School board to meet
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets at 7 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:
■ Jan. 12;
■ Feb. 2;
■ March 2;
■ April 6;
■ May 4 (at Seward High School);
■ June 1;
■ June 2 (Board planning session).
Holidays and vacation days scheduled
Dec. 19 — End of second quarter, no school for students; Dec. 22-Jan. 2 — Winter vacation; Jan. 19 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Feb. 5-6 — Parent-teacher conferences, no school for students; March 6 — End of third quarter, no school for students; March 9-13 — Spring Break; April 3 — Good Friday; May 20 — Last day of school.
Connections Homeschool Program
Dates to remember:
■ 12/16 – Homer Connections Office– HOLIDAY PARTY and turn in Semester Reports – 10:00-4:00pm
■ 12/16 – 1st Semester Grade Reports Due; High School Eligibility Due
■ 12/19 – Soldotna Battle of the Books Mtg Fridays @ 11:00am Grades 5th & 6th
■ 12/22-01/02 – Christmas Break: Homer & Seward Offices Closed
■ 12/22-01/02 – Christmas Break: Soldotna Office Open – No Advisors Available & Office Closed 12/24, 12/25 & 01/01 Offices Closed
■ 01/05 – 2nd Semester Begins
■ 01/05-01/30 – AIMS K-5 (please make appointments with your local office) ; Ed Performance Testing 6-8
■ 01/17 & 01/18 – Kenai NWR Wilderness First Aid Course
Semester Reports:
This is a friendly reminder that first semester report forms are due on or before December 16th, 2014 for any home taught classes. Please remember: to get high school credit the semester report must be received. If you are unsure on how to fill out this report, have any questions, or need help in any way please call our office and your advisor can help you.
Connections Talent Show: If your student has a talent they may wish to share at our talent show this year, please contact our talent show coordinator, Mark Wackler, at mwackler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us . At this time we are mostly just trying to gather interest and help students begin preparing for the show, so your response is not an obligation to have your student perform. Most of our acts are musical (i.e. singing, piano, dance, etc.) but we welcome and encourage a wide variety of different types of talents, so get creative! Please contact Mark with all your questions or to express interest. A date has not yet been set, but mid to late April is when the show is typically scheduled. We look forward to seeing you at the 2015 Connections Talent Show!
Connections Spelling Bee: We are pleased to announce that Connections Homeschool is enrolled in the National Spelling Bee this year, continuing with a great tradition. All Connections students in grades 3-8 are encouraged to participate in order to build confidence, increase vocabulary and improve spelling skills. Our local Spelling Bee will be held on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at the Soldotna Public Library. The 2015 Alaska State Spelling Bee will be held on Friday, February 16, 2015 at the Center for the Performing Arts in Anchorage (PAC). For word lists and information, contact Carole Nolden at 714-8880 or cnolden@kpbsd,k12.ak.us . We look forward to hearing from you!
Interior Distance Education of Alaska
It’s half way through December already!! This year is flying by!! We hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season and you are ready to press on to the year 2015!! We would like to take this special time of year to thank you for choosing IDEA. We truly value serving your family and we are grateful for the relationships that our staff has made with IDEA families.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our annual holiday party at Jumping Junction! It was a fun and festive time with lots of laughter, jumping and tasty food! We have more events coming up! December 19th- PAC Meeting at 12:00-1:00 PM at the IDEA office. Please bring your ideas and a snack to share. This is a wonderful way to share your thoughts with parents who work with IDEA staff to better serve our families. Your children are more than welcome to come and play in our play area! Office closed: December 25th, 26th and January 1st. Again, we hope you have a joyous holiday season. Thank you for allowing us at IDEA to serve your family.
Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science
Monday, December 1
■ December 1-12th is our annual Food Drive. Please bring in any nonperishable food Items. Student Council will count how much food is brought in and line our hallways to show our progress. . Donations will support our Christmas Drive families as well as the Food Bank.
■ 9:15-10:00 The Kenaitze Dancers will visit Mrs. Harper’s, Mrs. Hurst’s, and Mrs. Stephens’ classrooms
Tuesday, December 2
■ Food Drive
Wednesday, December 3
■ 9:15-10:00 The Kenaitze Dancers will visit Mrs. Harper’s, Mrs. Hurst’s, and Mrs. Stephens’ classrooms
■ 3:15 p.m. PTA Meeting in the Library
Thursday, December 4
■ 9:15-10:00 The Kenaitze Dancers will visit Mrs. Harper’s, Mrs. Hurst’s, and Mrs. Stephens’ classrooms
Friday, December 5
■ Food Drive
Reminders
■ Holiday shop will be open December 8th -12th .
■ The Holiday Concert for students in grades 1-6 is December 16 at 7:00 at KCHS.
■ In-service day, December 19 -No School.
■ Winter Break December 22, 2014-January 2, 2015. Return to school January 5th.
■ If your child will be absent from school or arriving late, please call by 10:30 a.m. Otherwise, the office will call to confirm your child’s absence from school to keep attendance records accurate.
Please call the office by 2:30 if you need to make a change to your child’s after school plan (283-0804).
The Life Skill we are focusing on this week is Friendship: To make and keep a friend through mutual trust and caring.
Kalifornsky Beach Elementary
Mr. Daniels’s Class took part in the Hour of Code this week. This is computer science week in our class. We will be writing program code on computers, Skyping a mystery classroom, and listening to guest speakers from The Microsoft Corporation.
■ December 16th – K-2 Winter Program; 6:00 p.m. at Sohi auditorium, Dec 19 – No School, In-Service day, December 22 through January 2 – No School due to Winter Break
Kenai Central High
Information for the school news from Kenai Central High School:
KCHS held a silent auction and spaghetti dinner on Friday, December 5th to help raise money for the KPBSD Students in Transition Program. The SIT program helps provide assistance to local homeless children and provides them with clothes, school supplies, food and other necessities. We would like to thank everyone for attending and for their support of the Students in Transition Program.
This year is rapidly ending. The end of the semester is Thursday, December 18th. Students will be busy taking finals and are hopefully spending time studying at home. Wednesday, December 17th Finals Day Schedule 1,4,6. Information for the school news from Kenai Central High School:
KCHS held a silent auction and spaghetti dinner on Friday, December 5th to help raise money for the KPBSD Students in Transition Program. The SIT program helps provide assistance to local homeless children and provides them with clothes, school supplies, food and other necessities. We would like to thank everyone for attending and for their support of the Students in Transition Program.
This year is rapidly ending. The end of the semester is Thursday, December 18th. Students will be busy taking finals and are hopefully spending time studying at home.
Wednesday, December 17th Finals Day Schedule 1,4,6
■ Finals Schedule
■ Advisory/Study/Review Time 7:45 am – 8:40 am
■ 1st period finals 8:45 am – 10:20 am
■ Break Time 10:20 am – 10:30 am
■ 4th period finals 10:35 am – 12:10 pm
■ Lunch 12:10 pm – 12:40 pm
■ 6th period12:40pm – 2:15 pm
Thursday, December 18th Finals Day Schedule 2, 5, 7
■ Finals Schedule
■ Advisory/Study/Review Time 7:45 am – 8:40 am
■ 2nd period finals 8:45 am – 10:20 am
■ Break Time 10:20 am – 10:30 am
■ 5th period finals 10:35 am – 12:10 pm
■ Lunch 12:10 pm – 12:40 pm
■ 7th period12:40pm – 2:15 pm
Have a Happy Holidays and don’t forget that classes will resume on Monday, January 5th 2015.
Finals Schedule
■ Advisory/Study/Review Time 7:45 am – 8:40 am
■ 1st period finals 8:45 am – 10:20 am
■ Break Time 10:20 am – 10:30 am
■ 4th period finals 10:35 am – 12:10 pm
■ Lunch 12:10 pm – 12:40 pm
■ 6th period12:40pm – 2:15 pm
Thursday, December 18th Finals Day Schedule 2, 5, 7
■ Finals Schedule
■ Advisory/Study/Review Time 7:45 am – 8:40 am
■ 2nd period finals 8:45 am – 10:20 am
■ Break Time 10:20 am – 10:30 am
■ 5th period finals 10:35 am – 12:10 pm
■ Lunch 12:10 pm – 12:40 pm
■ 7th period12:40pm – 2:15 pm
Have a Happy Holidays and don’t forget that classes will resume on Monday, January 5th 2015.
Kenai Middle
Congratulations to our Character Counts winners Matayla Kinsfather and Molly Nusbaum. December 18th is the last day of school for students.
Don’t forget, January will be the first month of our Box Tops for Pizza challenge. The student who turns in the most box tops for the month will earn a pizza! We will continue the challenge every month thereafter until the end of school! We will begin Clubs in January as well. Clubs occur each Friday starting in mid to late January and will continue to sometime on February, lasting 5-6 weeks. KMS operates on a slightly modified schedule these days, in order to give students a break to learn a new skill or hobby. Check out our Facebook page to see a list of clubs to choose from and have a discussion with your student as to what might interest them! January will also begin a host of new school sports: Volleyball Intramurals for 7th and 8th grade girls, Wrestling for 7th and 8th graders, and Cross Country Skiing for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders will begin on January 5th. Kenai Middle wishes each of you a wonderful holiday season and a fabulously relaxing break! We look forward to seeing you again in the New Year!
Nikiski High-Middle
December is busy, busy! The boys and girls Middle School basketball teams continue in their undefeated run this year.
Upcoming Events:
■ Monday, December 15 – Band Concert @ 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium.
■ Tuesday, December 16 – C Team Boys & Girls Basketball @ Nikiski High School 3pm & 4:30pm
■ Wednesday, December 17 – Nikiski High Boys & Girls Basketball @ Mt. Edgecumbe
■ Thursday, December 18 – 20 – Nikiski High School Boys & Girls Basketball @ Sitka Holland America Tournament in Sitka, AK.
■ Thursday, December 18 – XC Skiing @ The Candy Cane Classic (Weather Permitting)
The last day of school for students will be Thursday, December 18. This will also be the end of the quarter/semester. Teachers will have a work day/In-Service day on Friday, December 19th. School will resume on Monday, January 5, 2015!
Redoubt Elementary
■ December 19th – No School for students, teacher in-service.
■ December 22 through January 2nd – Christmas Break
■ January 5th – School Reopens
Box Tops Winners last week were: Sierra Chapman, Aidan Poe & Raegyn Wimberly. Keep those Box Tops for education coming, weekly drawings are held so don’t forget to have your child put their name on the back of each Box Top and turn them in at school.
Redoubt PTA is hosting their third annual “Winter Carnival”. Mark your calendar for Saturday, February 28th. Come join us for an afternoon of fun. There will be door prizes, raffles, games, and a silent auction. Don’t miss the opportunity to dunk Mr. Pothast in the dunk tank. If you would like to volunteer to help at the carnival please call the school office. Maybe you own a business and wish to make a donation of goods or services for the auction, if so, please contact the school office. Themed basket items are being collected from each classroom for the silent auction, please contact your child’s teacher for the theme of their classroom basket. A complete list will be printed in the school weekly newsletter. Watch the weekly school newsletter for additional raffles and information about the carnival.
Thank you to everyone who donated gifts and money during our PTA Holiday Kindness program this holiday season. A special shout out to Angie Keener and Brigette Escott who worked so hard putting together all of the gift boxes for our Redoubt families in need. Our Christmas Kindness program sponsored twenty families this holiday season. Once again Soldotna Rotary donated pre-cooked turkey dinners for the twenty families that were sponsored by our PTA Christmas Kindness program. Each family will receive a complete pre-cooked holiday meal from Safeway/Carrs. Thank you Soldotna Rotary, we appreciate your continued support.
Seward Elementary
Seward PTSA has been saving the annual Seward Elementary gift wrap fundraiser proceeds not used to help encourage additional field trips toward the goal of helping leverage the cost of a covered playground area. With the recent move of sixth graders to Seward Middle School, a more immediate need has arisen. You may not be aware that there is no outside area for physical activity on the middle school site. Middle School students share the high school fields. However, due primarily to distance, the frequency and types of outside physical activity is limited. You may also not be aware, that the grassy hill to the east of Seward Middle sits on the planned future site for a multi-purpose field. We are looking to gather input prior to investigating the possibility of using Seward Elementary gift wrap funds to leverage funding construction of such a field for the middle school. Please remember, every elementary school student will benefit from this field when they pass through Seward Middle and as the community shares field use. If we help build the field, we propose it be dedicated to all the William H SewardElementary School students who helped raise these funds.
Please let us know if you support moving forward in this direction and if you have any questions or need further information.
Skyview Middle
Events this week:
■ Winter Holiday Band and Choir Concert! Tuesday, December 16 @ 7:00 pm in the Skyview Middle School Gym. All welcome to attend.
■ Time to plan for the Geography Bee. Any student interested needs to see Mr. Rob Moore. School competition will be January 15. State competition for school champion will be March 27. National competition will be May 11-13.
■ Thursday, December 18 is the last day of the second quarter! No school for students on Friday, December 19 – Winter Break begins. School will resume on Monday, January 5.
Winter Sports begin on Monday, January 5 – Volleyball, Wrestling, Skiing. All students who wish to join must turn in the required sports forms before participation. Forms must be filled out for each sport. All forms for Volleyball and Wresting can be picked up at the Front Office or found online at http://skyviewmiddleschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us > Skyview Sports > Required Sports Paperwork> Forms 1 – 2. Students who wish to join skiing, please see Mr. Harro.
Attention Parents! New Bell schedule will begin Monday, January 5. Start time and end time will remain the same: 7:50 am to 2:25 pm. New School-wide lunch time will change to: 11:24 am.
2015 BP Teacher of Excellence – Nominate Your Favorite Teacher! Deadline is January 30. Please visit www.bpteachers.com to recognize an outstanding teacher in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District!
Have a Safe and Happy Winter Break!
Sterling Elementary
Sterling Elementary will hold its annual Breakfast with Santa on December 13 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in the gym. Sterling Elementary is participating in the Share in the Giving program with other Sterling agencies to provide support to Sterling families during this holiday season. Donations of new toys, new clothing and holiday themed food items can be brought to the office. The Sterling Positive Behavior Interventions and Support Committee is also collecting gently used toys from students to donate to families in need; these can also be brought to the office. December 19 is an in-service day and Winter recess begins December 22 and ends January 2.
Soldotna Elementary
We are excited to be selling Savings Cards which produce a higher return to our school with each sale. Each card is sold for $20, but has the unlimited potential for savings at participating local businesses. We still have a supply on hand, so please stop by the office to purchase one. Keep in mind that these make great Christmas gifts.Our Lost and Found area is stacking up again. Please check it to see if we have those missing snow pants or jackets you have been searching for.
A Li’l Shopper’s Holiday Stop is coming to SOEL this Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. This is a chance for your children to shop independently for holiday gifts. A packet and price list are going home with your kids today, so please take a look. The Parent Pack will need volunteers to help with set-up and during the sale times, to assist the young ones with their shopping. Please call Cat at 398-2593 or Steph at 808-222-8548 for more information. Congratulations to Andrew Stoner who won last week’s box top drawing! We are saying “Goodbye” to our own Miss Michelle as she leaves her position as our secretary to embark on new and fabulous adventures. Her last day will be December 19th, and she will be missed always! She has been a bright spot in all our days, and she is one of the most wonderful human beings on the planet. We are happy for your new travels, Miss Michelle! Please keep in touch. No schools for students this Friday, December 19th. However, staff will be at school for an in-service to review school goals and work on report cards. CHRISTMAS BREAK begins December 22nd and ends on January 2nd. So, we will see everybody back here on Monday, Jan. 5th.
Happy Holidays and a wonderful Merry Christmas from all of us at Soldotna Elementary! Parent Pack meeting will be held on Monday, January 12th , in the library at 3:45 p.m. Please join us! We have lots of exciting plans for the new year! Site Council meeting is planned for Tuesday, January 13th, in the library. No school on Monday, January 19th, and for no special reason other than it’s a vacation day. We will be happy to accept donations to the Christmas Assistance Program through Wednesday, December 17th. Thank you for your generous support in helping our families in need. Parent Pack Christmas Kindness Food Drive is occurring now through December 17th. Food items go to the classrooms, and monetary donations may be made payable to Soldotna Elementary and turned in at the office. Thank you so much for your help! Yes, Virginia, there really IS a Santa Claus!
Soldotna High
Each week we recognize a teacher at 6 am during Daybreak and again at 6 pm during the KTVA 11 Evening News. In addition, we run a :30 promo the whole week on GCI cable and KTVA congratulating the recipient. This is a great way for us to recognize educators in our state while also giving recognition to the schools. Parents, students and teachers can use this link to submit their nomination: http://ulink.tv/2041
Microsoft IT Academy (ITA) Program provides students with the technology skills they need to be successful in their education and careers. With Microsoft Certification, students can validate their skills that will be beneficial in a variety of career paths including engineering, business and technology. ITA members receive price reductions on Microsoft Certification exams so they can enable sills validation through certification for their students globally.
■ 91% of hiring managers consider employee certification as a criterion for hiring
■ 81% of hiring managers believe certified individuals perform better than non-certified peers
■ Worldwide, Microsoft Office holds 94% of the market share (500 million customers). Students need skills on Microsoft Office whether they are moving towards advanced education or looking for a business career.
Soldotna High will be participating in the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. This is for all students at Soldotna High. Students will be bringing home permission slips for parental signatures. Our school has been given a budget of $2,600 to offer incentives for students to turn in their forms and to take the survey. Students will be eligible for drawings for gift cards from the following: The Orca Theatre, Fred Meyer, River City Books, Subway, I Tunes, The Moose is Loose and Kaladi Brother’s Coffee.
We will be administering the survey during 2nd hour on Tuesday, January 27th. Questions regarding the actual content of the survey should be directed to Central Office. Questions regarding the administration can be directed to LaDawn Druce SoHi Counselor. We need at least 60% of our students to bring back their permission form marked “YES” and 60% to be here and take the survey on Jan. 27th.
Seniors: Please order your caps and gowns. You can go to Jostens.com or call Leona at 907-283-9280. Soldotna High School is collecting gently used formal dresses, shoes, and accessories for 2015 Cinderella’s Closet. This is a program which helps all area high school ladies with prom attire for free. Please email mbos@kpbsd.k12.ak.us for more info. All donations can be dropped off to the front office 8am-2pm. We are collecting pictures to get a jump start for graduation. For the senior video, we are looking for school activities (sports, academics, etc.). We also need baby pictures/senior pictures for the slide show. The best format is to scan them and send to dgordon@kpbsd.k12.ak.us
The Media Center is open until 5pm Monday-Friday. There are buses at 4:15 for those students working in the Media Center. If your student were to stay after school and would need a bus home at 4:15 please contact Tamra Wear at 260.7036 or twear@kpbsd.k12.ak.us to give her the bus drop off location for your student. ATOSS tutoring will start in the Library on August 25th and run until May 4th from 2:30-3:30pm
Pool Schedule:
■ a.m. lap swim 5:30-7:30am Mon – Friday
■ p.m. lap swim 6-7 Mon, Wed and Fri
■ p.m. Open swim 7-8:45 Mon, Wed and Friday
Sport Calendar – http://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=21192
SoHi will be locking the Parking lot entrance Door during the following hours:
■ 7:40 am to 11:55 pm
■ 12:30 pm to 2:15 pm
Also note that during school hours the only open door will be the Front Entrance Commons/Flag Pole doors. The above is to improve our overall school security. There are two ways to order a transcript. Each way serves a different purpose. If you need a transcript sent to a college or NCAA or a similar agency, then you will need to log on to: www.parchment.com to order transcripts to be sent. The request is then forwarded to SoHi. After processing, it then goes through cyberspace… rather than the US mail… to get to its destination, which is much faster! All transcripts that are headed for NCAA, colleges, etc. have to be processed this way! Final Transcripts: A final transcript is one that shows your second semester grades… If you order your transcript when we are IN second semester,,, you will need to make sure you choose “next grading period” when you go on to Parchment… that way your transcript request will wait until the grades are in at the end of the year before it is sent.
Soldotna Prep
Christmas Assembly Tuesday 12/16/14 at SOHI begins at 1:25 and lasts 50 minutes. Students who ride the bus will board busses at SOHI on this day. Finals will be taken on Wednesday 12/17 and Thursday 12/18. Native Youth Leadership Club in Rm. 10 2:15-3:00 Wednesday, 12/17 End of first semester and in-service day Friday, 12/19. NO SCHOOL. Students return to school from Christmas Break on Monday, January 5, 2015. Skate Ski Instruction with Coach Peterson at Tsalteshi Ski Trails session #2 begins in January. 10 Lessons for $100. All Levels welcome Tuesdays 6 PM and Sundays 2 PM.
Please check Soldotna Prep blog to stay informed on current activities; http://soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/
December is busy, busy! The boys and girls Middle School basketball teams continue in their undefeated run this year.
Upcoming Events:
■ Monday, December 15 – Band Concert @ 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium.
■ Tuesday, December 16 – C Team Boys & Girls Basketball @ Nikiski High School 3pm & 4:30pm
■ Wednesday, December 17 – Nikiski High Boys & Girls Basketball @ Mt. Edgecumbe
■ Thursday, December 18 – 20 – Nikiski High School Boys & Girls Basketball @ Sitka Holland America Tournament in Sitka, AK.
■ Thursday, December 18 – XC Skiing @ The Candy Cane Classic (Weather Permitting)
The last day of school for students will be Thursday, December 18. This will also be the end of the quarter/semester. Teachers will have a work day/In-Service day on Friday, December 19th. School will resume on Monday, January 5, 2015!!!
Tustumena Elementary
December:
■ 11th Winter Concert, 6pm
■ 12th Spelling Bee, 1:30pm
■ 16th Geography Bee, 1:45pm
■ 18th Reindeer Games
■ 19th NO SCHOOL, Inservice Day, End of 2nd Quarter
■ 12/20 – 1/4 Winter Break
Janaury:
■ 13th, 14th, or 15th Lynx Track to Ice Skating
■ 19th No School/Vacation Day
■ 20th PTO Meeting, 4pm
■ 26th Site Council, 4pm
■ 26th-30th Pre-Registration for 2015/16 Kindergarten
There will be a meeting for Community, Staff, Students, PTSA and Site Council members on Tuesday, January 13th @ 4:00 pm in the Soldotna High School Library to discuss the Principal hiring process. Mr. Dusek is hoping to get feedback on the following:
■ What qualities are you looking for in your next Principal?
■ What questions might you like to see asked at the interview?
