DISTRICT
There is no school on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. The district office will be closed.
HICAP PROGRAM
Highly Capable students, comprised of fourth- and fifth-graders from Haller and Greywolf Schools, participate in a half-day program for project-based activities in the choir room at the middle school each week. They created models of school buildings, incorporating future ideas. Superintendent Kelly Shea visited their classroom to hear about their ideas for a new elementary school and met with each design team.
Teacher Margaret Whitley said their ideas included natural light sources for learning areas, centrally located bathrooms, bigger libraries with more books and dedicated spaces for creating art. Some wanted extensive sports facilities. They discussed technology including robotics labs, better science labs and tablets instead of textbooks for every student.
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
It was a perfect weather day on April 30, when the second-grade classes, along with 43 parent volunteers, made their annual field trip to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. Renee Mullikin’s students are writing reports about animals from the zoo, so having the opportunity to observe the animals in their habitats provided great research.
Here are some animal facts students have found in their research and observations:
Kaia Lestage: The Arctic fox is really fluffy. They are grayish, brownish-black in the summer, but their coats turn white in the winter so they can avoid predators. They run really fast and have a really good sense of smell. They eat berries, small mammals, rodents and insects.
Colby Ellefson: The clouded leopard is covered in cloud-like spots. They use their spots to blend in with the trees, where they like to hide and hang out. They are very elusive. They are the best climbers among cats. The thing I found the most interesting about them is they can hang from branches, using their tails for balancing.
Ethan Bratsman: The muskox looks like an ox, but is related to sheep and goats. Their wool, called qiviut, is very warm and blocks out the cold. They have curved horns and are between 400-800 pounds fully grown. I thought the most interesting thing about the muskox is that they can survive in the extreme cold.
Natalie Cross: The Malayan tiger is orange with black stripes. Females have white fur on their stomachs and the males don’t. They live in Malaysia and hunt and eat wild boar and goats. They are endangered. I was shocked to find out they grow into adults in just 100 days. I thought it would take longer.
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Running Club is up and running once again! Teachers and Running Club advisors Ione Marcy and Dave Hasenpflug advocate running for several reasons: for fun, to develop a healthy attitude toward exercise and to prepare kids to participate in the annual North Olympic Discovery Marathon (http://nodm.com/) on Saturday, May 31. Participants from first through fifth grade meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45-3:30 p.m. to run on the stadium track. Parents and even grandparents are turning out to run and sometimes walk with their students.
Science teacher Dave Hasenpflug reports that Haller kids earn Cougar Call Out cards throughout the day for being respectful, responsible and safe (and working hard at learning). They put their cards into a bucket for specific reward activities and once a month if their name is selected, they get to do that activity. One of the most amazing activities is fun science with Mr. H!
For the past couple of months we made lava lamps to take home using oil, colored water and Alka Seltzer. This month, we concentrated on chemical reactions. The mixture of hydrogen peroxide, food coloring, dish soap and yeast activated with warm water is super strong and wow, does it foam!
Jaysa Hill’s students have been practicing and perfecting reading and writing skills. Throughout the year students have read and written narrative stories, persuasive papers and informational articles and presentations. While students are preparing to write their end of the year research papers, we chose also to spend a week or two studying figurative language. Figurative language includes words or phrases that have been imaginatively crafted and designed to make writing more interesting for readers. Examples of figurative language include similes, metaphors, personification, idioms, hyperboles, oxymorons, alliteration and onomatopoeias. Although this short writing unit has just begun, the fourth-graders in our classroom are having fun recognizing, comparing and creating their own similes and metaphors.
Some of these similes and metaphors are listed below:
“Fear dripped away like a broken faucet.” Blake Davis
“My mother is as beautiful as a butterfly.” Allie Gale
“Veronica was as sleepy as a hibernating bear.” Juliana Tamblyn
“The water was as sparkly as glitter.” Jordan Hegtvedt
“The homework was as difficult as E=mc^2.” Blake Davis
“The first day of school was like a volcano erupting.” Kaitlyn Johnson
“Jeremy and Mike are as brave as lions.” Taylor Blackburn
“The water is as dark as the night sky.” Emma Wyant
During one day of our figurative language unit, students participated in a simile and metaphor “mix and match” game. One half of the class had yellow adjective cards while the other half had pink noun cards. Students wandered around the classroom while music played in the background. When the music ended the students paired together with a classmate holding the opposite color. The students then took their two words to help them create a simile or metaphor. Here are some examples that these fourth-grade students created:
“The theater was a swamp.” Keegan Fergusson (noun: theater, adjective: wet)
“The clock is dry ice. It is very cold.” Jordan Hegtvedt (noun: clock, adjective: cold)
“My eyes are lightning.” Elijah Worley (noun: eyes, adjective: fast)
“The robot was as fast as lighting.” Aaron Gaylord
“The egg was shattered glass.” Kieran Van Selus and Raina O’ Donnell (noun: egg, adjective: damaged)
“The person eating the apple was as slow as a slug.” Krista Baker (noun: apple, adjective: slow)
As these fourth-graders perfect their understanding of similes and metaphors we will begin to journey into the exciting world of alliteration and onomatopoeias. With only five weeks left in the school year the students are making the most of their time left in the classroom. We would like to thank all of the family members and classroom volunteers that have supported us, helped out in our classroom and chaperoned on our field trips throughout this year. Your involvement makes a world of difference and we would like to thank you for your constant support and encouragement. Wishing you a wonderful week!
— Jaysa Hill, fourth-grade teacher
OLYMPIC PENINSULA ACADEMY
A work party was organized by teacher Kim Glasser and learning coach Timothy Wilkinson for May 9 to beautify the courtyard area. Parent volunteers joined students and staff members to clip branches, pull weeds, rake debris, plant flowers, pressure-wash concrete walks and spread 14 yards of gravel and topsoil. Special thanks go to Cascade Bark for donating topsoil, Dungeness Creamery for donating manure, Sequim Walmart for donating flower plants and Blake Tile and Stone for donating and delivering gravel.
Our biggest thanks are for our OPA families for all their hard labors.
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
Sixth-grade students are studying India in World History class. Working in teams of two and three, students in Allison Hastings’ class created three-dimensional maps of India, using recycled items they brought to school. Notable geographical details on the maps depicted by repurposed items included the Himalayan Mountains, the Indian Ocean and desert terrains. To inspire the students and give them a flavor of the culture, an Indian music CD played while they worked.
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
There is an ASB blood drive in the auxiliary gym from 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 22.
Don’t miss the Ag Sciences plant sale in the greenhouse on May 22–24. Hours are from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday-Friday and from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Saturday. Cash and checks will be accepted.
The Golf for Grads at The Cedars at Dungeness begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 24. For more information, call Meg Pinza at 360-930-4510.
