4th Graders wrote poetry during their 1st expedition, then after Christmas, they began working on performances combining poetry reading, music composition, and speaking and listening standards. In small groups students composed music played by other students in their group. Families were invited to come watch the performances, and then afterwards everyone joined up to participate in a whole group drum circle. Students also shared other learning about the Oregon Trail. Overall, it was exciting to introduce a new KFES tradition to the school especially one to share with families.
This year because of the wonderful suggestion made by one of our 8th grade students and the kindness of Mrs. Purvis for hosting in her room, we started a card club at the middle school. They met once a week after school playing card games, learning new card games, teaching each other new games, laughing, and making new friends. Over the course of the year we had a special guest come in to share some magic tricks with us. We would like to thank Magician John Hill for giving his time to share some amazing card tricks with us. I am still trying to figure out how he made that card vanish. Thank you to Mrs. Purvis, Jada, and John Hill for a great first year of card club!
On Monday March 27th our 8th grade student were able to take a trip to 49 Degrees North ski hill! This is an annual trip that all 8th graders get to take. Some students were experts on the ski hills, while others this was the first time they have ever been on skis. The 8th grade class would like to thank the teachers who came up to the ski hill, the substitute teachers that helped cover classes while the teachers were gone, our bus driver for getting us there, and the ASB for the generous donation to help make this trip possible. The 8th graders had a great time and came back to school the next day sore from all the fun they had skiing.
The Kettle Falls Early Learning Center stays open during spring break to provide a fun environment where students get to be creative and spend enjoy time outdoors.
Students at KFMS attended their first annual pi night on 3.14. Mrs. Purvis provided different activities for students and families to earn tokens for participating in “pi challenges.” Pi, in mathematics, is the ratio of the circumference to its diameter. In its decimal form, the value of pi is approximately 3.14; but the full decimal representation for Pi never ends. Kara was awarded an blueberry pie for being able to recite the first 103 digits of pi from memory. Other students took home pies from a raffle drawing. The night ended with families enjoying pizza. Make sure to join us next year for our next pi celebration!
Mr. Kroiss and his students have started learning and playing the popular game of Pickleball! It is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where 2-4 players hit a plastic ball over a net using paddles. Pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in America for the past three years. There are currently 10,320 pickle ball courts in the United States.
Kettle Falls High School's woodshop classes offer students the opportunity to develop valuable woodworking skills by making projects that are both fun and functional. The high school offers three levels of classes to improve students skills that will help in various trades. Students who complete these classes have a great understanding of woodworking skills, safety skills and techniques. Our kids make some pretty amazing projects that they get to take home.
Third grade had an awesome adventure to WildWalls in Spokane. The students did a great job representing Kettle Falls. They were polite, had perseverance, and some say they even faced their fears!
Friday, March 17th was St. Patrick’s Day. The middle school was lucky enough to have some special leprechauns visit each and every class today sharing some special treats with the teachers in our building. We are very lucky to have these special people in our building! Thank you for sharing your magically delicious snacks with us!
Mrs. Debbie Crumpler drives bus four to Williams Lake each day and has been driving Kettle Falls students for the past thirteen years. Each day, Mrs. Debbie and other awesome drivers transport students safely to and from their homes, sporting events, field trips, etc. Mrs. Debbie is one of eight drivers at the Kettle Falls School District and we are lucky to have all of our dedicated bus drivers and transportation staff; they are a crucial part of our school!
Students at KFSD have been practicing safety drills all year long. This week the schools practiced a full evacuation which would happen if there was an emergency and we were unable to go back into the building before going home. The KFMS students evacuated to the high school gym. In the event of a real emergency, parents would be rerouted to the high school for reunification with their children. We currently have two students who were unable to walk to the high school, so this gave us some practice on how we would transport students who needed additional assistance. Each drill gives us the opportunity to review what went well and what we need to work on. Our School Safety Officer, Matt Stephens, serves as our district liaison and is able to align the building’s safety plans.
Kettle Falls High School has partnered with GEAR Up to offer some great experiences and opportunities to visit postsecondary campuses to learn about admissions, academic programs, and financial aid options, attend student workshops, and participate in summer campus experiences. Our students have recently been on several campus tours to learn what it takes to be a college student and explore each school’s campus and culture. KFHS students have recently traveled to the University of Idaho, Washington State University, Eastern Washington University, The Paul Mitchell Institute, and Spokane Community College.
4th Graders have been researching animals common to Washington state. They were fortunate enough to have some experts from the Department of Fish and Wildlife come to give more information about white-tail deer, bald eagles, cougars, and grey wolves. The students learned more about the animal’s habitats, how they protect themselves, and their life stages.
Mr. Hansen’s Opps Electives Podcasting class is busy taping interviews and creating quarterly school broadcast updates. This quarter they have focused on Character Strong, Spring Sports, Build A Better World Day and our new School Security Officer. The students are responsible for the entire broadcast from designing the questions to taping and completing the interview. This quarter of broadcasts will be posted on our website this spring. Stay tuned.
Students in Mrs. Tetrick’s textiles class have been busy creating dresses for girls around the world. In partnership with “Dress a Girl Around the World”Kettle Falls students create dresses for girls in third world countries. Dress a Girl is a campaign under Hope 4 Women International which brings dignity to women worldwide and has been doing so since 2006. This is an excellent service learning opportunity. According to Dress a Girl, “We dream of a world in which every girl has at least one new dress. We want girls to know that they are worthy of respect, and that they are loved.” Excellent job students!
You are never to old to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday! Some lucky students in Mrs. St. Clair's class enjoyed listening to a Dr. Seuss book and eating some green egg and ham! Other classrooms spent some time reading Dr. Seuss books and participating in “Read Across America Day.” This day was launched in 1998 and is the nation’s largest celebration of reading.
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”- Dr. Seuss
Kindergarten students have been learning about the art of paper collage. During expedition labs, they are creating leaf artwork to decorate our classroom. This ties together with our module about trees and how animals and people depend on trees! They also celebrated the 100th day of school in style by making crowns and participating in STEM activities. Students collaborated to build creations using 100 legos, brain flakes, plates, and cups.
The FFA trapshooting team did GREAT at the shoot in Tonasket. Aiden Fowler placed 1st for the boys and Bailee Heater placed 1st for the girls. The team placed 1st overall out of 13 teams!
The elementary school celebrated Valentine’s Day with the traditional extravaganza of parties and activities. Such a sweet opportunity to practice building a community of inclusion and kindness within every classroom!
Building ONE TEAM! Thank you to the high school cheerleaders for coming to the middle school to teach our students some new cheers. With your help we are building some great school spirit. Our students are doing a great job cheering at the basketball games. Also, thank you to our new school security officer, Matt Stevens, for helping with our class competition during the assembly. Welcome to our school, we are happy to have you working in our school district.
