It was a great year in our grade schools
Following a friend’s suggestion, this KC will once again do a review of some of the most exciting this our elementary school kids did last year.
In January, Purdy Elementary held its annual literacy themed “Dive Into A Good Book.” Attendees did just that. Stations around the school had reading games, reading to dogs, a scavenger hunt in the library, local author Lori Gallo, and much more. Second-grader Alex Bemenderfer “loved all the books there to take home because I love to read. I really loved the very sweet dogs; one even licked my hand.” Her brother Nico, shared how “I thought it was silly reading to the Golden Retriever and it licked me on the ear.”
At a book exchange station in the gym, fourth-grader Max Marousek declared, “I liked the free books. I came away with four!” Organizer Megan Manning said, “This night is the kickoff to our Read and Lead Program. Students who read 1000 minutes in six weeks earn rewards thanks to a gift from Gig Harbor Garden Tour. The Russell family built a mini-library in front of the school. “Families will be able to continue to donate and receive books throughout the year,” explained assistant principal Karra Lantz.
Science in the Theater
Also in January, Galaxy Theatres made a theater available for a full house of Vaughn Elementary fourth-graders who absorbed lessons on the qualities, dangers, and astonishing properties of liquid nitrogen, a project provided by a partnership between West Sound STEM Network, Galaxy Theatres, and NASA.
“We know engaging students in STEM will pay future dividends for college and career readiness,” said Dr. Kareen Borders, Director of WSSN, a dynamic collaboration of educators, business leaders, and representatives from local government and the military, working to link students, teachers, and the community to the vast array of STEM resources in our region. Vaughn’s principal, Lillian Page, said, “this STEM night was spearheaded by fourth grade teacher Beth Stitt, wife of David Stitt, Science/Math teacher at Peninsula High School. With support from the Pacific Science Center and NASA we had the STEM Night/Movie Night with Galaxy Theaters and great attendance. We now have Heidi Heistand, a Technology, Math, Coding specialist, along with coding programs for all grade levels and are focusing on adding more and more opportunities for integrating STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math) daily.” For fourth-grader Mason Bhonstedt, “It was cool when they froze a ball and dropped it. It shattered and we each got to keep a piece. If you scratched the frozen pieces, it felt like a chalkboard. I’d LOVE to do it again!” Said student Jackson Staples, “I am definitely more excited about science now.”
A Show about Snow
February found Harbor Heights Elementary fourth-graders in a spectacular production of “The Legend of Polar Mountain” with what appeared to be “a cast of thousands.” Costumes were fantastic, many adorned with flashing LED lights. The kids enthusiastic voices brought lumps to throats. Imagine a land covered in snow and ice where the sun sets in autumn and is gone for many months, the only illumination is the mysterious shimmering Northern Lights! An old storyteller tells of a young girl named Galena and her little brother Tagalong who find themselves lost in a raging blizzard. They meet Sasquatch and her friends, the animals of the frozen north. Parker Keyes, who performed as “snow” in the raging blizzard, said, “My favorite part is I got to learn that I like to perform.” Ethan Schroeder’s favorite part was, “that Tagalong gave a sock to Sassy who then blowed her nose and gave it back to Tagalong.” Mrs. Sherry Ann Mayfarth’s class played Aurora Bourealis and lit up the stage like a thousand magical mystical lights dipping and turning across the darkened stage. Mary Ficca said, “I loved Polar Mountain. I learned something about myself. After this play I had confidence in myself. Performing on stage felt amazing; the crowd laughing, enjoying and loving it. It made all of fourth-graders feel joy!”
From the audience, kindergartner Marshall Kueck said, “I really liked the storm.” Classmate Hannah Yasuda”liked it when they threw the bear high up in the air in the blanket toss.” Fifth-grader Amiri Jolly “really liked the lighting. It made the mountain on the backdrop pop.” Madisen Somers, second grader, “liked Old Yupik; how he tells us the story and how he sang the song, ‘Once on a Wintertime’.” Her classmate Ally Dehope-Smith “especially liked the song ‘You Gotta Have Hope.’ It made the audience happy.”
Musical in The Lodge
In March, Discovery Elementary School held an exciting musical event in The Lodge dining room at Gig Harbor’s Mallard’s Landing. “Over the past six years,” said Jeremy Wilson, music specialist at Discovery, “I’ve run a choir and rock band club. The students are dedicated, give up their recess time or come before or after school to participate in these special clubs. We’ve supported our community at a variety of different venues over the years, which gives students a chance to perform and give back at the same time. I plan to continue having my groups perform at least once each year in the Gig Harbor community and welcome folks who’d like us to perform to contact our school.”
That’s just a drop in the bucket of what our kids accomplished in 2019. It was a BUSY year!