An agreement to help define the relationship between the new superintendent and the school board is expected to be approved Monday night, marking the first time a contract focused on creating good communication between the superintendent and the board has been a formal part of the district process.
 
“It is a way for us to start off on in the right direction and to have ways and ideas for us to continue to build on our relationships as my position unfolds in serving Central School District and the communities we serve,” explained Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD. Part of the agreement centers on ways to foster good communication, according to a discussion at the last school board meeting.
  
The agreement represents a new approach by the board but it’s a tool that’s been used lots of other places, said School Board President Steve Moser. Both the National School Boards Association and the American Association of School Administrators recommend on their websites such agreements.

Some students in Monmouth and Independence became aeronautical scientists this summer, transporting their project into outer space -- while remaining earthbound themselves.
 
It was all part of a special NASA-backed course in which local students, who called themselves the “Supernovas,” wrote computer code for moving objects in zero gravity. With the help of Monmouth Mayor Steve Milligan working as their guide, they took online tutorials and competed with others teams of youth from across the United States. The students and Mr. Milligan reported on their astronomical achievement at the last school board meeting.
 
The Supernova team was one of four in Oregon. Initially, the students’ code-writing underwent digital simulation to determine if it was performing correctly. Eventually it was uploaded to the International Space Station, where it ran a “sphere” – which looked a little like a floating, multi-sided beach ball. Video footage at the school board meeting showed astronauts looking on, as the sphere made twists and turns around them. Oregon clinched 8th place in the challenge. Student participants told school board members that it is was a space trip they’ll never forget even though they never left their home planet.

The statewide Smarter Balance test results are in – and the only widespread conclusion so far seems to be that they are harder for parents and educators to understand, in part because of their newness.  A work session to discuss how to interpret scores is to be held this month. A link to those released for the Central School District:
http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx

There were tears from reluctant kindergartners, high-decibel school-bus rides and enough smoke in the air to prompt discussions about whether recess should be held outside. It was all part of the first day of school for Central District 13J this past month, and Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD was there to see it up close and personal. She pronounced it a great day, as she recounted the experience for school board members at their first meeting after school was back in session.
 
The Eagle Creek forest fire in the Columbia Gorge, which made the sky seem unnaturally gray, didn’t seem to put a dent the day. By the time the final bell rang, kindergartners were getting used to classrooms, and  quiet morning bus rides  were filled with noisy chatter in the afternoon, Dr. Kubista observed. She’d seen “lots of happy faces,” she said. One high point was watching 8th-graders help new 6th-graders learn the ins and outs of locker utilization.  “Lockers are a big thing,” she noted.