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.
Early release dates for KPBSD schools
Six times throughout the academic year, schools will meet the minimum day so that teachers may have approximately 90 minutes of additional time to work on improvement strategies. On these early release dates, schools will end 90 minutes earlier. Bus transportation will be adjusted by 90 minutes. Upcoming early release dates are: Feb. 4; March 27; May 1.
Scholarship offered for seniors
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary of the Jerry V. Horn Memorial Post 10046 in Soldotna is offering the Vickie Webb Nelson Memorial Scholarship. The recipient must be an Alaska high school graduating senior or an Alaskan enrolled in a home-study program, with a desire to further his or her education. Citizenship, leadership and financial need will be considered. Awards of $500 for first place and $250 for second place will be given to local winners, with the first-place winner’s entry forwarded to the statewide competition to compete for a $1,000 scholarship. Application information has been provided to area high schools, or is available by calling the VFW Ladies Auxiliary Chair at 262-9220. Applications must be received or delivered to the VFW Post, 134 N. Birch Street in Soldotna by Feb. 13, 2015.
STEAM Ahead at Challenger
The Challenger Learning Center is now accepting registration for the upcoming sessions. STEAM Ahead for up to a semester of science for grades K-8th. First session begins Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. Challenger is an approved direct pay vendor for IDEA and Connections. For more information: akchallenger.org, 907-283-2000, or summer.lazenby@akchallenger.org.
Free Training for High School Students
KPBSD Career and Tech Department is offering free after school academies to train students in the welding, construction and medical field. Listed below are our upcoming academies.
Nikiski High School will be offering a welding academy beginning Jan. 6, running every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30-4:30. Students will be learning Oxy-Acetylene Cutting, torch safety and set up, cutting torch free hand, interpret welding symbols and much more.
In January there will be a Personal Care Attendant (PCA) class that is limited to juniors and seniors only. This class will take place at the Workforce Development Center. Students will learn how to physically care for people. Students who are close to the age of 18 by October 2015 will receive a State Certificate after passing the exam. The class is limited to 12 students. Textbooks will be provided, however they are available to purchase for $35 if a student chooses to keep their book. There will be a mandatory meeting on Jan. 13 at 3:30 at the Workforce Development Center (located behind KCHS in the Votec building). During this meeting class times will be set depending on the students and instructor’s schedule.
Any high school student is able to participate in any of the academies. If a student successfully completes the 60 hour academy they will receive a 1/2 practical art credit. To sign up students can see their counselor, call Debbie Pearson at 283-2145 or go to onestop.kpbsd.k12.ak.us.
Funding for the Alaska Construction Academies comes from a grant from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development and The Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development.
Connections Home-school
Thursday — Math Tutoring at the Soldotna Office Thursdays 2:30-4:00pm
Dec. 16 — 1st Semester Grade Reports Due; High School Eligibility Due
Jan. 5 — 2nd Semester Begins
Jan. 5-30 — AIMS K-5 (please make appointments with your local office); Ed Performance Testing 6-8
Jan. 8 — Soldotna Battle of the Books meeting at 3:00 Grades 3rd/4th
Jan.9 — Soldotna Battle of the Books meeting at 11:00 Grades 5th/6th
Jan.17-18 — Kenai NWR Wilderness First Aid Course
Semester Reports:
This is a friendly reminder that first semester report forms are due on or before Dec. 16 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 Jan. 22 at the Soldotna Public Library. The 2015 Alaska State Spelling Bee will be held on Feb. 16 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.
Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science
Monday:
■ The Student council sponsored Food Drive continues through Friday. Donations of non-perishable food items are to be placed in the box in the hallway across from the library. Thank you for supporting families in our community.
■ The Penguin Patch Holiday Shop is open. Students will be taken by classrooms to visit the Shop and buy things for family and friends. Information and forms for this went home with students on Nov. 29.
Tuesday:
■ The Food Drive continues through Friday
■ The Penguin Patch Holiday Shop is open.
Wednesday:
■ Food Drive continues
■ The Penguin Patch Holiday Shop is open. This is the last regular shopping day for the Shop
■ 3:00 p.m. — 3rd / 4th Grade classes will have a Celebration of Learning to end the second quarter. Details will be given from the classroom teachers.
Thursday:
■ Food Drive continues through Friday
■ The Penguin Patch Holiday Shop is open as a make-up day for those students who did not shop earlier in the week.
■ 4:00 p.m. — Christmas Drive donations are due in at the office. Thank you to everyone who is supporting the Drive by making monetary donations or by shopping for these children.
■ 6:00 p.m. — Band Concert in the Kaleidoscope gym.
Friday:
■ Last day for the Food Drive! Thank you for your donations.
■ 1:25 p.m. — Mrs. Hurst’s 5th grade class will be walking to the Creek.
■ 2:25 p.m. — Mrs. Harper’s 4/5th grade class will be wlaking to the Creek.
■ 3:00 p.m. — 1st/2nd grade End of Quarter Celebrations will be in classrooms. Please bring a healthy finger food to share for this event. Students will be sharing the work they have done this quarter.
Saturday:
■ 10:00 a.m. — Christmas Drive Pick up
Reminders
■ The Holiday Concert for students in grades 1st -6th 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 Initiative: To do something, of one’s own free will, because it needs to be done.
Kalifornsky Beach Elementary
On Nov. 26, Miss Lemcke’s 2nd/3rd grade class performed a wonderful production of “The Great Kapok Tree” by Lynne Cherry. The students had been working very hard in science on preservation of natural resources and the play was a wonderful way to expand their learning throughout other subjects such as reading, art and public speaking. Their paper mache’ masks were fabulous! They were a messy success! It took the month of November to complete their masks, costumes, sets and to memorize lines. Then they worked on stage directions, projecting and enunciating. It was a wonderful play and the entire cast did an outstanding job! The class received rave reviews during both productions and were even asked by Principal Crabtree if there would be a possible spring play in their future. If we can find another play that lends itself to our current curriculum we will certainly put on another play! It was a fun and entertaining learning experience. Miss Lemcke is very proud of her second and third graders for their hard work and amazing performances!
Mr. Daniels’s Class is feeling Cam-tastic! They are making pinhole cameras. The goal is to create a model to study how the eye works.
In other news, we have discovered a great new Social Studies resource: Educational Skyping. So far we have mystery Skyped 3 classes, and we have another this week! We ask yes/no questions to another classroom in the United States. We keep narrowing down the answer with the clues until we guess where they are from. Then we get to know them a little better before signing off. Through Skype we also have another great opportunity presented to us — Skype guest speakers! We have arranged guest speakers from Microsoft to talk to us about careers in computer science and how technology affects our lives every day. Megha Tiwari, Program Manager, MSN Homepage and Nina Jennings, design researcher at Microsoft, will speak to our class on two separate occasions. We will keep you posted on how our Skype adventures turn out.
K-Beach Elementary is holding its annual Kids Go Shopping Holiday Store. The store will be open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity for students to shop for inexpensive gifts for their families. Any questions can be directed to Cindy Haakenson at 252-1028 or cindyhaakenson@hotmail.com.
Dec. 16 — K-2 Winter Program, 6:00 p.m. at SoHi auditorium
Dec 19 — No School, In-Service day
Dec. 22-Jan.— No school, Winter Break
Kenai Central High
KCHS held a silent auction and spaghetti dinner on Friday to help us 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.
Winter Concert & Holiday Dessert Auction will be Thursday at 7 p.m. in the KCHS Auditorium.
Congratulations to Brett Brown, Drake Thomas, Patrick Michels, Eli Heinrich, Alex Bergholtz, and Kirsten Nyquist for being selected to the 2015 All-Northwest Honor Band & Wind Symphony
The Culinary Arts class made 50 pumpkin pies for the Boys and Girls Club Thanksgiving boxes. It was a great way for them to show off their cooking skills as well as practice quantity cooking. Thanks to the Boys and Girls Club for providing the ingredients for them to do this community service project!
Student of the Month for November: Rotary — Christopher Campos; Chamber — Thomas Randall; Elks — Dezmond Ticknor; Kard-of-Deck — Kendra Pisa; Super Staffer — Simon Nissen; Pre-Calculus — Jacey Ross, Mr. Calvert; Biology — Lacey Plumridge, Ms. Worley & Mr. Hanson; Physics — Jeremy Ruggiero, Mr. Armstrong; Culinary Arts — Brianna Bushnell, Mrs. Sims; World History — Kendra Pisa, Mr. Zorbas; Physical Training — Kelsey Booth, Mr. Baker; Geometry — Damien Redder, Mr. Nyquist; AP World History — Lea Schmidtbauer, Mr. Settlemyer; Advanced Algebra — Ty Kenney, Mrs. Herring; Anatomy & Physiology — Keenan Orth, Mrs. Davis; LA 11 Honors — Joey Gabriel, Mr. Cater; LA 9 — Natalie Marlowe, Mr. Baskin; Spanish 1 — Mackenzie Lindeman, Mr. Moss; Health — Reyanne Carlson, Ms. Rustad.
Kenai Middle
There are only 9 days of school left before the holiday break! Hang in there!
The Holiday Choir Concert is scheduled for Tuesday at KCHS. It will begin at 7:00.
The First Round of Basketball Boroughs is also Tuesday. It’s been a great season of Basketball for Kenai Middle School.
The KMS and KCHS Holiday Band Concert and Dessert Auction is scheduled for Thursday, at KCHS. It too will begin at 7:00.
The Borough Basketball Finals will be held in Homer on Saturday beginning at 10:00. We wish Kenai Middle School players the best of luck. We are proud of you!
We’d like to congratulate our November Students of the Month: Khloe Anderson, Brittany Burcham, Livai Castrellon, Meghan Davis, Riley Graves, Sierra Longfellow, Shannon McClure, Chelsea Plagge, and Travis Verkuilen.
Mountain View Elementary
“The Holiday Wonderland” will be open Monday through Thursday. This is a program hosted by the PTA to allow students to shop for inexpensive Christmas gifts for family and friends. If you would like to volunteer to help students shop please call the office at 283-8600 to schedule a time.
It is not too late to help a family in need during this holiday season. If you would be able to donate anything from a pair of gloves, a hat, a turkey, or a complete holiday meal, please drop your donation off at the office or call Kimb or Kim at 283-8600. Your contribution would be very much appreciated!
First, Second, and Third grade students will have a winter performance on Dec. 15 at 6:00 p.m. in the KCHS Auditorium.
Donations of baked items are needed for the bake sale being held right after the concert at KCHS. Bring your goodies directly to the high school when coming for the concert. Items will be sold for $1 each after the concert so remember to bring your ones!
Winter break is December 19-January 4. Students return to school on Jan. 5.
Nikiski Middle-High
December is busy, busy! The boys and girls Middle School basketball teams continue in their undefeated run this year. They will progress to the borough tournament in Homer on Friday. The Nikiski High School chapter of the National Honor Society volunteered at the Kenai Visitor’s Center raising money for homeless youth. The Student Council did a good job with organizing a successful food drive. The music department is setting the holiday spirit as their practicing for the winter concerts has spilled into the hallways.
Upcoming Events:
Monday — Winter Choir Concert at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium.
Friday-Saturday — Wrestling State at Anchorage Christian School
Saturday — Middle School Basketball Boroughs at Homer
Dec. 15 — Band Concert at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium.
The last day of school for students will be Dec. 18. This will also be the end of the quarter/semester. Teachers will have a work day/inservice day on Dec. 19. School will resume on Jan. 5, 2015!
Nikiski North Star Elementary
NNS will have a holiday concert on Thursday at Nikiski Middle High School. The concert will begin at 6:00 p.m. and performers are asked to arrive by 5:45 p.m. Mrs. Faris has been working very diligently with the students to bring you a fun and memorable evening. The students performing in this concert are Kindergarteners through second grade and include the classes of Mrs. Burnett, Mrs. Trammell, Mrs. Green, Mrs. Thye, Mrs. Mayberry, Mrs. Erwin, Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Hooper and Mrs. Settlemyer.
We have many goals at our school and one of them is increasing our regular attendance rate. Research is very clear that consistent school attendance is associated with academic success. Regular school attendance provides a student the opportunity to feel connected to the school community. In addition to our excellent attendance recognition at our quarter assemblies, we will be implementing the outstanding attendance award for those students who have only missed one day of school per quarter. If you have questions or are interested learning about our school goals, please call the school office at 776-2600.
Now that we have lots of snow on the playground, please remember to send your child to school with a warm hat, boots, snow pants, a coat and warm gloves or mittens. Thank you in advance to labeling each item with your child’s name.
Redoubt Elementary
Tuesday — PTA Meeting at 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday — Site Council Meeting at 3:45 p.m.
Wednesday — 4th Grade Music Concert 5:00 p.m. at Redoubt Gym
Thursday — 5th Grade Band Concert 5:30 p.m. at Redoubt Gym
December 19th — No School for students, teacher in-service.
December 22 through January 2nd — Christmas Break
Box Tops Winners last week were: Urijah Walden, Elijah Burdick and Sierra Chapman. 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.
Labels for Education — Redoubt has started collecting Campbell soup labels and other participating product labels. Some products include, Goldfish, Post, Swanson, Pop-Secret, V8 and Dannon. For the complete list of products and companies that participate in this program please visit their website at www.labelsforeducation.com our school will earn points that can be redeemed for items such as physical education equipment, classroom supplies and other educational merchandise for our students. Additional information regarding this program will be sent home with students. Students should put their name on the back of each label and turn them in at school for our weekly drawings to win a prize.
Redoubt PTA Holiday Kindness Program — Assisting Redoubt families in need this holiday season is underway. All gifts need to be brought to the school by today, December 8th. Cash donations in any amount can be dropped off at the school office. Money will be used to purchase holiday gifts for Redoubt children and their families.
Thanks you to all of the volunteers who ran the PTA Elf Shelf Holiday store for 3 days. Thank you for making it possible for Redoubt students to do a little early holiday shopping for friends and family.
Family Game Night will be held at 6:00-7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Bring the whole family and enjoy a fun filled evening of board games and open gym. There will be a Make and Take and special reading activity for Title One families from 5:30-6:00 pm. All students must be accompanied by an adult.
Fundraiser items — Please make sure that all fundraiser items from our fall fundraiser have been delivered.
Skyview Middle
Events this week:
Friday — Winter Activity Night, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Parent chaperones needed. Please contact the school to volunteer.
Sports schedule this week:
Tuesday — First Round of Borough Tournament, TBA
Saturday — Finals of Borough Tournament at Homer Middle School – TBA
A big thank you to all the parents, students, staff and community members who made the Skyview Angel Tree a hugh success! Your kindness and generosity has touched the lives of many of our students!
Only 2 weeks left in the second quarter. Please check Power School to see that all class fees have been paid.
Soldotna High
Each week we recognize a teacher at 6 a.m. during Daybreak and again at 6 p.m. 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.
.Soldotna High School’s Child Development class will be having a free daycare on Dec. 11 and 12 from 12:30-2:00. There will be crafts, games, and a snack provided. Children must be between 2-5 years old and be potty trained. Enrollment forms and more information can be provided through mbos@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.
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 skills validation through certification for their students globally.
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, iTunes, The Moose is Loose and Kaladi Brother’s Coffee. We will be administering the survey during 2nd hour on Jan. 27.
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 percent of our students to bring back their permission form marked “YES” and 60 percent to be here and take the survey on Jan. 27.
Soldotna High School and Soldotna Prep School recently completed their Canned Food Drive for the holidays. Advisories competed against one another to bring in canned items and food to provide for a Thanksgiving meal. In all, the students packed boxes for a Thanksgiving meal for 34 areas families and took almost 500 lbs of food to the Food Bank. The winning advisory was Mrs. Raemaeker’s with 2nd place going to Ms. Bos and 3rd place to Mr. Leck. Thanks to all families who contributed to this effort. Student Council will be selling Candy Cane grams the week of December 8-12. They will be having dress up days on December 15 as Ugly Christmas Sweater day and December 16 is Holiday Attire. The Holiday Assembly will be held on December 16.
The Media Center is open until 5 p.m. 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 run until May 4th from 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Soldotna Prep
Poetry Out Loud meetings in Rm. 10, 2:15-3:00 Wednesday.
Skate Ski Instruction with Coach Peterson at Tsalteshi Ski Trails begins in December. 10 lessons for $100. All levels are welcome, Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
After school tutoring Monday through Thursday 2:25-3:25.
PE Swim make ups can be done any day after school at 3:00 p.m. at the SOHI Pool.
SoPrep/SOHI Christmas Concert 7 p.m. Thursday at SOHI.
Lego Robotics Camp at SoPrep on Dec. 20 from 1-4 p.m., $35. Register at SOHI. For info contact Mrs. McGlothen at 260-2300.
Please check school blog for current activities at soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/
The Study
The Study would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. Get your loved one the gift they’ve always wanted — the gift of flying! We are excited to begin registering students for Private Pilot Ground School in February. Call us today to reserve a spot!
The Study is an accredited learning center that partners with the KPBSD, home school entities, and private schools. We offer private tutoring in all academic subjects, music, Kinder Prep, and a variety of courses for high school credit. It’s not too early to begin registering for our 2015/2016 Academic Kinder Prep/Kindergarten and First/Second grade classes. Check us out on the web at thestudysoldotna.com or call us at 262-6227.
Tustumena Elementary
Dec. 6 — Cash Raffle, 6-8 p.m.
Dec. 11 — Winter Concert, 6 p.m.
Dec. 12 — Spelling Bee, 1:30 p.m.
Dec. 16 — Geography Bee, 1:45 p.m.
Dec. 18 — Reindeer Games
Dec. 19 — NO SCHOOL, Inservice Day, End of 2nd Quarter
Dec. 20-Jan 4 — Winter Break
