Lunch with 6th Grade Students – This week I had the opportunity to meet with a group of 6th grade students during lunch and we enjoyed some very tasty pizza, carrots, fruit bowl, apple, and milk together. I learned that they “kind of miss” the old Harrah School based on nostalgia, yet they love the big gym, the large hallways, the big eating area, and the track and field, and most of all, they love the fact that they can play basketball as 6th grade students. These young men also liked their teachers and thought that they were too hard on them, but felt like they were learning; and they said that was okay! It was a great conversation and once again, I was so impressed with the kind, respectful, and responsible dispositions demonstrated by our students. These are clearly the future of our community. Go Panthers!
Yakama Nation Tribal Council met this week. Mt. Adams School District Admin Team was on the Tribal Council agenda for this past Wednesday. We were invited to participate in “Meaningful Tribal Consultation” and to share some updated information based on questions from the LEEH Committee that we had received last month. Our team consisted of Principal Widener, Principal Tenney, and Director Thurman. The presentation centered on the importance of attendance to ensure that students make themselves available in school to learn daily. We also talked about the highlights and changes on each campus. To view the presentation slideshow, please click here: PowerPoint Presentation
Ms. Widener reported that there were many students in costume on Monday. Students and staff alike, enjoyed treats at the end of the day to celebrate All Hallows Eve. Even with all of the sugar from various trunk-or-treat events in the community, students were well behaved and they were excited to finish the day to go home for some good ole’ door-to-door trick-or-treating activities.
Winter is almost here, and Boys basketball practice got off to a great start this week. One of the advantages of the new school is taking advantage of the 6th grade opportunities for non-contact sports. Basketball could be considered a contact sport if you watch some games, but according to WIAA, it is a non-contact sport that allows 6th grade athletes to compete. We had a great turn out with about 30 young athletes participating. Go Chargers!
Student of the Month Assemblies concluded this week as staff are again on the lookout for students who demonstrate Panther and Cougar pride by being Responsible, Respect, Safe and Kind. Last month is past, but students look forward to seeing who will be selected for November. Parents, please encourage your children to practice those traits at school and at home and hopefully you will be able to visit campus at the end of November to see your son and/or daughter receive an award! Thank you for being great partners in the education of your children… Go Parents!
Ana Ramirez De La Cruz is a superstar Certified Health Aid on the White Swan Campus. Hazel Health wanted to interview Ana this week to learn from her about her use of HAZEL Health Tele-health program and see how she has been able to provide these supports to students, parents, and families of students in the District. Ana has been using the service and using it with parents and other family members. HAZEL staff have said that Ana is a model and super-user of the program and excels in her use of the program to support students and families. They are going to interview Ana and talk to her about the success in using it with families. Ms. Tenney reports, “She is super excited about the interview and how effective the tele-health program is for our students.”
Nurse Scott Podruzny is hard at work for our students and community. He recently reported, “I am working with Catalina from Medical teams international to provide our schools with an onsite vaccine clinic. The dates of these clinics come at a critical time to help prevent what has historically been the peak of COVID-19 case counts starting in late December and reaching their highest infection rate in January.” There will be two separate days once at each school location. The vaccines are free of charge and available to the public. Both days have a home basketball game at their respective school in an attempt to engage more community members. For both clinics, the available the Pfizer primary series and the Pfizer Bivalent boosters for children five years old and up.
Please mark your calendars and plan to attend:
Thursday November 17th @ Harrah Elementary School from 1pm-6pm
7640 Branch Rd Harrah, WA, 98933
Friday December 2nd @ White Swan High School from 2pm-8pm
621 Signal Peak Rd White Swan, WA, 98952