Kalama HS Department Awards
Semester 1 2020-2021
CTE/Fine Arts Awards
Brianna Abbott- Choir Award
The world of online choir is a difficult prospect at best, and Bri Abbott was a great example of how to overcome musical adversity this last semester. Bri did excellent work learning music quickly and accurately, analyzing music, and making great progress in her weekly online voice lessons. Additionally, Bri did an awesome job working up a solo for a choir piece that (to no fault of her own) didn't make the cut for our electronic winter collaboration. Her positive attitude about her solo not making it into the limelight is exactly what it means to be a team player and a real leader in a musical ensemble.
Mr. Pollock
Thomas Brandenburg- Shop Award
Tommy has been an outstanding shop student during Semester 1. Woodworking Design has looked quite a bit different this year and Tommy has risen to the online challenge. He is a leader in the class who is knowledgeable, and whose participation is extremely helpful in keeping an online lesson running smoothly. I'm looking forward to getting to work together in the shop during Semester 2!
Mr. Pollock
Elizabeth Bozarth- Fine Arts Award
Liz never ceases to amaze with her creativity, insight, and craftsmanship. Her ideas are unique and thought provoking, and always showcase her individual perspective. She is always willing to help or speak a kind word, and her positive attitude during online learning has been nothing short of amazing.
Ms. MacLeod
Jude Massie – Band Award
Jude has been an active member of band and Blues Band throughout his time at KMHS. He has always given tremendous effort, support, and professionalism with a reserved, jovial personality. He supports his peers when needed and is quick to step up as a friend, never seeking approval or attention, he is an exemplary citizen of his community. Jude represents the perfect ideal of Chinook Pride.
Mr. Groff
Moriah Josephson- Drama Award
In my short time knowing Moriah, I can tell how fortunate our drama program is to have such a dedicated and talented actress. Moriah gives her all to every assignment or role she is given. She strives to serve as an example to what a model actress is. She analyzes her roles with the effort of some veteran actors, and takes direction and feedback to heart when perfecting her art. Moriah is more than deserving of this award.
Mr. Ready
Elsa Orem – Spanish Award
Elsa continues her efforts to acquire Spanish by focusing not only on what she can say and do, but by pushing herself to communicate more. She has a strong work ethic, characterized by showing up for class prepared and enthusiastic to learn. She figures out sentence structures and grammatical patterns and applies them in all assignments she is given. She enthusiastically responds to questions, applies herself to consistently improving her language abilities. I'm pleased to have her as the Spanish Class Award Winner
Mrs. Stuhlsatz "Maestra"
Maggie Glaser- Leadership Award
Maggie is a great student leader who truly embodies the qualities needed in an ASB officer. Maggie clearly cares about her classmates and their experience here at KHS. She works very hard to make sure all students have a voice in ASB matters and provides a great sounding board in class to give everyone a chance for input.
Mr. Wright
Distancing Learning Awards
Kyla Rutter and Alex Torres Intentions and Efficacy Award
Kyla and Alex deserve to be recognized for their “Intentions and Efficacy.” They have both made efforts with intention to be better, and efficacy because they are advocating so much more than they have in the past. It is so hard to choose but these two are working so much more independently during this new way of learning.
Ms. Smith
Jenna White- Independent Learner Award
Jenna entered the ALE program last year. This program has allowed Jenna to work independently, which she prefers. Jenna has produced exceptional work and I am looking forward to seeing her graduate in June.
Ms. Becker
Owen Purtteman- Independent Learner Award
Owen entered the ALE program as a freshman and has excelled in so many ways. It can be difficult for young people to discipline themselves to succeed in such an independent platform. Not only is Owen more motivated to learn his grades have improved so much from his previous year. I am proud to be Owen's teacher.
Ms. Becker
English Department Award
Brianna Abbott- English 12 Award
Briannan is an awesome English student. She is a creative thinker. She is also extremely motivated and completes all of her assignments early, sometimes two weeks in advance. I am impressed with her work ethic this year. She is also a skilled writer and puts forth her best effort into all of her writing assignments. She actively participates in discussions and I often appreciate the insight she brings to conversations.
Ms. Sonn
Preston Armstrong- AP Literature Award
I have had the unique pleasure of having Preston both as a freshman and now in AP Literature. He was a strong English student during the 9th grade and has continued to impress in Literature. He submits quality essays that don't just superficially respond to the prompt, rather they are thoughtful and comprehensive. He asks questions of texts and relates them to the world around him. He leads first with empathy, an attribute of many great intellectuals. Preston is more than deserving of this accolade.
Mr. Reed
Dylan Stevenson- Armstrong Award
I would like to congratulate Dylan Stevenson on receiving the HS English Award for Semester 1. His hard work and professionalism have been outstanding during this difficult time of online learning. Dylan has overcome a lot and has persevered through it all. He is very deserving of this award and we are excited to see what the future holds for him.
Mr. Armstrong
Rex Reinke- English 11 Award
Rex has been an astute student providing insightful and fulfilling conversation during our first semester. Rex was not afraid to take the points of our novels and really delve into the importance each text has in our wider society, even if he did not necessarily agree with every point. He was on time to every class, and completed every assignment. Rex did not let the troubles of online learning affect his effort or ability as a student and thus has earned this semester award.
Mr. Ready
Cole Lutgen- Natural Resources English Award
When I think of Cole Lutgen, professional is the first word that comes to mind. In a Forestry class, professionalism is key to learning, growing, and doing. Cole's work ethic, positive attitude, and punctuality are hallmarks of his success. Cole's work demonstrates his knowledge of both academic and technical writing. He understands the careful nuances of professional writing and its impacts in the working world. Cole is well on his way to lifelong success and is very deserving of this award.
Mr. Reed
Emily Avila- English 10 Award
Emily Avila is an excellent English student and has a literary mind. She demonstrates analytical thinking and communicates clearly in her writing. She attends class regularly. She works hard on all her assignments. She seeks feedback on her work in hopes of improving. She maintained an A throughout the entirety of Semester 1 and continues to do so now. She also participates in class regularly and shares her ideas when called on.
Ms. Sonn
Amelia Jacobs- Honors English 10 Award
Amelia Jacobs goes above and beyond in everything that she does. She has a literary mind. She always engages in our class discussions and deepens our discussions with her insight into the reading. She is also an accomplished writer and can write an excellent literary analysis essay. Also, If Amelia is asked to write three pages, she will write five.
Ms. Sonn
Ellie Little- Honors English 9 Award
Ellie is a pleasure to have in Honors 9 and is more than deserving of this award. Throughout first semester, Ellie demonstrated mastery of English literature and language well beyond the level of a typical high school freshman. She participates well in class and leads discussions with grace and humility. She is a strong individual both with intellect and kindness, her two strongest traits.
Mr. Reed
Jevan Lucente – English 9 Award
Jevan is the ideal English student. He is punctual, respectful, hard working, and determined. He consistently turns in quality work and when he has questions, takes initiative and reaches out for help. He has been very participatory during synchronous learning time and has a bright future ahead of him. Congratulations, Jevan!
Mr. Reed
History Department Award
Ladislao Quintanilla- Advanced Placement United States History Award
Laddi has been an outstanding student throughout this very difficult time period. His application of this historical knowledge is exhibited by his outstanding long essay and document-based question responses. It has been a pleasure to work with such a driven student.
Mr. White
Matt Rinard -Advanced Placement American Government Award
Matt is an amazingly deserving recipient of this award. He consistently demonstrates leadership by completing difficult tasks without hesitation and is willing to share his insight during class discussions that makes all other students more comfortable in their response. In the number of years I have worked with this student, I have never been disappointed in his academic achievements or his positive response to his classmates.
Mr. White
Darren Hort -Current World Problems Award
Darren is a pleasant student who contributes to class discussion, and is willing to add political opinion or thought without causing others to feel attacked. He can be counted on to ask questions when needed, but generally tends to use questions to make the concepts more clear to this classmates.
Mr. White
Thomas Brandenburg- US History Award
Tommy has been a model student first semester. Always quick to turn in work, with excellent precision, Tommy provides insightful discussion to historical topics. His discernment of historical documents borders college proficiency. He actively engages in classroom debate and simulations, taking on character and immersing himself in the history we are learning. He is an excellent role model to his class on the successful efforts of historical analysis.
Mr. Ready
Ellie Shipley - World History Award
Ellie earned the World History Award for her outstanding work during Semester 1. Ellie consistently submitted work that exceeded requirements in both quality and content. In every assignment and/or project she demonstrated historical thinking skills that shows her ability to ask questions, analyze information, and use multiple sources to draw a conclusion supported with evidence and reasoning.
Mrs. Edwards
Marin Ripp - Civics Award
Marin earned the Civics Award for her outstanding work, participation, and citizenship. Marin consistently submitted work that was thorough, organized, and most importantly, demonstrated that she questioned and applied what she learned. She participated in class by asking questions and contributing thoughtful ideas to discussions. Marin's suggestions and efforts to improve the city of Kalama's safety along with diligence in researching current bills proves her willingness and ability to be an engaged citizen that will contribute positively to society.
Mrs. Edwards
Math Department Awards
Mathew Rinard- Math 12th Award
Matthew brings his positive attitude and passion for learning to class every day. He is attentive, contributes to daily discussions, and performs extraordinarily well on assignments, quizzes, and tests. When faced with a challenge, Matthew is persistent and sticks with the problem until solved.
Mrs. Hedden
Jessica Lardizabal-Orea- Math 11th Award
Jessica is taking Pre-Calculus and is earning college credits through CWU. Jessica attends class every day and turns her work in on time. Jessica consistently submits the highest quality of work, showing her steps in an easy to follow and visually appealing format.
Mrs. Hedden
Amelia Jacobs - Math 10th Award
Amelia demonstrates a high level of understanding on assignments and quizzes in Algebra 2/ Trigonometry. Amelia is often contacted by her peers and offers her help when they have a question or do not understand a concept. Amelia has a passion for mathematics and I’m excited to see what place it holds in her future!
Mrs. Hedden
Jay “Tony” Peonio - Math 9th Award
Jay has chosen to challenge himself by taking sophomore/junior level math class as a freshman. Jay shows persistence by continuing to improve his understanding even after he has submitted his work. Jay has a genuine interest in learning, especially the sciences and how mathematics can be applied to the world around him.
Mrs. Hedden
Physical/Health Education Award
Marin Ripp- Physical Education Award
Marin was chosen as the Physical Education recipient for her hard work and dedication to the class. Marin showed up each day with a positive attitude, and a desire to improve herself. She put in great effort in all areas of the class, and it showed in her scores, her confidence level, and her overall fitness.
Mr. Stemkoski
Ellie did a great job during her time in health. Ellie was always prepared to offer her insight in discussions, did excellent work on her assignments and even stepped out of her comfort zone in group work. Ellie was very deserving of the Health award.
Mr. Stemkoski
Science Department Award
Camryn Samples- Natural Resources Award
Camryn is an amazing student and shown great perseverance in the face of the difficulties to online education. Camryn has shown a great aptitude and appreciation for natural resources. I'm excited for when we can have class in-person so we can begin to apply what Camryn has learned about during the first semester. Camryn, keep up the good work!
Mr. Stone
Elliana Norton- Honors Chemistry Award
Elliana had nearly perfect scores on every assignment, lab report or test this past semester. She had the highest score on the final, receiving the most extra credit points. Elliana excelled at figuring out challenging chemistry problems.
Mr. Chapman
Jaysen Ketzbeau- Advanced Chemistry 11th Grade
Jaysen excelled in every aspect of chemistry last semester. He had nearly perfect scores on every assignment, lab report or test and was the only student in the course to have over 100% for his total grade. Jaysen is definitely off to a great start in his first year at Kalama!
Mr. Chapman
Moriah Josephson- Chemistry Award
Moriah is a leader in class, always willing to discuss questions and share her thoughts on difficult scientific concepts. She scored well on every assignment, lab report and test, Moriah always got extra credit on her tests for completing extra challenging problems.
Mr. Chapman
Keaton Fisher – Robotics Award
Keaton has been a diligent and hardworking student during the fall semester. Keaton always stays up to date with his work, asks questions if he doesn't understand an assignment and always goes above and beyond with assignments and projects. Keaton, keep up the great work!
Mr. Stone
Gavin Kalimanis – Earth Science Award
Gavin is a fantastic student and is enthusiastic about learning and sharing scientific knowledge. Gavin has no hesitation to chime in with an answer or a question and has an active and enquiring mind. I look forward to seeing how Gavin applies his knowledge and understanding of science during the spring semester. Gavin, keep up the great work!
Mr. Stone