DISTRICT
The next board meeting is Monday, May 4, in the boardroom. The board will meet in closed executive session at 4 p.m. to review applicants for the new superintendent position, with a regular open meeting beginning at 7 p.m.
The agenda, as well as more information about the superintendent search, is available on the district website at www.sequim.k12.wa.us.
The district collaborated with local filmmaker John Gussman to create a recruiting film about our unique area.
View the 5-minute video on the school district’s website at www.sequim.k12.wa.us.
Deb Beckett, Sequim Middle School teacher and Science Club advisor, and science students from Helen Haller Elementary, Sequim Middle School and Sequim High School presented their science fair projects in the hallway just outside the boardroom during the April 20 school board meeting.
Bev Horan, board president, recessed the meeting for 10 minutes to provide time for people to view the projects and ask students questions.
Students in attendance were Iz MacMurchie (seventh grade), Sean Weber (eighth grade), Nicholas Howe (junior), Reagen Howe (second grade) and Alliyah Weber (fourth grade).
HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Teresa Thorson’s class recently wrote letters and poems to the Earth. Here are some of those writings:
Dear Ocean,
What is it like to have lovely creatures?
That swim.
How deep are you?
I have been waiting to see your cute dolphins
And swim with the waves.
The ocean’s cold when I first step in and
The sand feels like little beads.
Ocean, I would like to come back and
Play with your special creatures again
And have fun.
Logen Watkins
Dear Nature,
Can you tell me why your grass
Grows so long?
And thank you for your
Magnificent flowers!
I admire you nature!
And have a good day
Every day!
Lisa Williams
Earth,
I will take care of the world
If we didn’t have this earth
We would not be alive
But God made the earth
Maybe we don’t know
Because we were not around.
Ferris Cobb
Dear Earth,
You are so fun and nice and beautiful.
All you hold I love and admire
Your gardens and yards are so beautiful, too.
Earth, you are my best friend.
Your best friend, Quentin Bennett
Dear Ocean,
Oh, so beautiful
Eyes of the ocean
So Blue, So Quiet
So soothing
So many creatures
Live in you
So wavy, so kind
You provide the water
For me and the people.
Surayah Dennis
Dear Animals,
How do you get those beautiful colors?
Like you, little Rabbit
You look so beautiful with that color.
All of the animals take such good care
Of our earth and us people.
Like you take such good care of
Other animals and lots of different
Parts of the earth.
You help the earth by
Helping the soil and making
Earth smell good and
Planting other plants by eating
The apples and leaving the seeds
In the dirt.
Your friend, Lillian Kaye Despain
Dear Animals,
I love you deer, elk, lynx, chipmunk and birds.
I find you scared, but why?
I try to be friendly, but you just leave.
You hop away, run away, and fly away.
But wolves and bears go up and fight.
So I stay away from you.
But I still love you in my dreams.
I dream about you.
But some day I will tame you.
I think animals have joy, laughter, and wildness.
I love all the animals in the world.
On the inside you’re all just love and peace.
On the outside you’re wild.
Love, Maddy Cogburn
Dear World,
How do you have such pretty stuff?
How do you have so many trees?
How do you have a lot of flowers?
How do you have a lot of stuff to keep us alive?
We need trees and nature.
Izaiah Alonzo
GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Two performances of “Sleeping Beauty” were held in the school gym on April 17-18.
Cast members included: Kariya Johnson (Maleficent), Madison Gabbert (Princess Aurora), Haylie Nordlie (Briar Rose), Reef Gelder (Prince Philip), Luciano DeBello (Young Prince Philip), Isabella Williams (Queen Stephanie), Rick Jennings (King Stefan), Lauryn Stephens (King Hubert), Kendall Hastings (Flora), Avery Huswick (Fauna) and Norah Schmidt (Merryweather).
Also, Maggie White, Clara Bonheyo, Alexandria Treece, Jessica Lack, Anna Geer, Julie Jeffers, Leighann Morefield, Kaia Lestage, Zoey Johnson, Kariya Johnson, Alana Plasch, Phoebe Sampson, Jordan Kidd, Hannah Hampton, Hailey Collier, Rozlyn Raychel, Marley Reeder, Alyssa Bonheyo, Hannah Albaugh, McKenzie Paton, Tilly Lundstrom, Hannah Bates, Emma Hall, Chloe Washburn, Ameila Pozernick, Sofie Feik, Jasmine Brownfield, Makayla Allen, Kairi Larson, Liana Jackson, Jelissa Julmist, Lillian Gaskill, Rae Douglas, Lauren Sundin, Ava Welch, Jolene Varra, Anna Rich, Natalie Cross, Natalyn Papke, Chloe Stanford, Jayda Lewis, Quinn Davidson, Nichole Tiemeyer, Kennedy Roberts, Maddison Stamp, Korbyn Domning and Michaela Green.
Production members included Sheri Burke (director, costume design), Shannon Green (music director, choreographer, costume design), Damon Little (assistant to the directors) and many parents. Thanks to all our wonderful volunteers who helped with this production!
SEQUIM MIDDLE SCHOOL
Sixth-grade teachers Paul Pinza, Allison Hastings, Steve Koehler, Dave McInnes, Elizabeth Lawson, Isabella Morrison and Deb Quinnell took about 190 sixth-graders and 23 parent chaperones on a field trip in March to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle to experience “Pompeii: The Exhibition.”
In the year 79 A.D., Pompeii vanished beneath thick layers of volcanic ash left by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The students learned that even though the city was destroyed, many artifacts were preserved in a unique way in layers of volcanic ash.
The exhibit includes body casts of twisted human forms, asphyxiated by extreme heat and noxious gases. Students experienced floors shaking and walls rumbling in a re-enactment of the volcano’s catastrophic eruption through an immersive CGI experience.
“It was really, really cool! It was one of the best field trips I’ve ever been on. There were ancient artifacts and casts of people who were trapped, buried in hot scalding ash. The expressions on their faces — they looked terrified. My favorite artifact was a gladiator helmet, which I thought looked something like a beekeeper’s helmet.” Gavin Conway
“My favorite thing about seeing the exhibit was viewing the body casts. There was one of a pregnant woman, and she was trying to cover her face with her arms.” Kaiden Brown
“I thought the statues of people were very interesting. There was one of a man warding off ash. The smoke machine, the flickering lights, the loud noises and the floor vibrating were cool.” Devyn Nordlie
“It was an amazing experience! It was interesting to learn about volcanoes. The people of Pompeii thought the volcano activity was brought on by a god being angry. It was fun to see the jewelry from that time and to see how the people lived. Their routines were similar to ours, but they had to walk everywhere. They even had a fast food place! Not much has changed, except for technology and “things.” I love the mountain views we have here, but I look at mountains in a whole new way, knowing they can explode.” Melissa Porter
The video was most interesting to me, as it showed each day. The CGI experience was very effective. There was a little hail storm first, then dust came, then a little sand. We learned the eruption happened in the early afternoon.” Kaleb Needoba
SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
Cheyenne Sokkappa has been selected for participation in the 2015 Young Scholars Program at the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering at the University of Washington. She will spend an intense 10-week session on University of Washington’s campus this summer researching new technologies for sensing, robotics, wireless power and medical devices in the laboratory of Dr. Joshua Smith, UW’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering/Electrical Engineering. The Young Scholars Program is highly competitive. More than 130 applications were turned in and Cheyenne was one of only eight to get into the program. Congratulations, Cheyenne!
At 6 p.m. April 30 in the auditorium is opening night for the Operetta Club’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Check the district website for all performance dates.
The SAT test will be administered at 7:45 a.m. May 2 in the cafeteria.
The Senior Ball will be on May 2 at Fort Worden in Port Townsend.
