KCSD & Me
December 2023 / Klamath County School District
IMPORTANT DATES
- Dec. 18-Jan. 1: Winter vacation. No school.
- Jan. 2, 2024: Classes resume!
- Jan. 15: Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. No school.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
In this newsletter, we highlight student accomplishments and school adventures from the past several weeks, including two football teams who won state championships and an FFA food science team that walked away as state champs and qualified to compete nationally. In mid-November, community partners helped us celebrate the grand opening of the Construction and Trades Building at the Henley Complex. We share more about that project as well.
It's always fun to recognize big projects and students who succeed on a state level, however, we also want to acknowledge students who show up every day, work hard, and stay on track to graduate. To showcase these students, Klamath Promise has partnered with the Herald and News for a student of the week feature, which is published in the newspaper's Saturday print edition. To be nominated, students must have maintained perfect attendance over the previous four weeks. (We share two of these features highlighting Gilchrist and Merrill below).
As we embrace the holiday season, we send gratitude and warm wishes to all of our students, families, and community partners. We hope you have a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday break!
With joy,
From all of us at the Klamath County School District
BASKETS FOR OPERATION SCHOOL BELL
Klamath County School District employees donated 27 gift baskets to benefit the Assistance League of Klamath Basin’s Operation School Bell program.
The themed baskets represent each of our schools and district office. Last year, Operation School Bell provided 1,700 students with new clothes.
Ruben Paschal, KCSD coordinator for the Operation School Bell benefit, picked up baskets Nov. 30 and took them to Findables, 1330 East Main St. where they will be sold through Dec. 16 to help students in need buy new clothing.
One of the primary objectives of the Assistance League of Klamath Basin is to provide students with proper clothing during the school year. The annual giveaway provides families with clothing certificate allotments for elementary, middle and high school students, allowing kids to pick out clothes and shoes they like at Fred Meyer.
A SEAT WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
After Ady Swanson finishes classes at Mazama High School, she heads to the Klamath County Government Center to work with Klamath County’s three commissioners, attending work sessions as well as business, planning, and finance meetings.
During an 18-week period – one semester – Ady is learning about and participating in county government through the first-ever Klamath County Junior Commissioner Work Experience Program. During a typical week, she will meet with her mentor, Commissioner Dave Henslee, to research bills and discuss upcoming county projects. Read more
RAISING CHINOOK: FROM EGGS TO FRY
Chinook salmon fry that were hatched and raised by Henley Middle School students were released into the Williamson River last week as part of an experimental salmon reintroduction project. Henley Middle School science teacher Faryn Knight and principal Kristy Creed, with help from Mark Hereford, a fisheries reintroduction biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, on Dec. 6 released about 40 fry into the Williamson near Collier State Park. During a short break in the rain, Knight carried the bucket of water with the fry and slowly introduced the baby Chinook into their natural habitat. Read more
SENIOR PROJECT HIGHLIGHT: Teaching the Beseda
Sabrina Taylor has danced the Beseda since she was a little girl. As members of the Malin Czech Lodge No. 222, her parents and siblings joined in community celebrations, dressing in traditional Czech dancing costumes and sharing the traditional dancing of the early Czech settlers who founded the town. So it was a natural fit for the Lost River Junior/Senior High School student to use her senior project to teach Malin fourth-graders how to perform the traditional Czech folk dance while learning about their town’s Czech heritage. Read more
STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPS!
HENLEY HORNETS: 4A STATE CHAMPS!
On a cold night against a tough team, the No. 1 ranked and undefeated Henley Hornets earned their OSSA 4A Football State Championship, beating No. 2 ranked Marist, 42-28.
The team's Nov. 25 football championship win was the first one in more than 40 years for the Hornets. Coach Alex Stork pulled the team together after the win, passing the trophy around to players who expressed gratitude to each other, their families, and their community.
"I'm very thankful to share in these memories and experiences with these boys and coaches," Stork said after the game. "A shout out to our community for their amazing support."
The Hornets are coached by Stork and assistant coaches Case Shively, Chad Elbert, Chris Benjamin, Jason Roach, John Lucas, Matt Green, Michael Eddy, Rick Giampietri, and Todd Pasche.
LOST RIVER: BACK-TO-BACK 1A STATE CHAMPS!
The Lost River Raiders celebrated winning back-to-back OSAA State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 25, after defeating Crane, 30-20.
Winning feels great, said head coach Dennis Dunlea, who was recently selected as Section 8 Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations. (Read that story HERE). But his ongoing message to the team isn’t necessarily about the win.
“Be humble, keep working. Those are life skills, and we talked a lot about life skills throughout our season and how this game translates to real life. And it doesn’t always turn out this way,” he said. “You do the work, you get to the reap the awards but the only difference between them and us is just a few points at the end of the game.”
The Raiders definitely did the work: They finished the season undefeated.
The Raiders are coached by Dunlea and assistant coaches Ivan Ayala, Mike Lacy, Mike Ongman, Ryan Hartman, and Kevin O'Brien.
BEST FOODIES IN THE STATE!!
To compete at FFA Nationals, you have to be the very best. Only the state champions qualify. An FFA team from Lost River Junior/Senior High School did just that Nov. 18, taking first in state at FFA’s State Food Science competition at Oregon State University and becoming the school’s first-ever national qualifying FFA team.
“Our team dominated,” said Lost River FFA Advisor Meghan Miller. “This is a huge honor for them. It is a tough contest and these girls worked their tails off for the last three months, some of them for the last three years.”
Team members are Melanie Martinez, Julitza Serrato-Cobian, Anna Kliewer, and McKinley Ruda and alternates Gemma Arceo-Bigoni and Zuliana Cobian-Cazarez. They will compete at nationals in October 2024. Read more
BUILDING FOR THE TRADES
New construction at the Henley Complex is providing opportunities for hands-on and career-connected learning for junior high and high school students. During a grand opening celebration on Nov. 15, community partners and leaders had a chance to hear from students and see their projects during a one-hour tour of Henley’s three recent building projects – the Construction Trades Building, a new greenhouse, and a concession stand.
The first stop was the recently completed Construction Trades Building located behind Henley Middle School. The 3,700-square-foot, two-story building provides traditional classroom space as well as indoor and outdoor open workshop space outfitted with the latest technology and equipment. Read more
CELEBRATING NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE
Two of our high schools -- Chiloquin and Mazama -- introduced students to the Native American culture with the help of community partners, including the Klamath Tribes and OHSU On Track! We appreciate all they do to share their culture with our students. Mo sepk'eec'a!
A SALMON BAKE, POWWOW, HISTORY, AND LANGUAGE
Chiloquin Junior/Senior High School students and staff enjoyed salmon cooked over an open fire pit for lunch Nov. 17 during a day dedicated to exploring Native American culture and heritage.
After watching classmates perform traditional Native dances with the Warrior Society Drum members, students headed to class as the salmon cooked in front of the school and fry bread sizzled nearby. This is the second year the school and tribal members have organized a traditional salmon bake to celebrate the Native culture within Chiloquin’s student body and honor Native American Heritage Month.
Organizers expanded the celebration this year to include presentations on Klamath Tribal history and language, highlighting the cultures of the local Klamath, Modoc, and Paiute people, said Will Hess, a Klamath Tribal member who works with students through the On Track OHSU! program. About 60% of Chiloquin’s student body identifies as Native American or Indigenous.
“By hosting this event we are creating space to celebrate the rich cultures of our Indigenous students,” Hess said. “This is an opportunity to share a small piece of our local tribal culture with all students and faculty.” Read more
POWER OF A FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE
Mazama High School students and staff experienced the power of a friendship circle dance Nov. 17 in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Dancers from the Klamath Tribes – all students at Mazama, Chiloquin, Ponderosa -- performed traditional dances with the Warrior Society Drum circle for the Vikings during an assembly in the gym.
As the dancing ended, more than 700 students and staff were invited to join the dancers in a traditional friendship dance. Three students asked and were allowed to join the drum circle during that time.
“What was so powerful to me was the interaction during the friendship circle dance,” said Sergio Cisneros, vice principal of Mazama High School. “It was really cool, really powerful.”
A SPECIAL FEAST FOR THANKSGIVING
Q: How much turkey do you need to prepare special Thanksgiving meals for students and staff across the Klamath County School District? A: 2,820 pounds!
Food service staff across the Klamath County School District arrived early to work on Nov. 16 to prepare a special Thanksgiving meal for students and staff.
Special guests – Klamath County School District administrators, school board members, and district office staff – visited schools to help our food service team carve turkeys and serve the food to students. Members of the Henley football team volunteered to serve the meals and then ate and visited with students at Henley Elementary School.
The meal featured roast turkey, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans, and highlighted Delicata squash grown by local farmer Katie Swanson of Sweet Union Farm in Klamath Falls.
A huge thank you to our food service and warehouse staff for the additional time and effort it took to plan, order, distribute, prepare and serve the delicious spread. We appreciate how hard you work every day to feed our students and staff members!
(Look for guest servers and another great holiday meal this Thursday, Dec. 14!)
HENLEY FFA EARNS STAR CHAPTER AWARD
Congratulations to Henley FFA for earning the National Star Chapter Award from the National FFA Organization!
The program recognizes outstanding FFA chapters from throughout the country that actively implement the mission and strategies of the organization. These chapters improve chapter operations using the National Quality FFA Chapter Standards and a Program of Activities that emphasizes growing leaders, building communities, and strengthening agriculture. Chapters are rewarded for providing educational experiences for the entire membership.
Chapters that received star ratings during judging this summer were recognized at the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo. All star-rated FFA chapters receive honors made possible by corporate sponsor John Deere.
BUILDING THE FUTURE
Our junior high and high school students had a chance to work on the construction of tiny houses designed by Henley High students Cash Row and Makay Clark at the Build My Future event Nov. 2 and 3.
The two-day annual event, organized by the Klamath Basin Homebuilders Association, introduces students to the trades with hands-on activities. This year, one of the goals was to build the two tiny homes designed by Cash and Makay. Klamath Basin Homebuilders Association, Klamath Community College, and lots of local businesses and sponsors helped make this happen through donations and actual construction.
One of the tiny homes will be raffled; the other donated to Project Homefront. Thank you to our community for supporting students and their futures!
ATTENDANCE: IMPORTANCE OF SHOWING UP!
There is no doubt that students who show up for class are more likely to graduate from high school. As part of a community school attendance campaign, Klamath Promise partnered with the Herald and News for a student of the week feature, which is published in the newspaper's Saturday print edition. To be nominated, students must work hard academically and have maintained perfect attendance over the previous four weeks. Congratulations to these Gilchrist and Merrill students who were featured in the Dec. 9 and Dec. 2 editions.
OUR NEXT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
2023-24 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR
Click here for the 2023-24 school year calendar: https://www.kcsd.k12.or.us/cms_files/resources/23-24%20School%20Calendar%20revised.pdf
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Klamath County School District
Inspiring today's students to meet tomorrow's challenges!
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Email: kcsd_communications@kcsd.k12.or.us
Website: www.kcsd.k12.or.us
Location: 2845 Greensprings Drive, Klamath Falls, OR, USA
Phone: 541-883-5000