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PSD Connectivity
Dedicated to excellence
March 11, 2016
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Athletic Accomplishments for Winter 2015-16
Student athletes excelled this winter with two teams winning state academic championships and two individual first-place titles in wrestling.
Seven teams across the district won a WIAA Outstanding Academic Team Award for achieving a combined GPA of over 3.5 for the entire team.
"It truly serves as a tribute to each team's dedication and hard work," stated Rick Wells, director of athletics, health, and fitness. "I personally want to say WELL DONE to coaches and athletes on such distinguished achievements and on reaching such a pinnacle point."
Emerald Ridge High School's Boys Basketball coach, Pat Mullen, won SPSL South Coach of the Year.
Rogers High School Girls Wrestling
won SPSL Tournament Champions, as well as 2016 4A
Washington Interscholastic Activities Association
(WIAA) Academic State Champions. The teams cumulative GPA was 3.57.
Rogers High School Gymnastics
won 2016 4A WIAA Academic State Champions. The teams cumulative GPA was 3.82.
Rogers High School Bowling team won West Central District Champions.
Rogers High School Special Olympics Unified Basketball won SW District Champions
(8-0).
Rogers High School's Girls Basketball coach, Amy Looker, won SPSL South Coach of the Year.
Puyallup High School
senior Jordyn Bartelson earned her fourth state wrestling title with a pin at the WIAA 4A State Wrestling Championship at the Tacoma Dome. Bartelson became the first wrestler in Puyallup School District history and the second in state history to claim four state wrestling titles.
Puyallup High School junior, Josh Franich, took first place in state in the 132 pound weight class at the WIAA 4A State Wrestling Championship. Josh did not have a single point scored against him during the State Wrestling Championship.
Puyallup High School senior Kate Jacobsen won Class 4A West Central District III championship in Gymnastics. Jacobsen became Puyallup School District's first all-around winner in more than 15 years.
The athletes were recognized for their outstanding achievements by Rick Wells at the March 7
Puyallup School Board
meeting at Stahl Junior High.
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Architectural firms move forward with
educational design specifications
The architectural firms hired to design a new elementary school, replacement schools for Firgrove and Northwood, and additional classroom space to meet class size reduction goals came together at Carson Elementary recently to collaborate on the details of the district's standard educational specifications which they will use to help design the new schools.
The districtwide elementary specifications, recently approved by the school board on February 22, 2016 were presented in detail to architects from the firms BCRA, Mahlum, NAC, and Studio Meng Strazzara.
The meeting consisted of the architectural firms assigned to specific projects, as well as district staff involved in the process. Mario Casello, director of educational planning, facilitated the meeting. Also in attendance were Chief Operations Officer Rudy Fyles, Director of Capital Projects Gary Frentress, and Carson Elementary Principal Judy Piger.
Piger gave the group a tour of the school as they learned that many of the design specifications are modeled after Carson, which was opened in 2007.
"The projects we are looking at, in a lot of ways are very different, but today we are looking at things that are going to be consistent," stated Frentress.
Casello described the process used to create the educational specifications. During the development phase the core team met with staff throughout the district to understand the physical space needs and how it is used. Teachers, district administrators, office staff, nurses, and food and nutrition employees were among the staff members consulted. The core team considered the needs for classroom, technology, library, special education, staff, food service, and special programs.
"We got some great information and insights. We feel really, really good about what they brought to the table during the process," stated Casello.
Carson was used as the starting point for designing the elementary educational specifications. The Carson specifications were reviewed, updated, and revised. Some items were added and some were deleted.
As they toured Carson, important relationships between spaces were pointed out. For example, the location of the music classrooms in relation to the stage for performances.
One of the significant changes in the updated specifications will help accommodate bigger schools. Another example of discussion with the teams were the shared project rooms between two classrooms. Currently, art and science lessons take place in the classroom. The new specifications call for shared project rooms that are larger, which will help accommodate art and science curriculum and small group instruction. The gymnasium in the new schools will be bigger and include space for bleachers. The schools with 44 homerooms will have larger commons to support the increased student counts.
Casello noted changing technology needs will be reflected in the new designs. Technology and the storage needs for it will look different as the district executes the 1-to-1 initiative to equip each student in grades 4 - 12 with a device to use.
It was clear that the architectural firms will have flexibility in design while meeting the educational specifications. "We are not just taking Carson and putting in on another site," stated Dennis Erwood of Meng Strazzara as he presented the specifications. Erwood participated on the educational specifications core team as the lead principal representing Studio Meng Strazzara.
Chief Operations Officer Rudy Fyles stated, "What pulls the designs all together are the students. We care about all of our students and staff."
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Board Highlights - March 7, 2016
Directors were presented with many students and staff receiving special recognition during the District Highlights portion of the meeting.
Classified Employees of the Year
The employee of the year program
recognizes the work of schoo
l and district classified staff members who have made a positive difference in their profe
ssion. Director of
Transportation
Cathy McDaniel honored bus driver Rae Cambern for her professional leadership and collaboration with school staff, noting the story of a junior high student who received special medical attention thanks to Cambern's attentiveness and concern. Zeiger Elementary
Principal Cari Ake spoke of Zeiger's Facility Operations Manager Larry Hiatt, placing
emphasis on the consistency with
which he demonstrates outstanding
work performance. Hiatt w
as also praised for the relationships he builds with Zeiger staff and students.
WMEA Hall of Fame
The
Washington Music Educators Hall of Fame was established to give recognition for exceptional support, inspiration and outstanding contribution to the growth and development of music education.
Edgemont Junior High Band Director Andy Burch, who was recently inducted into the WMEA Hall of Fame, was honored by Director of Instructional Leadership Tracy Pitzer at Mo
nday's school board meeting.
Athletic Accomplishments
Director of Athletics, Health
, and Fit
ness Rick Wells honored se
veral student athletes for their achievement both on and off t
he field.
Puyallup High School
wrestlers recently won individual state titles at the Washingt
on Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) 4A State Championship.
Puyallup High wrestler Jordyn Bartelson was recog
nized as state champion for the fourth year in a row.
She is
undefeated for all four years,
earning her a 16-0 record - 14
wins were by pin.
PHS wrestler Josh Franich was honored as champion at the 132 lb weight class. Wells noted Franich hasn't had a single point scored against him this year.
Finally, two district teams earned academic state champion status, the highest honor in academic achievement offered in the state of Washington. The
Rogers High School gymnastic team, with a combined grade point average of 3.821, along with head coach Stephanie McDonald were given a round of applause. The Puyallup High School girls wrestling team was also honored for their collective grade point average of 3.570. It was noted that 21 individual GPAs were factored into this calculation. For more on the winter sports athletic accomplishments, see news story in this issue of Connectivity.
Directors were presented with a second reading of several policies under revision and one new policy. They requested clarification in the writing of Policy 2421: Promotion and Retention, but approved the following:
- Policy 2107 - Comprehensive Early Literacy Plan
- Policy 3417 - Catheterization
- Policy 5275 - Civility in the Workplace
- Policy 6801 - Capital Assets/Theft-Sensitive Assets (NEW)
Reports to the board were presented as follows:
- Dr. Mark Knight, executive director of college and career readiness, shared information about Career and Technical Education (CTE) equivalency credit, competency credit, and CTE & industry standards. The preview provided will be elaborated upon at the directors' upcoming study session scheduled for March 18, beginning at 9:00 a.m., and held at the district's Education Service Center located at 302 2nd St SE, Puyallup, WA 98372.
- Chief Financial Officer Corine Pennington also presented a preview of work being prepared for the upcoming study session. The Transportation Operational Efficiency and Student Achievement Project will be studied in full on March 18. The purpose of this project is to make the most efficient use of bus driver time and the existing bus fleet and accommodate developmental growth patterns of teenage students.
- Director of Business Services Laura Marcoe provided directors with financial statements for January, 2016. Of note was the acquisition of a new 78 passenger Thomas Built school bus. This bus purchase was the result of a grant awarded from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the which the district will receive $20,000 in rebates.
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Upcoming calendar dates
Sunday, March 13 at 2:00 a.m.
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Daylight Saving Time begins |
Thursday, March 24
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2.5 hour early release for all grades: teacher training
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Friday, March 25
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No school: teacher training
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March 28 - April 1
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No school: spring break
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Kindergarten registration 2016-17
Daytime registration begins on Wednesday, March 16 and continues through the remainder of the school year. Check with local schools for daytime registration hours, as times may vary.
Parents of all students entering kindergarten should register at their neighborhood school or at the school near their daycare center. Early registration is necessary to plan for appropriate staffing levels. More information can be found on our Registration and Enrollment webpage
.
Kindergarten registration packets are available at elementary schools the week prior to registration but will not be accepted until registration begins.
The following are required at the time of registration:
* Proof of the child's birthday, such as a birth certificate. Children must be 5 years old on or before August 31, 2016 to be eligible to register for kindergarten. The district does not test for early entrance.
* Proof of address (recent utility bill, lease agreement, etc.).
* Proof that the child has had the state required immunizations, including the dates given. To see the immunizations required by state law, visit our Health Services webpage
.
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Upcoming festival features several Native American tribes
On Saturday, March 19, the Puyallup School District will partner with local Native American tribes to present A Gathering of Families: A Celebration of Indigenous Culture and Art. Read more about this event on the Karshner Center blog, From Under the Cupola. Click on the picture below to view the video promotional.
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See what's happening on our social sites:
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Puyallup School District
302 2nd St SE Puyallup, WA 98372 | Phone: (253) 841-1301 www.puyallup.k12.wa.us
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Puyallup School District provides equal opportunities in education and employment and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.
Questions or complaints of alleged discrimination may be directed to:
Puyallup School District
302 2nd St SE
Puyallup, WA 98372
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