School Board Awards Night—April 2, 2014

School Board Awards Night—April 2, 2014

MSBSD
School Board Awards Night—April 2, 2014
School Board Awards Night April 2014 “It is about each of you being better today than you were yesterday.” Dr. Deena M. Paramo
Brother and sister, Jack and Baylee Middleton, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
They are Iditarod Elementary students.
MSBSD Mission: Mat-Su Borough School District prepares students for success
Honoring the life and legacy of Norm Schuyler Rousey, Sr.—Norm Rousey, Jr., Katie Rousey, Rhonda Rousey Knopp, Dr. Deena Paramo, and
School Board President, Mrs. Susan Pougher (not pictured Jenny Rousey Dick), and in background, Board member Deborah Retherford
Leah Smith, Colony Middle School
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Silver Medal
Denise Greene-Wilkinson, Executive Director
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
2nd Place Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Button Design Contest
Baylee Middleton, Iditarod Elementary School
Jordan Johnson, 1st Place State VFW Essay Contest Winner
“What Patriotism Means To Me”
Esther Heck, teacher, Palmer Junior Middle School
Middle School Wrestling Championship
1st Place, Palmer Junior Middle School
Team: Tristen Pendergrass, Hunter Grieve, Anthony Espinoza, Payton Portney, Kenzey
Larson, Rodney Godwin, Hunter Kuznicki, Devin Gentz, Cole Blydenburgh, Wade
McGann, Lucas Gutierrez, Miller Armstrong, Cameron Casey, Levi Farris, Elijah
Sunderland, Jaden Neckels, Joseph Rankin, Anthony Miley, Kira Geiger, Nicholas
Reyes, Ian Roberts, David Kitagawa, Jack Fouch, Corey Dahlberg, Vinisha Soto,
Elizabeth Watchus, Jason Watkins, Sidney Watchus, Matthew Daniels, Hunter Ogle,
Darren Caldentey, Kaleb Rock, Michael Evans, Brenan Powell, Nathan Reeves, Gaven
Frazier, Chase Bruesch, Timothy Meyer, Jeff Glynn, Michael Godwin, Brandon Drew,
Dylan Myers, Nathan Heit, Zion Rogers, Heaven-Leigh Kellar, Zoey Oviatt, Christian
Kurka, Mariah Miller, Rowan Porter, Blake Tomlinson, Lucas Santana, Justin Morgan,
Sam Dakutak, Talon Kellar, Dylan Williams, Abraham Foytik, Keith Anderson.
PJMS finished the Tanana
invitational eighth 305 total
points and 5 individual
champions, including 3 eighthgraders, Christian Kurka,
Lucas Santana, and Abe Foytik,
capping undefeated seasons.
Valley teams have now won the
invitational 21 years running,
dating back to 1994.
Coaches: Don Malone, Kim Bergey, and Chris Andersen. “Dedication shines through
for coach.” (The Frontiersman on Don Malone)
MSBSD says, “Congratulations” students and staff
Alta Dean, Colony High School awarded 1st Place in
Alaska Marine Science Symposium Independent Research Project
“Potential Ocan acidification In Prince William Sound” is Alta’s
project and she is in Year 3 of a 4-Year Study
Paul Chamblee, Colony High School has received an appointment
to the United States Military Acadmey at West Point
Carl and Lulu Chamblee are Paul’s parents
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
“Sports are highly competitive, but let me tell
you, Battle of the Books is a real battle, too,”
said Dr. Deena Paramo. Students are required
to read books from a list provided by the
Alaska Association of School Librarians. They
learn minute details of the plot, information
about the characters, the setting of the story,
and the overall theme of each book. “By the
time they get to the State Battle,” said Dr.
Paramo, “they have probably memorized
every word on every page of these books.”
Let’s celebrate these outstanding
readers in our District and the State!
1st Place in MSBSD and 1st Place at State
Colony Middle School Team
Karina Holcomb, Molly Frati, Shannon
Powers, and Shannon Frati
1st Place in MSBSD and 3rd Place at State
Colony High School Team
Cathelyne Powers, Rebecca Seals, and
Lunia Oriol
1st Place in MSBSD and 8th Place at State
Talkeetna Elementary 3rd/4th Grade Team
Samara Fox, Finn Benischek, Theo Carbone,
and London Moren
1st Place in MSBSD and 4th Place at State
Machetanz Elementary 5/6 Grade Team
Trey Whitehead, Jillian Holland, Lydia Bushey,
and Kate Smith
25th Annual State Mock Trial Championship
3rd Place, Wasilla High School
Team: Cooper Hanson (shown), Chaz Rivas, Kurt Busness, William
Murphy, Riley Burroughs, Marissa Beachell, Poom Benjachaya,
Leeana Backlin, Kyle Howlett, Kevin O’Loughlin
Letter of Intent to Play for Northwest Nazarene University
Brandon Schafer, Colony High School
American Heart Association Award for performing CPR on student
at Jazz Festival— Sarah Maffe, Palmer High School
At the Jazz Festival last year, a Lathrop High School student left the
stage and dropped to the floor, his breathing halted and his heart
stopped. Palmer High School student Sarah Maffe, who had recently
trained as a lifeguard, did not hesitate and began CPR.
Letter of Intent to Run for UAA
Mariah Burroughs, Wasilla High School
Runner No. 752
JROTC State Championships: 1st Place JROTC Armed Exhibition – Colony High School
Team: Nathan Sidell, Nathan Barnett, Morgan Chapman, Zachary Pfeiffer, Lane Johnson, Natanya Peck, Marcus Cosby, Paul Chamblee,
Tristan Youngberg, David Donaldson. Command: LTC Gerald “Butch” Diotte and 1SG Derk Heavener (not pictured).
ASAA Wrestling State Championship
1st Place, Wasilla High School
Team: Dillon Simpson, Bruce Hill, Brandon Abbott, Berit Sturgeon, Kade Torres, Bryan McKimson, Logan Albrecht, Justin Gentz, Samuel
Wolff, Troy Newland, Westen Wall, Nate McKimson, DJ Morrow, Blake Marks, Chancy Boatman, Billy Schultz, Brady Ingersoll, Quace
Wright, Zech Rockstad.
Coach: Shawn Hayes
Individual Champions:
98 – Bryce Adams, Colony High School
152 – Nate McKimson, Wasilla High School
220 – Ben Button, Palmer High School
Houston High School Welding Competition
1st Place, Mitchell Ruta – Houston High School
Alaska Brain Bee
A state-wide competition about the brain function, brain anatomy,
and neurology.
1st Place, Sarah Johns - Alaska Middle College School
3rd Place, Cooper Danner - Colony High School
2nd Place, Anchorage School District student
ASAA World Language Declamation Competition
French 2 Culture 3rd Place – Abigail Liebing, Palmer
French 1 Poetry 1st Place – Lunia Oriol, Colony
French 1 Poetry 2nd Place – Emily Maxwell, Colony
French 4 Poetry 1st Place – Julia Wendling, Colony
Japanese 2 Poetry 2nd Place – Emily Maxwell, Colony
Japanese 3 Poetry 2nd Place – Emma German, Colony
Japanese 3 Poetry 3rd Place – Aurora Sappa, Wasilla
Japanese 4 Poetry 1st Place – Jessica Saiki, Wasilla
Japanese 4 Poetry 3rd Place – Gwen Swingle, Wasilla
Japanese Native Speaker Poetry – Yurika Tango, Wasilla
Japanese 1 Impromptu 1st Place – Haley Jenkins, Wasilla
Japanese 1 Impromptu 2nd Place – Toryn Dodd, Wasilla
Japanese 1 Impromptu 3rd Place – Leah Beauvais, Wasilla
Japanese 2 Impromptu 1st Place – Bethany Paju, Wasilla
Japanese 3 Impromptu 1st Place – Emma German, Colony
Japanese 3 Impromptu 2nd Place – Katelyn Foster, Colony
Japanese 2 Dialogues 3rd Place – Erika Foldenauer & Emily Maxwell, Colony
Japanese 3 Dialogues 1st Place – Katelyn Foster & Emma German, Colony
Spanish 1 Dialogues 2nd Place – Rene Yzaguirre & Diego Pinna, Colony
Spanish 3 Dialogues 2nd Place – Marissa Corleone and Alta Dean, Colony
Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition
1st Place, Tyler Kelly – Twindly Bridge
2nd Place, Peyton Shaw – Colony High
3rd Place, Katie Sahlstrom, Twindly Bridge
4th Place, Freya Doyle, Twindly Bridge
5th Place, Annie Kessler – Colony High
Tyler’s father accepted his award. Tyler
competed in the State Poetry Out Loud
competition in Juneau, representing the
Mat-Su Borough School District.
ASAA Cheerleading State Championships
1st Place Small Varsity Division Colony High School Varsity Cheer
Team: Riley Seibert, Bethany Dittbrender, Bailey Lagg, Kayla Capurro, Emily Brevard, Ashley Hunt, Dominique
Hinds, Ronnie Dodson
Coach: Chris Hebert — Continuing the winning streak of more than a decade
ASAA Basketball State Championships
2nd Place, Colony High School Girls
Team: Courtney Scott, Taylor Henke, Ariana Saxon, Faith Farris, Izzy Tweed, Chase Stephens,
Teyah Clark, Ashley Turcotte, Sarah Brumbaugh, Taylor Kauffman, Jennifer Solano, Sarah Bonn.
Coach: Jeff Bowker
3rd Place - Colony High School Boys
Mike Haire, Tucker Looney, Bailey West, Anton Chamblee, Damien Fulp, Harrison Menard,
Noah Sessom, Graham Dinkel, Eric Nygard, Robert Sonnenberg, Antonio Bush.
Coach: Tom Berg
ASAA 2A State Volleyball Championship
1st Place, Su Valley High School
Team: Sarena Drover, Gabby Faurot, Emily Hartley, Reckia Heuton, Dana Hogan,
Deborah Johnston, Ayla Loper, Ruby Matthews, Kelsey Olson, Libby Reinert,
Mariah Reynolds, Robin Spaulding.
State Individual Awards:
Player of the Game – Dana Hogan
Outstanding Serve Award – Mariah Reynolds
Outstanding Hitter – Emily Hartley
All-Tournament – Emily Hartley, Ayla Loper, Dana Hogan
National Wendy’s High School Heisman Award - Emily Hartley (shown right)
Alaska Society for Technology in Education (ASTE)
High School Student of the Year
Sterling Maffe – Palmer High School
Mat-Su College
18th Annual High School Portfolio Competition
1st Place (also winner of two-semester scholarship)
Riana Sather - Mat-Su Central School (photo from
Riana)
Hard Rock Café Design Contest
Stefan Wilson - Larson Elementary School Custodian
Alaska Sports Hall of Fame
Jeannie Hebert-Truax, Wasilla High School Girls Baksetball
Coach has been inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame
Class of 2014
(Photo credit: Frontiersman)
Meet Your MSBSD School Board (L to R)
Ole Larson, Vice President, Sarah Welton, Clerk, Susan Pougher, President, Dr. Donna Dearman,
Deborah Retherford, Ray Michaelson, and Carly Williams, SAB
Stacy Escobedo, Admin. Assistant
Dr. Deena M. Paramo, Superintendent
Mission: Mat-Su Borough School District prepares students for success