KCSD & Me
June 2024 / Klamath County School District
IMPORTANT DATES:
- June 7-9: Graduation for all KCSD seniors (see below for specifics)
- June 13: Last day of school for students.
- June 14: Last day for teachers
- June 19: District will be closed for the Juneteenth holiday.
- June 20: KCSD Board of Directors meeting
Above photo: High school seniors march in the Graduation Sensation Parade on May 30 in downtown Klamath Falls
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
Klamath County School District is seeking input from parents and community members on the climate of our schools. Our survey has multiple choice as well as open-ended questions that encourage comments and suggestions on specific topics. The survey will remain open until Friday, June 14, 2024. Please use the link below to take the survey. A survey link also will be available on the KCSD website: www.kcsd.k12.or.us. We look forward to your comments!
GRADUATION SENSATION 2024!
COMMUNITY CELEBRATES SOON-TO-BE-GRADUATES
Crowds gathered along Main Street May 30 for the ninth annual Klamath Promise Graduation Sensation. Hundreds of spectators cheered on more than 700 graduating seniors from all Klamath County high schools as they walked down Main Street in their caps and gowns. This year, the seniors were joined by nearly 800 kindergartners as they prepare for their Class of 2036 graduation. After the parade, more than $45,000 in scholarships and gift cards donated by the community were given to the soon-to-be graduates. Read more
IT'S GRADUATION WEEK
It's graduation week for Klamath County School District seniors! Here are the dates and times of our ceremonies:
- Klamath County Transition Program: June 6 @ 11 a.m., Transition House
- Falcon Heights: June 7 @ 1 p.m., Klamath County Fairgrounds
- Mazama High School: June 7 @ 7 p.m., Viking Field
- Bonanza Jr/Sr High School: June 8 @ 10 a.m., Front of the school
- Lost River High School: June 8 @ 11 a.m., Gymnasium
- Gilchrist Jr/Sr High School: June 8 @ 11 a.m., Gymnasium
- Henley High School: June 8 @ 2 p.m., Klamath County Fairgrounds
- Chiloquin Jr/Sr High School: June 9 @ 10 a.m., Football Field
MEET KCSD'S VALS AND SALS
Meet KCSD’s class of 2024 valedictorians and salutatorians from each of our high schools – Bonanza, Chiloquin, Gilchrist, Henley, Lost River, and Mazama. These 36 students are at the top of their classes academically and are looking towards the future. Read more
MAZAMA, HENLEY OFFER MEDICAL ASSISTANT PROGRAM
Klamath County School District will offer a new medical assistant pre-apprenticeship program at Mazama and Henley high schools starting in the 2024-25 school year. The new program partners with Sky Lakes Medical Center to provide students with a full year of medical assistant college-level courses. Lauren Lorenz teaches CTE (career and technical education) health occupation courses at Mazama High School and will be teaching the medical assistant pre-apprenticeship course there next year. “We will be teaching the same curriculum that medical assistants are taught at Sky Lakes,” she said. “The medical center wants to build a bridge and have students continue their training at Sky Lakes.” Read more
LESSONS FROM THE WETLANDS
During a special morning-long science class, Henley Middle School seventh-graders walked alongside wetlands, exploring a sucker nursery pond, touching a peregrine falcon, waving cattails, and using binoculars to search for different species of birds.
On May 21 and May 23, the more than 200 Henley Middle School students visited Lakeside Farms near Cove Point just north of Klamath Falls to learn how one farm is helping revitalize ecosystems in the Klamath Basin. Kristine Creed, principal of Henley Middle School, and the school’s science teachers organized the field trip to provide students with a way to see how the concepts they have been learning in their life science curriculum apply in the world outside their classroom.
“They actually got to see firsthand how the integration of farming and wetlands can achieve important goals ranging from water quality improvement, endangered species recovery, and expanded wildlife habitat to enhancing farm yields, reducing farm input costs, and improving biodiversity,” Creed said. “This field trip not only gave them a chance for real-world investigation but also showed them how science can be used to solve local issues.” Read more
JUMP START KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION OPEN
Klamath County School District is offering Jump Start Kindergarten to incoming kindergarten students. Jump Start Kindergarten will be available at nine of our elementary schools -- Bonanza, Chiloquin, Ferguson, Henley, Merrill, Malin, Peterson, Shasta, and Stearns. The two-week program runs from Aug. 5-15. Students attend from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Transportation, breakfast, and lunch is included. To register for Jump Start, students must be enrolled for kindergarten in one the participating elementary schools. The program started in 2023 and is funded by a two-year Oregon Department of Education grant. Click the button below to register your child.
SEVEN SENIORS WIN FORD SCHOLARSHIPS
Seven Klamath County School District seniors – one from Bonanza, one from Falcon Heights/Mazama, two from Henley, and three from Lost River -- have been selected for four-year Ford Family Foundation Scholarships that will pay for 90 percent of their unmet college costs. Recipients are Bonanza senior Julie Hess, Falcon Heights senior Isabella Heaton, Henley seniors Lily Preston and Erick Amador-Gonzalez, and Lost River seniors Chantelle Reyes, Bella Hernandez, and Angel Giovanni Lopez Romero. Read more
CHECKMATE! STEARNS STARTS CHESS CLUB
Class was out for the day, but members of the Stearns Elementary School Chess Club continued to learn, engaging in battles of patience and strategy in hopes of the oft-elusive checkmate. The school this year started an after-school chess club for its students – kindergarten to sixth grade – coached by P.E. teacher Brandon Powell, project-based learning teacher Jeff Sparks, and volunteer Manny Castaneda. The hour-long, once-a-week sessions include learning strategies and rules as well as games against their fellow club members. Read more
CLASS OF 2024 SIGNING DAYS
Lost River Jr/Sr High School
Lost River Junior/Senior High School’s Class of 2024 committed to future plans May 14 during the school’s eighth annual Signing Day. The event featured a luncheon for the seniors and their families followed by the signing ceremony. The soon-to-be graduates will represent their alma mater at two community colleges and 11 four-year universities in Oregon, Florida, Washington, Indiana, California, Indiana, and Texas. Read more
Chiloquin Jr/Sr High School
Chiloquin Jr/Sr High School hosted its first College and Career Signing Day celebration May 21. The event, honoring seniors for their future plans, was the first of what will be an annual tradition for the school’s graduates, said Chiloquin Principal Ruben Paschal. “We wanted to highlight the success of our students in committing to their post-secondary plans, whether that’s attending college in the fall, taking up a trade or apprenticeship, or going into the workforce,” Paschal said. “This is a day to celebrate the work they’ve done and how proud we are of them. I want to thank our seniors for being such great role models to our younger students, and I can't wait to see what great things they will achieve in the future.” Read more
Bonanza Jr/Sr High School
Bonanza Jr/Sr High School’s 26 seniors committed to either college, the military, or the workforce during the school’s third annual Signing Day celebration on May 21. As classmates, staff, friends, and family members looked on, the students signed their names to commitment letters, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts commemorating their choices. Read more
HENLEY, MAZAMA ATHLETES SIGN TO COLLEGES
Hornets
Four Henley High School student athletes have signed to play at the collegiate level next year. The athletes, coaches, and their families gathered at Henley May 15 for a Signing Day celebration. Sports represented include basketball, football, cross country and track, and wrestling. Henley High School Athletic Director Luke Hammond believes it’s important to recognize the commitment the seniors made to their teammates, coaches, and families over their high school careers. “Their dedication and hard work paid off as they are all getting the opportunity to continue playing in college,” he said “We should celebrate these student-athletes as they will continue to represent the Henley community as they pursue their athletic endeavors.”
Following are the student athletes and their plans for the 2024-25 school year:
- Sam Iverson, cross country, indoor and outdoor track, Lewis Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho. He plans to study business and diesel technology.
- Annie Campos, basketball (point forward), Oregon Tech. She is undecided on a major at this time.
- Dylan Clark, wrestling, Southern Oregon University, He plans to study physical therapy.
- Logan Whitlock, football (running back), Southern Oregon University. He plans to study pre-law.
Vikings
Six Mazama High School student athletes have signed to play at the collegiate level next year. The athletes and their families gathered at Mazama May 23 for a Signing Day celebration.
Sports represented include track and field, volleyball, baseball, soccer, and Esports.
Following are the student athletes and their plans for the 2024-25 school year:
- Cyrus Hamilton, Esports (Super Smash Brothers), William Jewell College, Kansas City, Mo. He plans to study music education.
- Jonathan Laitinen, soccer, Oregon Tech. He plans to study mechanical engineering.
- Caroline Mick, volleyball, College of Idaho, She plans to study business and marketing.
- Gillian Merhoff, volleyball, Bellevue College. She plans to study health sciences.
- Abbygayle Beals, track and field, Oregon Tech. She plans to study health sciences.
- Marcus Ulloa-Ford, baseball, Oregon Tech. (not pictured)
MAZAMA STUDENTS HOST PETERSON PROJECT DAY
Peterson fourth- and fifth-graders had new teachers on May 29 – Mazama High School students.
During the first annual Peterson Project Day, Mazama students led mini lessons, introducing the younger students to math games, the Spanish language, Native American culture, food safety, chemistry, and other hands-on projects such as a nail hammer race, making fake blood in a bottle, designing license plates and book marks, creating Playdoh, and watching and discussing a short theater presentation, “Little Red Riding Hood.”
The 45 Mazama students participating are all in CTE (career and technical education) classes, and the pre-teaching pathway students were group leaders, said Anna Monteil, Mazama’s CTE coordinator.
Monteil, who helped coordinate the project with Peterson Principal Renee Criss and Mazama Principal Jennifer Hawkins, said it serves to build a bridge between the high school and one of its feeder elementary schools and also benefits all students involved.
“Mazama students reinforce their own knowledge by teaching, developing key leadership and communication skills, and Peterson students get to engage with lessons that spark curiosity and deepen their understanding of courses and programs available in high school,” Monteil said.
MAKING MUSIC AT STATE
Congratulations to the Henley and Mazama high school bands who qualified and competed in the OSAA 2024 4A Band State Championships on May 9 in Corvallis. Henley High School’s Wind Ensemble placed fifth overall and won a trophy. Mazama’s symphonic band also performed well, but did not place in the top five this year.
Henley and Mazama were among only 12 4A bands statewide that qualified to compete in the championships. To qualify, bands must win their region – Henley qualified by winning the 4A Southern Oregon region spot – or earn qualifying scores and submit a recording to a “tape pool.” Four bands are then chosen out of that “pool” to enter the state competition. Mazama earned a spot from the pool.
Henley band director Katherine Garvin said Henley’s Wind Ensemble did a great job in a strong competitive field this year. “Our stage performance was very strong, and the performance of our last song, ‘Primal Dances,’ our most difficult and aggressive piece, was our best all year. It’s wonderful to have our performance peak at state,” she said.
Mazama’s band director Nile Reynolds took over for retiring director Rob Izzett this year. This was the Vikings seventh year performing in the state championships. “Mazama had a strong performance this year,” Reynolds said. “With the transition, we weren’t sure things would fall into place in time to make it state. However, the students worked very hard and were ultimately able to have a rewarding experience that is already motivating them for next year.”
KCSD ROBOTICS BASH 2024!
Students from Lost River, Bonanza, Mazama, Brixner, Henley Middle and Henley High put their robots to the test May 22 in the third annual end-of-the-year KCSD Robotics Bash. Fifty-nine teams – 40 high school and 19 middle and junior high school – gathered at the Klamath County Fairgrounds to compete against each other in Mouse Holes, a robotics challenge designed by Henley High robotics students.
The event was co-organized by the Henley and Mazama robotics coaches, Kristi Lebkowsky and Laura Nickerson. For this event, all robotics teams are asked to create games that can be used for competition. Each school submits their top game and then the coaches choose the game design used in the annual KCSD Robotics competition.
This year’s game involved building and programming robots to pick up tennis balls and catapult them over a barrier or through holes into the other team’s section of the field. Larger balls could be pushed through swinging doors. The matches were refereed by experienced robotics students and teams that qualified and competed in VEX Worlds.
KCSD SUMMER LUNCH PROGRAM
This summer, children can enjoy lunches at no charge through our Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded nutrition program open to all youth ages 1-18 years. The program will be offered Monday through Thursday, June 24 to Aug. 8. There will be no lunch program on July 4.
Lunches will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. at the following locations:
- Ferguson Elementary. Meals must be eaten on site.
- Peterson Elementary. Meals must be eaten on site.
- Stearns Elementary. Meals must be eaten on site.
- Shasta Elementary. Meals can be picked up by parents or siblings taken home to younger siblings.
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Klamath County School District
Inspiring today's students to meet tomorrow's challenges!
Read our Strategic Plan
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