Around the District

School board to meet

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets at 6 p.m. in the borough building at 148 N. Binkley Street in Soldotna (unless otherwise noted). For more information, call 907-714-8888 or visit kpbsd.k12.ak.us. The agenda and packet items are posted on Wednesday afternoon prior to the date of the Board meeting. Persons with disabilities who need accommodations to participate at the School Board meetings should contact Debbie Tressler at 907-714-8836 or email dtressler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us no later than three business days before the meeting date. The board will meet:

■ Oct. 5;

■ Nov. 2;

■ Dec. 7;

■ Dec. 8 (Worksession);

■ Jan. 11;

■ Feb. 1;

■ Feb. 2 (Worksession);

■ March 7;

■ March 21;

■ April 4;

■ April 5 (Worksession);

■ May 2 (Seward High School);

■ June 6;

■ June 7 (Planning Session);

Holidays and vacation days scheduled

■ Oct. 29-30 — Parent-teacher conferences, no school for students;

■ Nov. 26-27 — Thanksgiving;

■ Dec. 16 — End of second quarter, no school for students;

■ Dec. 21-Dec. 31 — Winter vacation;

■ Jan. 18 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day;

■ Feb. 4-5 — Parent-teacher conferences, no school for students;

■ March 11 — End of third quarter, no school for students;

■ March 14-18 — Spring Break;

■ May 18 — Last day of school.

Connections Home School Program

Connections – “What’s Happening!”

Dates To Remember:

■ Sept. 29 – Soldotna Office: Homeschool Gym Time Every Tuesday 12-2pm (more info below)

■ Sept. 30 – Soldotna Office: Elementary Book Club @ New Kaladi Bros 2:00pm

■ Oct. 1 – Soldotna School Pictures (Packets Are IN) – 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm @ Borough Building: Assembly Room

■ Oct. 7 – Homer: Salmon in the Classroom @ 10:45 @ Anchor River Campground

■ Oct. 8 – Homer School Pictures – 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm @ Paul Banks Gym

■ Oct. 16 – High School Eligibility Due

■ Nov. 10 — 11 – UAA President Visits Peninsula (itinerary and information below)

Soldotna Office: Homeschool Gym Time at the Kenai Rec Center:

Every Tuesday starting Sept. 29 we will have gym time from 12-2 p.m. at the Kenai Rec Center for organized games for all homeschool families.

■ When: Every Tuesday from 12-2 p.m.

■ Where: Kenai Rec Center

■ What: Organized gym time with games, etc. for all ages and all homeschool families!

Please RSVP with Mark Wackler (mwackler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us ) so we can get an idea of how many people are attending. We hope to see you there!

Elementary Book Club: Soldotna:

Elementary Book Club Sept. 30 2 p.m. at the “new” Kaladi Bros. If you would like more information contact Wendi or Shelli at 714-8880.

Battle of the Books:

Connections is currently recruiting students that would like to participate in Battle of the Books. There is a team for all grades, so all students are eligible! Central Peninsula families please contact Mark Wackler (mwackler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us) and Homer families contact Derek Bynagle (dbynagle@kpbsd.k12.ak.us) for more information.

School Pictures Soldotna Office: Oct. 1

Soldotna – 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the Borough Building in the Assembly Room. Order portraits now at mylifetouch.com using Picture Day ID AK315267Q0. Also, our picture packets are in so stop by and pick one up!

Homer: Salmon in the Classroom Oct. 7:

As part of the Salmon in the Classroom Project, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is doing salmon egg takes at the Anchor River Campground on Wednesday Oct. 7. They do a great 45 minute program about the salmon life cycle including going through the spawning process and fertilizing eggs! I’m hoping to put together a K-6 grade Connections “class” to attend the 10:45 a.m. session. If you’re interested, please contact Derek at dbynagle@kpbsd.k12.ak.us or 226-1880 as soon as possible.

Homer School Pictures Oct. 8:

Homer – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. @ Paul Banks Gym

Book It – Pizza Hut Coupons:

We just received our Book It Pizza Hut coupons! The Book It program encourages students to earn Reading Award Certificates by meeting reading goals that you set. The certificates can be redeemed at Pizza Hut where they receive a one topping personal pan pizza to celebrate their reading accomplishments! Please stop by any of the Connections offices to to pick up the certificates and start the Book It program. We hope to see you soon!

UAA President Visits Peninsula:

University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen will be visiting the Peninsula for a 2 day tour November 10 and 11. Below is a draft itinerary to visit SoHi, KCHS and Homer as well as many other stops. He will also join in the Kenai/Soldotna joint chamber lunch, luncheon in Homer and other receptions in the Soldotna and Homer area. We encourage you to participate and meet Dr. Jim Johnsen.

Nov. 10: 7:45 a.m. Address 10-12th graders in Renee Henderson Auditorium (Homeschoolers invited)

8:45 a.m. KSRM Radio

Nov. 11: 7:40 a.m. Address 10-12th graders in auditorium (Homeschoolers invited)

9:55 a.m. Address 10-12th graders in Mariner Theater (Homeschoolers invited)

10:40 a.m. Depart for KBC (Kachemak Bay Campus)

After School Academies: Workforce Development Center Courses:

2015-2016 courses offered through the Workforce Development Center provide an opportunity for students to earn credit outside of the school day. Academies are 60-hour courses scheduled as funds and/or instructors become available throughout the school year. Students will earn a .5 practical art credit. Here is a link to the website: http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/OneStop/OneStop.aspx?id=30683

Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science

■ Monday, Sept. 28

3:45 – 4:45 p.m. Running Club will meet for the 2nd -5th graders enrolled in this activity; your child will need to bring running shoes, sweatpants, shirt and possibly a jacket, hat and gloves weather permitting.

■ Wednesday, Sept. 30

■ Friday, Oct. 2

It’s National Custodial Worker’s Day, remember to let the custodians know how much they are appreciate

Language Surveys are being sent home with students who have not yet turned one in. They are required of all students in the district, one time only.

Reminders

■ Oct. 7 – 3rd/4th graders will go to Anchor Point and Homer. If you plan to volunteer for this trip, please make sure you have completed all volunteer requirements and that your paperwork is completed 48 hours prior to trip date.

The Life Skill we are focusing on this week is Caring: To feel and show concern for others.

If your child arrives after 9:10 a.m., please come in and sign him / her in at the office.

If you would like to be a volunteer, be sure to complete your background check and volunteer training. Go to http://kaleidoscope.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/volunteers and click the link to the background check. Please allow up to 2 weeks for this to clear. The next link on the page will take you to the Online Volunteer Training. These 2 steps must be completed in order to volunteer at Kaleidoscope. Completed Volunteer Indemnification forms are needed 48 hours before all field trips.

Kenai Central High

■ Sept. 2015 Student of the Month:

Rotary – Brett Brown

Chamber – Tacy Caldwell

Elks – Sydnee Wyckoff

Physical Science – Johnathan Nash by Mr. Armstrong LA 9 – Caitlyn Burdick by Mr. Beck Study Skills – Sierra Morton by Mr. Carlson Biology – Kylan Lakshas by Ms. Grossl Alaska Studies – Lucienne Anderson by Mr. Lopez

Photography – Fionna Heath by Mr. Morton LA 10 – Alexandria (Lexie) Williams by Ms. Wagoner Physical Training – Cipriana Castelano by Mr. Baker.

Geometry – Brianna Bushnell by Mr. Calvert Health – Brook Satathite by Mr. Hanson Geometry – Emily Olson by Mr. Nyquist World History – Saffire Barber by Mr. Zorbas French 1 – Yareth Santana by Mrs. McCullough.

Algebraic Modeling – Mariah Graham by Mr. Peek Band – Brett Brown by Mrs. Sounart.

Congratulations also to go to Brett Brown, the Rotary Student of the Month, Tacy Caldwell the Chamber Student of the Month, and Sydnee Wyckoff, the Elks Student of the Month.

The Kard of the Deck award for most spirited student goes to Keenan Orth, and the Staffer of the Month award goes to Mr. Beck

■ Sept. 28

Academic Banquet 6 p.m.

■ Sept. 29

Volleyball (Home) vs Seward 3:30, 4:30, 6

■ Sept. 30

Senior Parent Night 6:30 p.m.

Wrestling Practice Begins

■ Oct. 1

Volleyball @ Homer 4, 5, 6:30

■ Oct. 3

Football (Home) vs Soldotna 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Swim/Dive @ Seward 10 a.m.

Kenai Middle

It’s a week to slow down and catch up. Encourage your students to enjoy the slower pace of the week ahead and catch up on assignments as the quarter’s end is drawing near.

Congratulations to our Character Counts winners this past week, Mary Lou Hunt and Carson Koppes.

Also, Congratulations to all KMS soccer teams on a super successful season!

National Custodial Day is Friday, Oct. 2nd.

If you have the opportunity be sure to take a moment to thank all of our custodians who work so hard for us here at Kenai Middle.

The Borough Cross Country meet will also be Friday in Seward. Details will be given out at practice.

Save the Date:

■ Oct. 5- Basketball Intramurals, for 7th & 8th graders, begins.

■ Oct. 15- Picture Retakes

Mountain View Elementary

The 30 day grace period for Free and Reduced meal benefits will end on Thursday, Oct. 01, 2015. As of Thursday, Oct. 01, 2015, all students who do not have a new application in and approved will have to bring a sack lunch or bring $2.85 for a hot lunch. Please allow up to 10 working days for an application to be processed. Applications are available at the office.

Get out and ride! Mountain View students and their families are invited to go for a bike ride with Mr. Kircher and other Mountain View staff on Friday, October 2nd from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Information was sent home with students last Friday. If you have any questions please call the office at 283-8600.

There will be a PTA meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 16 is an Inservice Day and there is no school for students.

Nikiski Middle-High

■ Sept. 28

C Team Football @ Nikiski vs. Homer – 4 p.m.

■ Sept. 29

C Team Volleyball @ Nikiski vs. SoHi – 3 p.m.

JV Volleyball @ Nikiski vs. SoHi – 4 p.m.

Varsity Volleyball @ Nikiski vs. SoHi – 5 p.m.

■ Oct. 2

Middle School Cross Country Running Boroughs Meet @ Seward – 3:00 p.m.

Homecoming Football game vs. Seward – 4 p.m. Last regular season home game – Senior Night!

■ Oct. 3

Homecoming Dance

Nikiski North Star Elementary

Our Innisbrook school fundraiser is in full swing. Please help support our school by purchasing quality products from the students. Items to purchase include : gift wrap, holiday accessories, candles, magazine subscriptions, chocolates and many more gift items. The fundraiser will run until Oct. 12. If you have any questions, please call the school at 776-2600.

Picture retake day will be on Friday, Oct. 2 in the school library beginning at 9 a.m.

The annual NNS Fall carnival will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 2 – 5 p.m. There will be food, games, prizes, auction baskets and lots more. Volunteers are always welcome for set up, running a booth and clean up.

Candy donations are always appreciated. Please see a PTA board member if you can help out in any way.

Please remember to send your child to school with appropriate outside gear for cooler weather. Also, please remember to put your child’s name on all of their belongings. If your child has misplaced their items, please check the lost and found.

Skyview Middle

Cameron Blackwell was chosen as the Aug./Sept. 8th Grade Chamber Student of the Month. She will be honored at the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Froso’s Restaurant at noon. Congratulations Cameron!

Activity Night – Friday, Oct. 2 – 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. – Parent volunteers needed! Kenai Peninsula Borough School District volunteer paperwork submission and approval is required to attend. Please contact the school at 260-2500 if you are interested.

Cross Country Running – Friday, Oct. 2 – Borough Meet at Seward – 3 p.m.

Upcoming Events!

■ Oct. 5 – Intramural Basketball begins! All students who wish to join must turn in the required sports forms before participation. Forms must be filled out for each sport. All forms may be picked up at the Front Office or found online on the Skyview Middle School blog > Skyview Sports > Required Sports Paperwork

■ Oct. 8 – Skyview Band / Choir / Drumline Concert – 7 p.m.

■ Oct. 15 – Picture Retakes

■ Oct. 15 – Site Council Meeting – Time TBA (rescheduled from Monday, Oct. 12)

■ Oct. 16 – No School for Students – End of First Quarter

Soldotna High

The Media Center is open until 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. There are buses at 4:15 p.m. for those students working in the Media Center. If your student were to stay after school and would need a bus home at 4:15 p.m. please contact Tamra Wear at 260.7036 or twear@kpbsd.k12.ak.us to give her the bus drop off location for your student.

ATOSS tutoring will start in the Library on Aug. 25 and run until May 4 from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

SoHi Pool Schedule:

Morning Lap swim 5:30-7:30 Mon – Friday

Evening Lap swim 6-7 Mon, Wed, Fri

Evening Open swim 7-8:45 Wed and Fridays

SoHi will be locking the Parking lot entrance Door during the following hours:

■ 7:40 a.m. to 11:55 p.m.

■ 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Also note that during school hours the only open door will be the Front Entrance Commons/Flag Pole doors. The above is to improve our overall school security.

There are two ways to order a transcript. Each way serves a different purpose.

If you need a transcript sent to a college or NCAA or a similar agency, then you will need to log on to: www.parchment.com to order transcripts to be sent. The request is then forwarded to SoHi. After processing, it then goes through cyberspace… rather than the US mail… to get to its destination, which is much faster! All transcripts that are headed for NCAA, colleges, etc. have to be processed this way!

Final Transcripts! A final transcript is one that shows your second semester grades… If you order your transcript when we are IN second semester… you will need to make sure you choose “next grading period” when you go on to Parchment… that way your transcript request will wait until the grades are in at the end of the year before it is sent.

Soldotna Montessori

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events at Soldotna Elementary:

■ Sept. 30- Soldotna Elementary will have a Safety Closure/ Lockdown drill at 10 a.m. This drill is to prepare staff and students for a situation involving imminent danger or an intruder on the premises using the new ALICE emergency training. Information about the new KPBSD Emergency Guidelines is available on the School District website at http://kpbsd.k12.ak.us under School Safety Closure or Delay Start information.

■ Oct. 1- Soldotna Elementary students, families and staff will participate in the International Walk your Child to School Event. Please join us in the parking lot of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church at 222 W. Redoubt Avenue at 8 a.m. to walk to school. Snacks will be served upon school arrival. All students must be accompanied by an adult.

■ Oct. 19- Get your smiles ready for school picture day.

To keep our school safe, visitors and volunteers are asked to sign in at the front office and pick up a visitor badge to wear while in the school. Anyone interested in volunteering can complete an online form by visiting the KPBSD website at www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us and click on the Volunteers Link. This process must be completed each school year.

Please contact the Human Resources Department with any questions.

Soldotna Prep

Congratulations to Brock Kant recipient of the September Student of the Month. He will be honored at the Next Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

After school Tutoring Monday through Thursday 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Check school blog for important information and updates http://soldotnaprep.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/

Yearbook Back to School Special $60 and personalized with name. Deadline is Sept. 30. Order forms available in the front office, or you can order on line at Jostens.com. We encourage you to purchase online. If not you will need to take your order form and payment to the SOHI office.

Sports, Yearbook, Robotics Club fees must be paid at SOHI.

Auditions for Night of One-Act Plays Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 23 and 24 in the SOHI Auditorium 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

“How to Succeed in High School Without Really Trying” Directed by Terri Zopf-Schoessler. Soprep picture retakes will be on Thursday, Oct. 1 in the library first thing in the morning.

The Study

The Study is excited to announce its expansion in the 2015-16 school year! Not only are they offering Academic Pre-K and Kindergarten, but have also added first through third grade!

If your little one is not receiving highly academic direct instruction, call The Study to inquire about how to enroll in their year-long programs.

For the older students, The Study offers the following:

— High School Courses for Credit: Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Alaska Studies, Government, Art Exploration, Spanish, ASL

— Homework Club on Mondays & Wednesdays from 4:00-6:00

— Private & Group Tutoring in all subjects

— Piano, Voice, and Guitar Lessons

— SAT Prep

A wide variety of workshops, such as Jr. High Math, Mastery of Multiplication, Excellence in Writing, Ground School, Study Skills, and even Summer School. As an accredited private school and learning center, The Study is committed to meeting the educational needs of the Kenai Peninsula.

Mark your calendars on the following days:

■ Oct. 6 – Bear Creek/Sea Life Center Field Trip

■ Oct. 9 – Picture Day

■ Oct. 16 – Inservice / No School

■ Oct. 30 – Parent Teacher Conferences

Tustumena Elementary

■ Oct. 15 – Site Council Meeting, 5:30 p.m. school library

■ Oct. 16 – Inservice Day/No School for Students

■ Oct. 19 – Lynx Track to Ninilchik Pool for Kindergarten

■ Oct. 20 – PTO Meeting, 4 p.m.

■ Oct. 20 – Lynx Track to Ninilchik Pool for First Grade / Hay Tunnel for Second/Third Grade

■ Oct. 21 – Lynx Track to Hay Tunnel for Fourth/Fifth/Sixth Grade