsor a backpack. Children receive their backpacks about two weeks before school starts in the fall.

This year, donors provided backpacks to 65 children. All told, the Backpack Project has delivered almost 900 backpacks to children of Clark students over the last 15 years.

“This year has been rough, and without this help my children wouldn’t feel as secure with their schooling,” wrote one student whose children received backpacks. “I appreciate my Clark Family.”

Other parents expressed their appreciation for what the college community has done:

• “Your kindness and generosity will never be forgotten.”
• “Thank you so much for thinking of our family and providing such a meaningful thing for my kids to have. It makes my heart fill with love knowing they are starting the school year off right.”

The children were also very excited about their backpacks, sending messages like:

• “Thank you for my backpack, you did good job.”
• “Thank you I really like the backpack, when I saw it I said it was sooooooooooooooo cool!”

The annual backpack project is coordinated by Cindy Heck, Susan Maxwell, and the Office of Planning & Effectiveness. Thank you to all of the employees who sponsored a backpack this year! These backpacks make a positive start to the school year for our students and their children. Thank you!

This article and photos were contributed by the Office of Planning & Effectiveness.

Students competing at the 2017 Southwest Washington Regional Science Olympiad.

Burning marshmallows, miniature hovercrafts, robotic arms, and the perennial favorite, bottle rockets, were a just a few of the 48 activities featured at this year’s Southwest Regional Science Olympiad Tournament, which took place at Clark College on Saturday, March 4.

Mid-experiment at the Science Olympiad.

More than 350 young scientists from 20 middle-school and 18 high-school teams competed in the Olympiad, coming from as far north as La Push, Washington, and as far south as Corvallis, Oregon. Winning teams from the regional competition earned spots in the Washington State Science Olympiad, which will take place at Highline College in Des Moines, Washington, on April 15.

Science Olympiad is a national nonprofit organization that encourages a love of science through educational opportunities, hands-on activities, and regional, state, and national tournaments.

STEM Coordinator Erin Harwood, who oversaw the planning and logistics for the tournament, said she was very pleased with the outcome of the event.

“We’ve had a four-year break from hosting any Science Olympiad event this large, and it’s been a very long time since we hosted a regional event, so this was a nice change and a great way to get back to hosting again,” she said. “It was really amazing how many students volunteered, and the faculty and staff–even the Dean!–got in on helping out.”

Clark students volunteered to help make the Olympiad possible.

More than 130 volunteers—most of them Clark College students, employees, and alumni—helped make the event possible.

At the end of the day, the school teams, event volunteers, and others who participated in the tournament gathered in the O’Connell Sports Complex gymnasium for an awards ceremony filled with energy and enthusiasm. Students from the Quileute Tribal School, whose team had traveled the farthest to participate in the Olympiad, shared a song and words of encouragement with the other attendees before the awards were announced. Eleven teams, five from middle schools and six from high schools, will be continuing on to the state tournament. Camas schools will represent a full five of those eleven teams moving on to the state level.

The following teams will be advancing to the Washington state competition:

B DIVISION (MIDDLE SCHOOL)

• 1^ST PLACE: Skyridge (Blue Team)
• 2^ND PLACE: Liberty (Black Team)
• 3^RD PLACE: Skyridge (Green Team)
• 4^TH PLACE: Jason Lee (Red Team)
• 5^TH PLACE: ExCEL

C DIVISION  (HIGH SCHOOL)

• 1^ST PLACE: Camas (Black Team)
• 2^ND PLACE: Camas (Red Team)
• 3^RD PLACE: Woodinville
• 4^TH PLACE: Union (Black Team)
• 5^TH PLACE: Skyline
• 6^TH PLACE: Washougal (Black Team)

For more photos of the event, visit our Flickr album.

Article contributed by Nova Gump

Photos: Clark College/Nova Gump

The Clark College Dental Hygiene Program will hold a free children’s dental clinic on Saturday, February 4, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the main campus of Clark College. The event will take place in the Firstenburg Dental Hygiene Education and Care Center in the Health Sciences Building on Clark’s main campus.

Dental hygiene students from Clark College will provide care under the direct supervision of licensed dental hygienist and dentists. Services will include cleanings, sealants, x-rays, sealants, doctor’s exams, fluoride, and select emergency treatments for children ages 18 and under. Appointments can be scheduled by calling the Dental Hygiene Business Office at (360) 992-2158.

This is the eleventh year that Clark’s Dental Hygiene has offered a free children’s dental health day. In addition to this event, the college’s Dental Hygiene students provide low-cost dental hygiene care to the community as part of their clinic practice.

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, WA 98663. Driving directions and parking maps are available atwww.clark.edu/maps. If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Penguin Union Building room 013 as soon as possible.

It’s that time of year again: Preparation is underway to celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2016 at this year’s Commencement Ceremony on June 16, and the college needs volunteers to make the event successful for our graduates. There are a variety of opportunities for the college community to get involved, ranging from assisting with the distribution of the faculty and staff caps and gowns to helping at the graduation ceremonies.

The college invites you to participate in these activities as we celebrate the excitement of our students and honor their academic success. Supervisors are encouraged to work with employees on their schedules to allow participation. The time commitment will vary depending on the job you sign up for; the maximum time commitment will be 1 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 16. Additionally, there will be a one-hour training session for all volunteers on Tuesday, June 7, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. in GHL 205.

We will be holding the graduation ceremony, which includes GED and High School Diploma graduates as well as our degree-earning graduates, at The Sunlight Supply Amphitheater at 7 p.m. This is a very large facility that requires the assistance of several staff helping to direct guests and ensure a successful event.

For those who are unable to participate in the ceremony, please consider participating in the faculty and staff cap-and-gown distribution process. The time commitment is for one-hour blocks on Wednesday, June 8.

Anyone interested in volunteering should email Michelle Golder as soon as possible. Please consider offering your time to this worthwhile event.

King Elementary students enjoy their new books, donated through the Clark College Bookstore’s 2015 book drive.

Smiles dominated the scene at King Elementary School on March 2 as volunteers from the Clark College Bookstore read Dr. Seuss’s classic The Cat in The Hat to four kindergarten classes as part of Read Across America Day. Following the book readings by volunteers Kaina Barba and Megaera Jarvis, each student received a new copy of the book to keep for their own, courtesy of the Bookstore’s annual book drive. A total of 100 copies were donated by community members, students, staff, and faculty.

Clark College Bookstore volunteers Megaera Jarvis and Kaina Barba read to King Elementary students during Read Across America Day 2015.

“What better way is there to get a child excited to read than with a Dr. Seuss book?” asked Bookstore buyer Marti Earhart, who helps organize the Book Drive. “When the books were handed out, the kids were so excited to open their books to see what words they recognized.”

“The Clark College Book Drive is a wonderful opportunity for King students to hear another adult read a book to them,” King kindergarten teacher Shari Perea said afterward. “The students treasure the book that they receive from the Clark (volunteer) and it, in some cases, is the only book that they own.”

Over the last seven years, the book drive has provided over 1,100 books to local kindergarteners.

Story submitted by Marti Earhart

Photos: Marti Earhart/Clark College Bookstore

Members of Team Penguin 2013 show off their tees. (Organizer Joe Jenkins is standing in the center of the front row.) Photo: Clark College/Alison Pezanoski-Browne

Once again, academic advisor Joe Jenkins is organizing a Clark College team to run in the next Shamrock Run, held March 15 in Portland. Last year, 96 members of Team Penguin completed one of the courses–which range from a 3.1-mile walk to a 13.1-mile half-marathon run–raising $480 for the Alex Montoya Scholarship Fund at Clark College Foundation. Interested in learning more? Jenkins has created a Facebook page for team members to share information, schedule training runs, and cheer each other on.

Sarah Weinberger and Edie Blakley of Clark College Career Services accept an award from the Clark College Food Bank on behalf of the college.

Clark College was recognized for volunteering more than 400 hours at the Clark County Food Bank on Monday, June 9, during the food bank’s Volunteer Appreciation Night.

Clark has a long relationship with the food bank, which provides bulk food to 29 different food pantries and meal sites throughout the county. Students and employees have donated time to the food bank through the college’s Volunteer & Service-Learning program and its Service & Leadership in the Community program, as well as through Communication Studies and Human Development classes.

Present to accept the award on behalf of the college were Edie Blakley, Director of Career Services, and Sarah Weinberger, also of Career Services. The food bank presented them with an engraved cutting board, which will be displayed at the food bank’s facility in northeast Vancouver, and with a paper certificate, which will be displayed in the Career Services office at Clark.

It’s that time of year again: Preparation is underway to celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2014 at this year’s Commencement Ceremony, and the college needs volunteers to make the event successful for our graduates. There are a variety of opportunities for the college community to get involved, ranging from assisting with the distribution of the faculty and staff caps and gowns to helping at the graduation ceremonies. The college invites you to participate in these activities as we celebrate the excitement of our students and honor their academic success.

Anyone interested in volunteering should email Michelle Golder as soon as possible. A Commencement Volunteer training will be held Monday, June 16, 2 – 3 p.m. in GHL 213. Supervisors have been encouraged to work with employees on their schedules to allow them to participate.

Monday, March 3, four Clark College Bookstore employees visited Crestline Elementary School’s temporary location, which was created after the school was destroyed in a fire last year. Their mission: To distribute to the school’s kindergarten and first-grade students the 190 copies of the Dr. Seuss classic One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish that the Bookstore had gathered through its annual Seuss-a-Palooza book drive. They also read the book aloud to classrooms as part of Read Across America Day.

“The best part of the event is always seeing the look on the children’s faces when you hand them a book and tell them that it is their very own to keep and take home to share with their family and friends,” said Bookstore buyer Kaina Barba, who visited Crestline with his colleagues Michael Owenby, Ashley Anderson, and Michal Neubauer. Indeed, many children gasped when they received their books, peppering the Bookstore staff with questions like “how did you get all these books here?” and “I really get to take this book home?”

“The children were absolutely thrilled to receive books of their own,” said Crestline Budget Secretary Lori Boyd. “Many of our students come from homes where there is not extra money to purchase books, and having their very own, brand-new book to keep is a special treat.”

In addition to the Bookstore’s Crestline visit, 56 Clark students participated in Read Across America Day by reading to children at Harney and Fruit Valley elementary schools through Clark’s Volunteer & Service Learning program.

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Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

As Theodor Geisel (aka “Dr. Seuss”) once wrote, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Heeding those words, Clark College has chosen to make the beneficiary of its sixth annual “Seuss-a-Palooza” book drive and literacy event Vancouver’s Crestline Elementary School, which was destroyed by fire in February 2013.

The Clark College Bookstore is hoping that Seuss-a-Palooza supporters will purchase 190 copies the Dr. Seuss classic, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. The books will be given to kindergarteners and first-graders at Crestline’s temporary location on Read Across America Day (held on March 3, the day after Geisel’s birthday). Books will be read aloud to students by volunteers from Clark College Bookstore.

Copies of the selected Dr. Seuss books will be available for purchase and donation Feb. 10-21 for $6.85 each (plus tax). Each book will have a nameplate for the donor’s name. Donors will be able to purchase books at the Bookstore or online via the Bookstore’s website at www.clarkbookstore.com, making it quick and convenient to participate in the book drive.

“Last year’s book drive had already begun when we learned about the fire at Crestline, so it was unfortunate that we couldn’t collect donated books for them then,” said Clark College Bookstore buyer Marti Earhart, who helps organize the event. “However, the Crestline students are still in temporary facilities and are sacrificing a lot while they wait for their school to be rebuilt. We chose Crestline students as the book recipients of this year’s book drive because we want the children, parents, and staff to know we think of them and care.”

The Clark College Bookstore is located in Gaiser Hall on the northern end of Clark’s main campus. Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Information about the bookstore is available at www.clarkbookstore.com. For additional information, contact Marti Earhart at the Clark College Bookstore at 360-992-2261.