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 http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/board.aspx?id=28035. 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 School Board meetings should contact Debbie Tressler at 907-714-8836 or email dtressleratkpbsd.k12.ak.us no later than three business days before the meeting date. The board will meet:
■ March 3;
■ April 14;
■ May 5 (at Seward High School);
■ June 2;
■ June 3 (Board Planning Session).
School district plans budget meetings
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is holding Public Budget Meetings at the following locations:
■ February 18, at 5:30 p.m. in the Seward High School library
■ February 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Soldotna High School library
■ February 25 at 5:30 p.m. in the Homer High School library
Everyone interested is encouraged to attend one of the meetings. If there are questions, please contact Lassie Nelson at 714-8838.
Early release dates for KPBSD schools
Six times throughout the academic year, on a Wednesday, 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, school will end 90 minutes earlier. Bus transportation will be adjusted by 90 minutes. Upcoming early release dates are: Feb. 26; and Apr. 16.
Scholarship available to Nikiski students
If you will be a graduate in 2014, live in the community of Nikiski, and plan on continuing your education after graduation, please consider applying for the Thelma McConnell Scholarship. Applications are available at Nikiski Middle-High School. The deadline for applications is March 31. If you have questions, please contact Patti Floyd at the Nikiski Senior Center at 907-776-7654.
Infant and preschooler screening available
The KPBSD Child Find Program and Frontier Community Services Infant Learning will be offering free screenings for children 5 years old and younger. The screening will be on Feb. 21 from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. at the Frontier Community Services, Suite 14 in the Red Diamond Center. Your child will be screened for early development, motor skills, speech, early learning concepts, vision and hearing. To make an appointment or for more information, call 714-6647.
Career and Tech training offered
KPBSD Career and Tech Department is offering free after school academies to train students in the Welding, Construction and Medical Field.
Upcoming Academies for the 2013-2014 school year include Welding.
Any high school student is able to participate in any of our academies. If a student successfully completes the 60 hour academy they will receive 1/2 practical art credit.
At the Workforce Development Center (located behind KCHS) there will be a welding academy with Mr. Widaman. This academy runs Feb. 10-May 1. Class days will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2:30-4:30.
There will be a summer construction academy at the Workforce Development Center. Students will be constructing a green house. Class days will be May 28-30 and June 2-6. Class times TBA.
To sign up go to http://onestop.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/ For more information call Debbie Pearson at 283-2145 or see your counselor.
Funding for the Alaska Construction Academies comes from a grant from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development and the Alaska Youth First Program.
Science program delves into force
Dynamic home-school program STEAM ahead, session IV explores the uses of force and motion and begins Feb. 11 at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska. Science curriculum is delivered to your home-schooler in a format designed for maximum engagement. Three classes per session, $149, for kindergarten through eighth grades. For more information, call 907-283-2000 or email spring.larrowatakchallenger.org www.akchallenger.org.
Kenai Middle
Recently, the 25th annual talent show was held. Everyone did such a wonderful job! In the Jr. division, Roman Custodio won 3rd place. In the 7th and 8th grade division, 3rd place was awarded to Olivia Brewer, 2nd place went to Hunter Hanson and 1st place was secured by Karl Danielson and Gideon Collver. Hunter Fitt and Lisa Krol received the Judges Award.
KMS Students of the Month for January are: Chelsea Plagge, Hunter Beck, Travis McKinley, Jonathon Herrmann, Devynn Heath, Isaiah Trevino, Emily Olson, Caleb Matson, Courtney Plumridge, Faith Ivy, Maggie Schwenke and Chena Ward.
Congratulations to our Character Counts winners last week Eli Heinrich and Balas Dempsey. Keep up the great work!
There will be a Volleyball game on today in Nikiski starting at 3 p.m. The Volleyball team will travel to SMS on Thursday to play at 3 p.m. The XC Ski team will travel to Nikiski on Friday for a meet starting at 3 p.m. Wrestling will have a meet on Friday at SMS this week.
Tustumena Elementary
“Thank You!” to the PTO. They have been fundraising and supporting classrooms as well as field trips. In addition, they have been running a “Box Top Store” where kids can bring in box tops and trade them for “stuff” and then these box tops are sent in for supplies for our school. In addition they are planning another fun night for our community. It will be a Dessert Bingo night. Similar to our Turkey Bingo night right before Thanksgiving, but this will be for desserts and it will be right before Easter (Thursday, April 17th.)
Feb. 10 — District Battle of Books, Grade 3 & 4
Feb. 11 — District Battle of Books, Grades 5 & 6
Feb. 18 — PTO Meeting, 4 p.m.
Feb. 21 — School Forensics
Soldotna High
SoHi will be well represented on the Alaska Junior National Nordic Team. Sadie Fox & Hannah Pothast will both be competing in Stowe, Vermont the first week in March. Congratulations!
On Feb. 13 from 6-8p.m. we will be set up in the SoHi library and have FAFSA experts available to help. To complete the FAFSA, you will need your latest tax information. The FAFSA lets students know if they qualify for grants, scholarships, or low-cost loans with flexible repayment options. Plus, the FAFSA is the application for the Alaska Performance Scholarship and Alaska Education Grants. You can begin filling out the FAFSA by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov.
YEARBOOK: Just a quick update on where we are: Students have completed with their first and second spreads. That puts us at about half of the way finished. With winter sports in full swing of their competition part of the season, please look for those photo ops and snap a quick picture for us and upload them to the replayit.com website. I will be trying to get cameras at most events, but even with the hundreds of football photos we had I was searching for just the right photo at the end so ‘the more the merrier’. I would also like some crowd shots as it shows our community support for the athletics programs.
Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science
Feb. 10 — 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. APC work session in the library to discuss class configurations for 2014-2015. 3rd and 4th grade will be participating in Battle of the Books
Feb. 11 — 5th and 6th grade will be participating in Battle of the Books. 9:15 PTA meeting
Feb. 12 — 1st and 2nd graders are going on a study trip to the Heritage/Forget Me Not Center/Sports Complex. School Tours from 9:30 -10 a.m. If you know of a family that is interested in attending Kaleidoscope next year, please share this with them. Cooking Club and Backcountry Snow Club are meeting from 3:45-4:45 p.m.
Feb. 13 — Tap Dance Club is meeting from 3:45-4:45p.m. Bingo For Books is the Family Fun Night for February to celebrate Love of Reading Month. It’s from 6-7p.m in the gym. During Bingo For Books, PTA will be drawing tickets for the wonderful baskets that each classroom has filled with family donations. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5 for a chance to win the basket of your choice. They are for sale before and after school. Proceeds will support Kaleidoscope’s 10th anniversary celebration; including the wonderful tie dye t-shirts we all received in the Fall. Thank you for your support!
Feb. 14 — Re-enrollment forms are due back to the school by February 14 in order to reserve your child’s position in Kaleidoscope. If your child is not returning to Kaleidoscope, even if it’s because he/she is moving on to 7th grade, please return the form with the back side filled out so the office knows where to forward his/her records. Valentine Celebrations in individual classroom. Check with your child’s teacher to see what they have planned.
PTA is in need of gently used books for Bingo for Books Night (February 13). If you would like to donate books, please drop them off at the library. Buy your tickets for the basket raffles!
Reminders:
Shala Dobson is a visiting artist that will be here working with our staff during the next two weeks.
The LifeSkill we are focusing on this week is Pride: Satisfaction from doing one’s personal best.
River City Academy
We have our annual poetry slam coming up this Fed. 14. The poetry slam consists of two categories: performing your own poem, and performing someone else’s poem. There are two divisions – Middle School and High School. On Thursday, February 13 every student presents in class. Judges will pick the best ones from each class, and then on Friday we will have a school wide Poetry Slam where the best from each class will compete against each other. The poetry slam will take place at 12:15 p.m. in Anna’s room and parents are invited to attend.
The River City Academy Model UN team will be traveling to Anchorage February 27- March 1 to participate in the Alaska Model United Nations. Students have been researching the moral and ethical uses of technology and writing Resolutions to debate during the three day conference at UAA in Anchorage. The RCA team has been assigned the daunting task of representing the Islamic Republic of Iran and has completed several Resolutions and a position paper from the Iranian perspective. We hope that participation in this program will create intelligent, creative, civic minded individuals who are able to organize their ideas and debate their opinions in a variety of real world situations.
First Aid training is coming up for our upper high school students on Feb. 20. More information to follow as it becomes available.
Connections Home-School
Dates To Remember:
Feb. 11 — Health Career Fair Applications Due at Connections Office
Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day Celebration at Soldotna Connections Office 1:30-3 p.m.
Feb. 19 — ADF&G Ice Fishing Field Trip Sport Lake. Meet at boat ramp at Sports Lake at 10:00a.m. Please RSVP 907-714-8880
ADF&G Ice Fishing Field Trip Sport Lake:
Hello Connections families, please join Alaska Fish and Game and your Connections advisors for an hour of ice fishing on Feb. 19 at Sport Lake. We will meet at the boat ramp on Sport Lake at 10a.m. Sport Lake is located one mile outside of Soldotna off the Kenai Spur Highway. ADF&G will have the fishing rods and Connections will have the bait. All you need is warm clothes and a fishing license for anglers 16 and older. This event is dependent upon the weather. All are welcome but we do request that you RSVP with Reubin Payne at the Connections office (rpayne@kpbsd.k12.ak.us) 714-8880.
Attention all readers: the 2014 Iditaread is just around the corner and it’s time again for Connections Homeschool’s Iditaread Challenge to all K-6th grade students! The Iditaread Challenge will begin Feb. 28.
Any and all Connections students are welcome to participate in our annual talent show, including all ages and ability levels. I am gathering a list of interested students, so if you’re interested please let me know asap. The date for the Talent Show is Apr. 29, show starts at 5:30 p.m. at the SoHi Auditorium. If you are interested or have any questions please email Mark Wackler at mwackler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us or call 714-8880. Thanks!
Nikiski North-Star Elementary
Congratulations to this year’s NNS Spelling Bee Champion fourth grader Shannon Pitt! Shannon is a repeat champion because she won the bee last year also. She will represent NNS at the state spelling bee on Feb. 28 in Anchorage. The other finishers are: 2nd place – Brenden Boehme, 3rd place – Trey Sanguenetti and a 4th place tie – Jessica Perry, Carly Johnson, and Michael Stillings. A superb job to the other classroom representatives: Kobe McCaughey, Braeden Porter, Weston Dohse, Celina Martinez, Cody Good, Trista Apted, Emily Durfee, Dylan Harris, Boden Quiner and Alex Johnson.
Today at 2:45 p.m. we will have our One School, One Book kickoff assembly in the gym. The book chosen for this year is ‘My Father’s Dragon’ by Ruth Stiles Gannett. Families are encouraged to read the assigned chapter at home every night and discuss what happened in the chapter. The following day, we will ask questions related to the chapter during morning announcements. There will be prizes awarded for students who are able to answer the questions correctly. This activity is part of NNS celebrating February, Love of Reading month. If you have any questions, please call the office at 776-2600.
Battle of the Books will be held today for the third and fourth grade teams. The fifth grade will have their battle tomorrow.
The NNS school Forensics Meet will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in the library beginning at 9a.m.
There will be a site council meeting on Feb. 12 at 3:45 p.m. in the school library.
Last chance to pre-order your NNS yearbook is Feb. 14. The cost is $16.00 for the pre-order or $20.00 when sold at the end of the year. There are order forms in the school newsletter located outside of the office.
Kalifornsky Beach Elementary
Our first graders have been busy learning about different kinds of weather and storms. We have been identifying odd and even numbers while we graph the temperature each day. We also grew crystals at centers on Friday. We celebrated the 100th day of school last week with number games, making a 100 snack, glasses and a hat.
Mr. Daniels’ Class designed and built roller coasters in science this week. The goal was to determine whether objects of different masses fall at the same rate. Students worked in teams and used everyday materials to design and test their roller coasters using timers. We compiled the data and analyzed the results. What did we find out? You’ll have to ask a student to find out!
Nikiski Middle-High
Feb. 10 – Middle School Volleyball vs. Homer @ Nikiski at 3 p.m.; Boys JV Basketball at Cook Inlet Academy vs. SoHi at 4:30 p.m.
Feb. 11 – Middle School Volleyball vs. Soldotna Middle School at Nikiski at 3p.m.; High School Mass Choir Concert at Kenai High School at 6 p.m.; Site Council Meeting at 5 p.m. in the Teacher’s Lounge
Thursday, February 13 – Boys JV Basketball vs. Kodiak at Nikiski at 5 p.m.; PTSA Meeting at 6 p.m. in the library
Feb. 14 — Middle School Volleyball vs. Homer @ Nikiski at 3 p.m.; Middle School Cross Country Skiing vs. Kenai at Nikiski at 3 p.m.
Feb. 15 – Middle School Wrestling at Seward at 10 a.m.; Middle School Volleyball at Seward at 11 a.m.; High School Basketball at Houston — JV Girls at 1 p.m., JV Boys at 2:30 p.m., Varsity Girls at 4 p.m., Varsity Boys at 5:30 p.m.
Congratulations to Margy Cox, Bryan Sledge and Christian Carr for a 2nd place win in the District Battle of the Books competition. This was the most competitive HS Battle of the Books ever held in our district. Nikiski High School Battle of the Books team missed the 15th question out of the 16 questions given trailing the KPBSD District Champs by only one point! It has been a very long season and these kids worked really hard. Great job!
The Nikiski High School Choir presents a community fundraiser on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Nikiski Middle/High School Auditorium. There will be prizes for the top winners including a performance spot at the Ninilchik fair. Cost for admission is $3.00 for students, $5.00 for adults, and $15.00 for families. Auditions will be held Feb. 12 – 14. Contact Jeremy Anderson at 776-9403 or email at janderson@kpbsd.k12.ak.us to schedule an audition time.
Soldotna Elementary
Congratulations to our amazing readers, grades 2 through 6th, who earned more reading points than anyone in their classrooms! They are: Andrew Stoner, Bella Twidwell, Trystan Axmann, Cody Brewer, Tytus Gilbert, Jack Heintz, Taylor Morse, and Katie Creglow. Great work, kids! Prizes were awarded this week.
Please be sure to stop by the Lost and Found area to look for missing articles of clothing. All items remaining after conferences will be donated to charity.
Crazy Hair or Sock Day will be Feb. 28!
Congratulations also to Nolan Freeman, the winner of last week’s box top drawing. February is our Box Tops competition month. One class with the most box tops from the primary end, and one class with the most box tops from the intermediate end will each earn a party. This contest will run from Feb. 1 – 28. The weekly box top drawing will resume on Mar. 3. Thanks so much for sending in those box tops.
The KPBSD is holding a Public Budget Meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Soldotna High School library. Everyone interested is encouraged to attend. For questions, please call lassie Nelson at 714-8838. Our school is participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s national fundraising event, Pennies for Patients. Students, staff, and friends are encouraged to bring in any spare change to donate to the Alaska & Washington chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The event will last for three weeks, February 3rd through Feb. 21st. It will give our students an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. Each student has a box to use and may collect donations that will be turned in to their homeroom teacher daily or weekly. If you would like more information about LLS, go to: schoolandyouth.org.
PTA meets on Monday, Feb. 17 at 3:45 p.m., in the library. Childcare will be provided, so please come and spend a little time with us. All are welcome!
Kenai Central High School
Feb. 10-11 Kenai Central will host the H.S. Mass Choir Festival. All KPBSD High School students involved in any choir will be working hard that Monday and Tuesday. The concert Tuesday evening begins promptly at 6 p.m. Soldotna, Kenai Central, Nikiski, Ninilchik, Seward, Skyview and Homer High School Choirs will each perform individually, followed immediately by the Mass Choir. Admission is: $5 for Adults, $3 for Senior Citizens and $2 for Students. Please join us for a truly wonderful evening of beautiful music and great kids singing great music.
Congratulations to the following students who were selected as January’s Student of the Month: Rotary – Havan Shaginoff; Chamber – Ariana Gabriel; Elks – Kayla Howard; Kard-of-the-Deck – Falon McGahan; Super-Staffer- Christine Bergholtz; Physical Science – Kayla Howard; Government – Gabe Boyle; Anatomy & Physiology – Kirsten Nyquist; Geometry – Mara Youngren-Brown; LA 10 – Corbin Streiff; Study Skills – Alyssa Herr; Biology – Abigail Beck; Physical Education – Samantha Morse; Art – Christina Glenzel; Woods- Jay Wilford
Congratulations to the Battle-of-the-Books team for their awesome first-place performance in the district-level high school competition on Feb. 4. Team members Kayla Howard, Anessia Hubler, Brandon Sorhus, and Mariah Prosterman competed in the competition, while Driskoll Heath, Trey Feagin, Lara Suscha, Jacob Dye, and Dez Ticknor, and Randall Borkowski helped round out the team with coaching from Mrs. Sievert. Congratulations to the team for all of your hard work so far and for earning a spot at the state competition.
Mountain View Elementary
Congratulations to our Soaring Eagles for the month of January. They are Khloe Anderson, Taylor Andrew, Darling Brown, Eliseo Castro, Joseph Gottschalk, Joshua Hancock, Mariah Hernandez, Kaitlyn Mathieson, Corbin Miller, Herald Ochea, Leia Parkki, Jahzelle Saetern, Jaden Sanders, Shay Smith, Macy Stanley, Destenee Touchstone, Jaylynn Witt, & Jorie Witt.
There will be a PTA meeting on Feb. 11 at 3:45 PM.
The Kindergarten class is holding a “penny drive” through Feb. 14. Students will be watching glass jars fill up as we go. On the last day we will be collecting estimations of the total amount of pennies from other grade levels. The student who has the winning estimate wins the opportunity for their entire class to participate with Kindergarten in a special activity. All proceeds from the penny drive will be donated to the Kenai Animal Shelter. We hope to provide a variety of things they are in need of such as food, toys, and treats. Participation is optional and we appreciate your generosity in helping us fill as many jars as possible!
February is “Love of Reading Month” and Mountain View Elementary will celebrate it with the theme of IditaRead. Students will have the opportunity to make the journey to Nome by matching reading minutes to checkpoints along the trail. Students participating in the journey will be entered into a drawing for free books of their choice. Classrooms will also make this reading journey together for a chance to win a classroom special event.
Classrooms will “PAWS” for reading from 8:45 to 8:55 each day. Everybody reads. Guest readers will celebrate reading with Mountain View students on Feb. 18. Join in the fun and support reading at home!
There will be a site council meeting on Feb. 20 at 4 PM. The agenda will include Mountain View start/stop times, Climate Committee progress, FY ’15 planning, & Title 1 parent activity plans.
Soldotna Middle
Congratulations to the Battle of the Books team for placing Fourth in the District competition on Feb. 5! Great job to Mrs. Angleton and the following team participants: Hali Anderson Currier, Brittany Blossom, Sarah McConnell, Elizabeth Lisenby, Anthony Kitson, Sierra Reid.
Spartan Sports this Week:
Feb. 11 — Volleyball Nikiski vs. Soldotna White at Nikiski at 3 p.m.
Feb. 13 — Volleyball Soldotna White vs. Kenai at Soldotna at 3 p.m.
Feb. 14 — Volleyball Seward vs. Soldotna Maroon at Seward at 3 p.m.
Feb. 14 — Skiing Nikiski Invitational at Nikiski at 3 p.m.
Feb. 14 — Wrestling Soldotna Invite at Soldotna Middle School at 3 p.m.
Students of the Month for December / January!
Language Arts – Asia Angeles Hanson, Aiden Whitney, Megan Calloway, Kallie Kenner; Science – Grace Graham, Calvin Mitzel, Sean Verg-In, Stormy Shields, Derek Evans, Danica Schmidt, Aliann Schmidt; American History – Kamala Martin; World History – Marlayna Saavedra, Allison Towell; Math – Mackenzie Powell, Jacob Wylie, Cora Carter, Joseph Parker, Sharon Childsdress White, Tre Rybak; Math Study Skills – Christopher VanCuren, Oliver Doucet, Hailey Wilkinson, Katlian Nelson; Study Skills – Farra Waldrip, Sean Verg-In, Mikala Mudrick, Jeffreyna Tubbs, Katlian Nelson, Matt McEntire; Reading – Lucas Verba; Health – Ben Snow, Kristina Bybee; Spanish 1 – Nicolas Horning; Spanish 2 – Alice Han; Drumline – Melia Miller, Nicolas Horning; Choir – Andrea Rodriguez, Kortney Birch; Band – Jode Sparks, Kamala Martin; Art Intro – Courtney Johnston; 2D Art – Rachel Seneff, Brandon Crowder; Ceramics – Kellie Arthur, Selby Hill; Sculpture – Sara Baktuit, Ella Stenga; Construction – Richard Metcalf, Katie Richmond, Cecilia Stewart; Woods 1 – Seryn Sproul, Sharon Childsdress White; Business Info – Jaeger Smith; Photo 1 – Jacob Jackson, Wyatt Harvey; Yearbook – Elizabeth Conner; Robotics – Ethan Tanape; Digital Story – Josep Pons-Vives.
Wings Christian Academy
Office of the Week- LLC: Charisma Watkins UUL: Ethan Berga
Wings Christian Academy will be hosting: BEMA Annual Spelling Bee Feb. 21 from 1-3 p.m.
This Semester the LLC has been enjoining Ice Skating while the UUL has been Bowling for PE
To be announced when weather is conducive for a “all school sledding day” at Solid Rock Bible Camp.
Upcoming event: Chess Tournament.
Skyview High
The ski team competed against SoHi, Kenai and Homer. Brenner Musgrave finished 8th, followed by Jeremiah Hudson in 9th, and Sky Schlung in 12th. In the JV boys’ race, Jesse Boze finished 5th and Jacob Sundberg was 8th. Mieka Chythlook was the top female finished for Skyview in 11th place. The team of Brittany Hollers, Jeremiah Hudson, Mieka Chythlook and Brenner Musgrave finished in 6th place.
On Feb. 11 from 6-8 p.m. We will be set up in the library and have FAFSA experts available to help. To complete the FAFSA, you will need your latest tax information. The FAFSA lets students know if they qualify for grants, scholarships, or low-cost loans with flexible repayment options. Plus, the FAFSA is the application for the Alaska Performance Scholarship and Alaska Education Grants. You can begin filling out the FAFSA by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Students in Green Club will travel to Redoubt Elementary on Feb. 14 to do a presentation about recycling and to help the school set up their program.
Redoubt Elementary
Redoubt PTA is hosting their Second Annual Winter Carnival Feb. 15. Don’t miss out on the silent auction; dunk tank, games, food. door prizes and raffles. Raffle items include a 32GB iPad Air, Camp and Play wagon filled with camping supplies, and a student Grand Gift basket. This event is open to the community. Tickets for the iPad are $10 each. Only 150 tickets will be sold. You can purchase your tickets at the school office or the day of the carnival. Volunteers will be needed to help with our Winter Carnival. If you would like to help, or if you own a business and would like to donate goods or services, please contact the school office.
Yearbooks are on sale, please pre-order your year book before March 31st. Cost to purchase a yearbook is $15. A limited number of yearbooks will be ordered. Order forms have been sent home with students.
Redoubt PTA will be taking preorders for Redoubt T-Shirts and Hoodies at the Winter Carnival.
Feb. 11 — PTA meeting at 5 p.m., child care is provided.
Feb. 12 — Site Council meeting at 3:45 p.m.
Feb. 15 — Winter Carnival noon-4 p.m.
Feb. 20 — Beginning Band Concert 6-7 p.m.
