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:
■ 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
Oct. 4 – Homer Connections School Pictures – 1:00pm – 3:00pm at Paul Banks Elementary Gym
Oct. 4 – Kenai Rec Center Homeschool Gym Is Back!
Oct. 5 – Math Tutoring at new Sterling Hwy Kaladi Brothers – 1:00-2:00
Oct. 6 – Salmon Egg Take at the Anchor River with ADF&G 10:45 – 11:20
Oct. 7 – Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center Field Trip
Oct. 12 – Ageya Wilderness Center: 2-day, 1-night trip
Oct. 19 – PSAT for 10th & 11th Grade at Soldotna Connections Office 8:15am
Oct. 20 – Eligibility Due For High School Students
Oct. 22 – AIMES: Information on a career in a health field (more info below)
Oct. 26 – Hay Maze at Solid Rock Camp 1:00-2:30 (more info below)
Salmon Egg Take at the Anchor River with ADF&G: As part of the “Salmon in the Classroom Project”, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is doing salmon egg takes at the Anchor River Campground on Thursday at 10:45 a.m. at the Alaska State Park Recreation Site on Anchor Point/Beach Road. Please contact Derek at dbynagle@kpbsd.k12.ak.us or 907-226-1880 to confirm numbers with ADF&G.
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center Field Trip: Connections Home School Program will be sponsoring a field trip to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on Friday, October 7. Connections will provide grilled hotdogs, drinks and chips. If you have any questions or plan on attending please RSVP Reubin Payne: rpayne@kpbsd.k12.ak.us or call 714-8880.
Ageya Wilderness Center: 2-day, 1-night trip to Ageya Wilderness Center on October 12 for 5th-9th graders. The Center will focus on marine debris clean up, learning about local watersheds, and brainstorm ideas for a zero waste campaign back at home, school, or the community. The culmination is an Alaska Coastal Ecology field trip to the Peterson Bay Field Station where groups will explore intertidal and coastal habitats. Please contact Derek Bynagle at dbynagle@kpbsd.org or 226-1880 to sign up, space is limited!
AIMES: Join UAF for the 5th Annual Alaska Interior Medical Education Summit, AIMES, to explore occupations in areas such as medical, nursing, pharmacy, dental/assistant/hygienist, veterinarian/vet tech, and much more. This is a free event but Preregistration for participants and vendors is required: https://sites.google.com/a/alaska.edu/aimes/
Annual Solid Rock Hay Maze: Please join Connections on Oct. 26 from 1-2:30 p.m. The cost is $6 per person (non-reimbursable). Please bundle up for this event; gloves, hats, warm layers and flashlights are encouraged. If you have any questions contact the Soldotna office at 907-714-8880 or email Shelli Furlong at sfurlong@kpbsd.k12.ak.us to RSVP.
Kenai Central High
We’re gearing up to head into the holiday seasons! Be on the lookout for more information about our annual canned food drive.
Start rummaging through the closets and the garage now! The annual Kenai Sports Swap sponsored by the KCHS Cross-Country Ski Booster Club is Saturday in the KCHS auditorium commons. Beemuns Ski Loft and Wilderness Way will also be selling discount merchandise. For more information call 394-1425 or 690-1097.
Drop Off Gear:
4:00 – 7:00 p.m. Friday
8:00 – 10:00 a.m. Saturday
Purchase Gear:
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Saturday in KCHS auditorium commons
Friday — Volleyball at Grace Christian High School Tourney Times TBD
Saturday — Volleyball at Grace Christian High School Tourney Times TBD
Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science
Monday
— 3:45-4:45 Running Club
— Custodial Appreciation day. Please make sure to give Mr. Gordon and Miss Ana an extra high five today.
Wednesday
— 3:45-4:45 Running Club
— 3:45-5:00 Dance Ensemble Club
Thursday
— 9:30-3rd & 4th grade Study Trip to Anchor River for egg take
Mark your Calendar
October 12 — 1:30-3:00 Kindergarteners will walk to the creek.
October 13 — 6:00 p.m. District Budget Meeting – Kaleidoscope library.
October 17 — 4:15 APC Meeting
October 21 — Inservice Day, no school for students
October 26 — 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/training. The length of the school day will be reduced by ninety minutes, for a total of nine hours during the 2015-2016 school year. On these early release dates, school will end ninety minutes (1.5 hours) earlier. Bus transportation will be adjusted by ninety minutes.
October 27-28 — Parent Teacher Conferences-No School
Volunteers: Two steps are required each school year to be an approved volunteer. Go to http://kaleidoscope.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/volunteers and click the link to the background check. This may take 2 weeks for approval to be returned. The next link on the page will take you to the Online Volunteer Training. Read and complete the quiz at the end.
Lunch menus are now only available online. They are on the Kaleidoscope webpage as well as the KPBSD webpage and KPBSD app. They will also be attached to the weekly message sent the first of each month.
Kalifornsky Beach Elementary
Last week’s Box Tops raffle winners were Alyssa McDonald and Kaela Woods. Fantastic work, Caribou!
The first K-Beach band concert will be October 6th at 6:30 p.m. in the gym. All K-Beach bands will be performing.
Mr. Daniels’s science classes went on two field trips last week. They went to the Kenai Wildlife Refuge Center to learn about plants and animals in the wetlands. They also built pitfall traps and set them in the woods around the school. When they returned 3 days later, they found some interesting critters that fell into their traps. They are now identifying and researching the trapped animals. Later they will release the bugs back into the wild.
Have you ever wondered why rivers do not run straight from the mountains to the ocean? How can a river erode land and build it all at the same time? If you were told that all of these questions could be answered by a sixth grader with just a Rubbermaid tote, straws, some sand and water, would you believe it? Students at K-Beach Elementary are beginning their weathering and erosion unit in sixth grade science this week. Instead of reading from a textbook or listening to a lecture and taking notes, students will conduct their own experiments allowing them to make observations and create a hypothesis of their own. By doing the experiment before learning the facts, students can see first-hand what takes place when water flows down a mountain and into the ocean. They can watch the rivers carry the sediments and deposit them in the ocean. With one simple demonstration, students are able to get their own rivers flowing and start recording their findings. This is an exciting way for students to learn about the natural world around them. Each river is different, therefore the amount of erosion and amount of land being built are also different.
October 6 – Band concert in K-Beach gym at 6:30 p.m.
October 21 – Inservice Day; No School
October 26 – Early Release Day, K-Beach will dismiss at 12:55
October 27, 28 – No School due to Parent/Teacher Conferences
Kenai Alternative
Kenai Alternative High School is getting ready to start their second rotation on October 10 and is currently scheduling interviews for students wishing to attend KAHS. They may call the school at 335-2870 to schedule an appointment.
Kenai Middle
Oct. 1 begins our “Soctober” month. We are collecting new socks, hats, gloves, and snow gear. Please donate if you can. The advisory class that brings in the most items at the end of the month will earn a pizza party!
Wednesday — Site Council meeting at KMS at 4:30.
Friday — XC Running Boroughs at KMS 3:00.
Friday — Activity Night & Dance $3.00 admission, snacks available for purchase.
Oct. 10 — Basketball Intramurals begin
Oct. 20 — Picture Retakes
Mountain View Elementary
The 30 day grace period for Free and Reduced meal benefits will end on Tuesday. Students who do not have a new application in and approved will have to bring a sack lunch or bring $2.85 for a hot lunch. Please allow up to 10 working days for an application to be processed. Applications are available at the office.
The PTA “Believe Kids” fundraiser catalog and information were sent home with students last week. Orders need to be turned in by October 10.
Students will be learning about Fire Safety October 10th –October 14th here at Mountain View Elementary. The Kenai Fire Department will be here to visit classes and take students through the Fire Safety House.
Picture retakes are scheduled for October 19 for students needing to have their pictures retaken or students that missed the first picture day.
October 21 is an Inservice day. There is no school for students.
October 26 is an early release day. Those students being picked up will be dismissed at 1:50 p.m. and all other students will be dismissed at 1:55 PM.
Parent/Teacher conferences will be held on October 27-28. There will be no school for students.
Nikiski Middle-High
Tuesday
— C Team Volleyball at Nikiski vs. Homer – 3:00 p.m.
— JV Volleyball at Nikiski vs. Homer – 4:00 p.m.
— Varsity Volleyball at Nikiski vs. Homer – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday
— Academic Awards Night and National Honor Society Induction – 6:00 p.m.
Friday
— Varsity Volleyball at Grace Tournament – TBA
— Middle School Borough Cross Country Meet at Kenai – 3:00 p.m.
Saturday
— Varsity Volleyball at Grace Tournament – TBA
— Football Playoffs – TBA
Looking Ahead:
October 10 — Middle School Basketball Begins
October 11 — Band and Choir Concert – 7:00 p.m.
October 17 — Picture Retakes
October 21 — Teacher Inservice/Work Day – No School for Students
October 27 — Parent Teacher Conferences – No School for Students
October 28 — Teacher Inservice – No School for Students
Nikiski North Star Elementary
There will be a PTA meeting on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. in the staff lounge.
Picture retake day is planned for October 12. If your child needs a picture retake, you must send in the original packet of pictures. Please call the school office at 776-2600 if you need more information or have questions.
The NNS PTA annual fall carnival will take place at the school on October 22 from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. There will be lots of game booths, food, prizes, face painting, costume contest for all ages, trick or treat alley, live music, basket auction and fun for all! If you would like to volunteer to run a booth, set up or clean up, please contact a PTA member or call the school office. The Scholastic Book Fair will be open in the library during the carnival.
Redoubt Elementary
Last week’s Box Top winners – Ally Kiffmeyer and Caiden Hershberger. Save your Box Tops, put your name on the back, and put them in the box outside the office. Weekly prize drawings are held.
October 8 — Redoubt’s 6th Annual Fun Run and bake sale to benefit the 6th grade Peterson Bay field trip. Individuals $10.00, Family $25.00. Registration/Check-in 9:00-9:45 a.m. Volunteers are needed, rain or shine. No dogs or bikes, strollers welcome.
October 20 — Fun Fest, cost to attend is $4.00, 3:30-5:00 p.m. All attending students must have a signed permission slip turned in by noon the day of Fun Fest. This event is for Redoubt students only.
Student Program Applications including Free and Reduced Lunches must be filed each year. We encourage all families to complete a Student Programs Application. Programs such as our Pre-K program, school lunch program, funding for technology equipment along with Athletic & Activity Waivers are dependent on these funds.
Volunteers and Field Trip Drivers – must complete the online school district volunteer application before volunteering in the school or on school field trips. Please go to the KPBSD website for additional information on how you can volunteer at Redoubt Elementary.
Redoubt’s Fall Fundraiser “Believe Kids” ends October 7th. All funds raised will be used to benefit Redoubt’s school and students. Thank you to all the students, parents and community members who help support Redoubt’s annual fundraiser.
Redoubt’s Site Council committee is in need of two parent representatives. If you are interested in being a parent representative please stop by the school office by today Monday, October 5th to submit your name. Site Council will meet 5 times during the school year. Meetings are held at the school at 3:45pm. The school site council is an advisory body in the joint planning and problem solving processes for improving student learning that occur at the local school level. Get involved in your child’s education.
Site Council – Special Meeting – October 13, 6:00 p.m. at Soldotna High School. This meeting is open to the public.
Parent-Teacher conference forms were sent home with students last Friday. Please complete the conference form and return it to your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Time slots are limited and filled on a first come first serve basis. Please use one form per family.
Parents, please make sure to have an after-school plan in place for your child. Students are released at 3:18pm. If your child is being picked up, please make sure you arrive in time to pick them up by 3:18 p.m.
Soldotna Elementary
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:
October 7 — Pajama Day
October 18 — Picture Retake Day
School News:
The Parent PACK would like to welcome anyone interested in volunteering this year. With support of amazing parent volunteers, the Parent PACK is able to offer many fun events for students. To volunteer please sign up for email communications or follow the PACK on Facebook to keep up-to-date on volunteer events.
Mrs. Kvamme’s sixth grade class will be running the school store again this year. The store will be open on Wednesday mornings before school. Students can purchase pencils, pens, folders, pencil holders and much more!
The Square One Art Fundraiser is coming soon! Stay tuned for more details.
Soldotna High
The Counseling Department will be hosting 2 College Goal FAFSA Completion Workshops for senior parents. Events will be October 6 and November 1 in Room 24 at 6:00 p.m. Bring your 2015 tax information. For more information, contact your school counselor.
Soldotna High School is collecting gently used formal dresses, shoes, and accessories for Cinderella’s Closet 2017. This is a program which helps ALL area high school ladies with free prom dresses, shoes, and accessories. We have helped over 500 ladies in the past 7 years. We are taking donations of prom dresses, shoes, and accessories. All sizes dresses are welcome, however we are in particular need of dresses in size 12 to 18. These items can be dropped off to the main office at Soldotna High School between 8am-3pm. Since the donations are made to a school, tax donation forms can be issued by SoHi upon request. If you have any questions, please email epokryfky@kpbsd.org for more info. Thanks for helping the young ladies of the Kenai Peninsula!
SoHi PTSA welcomes new members! Membership dues are $10 annually and forms can be picked up in the office. Please email Sheilah-Margaret Pothast at agr8fulmom@hotmail.com with “SoHi PTSA” in the subject line for more information.
Mr. Gordon is collecting Baby and Senior pictures for the Graduation Slide show. Turn in no more than one of each. December 2, 2016 is the due date for all pictures to be turned in. We 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 at www.neffco.com. Click on Varsity Jackets, find our school by State, select Soldotna High School, starting at $149 you can personalize it anyway you would like. Any questions contact Heather Parkki, 907-260-7022. Makes a great Christmas gift!
The afterschool tutoring buses are running. There are 2 buses that leave at 4:15. You 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. You can also email them at twear@kpbsd.k12.ak.us or call 260-7036.
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
After School Tutoring Monday and Wednesday 2:30 – 3:30 in Room 10 and Tuesdays and Thursdays in Room 30
Robotics Club meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30 – 5:00 p.m. and Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. in Room 19.
Lego Robotics Camp will be held every 3rd Saturday of each month from 1-4 p.m. at Soldotna Prep School
Ages 6-14 cost is $35 per student. For more information contact Kristin McGlothen, kmcglothen@KPBSD.k12.ak.us
Please visit Soldotna Prep School Page for important information http://soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/home/
Sterling Elementary
Our Fall Fundraiser is here! If you would like to support our school, call our office to learn how!
Oct. 4 — PTA meeting 4:00 pm – library
Oct. 5 — Walk to School Day!! Meet at B & D Auto at 8:15 am! Snacks provided upon our arrival at school!
Oct. 8 — PTA Recycle bin building party! Community welcome to help out! Starts at 9:00 and refreshments are provided! Help build a new shed/bin to collect our aluminum cans with which we earn a lot of money for our school!!
Oct. 13 — Reading is Fundamental! PTA sponsored activity that gives a free book to each Sterling Elementary and Sterling Head Start student!
Oct. 20 — Falcon Fun Night 3:45-5:00 pm – Volunteers who have completed the background check process are encouraged to call our office to help!
Oct. 21 — No School – In-service/ End of quarter
Oct. 26 — Early Release – Students out at 2:05 pm
Oct. 26 and 10/27 — Parent Teacher conferences – schedule coming home soon!!
Oct. 28 — No school for students
Oct. 28 — Sterling PTA Trail or Treat! 4:00 – 5:30 – includes trick or treating on our habitat trail, chili cook off and pumpkin carving contest! Donations of Halloween decorations and candy requested as well as volunteers who would like to participate and hand out candy on the trail!
Tustumena Elementary
October 4 — 4th grade to Anchor River for egg intake
October 18 — PTO Meeting, 4 p.m.
October 21 — Inservice Day, No School for Students, End of 1st Quarter
October 25 — Picture Retakes
October 26 — Early Release, 2:05 p.m.
October 27 & 28 — Parent Teacher Conferences
October 28 — Winter Carnival, 6-8 p.m.
October 31 — Site Council Meeting, 4 p.m.
