Music in the 6-7 grades has started in the afternoons on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. Andy Barnett is teaching it with the intention of making a smoother pick-up for Paul Schmollinger’s music program starting in January. The PTSA is working hard to make this year’s Fall Fun Fair a spectacular event. Corinna Chavez is organizing it. The 7th grade class will have a haunted house as a fundraiser for their incentive days.
Redway has 5th/6th, 7th, and 7th/8th girls’ basketball teams. Sumer Crenshaw is the athletic director.
The first site council meeting was on Oct. 4. Membership and money spent so far was reviewed.
Elections were held for a 7th grade council on Oct. 9. Seven 7th graders were elected and each will represent a grade level at their council meetings. They will look for solutions to some school problems such as graffiti, name calling and bullying.
South Fork High School
Construction has started on the 7/8 school within a school. The tennis courts have been removed, along with much of the sidewalk around the courts. The footings for the new buildings are scheduled to begin this week. The construction superintendent communicates on a daily basis as to what is going to be happening that day, along with the next step in the process.
Back to School night was well attended on Sept. 20 and there was a great performance by the musical bands and choir.
Youth Alive! has started an eight week series with 8th grade students focusing on bullying issues, facilitated by Gail Eastwood.
The class of 1962 toured the school and shared stories about their days at SFHS.
Seniors are already getting ready for graduation in June. The Josten’s Company has met with seniors to pick out announcements and students have ordered caps and gowns along with class rings and mementos.
Peer mediators are being trained to resolve conflicts with other students and marine biology students went on a “hands on” field trip to Shelter Cove.
Professional development for faculty was held with Heidi Moore from Decade of Difference. The staff is reading “Teach Like a Champion” by Doug Lemov. They are beginning to implement new techniques in their classrooms.
The administrative team had the opportunity to attend an excellent workshop at the Humboldt County office of education called “Fierce Conversations.”
Casterlin School
On Oct. 5, 101 Netlink installed wireless equipment at Casterlin School. This enables the school to join the district in the use of accelerated programs. Many thanks go to Nick Boyd for his heroic efforts to install the wiring and conduit needed and to superintendent Catherine Scott for her support of the project.
The volunteer librarian, Barbara Small, is at the school every Tuesday to lend books in the morning and to do an art and literacy project with the K-2 class in the afternoon. She is expanding the library this year with shelves and new books from Ettersburg School.
The Eel River Conservation Camp was at the site to do grounds maintenance, and their help was greatly appreciated. Besides the usual fire-defensive grounds work, they also helped to carry shelves and boxes to the library and to store old desks in the shed when the desks from Ettersburg School took their places in the primary classroom at Casterlin. The crew was indispensable in preparing Casterlin for school this fall.
The extracurricular programs include Andy Barnett’s music and Russel Wisby’s aikido classes each week. Anne Dinsmore and Barbara Small provide weekly cross-age “buddy” writing projects. Every other month Natalie Rose, Elisa Miller and April Wilson conduct classes using the meet the masters art curriculum. For science enrichment, Rachel Sowards-Thompson of BLM teaches each month. Humboldt Redwoods State Park interpreters will bring their environmental science program to the school. Outside of school, many of the students have jointed the newly formed Blocksburg 4H Club.
On Oct. 30, Casterlin joins schools across California in the California Mock Election. “Voting” at school is a high-interest activity that helps teach the democratic system to students of all ages.
In science classes at Casterlin, the K-3 is planning to raise salmon in the classroom this year. In the 3rd-5th class students are doing mammal research reports, including a diorama. The 6th-8th students have been making 3D plant and animal cell models.
The school is very appreciative that the PTSA raised money to provide a half-time teacher for core classes in the 3rd-5th grades.
Casterlin School’s long-time bus driver, Robin Craig retired last month and Casterlin congratulates Robin with full gratitude for 22 years of dedicated service. Casterlin thanks Misty Wyatt, who drove as a substitute in order to keep the bus running. Ellen Craig, one of the new parents to the school , has picked up as much of the run as she is able to do. On the afternoons she is unavailable, the school district is sending the high school bus down to arrive at Casterlin at 5:30 p.m. to take home children who need a ride. The after school program at Casterlin is available to supervise children until the late bus arrives on those afternoons.
Agnes J. Johnson School
Agnes J. Johnson School has started the school year with lots of fun activities. Field trips, guest speakers and the elective/enrichment program is keeping students busy.
The Booster Club continues to support these extra programs, activities and staffing through fundraising actively in the community. The latest event is a quilt raffle. The tickets a $2 each and the drawing will be held Nov. 7. Boosters also entered the school in the Umpqu Bank facebook contest and won $2,000. The annual carnival is coming on Nov. 9.
Individual classrooms are supported by the popular jogathon. Students collected pledges for laps to be run around the mini-track. This year more than $200 was collected for rooms one, three and six.
The Cal Fresh grant is supporting several ongoing programs at Agnes Johnson. The garden aide can now spend more time on campus with a small stipend. The school is looking forward to improving the existing garden, introducing a composting program and providing classroom lessons on nutrition. The grant also will help pay for a snack program that introduces kids to healthy snacks and lets them participate in the preparation. There has been visiting to farmers markets, and are plans to visit local farms and grocery stores.
Information about the Cal Fresh program will be available a Cal Fresh family dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 5 p.m.
The school welcomed Richard the Redwood State Park interpreter to the classrooms on Oct. 4. This year’s topic was dinosaurs and the redwoods. The school science experience continued with a bay to dunes field trip sponsored by the Friends of the Dunes on Oct. 9. The Lost Coast Science program is starting up.
“All About Me” books have been finished by 2nd and 3rd graders. In math, they are learning to count money.
A productive field trip to the Sumeg Village in Patrick’s Point by 4th, 5th and 6th graders included a hands-on project where each student made a model of a Yurok canoe.
Room three students have also been looking at weather and natural disasters through local history, literature and in science. They are designing an experiment that will help them understand wind.
Sixth grade students have been taking turns helping with first graders. The 5th and 6th graders are starting to learn how to play instruments in music class.
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