April Staff Newsletter - Kennewick School District

K
S
D
Connect
District News, Notes and Events
April 2013

Talents
April
Talent aT Westgate
Westgate elementary students
participated in a fun filled
assembly. Many practiced
for weeks on end, sacrificing
their recesses to perfect their
performances.
Edison’s Got Talent!
Edison elementary students
tried out for Edison’s Got Talent,
performing for fellow students
and teachers.
Mid-Columbia Partnership Murder Mystery
Mid-Columbia
Partnership (MCP)
students put on
a riveting murder
mystery play
based off of the
book "The Westing
Game".
Contents
2 Talent at Westgate
2 Edison’s Got Talent
2 Mid-Columbia Partnership’s Murder Mystery
4 Durbin Clinic
4 Music In the Classroom
6 Jog-A-Thon
6 Shoot for the Arc!
7 Mid-Columbia Partnership Competes
in State Archery Tournament
8 Kamiakin Real World Design Team
Wins Again!
10 Math Is Cool
10 Math Is Cool
10 Respect Lessons at Southgate
11 Staff Excellence Award Nominations
12 Kamiakin FFA Welding Competition
16 Middle School Teachers “Dig” Paleontology
16 Future Chef Competition
17 Upcoming Events & Announcements
14
6
12
4

Music
Durbin Clinic
Kennewick, Richland and Seattle
area high school students were
tightly packed on the Kennewick high school auditorium
stage as Timothy Durbin, orchestra conductor from the
University of Louisville, Kentucky, emphatically explained
that music shouldn’t be studied, it should be explored.
After a brief historical introduction of the music, Durbin
launched full-speed ahead in to the music. He explained
how they were going to explore the tonal ranges and color
of the music, demonstrating with his violin that this can be
done by changing the pace, length and force with which
the bow touches the strings. Along with tone and color of
the music, Durbin gave examples of what sections of the
music were to sound like to students, such as rain, drums
and seagulls. Even though the workshop was intensive and
fast-paced, students enjoyed a light-hearted atmosphere
thanks to Durbin’s charismatic teaching style.
Music In the Classroom
Cheryl Cannard, music teacher at Ridge View elementary school, has been
inviting student parents to join her classroom in March for what she describes
as “forever.” This is because March is “Music in our Schools” month. During class, Cheryl’s students demonstrated their
knowledge of patterns, rhymes and beats through a clapping exercise. These patterns were later used in songs as
students taught their parent visitors how to hold xylophone mallets, how to tap the mallets on the xylophones, and play
a song. Earlier in that day, students from other classes taught their parents how to play the recorder. Parents were
all smiles as they watched their children and played instruments with them. Chris Guerrero, father of two students even
came to music class twice in one day! “I had class earlier with my son- we played the recorder. Now I’m here with my
daughter,” Chris explained. Like many parents, Chris believes music is extremely important to children. Just after hugging
his daughter goodbye, Chris mentioned that, “(Music) teaches them new skills that keeps their minds engaged and it’s
something different than the usual classroom setting.”

Athletics
Shoot For the Arc!
Lincoln
Jog-A-Thon
Lincoln elementary school
Jog-A-Thon students raised
$17,000! In honor of the school
exceeding its goal, by $2,000,
Principal Campbell dressed
up as a Leprechaun. Pictured
above are the top lap runners
(boy and girl) per grade level
and below, the top money
collectors with their prizes.
MCP At the
Washington
state Archery
Championships
Twenty-five Mid-Columbia Partnership
(MCP) students were among 550
students representing 38 schools/
teams across Washington State who
traveled to Ellensburg, WA on Saturday,
March 16th, to compete in the National
Archery in Schools Program State
Championship. Students aimed for
individual awards as well as school
team trophies and the opportunity
to participate in the national
championships to be held May 10-22 in
Louisville, Kentucky. Team scores were
comprised of each school's individual
top 12 scores. MCP student Daisy Lerma
finished 3rd for 8th grade girls and 6th
overall in the female middle school
division. The middle school team score
earned a 5th place finish.
Southridge high school National Honor Society students raised $2,800 for the
Arc of Tri-Cities in their “Shoot For the Arc” event. This student vs. staff basketball
competition was held March 8th and brought out a huge crowd!
Daisy Lerma getting ready to shoot at the
National Archery in Schools Program. Daisy
took 3rd in the 8th grade girls division and
6th overall in the female middle school
division.

Academics
Real World
Design Team
The Kamiakin high school Real World Design Team took first place in the state for the fifth year in a row. The award was presented to them at the
Kamiakin library and they have booked their plane tickets for their next competition in Washington D.C.. Pictured above from left to right:
Robin Rakowski, Paul Pierson, Kyle Deatherage, Devin Gerboth, Sangeetha Thevuthasan, Cooper Atkinson, and Joe Luey.

Academics
1 2
Math is
cool winners
1
Respect Lessons
at Southgate
Character: what is it and how can it
be defined? Counselor June Shelp of
Southgate elementary school works to
answer these questions each month
with her character trait program.
Each month brings a different trait
into focus. Shelp, for example, taught
respect in the month of March.
Shelp seeks to involve students by
first having them help her define
respect. With a solid definition in place,
students then participate in a combination of video lessons, which depict relatable
examples, and practice lessons with their classmates. At the end of each lesson, Shelp
challenges students to embody the character trait of the month. When students
demonstrate these traits, they can be nominated by their peers and faculty for an
honored spot on the Character Trait board posted in the Southgate hallway.
Math is cool at
cottonwood
2
Vista Elementary School’s “Math Is Cool”
teams posed with their ribbons and
trophies with Principal, Matt Scott. Vista
placed 2nd in the tournament. Nikhil
Devanathan placed 1st in the individual
competition. Pictured standing: Mr. Scott,
Duncan Paul, Aiden Arends, Alexis Hart,
Sonnet Cooper, Rosa Martinez, Emily,
Reynolds, Makenna Morgan, Derek Fisher.
Seated: Eunu Lim, Nikhil Devanathan,
Antonio Armenta, and Carlos Varela.
Cottonwood’s fifth grade Math Is Cool team took 3rd
place at the regional competition! Pictured above
are Cole Childers, Aidan Gaspar, Caleb Hoxie, Allie
Peterson, Stanford Smith, Molly Stephenson, Blake Strand, and Jonah
Wilcott, as they posed with their ribbons. This was their first competition.
Staff Excellence Awards
Nominations are due by May 31st!
Please e-mail or pony them to Lorraine Cooper in the Administration Center.
Forms are available by clicking here.

Welding
The Kamiakin FFA hosted a state-wide metal
Kamiakin art competition at Columbia Basin Community
FFA Welding College (CBC). This competition was open to
Competition students in shop class who were members of
the FFA. Denise Senor, Kamiakin High School teacher and founder of the
metal art competition, explained that she started this competition over
12 years ago, at Kamiakin’s shop class for local schools. Now, the event
has grown into a state-wide competition held at CBC. For most students
in shop class, welding is more than just a credit, it’s a passion. Rachelle
Lizotte, Kamiakin High School student explained that she first tried
welding at MAGIC (Mentoring a Girl in Construction) Camp, and has been
hooked ever since. Students worked in groups to create a concept design
and practice prior to the competition.
The competition was an all-day event, where students had six hours to
completely start and finish their metal art pieces. Katie Havenor, Kamiakin
High School student said that the judges were looking for 3D metal art
that was appealing, textured, had great coloring, layering and welding,
plasma cutter welds and mig welds.
Students showed off their creativity and ability to work well in teams by
welding a turtle, a scene with a cowgirl leaning against a fence, and a fish.
This competition was a chance for students to show off the skills they
had learned in shop class. After a grueling six hour competition, some
students were scrambling to put the finishing touches on their pieces,
whereas others were just glad to be done, taking a light-hearted approach
to the experience. After judging, metal art
pieces were auctioned.
Three teams from the Kamiakin FFA
competed in the welding competition.

Teachers
Middle School
Teachers “Dig”
Paleontology
A group of Kennewick
Middle Science teachers
got their hands dirty at the
Coyote Canyon McBones
Mammoth Dig site in Kennewick. We are fortunate to have
a paleontological/paleo-ecological project and outdoor
classroom right here in our own backyard. “Teachers need
to learn too!” notes Linda Barnes, teacher at Desert Hills
Middle School. “It’s great to be using math and science in a
real life scenario.”
The science teachers took advantage of this opportunity
to experience excavating as well as identifying, washing
and sorting the bones. According to Bax R. Barton, M.S.,
Museum Research Associate, Paleontology, “This isn’t
just dirt and a shovel blasting away at the ground. We’re
working on the relationship of things that are found, so
we can find patterns and give context to the bones.” The
insight gained from this day in the field will be brought
back into the classroom and help teachers develop exciting
lessons and activities for their students

Cooking
Secret
3 rd
Ingredient
2 nd 1 st
Awards
School
Recognitions
Kennewick has great schools! Several schools
received recognitions this month. Congratulations
to the staff at Washington, Sunset View,
Southgate, Lincoln, and Cascade Elementary schools whose schools
earned Washington Achievement Awards. The Washington Achievement
Award is based on statewide assessment data for the three previous
years. Washington received an award for Overall Excellence, Cascade and
Southgate for Closing the Achievement Gap, and Lincoln, Southgate, and
Sunset View for Science. Only 381 schools statewide earned this honor.
In addition, Kamiakin High School was named one of America’s Most
Challenging Public High Schools in a study published by the Washington
Post. The study calculated the number of Advanced Placement,
International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of
Education tests given at a school each year divided by the number of
seniors who graduated that year. Kamiakin ranked 21st out of the 29
high schools in Washington State that qualified for this study and is
among just nine percent of 22,000 U.S. public high schools nationally to
earn placement on the list. Congratulations to everyone at Kamiakin for
creating a culture of high expectations for themselves and their students!
Future Chef
Challenge
Elementary school students in Kennewick School District
learned about the importance of healthy eating and honed
some new culinary skills during the Future Chef Challenge,
sponsored by Sodexo. Sixty students submitted healthy salad recipes and the eleven
best were selected to participate in the finals held at Tri-Tech last March.
The young chefs prepared their recipes for a panel of local judges and were assessed
on originality, taste, presentation, kid friendliness and use of healthy ingredients.
Every student walked away a winner better prepared for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Upcoming Events
2 Orchestra Festival at the Toyota Center 7:30-9pm
9 Southridge HS Musical Review Show 7pm
11 Highlands MS Band Jr. Lilac Parade All Day
11 Southridge HS Musical Review Show 7pm
16 Desert Hills Spring Band Concert 4pm
16 Southridge HS Musical Review Show 7pm
18 Southridge HS Musical Review Show 7pm
21 Southridge HS Final Jazz Concert 7pm
21 Vista Spring Concert at Kamiakin HS Auditorium 7-8:30pm
23 Canyon View Multicultural Concert 6:30-8pm
23 All Mallet Showcase at Southridge HS Gym 6:30pm
30 Canyon View Nursery Rhyme Night 6:30-8pm
30 Horse Heaven Hills Band Concert at Southridge HS 7-8pm
Look for the Safe Schools Newsletter on
anti-bullying! Copies can be found in the
front offices of your school.
1000 W. 4th Ave., Kennewick, WA 99352
(509) 222-5501 . www.ksd.org
April 2013 Newsletter