Chalk Talk — Sequim Gazette, Oct. 5, 2016

Published 1:31 am Wednesday, October 5, 2016

DISTRICT

For the most up-to-date information on school events, go to the district website at www.sequim.k12.wa.us and click on “Calendar.”

The next school board meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in the boardroom in the auditorium building at 503 N. Sequim Ave. To view the agenda for this meeting, go to www.sequim.k12.wa.us and click on Board of Directors. There is time set aside at every board meeting for public comments.

GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Elementary literacy specialist Krista Chatters will lead a reading tutor training session from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in the school library. This training is for individuals interested in becoming volunteer reading tutors at Greywolf. Volunteers must submit an online application and undergo a background check each school year. Go to https://sequimvolunteers.hrmplus.net/ to begin the volunteer application.

Birthday Book Club is a program that allows book donations to the school library in honor of a student’s birthday. Select and purchase a book from our “wish list” on Amazon.com. The book can be directly shipped to the school. Please be sure to include the student’s information so we know who to celebrate and who to thank!

Why do we offer this program? More books help us expand our selection and update our library. Our teacher librarian Dena Riccobene carefully selects books to add to our “wish list” that have received good reviews and meet the interests of our student population. A sticker is placed inside the book cover with a birthday message and the givers’ names and date. The birthday student will be the first to check out the book from the library. For more information, contact Riccobene at driccobene@sequim.k12.wa.us.

HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Secretary Debbie Buchillo would like to pass along a tremendous “thank you” to Haller’s picture day helpers. Without their assistance, we would not have finished taking 640 student pictures, along with almost 100 staff ID pictures.

Our awesome Parent Teacher Organization volunteers were Tiffany Barnett, Kammah Morgan, Leslee Francis, Mary Laboy, Alicia Disinski, Lula Wakefield, Jennifer Lawless, Lauren Webb, Christine Galvan, Christine Borgato, Ashley Aceto and Marni Fiamengo.

Jaysa Hill’s fourth-graders debriefed as a class about their field trip to the Dungeness River Festival’s Education Day at Railroad Bridge Park on Friday, Sept. 23. At the end of the discussion, the class got to see field trip pictures their teacher had taken. Here is some of the feedback on the field trip experience:

What were some of your favorite highlights of the field trip?

Journey Simpson – Touching the geoduck at the touch tank station. I was scared at first!

Charlie Grider – Touching the furs at the animal skins table.

Izzy Taylor – Digging for rocks and bracelets!

Bella Cornell – Riding the bicycle to make the light bulb light up at the energy station.

Sydney Corcoran – Seeing the insect exhibits!

Maddie Mote – Having fun with our class.

Ryleigh Miller – The station with the big box about the river system.

What was your favorite booth at the park?

Maddie Mote – I liked the septic tank exhibit and the animal stations.

Sydney Corcoran – I liked the information about when the bridge was opened to the public.

What are some interesting facts you learned?

Journey Simpson – A geoduck is a big clam.

Bella Cornell – Shellfish help their environment stay clean.

Izzy Taylor – How different kinds of rocks are made smooth by the river’s current.

Isaac Freeman – Geoducks can live to be 100+ years old!

Charlie Grider – When birds fly, there’s more wind under the bird’s wings than on top.

What suggestions do you have for next year’s field trip?

Riley Miller – Group members were spread apart. We need to stick together.

Izzy Taylor – More booths about rocks, please. I need to learn more! The big fish exhibit should come back. Also, I would like to see the salmon swimming in the water!

Bella Cornell – More booths could be put on the bridge itself. More exploring areas around the bridge would be fun, too.

How did you demonstrate “Respectful, Responsible and Safe” on the field trip?

Bella Cornell – I stayed close to my group and parent chaperone.

Journey Simpson – We kept our hands and feet to ourselves, we were respectful of others’ space.

Charlie Grider – Kids picked up after themselves after lunch.

Ryleigh Miller – No one was arguing about seats on the bus.

Lincoln Liggins – People stayed seated on the bus and didn’t stand up.

Carolyn Luengen’s third-graders also reflected on the River Festival Education Day experience and offered these comments:

By Keylee Disinski

I loved the River Festival because you can learn so many different things. It is cool learning how we can keep the beach clean and what animals are endangered and what animals are not endangered. I love the people who spend their time for us. People should give back, like in Girl Scouts, we make gifts for other people. We like to give back.

By Ahrya Klinger

The best thing I liked about the River Festival was the music and activities. When you were doing the activities it sounded like you are getting timed to find the answer. It was fun. The music also sounded like you bought tickets to see professional instrument players perform at a concert. Did you know the bridge at Railroad Bridge Park was open to the public in the year 1992? That was one of the answers to a question from a booth. It was written on the sign at the bridge.

By Emma Gilliam

What I liked about the field trip to the River Festival is that we learned about the environment. Also we got to do crafts. We went to a lot of booths. I had a lot of fun. I made a headband, a necklace and a key chain. I got some coloring pages, a photo and a book. I had so much fun with my mom and my friends Lily, Keylee and Jamie. We had so much fun! I want to go again.

By Julia Reandeau

Once I walked into the River Festival I knew that it was going to be fun. We learned, but not in a boring way, a fun way! They mixed learning with crafts. My favorite was this building that had all these different stuffed animal birds and when you squeezed it, it made a bird noise. It was fun.

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By Kaylee Torres

Today we went to the River Festival. It was a lot of fun. My favorite activity was painting fish. I put on polka-dots, his tail was purple, he had red fins, an orange head and the rest of his body was also orange. They said to hang up the pictures, but my dad said no, because we would not have time to get them later. So then we took our fish.

OLYMPIC PENINSULA ACADEMY

Lilli Hardesty’s Fashion Design students are creating their “re-fashion” projects. This project involves finding an item of clothing that isn’t quite to their liking and envisioning a plan to “re-fashion” it to something they would like to wear. This project challenges students to draw their own design and execute the plan. Working through their plan with their clothing item, they learn how garments are put together.

In Creative Projects class, students are working with tissue medium to create a stained glass effect.

OPA students are planning a car wash from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, in the JCPenney parking lot to raise money for this year’s Destination Imagination competition.

SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL

In a middle school student art contest that ran last spring, eighth-grader Ana Weatherton’s entry was chosen for the cover of the City of Sequim’s 2017 budget report booklet. Students were tasked to create a poster using original artwork on an 8.5- by 11-inch piece of paper. The poster was to depict the theme “What Sequim Means to Me.” Ana’s drawing showed lavender fields, water and snow-capped mountains. Congratulations, Ana!

SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL

All seniors and parents are invited to attend a Free Application for Federal Student Aid informational meeting at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in the cafeteria.

Seniors planning to attend a two- or four-year college or university, technical school or trade school are strongly urged to attend. For more information, call the counseling center at 582-3613.

Come out to cheer on the Sequim High Wolves as they take on the North Mason Bulldogs at the Homecoming football game at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, in the stadium on Fir Street.

Sequim High School Royalty will be presented during half-time.

The Homecoming Dance will be from 8-11 p.m. on Oct. 8 in the high school cafeteria. Tickets are on sale beginning this week for $15 and will be $20 at the door.

Parents, the first senior graduation party planning meeting will be at 9 a.m. Oct. 8 in the school library. Contact Jamie D’Amico at jamie@ssnwhq.com for more information.

The senior graduation party is not an official Sequim School District event.

Sequim High School hosted the Career and College Fair on Sept. 28 in the gymnasium.

The event featured nearly 60 exhibitors, including four-year state, out-of-state and private colleges and universities, two-year schools, career and technical schools, military branches and informational exhibitors such as AmeriCorps and National Achiever Services.