Around the District

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:

■ May 2 (Seward High School);

■ June 6;

■ June 7 (Planning Session);

Holidays and vacation days scheduled

■ May 18 — Last day of school.

Connections Home School Program

Dates To Remember:

■ April 26 – Kenai Rec Center Gym Time

■ April 27 – Homer Rock Climbing at the Bay Club at 1:30 p.m. Contact Jake Parrett (jparrett@kpbsd.org ) for more information

■ April 29 – Homer Rock Climbing at the Bay Club at 3:30-5 p.m. – Contact Jake Parrett (jparrett@kpbsd.org ) for more information

■ April 29 – Homer: Earth day Homer Connections Community Clean-Up (more info below)

■ April 29 – Last day to submit reimbursments

■ May 3 – Kenai Fjords Trip in Seward

■ May 4 – Soldotna office kindergarten orientation and end of the year BBQ at 2:30-4 p.m.

■ May 5 – Middle School Math Meet at Homer Middle School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (more info below)

■ May 10 – Homer high school orientation (more info below)

■ May 11 – Salmon Celebration – Save the Date

Earth day Homer Connections community clean-Up:

■ Homer Connections is celebrating Earth Day on Friday, April 29, 2016, with a Community Clean Up Event from 9:30-11 a.m. and a BBQ to follow. The plan is to clean up starting at Ben Walters Park (behind McDonalds)and branching out from there in small groups. The school staff will provide the bags for the cleanup and cook the food following all the hard work. Families need to bring gloves (if desired) and energetic kids! Please RSVP to Derek Bynagle (dbynagle@kpbsd.org ) for a food count. The school staff can’t wait to see families there.

■ Homer High School Orientation:

Believe it or not, the next 4 years will fly by and Connections would like to help families make the most of these high school years. Students and parents are invited to the “Class of 2020” Orientation that will take place May 10 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Homer Connections Office.

Topics will cover high school requirements and building a 4-year plan, accessing school district Gmail, checking Grades and Credits on the Powerschool database, making an interest inventory, and staff will try to shed some light on where a student may be heading after high school. Staff will also address setting up a personal learning and career plan, and whether or not a family is planning on homeschooling next year staff encourage anyone to join. Please RSVP to Derek Bynagle (dbynagle@kpbsd.org) or call the office at 226-1880. If families would like to attend, but this time does not work staff will be happy to schedule another date.

Interior Distance Education of Alaska

IDEA’s 18th Annual Curriculum Fair is on May 4 at Kalifonsky Christian Center.

There will be a buffet breakfast and Keynote Speaker – Carol Simpson presenting.

Important dates:

■ April 25 – Free Jumpin’ Junction Day for families who have re-enrolled. All re-enrolled families are invited to participate from 2-4 p.m. Bring a snack to share.

■ May 11 – IDEA is heading out to Johnson Lake for the Salmon Celebration at noon. Please sign up online.

■ May 13 – IDEA will be having a Graduation Celebration. This is time for families to celebrate graduates locally. This celebration will be held at the IDEA Office from 6-8 p.m. Join families of graduates for pizza and cake.

■ May 16 – IDEA is having an end of the year celebration. It will be an all day trip to Anchorage. From 10 a.m. to noon, families will be touring the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Then, families will head over to H2Oasis to take advantage of the last homeschool day. Please sign up online.

■ May 17 – IDEA will be having their annual track meet. Families will meet at the Skyview Track at 4 p.m. There is no need to sign up – just come.

■ May 23 – IDEA will be having their End of the Year Picnic at Soldotna Creek Park. Families will gather at noon. IDEA director, Daryl Bowers, will be there to visit with families. This will also be a time to say goodbye to assistant director, Janice Habermann. She will be relocating to IDEA’s Anchorage Office. IDEA will provide hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a side dish to share.

Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science

■ April 26 – Fifth grade Kenai Fjords trip at 6 a.m.

■ April 28 – Volunteer Appreciation Celebration breakfast followed by an assembly to honor all of the school’s hard working volunteers at 8:30 a.m.

■ April 28 – PTA meeting following the Volunteer Appreciation Celebration

■ Mathletes meet at Mountaing View at 9:15 a.m.

■ Fifth grade D.A.R.E.

■ April 29 – Backwards/Inside Out Clothes Day – Student Council sponsored spirit day

■ Fifth grade D.A.R.E.

Upcoming Events:

■ May 2 – APC meeting at 4:15 p.m.

■ May 3 – First and second graders will go to Captain Cook State Park

■ Fifth grade Music Concert Rehearsal at 9:30 a.m. at Kenai Central High

■ Fifth grade Music Concert at KCHS at 7 p.m.

■ May 4 – 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 and training. The length of the school day will be reduced by 90 minutes, for a total of nine hours during the 2015-2016 school year. On these early release dates, school will end 90 minutes earlier. Bus transportation will be adjusted by ninety minutes.

■ May 5 – Bike Rodeo with bikes for first through fifth graders (leave bike outside a classroom window)

■ Band Concert at 6 p.m.

■ May 6 – School Assembly for band concert in the gym at 9:20 a.m.

Reminders:

The Life Skill we are focusing on this week is Truthfulness – To be honest about things and feelings with oneself and others.

■ If a child arrives after 9:10 a.m., please come in and sign him or her in at the office.

■ If a parent would like to be a volunteer, be sure to complete a background check and volunteer training. Go to kaleidoscope.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/volunteers and click the link to the background check.

Kalifornsky Beach Elementary

The school staff says “Thanks to generous community and family support, K-Beach sixth graders enjoyed an overnight science field trip to Peterson Bay with Alaska Coastal Studies. We appreciate the effort that led to this memory-making experience for our students.”

Mr. Daniels’s class is waving goodbye to their study of Energy and saying hello to waves. Students will discover the many properties and characteristics of waves. Mr. Winslow came in to class to take part in science stations related to Electrical Energy. Students rotated through several stations and investigated batteries and circuits in a variety of formats. They also watched a demonstration on electrical safety. The students enjoyed building and testing circuits.

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge sent a ranger to present to Mrs. Zibell, Mr. Vedders and Mrs. Klaben’s classes. The students learned a great deal about being safe around bears in the spring and how to make their yards less inviting to hungry bears.

Fifth grade is working very hard on Social Studies research reports. Each report will be written as well as presented in a multimedia presentation.

Come listen to the last band concert of the year. It has been great working with these fine students and Mrs. Duhan is excited for them to show everyone what they have learned this year. The K-Beach band concert will be Monday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m. Students should meet in the library no later than 6:15 p.m.

■ April 29 – Volunteer Appreciation Assembly at 8 a.m.

■ May 2 – K-Beach Band Concert at 6:30 p.m. in the gym

■ May 4 – Early Release Day; K-Beach will dismiss at 12:55 p.m.

■ May 5 – JA in a day

■ May 18 – Last day of school

Kenai Central High

The school staff have a message for families: “Parents and guardians of Kenai Central High School students, it is very important when picking up and dropping off your child at school that this is done in the main parking lot near the front office. Please refrain from picking up or dropping off your children in the bus loading and unloading zones as this interferes with the bus schedules and their ability to leave the school in a timely manner. Your cooperation and respect for safety is appreciated.”

■ April 25 – College Decision Day

■ April 26 – Boys and Girls Varsity Soccer at 4 and 6 p.m. in Homer

■ Softball versus Homer at 6 p.m. at home

■ Baseball at 3 and 6 p.m. at Soldotna High School

■ April 28 – Track against Kodiak at 3 p.m. at home

■ Junior Varsity Baseball at Houston

■ April 29 – Track at Homer Invite

■ Soccer against Kodiak at 4 and 6 p.m. at home

■ Junior Varsity Baseball at Houston

■ April 30 – Track invite at Homer

■ Junior Varsity Baseball at Houston

■ Soccer against Kodiak at 9 and 11 a.m., and 1 and 3 p.m.

Kenai Middle

The school staff says “Congratulations to our Character Counts Winners: Josie Passe and Marcus Dunham.”

■ Mass Band will be held at Solodtna High School at 6 p.m., April 26.

■ Mini Course Fee Collection will begin Tuesday, April 26-28.

■ The Annual Pop Choir Concert will be held April 28 at KCHS beginning at 7 p.m.

■ The Elementary Trimathlon will be held April 28 at Mountain View.

■ Eighth grade students will hear speeches for the High School E- Board Elections on April 28 during their advisory.

■ Track athletes will attend the Seward Invite at 3 p.m., April 29, in Seward.

■ Volunteers are invited the Coffee and Donuts from 7-7:45 p.m., Friday, April 29. Call ahead if families would prefer coffee and donut delivered to their car.

Mountain View Elementary

The Mountain View fourth and fifth grade students will have their Spring Concert on Monday, April 25 at 6 p.m. at Kenai Central High School.

Parent input forms for student placement for the 2016-2017 school year are available now at the office. Parents may give input regarding their students strengths and needs. This information is extremely helpful in developing classroom assignments. For parent input to be considered in the placement process this form needs to be returned to the office no later than Friday, April 29.

Mountain View Elementary will be having an ALICE Drill the afternoon of Friday, April 29. This drill will include announcing an intruder scenario, evacuating our building as the scenario would call for, and having students and staff gather at the Kenai Fellowship. Students will be supervised at all times. Once at the fellowship the staff will be calling parents of students who are normally picked up to see if they can come get their students and transport them back to school. This will allow the school to experience how student release from a remote location will work. Parents will not be required to pick up students if they are unable, all students will be back at school for normal dismissal. More information on ALICE protocol and other emergency procedures can be found atkpbsd.k12.ak.us/Workarea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=34276.

The school staff are accepting pre-orders for the yearbook. Yearbooks are $18 each and will be available before school ends. Order forms were sent home and can also be found at the office.

■ May 2 – National Principal’s Day. Be sure to thank Mr. Kircher and Mr. DeVolld for being our Principals.

■ May 4 – Early Release Day. Students will be dismissed at 1:55 p.m.

■ May 4 – The Kindergarten Spring Concert will be Thursday, May 5 at 2 p.m. in the gym at Mountain View.

■ May 6 – National School Nurses Day.

■ Attention all first and seocond graders mark all calendars, it is Bike Rodeo time.

Bicycle Safety Instruction in the classroom will be held Tuesday, May 3. The Kenai Police Department will send an officer to teach and instruct students on Safe Bicycle Tips. Friday, May 6 students may bring their bicycle and helmet to school and ride the obstacle course. Students will also be able to have their bicycle checked and registered with a sticker. Outgrown or don’t have a helmet? No worries. Helmets can be purchased for $5 and will be personally fitted for students thanks to Safe Kids through Central Peninsula Hospital. Get ready for fun. If parents would like to help with the bike rodeo, please call the office at 283-8600.

National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 2-6. The Mountain View PTA is providing lunch for the staff every day of the week. If families would like to help by bringing some food please call Traci at 953-3779 or the office at 283-8600.

■ May 10 – The PTA will have their final meeting for the school year at 4 p.m. at Mountain View.

■ May 18 – The last day of school.

Nikiski Middle-High

■ April 25 – Homer versus Voznesenka varsity girls soccer at 4 p.m.

■ Graduation after Grad Party planning meeting for senior parents at 5:30 p.m. in the library

■ April 26 – Fifth grade Step up Night at 6-7:30 p.m.

■ MS Mass Band Concert at 6 p.m. at Skyview

■ April 28 – Nikiski versus Kodiak boys junior-varsity soccer at 4 p.m.

■ Nikiski versus Kodiak Girls varsity soccer at 4 p.m.

■ Nikiski vs. Kodiak Girls junior-varsity soccer at 6 p.m.

■ Nikiski vs. Kodiak boys varsity soccer at 6 p.m.

■ April 29 – Middle School Track at Seward

■ High School track invite at Homer

■ Nikiski Musical Theater presents “The Wizard of Oz” at 7 p.m. The costs are $10 for adults, $5 for students and tickets will be sold at the door

■ April 30 – High School Track at Homer Invite

■ Boys Varsity Soccer at 1 p.m. at Soldonta High School

■ Nikiski Musical Theater presents “The Wizard of Oz” at 7 p.m. The costs are $10 for adults, $5 for students and tickets will be sold at the door.

Nikiski North Star Elementary

The Nikiski fifth graders will go to Nikiski Middle High School on Tuesday, April 26, for Fifth Grade Step Up Day. The students will leave NNS at 9:05 a.m. so please make children are at school on time. Fifth graders will learn about and meet their teachers for next school year. There will be a parent night that evening at 6 p.m. at Nikiski Middle-High. Please contact either school for more information.

There are parent input forms available for student placement for next school year. These forms are due back to the office by Friday, May 6. Please be advised that, as a parent, this is an opportunity to give input into this process. Students will be placed after a thorough process involving a child’s current teacher and parents. Factors to consider include: teacher recommendation, student learning style, teacher instructional style, academic needs, behavioral needs and gender. If there are any special concerns, please contact Principle Gilman at 776-2600.

Nikiski North Star will have a Jog-a-thon Fundraiser on Friday, May 13. Please join up and pledge to raise funds for Nikiski North Star. There will be prizes for the top fundraisers. It promises to be fun for the entire family.

Redoubt Elementary

Enroll now for the 2016-2017 school year. Registration is now open for all grades. Please call the school office for more information on the enrollment process.

Spring Concert Schedule:

■ April 27 – Nikiski Middle-High Kindergarten Concert at 2:15 p.m. in the Redoubt Gym

■ May 3 – First through third grade concert at 6 p.m. at Soldotna High School

■ May 5– Band Concert at 6 p.m. in the Redoubt Gym

Other dates to remember:

■ April 27 – Administrative Assistant Day

■ April 25-27 – Peterson Bay with Mr. Eveland

■ April 27-29 – Peterson Bay with Mrs. Wardas

■ April 28 – Kenai Fjords for fourth graders

■ May 2 – Principals Day

■ May 2-6 – Teacher Appreciation Week

■ May 4 – Early Release Day for students at 1:45 p.m.

■ May 5 – Kenai River Cleanup for fourth through sixth grade students from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

■ May 6 – Kindergarten Visitation from 9:15-10:45 a.m.

■ Skyview Middle School visitation for this year’s sixth graders from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

■ School Nurse Day

Box Top winners last week were Michael Moran, Jace Meehan and Emma Knowles. Keep those Box Tops for education and Labels for education coming, weekly drawings are held so don’t forget to have a child put their name on the back of each Box Top and turn them in at school. Help earn money for Redoubt.

Support Redoubt Elementary while families shop at Fred Meyer. Every time families shop with their linked Rewards Card at Fred Meyer, they are helping Redoubt Elementary earn a donation. And the more families who link their Rewards Cards to Redoubt Elementary the more Redoubt can earn. To link to a rewards account go to fredmeyer.com/

■ April 25-29 – B.O.G.O (Buy one, get one free) Scholastic Book Fair

■ April 26 – After school Book Fair Event from 3:30-6 p.m. Don’t miss out on the best book fair of the year. Students will be allowed to shop at the book fair during their scheduled library times.

Soldotna Elementary

Upcoming events:

■ April 28 – Band and Choir Concert at 6 p.m.

■ May 5 – Talent Show at 6 p.m. in the gym

School News:

The Reading Counts winners this week are: Sophia Perez-Bailon, Tristan Yoncher, Anna Cannava Ethan French, Jeren Nash, Gage Hancock, Brendon Mowery and Theoren Nelson. Congratulations and keep on reading! Order a Soldotna Elementary yearbook for $20 in the front office.

Soldotna High

Soldotna High School Junior Advisors and the Junior student prom committee would like to thank the following for their generosity with the 2016 A Night in the Orient Prom: Sherwin Williams, Trustworthy Hardware, Parent volunteers, SoPrep student volunteers, SOHI teacher volunteers, SOHI video student volunteers, Paul Wright, Evelyn VanMeter, and Carl Carlson. The Soldotna High prom committee would also like to thank Central Peninsula Hospital for donating the chairs.

The SoHi Counseling Department will be hosting a Post-Secondary planning information night at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 5, in the Library. All grades are welcome. Topics to be covered are College and Career Search, SAT-ACT, Timelines, Financial Aid, Types of Post-Secondary Schools, College Athletics Requirements, College Visits, and more.

SoHi PTSA would like to thank all of the Parents of Juniors who volunteered with the After Prom event! Countless hours go into planning, securing donations, set up, clean up and hosting this event to give the school’s young people a fun and safe place to go after Prom. Many thanks to all of the parents and community businesses, organizations, and individuals who made it happen! School staff say “We appreciate you!”

Petitions for class officers for the 2016-17 school year will be available in Mrs. Marquez’s Room (Office at the prep house) on Monday, April 18. Elections for Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries/Treasurers, and at large members will be held on Monday, May 9. Class officer petitions will be due back to Mrs. Marquez by April 27 at 2 p.m. No late petitions will be accepted.

The Soldotna High School Child Development class is having a free daycare May 12 and May 13 from noon to 2 p.m. Games, crafts, snacks, and other activities will be provided. Children must be potty trained and between 2-5 years of age. Registration is required. Please email Meggean at meggean@kpbsd.k12.ak.us for an enrollment form.

Members of the SoHi band and choir participated in the district solo and ensemble festival at KCHS last week. Congratulations to the following students who received “One” ratings and are eligible to participate in the ASAA All-State Solo and Ensemble Festival in May: Percussion Ensemble (James Oglesbee, Tannen Holland, John Holland, Jessica Davis, Nathaniel Patat, and Jay Frost), Saxophone Quartet with Bass (Joel Sisson, Taylor Gilmore, Cody Quelland, Austin Eriksson, and Isabella Henry), Saxophone Duet (Brian Dusek and Kianna Steadman), Flute Duet (Brenna Belloumini and Caroline Cho), Trombone Solo (Eli Stoll), Brass Quartet (Calvin Mitzel, Natalee Johnson, Meghan Ussing, and Rebekah Keener), Vocal Solos (Allison Towell, Jillissa Caligan, and Jocelyn Riske), Vocal Duet (Rachel Nill and Katie Richmond), Vocal Trio (Erika Bennett, Kortney Birch, and Megan Eskue), and Swing Choir (Jillissa Caligan, Dominique Conner, Megan Fenton, Ashley Martin, Rachel Nill, Jocelyn Riske, Mikala Swedberg, Naomi Green, Hannah Fraley, Taralynn Frates, Gracelyn Larson, Keola Finau, Aaron Swedberg, Koby Vinson, Braden Swanson). The following students also participated and received “two” ratings: Flute Duet (Lavender Burns and Larissa Melovedof), Flute Solo (Lavender Burns), Trumpet Solo (Calvin Mitzel), and Clarinet Duet (Emily Pieh and Korie Gilmore)

27th Visual Feast KPBSD Juried Student Art Show is open for the communities to enjoy. Approximately 150 Middle and High School art pieces are currently displayed from Soldotna, Kenai, Nikiski, Seward, and Homer! The show will hang the entire month of April at the Kenai Fine Arts Center, 816 Cook Avenue, in old town Kenai. Twenty pieces of Sohi’s Freshmen through Senior artwork are sporting ribbons. Daisy Nelson, a senior at Sohi placed 1st in three categories this year. It’s worth the time to check this show out.

Parents of Seniors, fundraising help is needed. Please email Sheilah-Margaret Pothast at agr8fulmom@hotmail.com and for more information with “After Grad” in the subject line. Parent volunteers planning to help chaperone at the event MUST be PTSA members for insurance purposes. Membership forms can be picked up at the school office and PTSA dues are $10 annually.

Soldotna Prep

Soldotna Prep congratulates the following students who were selected as NHS Students of the Month for April. They will be honored April 28 at a dessert party during advisory at Soldotna High. Serena Larrow-Math, Melinda Williams-Lang Arts 9, Brighton Turvin-Science, Holly Todd-Social Studies, Kyla Smith-PE, David Michael-Woods, Marlayna Saavedra-Foreign Language

SoPrep congratulates the April Soldotna Chamber of Commerce recipient Dalton Hatten. Check SOPREP school blog for important information and updates at soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu.

The Study

The Study is already looking forward to a bright, busy summer. If families are worried about a student losing skills and knowledge over the break, bring them to The Study.

Summer Offerings:

■ June-July summer school sessions for kindergarten through eighth graders are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon

■ June-July Mini Kinder Prep sessions for 3-6-year-olds are Monday through Thursday from 12:30-2:30 p.m.

■ June-July Jr. High Math sessions for sixth through ninth graders are Tuesday through Thursday from 1-3 p.m.

■ July Mastery of Multiplication session for third through sixth graders is Monday and Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.

■ July Excellence in Writing session for fourth through seventh graders is Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon

■ July Study Skills session for sixth through 12th graders is Tuesday and Thursday from 10:30-11:30 a.m.

■ Piano for 5 year olds and older is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday

School Year:

■ Homework Club on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m.

■ High School Courses for Credit: Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, Alaska Studies, Government, Art Exploration, Spanish, ASL

■ Private & Group Tutoring in all subjects

■ Piano, Voice, and Guitar Lessons

■ SAT Prep

■ A wide variety of workshops, such as Jr. High Math, Mastery of Multiplication, Excellence in Writing, Ground School, Study Skills, and even Summer School. As an accredited private school and learning center, The Study is committed to meeting the educational needs of the Kenai Peninsula.

Tustumena Elementary

■ April 25 – Site Council Meeting, 4pm

■ April 25 through May 6 – Kasilof Public Library Book Fair

■ April 26-27 – Sixth Grade to Kasitsna Bay

■ April 29 – Masonic Award at KCHS Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

■ May 4 – Early Release

■ May 5 – Pre-Registered kindergarten visitation

■ May 6 – Sixth Grade to Skyview Middle School for visit

■ May 9 – First grade Lynx track trip to Ninilchik Pool

■ May 10 – Kindergarten Lynx track trip to Ninilchik Pool

■ May 11 – Second and fourth grade Lynx track trip to Nikiski Pool

■ May 12 – Third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade Lynx track trip to Nikiski Pool