HMS students will join Missoula Children's Theater production

By Peggy Neuman

Audiences of all ages will get a fresh look at an age-old favorite this Saturday, May 3rd, when the Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) and more than 50 local students present THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE.

The local cast features many Henkle students, among whom are Noah Wilson as Wilson, Crusoe's companion, and Gabrienne Post-Peyralans as Leonard the leopard.

Some of the other HMS students who will play roles or serve as co-directors include Kalie Brunton, Corrie Brending, Colette Bookmyer, Cayenne Ellis, Megan Hanks, Rebecca Wolf, Ian Whidden, Jacob Rawding, Maks Moses, Martha Neuman, Ashley Deo, and Jerica Cruse.

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE will be presented at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the Whitson Elementary gymnasium. Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for children and are available at the door. The Missoula Children’s Theatre residency in White Salmon is being partically supported by the Whitson and Henkle Parent Teacher Organizations.

New Math Standards approved by Washington State

By Dakota Williams

(Note: for more specific information about the new math standards adopted by Washington State, see the following website from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction:

http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/Mathematics/default.aspx

The first link of the main text will bring one to the new standards website.)

This week I have interviewed Henkle’s 7th and 8th grade math teachers, Mrs. Shelley (8th grade math and pre-algebra) and Mrs. Strain (7th grade math and algebra) about Washington’s new math standards. The teachers believe there are both positives and negatives to the new standards. Positives: more will be expected out of students, we are raising our standards, and we will be more competitive worldwide. Negatives: both teachers agree that the standards may not be aligned with the youth’s brain development and the ideas might be too hard or abstract.

Math teachers all over the state will be at trainings and meetings this summer to prepare for the new standards/curriculum. Implementing the curriculum will take place gradually over the next several years. At first, according to Mrs. Strain, the test scores may be lower, but they will soon increase as the students learn more in-depth concepts. An area that may vastly increase is geometric ideas and concepts, since they are concrete, but they may still pose to be a tough topic. Very soon, the new standards require that all, eighth graders, not just the advanced students, will be taught algebra.

Knowledge Bowl team offers fun & challenge

By Dakota Williams

March 31 update:

March 27th, League Championship Tournament:
After a backbreaking Written and Oral Round 1, Henkle B was in 6th place and to go against the 4th and 5th placed teams (Hockinson A and View Ridge A, respectively) for the Oral Round 2. (All Henkle teams were in the top ten by this time and would stay there all night.) Then, after winning their Oral Round 2, Henkle B had earned enough total points to get into the Power Round against View Ridge B, (the "super" team, from the "super" school,) and Castle Rock A. Question after question Henkle B answered, with few mistakes. After the last question, Henkle B was announced the winners of the Power Round!

As team captain of Henkle B, I would like to say we had an awesome season this year, and I think everyone is looking forward to the 2009 season, whether it be at Henkle or at Columbia High. I am very proud of my team and would like to congratulate them. Emma, Andrew, Seth, Scott, and Isabel: great job and good luck next year!

Knowledge Bowl is an excellent learning experience for Henkle Middle School students. It promotes the academically gifted 7th and 8th graders without any sort of discrimination. Each school has three teams: A, B, and C. The HMS team B placed first in our first two meets, and our school was, until last night, undefeated. All three of View Ridge’s teams did really well, and will be hard competition at the tournament. The league championship meet takes place March 27 at Jemtegaard.

“Knowledge Bowl is a great activity, and I believe everyone should strive to be on a team,” was what Jacob Parsons, an eighth grader, had to say. He also commented that Knowledge Bowl could help some students with self esteem issues and with using team work. “Mr. Hannigan (the Knowledge Bowl coach) is my favorite teacher. He’s just so cool.”

Original article:
“When I think Knowledge Bowl, I think success,” is what another Knowledge Bowl student, Isabel Martin, 7th grade, remarked. She also believes it could boost self esteem and could help with some "trivia knowledge." The only thing she would change about Knowledge Bowl is to get rid of some of the outdated facts and maybe add a little modern pop culture.

When asked about our undefeated winning streak, Brier simply said, “We kill them.” Brier thinks Henkle is a good host to the other schools, and Mr. Hannigan is a "good, funny teacher." He believes Henkle could win the League Tournament and once again take home gold.

New HMS teacher enjoys reading, writing

By Dakota Williams

Katy Dutra is also one of the newer teachers at HMS. She was working at Columbia H.S., but she wanted to change to middle school, so now she is the 7th grade Language Arts teacher.

When asked what first interested her in language and literature, Katy answered, “I always enjoyed reading. As a child, I was read to every day. That is where it began.”

Her first interest in teaching started when she was an exchange student in Australia with people from Indonesia and Thailand. As a student, she enjoyed the subjects of English, Algebra II, Physics, and Dance.

“While working, I love to teach students to write,” Katy says, “and to connect them with a terrific book.”

She has been teaching for nine years and went to the University of Colorado at Boulder for her B.A. in English and her teaching certificate. She then attended PSU for her Master’s of Science and Education. Her hobbies include snowboarding, kayaking, reading, and running with her dog.

Student joins HMS website effort

Viewers of the Henkle Middle School website will receive a series of treats this academic quarter: postings by eighth grader Dakota Williams, who has chosen to write for the website as an independent elective. (Her first two postings, profiles of new teachers, appear below this article.)

It will be a different type of writing for Dakota to pursue, who’s quite skilled for her age but who typically pens more creative work and not journalism or public relations.

“I wouldn’t mind writing a book,” said Dakota. “Usually in class if we write a short story, I’ll use a lot of descriptions, so it will be totally longer than the assignment or something totally different and unique. If I read the right kind of book, it will really make me want to write.”

Dakota’s interests and ambitions extend beyond the written word.

“I’m into art a lot,” she said. “I’m really into music, too. My favorite class is algebra. I like science, too.” Dakota envisions herself taking as many Advanced Placement courses as possible in high school.

Outside of school, Dakota’s interests also include her pets. She and her family have four dogs, two cats, and one fish.

“It’s really mean,” she said of her fish. “It eats all our other fish. That’s why we have only one fish.”

Recently hired teachers share background, motivation

(Editor's note: Beginning in Feb. 2006, HMS has hired several new teachers and also has had two teachers from Columbia H.S. join its staff. HMS website reporter Dakota Williams obtained information from them for a "Question-and-Answer profile." Two of the teachers are featured now. Other profiles will appear soon.)

Ursala Kirmani-5th/6th grade art, hired 2007-2008 school year

What started your interest in art?
I was born with it

What were your favorite subjects in school?
Photography, jewelry, and history

What first interested you in teaching?
Working with youth from Umatilla Indian Reservation led to awareness that she had the capacity to work with young people

What school did you go to?
University of Oregon in Eugene, OR and Heritage University in Toppenish, WA

How long have you been teaching?
19 years

What is one of your favorite things to do while working?
I enjoy one on one teaching and answering questions for individual students, because each student has unique talents

What are some of your hobbies?
Drawing, and developing art projects for students

Do you have any kids?
Two daughters

Gary McKinley-5th/6th Grade Blended Classroom, hired as leave replacement 2007-2008

What were your favorite subjects in school?
Math and geography

What started your interest in teaching?
I was a military instructor for some years and found it rewarding.

What school did you go to?
Austin High School and Hillsboro High in Texas, Drury University for both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Missouri, and Administrator's Degree through Heritage University in Washington

How long have you been teaching?
17 years

What is one of your favorite things to do while working?
Observe people/students and the way they interact with one another

What are some of your hobbies?

Golfing, sailing, windsurfing, and boating

Do you have any kids?
Two boys, one in college in Walla Walla, WA, and the other in the Coast guard in Sacramento, CA

Columbia High School honored by U.S. News and World Report

Columbia High School was one of 1,086 schools across the nation to earn a "bronze medal" distinction by U.S. News and World Report in an article posted November 29, 2007 and released a December magazine issue.

In determining which high schools to honor, U.S. News and World Report used a "three-step analysis." In the magazine's words, "First, we measured how each school's students performed on state tests, adjusting for student circumstances. We next evaluated how well each school's disadvantaged students did. Finally, we looked at whether the school was successful in providing college-level coursework."

"It truly does take the whole village to educate all of our students," said White Salmon Valley School District Superintendent Dale Palmer regarding the honor. "This is not only a CHS recognition, but an affirmation that our school district is doing the right things for all of our students."

Despite a population with a significantly higher percentage of "at-risk" factors such as poverty than compared to Washington State's overall population, district students consistently catch up to and overtake their peers across the state, as measured by the state's tests, called the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. On the whole, district students start their schooling behind their peers, but by the time they exit middle school, they typically have surpassed their peers.

For example, this year's ninth graders as a group outperformed 8th graders across the state on the WASL in reading, math, and science, with 70.1 percent passing reading, 58.6 passing math, and 50.6 passing science. (Yes, the WASL is a rigorous test!) Statewide, the percentage of 8th graders passing these tests were, respectively, 65, 49.8, and 44.6. When White Salmon Valley students took the reading and math tests as 4th graders and the science test as 5th graders, a smaller percentage passed those tests than the overall statewide population.

We believe that it is the overall K-12 program that results in such impressive growth. No single grade or school strives to make education a "test-prep" endeavor. Rather, we strive to provide a meaningful and relevant education, aligning our curriculum with state standards and coordinating what we do across the grades. Over time, this approach pays off in enduring fashion. In addition, strong community support makes an enormous difference. All our schools benefit from many community and parent volunteers. Local service organizations, churches, civic organizations, businesses, and individuals all contribute in a variety of ways. For example, Henkle Middle School's afterschool and summer program, Project Open Door, would never have been able to stay open without the amazing and ongoing support of more organizations and individuals than we could possibly name in this posting.

Photo: Samantha Spaeth, a sixth grader, demonstrates mathematical problem-solving to her classmates in Mrs. Pfister's classroom last month. HMS teachers provide extensive opportunities for students to demonstrate leadership and to engage in dialogue about their work.