DISTRICT
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 19, all schools and the district office will be closed. The school board meeting, which normally would fall on the third Monday of the month, will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the board room and is open to the public.
There is no school for students on Monday, Jan. 26, which is an in-service day for teachers. The district office will be open.
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Substitute teacher Judie Lawson reports the children in Stephanie Grotzke Nash’s kindergarten classes are very excited at the birth of her son, Oliver Nash.
They would like to give her some advice on taking care of him:
Ryan Carlstrom, Nickole Worth, Elise Burrows, Tristyn DeClanne and Raymond Warriner say to keep the baby inside the house to stay warm. Rub his back and don’t let him eat rocks, dirt or sand.
Daina Kesllis, Riley Kelbel, Sorne Olson and Brayden Johnston say to give Oliver a binky. Feed the baby and keep him away from breakable things like glass and metal.
Josiah Tuller, Mason Rapelje, Oliver McKeen and Ezekiel Davis say to make the baby go to bed when he is crying. Change his diaper when it smells bad.
Bialey Stein, Paxtin Gagner, Brianna Gaetan and Amira Tillson say to have Oliver drink a lot of milk when he doesn’t have teeth and put him to bed early because he needs a lot of sleep.
Aiden McConnell, Carter Gag-non, Johanna Bencomo and Arianna Arriola remind you to feed Oliver baby food and he needs a baby toy to play with.
Aaron Wake, Hunter Muckley, Bryson Hardy and Sean Kelly say to keep Oliver in your sight, feed him milk and keep him warm.
Winston Canfield, Brooklyn McHaffie, Clare Turella and Phoeniks Travers say to give him enough milk to drink. Make sure you have enough baby food and give him plenty of naps.
Kamron Sullivan, Jaron Aiken, Leia Baker Hendrickson and Mija Bohling say to braid baby Oliver’s hair. Change his diaper a lot and feed him milk.
OLYMPIC PENINSULA ACADEMY
Timothy Wilkinson’s sixth-grade language arts/social studies block class brought the Age of Exploration to life during class on Jan. 6 and 8. Each student chose an explorer who had visited the American continents between the years 1492-1600. After researching their life and accomplishments over the past several weeks, the students made an appeal to the “king” (His Royal Majesty Timothy Wilkinson) for funding for another exploration.
During their appeal, students described their previous journey in detail, presented a hand-made map showing their route, displayed items they had discovered along the way and told the “king” about the hardships they had encountered.
The seventh/eighth grade language arts/social studies block class shared information about United States history between the years of 1914-1950. Students were invited to perform a popular song from the time period or to give a multimedia presentation on one of several available topics: World War I & II, Films of the Era, Music and Radio of the Era, Literature of the Era or The Roaring 20s. Some students also chose to create paintings, employing popular styles indicative of the Ash Can School, Georgia O’Keefe or abstract expressionism.
Fashion design, an enrichment class, meets on Mondays. Each class member is working on a design project that will be featured in a fashion show.
The fashion show is part of OPA’s Night of Excellence, which features student work, and is scheduled for Feb. 20 from 6-9 p.m. in the high school auditorium and cafeteria. Their project is to take an existing garment and redesign it to make a new garment.
Melanie Byrne found a long skirt that needed to be taken in, so she is learning how to open seams and measure different points of the garment to resize it proportionally. Hannah Gloor found a skirt she is repurposing as a dress. After she sketched out her design idea, she created a paper pattern and sourced additional coordinating fabrics for the waistband and tank-style bodice. Enrichment coach Lilli Hardesty stays busy answering questions and assisting students with running the sewing machines.
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
Lisette Garcia, Winter Wishes student committee member, relates highlights from the Dec. 18 Winter Wishes assembly:
From candy and gift certificates to laptops and plane tickets, the annual Winter Wishes project aims to fulfill as many wishes as possible.
Each student makes a wish for themselves and for a friend. We had over 1,400 wishes and granted as many as we could with the money that the community graciously donated. Particularly, the Winter Wishes committee tried to grant wishes to help the less fortunate or those who were in need of a boost during the holiday.
This year, one of the more prominent wishes was a plane ticket to Utah for a student to go visit her sister who recently had a baby and see other family members as well.
Along with granting wishes, we have entertainment throughout the assembly like a choir performance. It was the first year that there was an all-teacher band that played. Students really enjoyed watching their teachers “rock out” to a Christmas jam!
This event is put together by the Leadership team to remind the student body what the true spirit of the season is all about. We would like to thank the community and all other donors for helping us make this happen.
Schedule change requests for second semester are due to the counseling office by Friday, Jan. 16. Changes will be made according to the following priority: unassigned period, missing graduation requirement and academic placement change (per teacher request). Changes will not be made for lunch or teacher preferences.
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
There will be a student assembly at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 16, in the gym to honor the late Martin Luther King Jr. The public is invited to attend. Please sign in at the front office upon entering the school building through the main doors.
Scott Harker has been selected as an Olympic Region Assistant Principal of the Year by the Association of Washington Middle Level Principals, the middle level component of the Association of Washington School Principals. The 2014-2015 Regional Distinguished Principals and Assistant Principals will be recognized during the 2015 Washington Educators’ Conference and in Association of Washington School Principals publications. He was nominated by Sequim Middle School principal Vince Riccobene.
