PioneerNORTH ELEMENTARY STARS EAST ELEMENTARY EAGLES MIDDLE SCHOOL BUCKSKINS OMAK AND HIGHLANDS HIGH SCHOOL PIONEERSPress Omak School District newsletter Winter 2016 Study focuses on school facilities Look Before You Leap! Back when we used to swim in rivers and lakes, our parents told us to look be- fore we jumped into the water. Today that is still good advice. Before we leap into the deep (or maybe rocky) water of building new or remodeling schools, we need to look before we leap. That is exactly what the Omak School District Facilities Plan- ning Committee was commissioned to do by the Omak School Board. Since October of last year, the com- mittee has been working closely with con- sultants from Hill International Consult- ing and BLRB Architects examining the condition of all our buildings, surveying the community through Thoughtexchange surveys and working closely with staff Photos by Sheila Corson members from all of our Omak schools. Above: East Elementary had some painting This work will produce a recommenda- done outside to brighten it up, but it still tion to the Board on how to develop our needs some work on the inside. Right: The Omak school buildings, grounds and pro- Omak Middle School has the oldest part of grams for the next fifteen to twenty years. Omak Schools - the Emert wing. By mid-March we expect to have preliminary proposals ready for our com- facilities to develop. Even more important munity to review at public forums. Soon is understanding when to act and how after the forum opportunities, we will run to finance each portion of the plan. The another Thoughtexchange survey to get community can expect that the work will even more public input. We will use the be spread over several years and be funded Thoughtexchange results, forum feed- by a combination of existing revenue and back, architect recommendations and staff some bonded debt. It is also reasonable to input to form the recommendations to the expect that the plan keeps the success of Omak School Board. We expect to have all students in mind and is a responsible the formal long-range facilities plan ready approach to the challenges facing the for delivery to the board at the June 2016 district and our communities. meeting. We are definitely looking before we Nuevo diseño - There is still much more work to be leap, so we can go into the water of school done to define which buildings to replace, development with knowledge and confi- Español en la página 7 which to renovate and what outdoor dence in the best results for our kids. www.omaksd.org ~ www.facebook.com/OmakSchools ~ Twitter @OmakSchools 2 Winter 2016 District Report The Pioneer Players of Omak High School and Middle School Before the holiday will take on “Pride and Prejudice” break, we asked commu- Pride the play March 11, 12, 18 and 19 at nity members to engage in 7 p.m. the “Thoughtexchange” The players will use the Jon process about the direction Jory adaptation of the book by of our schools and the Dis- Jane Austen, which centers on a trict. Many of our commu- family of five sisters, looking to & make good matches. Independent nity members Prejudice and headstrong Elizabeth Bennett joined in the doesn’t care much for the aloof process and the Mr. Darcy at first, but as they get results are very to know one another better, will helpful to our they change their original impres- work. sions? You told us Ticket info will be posted on emphatically our website, www.omaksd.org, that the Middle School build- and Facebook. ing needs to be replaced; that Cast: Elizabeth: Nichole Fahey some work needs to be done Jane: Lacoda Miller to update both elementary Darcy: Steven McNeese schools and provide quality Bingley/Col. Fitzwilliam: Yigit Kearamis Mary: Alya Murray learning spaces for all of our Kitty: Madeline Click schools. Your comments in Lydia: Bethany White the survey also put a priority Wickham/Ball Guest: Rayce Dissatell Collins/Sir William Lucas: Collin Rise on improving outdoor athlet- Charlotte: Nicole Hanford ic and PE facilities once class- Miss Bingley: Mackenzie Vance room spaces are in service. Lady Catherine De Bourge: Livia Hays Mrs. Gardener: Jade Timentwa The work of the long- Mr. Gardener/officer: Kaleb Kull Photos by Sheila Corson range facilities planning team Georgiana: Sarah Walker is being guided by the survey At rehearsals, above, Eliza- Housekeeper: Alexandrine Cohoe beth (Nichole Fahey) and Servants: Angelina Newman, Emily results. Currently they are Darcy (Steven McNeese) Scneider, and Linda Harper hard at work examining our dance and talk. Left: Direc- Ensemble/Ball Guests: Linda Harper, real estate holdings for spaces Sarah Walker, Emily Scheider, Angelina tor Nicole Pearce gives Newman, Ady Torres, Alexandrine Co- to build; investigating costs direction to Jane (Lacoda hoe, Jade Timentwa, Mercedes Palman- and funding options from lo- Miller) and Bingley (Yigit teer, Jade Stidman, Alisha Cutrelland cal revenue and state match- Kearamis). and Jadyn Houtz. ing; and considering possible school configurations. This is Student achievements all preliminary work that will Athletes of the month Food drives flourish help the team decide on the January Omak students at East Elementary, specific package to recom- High School - Jacob Peterson, basket- Middle School and High School gathered mend to the Omak School ball; Janice Waters, basketball. food and money for the annual Christmas Board in June of this year. Middle School – Giselle Arciniega, basket- Basket Before the recommendation ball; Joshua Bertram, wrestling. Pro- to the board, the team will December gram. host a public forum to discuss High School – Dallas Joe, wrestling; Susan At its findings. All of the infor- Bevan-Church, wrestling. East, mation gathered will be used students to shape the final plan for the Middle School clothing drive collect- Middle Schoolers gathered three gar- ed 1,441 board to consider. The board bage bags and six boxes full of clothes for pounds will make the final decisions area families. of food. on how to fund projects and Family Empowerment Clothing Bank, Mrs. when they are to be accom- which is open to all families with students Thorn- plished. in Omak and Okanogan School Districts, ton’s Erik Swanson, superintendent distributed the warm coats, sweaters, hats, fourth- Students and staff at East show mittens and scarves and more. grade the pile of donations gathered. 3 Winter 2016 Jazzingit up The Seattle Jazz Singers held a jazz clinic with Omak High School and Middle School music students Feb. 5. Photos by Sheila Corson Above: Jazz pianist Zack Olson shares some tips with piano student Ashley Blakemore. Left: Scat enthu- siasts Chris Ammons and Joey Walbaum get the jazz choir moving to the rhythm and scatting. Bottom left: The jazz band takes on “Harlem Nocturne” with members of the Seattle Jazz Singers band. Bottom right: Davy Nefos, drummer, shows some skills to drumming student Braeden O’Dell, as well as the rest of the band. class won first place with 362 pounds. Olivia’s At the Middle School, students gathered and helped deliver winning word 1,001 items. Eighth grade brought in the most at 593 items. was “cyber- At the High School, 733 items and $1,664.51 was gathered for space.” the baskets. The senior class brought in $1,200 of that and the win for this year’s food drive. High School Key Club and Middle School Builder’s Club members delivered and helped organize the food and the baskets before Winter Break came. FFA student achievements East Spelling Bee winners named Congratulations to Matthan Hale, Cassandra Lange, Linda After 18 rounds, Olivia Little took the spelling bee champion Harper, Cooper Routien, Delaney Lester, James Newman and title for East Omak Elementary School on Feb. 5. Dawson Sachse for earning their State FFA Degree. This is the Aspen Hoover, who took second place, will travel with her highest degree that the state FFA can bestow. to Wenatchee for the regional bee. In district proficiency judging: Kelsey Vejraska was first in This is the second year in a row the two have placed this Diversified Ag Production, Chandra Shibley was first in Poultry way. Production, Cassidy Gates was first in Nursery Operations and Alternate (third place) was CJ Arroyo. He missed a word in Bailey Covey was second in Sheep Production. the eighth round, leaving the girls to battle for 10 more rounds. 4 Winter 2016 Photo courtesy of Elaine Lewis TopTopTop ChefChefChef Lewis accepts her award in New Orleans. @ Sun Mountain Lodge Ag teacher awarded Omak’s new agriculture teacher has brought with her a national award for her outstanding service in the field of agricultural education. Elaine Lewis, in her first year at Omak, is one of six individuals nationwide to receive the National Asso- ciation of Agriculture Educators Outstanding Service Citation, given at a convention in New Orleans Nov. 20. The award factors in her 33-year teaching career. She has received many awards for her dedication to agricultural education in Washington, Nevada and at the national level. She currently serves on the Washing- ton State FFA board of directors and has served on the National FFA board. The Outstanding Service Citation award winner is selected by fellow agriculture teachers, based on an ac- cumulation over a teaching career for overall excellence in the field. Teacher scores high for AP Omak High School Math teacher Melody Pecha has been invited to score AP Calculus exams with the Col- lege Board and Educational Testing Service, an honor that few teachers receive. This June, about 14,700 college faculty and AP teachers from around the world will evaluate and score more Photos by Sheila Corson than 2.6 million student’s AP exams.