DISTRICT
The next school board meeting is 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5, 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 and click on “School Board,” “Regular Communication” and “Agendas” on the district’s website at www.sequimschools.org.
The Sequim School District, in partnership with the City of Sequim, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Sequim Police Department and Clallam County Fire District 3, host a school safety forum from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the Sequim High auditorium 533 N. Sequim Ave. The forum will focus on prevention, response and recovery issues. Call 360-582-3600 for more information.
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Students and families at Greywolf Elementary recently learned to code, build and program Lego robots from Sequim High School computer science students and watched a special chemistry presentation. The Sequim High School culinary students provided light refreshments.
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Since the beginning of the school year, fourth-grade students have been studying narrative writing as they begin using the writing process. As students go through the writing process and brainstorm or draft their own stories, we also encourage them to improve their written work with sensory details. These are details that paint a picture in our reader’s mind, using the five senses. When we write in class, students are given opportunities to identify and apply these details.
The students have shared their ideas with one another and brainstormed a list of sensory words that we can use to make our writing more interesting:
Taste: bitter, peppery, juicy, sweet, spicey, citrusy, tangy, sour, delicious, fruity, rotten, disgusting, salty, raw, fizzy
See: bold, shimmery, auburn, plain, round, bright, dull, tiny, colorful, dark, gigantic, long, light, neon, vivid
Smell: sweet, rotten, bitter, delicious, flowery, moldy, burnt, refreshing, stale, stinky, buttery, rancid, minty, sour, fresh
Hear: crunch, loud, creak, squeak, quiet, scratch, screech, ring, scuffling, moaning, whisper, high-pitch, whistle, tapping, wailing
Touch/feel: slimy, hard, hairy, squishy, soft, sharp, bumpy, hot, wet, rough, cold, dry, smooth, fluffy, scaly
As time goes on, the students are provided writing prompts which allow them to practice using these descriptive words. During one entry activity, students were asked to describe a bus ride home from school. They were given the option of describing a realistic or imaginary version of a school bus ride.
Here are a few of their responses:
“The bus ride home is fun and really loud. It is as loud as a burger sizzling.” — Brayden Johnston
“The bus ride home is loud, crazy and it sounds like a party. It smells like sweat and gym socks.” — Avery Morris
“The bus ride home is very noisy because of the teenagers in the back. The bus ride home smells like sweat and stinky shoes. We have a really nice bus driver. The bus is sometimes dirty like it has gum wrappers.” — Haylee Watkins
“As the school day ended, I walked to the buses. The buses were the color of faded yellow and as it turned on, the bus shook. As I walked on, I kept falling. Finally, I got on the bus and found a seat. The cushion was torn, and when I sat down, the seats went all the way down to the springs! The ride was very bumpy, and every seat was torn! Just then, the bus started to slow down. Finally, it was my stop! I quickly got up and slowly stepped down the stairs. What a crazy ride!” — Nicki Worth
— Jaysa Hill, teacher
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
The SMS Harvest Festival is set for 3-5 p.m. across the school campus. On Wednesday, Oct. 31, Spirit Day includes a Halloween theme.
The Sequim School District is participating in the Washington State 2018 Healthy Youth Survey during fall 2018. The Healthy Youth survey includes questions related to physical activity and diet, unintentional and intentional injury, substance use, risk and protective factors, access to school-based services, and sexual behaviors abuse and orientation.
Survey results are used by schools, communities and state agencies to plan programs to support area youth and reduce their risks. This is given to sixth and eighth graders. Participation in the survey is voluntary and the students’ answers are anonymous. See the middle school’s website, sms.sequimschools.org, for more information.
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
Sequim High hosts a blood drive from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. in the SHS gymnasium at 601 N. Sequim Ave. Community members are welcome to donate at those times.
Oct. 24 is SHS’s picture re-take day. Students who wish to have retakes must return their picture packets at the time of pictures. Any students who have yet to get their picture taken may get them done that day.
The Scholarship Notebook Information Session is set for 7:45-9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 29, in the school library. Attendance is mandatory for those who plan to submit a scholarship notebook. See Mitzi Sanders in the career center if you have questions.
