Chalk Talk — Sequim Gazette, Nov. 2, 2016
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, November 2, 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 the Calendar button.
Information on “Social Media Safety and Digital Literacy for Parents” will be presented at 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in the Sequim High School auditorium. Safety expert Darren Laur will discuss ways to help keep children safe while using the Internet and social networking. Parents and caregivers of children of all ages are encouraged to attend.
Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, Nov. 6. Be sure to set clocks back one hour before going to bed on Saturday evening!
The next school board meeting is Monday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom, located in the auditorium building at 533 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
Technology comes to physical education class! Teacher Doug Hastings is using a new device in P.E. class that monitors heart rate and counts steps taken in a wristwatch-like device worn by the students. This equipment is on loan as part of a pilot program by Heart-Tech Plus, a company located in Port Townsend.
Teacher Holly Thornton and her P.E. classes at Helen Haller Elementary also are participating in the program.
The system provides automatic feedback to the instructor on each student’s physical intensity by way of heart rate and step counter.
As students engage in physical activity while wearing the devices, their information is being displayed on an overhead screen so they and the instructor can monitor their progress as they strive to gain as many points possible toward their heart rate score or to see if they can get a personal record of total steps for one class period.
Don’t miss Family Involvement Night at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 in the gym. Child care and light refreshments will be provided.
“We are excited about our upcoming November night where we will be doing some pre-parent/teacher conference front loading, explaining the different assessments and things that teachers will share with families,” principal Donna Hudson says.
“Our goal is to free up some of the conference time that teachers spend explaining what an assessment is for and where a child should score. We want to maximize time for families to really talk with the teacher about their child.”
For more information about Family Involvement Nights, contact teacher Jennifer Lopez at Jlopez@sequim.k12.wa.us.
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Teacher Tiffany Malean and paraeducators Donna Bruneau, Michelle Earley, Kerry Ladd, Tammy Belfield and Susan Bridges accompanied students Steven Lam, James Bardin, Kellan Gilliam, Safira Johnson Bowles, Caiden Ryder, Michael Bragg, Alex Johnson, Vincent Rose, John Hale, Colin Cheever on a walking field trip to the Clallam County Fire District 3 fire station on Fifth Avenue. Lt. Lawrence Bingham gave the group a tour of the facilities.
“We got to watch a fire safety video, spray a fire hose, and climb in a fire engine. It was a blast!” Malean said. “We also got to watch as Lt. Bingham put on all his fire gear, including mask and oxygen tank,” she continued. “The students thought that he sounded like Darth Vader with his breathing apparatus on. They loved it!”
OLYMPIC PENINSULA ACADEMY
Picture retakes and group pictures will be taken on Nov. 3.
Olympic Peninsula Academy’s Parent Teacher Organization is holding a Thanksgiving Raffle. All proceeds will benefit 2016-2017 OPA school student projects, supplies and events. The grant prize is everything needed to make a great Thanksgiving dinner: 15-pound turkey, stuffing, rolls, gravy, green beans, cranberries, sparkling cider and pumpkin pie, enough for 10 people! Tickets are available now and are $10 each or three for $20 at the OPA office. The drawing will be held on Nov. 18. Contact Paul Rynearson at 461-4015 for more information.
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
Fine Arts Night begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3. Bring the entire family to this annual exhibit of all the fine arts programs offered at Sequim Middle School. Look for a drama presentation in Tom Saffold’s classroom, as well as performances by David Upton’s band students in the gym and John Lorentzen’s choir group in the cafeteria. Hands-on activities by Caleb Gentry’s game design and digital media classes, and Paul Pinza’s yearbook class, as well as Joshua Capp’s art students also will be featured.
For the past several weeks, the students in Joe Landoni’s seventh-grade science classes have been intensively investigating storms as part of their study of Catastrophic Events. Part of their daily routine included viewing images from geostationary satellites showing weather around the world.
They witnessed Hurricane Matthew develop in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, grow in the balmy Caribbean and then intensify as it veered north to menace Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas and the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
During a discussion the next day regarding the awful destruction left in Matthew’s path, students wondered what they could do to help. One suggested a food drive. Another proposed a clothing drive. It was ultimately decided to take up a collection of money to donate to a Hurricane Matthew relief fund. Over the course of five days, coins and bills poured into a one-liter graduated cylinder. All totaled, the seventh-graders raised $128.33 to send to the humanitarian relief agency, the International Federation of Red Cross.
Spontaneous generosity, benevolence and care for fellow humans in crisis are indeed alive and well among the youth of Sequim!
SMS Students of the Month were nominated for the Month of September based on the character trait of citizenship. These students showed they excelled in this area by doing their share to make their school and community better.
Examples of this include exhibiting a cooperative attitude, getting involved and staying informed. Other traits valued in good citizens include voting, being a good neighbor and obeying laws and rules. Respecting authority, protecting the environment and volunteering also are important.
Congratulations to the following students who were nominated for this distinction by their teachers: Geraldine Arcelay, Lindsey Coffman, Marley Reeder, Ryan Schmitt, Silas Lewis, Abigail Carlson, Joseph Elias, Richard Jennings, Cristian Gonzalez, Elijah Wright, Yannick Gaetan and Mya Janssen.
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
Floral design students Madison Howe and Alisha Grasser created three centerpieces featured at the 2016 Albert Haller Foundation grant award ceremony held in the Performing Arts Center on Oct. 24.
The students cleverly filled carved-out pumpkins with various flowers to dress up refreshment stations.
Winter sports paperwork is due Nov. 9 and sports begin Nov. 14.
Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” (adaptation by Scott Davison) performances all begin at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4, 5, 11 and 12 in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $8/adults and $6/senior citizens and students with an ASB card.
For more information, call director Robin Hall at 460-7860.
Nov. 3 is the end of first quarter.
