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:
■ March 7;
■ March 21;
■ April 4;
■ April 5 (Worksession);
■ May 2 (Seward High School);
■ June 6;
■ June 7 (Planning Session);
Holidays and vacation days scheduled
■ March 11 — End of third quarter, no school for students;
■ March 14-18 — Spring Break;
■ May 18 — Last day of school.
Child Find Preschooler Screenings
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Child Find Program will be offering free screenings for children not yet in Kindergarten (3- to 5-years-old). The screening will be held in Ninilchik at the Ninilchik School on Friday, March 25, 2016, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Program staff will screen a child’s motor skills, speech, early learning concepts, vision and hearing. Children will be seen by appointment only. To make an appointment, please call the Ninilchik School at 567-3301. For more information contact Robin Evans at 714-8930.
■ KBEA Scholarships for year 2016
The Kenai Borough Employees Association (KBEA) Scholarship Committee is currently accepting applications for four scholarships of $500 each. The scholarships are available to all 2016 graduates of the Kenai Peninsula Borough (including public, private, and home-schooled).
Applications and instructions are available from any Kenai Peninsula Borough High School counselors’ office or on the Borough’s web site at kpb.us under “Hot Topics”.
Applications must be delivered, or postmarked by March 31.
Applications can be mailed, or dropped off at the Kenai Peninsula Borough, KBEA Scholarship Committee, 144 North Binkley Street, Soldotna, Alaska 99669.
■ Kenai Historical Society to award Scholarship
Kenai Historical Society will award a $1,000 scholarship to a 2016 graduating Senior in the KCHS attendance area, including home schooled students.
The funding for the scholarship is a bequest from a member who was especially interested in education as well as the History of Kenai. Requirements for the scholarship include enrollment in an accredited post-secondary industrial, technical or academic program for 2016-17, community service activities, evidence of leadership and maturity, and an essay about how living in Kenai influenced future goals.
An interview will also be conducted. More information and the application form are available at the KPBSD website. Click the Onestop logo at the top of the page and scroll to Kenai Historical Society Scholarship. The deadline for applications is April 15.
Connections Home School Program
Dates To Remember:
■ March 7 – Handbook Artwork Due
■ March 10 – Soldotna Connections Fly Tying Club at 1:30 p.m.
■ March 14-18 – Spring Break: Homer and Seward office closed, Soldotna office will remain open
■ March 15 – Spring Break Program at Islands and Ocean Visitor Center-Homer: noon to 2:30 p.m. Fun and free activities for children kindergarten through sixth grade. Dress to be outdoors.
■ March 16 – Bear Discovery Lab at Islands and Ocean Visitor Center/Homer: 12-2 p.m. at the Lab Classroom
■ March 21 – Re-Enrollment Begins
■ March 31 – Last day to place orders
■ April 14-15 – Peterson Bay Overnight Trip
■ April 19 – Connections Talent and Art Show at SoHi 5-6:30 p.m.
■ April 29 – Last day to submit reimbursement
■ May 03 – Kenai Fjords Trip in Seward, AK
■ May 5 – Middle School Math Meet at Homer Middle School: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (more info below)
Also check out our Connections website:
(connections.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/info-for-families-2/activities-contests-and-more) for numerous student activities, contests and more!
Soldotna Connections Fly Tying Club:
The Soldotna Connections office is offering a Fly Tying Club – six weeks of free fly tying instruction for students in grades third through twelfth. Meetings will be held at the Soldotna Connections office from 1:30-3 p.m. each Thursday, with the first meeting on Feb. 11. Vices and fly tying materials will be provided. This is an introductory class and all ability levels are welcome to attend. Please RSVP with Mark Wackler at mwackler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.
Iditaread started March 1:
The annual Iditaread program starts March 1! So get out a favorite books or those that haven’t read yet and start keeping track of reading minutes. When a student has read their way to Nome and crossed the finish line, see the Connections office for a prize. If families have any questions, please call the Connections office 714-8880 or email: cnolden@kpbsd.k12.ak.us for more information and how to log onto the Iditarod Insider. Happy reading and Mush On!
Peterson Bay Overnight Trip:
Come experience unforgettable, interactive programs where students discover the ecology of Kachemak Bay. Don’t watch a movie about the fabulous four marine phyla, find them and observe their amazing adaptations to life in the intertidal zone. Don’t miss this amazing learning opportunity.
— Open to all Connections students in grades sixth through tenth.
— Departure by boat from Homer Spit on April 14 at 8:30 a.m. and return late morning on the 15.
— Cost for the trip is $120 per person, and pace is limited (the maximum is 30 people) so call now.
Connections Talent and Art Show:
The Connections Talent Show has become an event the schoo looks forward to each school year.
This year staff have added an art exhibition to accommodate the many artistic students in the program! The school enjoys seeing the work and success students are finding outside of the academic realm, and the school loves giving them an opportunity to show those talents each spring. If a student has a talent or art piece they wish to share, please register with the show coordinator, Mark Wackler, at mwackler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us. The show is held at Soldotna High School in the auditorium on April 19 from 5-6:30 p.m. The school looks forward to seeing families at the 2016 Connections Talent Show!
Middle School Math Meet:
The Middle School Math Meet will be held at Homer Middle School on Thursday, May 5 and will run from around 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. All advanced math students in sixth through eighth grade are welcome.
Participants will compete in two individual rounds, a team round, and a gameshow style countdown round with a chance to win competition and door prizes.
Please contact Derek at 226-1880 or dbynagle@kpbsd.k12.ak.us for more information and example questions. If there is interest Derek will also hold practice sessions leading up to the meet in Homer; for Central Peninsula inquires please contact Wendi Dutcher wdutcher@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.
Interior Distance Education of Alaska
IDEA Homeschool is now enrolling for the 2016-2017 school year! Check out the website atideafamilies.org. Click enroll now. Families are always welcome to come visit the staff at the office in the Red Diamond Center. Come check out the library, Resource Room, used curriculum, and speak with a certified teacher. IDEA staff is here to serve families in their homeschooling journey.
Congratulations to IDEA’s AcaDeca Team for placing first in the state’s Academic Decathlon!.
The team scored 37,108.9 points and will be heading to the national decathlon! The ten subjects in the Academic Decathlon are: science, literature, art, music, social science, economics, mathematics, speech, essay and interview.
IDEA’s annual curriculum fair is coming. This year’s fair will be held on May 4 at Kalifonsky Christian Center. The fair provides a time for local educators to advertise a product, lessons or services. Each year, IDEA provides hand-out sacks to attendees. Family advertisements could be included in these sacks. The small fee families pay to include in an advertisement goes directly to youth groups for their activities. Send 200 flyers and a check for $15 to the address at the bottom, following these guidelines:
— Weight – only catalogs or flyers that weigh less than two ounces each may be sent to be included in these sacks.
— Content – Materials for the hand-out sacks must be homeschool-related! If families are not sure if their item would qualify, please get it pre-approved before printing multiple copies.
— Note to vendors for activities/instruction – No vendor flyer may claim that the vendor is “approved by IDEA.” They may state that they are willing to bill IDEA directly if that is the case.
— Payment – Enclose a $15 check in the box with 200 flyers.
Shipping – Please mail or deliver flyers to the office below so that they arrive by April 15. Please specify “Hand-Out Sacks” on the box.
Mail or deliver to:
IDEA
Attn: Hand-Out Sacks
43335 Kalifornsky Beach Rd., Suite 31
Soldotna, AK 99669
— First time advertising in hand-out sacks and have questions? Contact Suzanne Alioto at 260-3158 or visit our website atideafamilies.org and click on “Curriculum Fair” in the left navigation pane.
— Graduation ordering – it’s time to order that cap and gown! This is available online or by phone with Jostens. Jostens in located in Anchorage, but they do not have a walk-in store. Their phone number is 562-2001. Emails may be sent to scott.brown@jostens.com.
— Performance night is coming to the IDEA office! This is time for students to shine! This special night will be held March 17 at 6:30 p.m. There will be a piano, easel, access to a projector and more. Please let IDEA staff know if there are any special accommodations needed. Please bring a finger food to share. Signups are on the Region K Blog.
— The 2016 IditaREAD is here! Signups are on the Region K Blog.
— Reenrollment is also here! Every student that reenrolls by Friday, March 11 will be placed in the drawing to receive a full family subscription to Shmoop for the rest of the school year. Shmoop has tons of K-12 education resources. Check them out at shmoop.com.
Remember to check out ideafamilies.org for more details on all the activities sponsored by IDEA.
Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science
■ March 7 – APC Work Session at 4:15 p.m.
■ March 10 – Twin Day (Student Council sponsored spirit day)
■ March 11 – In-service-No School
March 14-18 – Spring Break-No School
Reminders:
— The Life Skill the school is focusing on this week is Responsibility; To respond when appropriate; to be accountable for one’s actions.
— If a child arrives after 9:10 a.m., please come in and sign him or her in at the office.
— If parents would like to be a volunteer, be sure to complete your background check and volunteer training. Go to kaleidoscope.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/volunteers kaleidoscope.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/volunteers and click the link to the background check. Please allow up to two weeks for this to clear. The next link on the page will take families to the Online Volunteer Training. These two steps must be completed in order to volunteer at Kaleidoscope. Completed Volunteer Indemnification forms are needed 48 hours before all field trips.
Kalifornsky Beach Elementary
This week’s Box Tops winners are Justyce Stockman and McKenna Neesmith. Way to go, Caribou!
K-Beach will hold Kindergarten Visitation Day for next year’s incoming kindergarteners on Friday, April 1 from 1:30–2:30 p.m. A child can ‘go to school’ for an hour while parents meet with the principal and register. You can pre-register your child at that time. Please call the office at 260-1300 to sign up for visitation day.
Zip lines seem to be the new hot thing. Mr. Daniels’s class not only gets to use zip lines at school, they’re building them in class. In science class, they are asking the question, “How is Energy Transferred by Colliding Objects?”
In order for them to form a conclusion, they are building zip lines and crashing objects together in a series of investigations. They have discovered that the heavier the object, and the faster the object, the more energy it has. This will help them to uncover the answer and solve the science mystery!
■ March 10 – Spring Pictures
■ March 11 – Inservice Day, No School
■ March 14-18 – Spring Break, No School
■ April 1 – Early Release Day. Kindergarten Visitation 1:30–2:30 p.m.
Kenai Central High
Kard of the Deck: Sarah Every
Super Staffer: Robert Baskin
Friday, March 11, is the end of the quarter, Teacher In-service Day. Spring Break will start March 14 for the students and school will not resume until March 21, 2016. Have a safe and relaxing break!
Spring athletes will be finally able to spring into action as softball, track and field, and soccer practices can start in early March. Students wanting to participate in Spring Sports must have a current physical, turned in all the required paper work, and pay their dues before they can participate in any sport.
■ March 10 – Boys Varsity Basketball at Regions Palmer High School TBD
— Girls Varsity Basketball at Regions Palmer High School TBD
■ March 11 – No School: Teacher In-service
— Boys Varsity Basketball at Regions Palmer High School TBD
— Girls Varsity Basketball at Regions Palmer High School TBD
■ March 12 – Boys Varsity Basketball at Regions Palmer High School TBD
Girls Varsity Basketball at Regions Palmer High School TBD
Kenai Middle
The Third Quarter Choir Concert (grades 6-7-8) is tonight at 6:30 p.m. Please join the school for another fine performance from Mrs. Bird and all the choir students of KMS.
The eigth Grade Class will take an all-grade field trip to Solid Rock on Wednesday, March 9, for a day of fun, learning, and problem solving. The bus will leave promptly at 8 a.m. Don’t be late!
■ March 10 – Sixth Grade Volleyball ends on Thursday
■ March 11 – There is no school for students on Friday
■ March 14-18 – Spring Break, Be safe, have fun, and enjoy the break!
■ March 21 – Sixth Grade Basketball begins on, when students return from Spring Break. Students who are interested in playing basketball should pick up a sports packet at the office. Students cannot participate without a completed sports packet turned in.
The school says “Happy March to all of you!”
Mountain View Elementary
Mountain View students will be participating in Jump Rope for Heart during their P.E. classes March 7-9. This community service project teaches students the importance of heart health (exercise, nutrition and living tobacco free) while having a great time jumping rope.
Students also have the opportunity to raise funds for the American Heart Association to fund research and educational materials to lower the risks of America’s number one and number five killers: heart disease and stroke. All students collecting donations for the American Heart Association need to have their packets turned in by Thursday, March 10.
The Mountain View PTA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, at 4 p.m. in the Library.
Friday, March 11, is an in-service day. There is no school for students.
Spring break is the week of March 14-18.
Redoubt Elementary
Box Top winners last week were Emerson Kapp, Keegan LeBrasseur and Connor Gossman. 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
Registration for the 2016-2017 preschool program is now open.
Children must be 4-years-old by Sept. 1, 2016, and live in Redoubt’s attendance area. Admission will be based on student need. Complete information and applications are available at the school office.
Yearbook order forms have been sent home. Please pre-order by March 31 to be sure to receive one. Please make checks payable to: Redoubt Elementary. Yearbooks will arrive in early May. Cost for yearbook is $15.
Pre-registration forms for next year have been sent home. Parents please make sure to complete the form and return it to Redoubt Elementary as soon as possible.
Congratulations to the following students who participated and placed at the Borough wide Forencis on Saturday, Feb. 27. Mecenha Price – 2nd place, Katie Derleth -2nd place, Josiah Burton – 4th place, Cody Thompson – 2nd place, Sydney Steadman, Emma Knowles & Mila Davidson Ianuzzo – 2nd place, Corey Lewis – 2nd place, Kayley Rogers – 2nd place, Kristen Houser – 2nd place, Haley Whelan – 1st place, Adam Bilyeu-3rd place,
Johann Carranza -3rd place, Ever Fielden – 3rd place, Isabella Valenzuela -1st place, Ashton Wright-Hanke – 1st place, Blake Lewis -1st place, Mackenzie Elsey – 2nd place.
■ March 8 – PTA Meeting 3:45 p.m. Child Care Provided.
■ March 9 – Site Council Meeting 3:45 p.m.
■ March 10 – Sixth grade Alaska Museum
■ March 11 – No school for students, staff in-service
■ March 14-18 – No School, Spring Vacation
Skyview Middle
Last week of the Third Quarter! Please check a child’s progress on Power School.
March Calendar of Events:
■ March 8 – Band and Choir Concert at 7 p.m. at the Skyview Middle School Gym. All welcome to attend
■ March 10 – Last Day of the Third Quarter
■ March 11 – No school for students during the teacher in-service day.
■ March 14-18 – Spring break, no school for students and staff
■ March 21 – First Day of the Fourth Quarter
■ March 22 – Sixth grade parent-student Night at Skyview Middle School at 6:30 p.m.
■ March 24 – Eighth grade parent-student Night at Soldotna Prep School at 6 p.m.
■ March 29 – Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) testing for all seventh and eighth grade students will begin
Track and Field begins on Monday, April 4. Any student who wishes to join Track must turn in the required sports forms before participation
Forms must be filled out for each sport. All forms can be picked up at the Front Office or found online at skyviewmiddleschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us. Please complete the forms and pay the participation fee as soon as possible.
Congratulations to Gabriella Rogers – State Geography Bee Semifinalist! Gabriella has been notified by the National Geographic Society that she is one of the students eligible to compete in the 2016 Alaska State Geography Bee. The contest will be held in Anchorage on Friday, April 1. This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, which is now in its twenty-eight year. School Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took an online qualifying test. The National Geographic Society invited up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states to compete in the state Bees. Gabriella is one of these students! The state champion will be awarded various prizes, including a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent Alaska in the National Geographic Bee Championship, May 22-25.
Congratulations to the February Students of the Month! Ashlyn Asp, Trevor Bagnasco, Hayleigh Barnett, Mackinley Baxter, Adison Beck, Whitney Benson, Cameron Blackwell, Heidi Brendtro, Zachary Burns, Blake Bush, Katelyn Carson, Timothy Cashman, Morgan Chace, Dylan Chambers, Sierra Chapman, Ray Chumley, Catherine Conner, Zachary Conrad, Eli Cravens, Aidan Culver, Wyatt Dement, Chris Edelman, John Einerson, Adin Fielden, Jack Fleming, Nicholas Gage, Victoria Garcia, Faith Glassmaker, Alexis Gomes, Ayla Hagan, Austin Hardy, Sierra Hatfield, Paige Hegwer, Spencer Hinnegan, Sara Hinz, Dylan Hogue, Sueheidi Hugarte, Faith Katzenberger, Shaleen Kay, Cassidy King, Kati Koch, Brittany Lewis, Kylie Loop, Felix Lybarger, Loretta Maal, Roman Maal, Claudia Martinez, Austin Matheson, Nicholas McConnell, Journey Miller, Kobe Miller, Robert Mize, Alex Montague, Tyler Morrison, Taylor Morse, Isaac Nagasako, Zackery Ness, Catherine O’Dell, Rebecca Page, Bodhi Panamarioff, Denize Pannick Pootjes, Brandon Partin, Nyia Peters, Adrianne Poulin, Kyle Priebe, Kyler Pritchett, Pavel Reutov, Hannah Rhodes, Giovanni Rigutto, Ricardo Rincon, Joseph Russo, Michael Rutledge, Sergio Saavedra, JD Schmenzenbach, Olivia Schwenk, Elizabeth Siemion, Blake Smith, Camron Sorensonm, Ysabelle Soyangco, Derek Spezialy, Kristina Morgan Spies, Jordan Spies, Harley Thomas, Zachary Ulrich, Robert Van Bruggen, Rayna Varney, Deja Walker, Alyssa Wilkinson, Kaiden Wilshusen, Dallas Wilson, Taylor Wilson, Arianna Woodard, Shannon Yeskie, Zoey Zurfluh.
Soldotna Prep
Friday, March 11, is the end of 3rd quarter and an in-service day. There is no school.
Spring Break is the week of March 13-20.
Soldotna Prep School announces two (2) more robotics camps this year. The Lego Adventures camp” is geared toward 6-9-year-old students and the robotics camp is geared toward 10-14-year-old students. The camps are $35 per student and will be held on the following dates: March 19, and April 16.
There is a registration capacity of 12 students per camp. Please email Mrs. McGlothen at kmcglothen@kpbsd.k12.ak.us for more information or to register a student(s).
Check SOPREP school blog for important information and updates: soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu
Soldotna Elementary
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:
■ March 10 Art from the Heart 5:30-7 p.m.
■ March 11 No School for Students
■ March 14-18 Spring Break
■ March 24 Spring Picture Day
School News:
The Reading Counts winners this week are: Alexis Simmons, Brett Haas, Jacob Christensen, Liam Way, Luc Beauparlant, Tanner Clyde, Jillian Gagnon, Tristan Edmondson, and Theoren Nelson. Congratulations and keep reading!
Soldotna Elementary Pre-Registration forms will be sent home the first week of March. Please review the information, sign and return forms to the office.
Soldotna Elementary is currently taking yearbook orders. The deadline is April 1 and one order costs $17.
Soldotna High
Final yearbook order deadline is at 2:30 p.m. on March 10, 2016. The price is $65. (No personalization or icons). Order forms may be picked up at the front office or door of Soldotn High School Room 76. Soldotn High will not be ordering extra yearbooks.
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 meggean@kpbsd.k12.ak.us for more info. All donations can be dropped off to the front office 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Soldotna High School PTSA’s primary fundraiser is the Fred Meyer Rewards Program.
It’s easy to sign up and makes a BIG difference for the PTSA and the school. Visit fredmeyer.com with a Rewards Program number and select Soldotna High School PTSA. It’s quick and simple and every purchase make a positive impact just through everyday shopping! Thank you!
Soldotna Stars Letterman Jackets are available to order atneffco.com. Click on Varsity Jackets, find our school by State, select Soldotna High School, starting at $149 students can personalize it anyway they would like. Any questions contact Heather Parkki, 260-7022. Makes a great Christmas gift!
The SOHI Library Media Center will be open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday – Friday. Contact Ms. Wear at 260.7036 or twear@kpbsd.k12.ak.us for information on the 4:15 p.m. bus.
Sterling Elementary
■ March 11 – Teacher In-service – No School for students
■ March – 14–18 Spring Recess.
■ April 2 – Sterling Pre-K and Kindergarten Fair! 10 a.m. to noon with kindergarten classroom visitations at 11 a.m. Sterling Head Start will also be there to register children.
The school needs aluminum cans! If families have them, please bring them and put them in the bin with the red sign next to the trash can! If the school has the most cans at the Great Aluminum Can Roundup in April, the PTA wins money.
If families have a child who will be 4-years-old on or before September 1, 2016, please call the office and sign up for a Title 1 Pre-K screening. The screening will be held on April 19.
Please remember to drive the speed limit in the school zone when the lights are flashing. It is a really quick change from 55 to 20 miles per hour on the highway during those times of the day, so be extra vigilant and don’t miss it. The school staff say “Thanks so much!”
Tustumena Elementary
■ March 3 – SEM from 2-3 p.m.
— March 3 – Family Fun Reading Night and Title I Meeting 3:45-5 p.m.
■ March 8 – Soldotna band and choir tour at 9:30 a.m.
■ March 10 – Sixth Grade versus Staff Basketball game at 2 p.m.
■ March 11 – No school for during the inservice day
■ March 14-18 – Spring Break
■ March 22 – Sixth grade parent and student orientation at 6:30-8 p.m. at Skyview
— March 22 – PTO Meeting at 4 p.m.
■ March 24 – Lynx Track to Jumpin Junction for kindegarten through first grade
— March 24 – Lynx Track to Orca Theater for second through sixth grade
■ March 28 – Site Council at 4 p.m.
■ April 20 – Sixth grade transition to Skyview Meeting at Tustumena in the morning
