HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The Early Birds’ theme for April is fraction games. Students share some games with families to enhance their understandings of fractions. The games include equivalent fractions, comparison, fraction addition/subtraction by using their fraction kit, color tiles, pattern blocks, etc.
– Claire Hallinan, teacher
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
• Nine students from Greywolf Elementary participated in the 2010 Washington State Science and Engineering Fair. Science specialist Carla Morton and community chemist Wendy Goldberg held an after-school Science Fair Club to prepare students for the event. All the hard work paid off! Fifth-graders Nicole Anders, Abby Hansted and Tatum Jensen placed first in plant sciences. Fourth-grader Andrew Hansted also took first in plant sciences for his category. Fifth-graders Megan Begley and Anna Potter placed second in plant sciences and fifth-grader Jesse Schleve placed third in plant and animal science. Audrey Hughes and Astrid Martin placed third for team projects. Breyanna Taylor placed third in the engineering category. The projects and awards will be on display at Greywolf Elementary. The WSSEF participants now will help guide the entire student body toward completing a project for the annual Greywolf Science Fair held on the evening of June 3 and throughout the day on June 4. Everyone is welcome to visit the fair and explore more than 100 projects. The participants and involved staff would like to extend a special thank you to Principal Patty Grenquist for her support and encouragement.
– Carla Morton, science specialist
• Nearly 60 Greywolf Elementary School third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students recently finished seven weeks of Camp iCan, a before-school program. Students participated in fun activities that helped them in math, reading and test-taking skills. Nearly all the students successfully completed the program and were awarded prizes and certificates for their Attendance, Achievement and Attitude, the 3 "A’s" of Camp iCan! Among those students receiving top honors were Mary Ewing, Isaac Haley, Christian Fritz, Cassie Garcia-Vazquez, Cortney Gosset, Maddy Green, Mark Strong, Rachel Burnside, Kassie Stoddard, Elyssa Brown, Sage Garcia, Zachary Young and Dimitri Cawyer. On March 25, all the campers and counselors were treated to a field trip on the shore of the Greywolf River.
– Sue Park, math specialist
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
Middle school student-led conferences are Thursday, April 29, between 11 a.m-7 p.m. Students are calling parents on April 15 to make appointments for April 29. Last year we had 93-percent attendance. Our goal is to have 100 percent of parents/guardians there!
– Gloria Ricketts, counselor
Middle school counselor Gloria Ricketts received the following letter:
Dear Gloria Ricketts:
We’d like to share some good news with you. Sequim Middle School is a "Top School" for the state of Washington in the 2009 Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Talent Search. We looked at the top 100 schools by state to determine the number of student enrollments we received into our annual Talent Search, and we’re pleased to let you know Sequim Middle School received this honor. We hope this achievement will be a source of pride for you, your staff, students and families.
We’re very thankful for your participation, of course, but we are also mindful of what this award says about your school. It suggests you have a solid core of very high achieving students. It also suggests that you look out for your top students’ best interests by encouraging them and their parents to investigate outside academic options like CTY.
The Web page that announces the Top Schools for 2009 can be found at www.cty.jhu.edu/ts/topschools/WAtop.html. Feel free to send the link to families and friends of your school … Thank you, and we look forward to seeing students from Sequim Middle School in future CTY Talent Searches (enrollment this year runs through June 30). Congratulations again.
Sincerely,
– Lea Ybarra, executive director, The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth
Middle and high school parents take notice – "The Peninsula is College Bound" will take place from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, April 24. Check-in begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Pirate Union Building at Peninsula College in Port Angeles. The event will benefit seventh-, eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade students attending Clallam and Jefferson county middle and high schools. About 900 students are invited that are eligible to sign up or are signed up for the College Bound Scholarship.
The College Bound Scholarship offers eligible students in Washington the promise of tuition at a university, community college or technical college for up to four years and a stipend of $500 per year for books.
Volunteers will be available to help families with the application process. There will be breakout sessions for families on topics related to preparing for college as well as a fair with youth-serving organizations and Washington colleges. Light refreshments will be provided with giveaways for students in attendance.
Families can check family income eligibility requirements and sign up for the scholarships online at www.hecb.wa.gov/collegebound. "The Peninsula is College Bound" is sponsored by College Success Foundation, Peninsula College and the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) and in partnership with Clallam and Jefferson school districts.
For more information, call Alyson Rotter, College Bound counselor, OESD 114, at 360-609-3540 or write to: arotter@
collegesuccessfoundation.org.
— Alyson Rotter, College Bound counselor
SEQUIM COMMUNITY SCHOOL
Here’s what’s happening at First Teacher:
Wednesday, April 14 – Kids Craft at 10:30 a.m. We are making caterpillars this month.
Thursday, April 15 – Parent Connection with Nicole Brewer at 10 a.m. Come meet other parents and talk about relative parenting topics while your children play together. For more information about Parent Connection, contact Brewer at 461-9992.
Friday, April 16 – Pet Walk with Gentle Paws therapy dogs and Clown Mae Belle with Tag the Invisible Dog. Bring your pet on a leash for a walk around the playground. Children can bring a stuffed animal pet
Monday, April 19 – Reading Time with woodturner John Elliott at 10:30 a.m. Elliott makes a wooden top for the children. Each child attending Reading Time receives a free book.
Tuesday, April 6 – Women, Infants and Children is set up in the First Teacher room from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information about the WIC program, contact Pam Walker at 417-2275.
The First Teacher Room 4W is located in the Sequim Community School at 220 W. Alder St., next to the playground. Drop in times are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 a.m.-
1 p.m. There is no charge to visit the room. Parents can check out books from the parenting library and children can enjoy the playroom and playground. Sign up to receive the monthly newsletter with parenting tips and information about local resources for families. For more information on the First Teacher program, call 582-3428 or 681-2250.
– Patsene Dashiell, First Teacher events coordinator
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
See the College Bound Scholarship event at Peninsula College on April 24 under the middle school.
Here are two poems by Michael Cullinan, a student in Joe Younger’s AP English literature class:
Sonnet for George
How noble and tall thou once sat,
With fine fancy feathers of radiant hue;
Long lavish days, feasting on millet
In my protracted absence, thinking of you.
What days were not spent with thy warbled singing;
Silent storms of despair and grievous portent.
Devoid of music and speaking and telephone ringing;
When T-Bird withdrew upon heavenly ascent.
Through quiet black eyes like glistening beads,
Spoke a soul complex with inky black wisdom.
And though thy life was but feeding on seeds,
Thou still felt the torment of a weak nervous system.
When life’s walking shadow drew near the end,
Thou slipped from thy perch, my fine feathered friend.
Laundry Left Below
No lonelier sight
Have I ever seen
Than the one lone sock
Forgotten
In the washing machine.
– Joe Younger, teacher
