@sequimschools — June 14, 2017

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 14, 2017

DISTRICT

The last day of the 2016-2017 school year is Friday, June 16. This is an early release day. We hope all our students and their families have a wonderful summer break. Keep reading! FYI, the 2017-2018 school year begins on Aug. 30. Watch for our “Kids Today” Back to School Guide in the mail in August.

The next school board meeting is at 6 p.m. Monday, June 19, in the boardroom in the auditorium building, 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 “Board of Directors” on the district’s website at www.sequim.k12.wa.us.

Our last Strategic Planning session will be Thursday, June 22, from 8:15-11:45 a.m. at the Sequim Transit Center. The group, consisting of community members, business leaders and district personnel, is developing a vision, a mission statement and goals to guide the district for the next six years. Dr. David Engle, retired superintendent of Port Townsend School District, is facilitating the group. For more information, call Marilyn Walsh at 582- 3262.

GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Please join us on Friday, June 16, for Breakfast and Books, our last family event of the year! Students and their families are invited to join us for breakfast in the gym from 8-9 a.m. All students will be given books to take home and read over the summer to help maintain their skill level. Donations of gently used books will be accepted at the office until June 14. (Please, no magazines.) For more information, email jlopez@sequim.k12.wa.us. Thank you!

For the past six years, Ranger the Reading Dog has visited Cathy Green’s first-grade room regularly to help with reading. Ranger loves to listen to students read to him and shows his appreciation by perking up his ears or laying a paw on them. Usually, students pick Just Right books to read to Ranger, so that they can practice decoding and fluency skills.

Mrs. Faddis, Ranger’s owner, brings books that she thinks students will enjoy. The students receive correspondence from Ranger, which they gladly answer, thus practicing their writing skills. Over the years, Mrs. Faddis and Ranger have created classroom books that include the students as characters in the story. Every student is presented with a picture of themselves reading to Ranger to keep as a reminder to continue reading.

Ranger was adopted from an organization called Saving Paws of Washington. Ranger was a stray who was found in front of a school in San Bernardino, Calif., so it is providence that he has become the reading dog at our school. He is a black and brown German shepherd mixed breed. He was a little over a year old when he started volunteering at Greywolf with Mrs. Faddis.

When Ranger is not at school reading, he is practicing for dog agility trials. He came last week to show the kids his practice routine of finding things, going over jumps and following directions. Just as the students practice reading, Ranger practices “stay,” “sit” and other commands. He never forgets a student that he has read with. Quite often, when a former student goes down the hall, his ears prick up and he will sit up. He enjoys seeing the children and receiving quick hugs in the hall.

We feel very fortunate to have Ranger the Reading Dog at Greywolf.

HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Every student, kindergarten through fifth grade, had the opportunity to select books to keep for their home libraries. Thanks to generous donations from Thrivent Financial, 1st Security Bank and the Helen Haller Parent Teacher Organization, all students received six brand new books for their summer reading enjoyment and beyond. Keep reading throughout the summer!

Teresa Thorson reports the second-grade community received a grant from Subaru Loves the Earth Initiative in conjunction with Koenig Subaru in Port Angeles for materials for our school garden boxes! Bill Koenig presented to the second-graders a program about the importance of giving back to our Earth by planting and maintaining a garden habitat, which in turn helps all of us. Mr. Koenig also told about how the garden habitat helps maintain the life cycles of birds, butterflies and bees. The second-graders have studied life cycles this year and they were excited to plant seed pods to encourage bees and butterflies to visit their gardens at home.

The students also planted live plants received from Bluestone Perennials, Inc. Thanks, Mr. Koenig, from Subaru of America, and Lili Ring, Helen Haller Elementary paraeducator, for helping second-graders grow a greener world bit by bit.

OLYMPIC PENINSULA ACADEMY

OPA students from the guitar class, taught by Dee Dee Nielsen, and the choir class, taught by Jeanny Holtkamp, performed at a reception for Marilyn Walsh, administrative assistant to the superintendent, before the school board meeting on June 5. Students played and sang “I’m a Believer,” “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” “You Are My Sunshine” and “Drift Away.”

Walsh, who is retiring from the District on June 30, thanked the students, saying, “Thank you for the wonderful music. Every song you sang was a favorite of mine!”

SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL

The Eighth Grade Moving On ceremony will be held Wednesday, June 14, at 6 p.m. in the gymnasium. Parents and family members, please come out and celebrate the culmination of your student’s middle school years!

SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL

Updates from freshman Erin Dwyer: At 6 p.m. Friday, June 9, in the stadium, nearly 240 members of the Class of 2017 celebrated an amazing milestone in their life — their high school graduation! Thanks to Danica Miller, Anika Van Dyken, Sadie Woods, Cathy Dao, Adrian Klarich and Michael Larson, as well as Andrew Juntilla, Grant Pierson, Hannah D’Amico, Mikaela Dodson, Devin Hibler and Shaun Jones Jr., for serving as officers and executive team for the senior class and putting on this amazing graduation ceremony.

This is the last time all the members of the Class of 2017 will be together. It is even more special that they get to share this chapter of their lives with their families and teachers.

Some freshmen and sophomore students from Laura Gould’s biology class assisted Powell Jones (affectionately called “PoJo” by the students), local scientist and director of Dungeness River Audubon Center, in teaching a lesson in the basics of marine biology to a sixth-grade class at the middle school.

This was a great opportunity for high school students to interact with middle school students and share their knowledge about marine biology, as well as gain community service hours and experience in teaching!

The senior recognition assembly was held Friday, June 2, in the gymnasium, with teachers, the student body and some parents in attendance. Department heads of the teaching staff presented awards of special merit from the podium to seniors they felt had gone above and beyond in their efforts and achievements. The jazz band performed an opening number and the senior class choir sang the national anthem.

Principal Shawn Langston awarded the Link Crew Commissioner Award to Mikaela Dodson and Colleen Carpenter.

In the Fine Arts Department: Jaye Hall awarded the Visual Arts Award to Dusty Wessel; John Lorentzen awarded the Choir Award to Victoria Hall and Silas Baird; and Vern Fosket awarded the Band Award to Carmen Wilwert.

In the Athletics Department: Mark Textor awarded the Athlete of the Year Award/Boys to Justin Porter; Larry Brown awarded the Athlete of the Year Award/Girls to Adrienne Haggerty; Greg Glasser awarded the Physical Education Award to Brandon Fudally; Mitzi Sanders awarded the Scholar Athlete Award for Boys to Grant Pierson and the Scholar Athlete Award for Girls to Ella Christensen.

In Academics: Mike Lippert gave the Social Studies Award to Anika Van Dyken; Isaac Rapelje gave the Science Award to Michael Larsen; Jorn Van De Wege gave the Math Award to Shaun Jones Jr.; Jon Eekhoff gave the Language Arts Award to Cathy Dao; Sonja Miller gave the World Language Award to Jett Gagnon (four years of Spanish and two years of American Sign Language). Miller also bestowed World Language Awards to Cathy Dao (Chinese), Justin Porter (German) and Danica Miller, Kaylee Gumm, Andrew Juntilla, Grant Pierson, Jett Gagnon, Mercedes Woods, Emily Straling, Lillian Oden, Justin Hermosada and Abigail Jaeger (Spanish), as well as to members of the American Sign Language Honor Society, including Terrance Tveit, Tori Philips, Jett Gagnon, Sara Gregg, Dusty Wessel and Katelyn Carter.

Brad Moore awarded the Career Technology Education (CTE) Award to Riley Chalk. Sean O’Mera awarded the School Service Award to Danica Miller, Jennifer Mackey awarded the Determination Award to Isaiah Spaulding, Melee Vander Velde awarded the Grit Award to Mikaela Dodson and O’Mera awarded the Heart of Purple and Gold Award for Boys to Andrew Juntilla and the Heart of Purple and Gold Award for Girls to Sydni Sluder. O’Mera also awarded the Outstanding Senior Award to Hannah D’Amico.

The four class valedictorians Grant Pierson, Cathy Dao, Anika Van Dyken and Morgan Bingham were recognized as well. The assembly concluded with a slideshow of senior photos.

Here is the speech Melee Vander Velde gave when presenting the Grit Award to Mikaela Dodson:

“Grit is hard to define, but Angela Duckworth describes it as ‘perseverance and passion for long-term goals.’ Mikaela Dodson is a student who exemplifies this. When her teachers were asked to comment on Mikaela’s grittiness, these were some of their comments:

‘Mikaela is a student who continues to persevere and push through when many students would give up and throw in the proverbial towel.’ ‘Mikaela always understood that getting good at truly difficult subjects doesn’t come naturally for people and that it can only happen through hard work.’ ‘In chemistry terms, she is positive like a proton, has the ability to get along with anyone like a neutron, she is full of energy like an electron, she possesses an unbreakable spirit like a quark, and she is gritty like a piece of silicon dioxide.’

“Mikaela’s gracious spirit, her determination and what would seem to be a limitless supply of resiliency demonstrate qualities of a young woman who has the inner strength to overcome significant challenges. She is a young lady who embodies the definition of grit and who is a shining example of how much can be achieved through hard work, determination, a positive attitude and a courageous heart. It is my honor to present the Grit Award to Mikaela Dodson.”