DISTRICT
The next school board meeting is 6 p.m. Monday, May 7, in the library at Helen Haller Elementary School, 350 W. Fir St. The public is invited to attend, and time is set aside for public comment. To view the agenda and minutes of past meetings, click on “Board of Directors” and “2017-2018 agendas” on the district’s website at www.sequimschools.org.
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Fifth-grade students from Jennifer Lopez’s class were the excited recipients of biography books donated by Janet Thomas of Sequim. The donation inspired interest in biographies and a project was born.
The students each chose a famous person to read about, and selected a second source to further their research. Students were given the task of choosing whether their famous person would best be described as creative, persistent, or hard working and backing up their opinion with evidence from their research. They very much enjoyed the books as well as learning about how to select credible sources.
Mrs. Lopez and her classes would like to thank Janet for her generous donation, and would also like to thank Jace Real Estate for their sticker contest donation which helped fund the purchase of additional biographies for this project. The following are some paragraphs they wrote.
“Sonia Sotomayor”
By Dana Carlile
I think the best word to explain Sonia Sotomayor is hard working. On paragraph 1 of the article, “Sonia Sotomayor.’ Encyclopedia Britannica.” It says, “She was raised in a housing project, and, after her father died, her mother worked long hours as a nurse to support the family.” Despite the things that happened, she still went to school. She got into Princeton University then she got into Yale law school. After she graduated, she worked 5 years as an attorney’s assistant. This means she had a life where her dad died and her family didn’t have a lot of money and she still got into an expensive college. It takes a lot of hard work to get into a college that is very expensive, it also lets you in if you have very good grades.
In the book, Who is Sonia Sotomayor? On pages 35-36, it says, “Sonia didn’t get good grades at first. To her surprise, she got a C on the first paper for history class.” Sonia asked for help from her professor. He explained to her how to put a convincing argument on paper. Other professors told her she was mixing Spanish into English grammar, so she studied all the things her professors told her. This means she was not getting really good grades in the beginning, after she asked her professors for advice she knew what she needed to do. It takes a lot of hard work to do better on your grades and Sonia wanted to get good grades so she put the effort and hard work into getting better grades. In the same book page 59, it says, “Sonia was chosen to help out on the case. She had to interview the witness-just like a detective. And just like Nancy Drew she found a clue that helped prove that Maddicks was guilty!” This means that Sonia was able to find out that the person who was guilty like Nancy Drew, as she dreamed to do as a little child. It takes a ton of hard work to figure out a case, but Sonia did it! That is the reason why I think the best word to describe Sonia Sotomayor is hard working.
“Robert LeRoy Ripley”
By Easton Munger
The best word that describes Robert Leroy Ripley is hard working because in the text of the book “Who was Robert Ripley?” It says on page 28, “Roy spent the next three days walking all over the city trying to find a newspaper that would hire him” (to draw cartoons). If you walk all over the city for three days trying to find a job you are very hard working.
In the Encyclopedia Britannica article “Robert Ripley,” the text says, “Ripley sold his first cartoon to Life Magazine when he was a high school student.” This shows that Robert Ripley was hard working because you don’t just get your drawings into a magazine you actually have to work to get into one and he got into one when he was just in high school.
Also in the Encyclopedia Britannica article “Robert Ripley” the text says, “He made a series of “Believe it or Not” film shorts and a weekly Ripley’s Believe it or Not series eventually aired on television in the 1980s.” This shows that he is hard working because you can’t do nothing and get on TV you have to work for it and that’s what Robert Ripley did.
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ann Riggs’s third-graders at Helen Haller Elementary School have been sharing the book, “Should There be Zoos? A Persuasive Text” by Tony Stead. Students were asked to write their opinions on whether they were for or against zoos.
As an added bonus, we hope you will also enjoy reading Jesse’s story about THE TROLL. Be sure to read the warning at the end and remember to be extra vigilant. Shhhh! Beware THE TROLL.
“Should There Be Zoos?”
By Brenten Cox
I think there should be zoos. My first reason is because animals can’t die of starvation in zoos.
My second reason is that zoos give animals a recreation of their habitat.
My third reason is that animals can’t be killed by a hunter. If someone tries to kill an animal at the zoo, they will be arrested.
Zoos should never be brought down. Zoos save animals.
“Should There Be Zoos?”
By Anastasia Kovalik
I don’t think animals should be kept in zoos! One reason is because without zoos animals have freedom.
Another reason is because animals have natural habitats.
When animals are in zoos, they are not happy. I went to a zoo once and when I went to see the tigers, they were lying down. They looked like they were lonely. When animals are not in zoos, they look happy and they have a lot of energy.
I read that animals in zoos have a kind of disease called zoochosis. Animals with that kind of disease twist their necks, bob their heads up and down and do other crazy stuff like that.
I think that all that zoos do is make animals crazy.
“The Myth of THE TROLL”
By Jesse Chartier
A long time ago there was a mountain lion. He had told tales about THE TROLL. He told people that THE TROLL walked all around town at night and returned to the mountain at dawn.
The people said they wanted to see THE TROLL! So they stayed awake till dark. Then they saw him!
THE TROLL said, “I will eat you all!”
The mountain lion said, “No!”
So the mountain lion leaped on THE TROLL. THE TROLL hit the mountain lion. But the mountain lion bit THE TROLL and THE TROLL ran away. The mountain lion was a hero.
But THE TROLL will come AGAIN SOMEDAY!
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
The Spring Plant Sale is set for May 9-12 in the high school greenhouses. Sale times are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., May 9-11, and 9 a.m.-noon, May 12.
The high school is hosting a blood drive from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, in the gymnasium. The public is invited to donate.
Senior Ball tickets are on sale in the main office through May 18. The dance is June 2 at Fort Warden in Port Townsend.
The Scholarship Awards night will be Wednesday, May 30, at 6 p.m. in the auditorium.
The next graduation party planning meeting is at 6 p.m. Monday, May 14, in the high school library. Parents, come and help with the final stages of planning!
