September 2014 Newsletter - Harrington Public Schools

TITAN NEWS
September 2014
Harrington School Newsletter
Principal Greetings
Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year here in Harrington! My name is Justin
Bradford and I am the new principal in Harrington. I am looking forward to getting to
know all of the students and their families and I am ready for a memorable and productive year. Already, I have received a warm welcome from students, the community and
our staff.
First, I am exceptionally thrilled to be a part of the Harrington community. I have
been an educator for 24 years. I am originally from Los Angeles, California. My family
and I moved to the Spokane area in 2005. I have worked in a variety of schools – both
large and small – and have taught many different subjects in every grade level from
kindergarten through 12th grade. As a special education teacher I have worked primarily with students who struggle with emotional and behavioral issues. I have also served
as a director, a dean, and a department chair. For the last four years I have worked as
the Behavior Intervention Coordinator for Cheney Public Schools. Harrington Schools
offers me the opportunity to again work closely with students, families and staff in a
small, personal setting. During my interview process I was very happy to hear about
the many positive things happening in our school. Additionally, the pride that our community has in its school was extremely apparent.
In addition to myself, please welcome our new 4th/5th grade teacher Tiffany Clouse
and our new Agriculture teacher, Betty Warner. I know, like me, they are looking forward to being here in Harrington and meeting their students and their families.
My contact information is included below. Please feel free to get hold of me if you
need anything, have questions or just want to introduce yourself. Please drop by. I will
also be getting out and about in the community to meet all of you as well.
A few upcoming dates to remember –
rd
 Friday, October 3 – NO SCHOOL (staff will be attending a workshop in Davenport)
th
 Wednesday, October 8 – LATE START (moved from 10/15 to accommodate an allschool field trip to Davenport for Rachel’s Challenge - www.rachelschallenge.org
With Hope,
K-1 class charmed by their new
principal, Mr. Bradford.
Tiffany Clouse
4th & 5th grade
Justin T. Bradford, Jr.
Cell 509.280.7663
Office 509.253.4331
[email protected]
Harrington Titans unite for another memorable year learning together.
Photo courtesy of Stacey Rassmussen, Farmer’s Daughter Photography
Betty Warner
FFA /Agriculture
A GRAND LUNCH
Maddox Schumacher, Cody and Mac Larmer
Sami Crawford with Jim and Gwen Homer
Maddox Schumacher with Bo and Twila
Schumacher
with Renea Larmer
2nd & 3rd grade with Miss Roberts
I’m so proud of this group for remembering their daily folder every day
since they got them! Please keep looking at them nightly and getting them
back in their backpacks so it can continue. The daily folder is a great way
for you to see what is going on in the classroom, and it is where I will send
important information.
The folders we have double as a homework folder. Students have been
doing a really good job at reading and returning the paper signed by who
they read it to. Reading homework is almost nightly for second grade, and
only occasionally for third. Readings are preferably due the next day, but I
definitely understand that some nights are busier than others, so it is no
problem if it takes a little longer. The math homework packet is due at the
end of the week. Both the reading and the math can be moved to the back
of the folder in the ‘completed homework’ pocket when they are finished.
Bring your grandparents to lunch was very fun for the kids! They loved
getting to eat and spend time with them. Big thanks to all the grandparents who were able to take time out of their busy schedules to join us.
Thank you also to Alyssa Mann and Linda Colbert for being substitute
grandparents.
Sincerely,
Miss Roberts
Scout and Lane Sewall with Cindy and Tim
Sewall
Brody Hendrickson with Ed and Marsha
Hendrickson
Toryn and Madisyn Nuner
Randy Mahrenholz
Jerrila Marsh with Jerry
Claire and Aaron Ikehara and Jerrila Marsh
with Lavaughn Nuner
with Alyssa Mann
and Shirley Wadkins
with Linda Colbert
6th grade with Mr. Larmer
The sixth graders are off to an excellent start, with 12 students making up the class.
We are currently using a new reading series called Wonders. This series is an updated version of our old reading series. The sixth graders seem to like the new stories, and they
are Common Core based.
The class also is involved with a new science kit titled, Solar Energy. The Solar Energy kit has many activities based
around the sun. The students learned how the sun moves
across the sky and kept track of its movement by watching
their own shadows move across the sidewalk and drew an outline around them. They also kept track of how the temperatures rose and fell in earth materials like sand, water, and potting soil.
But it wasn’t all about solar energy. The class took a break
from the regular kit and dissected some owl pellets. The photos show them hard at work seeing all of the different small
animals that an owl may have digested.
Alexys Crawford and William Armstrong
Naomi Smith and Kevin Kennedy
4th & 5th grade with Mrs. Clouse
Ten year old, Zackary Bruce sweeping away
all the adult competition in the 1 mile run in
the Fall Festival Huff N Puff Fun Run with a
time of 7 minutes 19 seconds!
We are learning so much already! Our 17 students are working hard at
building our classroom community and treating each other with respect by
being good citizens in and outside the classroom. We are also practicing the
use of a planner and using them daily to record homework for families.
In reading we are working with a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts.
Fourth graders have been working with Essential Questions such as: “Where
do good ideas come from?” and “How do your actions affect others?” while
some of fifth grade’s Essential Questions have been: “How do we get the
things we need?” and “How can experiencing nature change the way you
think about it?”
In math fourth grade has been learning about place value with rounding
and comparing numbers as well as adding and subtracting whole numbers
with addition properties and subtraction rules. Fifth grade has learned about
place value with decimals and are beginning to multiply whole numbers using
prime factorization and exponents.
I am really enjoying getting to know this class! I look forward to a great
year of learning and working with families to make your child’s year successful!
Counselor’s Corner with Ginny Lathem
Ah, the new school year! After too many years to count, this is still my absolute favorite time of the year. There is
something so wonderful about a new beginning and the joy of seeing students again; it is indeed a renewal time. It
is also time to jump in and begin the work of preparing students both academically and socially for now and the future.
At the K-5 level, students have seen the video, Sooper Puppy which explains through a story and a song about
how to identify trouble and how to say no. Ask your child to sing the Sooper Puppy song to you. We have also practiced identifying trouble saying no while giving oneself a pat on the back for a job well done. If you have time, ask
your child to share with you some examples of potential trouble and how she/he would say no.
Later this month, I will begin teaching the sixth graders refusal skills which helps them say no while keeping their
friends. This process helps students prepare for middle and high school years.
With the seniors, we have started getting ready for life after high school. Ask your child about the letter they received and go over it with them. If you are a parent of a senior, know we will be in close contact, especially around
FAFSA time.
For the rest of the middle/high school, we will be working on career exploration and development. I hope to continue the seminar series: “You can get paid for that?” where speakers come in and discuss their careers. This begins with a field trip on Oct. 7th to Kennewick where interested students will learn about the construction industry. If
you have a career you would like to share with students, please contact me.
Finally, we will continue the work we began last year on being kind to each other. As Maya Angelou so clearly
stated: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget
how you made them feel.”
Odessa-Harrington Leadership students
H-students: Colt Sanford, Samantha Nighswonger, Jordyn Tanke, Isabelle Phillips, Derek Montgomery
Preschool with Mrs. Larmer
Four generations in the Fall Festival Huff N Puff
Fun Run: Julie Teade -'79, daughter of Glen '58 and Eileen Tanke '59; Alyssa Oestreich,
daughter of Julie; Eileen Tanke; Bayler and
Paxtyn - children of Alyssa and Dusty
Oestreich '02.
Library News
Preschool is off to a great start as sixteen students arrived to
begin a year of play, learning and growing. We have been having
such a good time getting to know each other and making new
friendships. Our morning begins with Free Choice, as the
students make decisions as to which area of the classroom they
will play. Some choose to paint, some go to the water table,
others to blocks. Next, the class participates in Circle Time
Center learning about the calendar, letters, rhyming words, colors,
shapes, weather and numbers. It is a good way to get everybody
thinking for the day. We follow that with another session of Free
Choice before we get involved in Learning Time, which involves
a literacy activity and a good book. We follow that with a cool
science experiment and finish with some groovy music. Art takes
place next as we create a project to compliment our theme of the
day.
We love recess—a fun filled fifteen minutes outside running,
jumping and chasing. When we return to our classroom our
helper, Alyssa, has a yummy snack waiting for us. We finish the
day with math, clean-up time and story time. What a busy
morning we have but the students enjoy staying active and
involved.
We have been learning nursery rhymes and fairy tales this
month. We have had a Humpty Dumpty egg drop, eaten Little
Miss Muffet curds and whey, and did an exciting science
experiment with Jack Be Nimble's candlestick. And where
was Little Boy Blue, well, he was everywhere as we practiced
positional words with a mini haystack. One of our favorite fairy
tales was the Gingerbread Man. We made our own gingerbread
people and baked them. Thankfully they didn't run away, and we
got to eat them. We planted bean seeds and we are watching our
beanstalks begin to grow, not as fast as Jack's, but it's a start. In
math we used some fun manipulatives to pretend to grow long
hair for the story of Rapunzel. Measuring and comparing lengths
was fun. We have had a great month here in preschool and we
are looking forward to October as we have some amazing fall
activities planned.
We have had two new books donated to
the elementary library this month.
Thank you to Mrs. Sanford and the K/1
class for their donation of "The Sandwich
Swap" in honor of Ginny Lathem.
Thank you to Mrs. Larmer and the
preschool class for their donation of
"Soccer on Sunday" in memory of
Alyssa Mann's Grandpa and Grandma
Frederick.
We are also very appreciative of the
families that donated the lightly used
books to the library.
Isaak Brown, Chance Smith, Toryn Nuner and Kailyn Dafler
captivated by the story telling abilities of Mrs. Larmer
Kindergarten & 1st grade with Mrs. Sanford
Thank you for sending your children to school rested and ready
to learn. We are busy getting into the school routine, and we look
forward to learning and singing together daily!
Thank you so much to Nancy Timm for donating school supplies
to our classroom. We can never have too many crayons or glue
sticks and we really appreciate you!
Thank you so much to the family members who were able to join
us for lunch in honor of Grandparents’ Day. We had a wonderful
time having you as our special guests.
Thank you to Carolyn Mattozzi for making the wonderful cupcakes to help us celebrate Mr. Bradford’s birthday!
As a way of communication, the students will be bringing home
folders each night. Please return the folders to school daily. The
folder will have any practice sheets or homework types of activities
that your child may need to work on. The folder will also have any
information being sent home from the office. If your child’s folder
gets lost, just let us know and we’ll get a new folder sent home. If an
item is on the HOME side- please keep it at home, anything on the
RETURN side needs to be returned the following day.
Reading is such an important part of the K/1 program. Our
classroom goal is for you to read or listen to your child read every
single day. We know that the more you read, the better you read, so
please read, read and read together!
Scholastic book orders will be coming home monthly. This is a
great way for you to build your home library as the prices are reasonable. Just send in the form if you are interested. If you are ever in
need of books for a holiday and would like for
me to not send them
home with your child,
but to keep them until
you can pick them upjust let me know.
Thank you for sharing your children with
me. We are having a
great year! Please call
with any questions (2534331) or e-mail: [email protected]
and I will do my best to
Scout Sewall and Macrae Larmer
get right back to you.
experiencing the Fall Festival Fun
Happy birthday Mr. Bradford!
Our little patriots Macrae Larmer, Ryan Kennedy
and Scout Sewall on September 11th
Band with Mr. Nighswonger
Greetings and salutations to all,
I hope that everyone had a great, although too quick, summer. As
the beginning of this (my 36th) year of teaching approached, I again found
myself very excited about the possibilities and probabilities for successes,
achievements, and improvements that the students at Harrington will have.
We have gotten off to a quick start with our 7-12 marching band already
participating in both the Odessa and Harrington parades, and at the home
football on the 26th.
This group has also been running the “Liquid Assets” coffee cart at
different functions such as the Lincoln County Fair, the football game and at
Fall Festival. Starting on October the 6th we will be offering these coffee
services on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the morning before school.
We will be located in the cafeteria and will be open from 7:30 to 8:15. We
will not, however, serve to students while breakfast is being offered. So
come on in and let us provide you a morning drink to kick off your day.
The younger elementary music classes are busy learning new songs
with different body movements to help establish a sense of beat, pulse, and
tempo, which are needed for our future studies in rhythm. We are also
starting to sing some seasonal songs about Halloween which they really
enjoy. The 4th/5th grade class is in beginning band this year and is progressing along quite nicely. I have recorded some of their early in the year
sounds, which will be great for them to hear in the last week of school.
They will really hear how far they have come in just nine months.
FBLA chapter members donning their Huff
N Puff T-shirts
Shaelyn Nuner enticing customers to the Liquid Assets
coffee stand to help support the band
FBLA with Mrs. Kruger
The FBLA members would like to thank all the
sponsors, participants and volunteers who made this
year’s Huff N Puff Fun Run at the Fall Festival a big
success. Eighty-one runners and walkers participated in
the event which profits help to defray the costs of the
students attending the state conference which will be
held in Spokane in April.
Sponsors for the event included: Odessa Union
Warehouse Co-op, KATCO Farms, Alan and Kelli
Tanke, Grange Supply Company, Westside Farms, Inc,
Ginny Lathem, Glen & Eileen Tanke, Grange Supply
Co., Harrington Foods, Harrington PTA, System
Transport, The Electric Hotel, The Wild Hair Salon, Jim
and Vicki Knapp, Kruger Farms LLC, LaMarr and Susan
Larmer, Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center, Odessa
Office Equipment, Steward Farms, Inc, Tanke JV, The
Potty Barn LLC, Bugs and Sue Shear, The Studebaker
Garage, and Harrington Lions.
We hope you will join us at our next event, Turkey
Bingo, in November, tentatively set for Sunday, November 16th where you can join other community members
for lunch and winning prizes in BINGO.
MS/HS Social Studies with Mr. Cronrath
Welcome to a new, and already, very exciting new school year! Here is what will be happening in your child’s classes.
The 8th – graders, once again, have me for Geography and Washington State History. We have been having a great
time studying the different themes of geography, as well as the different tools that geographers use in their work. We just
completed looking at how the earth’s rotation, revolution, tilt and latitude affect the weather and seasons here on our
planet. We will eventually look at the different regions of the earth, with a heavy emphasis on Europe, the Middle East,
and Asia. As for Washington State History…that’s next semester. However, it’s not too late to start thinking about the
Washington State Field Trip. This year’s trip will take place sometime between April 13 th and April 24th. The trip will
require approximately $150 per student for meals and admissions. There are scholarships available for those in need.
Please contact me if you’re in need of a scholarship for your student. Also, let me know if you would like to help
scholarship a student on this very worthwhile trip.
The freshman are in U.S. History I, which will take them from approximately 10,000 BC to 1607 AD in two short
chapters. Then they’ll spend the rest of the year looking at the founding of our nation up to the Civil War period. The
sophomores are currently in U.S. History II, and are just about to begin an in-depth look at the Civil War. After they
complete that study, they will work their way up to World War II.
We do not offer a history course to the juniors. However, this year we are offering an additional course in American
Government. This is an elective course. In the first semester, the students will be looking at the types of
governments and how they function. During second semester, we will look more closely at American Government,
specifically. Second semester can also be taken through Eastern Washington University for five university credits. As
these are more “advanced courses,” there are LOTS of lectures, and a lot fewer assignments.
The seniors are starting their final stretch toward the dreaded “SENIOR FINAL” in Current World History. Most other
schools call the class “Current World Problems,” but we prefer to take a more positive look at recent history and see how it
has affected the world today. We will begin our study of “Recent America” with a look at the twentieth century, up to the
current day. Second semester there will be a study of current events.
I’m excited to be continuing my work with your students. Please feel free, if you have questions or suggestions, to
come and talk to me at the school. My preparation period is from 10:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Homecoming Princess and Prince
Homecoming King and Queen
Vanessa Larsh and Jacob Montgomery
Chris Brown and Trinity Larsen
Superintendent News with Dr. Perry
It is amazing that we are blessed with another terrific school year. There were
a number of changes over the summer with new teachers and a new principal.
Change makes life exciting. It is one of the few constants that we can count on
in our lives. I am once again grateful for the opportunity to serve the school and
community as the superintendent this year. I love coming to work every day
and so appreciate the joy that I receive from being able to work with a fantastic
staff and wonderful students. I read a number of books over the summer and
one point that stuck out to me was that all the school research shows that the
number one factor in student success is the ability to read. I want to encourage
you to read to and give your students the opportunity to read to you. Whether it
is a night time story or something from the paper to start a discussion with your
older students. I am blessed to have a 8 month old in my life, and I take every
chance to read to him. Although he finds more value in teething on his books
right now, I know that as we continue the routine, it will be a benefit to him.
Please take every moment to enjoy your children as each moment only happens once in a lifetime. Thank you again for the privilege of working here in the
Harrington School District.
Little Logan Perry taking in the sights
and sounds of the football game.
Mike Perry, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Eastern Seaboard Trip 2015 . . . Get On Board and Make the History
Real!
YES!, Mr. Cronrath will be leading another Eastern Seaboard Trip, NEXT SUMMER! We are continuing our tradition of
taking this amazing trip every other year. However, this could be the last one, so you should definitely think about taking advantage of this great opportunity. In 2013, a number of students (including a number of kids from towns other
than Harrington) and adults experienced a fantastic trip to the Eastern Seaboard. If it has been your dream to see
some amazing things, you (or your child, or both of you…because adults can go too!) will really get to experience history first-hand as we travel from Boston, south to New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and finish at Williamsburg,
Virginia. It is going to be amazing! And we’d love to have you join our group! If you are interested in the trip, contact
Mr. Cronrath directly ([email protected]), or go online at www.efexploreamerica.com. Our tour number is
1478257RE.
If you have served in our Armed
Forces, we invite you to come to our
Veterans’ Day Program on the
morning of Monday, November 10th.
The time for the program will be
listed in our November newsletter
(that comes out at the end of
October). If you know of a veteran
who should be on our list of
veterans, please contact Mr.
Cronrath at the school so we can be
sure to honor them as part of our
program.
Veterans’ Day
Harrington School District #204
P.O. Box 204
Harrington, WA 99134
Harrington, WA
Permit No. 1
PAID
Non-Profit Org
US POSTAGE
***ECRWSS***
SCHOOL BOARD
Darren Mattozzi, Chair
Mark Kramer, Vice Chair
Linda Mielke
Brad Simpson
Alan Tanke
SUPERINTENDENT
Dr. Mike Perry Ed.D.
PRINCIPAL
Justin Bradford
POSTAL PATRON
The Harrington School District #204 complies with all federal and state rules and
regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,
sexual orientation, gender or disability. This holds true for all students who are
interested in participating in education programs and/or extracurricular school
activities.