Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Homer High School
March 29, 30: HHS production of the Broadway musical “The Sound of Plaid;” 7:30 p.m. March 29; 3 and 7:30 p.m. March 30.
Homer Middle School
March 29: Math Counts, state.
McNeil Canyon Elementary School
When the Veterans of Foreign Wars asked students to write about “what patriotism means to me,” 11 Chapman School students in grades 6-8 took the challenge.
Three of those students — placing first, second and third in the local competition sponsored by VFW Post 10221 in Anchor Point — were recognized at a special assembly at the school on March 7:
• First place, $300: Kyle Wells, eighth grade;
• Second place, $200: Julianna Johnson, seventh grade;
• Third place, $100: Ginger Inman seventh grade.
Students at Paul Banks Elementary School, a K-2 school on East End Road that also offers a preschool program, are known as “Peanuts.” However, there’s nothing
peanut-sized about their love of reading.
Between Feb. 3 and Feb. 26, a short-two-week stretch, the youngsters read a total of 204,490 minutes.
“They set a new school record and were pretty impressive,” said Principal Eric Pederson of exceeding the previous 140,000 minutes read during the annual event.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District:
McNeil Canyon Elementary School
March 17-21: Swim lessons, grades 2-3.
March 18, 20: Learning lab.
March 19: Bus driver appreciation day.
March 20: Drama club begins.
Ninilchik School
March 20: Site council, 3:30 p.m.
Micah Mershon pretends he’s a movie star walking the red carpet as his “fans” react during Oscar dress-up day last Friday at West Homer Elementary School. Students dressed up as movie stars and celebrities for the day.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
March 7: Inservice, no school, end of quarter.
March 10-14: Vacation days.
April 1-3: Student testing.
April 16: Early dismissal, 1:40 p.m.
April 18: Vacation day.
May 21: School closes.
Chapman School
Homer High School students earned fifth place overall in the state National Ocean Science Bowl competition held last weekend in Seward.
Seventeen teams from all over Alaska participated.
Homer’s NOSB team consists of coaches Bruce Rife, a science teacher, and Kris Holderied of NOAA; and students Logan Reveil, Nolan Bunting, Axel Gillam, Sierra Moskios and Molly Mitchel.
Among the honors brought home by the Homer students:
Next week, Homer students will be out of school for spring break. What’s a kid to do? Turns out, quite a bit. Here’s a round-up of what’s happening next week to keep your kids out of the doldrums.
Swimming: Open Swim will be from 1 to 3 p.m. every day except Sunday. $5 for adults and $2.50 for youth.
Playdates: On Saturday, March 8, The Pratt Museum is hosting a Pratt Playdate designed for babies, toddlers and their caregivers. Hands-on activities start at 10 a.m. in the Marine Gallery. Free.
Homer Middle School seventh-graders received training in CPR from local emergency response trainer Samantha Cunningham last week, with students practicing heart compressions on dummies and learning and practicing how to use Automated External Defibrillators, AEDs. “It was a great lesson,” said HMS science and robotics teacher Margi Blanding. “Homer Middle School has been training students in basic CPR for at least the last 25 years.
Having won the Battle of the Books competition among third- and fourth-grade students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, West Homer Elementary School’s team of Eli Zatz and Seamus McDonough, with alternate Olivia Glasman nearby, competed at the state level on Feb. 20.
“(They) officially tied for fifth place out of 38 district teams,” said WHES Coach Lyn Maslow. “It was quite exciting. The kids had to keep up their stamina with battling from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.”
There’s a lot to be said about the magic that happens when performers hear the roar of the greasepaint and inhale the smell of the crowd. First, however, there’s getting past your classmates, as students at McNeil Canyon Elementary School had to do Feb. 20.
Students
Katherine Miller of Homer was named to the Northern Michigan University dean’s list for the fall 2013 semester. Miller qualified by having a grade point average of 3.25-3.99.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
March 4: A meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Federal Program Committee, Land’s End Resort’s Harbor Room, 9 a.m.-noon.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Feb. 25: A public meeting about the district’s 2014-2015 budget, Homer High School library, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 26: Early dismissal, 1:40 p.m.
Chapman School
Feb. 22: Wrestling borough meet at Kenai.
Feb. 26: Early dismissal; no afternoon Pre-K.
Homer High School senior John Walsworth has had his heart set on being accepted to a military academy. The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., to be exact, with the Naval Academy second on his list, followed by West Point.
Alaska’s congressional delegation did their part to help Walsworth’s dream come true. Sen. Mark Begich nominated him to the Naval Academy and Rep. Don Young nominated him to the Air Force Academy.
Homer Middle School took second place in MathCounts regional competition in Anchorage on Feb. 8. “The eighth-graders were the official team, while the seventh graders competed as individuals,” said HMS teacher Rand Seaton. The team will move on to the state competition March 29.
Sure they can read, but do they know what they’re reading? Absolutely.
Proof of that pudding is the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Battle of the Books. Taking first place were West Homer Elementary School third- and fourth-grade team of Eli Zatz, Olivia Glasman, Seamus McDonough, Kate Krautler and Aiden Brost, coached by Lyn Maslow and Shellie Worsfold, and the Homer Connections fifth- and sixth-grade team of Jadzia Thomas and Iris Downey, coached by Janet Szajkowski.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Chapman School
Feb. 14: Volleyball at Cook Inlet Academy, 4 p.m.
Feb. 15: Wrestling at Seward.
Feb. 17: Volleyball at Ninilchik, 4 p.m.
Feb. 19: Grades 2-3 to Sport Lake.
Fireweed Academy (2-6)
GoodForAlaskaBlog.com is holding a public speaking contest for middle and high school Alaska students. The theme is “Good for Alaska!” Participants will write an essay and present it publicly. It must highlight something the students would like to help change in their community or in the state.
Deadline to register is March 15. For more information, visit GoodForAlaskaBlog.com.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is holding a public budget meeting at the Homer High School library at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 25. The public is encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Lassie Nelson at 907-714-8838.
The BP Teachers of Excellence program is seeking nominations by Feb. 14. The program is open to teachers statewide and nominations are accepted online at bpteachers.com.
