DISTRICT
Wednesday, June 18 is the last day of school. All schools have early release. Helen Haller, Sequim Middle School and Sequim High School will release at 11 a.m. and Greywolf at 11:15 a.m. We wish all our families a pleasant summer break and will look forward to seeing everyone back for the first day of the 2014-2015 school year on Sept. 3.
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
A year of growing together comes to an end as the Garden Club met on June 9 in Renee Mullikin’s classroom. The club has been busy learning about soil, seeds, tubers and bulbs as they have developed their home and school gardens.
The group also gathers lunch scraps and utilizes a worm composting bin to create organic material for the garden.
The final meeting of the year found them creating plant/garden markers as they painted rocks. Some included strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and flower markers.
They also pulled some weeds and checked the progress of the items that they have planted. Ithas been a fruitful year for these young gardeners. A special thanks to volunteers Jolie Wills, Sonja Younger and Kari Webb for lending a hand with these 28 enthusiastic gardeners!
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Haller students in Jane LaBeaume’s second-grade class had a chance to put their Hands on History with the Museum & Arts Center’s History Trunk last Friday. The History Trunk follows the story of Catherine Monson who was born in Dungeness in the early 1900s. Monson attended Bellingham Normal School to become a teacher, returning to teach at the Dungeness Schoolhouse.
The History Trunk was a project of former museum director, Katherine Vollenweider, assisted by volunteers Barbara Allen and Nyla Hansen.
“I had been looking for a subject around which to satellite a history trunk when someone popped into the museum one day with Monson’s scrapbook they purchased at a Seattle yard sale,” Vollenweider said. “The scrapbook provided a tangible link for Sequim School District students to local life 100 years ago. We researched the learning requirements for the target grades and compiled a Teaching Resource, including a short history of Dungeness and suggested discussion topics corresponding to each artifact. Completed July 2010 before I retired, the History Trunk was scheduled to be launched fall of 2010, however that never occurred.”
Here are observations some of the students had:
Levi Wall: I didn’t know that instead of TV people knitted. I liked looking at the old things.
Ben Elmenhurst–Jones: History is good to learn about. The old-fashioned things were interesting.
Kaiya McAllister: I was interesting to see what the old-fashioned dresses were like.
Hailey Walrath: People could use curling irons for their hair before they had electricity by putting it on the stove to heat up.
Miguel Najera: The schoolhouse was there a long time ago and is still there.
“It is fortunate Judy Stipe and I could finally bring it to the classroom — touching the actual artifacts really made the past come alive,” Vollenweider said. “Students were able to hold a Thomas Edison wax cylinder recording and hear the actual sound the cylinder made on a CD player. They also heard about leisure activities before television and electric lights, and the industries that enabled Dungeness to become a prosperous settlement. What is especially exciting is that the Dungeness Schoolhouse and the Groveland Cottage are still visible, and these were part of the story the History Trunk tells. This is a free resource for Sequim School District teachers and it was my way of saying thank you to our local teachers who change lives for the better every day.”
Teachers from K-12 may reserve the Hands-on-History Trunk for their students. The Teaching Resource provides all the information necessary for teachers to present the artifacts to their classes at their convenience throughout the year. Call 683-8110 or e-mail sequimmuseum@olypen.com for more information.
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
Teacher Steve Koehler’s sixth-graders participated in fun and enlightening all-day field trips to the Dungeness River Audubon Center over the week following Memorial Day. Students released salmon fry, investigated flood plain dynamics, identified plants and removed Scotch broom and other invasive species. Everyone who took part is grateful to River Center staff and volunteers, as well as the many parents and Sequim High students who volunteered to work with sixth-graders for the day.
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
A senior recognition assembly was held in the gym on Friday, June 6, and was attended by the student body, parents of seniors and staff members. The choir, directed by John Lorentzen, led off singing the national anthem. The jazz band, directed by Vern Fosket, played “Birdland,” featuring a solo by senior James Reis on tenor saxophone. A choir ensemble made up of senior students sang “The Time of Our Lives.” Junior Katie Stevenson was the project manager for the event, with help from junior Kailee Price and sophomore Daniel Harker.
Senior students receiving department awards, presented by teachers, were: Matt Kowitz/World Languages (presented by Sonja Miller), Briauna Luchte/Social Studies (presented by Mike Lippert), Devyn Turner/Physical Education (presented by Greg Glasser), Kelsey Van Dyken/Choir (presented by John Lorentzen), Mikayla Simonson/School Service (presented by Jennifer Van De Wege), Angela Bentley and Sabrina Marunde/Link Crew Commissioners (presented by Principal Shawn Langston), Sarah Necco/ Fine Arts Visual (presented by Jaye Hall), John Galm/Math (presented by Larry Hill), Atraue Wallis/Science (presented by Joe Sullivan), Bailie Cibene/Career Technology Education (CTE) (presented by Steve Mahitka), James Reis/Band (presented by Vern Fosket), Chris Ely/Special Services (presented by Kathy Troglia), Joseph Landoni/Language Arts (presented by Joe Younger), Mariah Riedel/National American Sign Language (ASL) Honor Society (presented by Sonja Miller), Jesse Francis/Marine Scholastic Achievement (presented by principal Shawn Langston), Makayla Bentz and Anthony Pinza/Scholar Athletes (presented by athletic director Dave Ditlefsen), Melanie Guan and Nick Johnston/Sportsmanship (presented by Dave Ditlefsen), Alexas Besand and Brett Wright/Athletes of the Year (presented by Dave Ditlefsen), Carlo Juntilla/Heart of Purple and Gold (presented by Jennifer Van De Wege), and Angela Bentley/Outstanding Senior (presented by principal Shawn Langston). All department award recipients will wear their white honor cords at the graduation ceremony.
Important dates:
The main office closes at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, for the summer. The office re-opens Aug. 11.
Graduated seniors may pick up their diplomas beginning June 27 until July 3 in the counseling office. Beginning July 7, diplomas will need to be picked up in the district office.
