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:
■ Sept. 12 (Homer High School)
■ Oct. 3
■ 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 Program
Dates To Remember:
■ Sept. 8 – Yukon Island Kayak Trip – Homer
■ Sept. 9 – 2nd Yukon Island Kayak Trip – Homer
■ Sept. 5 – Labor Day – Office Closed
■ Sept. 13 – Soldotna Open House at Soldotna Creek Park 1-3 p.m. (more info below)
■ Sept. 14 – Seward School Picture day from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Seward Middle School
■ Sept. 22- Eligibility Due For High School Students
■ Sept. 28 – Soldotna School Picture day from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Borough Building in the assembly room
■ Oct. 7 – Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center Field Trip (more info below)
■ Oct. 19 – PSAT for tenth and eleventh grades at Soldotna Connections Office (more info below)
■ Oct. 20 – Eligibility Due For High School Students
– Soldotna Connections Open House: This event will take place Tuesday, Sept. 13. The Soldotna Connections office will have their annual open house at the Soldotna Creek Park from 1-3 p.m. There will be lots of fun activities including: face painting, cake walk, along with badminton and fishing. Hot dogs and snacks will also be provided. All home school families are welcome so please feel free to invite other home school families to attend, the more the merrier! All children must have an adult present and the staff looks forward to seeing everyone!
– Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center Field Trip: Connections Home School Program will be sponsoring a field trip to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Portage on Friday, Oct. 7. Please meet staff at the park entrance at 10:30 a.m. There is a covered area for us to enjoy lunch and conversation after the guided tour. Please dress warm as this is an outdoor activity. Connections will provide grilled hotdogs, drinks and chips. Please feel free to bring a dessert or snack to share. Families can visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center website at alaskawildlife.org. If families have any questions or plan on attending email an RSVP to Reubin Payne at rpayne@kpbsd.k12.ak.us or call 714-8880 with the number of people in a party. Connections will be paying a group rate for this activity therefore when families enter the gate at the Conservation Center, tell the attendant that the group members are part of the Connections Homeschool activity. Staff say ‘Thank you and hopefully we will see you there!’
– PSAT: The PSAT will be offered for tenth and eleventh grade students at 8:15 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at the Soldotna Connections Office. The cost is $15 per person. This fee must be paid prior to Sept. 9 to secure a spot. For more information on signing up for the PSAT, contact an advisor. Additional information on the PSAT and free practice links may be found at collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/taking-the-tests. Eleventh graders taking the test may qualify for the National Merit Scholarship program.
– Battle Of The Books: Contact the Connections office for more information on how to participate in the Battle of the Books competition.
– School Pictures at the Soldotna Office: School pictures will be taken Sept. 28 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Borough Building in the assembly room.
– Book It – Pizza Hut Coupons: Book It Pizza Hut coupons are in, please stop by a Connections office to pick up coupons. The Book It program encourages students to earn Reading Award Certificates by meeting reading goals that you set. The certificates can be redeemed at Pizza Hut where they receive a one topping personal pan pizza to celebrate their reading accomplishments! Please stop by any of the Connections offices to pick up the certificates and start the Book It program.
Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science
Important dates:
■ Sept. 13 – PTA Gear committee meeting at 9 a.m., third and fourth grade Parent Night
■ Sept. 14 – Yearbook committee meeting at 9 a.m., Early Release Day – School ends at 2:10 p.m., Parent Night for the first and second grades at 6 p.m.
■ Sept. 19 – Third and fourth grade study trip to Captain Cook State Park
■ Sept. 26 – APC Meeting at 4:15 p.m.
■ Sept. 29 – School Pictures, sibling pictures are from noon to 1 p.m. PTA Meeting is at 2:30 p.m. in the art room.
Volunteers:
If parents would like to volunteer, be sure to complete a background check. Go to kaleidoscope.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/volunteers and click the link to the background check. The next link on the page will take viewers to the Online Volunteer Training for those who were unable to attend the in-house training last week. These two steps must be completed each school year in order to volunteer at Kaleidoscope. Volunteers make all the difference and are very appreciated!
Lunch menus are now only available online. They are on the Kaleidoscope webpage as well as the KPBSD webpage and KPBSD app.
Kalifornsky Beach Elementary
K-Beach students are on a roll with Box Tops! The following students are last week’s Box Tops raffle winners: Allivia Grossl – Ms. Chambers, Nathan Kruger – Mr. Daniels, Zoey Polacek – Mrs. McCoy, Alyssa McDonald – Mrs. Marcou, Adella Huhtagaard– Mrs. Brewer.
School staff say ‘Way to go, Caribou!’
Fifth graders are beginning their Multiple Intelligence stretches framed around learning about the ecosystem. Stewardship of Slikok creek begins this month.
This year K-Beach is firing up three bands! Each grade level in fourth through sixth will have their own band. The beginning band has learned how to assemble their instruments and are playing their first notes. The school staff say ‘It is very exciting! Welcome to band all newcomers!’
– Important dates:
■ Sept. 14 – Early Release, students will be dismissed at 12:55 p.m.
■ Sept. 23 – School picture day.
Kenai Central High
Staff want to say, ‘A big thank you to the KCHS staff, Football Booster Club, Volleyball Booster Club community members, businesses, and the Kenai Fire and Police Departments for helping make our Homecoming week a successful one!’
Important dates:
■ Sept. 12 – C-Team Football versus Homer at 4 p.m., Athletic Eligibility Talk at 6 p.m.
■ Sept. 13 – Cross Country at Seward for Boroughs
■ Sept. 12 – Early Release Day at 12:45 p.m.
■ Sept. 12 – Volleyball at Colony at 4, 5 and 6:30 p.m., District Student Council at Soldotna High School
■ Sept. 12 – Volleyball at Wasilla at 4, 5 and 6:30 p.m., Kenai Swim Invite
■ Sept. 12 – Volleyball at Palmer 11, 12 and 1:30 p.m., Football versus Chugiak at 11 and 2 p.m., Cross Country at Homer at noon
Kenai Middle
Congratulations to Character Counts winners: Ashlynn Baughn and Gavin Langham.
■ Sept. 12 – Sixth grade swimming begins
■ Sept. 14 – Early Release day. The school day will end at 12:57 p.m. Buses will accommodate the early release schedule.
■ Sept. 14 – The KMS soccer B team will compete against CIA at home on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m., and again on Thursday, Sept. 15 against Chapman at KMS at 3 p.m. Both A & B soccer teams will compete again on Friday in Seward beginning at 3 p.m.
■ Sept. 15 – Picture day. Be sure to wear a smile! Students received a picture packet on Friday, Sept. 9 to bring home. Pictures can be ordered online. For the multi-family discount please call 1-866-955-8342 to receive the discount code.
■ Sept. 16 – Cross Country Runners will compete at the Nikiski Invitational in Nikiski at 3 p.m.
Go Kossacks!
Mountain View Elementary
■ Sept. 5 – There is no school Monday.
■ Sept. 13 – The first PTA meeting of the year will be held at 4 p.m. in the Library.
■ Sept. 14 – All Mountain View students will be dismissed at 1:55 p.m. This early release day allows grade level teachers to begin collaborating early in the afternoon and then continue after normal release time as part of their scheduled staff meeting time.
■ Sept. 15 – The Site Council will be meeting at 4 p.m. in the Library, abd the Mountain View volunteer orientation will be held on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. and again at 4 p.m. If parents would like to volunteer in their child’s classroom or participate in a classroom field trip, please plan to attend one of these orientation sessions. All volunteers are required to pass a background check through the KPBSD website. If parents have any questions or need help with this process please call the office at 283-8600. Volunteers are very important and appreciated here at Mountain View Elementary!
■ Sept. 20 – Picture Day. More information will be coming home soon.
Nikiski Middle-High
■ Sept. 13 – Middle School Soccer at Nikiski versus Skyview at 3 p.m., at High School Cross Country Boroughs at Seward at 3 p.m.
■ Sept. 14 – Early release at 12:45 p.m.
■ Sept. 16 – Middle School Cross Country Running at Nikiski vs. Skyview at 3 p.m., Middle School Soccer at Homer at 3 p.m., C Team Volleyball at ACS at 4 p.m., JV Volleyball at ACS at 5 p.m., Varsity Volleyball at ACS at 6:30 p.m.
■ Sept. 17 – JV Football at Nikiski versus Homer at 11 a.m., Varsity Football at Nikiski vs. Homer at 2 p.m., JV Volleyball at Redington at 11 a.m., Varsity Volleyball at Redington at noon, High School Cross Country at Homer Time Trials at 11 a.m.
– Coming up:
■ Sept. 19-20 – Homecoming week
■ Sept. 28 – High school wrestling begins.
Nikiski North Star Elementary
NNS will have a bus evacuation drill on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 3:20 p.m. The first early release day of the school year will be on Wednesday, Sept. 14. NNS will dismiss students at 2 p.m. Nikiski North Star uses Facebook to update families on events and happenings so please” like” the page if families are on Facebook. KPBSD also has a Facebook page and a free KPBSD app which provides families with district and school notifications.
NNS has made changes to the instructional schedule this year. Shining Stars Time is a 45-minute block for each grade level that focuses on intervention and enrichment tailored to the individual academic needs of the student. Additional staff members assist the classroom teachers during this time so the instructional groups are smaller in size.
The monthly newsletter for NNS, “Shooting Star Scoop”, can be found at nikiskinorthstar.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us
Redoubt Elementary
Front doors are unlocked at 8:15 a.m. School is in session from 8:45 a.m . to 3:18 p.m. It is important that students are at school on time every day.
Redoubt is a “Positive Behavior Intervention Support” school. Students at Redoubt Elementary are off to a “Responsible, Respectful, and Safe” school year. Grades 1-6 participated in PBIS lessons reminding them of the Redoubt expectations. The school staff are working hard to demonstrate these expectations to new kindergarteners. Everyone is super excited to get back into the routine earning pink tickets, Roadrunner cards, and class compliments. Ask a child about the three Redoubt expectations and take a peek at the PBIS board outside the office.
– Important dates:
■ Sept. 13 – PTA Meeting from 5-7 p.m. in the staff lounge. Special Meeting, extra time to go over important information. Parents are encouraged and welcome to join Redoubt’s PTA, membership forms are available at the school.
■ Sept. 14 – Early Release Day for students at 1:45 p.m. Boys and Girls Club will be open and buses will be operating.
■ Sept. 15 to Oct. 7 – School Wide Fundraiser “Believe Kids”. Information will be sent home with students.
■ Sept. 20 – Site Council Meeting at 3:45 p.m. in the staff lounge.
■ Sept. 27 – Walk Your Child to School Day
■ Sept. 30 – School Photos (retakes Nov. 8)
– Free and Reduced Lunch Program: Applications have been sent home in student and parent folders. Additional applications are available at the school office. Students who were receiving lunch benefits at the end of last school year will continue receiving benefits through Oct. 3 2016. Oct. 4 is the drop date unless a new application has been submitted and approved. A new application must be filed each year.
Update a child’s contact information. Communication with parents is important, so please let staff know if families have a new mailing address, telephone or cell number or email address.
Parents, please make sure to have an after-school plan in place for children. Students are released at 3:18 p.m. If a child is being picked up, please make sure parents arrive in time to pick them up by 3:18 p.m.
The school has new staff this school year – Mr. Stitt the fifth and sixth grade teacher!
– School Hours: Front doors are unlocked at 8:15 a.m. School is in session 8:45 a.m. to 3:18 p.m. It is important that students are at school on time every day.
Skyview Middle
Welcome Panthers!
■ Sept. 12 – First Site Council Meeting at Skyview Middle School at 3:30 p.m. The staff want to give ‘A big thank you to this year’s members! Principal Sarge Truesdell, Assistant Principal Jill DuFloth, certified staff Troy Poage, certified staff Krystalynn Scott, classified staff Hillary Braden, seventh grade parent Chris Dement, seventh grade student Carson Dement, eighth grade parent Pam Burns, eighth grade student Zach Burns, and community member Steph Hunt
■ Sept. 14 – Early release fore students – Students at Skyview Middle School will end the school day at 1 p.m. Bus schedules have been adjusted to accommodate this time change.
■ Sept. 26 – School Pictures
Sports Schedule for this week:
■ Sept. 12 – Soccer B Team E versus Chapman at Chapman at 3:30 p.m.
■ Sept. 13 – Soccer A versus Nikiski at Nikiski at 3 p.m., Soccer B Team A versus Nikiski at Nikiski at 3 p.m.
■ Sept. 14 – Soccer B Team E versus CIA at Skyview at 3 p.m.
■ Sept. 16 – Soccer B Team A versus Chapman at Skyview at 3 p.m., Cross Country Running at Nikiski Invite at 3 p.m.
– Panther Student Council: Member Contracts will be available and details on Student Council events and responsibilities will be shared. Member Contracts are due back to Mrs. Pothast no later than Thursday, Sept. 15 for Fall Semester membership. If families have any questions, please contact Mrs. Pothast.
Auditions for “Once Upon a Mattress” will be Thursday, Sept. 8 from 3-5 p.m. in the Soldotna High School auditorium. The show will be performed from Nov. 10-12 and is open to any academically eligible seventh through twelfth grade Soldotna area student. This is Soldotna High School’s first musical in many years and the last high school musical Mrs. Zopf-Schoessler will direct, so please be part of history! More information is posted on the Student Information Board located in the Skyview commons.
Morning Tutoring is from 7-7:50 a.m. in the Skyview library with Mrs. Goodwill. All students are welcome to attend.
Attention Parents! Have families activated their PowerSchool account? If not, please contact the school at 260-2500 to request the information parents need to view a child’s grades, attendance, and fees. This is an excellent way to monitor their progress throughout the school year!
Staff say ‘Many thanks to all those who attended the first Activity Night! Special thanks to all the teachers and parents who helped chaperone and to all the Student Council Leaders who volunteered at the event!’ Congratulations to our Limbo Contest winners: Avery Hart, Wyatt Connor, and Brandon Christenson. The winners of the Candy Jar Guesses were: Taylor Bynum, Nadia Padilla-Reaume, Eva-Maye Dunn, Quinten Cox, and Jordan Strausbaugh. The next Activity Night will be on Oct. 14.
Fees for electives and sports should be paid by now. If students still have an outstanding fee, please bring in payment as soon as possible. Fees may also be paid online with a credit or debit card. For any sport participation, students must pay before their first game to play.
There is a new student information bulletin board in the cafeteria! Please take time to read what is happening and coming up in the future. It is located at the bottom of the stairs before taking a turn into the music and band rooms.
– Reminder: Morning Tutoring is from 7-7:50 a.m. in the Skyview library with Mrs. Goodwill. All students are welcome to attend!
Soldotna High
The SOHI Counseling Department will be hosting a Financial Aid Night on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. in the SOHI library all grades are welcome. Topics include scholarships, FAFSA, and funding your college education.
The Soldotna High School PTSA will hold its first meeting of the school year on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the SoHi Staff Lounge. Please join us to learn more about how the SoHi PTSA contributes to After Prom, After Grad, scholarships, and many other areas that support students, staff, and community. New members are always welcome and membership forms will be available at the meeting and annual dues are $10 per person. Stay up to date on important events at the school, issues related to education at the local, state and national level and connect with other SoHi parents through PTSA! Please contact Sheilah-Margaret Pothast at agr8fulmom@hotmail.com (put SoHi PTSA in the subject line) for more information. The staff say ‘We look forward to seeing you there!’
Mr. Gordon is collecting Baby and Senior pictures for the Graduation Slide show. Turn in no more than one of each. Dec. 2, 2016 is the due date for all pictures to be turned in. Staff will also be collecting video highlights from the various extra-curricular events throughout the year. Due date for the video highlights will be April 21, 2017 but please turn them into Mr. Gordon immediately after the events if possible. Pictures and video clips can be sent by email to dgordon@kpbsd.k12.ak.us. Pictures and video clips turned in after the above dates will not be included in the Graduation Senior Video/slide show.
Soldotna Stars Letterman Jackets are available to order atneffco.com. Click on Varsity Jackets, find the school by state, and select Soldotna High School. Starting at $149 students can personalize the jackets anyway they would like. Any questions contact Heather Parkki, 907-260-7022. Makes a great Christmas gift!
The afterschool tutoring buses will start running on Sept. 6. There are two buses that leave at 4:15 p.m. Students must be on the route list to ride the bus. See Ms. Wear or Ms. Bartman in the library to find out more information and, or get on the bus list. Families can also email them at twear@kpbsd.k12.ak.us or call 260-7036.
Soldotna Elementary
Soldotna Elementary is off to a great start for the 2016-2017 school year. Mark calendars for these upcoming events:
■ Sept. 14 – Early Release at 1:55 p.m.
■ Sept. 21 – Picture Day
School News:
To keep the school safe, visitors and volunteers are asked to sign in at the front office and pick up a visitor badge to wear while in the school. Anyone interested in volunteering can complete an online form by visiting the KPBSD website at www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us and click on the volunteers link. This process must be completed each school year. Please contact the Human Resources Department with any questions.
Please return the Parent and Student Handbook Acknowledgement of Receipt to Soldotna Elementary. Families can view the handbook online atkpbsd.k12.ak.us/students.parents.aspx?id=28047 or access a printed copy in the office.
The Title 1 Pre-K program is still taking applications for the 2016-2017 school year. Children must be 4 years old by Sept. 1. Paperwork is located in the Soldotna Elementary office.
Staff asks that parents please wait in the lobby if the pick up their child in the afternoon to help keep hallways and classrooms clear. Teachers will always escort students to the lobby for dismissal.
The Soldotna Sentinel is our school newsletter. It will be sent out via e-mail the first Tuesday of each month or families can access it on the school website. Watch for the Sentinel to get the latest news and updates from Soldotna Elementary.
Soldotna Prep
Lego Robotics Camp will be held every third Saturday of each month from 1-4 p.m. at Soldotna Prep School.
Ages 6-14 can participate and the cost is $35 per student. For more information contact Kristin McGlothen, kmcglothen@KPBSD.k12.ak.us
Robotic Club meets Monday and Wednesday from 2:30–5 p.m. in Room 19 and Thursdays from 5-7 p.m.
After school tutoring is held Monday and Wednesday and Tuesdays and Thursdays in Room 30 from 2:30–3:30 in Room 10.
– Importa■t dates:
■ Sept. 12 – Soldotna Prep School Picture Day
■ Sept. 15 – The Soldotna High School PTSA will hold its first meeting of the school year in the SoHi Staff Lounge. Please join them to learn more about how the SoHi PTSA contributes to After Prom, After Grad, scholarships, and many other areas that support their students, staff, and community. New members are always welcome and membership forms will be available at the meeting and annual dues are $10 per person. Stay up to date on important events the school, issues related to education at the local, state and national level and connect with other SoHi/SoPrep parents through PTSA! Please contact Sheilah-Margaret Pothast at agr8fulmom@hotmail.com (put SoHi PTSA in the subject line) for more information. They look forward to seeing families there! Please visit Soldotna Prep School Page for important updates under “School News”. soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/home/
■ Sept. 19 – Picture day. Retakes will be Oct. 26
Please visit Soldotna Prep School Page for important information http://soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/home/
Tustumena Elementary
■ Sept. 14 – Early Release at 2:05 p.m.
■ Sept. 20 – PTO Meeting at 4 p.m.
■ Sept. 26 – Site Council Meeting at 4 p.m.
