SBLSD News
Jan. 26, 2023
Students at the Elhi Hill High School Program made their voices heard this week at a youth forum facilitated by the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District and the Communities for Families Coalition.
Representatives from the District, City of Sumner, The Market in Bonney Lake, Building Beyond the Walls, Prairie Ridge Coalition and Calvary Community Church met with Elhi Hill students to ask what are the strengths, needs/opportunities, and potential solutions they see in their community. Students also engaged in discussion with facilitators to learn more about how to help create change in their communities, such as working with local city governments, civic groups and school leaders.
Students pointed to their own school culture at Elhi Hill as a strength in their community, and also that overall, their broader community was accepting and had a willingness to learn.
Students also voiced interest in mental health resources, not only for teens but for the wider community, such as a mental health first-aid class to learn how to better help friends and family.
Public safety, such as added streetlights and sidewalks across Bonney Lake and Sumner areas, was another priority topic voiced by students. Teen activities and places to hang out were also of note for participants.
One student participant, Chloë, said that the youth forum was a great opportunity.
“What stuck out to me was that the people who have the most influence for change were actually listening,” she said. “It felt proactive.”
“It was really a welcoming environment,” added Elhi Hill student Lawrence G.
Members of the CFF Coalition, along with others in the community, are able to use forum input to help shape strategic plans and activities within Sumner and Bonney Lake that are youth-focused in nature. Coalition representatives will share notes from the Youth Forum at their next meeting on Feb. 2, as well as at the CFF annual Community Summit on April 18.
Student voices are a powerful driver and can lead to effective change. As a member of the Communities for Families Coalition, the District has facilitated youth forums at our middle and high schools for 25 years. The Youth Forum returned this year after a three-year pandemic hiatus. Youth Forums for Sumner and Bonney Lake high schools will take place later this year.
“By centering the voices of youth, we have an opportunity to deeply and specifically understand the community our future needs from us,” said Stacey Crnich, CEO of The Market at Bonney Lake. “By amplifying the voices of youth, we can help evoke the changes they need our support in.”
The Elhi Hill High School Program provides a caring environment for students who need services beyond the traditional school day to meet state and district standards. Students who graduate from Elhi Hill receive a diploma from Bonney Lake or Sumner High School.
By Bang Parkinson
Bang Parkinson, SBLSD Chief Finance and District Operations Officer, occasionally celebrates Chinese New Year with her family and friends in Los Angeles. Her visits include many of the activities mentioned in this overview of Chinese New Year celebrations. Photos are from her visit earlier this month.
Chinese New Year: Celebrated a week to 15 days
Chinese New Year is the most important traditional festival for Chinese people, who typically prepare for it early before New Year’s Eve.
One week before the Chinese New Year, people honor the Stove God and clean houses to get ready to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the upcoming New Year.
Chinese New Year's Eve
With a history of 2,000 plus years, Chinese New Year's Eve is the last day of the Chinese lunar calendar. People decorate their houses, worship ancestors, eat family reunion dinner, stay up late, and give red envelopes (lucky money) to the kids.
First several days of the New Year
Chinese people will do the luckiest things on these days:
Set off firecrackers (if allowed)
Put on new clothes
Greet each other with “Happy New Year”
Watch lion and dragon dance
Visit relatives
On the first New Year day, families eat vegetarian meals. Starting on the second day, they eat good foods and welcome the New Year and good fortune.
Eat Chinese New Year cakes (brown sugar sticky rice cake), fruit candies (coconuts, water chestnuts, winter melon, ginger, yam), and crack melon seeds
7th Day: Celebrating the Birthday of Human Beings
People in some regions eat a thick soup with seven kinds of vegetables on this day to ward off misfortune and disease.
15th Day: Celebrating the Lantern Festival
On this day, people light lanterns and send them off. In a tradition dating back to the Song dynasty, people write poem riddles on lanterns, and those who can solve them will sometimes receive prizes from the owners of the lanterns. Lantern time was a special time when unmarried young men and women could meet.
People eat sticky rice balls with fillings to celebrate and usher in a prosperous and lucky new year.
Sumner High School hosted its first FAFSA Multilingual Parent Support Night this month with more than 40 families attending. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form needed to receive financial aid from the federal government.
Information was provided for financial aid resources, graduation requirements, and use of communication tools like Skyward and Remind. The Latino Club also performed a dance.
Sumner Rotary’s Bill Heath Family Fund, in addition to two anonymous donors, provided $500 for a Sumner family-owned business, Chicano’s Food Truck, to provide food for the event.
Thank you to everyone who came to support the event!
The Pierce County Library System invites teenagers throughout the county to showcase their creative talents in the library’s Our Own Expressions Teen Writing & Art Contest, now through Feb. 28.
Teen writers and artists in grades 7-12 may participate in the free contest as an individual or as a team in one or all four categories: poetry, short story, photography and drawing. Find entry forms online or at a library branch.
The Pierce County Library Foundation will award prizes worth $100 to $150 to winners in three age groups: grades 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 in all four categories. Visit expressions.pcls.us for information about entry submission, judging, free classes and more.
Whole Child Month in January might be coming to an end, but the Whole Child Approach continues in the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District.
The Whole Child approach is an effort to transition from a focus on narrowly defined academic achievement to one that promotes the long-term development and success of all children in grades K-12. It is part of our SBLSD Future Ready Goal 2 to create nurtured, engaged and empowered students who attend school regularly in a supportive and challenging learning environment where they are empowered to exercise an active voice in their own growth.
This week, consider these Whole Child activities:
Make a plan for the week that involves cooking a nutritious meal or taking a nature walk together. Let your child or youth choose the type of meal or where they would like to go on a nature walk.
Describe a moment of awe: What is something that made you feel joy today?
Identify 3 things you enjoy doing alone or with a family member to relieve stress.
