K S D
onnect C District News, Notes and Events
October 2013
Jog-A-thon
Cascade Joggers Three, two, one, go! Students and teachers took off in a fast and furious frenzy at the annual Cascade Elementary Jog-A-Thon. A chilly and drizzly Thursday morning did not deter joggers and Principal Chad Foltz from racing around the track. Volunteers manned water stations and marked the number of laps each jogger completed. Many students found jogging partners that cheered them on in their pursuit of the most laps around the track. When students became tired, teachers and volunteers encouraged them to walk instead of jog.
Dragons on the Run!
Everyone was a winner at the recent S sponsored by the Parent Teacher Grou collecting pledges and jogging as ma
Principal Bob Smart, who started each starting call, stated, “Everyone is a win
Students enjoyed an assortment of he Services.
October
Contents 2 2 4
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9 10 10 11 12 13 13
Cascade Joggers Dragons on the Run! Hawthorne families + Math Night = learning fun
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Buzzing Buzzing Bees Physics is ‘cool’ at Ridge View
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Water on Wheels rolls to Ridge View Pro-football player encourages students to reach out to ‘trusted adults’ Pen Pals from Around the World
KSD Prize Patrol ECEAP Family Fall Event Park Middle School cuts for a cure Southridge paints the town pink Setting Goals Kamiakin students help answer need in
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Malawi
14 Community Ed 15 Fundraisers 16 Upcoming Events
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Southgate Elementary Jog-A-Thon up. All grades participated by any laps as they could in 20 minutes.
h grade with a loud, dragon-like nner!”
ealthy snacks provided by Nutrition
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Math Night
Hawthorne families + math night = learning fun Hawthorne Elementary students and parents filled the halls for Math Night this month, roaming from activity to activity as they learned various math games, such as chess, checkers, measurements, Sudoku, Rubik’s Cubes, dice, and many more. Coordinating Teacher Jean Gardner stated “One goal of Math Night is to build relationships with parents.” Teachers and volunteers helped out at math stations, informing parents about the various programs and activities available to help their students succeed. Parents learned about educational websites available such as Math Connects that parents can use to help students learn. ”My son loves playing on the computer,” stated a parent. “This will be a great opportunity for him to learn and play!” Principal Craig Miller and a small group of students presented short math related skits that demonstrated math games parents and students could play together while at home or in the car. All the math games were related to the Common Core State Standards and provided an innovative way for parents and students to build upon their math skills.
Queen Bee
Buzzing Buzzing Bees “Are there King bees?” “How much honey does a worker bee make?” “What happens when the Queen bee dies?” Questions filled the air as 2013 American Honey Princess Emily Campbell made a presentation about bees and beekeeping to second graders at Ridge View Elementary. Throughout her 30-minute presentation Campbell explained the purpose of each type of bee in the hive. She asked students what their thoughts about life as a bee would be like, such as having 60,00 sisters if they were a worker bee, living the best 90 days of their life before dying as a drone bee, or even constantly laying eggs as the Queen bee. Both students and teachers were impressed with her knowledge of bees and shocked by the interesting facts Campbell presented. Many students were amazed to learn that honey bee and rattle snake venom are the same and that worker bees only make about one teaspoon of honey in their lifetime. To learn more about bees, beekeeping and the 2013 American Honey Princess, visit www.BuzzingAcrossAmerica.com.
Physics is ‘Cool’ at ridge view There was no shortage of eager student volunteers to take part in the Pacific Science Center’s presentation about Physics at Ridge View Elementary this month. Hair from a green wig placed on a student’s head stood on end while electricity worked its way through a giant silver orb called a Van de Graff generator. After such an electrifying experience, students powered down to observe the effects of a mystery liquid (really liquid nitrogen) on a solid, a liquid and a gas. Students also had the opportunity to explore the mini-science center set up in the library featuring hands-on exhibit sets, experiments and activities. Table top exhibits allowed students to experience magnetism to magnification, pendulums to periscopes, and much more. “Look, you can see my bones!” stated a student interacting with one of the many hands-on activities. “That’s so cool.”
Students learned about the chilling effects of this mystery liquid (liquid nitrogen) on solid, gas, and liquid substances. Polarizing Filters
Physics is Cool
A student volunteer participates in the electrifying Van de Graaff generator presentation. Look how his green wig stands up from the electricity!
The Balancing Act
Build a Circuit
Gyroscope
Water on Wheels and Trusted Adults
Water on Wheels rolls to ridge view Franklin Conservation District took its water conservation show on the road to Ridge View Elementary this week. Students learned about water, the water cycle and why conserving water is a good idea. Putting the water cycle in action, students created small terrariums to plant and grow their own wheat!
Pro-football player encourages students to reach out to ‘trusted adults’
Students at Horse Heaven Hills Middle School sat captivated as Eddie Williams, a pro-football player for the Cleveland Browns and motivational speaker, explained “Adults might seem like they’re light years away, but they’re not — they care about you a lot!” As Eddie travels the country, he has worked to instill a firm belief in others that life is challenging but you are not alone and trusted persons/adults around you can help. As a child, Eddie had a rough upbringing. He moved from house to house, dealt with death, depression, and hard times. Through it all, he found that the trusted adults in his life made all the difference. They showed him perseverance, acceptance, openness, and love. Middle school can be a rough time for many students as they deal with coming of age, peer pressure, and hormones; because of this, knowing who they can talk to can be a challenge. The staff at Horse Heaven Hills works diligently to help their students feel safe and welcome through their trusted adult program. By kicking the year off with a motivational speech, they are trying to teach students that trusted adults are important and they can make a huge impact in their lives and the lives of others.
Pen Pals
Pen Pals From Around the World Students at Highlands Middle School recently participated in a modern day pen pal program called ePals. Honor Social Studies students in Ms. Rebecca Beardley’s class are being matched up with ePals from India, Russia, French Guiana, Italy, France, and Kenya. They log in to www.ePals.com and check their email. “Mainly we help them practice English and they help us by teaching us their geography and culture,” explained Ms. Beardley. “It’s funny to watch the kids read their emails and then turn to their neighbor to whisper about what they just learned, funny words they used, or how they do _____ too!” ePals is a website for teachers and students around the world that is sponsored by National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institute, McGraw-Hill Publishing, etc. It allows teachers to join classroom projects with other teachers around the world, provides safe email accounts for kids and matches up classrooms looking for kids to have email “pen” pals. Along with learning about new cultures, Ms. Beardley explains “Sometimes our middle school students forget that there is a whole world out there and this is a great way to remind them how lucky they are.”
KSD Prize Patrol KSD’s Prize Patrol made some final site visits this month to honor staff with awards for meeting the district’s academic goals. Superintendent Dave Bond thanked staff members for their classroom efforts and dedication to see each student succeed. Congratulations to the following schools that received recognition plaques and goodies: Cascade Elementary, • 93% of third grade students reading at the 50th percentile • 97% of students meeting the third grade reading goal at the 40th percentile • 90% of students at the 40th percentile in Math in Grade 5 Canyon View Elementary • 93% of students meeting the third grade reading goal at the 40th percentile Southgate Elementary, • 90% of students meeting the third grade reading goal at the 40th percentile Sunset View Elementary • 93% of students meeting the third grade reading goal at the 40th percentile Kamiakin High • 85% of students meeting standard on the High School Proficiency exam in Reading Southridge High • 85% of students meeting the standard on the High School Proficiency exam in Writing
ECEAP Family Fall Event Students and families gathered at the Keewaydin Discovery Center for the ECEAP fall-themed family event. Families learned about good nutrition and created spin art. ECEAP holds various family events throughout the year, striving to involve and inform parents about great community programs and help them meet other ECEAP families.
Prize Patrol
Canyon View Elementary
Cascade Elementary
Sunset View Elementary
Southridge High School
Kamiakin High School
Southgate Elementary
cUT FOR A CURE
Park Cuts for a Cure Teachers Dave Pierce, Paul Osborne and Crystal Green got their hair chopped for Park Middle School’s “Cut for the Cure” fundraiser benefitting Tri-Cities Cancer Center. Staff and students raised a total of $2,100 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Twenty-three female students donated their hair to Locks of Love and eight male students received buzz cuts to help raise awareness. Thank you Victoria’s Cosmetology Academy students who donated their time!
Paint the town pink
Southridge Paints the Town Pink Southridge High School staff and students formed a giant human pink ribbon during “Pink Week� in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Fundraising efforts at the school added up to a $8,200 donation to Tri-Cities Cancer Center.
Goal Setting
Setting Goals
Kamiakin Studen
Students at Park Middle School gathered in the cafeteria to learn about goal setting from someone who scores goals professionally, Taylor Vickerman.
Last year Teacher Cindey Mil Through this partnership, Cin where students could make a
Vickerman is a Tri-City Americans hockey player and senior at Kamiakin High School who knows about working towards achieving goals.
Pairs of students became adv economy of the country, edu students saw lacking in the c which was presented to Ther was reviewed by the Habitat Samanath Raines and Carlie W funded three new homes for grateful families.
Since Taylor was 14 years old, he has travelled around Washington playing for various hockey teams. Now back in his home town of Kennewick, he is working to be drafted to the National Hockey League. Taylor emphasized to students that continuous improvement is important to reaching your goals. “I still take skating lessons to make myself better,” he explained. Another important aspect of goal setting that Taylor mentioned is getting good grades. “Good grades lead to achieving your goals, no matter if that includes college, a career or playing professional sports,” he says.
Kamiakin Students help answer Need in Malawi
nts help answer need in malawi
ller’s Kamiakin High School Interior Design class partnered with Habitat for Humanity. ndy and Crystal Carter, Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Coordinator, developed an assignment a real impact on the quality of life for others in the world.
vocates for the housing needs of a country by researching environmental conditions, the ucation level, government stability, typical housing styles and materials, and any other needs country. Based on their research, each team developed a heartfelt PowerPoint presentation, resa Peterson and Crystal Carter of Tri-Cities Habitat for Humanity. Each presentation for Humanity Board of Directors. Based on the presentation made by student advocates Wyant, the Board of Directors decided to send $11,000 to Malawi, which r very
Did you know? A typical Habitat for Humanity house in Mawali is made of kiln-fired clay bricks, glass windows, air vents for good ventilation, and iron sheet roofs.
Fundraisers
FFA Yard Help Need help with yard clean-up or light landscaping? The Kennewick FFA chapter has members who want to help you! If you would like to hire an FFA student, please contact Karen Suhr (Career Specialists) at Kennewick High School. Phone: (509) 222-5240 Email: karen.suhr@ksd.org.
Hey Eastgate friends, join us for a Halloween evening of costume wearing, game playing, and best of all trick-or-treating from decorated car trunks in the parking lot of Eastgate Elementary! WHAT IS TREAT N TRUNK?: A fun and safe alternative to traditional neighborhood trick-or-treating. Also a Halloween carnival with games and even a bouncy house! WHEN: Thursday, October 31 @ 6 - 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Eastgate Elementary, 910 E 10th Ave., Kennewick. So, put on a fun costume, and bring the whole family out for this great, safe and free event! We hope to see you at this year’s Treat ‘n Trunk Halloween get-together! Sponsored by the Cathedral of Joy’s after school program, After School Matters, and in cooperation with Kamiakin High School DECA.
Visit our website at www.ksd.org or find us on Facebook!
Upcoming Events 1 9 11 13 22 25 26 27 28-29
K-5: Early Release 11:25 a.m. Southridge HS Holiday Bazaar @Southridge
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
K-12 No School: Veteran’s Day
All Day
High School: Early Release
10:30 a.m.
FDK/ 1-8: Early Release, No Half Day KDGN
All Day
K-8: No School, Conferences
All Day
K-8: No School, Conferences
All Day
All Grades: Early Release
All Day
All Grades: No School, Thanksgiving Break
All Day
1000 W. 4th Ave., Kennewick, WA 99352 (509) 222-5501
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www.ksd.org
October 2013 Newsletter