K S D
ONNECT C District News, Notes and Events
June 2013
ANTI-BULLYING
LET’S CORK BULLYING Bullying is no laughing matter, yet when Kaleidoscope Konnections from Yakima took the stage, they performed music, magic and meaningful skits that were informative and helped students enjoy learning about such a serious topic. Their wacky magic and tricky tribal rhythms were used to enhance their skit entitled “Let’s CORK Bullying.” CORK was an acronym that was built throughout the skit, teaching students to have Confidence in themselves, Observe what is going on around them and Own up to their own behavior, Respect their own bodies by avoiding drugs and alcohol and the differences and feelings of others, and to remember that Kindness needs to conquer their hearts, thoughts, words and actions. This innovative skit resonated with students due to its real world examples and is an important reminder that whether students are in or out of school, bullying hurts and it never ok.
JUNE
CONTENTS 2 Let’s CORK Bullying 3 Award Winning Artist 4 Reel In A Good Book 4 Track and Field Day 4 Spring Fling 5 Superhero Send Off 6 History Unvelied 6 Southgate Honors Volunteers 7 Farm to Market at Cottonwood 8 Field Days 10 Taking A Walk Through
12 12 13 14 16 17 17 18 19 20 20 21 22 22
7 12
14 16
Historic Downtown Kennewick
Tragedy of a Man’s Conscience Songs of Spring Academic All-Star Test the Probability Fear Factor at Desert Hills Kickball Tournament Talents Abound K-12 Teacher Writing Conference The Standards of Math Mmm... Burgers! ECEAP Picnic The Power of a Letter Upcoming Events Good Health is Good Business
AWARD WINNING ARTIST Cooper Atkinson, senior at Kamiakin High School, received the Superintendent’s Choice Award for his photograph, originally entered in the ESD schowcase.
READING & SUPERINTENDENT’S CHOICE AWARD
REEL IN A GOOD BOOK
Teachers caught full classes as they fished for students in their room to room serpentine during the start of the Reel In A Good Book read-a-thon at Ridge View elementary. Throughout the day, librarians raffled off prizes to every student in the school and students also played book bingo. With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, teachers sought to encourage summer reading in their students with fun filled readings, games, and events throughout the day.
TRACK AND FIELD DAY
Classes were pitted against classes as students rallied together during the tug-ofwar contest on the Washington elementary playground for their annual track and field day. The event was started in a roaring fashion as students cheered on their classmates who had been chosen to run the ceremonial games torch around the events prior to their start. Other thrilling events included the softball toss, the Frisbee toss, races, relays, the long jump, and the high jump. Students and teachers cheered on participants for a fun-filled day of sporting events.
5TH GRADE SEND OFF & SPRING FLING
SUPERHERO SEND OFF Wham! Bam! Pow! Ridge View fifth graders enjoyed a superhero send off as the school year drew to a close. Fourth graders sang a joyous farewell to start the festivities. Next, a memorable slideshow of events from throughout the year played overhead while fifth graders enjoyed a delicious breakfast provided by the PTO. Students were also invited to dress up as superheroes and pose for photos.
SPRING FLING Students enjoyed fun in the sun at the Desert Hills Middle School’s annual Spring Fling, where they competed in inflatable obstacle courses, devoured sweet treats, and reminisced about the school year.
HISTORY UNVEILED AND VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION
HISTORY UNVEILED
“Look! Do you remember the candies?” exclaime Karen Hogg, second grade teacher, to others as poured 30 year-old sweetheart candies into her hand from a small manila envelope. Former Linc staff and students reminisced as they sorted through the treasures unearthed from the 1983 time capsule that had once been buried behind the Lincoln elementary cornerstone. With Linco scheduled to undergo a major renovation next year, this was the perfect time to unveil such a r piece of its history. This unveiling was especially poignant for retired staff Patty Pontarolo, Pam Scott, and Judy Wentz, as well as Karen Hogg, as they were all on staff when Lincoln first opened their doors to students.
SOUTHGATE HONORS VOLUNTEERS Principal Vickiy VanBeek gave a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers who dedicated their time and talents throughout the year at the Southgate volunteer appreciation party. A chorus of students sang “Count On Me” and volunteers enjoyed sweet treats and handmade gifts from teachers and students.
FARM TO MARKET
ed she r coln
3 d oln
rich y
s d
FARM TO MARKET AT COTTONWOOD
“This looks so good! Try this one - no try this one!” exclaimed kindergarteners as they dug into the A-Z salad bar at the Farm to Market Day event held at Cottonwood elementary. Along with trying new and delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, students also learned about the benefits of fiber and dairy for a healthy lifestyle. They also learned about planting crops on a large scale, practiced the importance of proper hand washing, and tried healthy snacks provided by student chefs from Tri-Tech Skills Center. Sam Shick, Director of Nutrition Services mentioned that they have partnered with Sodexo for over eight years to provide this wonderful event to many of the elementary schools. “It’s a great way for students to try new and healthy things,” explained Shick.
FIELD DAY
FIELD DAYS Field day is a long-held tradition in elementary school that many students look forward to year after year. Although schools have different activities and events, they all bring smiles to students’ faces. Many teachers would agree that field day is all about getting students active and having a good time. At Vista students were challenged to complete various stationed events, while at Canyon View students rotated between activities and at Cascade students were allowed to choose between a wide variety of activities. (Students pictured below are from Cascade, Canyon View, Ridge View, Vista, Washington and Westgate.)
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN KENNEWICK
TAKING A WALK THROUGH HISTORY IN DOWNTOWN KENNEWICK
Sitting behind a desk and learning about history from a textbook can’t compare to gett the classroom and exploring history. For their annual field trip, Amistad third graders to walking tour of historic downtown Kennewick. At each stop along the way, the guides a eagerly explained the history of various buildings and how they related to the historica students had already learned in their history lessons. Many students were shocked to fin average looking house along their tour had once been a hospital and that one of larges stores in Kennewick had been further down the street. Although not all of the historical were well kept, many were in pristine condition and students noticed the ornate archite details not common in houses today. Students were also excited to see the dramatic diff between the historical photos and the present day buildings.
ting out of ook a guided and teachers al information nd that an st grocery l buildings ectural fferences
DRAMA & MUSIC
TRAGENDY OF A MAN’S CONSCIENCE Murder was afoot in a Scottish castle, (nestled in the midst of the Horse Heaven Hills middle school cafeteria) as students portrayed the classic Shakespeare play Macbeth. This 1606 play was delivered enthusiastically, and although difficult, students added their own personalities to the characters making this tragic play a partial comedy. During the course of the play, Macbeth changed from a man of strong but imperfect moral sense to a person who was willing to stop at nothing to obtain and keep what he desired. By the end of the play, Macbeth was hardened to killing for gain and had lost all emotion.
SONGS OF SPRING
Kindergarteners an filled the stage for their spring concert at Canyon View Each grade performed two songs individually and for t kindergarteners and first graders joined together in so Miller, music teacher at Canyon View, happily explaine favored song among kindergarteners was “Bees Are Bu they got to act and buzz like bees and first graders tru song “Wacky Spring Fever,” with all its fun and silly nois
ACADEMIC ALL-STAR
nd first graders w elementary. the finale, both ong. Megan ed that the uzzing,” because uly enjoyed the ses.
ACADEMIC ALL-STAR KNDU was honored with Kennewick School District’s Community Leadership Award for its Academic All-Star’s Program at last night’s Southeast Washington School Administrators Banquet. Pictured L to R: Superintendent Dave Bond, KNDU News Anchor Shane Edginer, and Sports Reporter Jim Foley.
TEST THE PROBABILITY Come one, come all! It’s carnival time! Excited sixth graders lined the football field with their experimental and theoretical probability carnival games for the 8th annual Horse Heaven Hills math carnival. Teams of two to four students had worked diligently to create these exciting and fun filled games that implored students to use math in real world situations. From the excitement on their faces, you’d never have guessed that all the games had math behind them. Throughout the carnival, teams worked to gain the most tickets, from over 300 participants, to win the grand prize.
MATH
FEAR FACTOR
FEAR FACTOR AT DESERT HILLS
“Eww! That’s so gross! I can’t believe they’re doing that,” yelled a packed gym of students during the Desert Hills Middle School “Fear Factor” assembly. Teams from each grade level along with a team of teachers participated in seven games prepared by the leadership class—all designed to make your skin crawl and your stomach churn. The team of teachers who ate the blenderized lunch, claimed it “wasn’t bad,” where as many other teams looked sickly. Inspired by the hit TV show, teams competed to clean out the toilet bowl, blow up old bubble gum, drink sweaty gym sock water, eat a blenderized lunch, find a retainer lost in the lunch bin, pass the puke, and to lick snot off of the school bus window. The team of teachers had the stomachs and the will power to win first place, followed by eighth grade, seventh grade, and finally sixth grade.
KICKBALL & TALENT SHOW
KICKBALL TOURNAMENT The sound of students chanting “Let’s go fifth graders, let’s go!” could be heard across the field as students and staff prepared for the students versus teachers kickball tournament at Westgate elementary. Daring teachers took the field as the fifth grader teams lined up to battle it out for kickball supremacy. The teachers tool an early lead, and although the fifth graders tried their hardest, they couldn’t overtake the teachers who won 21 to 7.
TALENTS ABOUND
Sounds of jazz resonated throughout the room as students filtered into the gym for the end-of-year talent show at Horse Heaven Hills Middle School. Students, teachers and parents were packed wall to wall in anticipation for this annual event. After the principal wished the eighth graders a fond farewell, gymnasts tumbled, vocalists sang their hearts out, and humorous skits all took the stage to embed fond memories of the 2012-2013 school-year into their minds before summer break began.
K-12 TEACHER WRITING CONFERENCE Teachers recently attended the three day K-12 Writing Conference at Southridge High School, where they learned about the shifts in writing instruction that were brought about due to the Common Core State Standards. This writing conference also provided teachers with the know how to integrate writing throughout their classroom practices, demonstrated how a writing workshop can be facilitated in the classroom, provided teachers with strategies to help their students meet the demands of the new Common Core State Standards, and accessed teacher’s future needs in writing professional development. Over ninety K-5th grade and forty five 6th-12th grade teachers attended the conference. The conference was split into two groups, K-5th and 6th-12th. Monica Hansen, a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Idaho spoke with K-5th grade teachers emphasizing literary and language development, specific to writing. Erin Dorso, a literary specialist from the Educational Service District 123 spoke with 6th-12th grade teachers, where she emphasized her wide berth of experiences in education and how they related to the classroom and students. Although a long three days, teachers gained a better understanding of writing instruction and how it relates to the new Common Core State Standards.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR MATH AND WRITING TEACHERS
THE STANDARDS OF MATH Teachers sat around a boardroom as they folded paper into origami boxes for an assignment on measuring and recording volume. This was just one of the many tasks that engaged math teachers throughout their three day workshop training titled “Mathematically Productive Engagement.” During the workshop 3rd – 12th grade teachers worked together to build understanding and expertise about how to engage students in public thinking and constructive knowledge in a collaborative manner. Although a challenging three days, teachers also had fun while focusing their learning on the Standards of Mathematical Practice, which are part of the Common Core Standards.
BBQ’S AND PICNICS
MMM... BURGERS! As the lunch ladies grilled burgers on an oversized grill, families maneuvered through the lunch line to enjoy a delicious barbequed lunch at Cascade elementary. This year, families excitedly climbed the Lampson Stadium bleachers to enjoy lunch in the football stadium, while others gathered around picnic tables. This yearly tradition allows parents to join their students for lunch on one last time before the school year ends.
ECEAP PICNIC ECEAP celebrated the end of the school year with a picnic at Highlands Grange Park, where families were invited to enjoy some delicious food, explore the Kennewick Fire Engine, sign up for the Mid Columbia Library summer reading program, have their nails painted and build bird houses with supplies provided by Home Depot. This bright sunny day was the perfect way to wrap up the school year.
THE POWER OF A LETTER The energy and excitement on the bus ride was contagious as Highlands Middle School students headed towards Texas Roadhouse. Upon arrival, the wait staff had games, including a peanut toss, a tray balancing walk, a sidewalk chalk contest, and a hopscotch dance contest for students to participate in while they waited to be seated. Along with the games, students enjoyed impressive sampler platters of meats, mashed potatoes, corn and their famous bread. Highlands teacher Kristi Jackson explained, “I knew this was truly going to be an experience for many of them when one my students asked me quietly if it was okay if she used the cloth as a napkin as she unrolled her silverware!� This wonderful experience all started with an in-class business writing assignment. Students practiced writing letters to area businesses. One student wrote a complaint letter to the Texas Roadhouse. The manager must have been impressed. Not long after receiving the letter, the Texas Roadhouse manager responded by inviting the entire class to be their guests for lunch.
UPCOMING EVENTS 4 24 29
Independence Day All Day Network Tri-Cities: Good Health is Good Business 100-Day Wellness Challenge Begins
Check out this wellness event sponsored by the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce: Good Health is Good Business.
1000 W. 4th Ave., Kennewick, WA 99352 (509) 222-5501
.
www.ksd.org
June 2013 Newsletter
All Day