District School News
Aurora Borealis Charter School
Aurora Borealis junior high students participated in the Veterans of Foreign Wars "Voice of Democracy" essay contest last fall. Trevor Kauffman, an eighth-grader, was one of the top seven essay writers in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. His essay was forwarded to the state competition for judging there. Trevor's essay was judged third in the state, and he will receive a $100 saving bond.
Forensics was Feb. 26 for fourth- through sixth-grade students. The following students will represent the school at the district meet Saturday:
Fourth grade: Zac Kooly and Michael Dunn, poetry multiple.
Fifth grade: Maya Chay, humorous poetry; Marquee Lucas, non-humorous poetry; and Nikita Naumoff, interpretive reading.
Sixth grade: Hunter Kautz, humorous poetry; Michael Bruxvoort, nonhumorous prose; Aimee McGahan and Katrine Risung, prose multiple; and Marissa Kauffman and Cadee Turkington, poetry multiple.
Mountain View Elementary
Mr. Daniel's and Mr. Schwartz's class is preparing for its big trip to the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska, courtesy of Phillips 66. Each student is working cooperatively in expert groups to learn about specialized areas of responsibility. The students are conducting themselves as enthusiastic, future professionals.
Congratulations to the fifth-graders who participated in DARE graduation Tuesday evening. Each child worked hard memorizing and practicing proven refusal skills. They also wrote essays to share the benefits they gained from their experiences in this program. The graduates appreciate all the time and effort officers George and Sandahl put into preparing them for life's challenges.
Mountain View thanks Carmen Steffel (alias Mrs. Toothpaste) for talking to the third-graders about dental hygiene.
February Students of the Month are third-graders Austin Emerton, Amber Chapman, Shae Le Bryant-Conner, Kayla Loffer and Dedra Ming; fourth-graders Sean McDonald, Katrina Chase, Maya Johnson, Seth Blumenshine, Anders Nyquist and Kenny Kitchen; and fifth-graders Tony Kaser, Jordan Jackson, Gabe Haunold, Logan Rosing, Jennifer White and Christina Fischer. Band students of the month were Shelby Daly and Leah Stephens. The Student of the Month luncheon will be Tuesday.
Nikiski Elementary
Do your students have used books they would like to trade for other books? If so, have them bring books to Mrs. Leichliter's room any morning through Friday between 9 and 9:30 a.m. When they bring in old books, students will get coupons for the number of books brought in to use at the book swap, rescheduled for Friday afternoon.
Congratulations to the students who participated in the Accelerated Reading Program. Ms. Cox, the librarian, challenged students to exceed 500 points for the year, and they exceeded 1,000 points. As a result, the staff members agreed to do something funky with their hair. Mr. Floyd wore a clown's wig all day; Mr. Hufford shaved off his beard and the rest of the staff colored their hair Friday. Miss Sylvia agreed to participate if she could wear her clothes backward all day.
The next site-based council meeting is scheduled for Monday at 3:45 p.m. in the library.
North Star Elementary
The North Star Elementary Student Council is sponsoring a food drive today through March 15. There will be primary and intermediate wing winners. Winning classrooms will be determined by the total weight of cans collected. Students will be rewarded with a sundae party. All food will go to the Nikiski community.
The North Star Parent Teacher Organization is looking for book donations for an upcoming book walk.
Congratulations to the forensics winners:
Third grade: Tyler Peek, first; Miranda Chenault, second; and Jessica Petry, third, in humorous poetry; Tom Pilatti, first, and Tanner Thompson, second, in nonhumorous poetry; and the team of Shanda Chenault and Kali Chilson, first, in nonhumorous prose.
Fourth grade: Bradi Anderson, first in humorous poetry.
Fifth grade: Katie Moon and Katlin Johnson tied for first in humorous prose storytelling; and Dakota DeVolld, first, and Tiffany Hobbs, second, in humorous poetry.
Sixth grade: Stony Wall, first, humorous poetry; Ryan Hobbs, first, and Tasha Thompson, second, in nonhumorous prose; Quinn Stoops, first, in storytelling; Jennifer Lukassen, Whitney Doty and Elaina Hitchcock, first, multiples in readers theater; and Amber Ewing and Kaley Dukowitz, first, multiples humorous poetry.
Redoubt Elementary
Jump Rope for the Heart fund-raiser packets go to students this week. This event continues through March 15.
Class photos are available through March 15. Order forms are in front of the school office.
Redoubt yearbooks are for sale for $20 on a preorder basis. Forms are available in front of the office.
Redoubt's fourth- through sixth-grade students will present the musical, "America Sings" at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Soldotna High School Auditorium.
Redoubt's immunization clinic will be Friday. For more information, contact nurse Donna.
Congratulations to Larissa Stewart, Big G Box tops drawing winner, Laura Koski, Campbell's Soup label drawing winner and battery recycling drawing winners Lorenzo Silva and Aaron Haupt.
The district art specialist, Celia Anderson, had great art classes the past two weeks.
Winners in the school forensics competition will represent Redoubt at the borough meet Saturday. Winners and runners up were:
Sixth grade: Rosemary Houglum, first; Erin Simpson, second; and Kailie Nelson, third, humorous poetry. Jessica Oglesbee, first; Delainie Burford, second; and Delbert Leavitt, third, in nonhumorous poetry. Krikkit Holly, first; Sierra Ball, second; and Keegan Chavka, third, humorous prose. Brit Emery, first; Paul Blacklock, second; and Jordan Love, third, in nonhumorous prose. Kioni Garcia, Lyla Marey and Mackenzie McAchran, first; Kyle Eckerman and Michelle Siter, second; Brittany Dukowitz and Jaclyn Stafford, third; and Bryce Gardner and Darren McGrady, third, in multiple prose. Krikkit Holly and Erin Simpson, first and Brandon Bixby and Hyuntae Kim, second, in multiple poetry. Shelly Barker, first; Danielle Haselow, second; and Kara Dolifka, third, in storytelling. Ashley Kline, first; Mavica McLane and Tauna Reese, second; and Jaclyn Stafford, third, in interpretive reading (single). Keegan Chavka, Delainie Burford, Shelly Barker, Kara Dolifka, Holden Hollenberg and Nick Rodriguez, first, and Azzur Hoffman and Amanda Baer, second, in interpretive reading (multiple).
Fifth grade: Jake Stephl, first; Samantha Moeller, second; and Gabrielle Daigle, third, humorous poetry. Sarah Morris, first; Ryan Helminski, second; and Shannon Moore, third, nonhumorous poetry. Andy Williams, first, and Zach Oakley, second, humorous prose. Allyson Oberts, first; Tom Blacklock, second; and Liberty Penttila, third, nonhumorous prose. Liberty Penttila, Allyson Oberts and Jake Stephl, first, and Amanda Little, Stephanie Arbach and Madeleine DeVore, second, multiple prose. Whitney Velez and Miranda Burcham, first, multiple poetry. Hanna Delaney, first; Shiloh Penttila, second; and Amy Junkert, third, storytelling. Sarah Morris, first, and Yuzhun Evanoff, second, interpretive reading (single). Shannon Moore and Amy Junkert, first, and Naomi Hopper, Dessie Ozhuwan, Jessica Blackburn, Shiloh Penttila and Gabrielle Daigle, second, interpretive reading (multiple).
Fourth grade: Emily Rohloff, first; Dillon Ball and Ryan Burow, second; and Gage Harvey, third, humorous poetry. Leisha Denison, first; Will McDermid, second; and Hannah Romberg, third, nonhumorous poetry. Stryker McLane, first; Karen Senette, second; and Silas Rodriguez, third, humorous prose. Rebecca Bowser, first; Ashlea Simmons, second; and Jessiah Steffy, third, nonhumorous prose. Anna Byrne and Jessica Utrup, first; Randian Naves and Tahirra Jackson, second; and Colton Ciufo and Taylan Streiff, third, multiple poetry. Caitlin Baalke, first, in storytelling. Ashley Tri, first; Zachary Truesdell, second; and Tony Joule, third, interpretive reading (single). Jenna Redford, Ryan Lindley, Rebecca Bowser, and Betheny Crist, first, interpretive reading (multiple).
Sears Elementary
The Kenai Central High School band will perform for Sears students Tuesday at 9:15 a.m. Parents are welcome.
Battle of the Books week at Sears begins Monday. Students who have been reading the battle books will get together and share their knowledge of each book.
Saturday, the Sears PTA will having a sledding party from noon to 3 p.m. on the playground. Come join the PTA for hot chocolate, cookies and winter fun.
Mrs. Hanson's class has been working on subtraction with exchanging 10s for ones in math. Children have been reading books about China that tie into their social studies.
Mrs. Porter's class has been researching different countries. Students will make posters about each country after the research is complete.
Miss Ralston's class has been working on adding and subtracting two- and three-column numbers in math. They are working on space and experimenting with water activities in science.
Mrs. Anderson's class has been learning about presidents and built the White House out of blocks. The children will begin writing favorite place stories and talking about places they love.
Mrs. Sorenson's and Mrs. Atchley's class is focusing on places, memories and traditions. The children read stories about how memories and keepsakes connect us to loved ones. On March 14, they will have a family potluck at 6 p.m.
Soldotna Elementary
In celebration of Dr. Suess's birthday, school librarian and teacher Katrina Adamson created learning centers focused on each of Dr. Suess' books for her students. She also made a "Cat in the Hat" cake for each class as part of the birthday celebration. Students made sequined stars from "The Sneeches" and truffula trees from "The Lorax" to be added to the truffula forest. Making oobleck celebrated Bartholomew McCubbin's adventures, and creating Yertle the turtle recalled the book by the same name.
Students at Soldotna Elementary practiced forensics and will send their top entries to the district competition Saturday. School winners are:
Grade six: Dustin Poppin an Aaron Andrus in interpretive reading (multiple); Kahlia McDermott-Johnson, Maggie Stewart, Jamie Sinclair and Alyse Staley in prose (multiple); and Andrew Miller and Paige Blackburn in poetry multiple.
Grade five: Kelli Acton, Monica Maryott and Jessi Stenga in interpretive reading (multiple) and Colton Carrol and Logan Rahlfs in prose (multiple).
The PTA will meet Thursday at 3:45 p.m. Come support the many activities of PTA.
Artwork by students at Soldotna Elementary is displayed at Kaladi Brothers for the month of March. Stop in and see the fantastic creations by students.
Sterling Elementary
Congratulations to the following winners of the school forensics competition:
Fourth grade: Shelby . Smith, humorous poetry; Jasmine Clock, non-humorous poetry; Shelby M. Smith and Jessica Ellison, prose (multiple); Derrick Parham and Shonni Larrow, poetry (multiple); and Micheal Griffin, interpretive reading.
Fifth grade: April Heffner, humorous poetry; Elaina Mercier and Nicky Collet, prose (multiple); Natasha Mallett and Brittany Smith, poetry (multiple); Melissa Massey and Brittany Meyer, interpretive reading (multiple); and Jenna Grant, storytelling.
Sixth grade: Becky Warton, humorous poetry; Kristina Barnes and Brooke Jasky-Zuber, prose (multiple); Justin Orth and Steven Burlison, poetry (multiple); Maria Perzechino, interpretive reading; Samantha Smith and Laura Mckenna, interpretive reading (multiple); and Megan Revis, storytelling.
Congratulations to Nick Swain and Robert Skuse. Swain won the Sterling Elementary spelling bee and will compete at the state spelling bee in Anchorage Monday and Tuesday. Skuse is the runner-up.
The PTA chose circuses as its spring carnival theme. If you would like to help or for more information, call Lynn Lund at 262-2949 or 262-4944.
Tustumena Elementary
Lee Young, principal at Soldotna Middle School was the presenter at the past week's PTO meeting. Tuesday the PTO will meet at 4 p.m.
Tustumena PTO School Spirit shirts are on sale through March 13.
Cross-country skiing ends Friday.
Tustumena's PTO now is accepting nominations for officer positions for the 2002-03 school year. Elections will be this month, enabling new officers to participate in developing next year's school spending plan before school dismisses for summer vacation.
Kenai Middle School
Congratulations to the Kenai Middle School spelling bee champion Devin Boyle. Zach Beeson was the alternate. Both are in sixth grade.
Sixth-grader Ian Uponen's contest essay, naming one of Alaska's newest ferries, was selected to represent the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District at the state level. Second- through sixth-graders throughout the state could participate in this event at the local level, with each school allowed to send one essay for district judging. KPBSD was allowed to forward the top three essays to the final competition in Juneau. The state of Alaska will commission its newest additions to the ferry fleet this summer, with the contest winners' suggested ship's name adorned in foot-high golden letters. Ian's essay is on the school's Web page at www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/kms/.
Winners of the sixth-grade forensic meet are: Rebecca Gilman, storytelling; Matt Sutherland, nonhumorous poetry; Ian Uponen, interpretive reading; Julianna John, humorous poetry; Jessi Pierce and Harmony Tomes, multiples poetry; Amanda Ellis and Skyla Cox, multiples prose; and Kyle Dub, Travis Wingster and Justin Hensler, multiples interpretive reading.
Check out the school Web page for the latest school newsletter at www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/kms/.
Departing secretary Terry Dunn would like to thank all of the KMS staff, students and parents who have made her eight years at the school such enjoyable ones.
Soldotna Middle School
Ms. Church's seventh-grade class, is exploring Greece virtually. A team of archeologists, technologists, anthropologists and other scientists have teamed up to give children around the United States an interactive learning experience posting information and experiences on the Internet. The Soldotna Middle School students are creating Power Point presentations to express opinions and review what the team is doing.
The SMS ski team has done well this season. On Feb. 23 at Tsalteshi Trails, students raced against Nikiski and Seward. The SMS girls and boys both placed first in overall times. The next races will determine the district champion team.
The high school counselors will visit SMS Monday to talk about scheduling for the freshman year. Eighth-grade parent night is that same night at 6:30 at both high schools.
Ashlee Daris, Melissa Downs, Amy Hundertmark, Ashley Myers and Lorena Whitaker all passed the bar exam for Youth Court. A reception was held in their honor. Judge Dana Fabe of Anchorage came down to do the official swearing in.
Connections
The state of Alaska Benchmark Tests for third-, sixth- and eighth-graders; the Terra Nova Achievement Tests for grades four, five, seven and nine; and the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam are continuing today and Thursday at Soldotna Bible Chapel in the central peninsula area or the Methodist church in Homer. Tests may not be taken at the local school buildings.
The American Flag Poetry Contest entries are due to the Connections office Friday. For more information, contact Tanya.
The Book-It Program, sponsored by Pizza Hut, is drawing to a close. The final certificate is valid through May 1. The goal of the program is to increase student motivation for reading for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Progress charts may be picked up at the office or printed off the Connections Web site. Student may earn one certificate per month for a one-topping personal-pan pizza. For more information, call Jane at 262-6315.
Interior Distance Education of Alaska
IDEA students will take part throughout the next two weeks in mandated state testing. IDEA encourages parents to make sure that their child is especially well rested, has a nutritious breakfast and is prepared for testing. Students are encouraged to bring their own drink in a spill-proof container and a snack to the test site.
Terra Nova testing will be Tuesday and March 13 at the following times and places:
Soldotna Sports Center for Kasilof, Kenai, Nikiski, Clam Gulch and Soldotna: fourth and fifth grade check in at 8:30 a.m., and seventh and ninth grades check in at 1 p.m.;
Seward Community Library for Seward and Moose Pass: fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth grades check in at 8:30 a.m.;
Land's End Quarterdeck in Homer for Anchor Point, Fritz Creek, Halibut Cove, Homer, Nikolaevsk and Ninilchik: fourth and fifth grade check in at 8:30 a.m. and seventh and ninth grades check in at 1 p.m.
IDEA's first science fair results are in. John Boatright, 5, from Nikiski took first in the elementary category for his project, "Shining Copper." In the secondary-age category, first place went to Wade Lawrence, 12, from Seward for "Catapult: A Simple Lever." They will be displayed in the school office for the month of March.
Kenai Central High School
Classes for students not involved in the standardized testing will begin at 10:06 a.m. this week.
Mark your calendars now to see the KCHS Drama Department's second show of the year, "Mixed Nuts." This comedy is directed by senior Lauren Brewer and will be performed Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium. Admission is free.
To all parents interested in helping with after-prom festivities: There will be a meeting in the staff lounge at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Thanks to John Landua from Agrium and Laura Hammond from Unocal for their talk to Christine Bergholtz's science classes during National Engineering Week.
Track and soccer seasons begin Monday. Students interested should contact coaches for more information.
The next site council meeting is Monday at 5 p.m. in the teachers' lounge; a PTSA meeting will follow at 6 p.m.
KCHS' last shot clinic will be Tuesday. Refer to the February newsletter for more information and a permission form. Kindly return the signed forms to the nurse's office by Monday.
The academic awards banquet will be Tuesday in the cafeteria at 6:30 p.m.
Ninilchik School
Jesse Leman won the spelling bee, and Danielle Henry received second place.
The last home games for the varsity basketball teams included recognition of the all the seniors, whose next game in the Ninilchik gym will be as alumni. Fact sheets were read on each player, including their years on the team and favorite memories. Butch Leman introduced Molly Bosick, Brianna Leman and Janelle Moerlein for the girls' team and Salty Bock, Jesse Hostetter, John Matson and Andy Tholberg for the boys' team. Each player received a yellow rose for their parents and then went on to win against Cook Inlet Academy.
Michael Taylor organized the January blood drive at the school. He made posters to advertise the drive around town, called or asked people to donate and scheduled the 40 donors during the all-day event. The home economics students made cookies for the donors, and Deep Creek Custom Packing donated ice. Michael is working on another blood drive for March 29.
The forensics meet for grades three through six resulted in four winners, who will go to the district meet Saturday. Adam Byrne and Bartholomew Olson will compete in the singles division. Alex Walkoff and Jackie Waldron will compete in the multiples.
Skyview High School
The February Rotary Club Students of the Month are Katie Lockwood, Amber Dockery, Becky Osterman, Charlie Evans, Alecia Wood, Tim Stalvig, Marcy Isham, Ann Verba, Sara Garrant, Brandon Cleveland, Alisa Kipp, Ryan Staab and Chris Ferrell.
Skyview High School presents "Once Upon a Mattress: The Princess and the Pea." It will be in the Soldotna High School Auditorium Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be $5 at the door.
Good luck to the Mock Trial Team as it heads to Anchorage for the state competition Thursday. Team members include senior lead attorneys Laura Tarbox and Jinnie Hanson, junior attorney Ryan Staab, senior witness Christine Hayes, junior witnesses Mitch Burdick an Kris Wilson and sophomore witness Emily Berezin.
The PTSA will meet Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
The spring dance will be Saturday from 8 to 11 p.m. The cost $5 per person or $8 per couple.
Eighth-grade parent night will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Skyview library.
The spring band concert will be 7 p.m. Monday in the commons.
Track and soccer seasons begin Monday. All students interested in trying out for the teams need to make sure they have current physicals on file at the school.
Skyview will host Region III for basketball starting March 14.
Soldotna High School
Congratulations to the February Students of the Month: Brittany Howard, health; Matt Radek, physical education; Matt Habermann, photography; Heather Roach, English; Lowell Perry, science; Rachel Goldstein, Russian; April Locke and Tatiana Ozhuwan, vocational education; Neal Soderquist, algebra; Rachel McCarten, math; and Carly Miller, social studies.
Eighth-grade parent visitation night will be Monday at 6:30. Parents and guardians of students in eighth grade who plan to attend Soldotna High School next year are encouraged to attend. Information about SoHi academic requirements, sports and extra curricular activities will be discussed. A tour of the school also is on the schedule. Meet in the library.
The Mock Trial team will travel to Anchorage Thursday to participate in this year's competition. Fifteen SoHi students and their adviser, LaDawn Druce, will go with Soldotna Police Chief Shirley Gifford. Gifford is an integral part of their support team.
SoHi will be on regular assembly schedule March 13 for the region basketball pep assembly. The assembly will be at 2 p.m. in the gym.
Grace Lutheran School
Brad Tufto, a state Department of Environmental Conservation employee and friend of Grace Lutheran, showed the entire school the importance of proper hand washing. The students were amazed to see how many germs were still on their hands after they thought they had done a good job of washing them.
Eighth-grader Jennifer Werth won Grace Lutheran's spelling bee and will travel to Anchorage to participate in the state spelling bee.
Congratulations to third-grader Alexis Norris for passing her subtraction facts test.
The seventh- and eighth-graders traveled to the Soldotna Public Library to find information for research projects. This group is finishing its study of the Great Depression and moving on to study World War II. The fifth- and sixth-graders are studying the Greeks and Alexander the Great.
The lower grade students had fun following the progress of the Olympics. They learned a lot about the Lower 48 when they located home states of the U.S. medal winners. They also completed their tour of Australia by visiting the Great Barrier Reef with "dive master" Miss Tami, also known as Tami Schmidt, from Minnesota. She helped the students create a mural showing the underwater creatures they "saw" on their excursion.
For more information about Grace Lutheran, contact school minister Dennis Leckwee at 283-9551. Applications for the 2002-03 school year are being accepted.
Wings Christian Academy
The International Student Competition for ACE schools this year will be in Flagstaff, Ariz. The competition consists of many categories, including sewing, sports, music and art. The deadline for students to determine what they will do for the competition will be March 14.
This Friday is the end of the second quarter at Wings. All verses must be said and at least three paces in each subject must be completed.
Spring break will be Saturday through March 17.
Skate night for this month will be March 19 from 6 to 8.
The cleanest desks of the week awards went to Katie Sutton and Kelsey Jose.
Kenai Cooperative Preschool
Last week, students had a wonderful time celebrating Chinese New Year. They used a variety of materials to create dragon puppets. Throughout music time, students used their puppets to put on a lucky dragon parade. Nicholas Bowen was especially proud of his dragon.
This week, students will learn about the ocean and some of the amazing creatures that live there. Preschoolers will study whales, sea turtles, the octopus.
The See's candy sale is coming to a close. All the cooperative families have participated to help make this a successful fund-raiser. The preschool would like to thank Chris Holmes for all her hard work this year as fund-raising chairperson.
Kenaitze Cuya Qyut'anen Head Start
Last week, students had a wonderful time celebrating Chinese New Year. They used a variety of materials to create dragon puppets. Throughout music time students used their puppets to put on a lucky dragon parade. Nicholas Bowen was especially proud of his dragon.
This week students will learn about the ocean and some of the amazing creatures that live there. Preschoolers will study whales, sea turtles, the octopus and more.
The See's candy sale is coming to a close. All the cooperative families have participated to help make this a successful fund-raiser. Kenai Cooperative Preschool would like to thank Chris Holmes for all her hard work this year as fund-raising chairperson.
Peninsula Grace Preschool
This week's helpers are Alex, Connor, Charis and Machaela.
Last week's unit on the Olympics was lots of fun. The school had its own Olympics with events including an obstacle course, sled relay, puck shoot and beanbag toss. Awards were given to participating students.
The school would like to thank Dan and Monica for helping with events. The school also appreciated David for sharing with students about the Salt Lake City Olympics.
This week's focus will be Dr. Suess, in celebration of his birthday. Students will read his books and get to write and illustrate their own stories.
Bible stories and memory verses for March will be on Jesus' death and resurrection.
For more information about the preschool, contact 262-1284.
To have information published in Schools, please send a description of the event or accomplishment to Shana Loshbaugh at P.O. Box 3009, Kenai, AK 99611. Information will be accepted by e-mail at clarion@alaska.net or by fax at 283-3299.
The deadline for submission is Thursday at 5 p.m. for publication in the following Wednesday's paper. For information, contact Shana Loshbaugh at 283-7551.