School board to meet
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets at 6 p.m. in the borough building at 148 N. Binkley Street in Soldotna (unless otherwise noted). For more information, call 907-714-8888 or visit kpbsd.k12.ak.us. The agenda and packet items are posted on Wednesday afternoon prior to the date of the Board meeting. Persons with disabilities who need accommodations to participate at the School Board meetings should contact Debbie Tressler at 907-714-8836 or email dtressler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us no later than three business days before the meeting date. The board will meet:
■ Nov. 7
■ Dec. 5
■ Jan. 16
■ Feb. 6
■ March 6
■ April 3
■ May 1 (Seward High School)
■ June 5
■ June 6 (Planning Session)
Holidays and vacation days scheduled
■ Oct. 27-28 – Parent-teacher conferences, no school for students;
■ Nov. 24-25 – Thanksgiving;
■ Dec. 22 – End of second quarter, no school for students;
■ Dec. 22 to Jan. 6 – Winter vacation;
■ Jan. 16 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day;
■ Feb. 9-10 – Parent-teacher conferences, no school for students;
■ March 10 – End of third quarter, no school for students;
■ March 13-17 – Spring Break;
■ May 24 – Last day of school.
Connections Home-School
Oct. 17 — Seward Picture Retakes 12:30 -1:00 @ Seward Middle School
Oct. 18 — College Fair @ Soldotna High School (more info below)
Oct. 20 — End of 1st Quarter: Eligibility & reports due
Oct. 26 — Hay Maze @ Solid Rock Camp 1:00-2:30 (more info below)
Oct. 27 — Soldotna: Connections Jam Session @ Old Kaladi Bros 2:30-3:30
Nov. 1 — Homer Connections Picture Retakes 1-3pm @ Paul Banks Elementary School Gym
Nov. 4 — AVTEC Tour (more info below)
Nov. 4 — Soldotna Connections Picture Retakes 3-5pm at Borough Building Assembly Room
College Fair at Soldotna High School, Oct. 18: More than 40 educational institutions will send representatives to meet with KPBSD high school students on Tuesday from 10:00—1:00 in the Gymnasium at Soldotna High School.
The seventh annual Kenai Peninsula College Fair is free, and no appointments are needed. Students and parents can learn more about scholarships, loans, state and federal financial aid programs at the Financial Aid booth. Connections students can sign-in at the door.
Annual Solid Rock Hay Maze — It’s time for the annual Hay Maze at Solid Rock Bible Camp! Please join us Oct. 26 from 1-2:30 p.m. The cost is $6 per person (non-reimbursable). Please bundle up for this event; gloves, hats, warm layers and flashlights are encouraged. Contact the Soldotna office at 907-714-8880 or email Shelli Furlong at sfurlong@kpbsd.k12.ak.us to RSVP or for more information.
Connections Jam Session at Kobuk Kaladi Brothers: Once a month Connections will have an impromptu music jam session at the old Kaladis off of Kobuck for high school students. Bring your laptops, homework, music and let’s and jam out while socializing! If you are interested in participating please email Shelli Furlong: sfurlong@kpbsd.org or Carole Nolden: cnolden@kpbsd.org. Mark down October 27 from 2:30-3:30 for this month and we hope to see you there!
AVTEC Tour: All Connections High School Students are invited to attend a free guided tour of AVTEC in Seward on Nov. 4 at 10:00 a.m. AVTEC offers a variety of educational programs such as: Construction, Welding, Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Maritime Studies, Electronics, Culinary Arts and many other courses.
Battle of the Books are available at the Connections offices. If you are interested in participating in BOB please contact your advisor.
Book It Pizza Hut coupons are in! Please contact your local office for the coupons and have fun reading!
IDEA Home-School
IDEA Homeschool is still taking enrollments for the 2016/2017 school year. Enrollment applications are available at www.ideafamilies.org. Please feel free to drop by IDEA’s Office in the Red Diamond Center any weekday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. There are plenty of materials to look at and used curriculum to purchase.
Events coming up:
Tuesday — College Fair at SOHI’s gymnasium. IDEA’s designated time is from 11:30-12:30. It is recommended to bring printed address labels for your student.
Tuesday — Seward parent meetings and PSAT for Seward families.
Tuesday — PSAT at Kenai Peninsula College
Friday — Parent Advisory Council Meeting from 12-1 at the IDEA Office. This is the time to get involved in planning field trips, groups and clubs with IDEA.
Friday — Join IDEA at the Hay Tunnel at Solid Rock Bible Camp from 2-4. The cost for this event is $6 per person who enters the tunnel. Money for this event may come from allotment, but families will need to pay ahead and be reimbursed through FAST.
October 24-27 — Scholastic Book Fair at the IDEA Office. Items may be purchased from allotment if topics are reflected on children’s ILPs.
October 28 — Picture Day at the IDEA Office. Appointments are available from 9-4:30. Please call 260-7555 and ask for Omie to get your appointment.
Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science
The Life Skill we are focusing on this week is Common Sense — To use good judgement.
Monday
— Fire Safety Week
— 4:15 p.m. APC Meeting, general meeting
— 6:00 p.m. 1st/2nd End of Quarter Celebration; see Friday folders for more information.
Tuesday
— Fire Safety Week
— 8:35 a.m. PTA meeting
— 3:00 p.m. 3rd/4th End of Quarter Celebration; see Friday folders for more information.
Wednesday
— Fire Safety Week
— 3:45-5:00 Dance Ensemble Club
Thursday
— Fire Safety Week
— Student Council Sports Spirit Day
— 10:20 a.m. Great Alaskan Shake-Out earthquake drill
Friday
— Inservice – No School
Mark your Calendar
— October 26-Picture Retakes, sibling pictures are from12:00-1:00.
— October 26- Early Release. School ends at 2:10 p.m. Six days throughout the academic year, students will meet the minimum day requirement, leaving teachers with approximately ninety minutes of additional time for planning/training. The length of the school day will be reduced by ninety minutes, for a total of nine hours during the 2015-2016 school year. On these early release dates, school will end ninety minutes (1.5 hours) earlier. Bus transportation will be adjusted by ninety minutes.
— October 27-28- Parent Teacher Conferences-No School for students
Volunteers — Two steps are required each school year to be an approved volunteer. Go to http://kaleidoscope.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/volunteers and click the link to the background check. This may take 2 weeks for approval to be returned. The next link on the page will take you to the Online Volunteer Training. Read and complete the quiz at the end.
Kalifornsky Beach Elementary
The Box Tops Trick-or-Treat event is in full swing! Thanks to all the students who are returning the Batty for Box Tops sheets. Way to go!
3rd graders at K-Beach will have the opportunity to participate in a program call LinkUp, the Orchestra Moves. It is sponsored by Carnegie Hall. In January students will have the opportunity to perform on stage with the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra! More information to come.
October 21 – Inservice Day; No School
October 26 – Early Release Day, K-Beach will dismiss at 12:55
October 27, 28 – No School due to Parent/Teacher Conferences
Kenai Central High
There will be no school for students October 21, 27 or 28 for end of the quarter in-services and parent teacher conferences. The end of the 1st quarter is on October 21, this is an in-service day. The end of the quarter will be followed by another opportunity for parents to meet with the teachers.
Parent teacher conferences will be October 27 from noon to 3 p.m. and from 5-8 p.m.
The annual band fall concert will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. Bands performing will be the KCHS Concert Band, Drum Line, and the KMS Concert Band. Admittance to the concert is free.
Monday — Killing Cancer on the Kenai Volleyball (Home) vs Nikiski 3:30, 4:30, 6:00
Tuesday — KCHS Band 7:00
Wednesday — SST Competition 6:00 – 8:00
Thursday — Honor Choir Performance 6:30
Friday — No School: End of Quarter; Volleyball at Diamond Tourney; Wrestling at Homer
Kenai Middle
Congratulations to our Character Counts winners: Malena Grieme and Max Martin.
Girls Basketball will practice early this week, from 2:30-4:00. Boys will stay for study hall then practice from 4:00 – 5:30.
Tuesday the KMS concert band will perform along with the KCHS Concert band and the KCHS Drumline. The concert will be held at the KCHS Auditorium and will begin at 7 p.m..
Picture retakes are Thursday.
The Hay Maze fieldtrip with Mr. Fischer will also occur on Thursday, after school. Students will depart at 2:30 and return by 5:30.
The End of the Quarter is Friday. It is an In-Service day. There is no school for students. Enjoy the 3-day weekend!
October 27-28 — No School/ School Conferences.
Mountain View Elementary
Picture retakes are scheduled for Wednesday for students needing to have their pictures retaken or students that missed the first picture day.
Friday is an Inservice day. There is no school for students.
October 26 is an early release day. Those students being picked up will be dismissed at 1:50 p.m. and all other students will be dismissed at 1:55 p.m.
Parent/Teacher conferences will be held on October 27 and 28. There will be no school for students.
The Library will be holding a book fair October 24-28 during school hours and parent-teacher conferences. If you would like to volunteer to help with the book fair please call the office at 283-8600.
The annual Mountain View Carnival will be on November 4 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. and is open to the public. All funds earned will go towards student field trips or student activities, such as artists in schools, for all students. Proceeds may also be used for grade level equipment and supplies. There will be lots of food, games and prizes. Tickets are .25 each and most games cost 2-4 tickets to play. Parents are asked to sign up to help run a booth or to donate a cake or cookies for the cake walk and/or a prize for the prize walk. Parents need to have a background check through the school district to volunteer. Please call the office at 283-8600 if you need help with this process.
Nikiski Middle-High
The Nikiski chapter of the National Honor Society inducted new members to their group in a ceremony on October 6 in the school auditorium. Mariah Vraniak, National Honor Society sponsor, and society members Matthew Minium, Tirzah Young, Savannah Rizzo, Melanie Sexton, Maiya Anderson, Jamie Yerkes, Avery Kornstad, Crystal Epperheimer, Donovan Smith and Emily Hensley welcomed new members.
Congratulations to the following students who were inducted: Drew Davis; Carlee Rizzo; Jada Glaves; Emma Wik; Katelyn Moore; Ashlee Tiner; Alie Minium; and Bethany Carstens.
Monday
— Picture Retakes
— High School Volleyball at Kenai High School. C Team at 3:30 p.m. JV at 4:30 p.m. Varsity at 6:00 p.m.
Thursday
— Middle School Dance for 7th and 8th grade students. 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Cost is $3.00 per student.
Friday
— Inservice/Teacher Work Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS!
— High School Wrestling at Homer Rumble
— JV & Varsity Volleyball at Dimond/Service Tournament in Anchorage
Saturday
— High School Wrestling at Homer Rumble
— Varsity Volleyball at Dimond/Service Tournament in Anchorage
Parent/Teacher Conferences: October 27, 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., noon – 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Nikiski North Star Elementary
On Thursday, NNS will celebrate the end of the quarter with an awards assembly. The primary assembly will be held at 10:15 and the intermediate assembly will be at 10:45 in the gym. Please call the school office at 776-2600 if you need more information.
Friday is teacher inservice. There is no school for students on this day.
The PTA annual fall carnival will be held on Saturday from 2:00 – 5:00 at the school. There will be lots of games, prizes, food, costume contest for all ages, basket auction, live music, trick or treat alley and face painting. If you would like to volunteer to help set up, run a booth, or clean up, please call Janell Grenier at 252-0457.
Parent/teacher conferences will be held on October 27 and October 28. Please check with your child’s teacher if you have not received a time slot for your conference.
The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to NNS. The fair will be open during the fall carnival on Saturday and during parent/teacher conferences. Make sure to shop early because the book fair will not be open on October 28. Please call the school library at 776-2630 if you need further assistance.
Redoubt Elementary
Last week’s Box Top winners – Gage VanVlett & Caiden Hershberger. Save your Box Tops, put your name on the back, and put them in the box outside the office. Weekly prize drawings are held.
Volunteers and Field Trip Drivers – must complete the online school district volunteer application before volunteering in the school or on school field trips. Please go to the KPBSD website for additional information on how you can volunteer at Redoubt Elementary.
Fun Fest – Thursday, 3:30-5:00 p.m. All students must have a signed permission slip turned in by noon the day of Fun Fest. Cost to attend is $4.00, please send extra money for snacks. This event is limited to Redoubt students.
Picture Retakes – Nov. 8. If your child missed picture day, please send a picture packet and include a form of payment if you would like to purchase pictures. If your child is having retakes, please send them with the original pictures taken on Sept. 30.
Redoubt’s Site Council committee is in need of two parent representatives. If you are interested in being a parent representative, please stop by the school office. Site Council will meet 5 times during the school year. Meetings are held at the school at 3:45 p.m. The school site council is an advisory body in the joint planning and problem solving processes for improving student learning that occur at the local school level. Get involved in your child’s education.
Thank you to the Redoubt families and community members who supported Redoubt’s fall fundraiser “Believe Kids” and this year’s Family Fun Run. The students and staff at Redoubt appreciate your generosity.
Parent-Teacher conference forms have been sent home with students. Please complete the conference form and return it to your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Time slots are limited and filled on a first come first serve basis. Please use one form per family.
Friday – No school for students. In-service day for staff.
October 26 – Early Release Day for students, 1:45 p.m. release time.
October 27 and 28 – Parent Teacher Conferences
October 31 – Halloween Parade
Skyview Middle
Intramural Basketball continues! Girls information: Girls practice time will be from 2:30 to 4:30. Please pick up girl participants at 4:30. Boys information: A mandatory study hall with a certified math teacher will be from 2:30 to 4:15. Boys practice time will be from 4:15 to 5:45. Please pick up boy participants at 5:45. Please pay the $30 intramural fee as soon as possible.
First Band/Choir/Drumline Performance – Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Skyview Middle School Commons
No School for Students / End of the First Quarter – Friday
Attention Parents: Please sign up for Parent/Teacher Conferences! Parent/Teacher Conferences at Skyview Middle School will be one day only, October 27. Conference times are scheduled online. To find the link to schedule online and additional Parent/Teacher Conference information, please go to: KPBSD district web page > Schools > Skyview Middle School Homepage/Blog > Student/Parent Information > Parent/Teacher Conferences.
Picture Retakes – October 24, morning only. Students who were absent on the original picture day and would like to purchase a picture packet, please pick up an order form at the office. Students who received a picture packet but would like a new photo, please bring the picture packet to school to give to the photographer.
Skyview Scholastic Book Fair October 24 – 27! The Skyview Middle School Library will host a Scholastic Book Fair starting October 24. This fun reading event helps inspire children to become lifelong readers. The fair will be open 7:30 to 2:00 Monday – Wednesday and noon – 7 p.m. Thursday during parent teacher conferences. This year’s Book Fair will feature the 5th annual Cake Decorating Contest. The contest is open to students, staff and families. Ribbons and gift certificates will be awarded in multiple categories. For additional information, please contact Anne McCabe in the library.
Early Release Day – October 26. Students end the school day at 1:00 p.m.
No School for Students / Parent Teacher Conferences (one day only) – October 27
No School for Students / Teacher in-service – October 28
Morning tutoring is now offered with Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Scott Tuesday-Friday from 7-7:50 a.m. in the Library. Students can bring any class work or use tablets to complete online assignments or video notes. Students must sign in with Mrs. Jones or Mrs. Scott when they arrive. This is a quiet working environment. Make-up tests can be arranged prior to attending.
Skyview Middle School is accepting online payments for Class Fees, Athletic Fees and Lunch Fees. If you need assistance, please call the office at 260-2500 and ask for Mrs. Kircher.
Soldotna Elementary
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:
Tuesday — Picture Retake Day
Friday — In-service Day- No school for students
October 26 — Early Release 1:55 p.m.
October 27-28 — Parent Teacher Conferences, no school for students
The Parent PACK would like to welcome anyone interested in volunteering this year. With support of amazing parent volunteers, the Parent PACK is able to offer many fun events for students. To volunteer please sign up for email communications or follow the PACK on Facebook to keep up-to-date on Soldotna Elementary volunteer events.
Mrs. Kvamme’s school store is up and running this year. The store is open on Wednesday mornings before school. Students can purchase pencils, pens, folders, pencil holders and much more!
Soldotna High
The SoHi SkillsUSA chapter is having a fund raiser selling rural mail boxes. Contact Advisor Mr. Gordon at 260-7000 for more information.
PTSA will host the first Parents of Juniors committee meeting to begin the planning for After Prom on today at 5:30 p.m. in the SoHi Staff Lounge. All Parents of Juniors are welcome and encouraged to attend!
PTSA will host the first Parents of Seniors committee meeting to begin planning for After Grad on today at 6:00 p.m. in the SoHi Staff Lounge. All Parents of Seniors are welcome and encouraged to attend!
Please email Sheilah-Margaret Pothast at agr8fulmom@hotmail.com with PTSA, After Prom or After Grad in the subject line with any questions regarding these meetings.
The Girls Basketball team will be hosting a fundraiser on Nov. 19. What Women Want is a shopping expo that is free, open to the public, and includes over 40 vendors and local businesses. The kid’s jump zone for this event is sponsored by Jumpin’ Junction.
The Counseling Department will be taking a group of students to visit UAA/APU/ACC/NIT on Oct. 26, which is an early release day followed by no school Thursday and Friday for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Trip info: October 26, 5:50 a.m.-7 p.m. Must have permission slip and $10 turned in to front office. First come, first served. Only 45 seats on the bus.
The Counseling Department will be hosting 2 College Goal FAFSA Completion Workshops for senior parents. Event will be Nov. 1 in Room 24 at 6:00 p.m. Bring your 2015 tax information. For more information, contact your school counselor.
Soldotna High School is collecting gently used formal dresses, shoes, and accessories for Cinderella’s Closet 2017. This is a program which helps ALL area high school ladies with free prom dresses, shoes, and accessories. We have helped over 500 ladies in the past 7 years. We are taking donations of prom dresses, shoes, and accessories. All sizes dresses are welcome, however we are in particular need of dresses in size 12 to 18. These items can be dropped off to the main office at Soldotna High School between 8am-3pm. Since the donations are made to a school, tax donation forms can be issued by SoHi upon request. If you have any questions, please email epokryfky@kpbsd.org for more info. Thanks for helping the young ladies of the Kenai Peninsula!
Soldotna Prep
Soldotna Prep is hosting a book fair/bake sale to help generate revenue for new books for the library. The online fair is available 24/7 Oct. 17 through Nov. 4. Anyone in the community can shop from home, enjoy free shipping and pick up your order at SoPrep when it arrives. See everything that Scholastic has available for preschool through adult, get some Christmas shopping done and help support your school library. Just follow the link: http://www.scholastic.com/bf/soldotnaprep.
Also, to shop the fair in person, stop by the library during school hours 7-3 p.m. Oct. 24 through Oct. 27 (12:45) or during the Parent-teacher conferences noon through 7:00 p.m. Oct 28. SoPrep is having an ‘All For Books’ promotion all week long to ensure that no student goes without a book and to start a graphic novel collection in our library. All funds from ‘All For Books’ are matched by Scholastic to support national non-profit reading programs, so your donation goes twice as far! You can support ‘All For Books’ by purchasing bake goods at the bake sale, round up some friends and take some fun photos using our photo props, and playing our guessing game.
SoPrep still needs volunteers to help with the fair and bake sale items for Wednesday lunch (10:40-11:45) and all day Thursday. Please contact the Librarian, Donna Spence, at dspence3@kpbsd.k12.ak.us if you would like to donate a bake sale item and she will get back with you.
No School Friday. In-service and end of 1st quarter
Picture retakes, Oct. 26.
No School, Parent Teacher Conferences, noon to 3 and 4-7 p.m. Oct. 27.
No School, October 28, in-service day
Robotic Club meets Monday and Wednesday from 2:30 – 5:00 in Room 19 and Thursdays from 5-7 p.m.
After School Tutoring Monday and Wednesday 2:30 – 3:30 in Room 10 and Tuesdays and Thursdays in Room 30.
Please visit Soldotna Prep School Page for important information http://soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/home/
Sterling Elementary
Thank you to everyone who helped at our shed building party! It is now open and accepting aluminum cans! Help our school win the Great American Can Race this year!
Oct. 20 — Falcon Fun Night 3:45-5:00 p.m. – Volunteers who have completed the background check process are encouraged to call our office to help!
Oct. 21 — No School – In-service/ End of quarter
Oct. 24 — Red Ribbon Week Assembly at 2:00 p.m.
Oct. 26 — Early Release – Students out at 2:05 p.m.
Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 — Parent Teacher conferences – schedule coming home soon!!
Oct. 28 — No school for students
Oct. 28 — Sterling PTA Trail or Treat! 4:00 – 5:30, includes trick or treating on our habitat trail, chili cook off and pumpkin carving contest! Donations of Halloween decorations and candy requested as well as volunteers who would like to participate and hand out candy on the trail!
Oct. 31 — 21 Day Kindness Challenge Kick Off Assembly
Nov. 1 — PTA Meeting in the library at 4:00 p.m. – child care and snacks provided
Tustumena Elementary
Tuesday — PTO Meeting, 4 p.m.
Firday — InserviceDay, No School for Students, End of 1st Quarter
October 25 — Picture Retakes
October 26 — Early Release, 2:05 p.m.
October 27- 28 — Parent Teacher Conferences
October 28 — Winter Carnival, 6-9 p.m.