PASD Staff Newsletter

As the Superintendent of the Port Angeles School District, I am honored to work with such a dedicated staff. Every day, our education support professionals, otherwise known as classified employees, are building connections and inspiring lives at our schools and in our community. From the time students board a school bus to the time they head home at the end of the day, every aspect of their educational experience is impacted by an education support professional.

Classified school employees in the Port Angeles School District are involved in nearly every aspect of education, including maintaining school buildings, and grounds, providing secretarial/clerical assistance, preparing/serving meals, providing safe transportation, keeping school facilities clean, assisting in the classroom, providing a secure environment, and many other specialized services.

Thank you for your dedication and support for the staff, students, and families of the Port Angeles School District. Happy Education Support Professionals Week!

Join us as we celebrate our AmeriCorps Members and give our thanks for their service to make an impact in our school district!

This year, our district is fortunate to have six members serving in six schools, working with 7 community partners, and so far have served 3,391 hours! WOW!

During the March 9th School Board Meeting, School Board Directors and Superintendent Brewer acknowledged the work and dedication of our district's AmeriCorps members.

Thank you, PASD AmeriCorps! We appreciate YOU!

PAHS students in Ms. Hamblin’s science class are studying anatomy and had a special visit from dental instructors around the northwest!

Students learned what’s involved with dentistry, the benefits of being a dentist, and the education requirements of dental hygienists, dental assistants, and dentists.

After a lesson, students received real-world, hands-on experience using actual dental tools to apply sealants to dental models.

Thank you to the Lower Elwha Dental Clinic, Peninsula College, and Delta Dental of Washington for investing in our students!

Families dined on pizza and salad to start the night in the gym and enjoyed a lively read-a-long skit from the staff. After dinner and a show, families went to different classrooms to listen to teachers and staff, some in costume, read books. After classroom time, families gathered back in the gym to end the evening with cookies and milk, and prize giveaways.

Great fun was had by all! Way to go, Jefferson Team!

You are invited to the second annual Squatchcon convention from March 30 - April 2nd at Vern Burton Community Center, with panels at Red Lion Hotel. www.squatchconpa.com

New for this year - a Youth Writing Workshop open to writers 13 - 17 and limited to 20 people.

The workshop will be held Sunday, April 2nd from 10AM - 12PM at the Vern Burton Community Center as part of the Squatchcon Comic & Arts Convention.

This workshop is hosted by Walt Boyes and Joy Ward of Untreed Reads. Walt and Joy are Acquisitions Editors who have spent their career working with authors to get their work published. This is a fantastic opportunity for emerging writers to have their work seen by working editors and receive valuable feedback about submitting work for publication.

Space is extremely limited - please RSVP by sending a writing sample that you would like to discuss at the workshop. Applicants must be aged 13-17 and a Squatchcon pass is required to attend this workshop. Send writing samples no later than Friday, March 17th to info@squatchconpa.com

Walt and Joy will also be speaking on the "Writing and Publishing" panel on Saturday, April 1st from 1-2:30PM at Red Lion Hotel. This panel is an opportunity to speak with working authors and editors about their experiences and industry advice.

You can drop off donations at the Lincoln Center from 8am-4:30pm

News update from Knowledge Bowl Coaches John Gallagher and Stacey Sanders:

The Knowledge Bowl Team received quite the sendoff to the State competition in Wenatchee including a tunnel of love from fellow students!

The threatening weather forecasts couldn't diminish their spirits and they made it across the passes in time to have dinner at Olive Garden because "we're all family here".

They came back from one bad round with an absolutely amazing round taking them into the semifinals as a 4th place seed. They lost to the #1 team in the semifinals and ended 5th in State!

We are so proud of them but more importantly, we just had so much fun being with them!

Knowledge Bowl State Competitors:

Henry Walsh -- Team Captain

Ana Campbell

Andre Campbell

Ian Davis

Zane Glassock

Katie Sperr-Crane

They will celebrate this with Franklin students on March 24th at 1:15pm and additionally they will honor the selected Franklin student winners of their Smokey the Bear environmental conservation poster contest.

Smokey the Bear will be in attendance all the way from the DNR office in Olympia! Cool!

PASD and Seaview Academy had SO much fun at Kids Fest! Thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Port Angeles and Lutheran Community Services Northwest for bringing back this special event.

It was wonderful seeing the THOUSANDS of kids and adults come through the Vern Burton Community Center.

Port Angeles is lucky to have so many wonderful organizations that support our youth and are helping build a brighter future!

Mrs. Waknitz, a SPED teacher helps students each week compile articles and stories. The contributors to the paper are a mix of kids who attend gen ed classrooms all day and students with IEPs that visit the resources room for academic support.

Click this link for an animated version of Franklin's Student Newspaper, it's impressive!!

• March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
• March 20 - First Day of Spring
• March 20 to 24 - School Retirees Appreciation Week
• March 23 - School Board Meeting, 6pm at Lincoln Center
• April 3 to 7 - SPRING BREAK!
• April 17 to 21 -Public School Volunteer Week
• May 5 - School In Session for Snow Make-up Day
• May 5 - Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day
• May 29 - Memorial Day Holiday (No School, District Office Closed)
• June 1 - All Strings Review
• June 8 - School Board Meeting, 6pm, location TBD
• June 16 - Last Student Day (half day)
• June 16 - High School Graduation