DISTRICT
The next school board meeting is 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, in the district boardroom, 503 N. Sequim Ave. 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 “School Board,” “Regular Communication” and “Agendas” on the district’s website at www.sequimschools.org.
Nov. 27 is an early release day for all schools.
There is no school on Nov. 28-29 in observance of Thanksgiving.
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
What’s in a name? Greywolf fifth-grade language arts students recently participated in the time-honored tradition of self-portraiture. Students created watercolor portraits of themselves to accompany a written personal narrative in which they addressed the following three questions: 1. What is the story behind how you got your name? 2. How does your name connect to your identity as a person? Finally, 3. When people hear your name, what do you want them to think — or, in other words, what sort of reputation or legacy do you hope to leave behind as a human?
In addition to being an assignment aimed at strengthening students’ academic compositions, this sort of reflective nonfiction writing about self and identity, helps students to build their self-awareness. Self-awareness is a required pre-requisite to self-regulation, and self-regulation is an important component to success. Asking students to cast their collective gaze into the future and think about how they want to be remembered is connected to our Kids at Hope philosophy. Students who have clear goals and dreams in mind have better chances of actualizing those aspirations.
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
In keeping with the seasonal theme of Halloween and Dio de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), teachers Carolyn Luengen and Emily Ellefson planned a very special lesson for their third-graders for Oct. 31: “Blood and the Human Body: The Skeletal System.”
A tremendous amount of advance preparation was needed. The teachers labored the day before after school to transform their classrooms into operating theaters by hanging light blue paper tablecloths from the ceiling. Signs on the classroom doors read: “Warning: Do Not Enter! Authorized Personnel Only. Do not disturb while surgery is in progress.”
To make the exercise as realistic for the students as possible, the teachers, dressed in scrubs, concocted a supply of realistic-looking fake blood by mixing together corn syrup and cherry Kool-Aid. Desks and tables were pushed together and covered in white paper to create operating tables. Plastic Halloween skeletons were laid out on operating tables to represent patients. Medical gloves, face masks, hair nets and official name tags were required gear for the students-turned-surgeons to wear for the lesson.
The students worked together in teams of four. Patient reports on official clipboards were distributed, and students were instructed to read the patient’s file in entirety. Their assignment was to analyze components of the patient’s medical history to determine or infer their symptoms. In the spirit of collaboration, students were instructed to consult with their team to confirm and record a diagnosis. The young surgeon scholars were cautioned to be ready for possible complications, however.
Tasks students perform included:
• Measuring the patient in meters/centimeters and comparing the patient’s height with their own
• Identifying different bones in the human body, including the humerus
• Illustrating and labeling bones, recording all weights in grams
• In case the patient needed more blood, measuring out 300 mL of blood using measuring tools provided
• Wrapping specified bones in gauze provided
• Writing a detailed report explaining what happened to the patient, filling out the proper form
• Completing a quiz to check for understanding about the skeletal system, and reporting all findings to the supervising surgeon (the teacher)
Claire Lawless and Annie Sorensen from Carolyn Luengen’s class wrote this account in their report:
“He woke up and got dressed. He had breakfast and he had cereal. Then he asked his Mom and Dad to go on a bike ride down the road. He smelled mud and saw leaves falling from the trees. He got distracted and started rolling down the hill and ran into a pothole, then he tumbled down the hill and started crying. He broke his humerus and his Mom and Dad ran down the hill and took him to the hospital. Dr. Annie Sorensen, Dr. Claire Lawless, Dr. Xavier Devlin and Dr. James Jensen fixed him up at the hospital. He got surgery and it was a success.”
Xavier Devlin, Claire Lawless, Annie Sorensen and James Jensen, working together as a surgical team, found it necessary to administer CPR on their patient. ‘We’ve got to save the patient!’ Devlin exclaimed.
Ellefson’s class was very enthusiastic about the class activity. Ryder McCreary said the whole surgery was his favorite part. Eden Schubert remarked, “This is the best lesson ever!”
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
Teacher Joe Landoni would like to showcase the following seventh-grade students as science “Catalysts” for Term 1. Catalysts are those students who regularly display an exceptional level of participation in their science class. They are the kings and queens of questioning! They make those thought provoking statements which extend understanding. They are the instigators of inquiry! They are risk-takers, not afraid of making mistakes or failing (as they know mistakes and failure lead to new knowledge.) They are the sparks which ignite learning!
Please recognize and celebrate the following fine young scientists: first period’s Taylor Heyting and Aason Judd; second period’s Lake Barrett and Mariah Stringer; fourth period’s Elizabeth Beebe and Kyhlan Henderson; fifth period’s Jamison Gray and Avangeline McGee, and sixth period’s Dreyden Endicott and Paige Krzyworz. Students were recognized in their respective classes and each received a certificate suitable for display on any refrigerator. Keep up the fantastic effort, young scientists. You are excellent role models for your peers.
— Teacher-librarian Elizabeth Lawson
The Sequim Middle School Makers Club started slow but is gaining momentum. Be on the lookout for final projects from first quarter. Club members make everything from 3-D prints, to vex robots, to podcasts and more. The club started last week off with paper towers, at lunch playing with a 3-D pen and then moving to personal projects after school. Says teacher-librarian Elizabeth Lawson, “It is a lot of fun!”
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
Winter athletes remember sports paperwork is due on Wednesday, Nov. 13, and practices will start on Monday, Nov. 18. You must have your white and yellow cards to participate in practices.
Senior class parents: There will be a graduation party planning meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the high school library.
Fifth-grade students at Greywolf Elementary School display their self portraits and personal narratives. Submitted photo
Melissa Novak’s kindergarten class at Helen Haller Elementary work on personal narratives during a Writer’s Workshop. The topic of the day was their Halloween costumes and festivities. From left are Jaxson Kamprud, Lynn Westman, Thelo Crear, Linnea Mager, Atreus Parker, Rayna Buggy, Uriah Hollowell and Madelynn McIntyre. Photo by Melissa Novak
Helen Haller third-graders Annie Sorensen, left, and Elizabeth Grimes measure the height of their index card tower. Photo by Kieth Lee
Helen Haller fourth graders Mia Peralta and Nolan Bacchus build an index card tower that is able to support the weight of the object placed atop. Photo by Kieth Lee
