DISTRICT
The district is working with community leaders to develop a six-year Strategic Plan during a series of sessions at Sequim’s Transit Center (190 W. Cedar St.). The next meeting is at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, April 13.
Dr. David Engle, retired superintendent from the Port Townsend School District, is facilitating the sessions.
For more information, call Marilyn Walsh at 582-3262 or email to mwalsh@sequim.k12.wa.us.
The district is seeking calendar sponsorships for the 2017-2018 printed calendar now being developed. Twelve sponsorship spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information, contact Communications Director Patsene Dashiell at 582-3264 or mdashiell@sequim.k12.wa.us.
Classes resume after spring break at 9:15 a.m. Monday, April 10, (late start Monday). During spring break week, the district office is open 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (closed noon-1 p.m.).
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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Sheri Burke and Shannon Green combined their classes to study the Roman Empire.
The children became Roman citizens for a day. They studied about how Rome began as a small town along the Tiber River and grew into an empire that included gods and goddesses, emperors, kings and queens, and patricians and plebeians.
They explored how a great city could rise and fall, and why it happened. At the conclusion of their study unit, students wore togas and headdresses and played Roman dice games with dice made from clay, Roman Tic-Tac-Toe and Roman Bingo.
Family Involvement Night is April 12 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room. Parents, discussion will center on the Smarter Balance Assessments for students in grades 3-5.
The entire family is encouraged to attend and childcare will be provided for younger siblings. Tailgating snacks will be provided. One family from each grade level will win four tickets to a Seattle Mariners game!
For more information on Family Involvement Nights, go to the school’s webpage and click on “For Parents.”
“Into the Woods” performances are at 6 p.m. April 20-21 in the multi-purpose room. Admission is free.
This year’s drama club presentation is directed by Sequim High School sophomore Damon Little, with assistance from teachers Shannon Green and Sheri Burke.
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
We would like to recognize Ryan Gourley for his generous donation to a peer in need. Ryan, a Haller student, found himself with a bicycle he no longer used and thoughtfully decided to donate it to the Special Education Department.
“We found a student who was a perfect match to receive the bicycle,” said physical therapist Cherry Bibler. “He was thrilled and so thankful that Ryan decided to pay it forward.” Thanks, Ryan!
For the past eight weeks, Susan Dufner’s Coding Club met each Monday after school in the computer lab and practiced computer coding. The club, made up of students from grades 2-5, met for the last time on March 27.
“We used a free online site called Code.org which offers self-directed courses for all ages,” said Dufner. “The purpose is to introduce kids to the structure and uses of coding, use mathematical skills to solve problems and collaborate together.”
Some coding club tasks include writing algorithms, creating mazes and writing instructions for navigating the mazes. They learned about looping (repeated instructions), relay programming (step-by-step approach) and de-bugging (finding and fixing problems).
The earlier children are introduced to coding, the more comfortable they will be when presented with more in-depth learning opportunities in middle and high school. Learning the fundamentals of coding provides students with skills that will serve them well in almost any career they choose.
Sequim High School students Kaitlyn Viada (sophomore) and Cathy Dao (senior) helped out with Coding Club.
“We are in the AP Computer Science Principles class at the high school and they are basically using the same program,” Viada said. “It’s cool to see them coding already!”
“This was part of our Tech Buddies program,” explained Mark Knudson, computer science instructor at Sequim High. “The students work with teachers and they assist with the little ones.”
“The kids love working with older kids,” Dufner said. “Second-graders may sit next to fourth-graders and they never have that opportunity otherwise. Also, the high school helpers have been a welcome addition.”
Dufner encouraged coders to take a brain break and stretch out every 30-45 minutes.
“Stand up and pair up with someone you are seated next to, and mirror the actions of your partner,” Dufner instructed.
“We refer to this as Mirror-Mirror. This is to practice spatial reasoning in a fun, physical way. Plus, we need a brain break no matter how old we are,” said Dufner with a smile.
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
On March 24, 66 eighth-graders embarked on a College Exploration field trip at Peninsula College for a day of inspiration and exploration.
The middle schoolers listened to an engaging, young keynote speaker named Anita Henestrosa, who shared her keys to success. She encouraged them to Dream Big, Make a Plan and Keep Going!
Many students connected with her message and reported this being their favorite part of the field trip.
Students engaged in activities that enlightened them about the correlation between career readiness and budgeting a household. This exercise revealed that students who had acquired training in a trade or a college degree were more likely to be able to afford the things they wanted in life.
“We know that having goals for the future sparks motivation in students to do well in high school, as well as instill a drive to graduate,” said Cathy Shea, school counselor.
“We were so fortunate an anonymous donor purchased T-shirts for the students that feature the Sequim High School Wolf logo and say Class of 2021. This day at college was definitely a successful adventure for our eighth-graders!”
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
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The SHS Band traveled to Anaheim, Calif., to take part in the Heritage Festival on March 22-25. In adjudication, they earned four golds and one silver: marching band (gold), color guard (silver), concert band (gold), percussion ensemble (gold), jazz ensemble (gold). Concert band was invited to attend nationals. “They all did a fantastic job and I’m very proud of them!” said Vern Fosket, Sequim band director and WMEA Music Hall of Famer.
Sophomore Sean Weber recently was awarded first place for his oral presentation to the Washington Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. His presentation was titled “Myco-Treatment of Marine Oil Spills” for the use of mushroom tissues to adsorb, absorb, disburse and remediate oil spills in ocean waters.
Weber also was awarded a scholarship to any college of his choice matched by a second scholarship to attend Seattle Pacific University.
The WJSHS event was held at Seattle Pacific University over a two-day period, during which Weber competed with 15 other finalists out of 40 Washington high school students. Weber was selected to be one of two high school students from Washington to make oral presentations at the National JSHS that takes place April 26-30 in La Jolla, Calif.
Weber’s research project was conducted while he was a freshman at Sequim High School as a member of the Sequim Science Fair Club. In conjunction with Weber’s award, the WJSHS Teacher Award was given to Debra Beckett, STEM Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) and coordinator for the Sequim Science Fair Club in 2016-2017.
Weber overcame many obstacles at WJSHS to present and defend his project in a highly competitive and challenging environment and went on to be selected as the best high school student in Washington for 2017.
“Having done this for many years as a judge of student science fair projects and student mentor, I was very proud of this student’s maturity and performance in an event where the participants are all highly self-invested and motivated to win,” said Ron Tognazzini, Sequim Science Fair Club mentor.
News from freshman Erin Dwyer:
Office elections for the 2017-2018 school year will take place in the next few months. Yes, we already are electing our new exec team! The exec president position is only open to seniors, but secretary, treasurer, vice president and tech positions are all open to seniors, juniors and sophomores. Everyone at the high school who is running is very excited to and busy preparing for competition to become an officer.
What is important about this is that it is a great way for students who are high achievers, helpful and trustworthy, to help people get integrated into our school and have some fun. This also looks great on a college application.
