DISTRICT
The next school board meeting is at 6 p.m. Monday, July 17, in the boardroom (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.
Kids Chopped 2017: On three different Saturdays this spring, fifth-graders from Helen Haller and Greywolf Elementary Schools participated in the annual Kids Chopped Cooking Contest.
Students applied by writing out what they would make with a mystery ingredient. There were lots of different ideas that were offered and the kids did great when they actually found out what the mystery ingredient was this year. Sun-dried tomatoes were this year’s ingredient and the students came up with ingenious ideas on how to use them in their meals.
Each student received a bag with a protein such as fish, prawns, beef, pork or chicken. They had to cook this protein and also prepare a side dish that included sun-dried tomatoes. They were allotted one hour to prepare and present their meal to parents and staff members.
Each young chef had to show their meal and describe how they prepared it, as well as talk about something new they learned that day. Entrees including chicken Alfredo, barbecue prawns with pasta, baked salmon with greens, pork kebabs with grilled veggies, and barbecue beef with fresh fruit salad were presented to families and school staffers to sample! Youths had a great time, along with Sodexo and school staff members who assisted.
Participants were Teagan Moore, Desi Spaulding, Garren Pocock, Brian Almaden, Lars Wiker, Isaac Turner, Colby Ellefson, Kyle Barnes and Jacob Oliver from Helen Haller Elementary School, and Korbyn Domning, Maddy Kays, Ashton Drew, Emily Dix, River Jensen, Ashlynn Northaven, Hannah Seimer, Maddison Stamp and Cash Coleman from Greywolf Elementary School.
Thanks again students, parents and staff for helping out with this fun (and delicious) event! Thanks to Sodexo for their sponsorship. — Laurie Campen, Food Service Director
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Librarian-teacher Dena Riccobene said, “In library we wrote a class poem for each first- and second-grade teacher for Teacher Appreciation week.”
Here are a sampling of the poems:
Thank you Mr. Stevens, for greeting us with a smile, to start our day.
Thank you Mr. Stevens, for feeding us spicy ideas to devour.
Thank you Mr. Stevens, for walking with us on the math adventure.
Thank you Mr. Stevens, for making us like school.
Thank you Mr. Stevens, for being like a good book we get to learn from every day.
Thank you, Mrs. Rich for helping us think about our futures and preparing the roads for us.
Thank you, Mrs. Rich for flying us to new places, just like the wind carries the petals to discover new lands.
Thank you, Mrs. Rich for helping us bloom by pouring confidence into us, like a gardener pours water onto flowers.
Thank you, Mrs. Rich for doing everything you can to teach us new ideas to be ready for third grade.
Thank you, Mrs. Knudson
For making us laugh when
You dance while teaching,
Sing funny songs, and
When you trip over our chairs, and you laugh too!
Thank you, Mrs. Knudson,
For making us feel BRAVE to try new things …
“Can’t and never are not in our vocabulary!”
Thank you, Mrs. Knudson,
For nudging us gently,
Like a mother deer,
And building our confidence
Each day.
The important thing about Mrs. Ogilvie is she loves us.
She is gentle like a kitten.
Her voice is like an angel when she reads to us.
She is like the golden sun, with warm words wrapping around us.
It is true that she uses kind words to lift us up.
When we are not with her, she is getting learning ready for us.
She cheers us up like summer flowers dancing.
But, the important thing about Mrs. Ogilvie is she loves us!
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Judy Flynn loves the poem “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” She has taught kindergarten for 20 years and has learned so much from kindergartners.
Here are some of the answers that her kindergartners gave her when she asked what they have learned in kindergarten this year. Some, of course, shared what they loved about kindergarten.
Alayna Pease: Math Sprints are fun.
Alexia Brock: School friends are great.
Andrew Larson: Writing things.
Anella Henning: Loves reading sight words.
Beckett Hueter: Taking away and sprints in math.
Benaiah Sellmeyer: Math is fun.
Cayden Besana: I love all my friends.
Claire Lawless: Reading is fun.
David Herman: How to make puppets. If somebody needs to make a puppet I know how.
Devin McBride: I like P.E.
Drevin Gonzales: Going outside.
Eden Schubert: How to spell words.
Emma Anderson: Math. You get to make numbers and number bonds.
James Jensen: Everything.
Maddie Bower: Math, because of sprints and bonds.
Piper Jackson: I learned my colors here too.
Samantha Wickert: I like Learning Centers.
Taylin Brock: I love writing.
Teagan Neathery: Sounding out sight words.
Trenton Kardonsky: I like doing self-portraits.
Zoei McCullem: Reading is fun.
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SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
For the final time this school year, science teacher Joe Landoni would like to showcase the following seventh-grade students as science “Catalysts” for Term 4, this time as voted on by their peers. A catalyst in a science classroom consistently displays an exceptional level of participation. They are curious and questioning. They ask those thought provoking inquiries which extend understanding. They are engrossed and engaged. They clearly and accurately share their observations, both verbally and in writing. They are analytical and articulate. They are risk takers, not afraid of mistakes or failure (as they know these can lead to new knowledge.)
Please recognize and celebrate the following fine young scientists: Henry Hughes, Kelsi Bergersen, Lauren Sundin, Alex Schmadeke, Richard Meier, Matthew Lund, Jaxon Cogburn, Lillian McNair, Kenneth Wolfley, Erica Foresman, Zack Gufler and Riley Pyeatt.
Keep up the fantastic effort, young scientists! You are excellent role models for your peers!
SEQUIM OPTIONS SCHOOL
From Sequim Options School teacher Michelle Mahitka: This past school year at Sequim Options School (SOS) has been great. Many factors contribute to the success students have in meeting the increasing demands of achieving a high school diploma. SOS offers an alternative route to earning a high school diploma. You can call us SOS, but please don’t call us Alternative Education any longer. The name has changed to reflect the successes so many students achieved over the last several years in the SOS program. It also reflects the options (get it?) you have as a student here at SOS. We have a motto: “SOS — Where the only option is to succeed.”
Our program is tailored to meet the individual needs of each student with a range of learning and credit challenges while addressing the social, emotional and physical challenges that many of our students come to class with. Our SOS team consists of instructors Michelle Mahitka, Ned Floeter and Amanda Westman, and secretary Kayana Harrison.
Some of this year’s highlights:
Michelle Mahitka ran a mentoring program, pairing up SOS students with Hope Academy students. These kids met twice a week to work through personal problems, school issues and any other things that needed to be addressed. The SOS students are ready to lend an ear when the Hope Academy students need to talk.
Mahitka also worked with Julia McKenna–Blessing from Sequim Sunrise Rotary Youth Services to bring in guest speakers for our Personal Finance class. Various community members have come in to speak about their experiences and how they have overcome challenges and achieved success in life.
Ned Floeter feels he was challenged at a greater level from last year. “With Michelle (Mahitka) out on maternity leave, the responsibility to track student progress and encourage students in their efforts was greater for me personally,” Floeter said. “This aspect of the job was both rewarding and challenging. It afforded me an opportunity to learn different ways of communicating with students and developing relationships with students that were helpful, appropriate and authentic.”
Amanda Westman taught a class on Film Literature. Students watched a curated list of 22 films, re-watching select scenes and pausing for discussion. They learned filmmaking vocabulary, read and discussed articles about various genres, wrote eight film analyses and completed a filmmaking project. Students who take online Apex classes are enrolled in ninth-12th grade core English classes, and those who have passed the Smarter Balanced Assessment can take a Media Literacy course. They read text excerpts, view instructional videos and slideshows, and completed study guides and projects.
“Our self-paced classes are more flexible and allow us to reach a wider range of students,” Westman said. “My first year at SOS was an extraordinarily positive experience and I hope that the program grows so that we can reach even more students.”
In Independent Reading, students chose literary fiction at an appropriate Lexile level and completed a project from a choice board. Students who participated in the Hope Academy Mentoring Project expanded their ability to reach the younger students by reading and responding to a mentoring guide. Creative Writing was a fun class where students stretched their imaginations, expanded their skills and experimented with new writing styles, while remaining in a safe learning environment.
Over the past five years, we at SOS have had some staff changes and a name change, but we still hold tight to the belief that every student has the option to succeed here.
