Homer Tribune » Youth

Subduing the long winter break boredom

Newsroom — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:18:00 +0000

• Islands and Ocean center offers variety of entertainment for youth

By Sean Pearson
Homer Tribune
If the first weekend of Christmas break has already seen your youngsters bouncing off the walls from candy cane-induced sugar overload, it’s certainly not too early to consider how to keep those school-starved offspring entertained throughout the remainder of their time off.
This year, instead of plopping them down in front of a variety of electronic entertainment, try sending them over to Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center for a full schedule of WinterFest activities.
The visitor center, in partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, offers nearly two full weeks of hands-on and outdoor activities to keep their blood pumping through the cold of winter.
“We started WinterFest in 2004, and it has just continued to grow over the years,” said Rebekah Jones, volunteer coordinator at Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. “It has certainly morphed quite a bit, based on what people have shown more of an interest in. I think we have sort of settled into a pretty good program now.”
Jones said the WinterFest program started as a way to give kids something to do while they’re on break.
“It gets them out of the house and into the visitor center – which is always a good thing,” she explained. “It’s a great way to keep them learning while they’re out of school.”
According to Jones, the idea is to provide a variety of activities that appeal several different ages.
“While the younger crowd generally tends to gravitate toward hands-on activities like arts and crafts, we’ve also included some things I think even parents would be interested in,” she said. “We’re going to have a really cool program that focuses on owl migration. I can really see the adults getting into building an owl nesting box.”
Activities at the center run through the end of the year, wrapping up with two special events on Saturday, Jan. 2. For more information on activities offered, check out the Islands and Ocean Web site at www.islandsandocean.org.

WinterFest

Art in Nature Crafts
Wed. Dec. 23, 2-5 p.m. Seminar Room
• Look closely and you’ll see the art in nature. Drop in and decorate your very own magnet picture frame. Then create a rubbing from natural objects, draw or paint a wild creature, or write a poem about nature to display in your frame.

Storytime
Wed. Dec. 23, 2-3:30 p.m. Auditorium
Catie and Jolee will read a story, followed by a craft you can take home.

Art in Nature Crafts
Thur. Dec 24, Noon – 3 p.m. Seminar Room

Bird Crafts
Sat. Dec 26, Noon – 5 p.m. Seminar Room
How do birds survive in the winter? Find out with these fun crafts and activities. Decorate your very own bird ornament, and then play games to find out what your bird sounds like, and whether it stays in Alaska or leaves each winter.

Build an Owl-Nest Box
Sat. Dec 26, 2 – 3:30 p.m. Auditorium
Would you believe that Homer is an owl mecca? Jason will share interesting tidbits about our nocturnal neighbors and help the first 25 participants assemble their very own owl box.

Sea Star Crafts
Tue. Dec 29, Noon – 5 p.m. Seminar Room
Sea Stars capture the imaginations of people world wide. Bring the beauty of one of these fascinating creatures into your home by decorating your very own sea star ornament. Then watch short movies about sea stars, put together a sea star puzzle, watch real live sea stars in our aquarium, and read a story about a lonely sea star named Stanley.

Icefishing Mini-Lab
Tue. Dec 29, 2-3:30 p.m. Lab Classroom
Learn all about this fun and interesting sport, from what kind of gear you need to which local lakes have the best fishing. Skills taught in this lab will prepare you for an actual family ice fishing experience on a nearby lake in February.

Sea Star Crafts
Wed. Dec 30, Noon- 5 p.m. Seminar Room

Flashlight Tidepooling
Wed. Dec 30, 6-8 p.m. Bishops Beach Parking Lot
Join Carmen and Conrad Field for an evening of low tide exploration on Bishops Beach. Bring a flashlight, warm clothes and a sense of adventure.

Sea Star Crafts
Thur. Dec. 31, Noon-5 p.m. Seminar Room

Birds and crafts
Sat. Jan 2, Noon-5 p.m. Bird craft and activities for younger kids, with a complimentary goshawk visit from TLC Bird Treatment Center personnel from 2-3:30 p.m.

Open House
Sat. Jan 2, 6 p.m. Wynn Nature Center
Followed by an astronomy and moonlight snowshoe hike at 8 p.m.

More Thanksgiving recipes

Newsroom — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:25:28 +0000

Four of Brandon Young’s first-grade student recipes were inadvertently left out of last week’s Homer Tribune. We have included their recipes for Thanksgiving use next year.

Natalie’s Turkey

Ingredients: Turkey
Directions: First you put it in the oven then take it out of the oven. Then stuff it.

Roger’s Chocolate Pie

Ingredients: Dough, Crust, Egg, Chocolate powder
Directions: Shape it up. Put it in the over for 20 to 30 minutes. Take it out. Pour the Chocolate

Ryleigh’s Fruit Salad

Ingredients: Cantaloupe, Pineapple, Apples, Blueberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Raspberries
Directions: 1. Mix the fruit salad. 2. Put the fruit salad in bowl and put some smelly seasoning in it with the fruit salad.

Dylan’s Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients: Rice Crispy cereal, sugar, milk
Directions: Mix it, stir it, put it in a bowl, mix it up some more, put it in the oven- 23 degrees for 46 seconds, then eat them!

‘Someday soon you’ll speak English just fine’

Newsroom — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:36:33 +0000

• Adult education volunteers win award for dedication to ESL students

By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - All four of Kachemak Bay Campus’ Adult Education instructors and volunteers have won awards for their work. Left to right: Full-time instructor Jan Peyton, volunteer tutor Jane Regan, GED-examiner/volunteer Kyra Wagner and full-time instructor Lolita Brache. This year, Wagner and Regan were selected for recognition from the Alaska Adult Education Association, with Peyton and Brache being previous year winners.

Students at Kachemak Bay Campus studying English as a second language are finding much more than just basic instruction from volunteer teachers Jane Regan and Kyra Wagner; they’re finding a welcoming home.
Volunteer tutor Jane Regan and GED examiner Kyra Wagner were each recently recognized by the Alaska Adult Education Association for their teaching efforts. Regan brought home the “Rising Star” award, while Wagner picked up recognition as Volunteer of the Year.
KBC Director Carol Swartz announced the awards Friday, outlining the two tutors’ special talents in working with each of their students.
ESL students come from all over the world, including Brazil, Mexico, China, Russia and Korea. Regan works individually tutoring students, then takes them out of their West Campus classroom to face the English-speaking world. Students have a variety of challenges and many goals, from gaining a driver’s license, to achieving good-enough English skills to secure a job.
“She organized field trips in order for students to experience their new culture and increase their understanding of our community firsthand,” Swartz wrote about Regan in a press release. “Each trip gave students unique opportunities to learn new vocabulary in context as they practiced their skills in ‘real-life’ environments.”
Trips included the Nomar factory, Homer City Hall, the Pratt Museum and the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitors Center. The group also visited the Homer Theatre where they were shown the workings of the projector room, and South Peninsula Hospital where they found out a telephonic translation system is available to non-English speakers if they should ever require emergency medical help.
“I’m finding out about my community along with them,” Regan said.
Regan functions as more than just a tutor – she is an advocate for the students. “She is constantly thinking of how she can inspire them,” Swartz wrote. “She has assisted students with medical needs, driver’s education and various other life challenges. She is an inspiration to all.”
KBC’s second statewide award winner is Wagner. Though she serves as the campus’s part-time GED examiner, she has also been a “volunteer extraordinaire,” contributing countless hours to helping ESL students and thereby earning the Alaska Adult Association’s Volunteer of the Year award, Swartz wrote.
Wagner started her affiliation with the Adult Ed program nine years ago as a VISTA volunteer. At that time, the program featured a daycare program to help parents with their children so they could attend class.
“Kyra has generously offered her time for several years,” Swartz wrote. “Both her technical skills and her way of working with students have been invaluable. Kyra has volunteered massive amounts of time helping students publish their personal stories; editing, finding illustrations and printing so the students can see their work in a published form. She has been instrumental and resourceful in our program’s ability to publish an anthology of student stories and recipes in book format.”
The booklet, called “Kachemak Voices,” came out last year. Publishing students’ stories resulted in “students feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment while improving their literacy and quality of life,” Swartz said.
Both Regan and Wagner work with KBC’s two full-time ESL instructors, Jan Peyton and Lolita Brache.

Learning to live fantastic without plastics

Newsroom — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:50:18 +0000

• September beaches yield treasure trove of recycled art for October

By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson - Max Basargin’s “Cork Boats” is one of several art pieces on display at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies in October. Students from McNeil Canyon Elementary School gathered trash and other objects from the beach as part of CoastWalk 2009.

As beaches around Kachemak Bay began to empty of trash – thanks to CoastWalk 2009 clean-up efforts – the walls at the Center for Alaska Coastal Studies began filling up with art.
So far, McNeil Elementary School has gathered the most beach trash – about 1,800 pounds worth – and they have the artwork on exhibit to prove it.
CACS’ challenge for ‘Life with Plastic is not Fantastic,’ was to take beach trash and turn it into art. Many found ways to show their appreciation for the shapes of a natural beach.
“We are truly amazed at the art that has been brought in by those in our community,” said Center for Coastal Studies Coordinator Melanie Dufour. “They were truly inspired.”
The art pieces will be on display through Oct. 31, with additional work accepted through Oct. 20.
While not all the numbers are tallied for this year’s annual beach clean-up effort, winners will be announced at the annual meeting Oct. 21. The public is invited to bring a potluck dish and join in a community dinner at 6:30 p.m., prior to the start of the meeting.
McNeil Elementary School Art teacher Debbie Piper, who teaches second and third graders, said her students certainly pulled their own weight with the clean-up, but mostly brought back the treasures to make art.
“As they cleaned debris from the beach, the kids were told they could bring things back. They focused mostly on beach treasures,” Piper explained. “I asked them, ‘What do you think might work together to make a piece of art?’”
Piper said the students found everything from fishing line to wire, to rusty metal pieces of interesting shapes.
“They threw the plastic in the garbage. It certainly wasn’t very pretty,” she said. “They found beauty in the natural stuff like shells and feathers that they put together with some manmade objects.”
The judging of each piece mounted on the wall at the CACS will be done by public ballot. At the annual meeting, winners will be announced.
The annual meeting/potluck dinner is also a chance to meet new CACS director, Terry Shepherd.
The guest speaker is author/photographer Taz Tally, who will discuss his new book, “Fifty Hikes in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.” He will also talk about hiking opportunities and show photos of his work. Tally teaches digital and landscape photography at the Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, as well as various online classes. He has a doctorate in geology.

Local musher teaches Huskies about sled dogs

Newsroom — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:23:20 +0000

Photo provided - Musher Jillian Rogers with Ms. Kysar's 8th Grade Reading class.

Local musher Jillian Rogers of Spitfire Kennels visited Ms. Kysar’s 8th Grade Reading class at Homer Middle School last week. The class has been studying about animal adaptations; in particular, adaptations of domesticated dogs. After researching different dog groups and specific breeds, Kysar invited Rogers to come share her competitive mushing experiences with the class.
Rogers began her working career as a journalist for the Yukon News in Whitehorse. After covering many a sled dog event, she developed a passion for the sport herself. She began training in Fairbanks as a handler for Ken Anderson and Lance Mackey. Since then, she has moved her team to Homer in order to better hill train the dogs this winter, as she is training for the 2011 Iditarod. She does plan to race in the Yukon Quest this season.
Rogers talked to the class about different types of mushing, common dog breeds used in the sport, and even a little of the history of modern dogsledding.
For more info. about Rogers, go to
www.wannabemusher.bogspot.com.

School Briefs
Connections
• Oct. 6th, 7th, 8th High School Graduation Qualifying Exams, Glacierview Church, 7:45 a.m.
• Fri. Oct. 16 All Connections offices will be closed for a staff inservice.
• Sat. Oct. 17 PSAT testing at H.H.S. 8 a.m. Pre-registration is required.

Fireweed Academy
• Sat. Oct 10 Mind-A-Mazes in Soldotna

Nikolaevsk School
• Wed. Oct. 7 Site Council Meeting
• Friday, Oct. 9 No School
• Sat. Oct. 10 Parent/Teacher Conferences

Ninilchik
• Fri. Oct. 9 Child Check Developmental Screenings, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Paul Banks Elementary
• Fri. Oct 9 PTA Movie night, 7 p.m.

Susan B. English – Seldovia
Spirit Week October 5-9th Sport Season Kick Off: HS Volleyball; Boys Wrestling; JH Boys & Girls Basketball. It’s going to be a fun week, schedules are posted on Ed-Line (JH Basketball is still being fine tuned; updates as we fill the schedule).
Monday: Carhartt Day
Tuesday: Hat/Sunglasses Day*
Wednesday: Character Day
Thursday: School Color Day
Friday: Dress Up Day
*Teachers discretion for removal of apparel

West Homer Elementary
• Thurs. Oct 8 Fifth-grade testing

Army Pfc. Kelly R. Mullins has graduated from nine weeks of basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. Mullins is the granddaughter of Lydia Landt of Kasilof.

School Briefs – Sept. 30

Newsroom — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:55:44 +0000

Chapman School
• Mon. Oct. 5 Presentation at School Board Meeting, 7 p.m., at Homer

Fireweed Academy
• Thurs. Oct. 1 Picture day
• Sat. Oct 10 Mind-A-Mazes in Soldotna

Homer Connections Program
• Tues. Oct. 6 Picture day at Paul Banks Elementary, 9 a.m.

Homer High School
• Thurs. Oct. 1 Picture day

McNeil Canyon Elementary
• Friday, Oct. 2 Family Game Night, 6:30 p.m.

Nikolaevsk School
• Wed. Oct. 7 Site Council Meeting
• Friday, Oct. 9 No School
• Sat. Oct. 10 Parent/Teacher Conferences

Ninilchik
• Fri. Oct. 9 Child Check Developmental Screenings, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Paul Banks Elementary
• Homer Children’s Services Birth 2 Three, Public Health and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will be offering free developmental screenings for infants and preschoolers, (newborn through 5 years). The screening will be held at the Homer Public Health Office, Bunnell Ave. from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Staff will screen your child’s vision and hearing, movement, speech and language skills, self-help, social development and early learning skills. Immunizations are available by request. To make an appointment, please call 235-6044. Children will be seen by appointment only.
• Fri. Oct 9 PTA Movie night, 7 p.m.

West Homer Elementary
• Wed. Sept. 30 School Pictures
• Tues. Oct. 6 Fifth-grade testing
• Thurs. Oct 8 Fifth-grade testing

Scholarship available to aviation students for 2010
The Forrest Jones Memorial Scholarship is awarded the first week of March, and the amount of the scholarship for 2010 will be $3,000.
Deadline for applications is January 10, 2010. For an applicant to be eligible, they must be enrolled in, or applying to, one of the following (in an aviation field), or a high school senior applying to an accredited college or university, a licensed flight school or a certified A&P program.
More information and additional application copies may be obtained by visiting www.alaskaaircarriers.org.

School Briefs – Sept. 23

Newsroom — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:25:26 +0000

Chapman School
• Wednesday: Soccer at Chapman, 3:15 p.m.
• Friday: Picture Day, starting at 9 a.m.

Fireweed Academy
• Friday: Field trip to Wynn Nature Center

Homer Connections Program
Ongoing: Connections is currently enrolling new and returning students for the 2009/10 school year. A birth certificate is required for kindergarten and students new to KPBSD.

Homer High School
• Today: Battle of the Books, noon
• Today: DDF practice, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Homer Middle School
• Friday: Soccer at Soldotna, 3 p.m.
• Tuesday: Cross Country at Seward, 3 p.m.
• Tuesday: School Pictures

McNeil Canyon Elementary
• Today: School pictures, 8:30 a.m. Preschoolers invited 11–11:30 am.
• Friday: Cowboy Day. Students welcome to wear favorite western wear.

Nikolaevsk School
• Friday: School pictures

Paul Banks Elementary
• Homer Children’s Services Birth 2 Three, Public Health and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will be offering free developmental screenings for infants and preschoolers (newborn through 5 years). The screening will be held at the Homer Public Health Office, Bunnell Ave. from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Staff will screen your child’s vision and hearing, movement, speech and language skills, self-help, social development and early learning skills. Immunizations are available by request. To make an appointment, please call 235-6044. Children will be seen by appointment only.

Susan B. English
• Wednesday: Family pictures, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday: School pictures
• Monday: Wrestling and Volleyball begin

West Homer Elementary
• Wed., Sept. 30: School Pictures

Former Homer High School student Andrew Peters, who received his undergraduate degree in religion from Northwest Nazarene University, is now attending Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Takima, Wash. Peters is a student of the inaugural class of 2012.

‘Sprouting’ change for impoverished students

Newsroom — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:57:57 +0000

• Fundraiser pulls in more than $6,000 for Nicaraguan school children

By Sean Pearson
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Ryan Ridge - Volunteers serve up Indian fare at the “Sprout” fundraiser for Nicaraguan school children.

When Sprout Nicaragua co-founder Lauren Scharf decided to hold another fundraising dinner in Homer this year, she was cautious about expecting as large a turnout as last year.
She was pleasantly surprised.
“I knew this was a tough year for everyone, with the economy the way it is,” Scharf said. “But once again, I was blown away by what people in Homer are willing to do.”
Word of the Indian Food fundraising dinner traveled quickly through town, with people lining up at the doors of the Kachemak Community Center before the schedule start of 5 p.m.
By 7:30 p.m., the food supply began to wane.
“We reckon 170-190 people showed up – significantly more than we expected,” Scharf explained. “Of course, those numbers are based only on the ‘very scientific’ method of counting of used forks; we had 150 and had to ask people to turn them in as they were leaving so we could wash and reuse them.”
Scharf added that both forks and plates were Loopy Lupine recyclable in the first place.
“We took in more than $6,000 in cash and in checks,” she said. “That’s pretty amazing at $10 suggested donation and a tiny raffle. Sometimes I really love this town.”

Photo provided

Scharf, along with Sprout co-founder Patrick Gibson, lives in Nicaragua and returns to Alaska every year to raise funds to encourage growth through education in areas like Tolasmaidas.
According to Scharf’s Web site, 3 in 4 families in the impoverished village are headed by single mothers, with little opportunity to improve their lives or earn a living to support their children.
“The children need supplies to even be considered for school,” she explained “Sometimes they will let the kids get by without the uniforms, but they insist that students have their own school supplies. There just isn’t a budget to provide needy kids with notebooks, pencils, protractors, etc.”
That’s where Sprout steps in.
“We provide the students with things like uniforms and school supplies,” Scharf said. “We also help them with opportunities to acquire scholarships that will allow them to complete high school, enroll in training programs, or attend university.”
Scharf says she believes strongly in giving everyone who wants it the opportunity to pursue an education.

She is also currently working to develop a sustainable, community-based approach to earning money in the village, starting with providing sewing machines for women of the community to sew the students’ uniforms.

Principal Gee takes the helm at Homer High

Tribune Moderator — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:58:35 +0000

• First week of school full of surprises for new principal

by Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

Allan Gee

The first week in a new school can give anyone the jitters and a stomach full of butterflies.
Now, imagine being the new principal at Homer High School and getting a call from the governor.
Around 2 p.m. Friday afternoon, Principal Allan Gee got a quick phone call that Gov. Sean Parnell was on his way to visit the high school.
“We were told he was weathered out of Kodiak and that he would like to visit the high school,” Gee explained. “I said, Certainly. Come on over.”
Gee escorted Gov. Parnell and his wife, Sandy, to a few classes, stopping in to check on Alaska history and Language Arts classes.
“In the Alaska Studies class, he greeted each student individually and asked them about their careers and post-secondary education goals,” Gee said. “The governor talked to them about the importance of various careers available in Alaska.”
Gee said students and staff were amazed to see them walk in; and it was the first visit by a governor to Homer High, as far as anyone could remember.
Principal Gee considers his first week of school a rather good one. He is, after all, back in the territory to which he longed to return. He arrived in Homer on Aug. 3 after a fast-track hiring process, driving all the way up from Georgia. No stranger to Alaska schools, he was principal at the North Slope village of Wainwright from 1997-99 and Kodiak Middle School from 1999-2003. And when he and wife Gwenn left, they vowed they would return.
But first, the principal had a promise to keep.
Gee’s grandparents, Otis and Lottie Spain of Braselton, Georgia, had raised him.
“I promised them I would return and take care of them in their last years,” Gee said.
During his six years away, Gee served first as assistant principal of Richard’s Middle School in Lawrenceville, Ga., and then took over as principal at Centerville Elementary in Snellville, Ga.
Gee said the jobs offered a great opportunity for his children, Jared, sixth grade, and Megan, eighth grade to get to know their great-grandparents. “It was a wonderful, full-circle experience,” he said.
In April, Gee and his wife Gwenn, a special education teacher, agreed to try for that second promise they had made – to one day return to Alaska. Gee applied for an assistant superintendent position with the Kenai Peninsula School District. He wasn’t selected for that position, but apparently made a good impression on the district.
In early June, then Homer High’s principal Rayna Duenas announced her resignation, leaving the borough in a rush to get Homer a principal at least a month before the start of school. At the time, Kenai Peninsula Borough District Superintendent Donna Peterson said she hoped the strong contenders for other district jobs would come forth if they were still interested.
As it happened, Gee fit that bill.
“I saw the posting and applied. I was interviewed by phone a few days later, and then a couple of days after that was offered the job,” Gee recalled. “I had always intended to return and I was waiting for the right job. And we felt very strongly, this is it.”
Still, the happy prospect of getting back didn’t leave much time to pack. Gee was on the road by July 18, hauling 18,000 pounds of the family’s furniture up the AlCan in a U-Haul. The rest of the family kept to a planned family trip with extended relatives on a Caribbean Cruise.
Gee arrived by July 30 and started work on Aug. 3. In the meantime, Gwenn Gee was hired at Homer Middle School.
Richard’s Middle School with its 2,400 students and Centerville Elementary with 850 were both quite a bit larger schools than Homer High’s nearly 400 student body.
“This is very manageable and more personable in terms of getting to know students, staff and parents,” he said. “It was a quick transition, but it has been wonderful to be back.”
In Kodiak, Gee said he would purposely go to the Safeway store and, while shopping, welcome grocery-aisle discussions.
“Getting a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk would take 35-40 minutes,” he figured. “I really appreciated being able to talk with people about whatever might be on their minds.”
As students, staff and parents get to know Gee, they might enjoy a visit to his office as well. Shelves are filled with books like “George Washington on Leadership.”
Gee explained that today’s principal is a different fellow from the school figureheads of the past.
“I never saw a principal in the classroom,” he said. “Now we do daily walk-throughs to learn about students, offer ideas and look at ways we can be supportive of teachers.”
Going to the principal’s office usually happened only if you got into trouble.
These days, principals are concerned beyond the disciplinarian role.
“The role has changed, especially with the federal guidelines of the No Child Left Behind Act,” he explained. “There is a lot more emphasis on the instructional leadership that supports our core business of teaching and learning.”
Gee holds a doctorate in educational leadership.
He also focuses on three Rs as supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – the “rigors” of academics, the “relevance” of studies to student lives and “relationships” – peer-to-peer, as well as principal to staff.
One of Gee’s leadership styles is finding new ways to approach old questions. For example, after reading “Strengths Finder,” a book by Tom Rath, he applied his new theory of building on strengths rather than on a person’s weaknesses. He intends to introduce the concepts to his Homer staff.
“The intent is to focus on your strengths and those of the staff,” he said. “Too often we identify weaknesses and focus on improving that area rather than building on a person’s strength.”
When the No Child Left Behind Act brought in stacks of paperwork for teachers, Gee found a unique way to help a talented high school choir director with paperwork issues.
“I found him someone to help with the paperwork, so he could focus on what he does best – conducting the choir,” Gee said. “In this way, he is able to build on his strengths.”
Though Friday’s visit from the governor was a great top to Gee’s first week back in an Alaska school, it wasn’t the first time he was able to meet an influential leader. In Plains, Ga., Gee visited a Southern Baptist Church and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was conducting Sunday School.
“He’s so influential and yet so humble,” Gee said. “He made a deep impression on me and how I want to approach my students, staff and parents.”

Kids get ready to learn on first day of school

Tribune Moderator — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:14:14 +0000

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson - Students fill their water bottles as the first order of business, although teacher Wendy Todd warned them that she would only make an exception this one time by letting them fill up after the bell.

Homer Middle School
Homer Middle School hired new staff this year, including Kathy Kysar for language arts and reading, Ingrid McKinstry as interventionist/math, Jennifer Booz in science, Zachary Zimny, art, Amy Christianson, band and Gwenn Dailey-Gee in special education. In addition, Principal Lisa Nissly’s name has changed to Lisa Callahan.
• The first bell rings at 8:30 a.m. and classes start promptly at 8:35 a.m. School is dismissed at 3:10pm each day. If you have questions about bus times and stops, please call First Student at 235-7513. Supply lists for seventh and eight graders is listed on the school Web site.
• Cross-country running and soccer practices will begin the second day of school, August 25th. All students are invited to participate, and make sure you complete the green permission slip that was included in the first day of school packet.

Chapman School
• Sept. 10. Open House and Harvest Fair, 6-7 p.m.

Homer High School
• Homer High School’s Drama, Debate and Forensics Club will host a clinic for incoming eighth, ninth, and tenth graders on Sept. 12-13 at Homer High. The clinic runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration fee is $75, and includes lunch. Registration forms are available online, or for more information, contact Kathy Kysar at KKysar@KPBSD.k12.ak.us

Paul Banks Elementary
School hours: 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• School pictures will be taken by Life Touch on Tuesday, Sept. 22. A picture packet will be sent home with your child closer to picture day. Re-takes will be on Oct. 22. A portrait program will also be
offered in the spring.
• Paul Banks provides a hot lunch program. We ask everyone to please fill out the lunch application and return it to school. This form is included in the “Back to School” folder or you may pick one up from the school office. These confidential forms help determine how much funding PBE receives for the Title I program. Your attention to this matter is appreciated.
Pick-up and Dismissal Procedures
• Parents need to send a note with their child in the morning if there has been a change for the child going home at the end of the day. The note must contain the new bus number and physical location where the child will be dropped off. If you will be picking your child up at the end of the day, the school needs a note stating this. It is the school’s policy that if we have not been contacted by a parent of any changes the child will get on their regular bus to go home.
• The school will not take bus changes or “going home” changes after 2:45 p.m. each day, unless it is a true emergency. We cannot hold buses for last minute changes.
• If you are picking your child up at the end of the day, please wait in the main hall by the front office and when the bell rings at 3 p.m., you may then walk down the hall to pick your child up. Please exit out the doors at the west end of the building. This helps with the congestion at the front doors with our students in their bus lines.
• If you need to pick your child up early, please come to the office and we will call the classroom and have the teacher send your child down to the office to meet you. Dismissal time at PBE can be very hectic, and we need everyone’s help with this.

Susan B. English School, Seldovia
• 9-24-09 School pictures

West Homer Elementary
• 9-3-09 2:30 p.m. Cookie Dough Assembly
• 9-30-09 School pictures