South Bend Public Schools: 2017

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

SB receives 2017 School of Distinction Award

South Bend High School was named a 2017 School of Distinction this week by the Washington Center for Educational Effectiveness. Led by Principal Jason Nelson, South Bend is one of just 27 high schools across Washington being named for the award.

The Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE) in partnership with the Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD), The Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP), Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA), Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) and the Washington State Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (WSASCD), have recognized schools in the top 5% of improvement for their levels for the last 11 years. This is South Bend's third School of Distinction Award.

Congratulations to the students, Principal Nelson, and the entire faculty and staff of South Bend High School for this recognition!

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Generous support coming from local businesses for ballpark

Cheney Park as of October 26, 2017

South Bend School District is receiving generous support for the new baseball/fastpitch field being completed at Cheney Park. With the major funding being provided for the synthetic turf and field construction by foundation grants, local businesses are stepping up with financial support to go toward additional field enhancements.

We are thankful for the following businesses who have shown their support:

Security State Bank--$5,000 cash donation; Coast Seafoods--$5,000 cash donation; Bud's Lumber--donation of all building materials for our two dugouts (to be constructed by our high school construction class); McDonalds (Hanner Enterprises)--$1,000 cash donation; Dr. Roof--$500 cash donation.

We are very proud to have the support of local businesses and it seems more businesses are coming forward each week wanting to help with this project, it is a true community effort. Some of the things we need funding for include a scoreboard, field groomer (for the synthetic turf), an eventual field PA system and booth, an eventual bullpen, and other items that will add to the usability of the park.

Businesses who would like to provide in-kind or financial support toward the project can contact superintendent Jon Tienhaara at jtienhaa@southbendschools.org.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

SB Receives Grant from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund

SOUTH BEND SCHOOL DISTRICT RECEIVES GRANT FROM THE

BASEBALL TOMORROW FUND

GRANT FUNDS AWARDED FOR CHENEY PARK FIELD RENOVATION

South Bend, Wa. -- October 24, 2017 -- South Bend School District was recently informed it has been awarded a grant in the amount of more than $48,000 from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF), which will provide funding toward the renovation of the ball field at Cheney Park, located in South Bend.

In the 2016-17 school year, South Bend re-instituted the baseball program after 30 years. In addition, the district started a girls fastpitch program. The school district partnered with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation (CRSF) from Baltimore, MD to complete the renovation of the field at Cheney Park.

Field construction at Cheney Park located in South Bend, Wa

With major funding from the Ben B. Cheney Foundation in Tacoma, WA, as well as CRSF, the field will feature a synthetic turf infield to accommodate both high school baseball/fastpitch programs and community baseball/softball youth programs. The BTF grant will provide funding for fencing, field equipment and bleachers.

"We are very excited to be selected for the BTF grant," said Jon Tienhaara, Superintendent of South Bend Schools. "The Baseball Tomorrow Fund operates a highly competitive grant program, and they do outstanding work all over the United States and around the world." "SW Washington is known for unpredictable and extremely wet conditions throughout the year, making our new synthetic field vital to our program development." "We are pleased to partner with BTF to help better the baseball and softball opportunities for kids in South Bend and around the Willapa area."

Field construction began in early October and the major field components are on-track to be completed early November.

"The Baseball Tomorrow Fund is proud to partner with the South Bend School District to support its efforts to provide quality playing fields and programs," said Cathy Bradley, Executive Director of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. "On behalf of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, we thank the school district, the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, and the local foundation support of this much-needed project that will serve the young ballplayers in South Bend and the surrounding communities."

South Bend School District is still accepting in-kind and monetary contributions for its baseball/fastpitch programs and facilities. Those interested in donating to the project may contact Jon Tienhaara at 360-875-6041.

About South Bend School District

Located along the Willapa River in rural Pacific County, South Bend School District serves over 650 students preschool through 12th grade in South Bend, Wa. In 2016, the South Bend School Board of Directors re-instituted high school baseball and started girls fastpitch, which held their inaugural season with an all-away schedule during the Spring of 2017. South Bend will open their 2018 season this coming March with the completed home field at Cheney Park located in South Bend, Wa.

About the Baseball Tomorrow Fund

The Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF) is a joint initiative between the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball designed to promote the growth of youth baseball and softball throughout the world by awarding grants to support field renovation and construction projects, equipment and uniform purchases, coaches training material and other selected program expenses. Since its formation by the MLBPA and MLB in 1999, BTF has awarded more than 1,000 grants totaling over $32 million to non-profit and tax-exempt organizations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Asia. BTF also facilitates league-wide initiatives including the collection and distribution of new and gently used equipment to organizations in need as well as field maintenance education clinics. For more information, visit baseballtomorrowfund.com and follow BTF on Facebook and Twitter.

Monday, September 11, 2017

2017 Wall of Fame Ceremony & Videos

We had a great evening in South Bend this last Saturday, September 9, 2017. The Chamber of Commerce building was packed with almost 200 people as we celebrated some very special individuals and teams.

I want to thank the Wall of Fame committee, our special speakers, and the inductees themselves for traveling (some as far as Montana, Arizona, Texas and Colorado) to be with us. Also thanks to the SB Booster Club for their help!

Below you will find links to the Wall of Fame program, as well as videos of each of the speakers. Feel free to share with family and friends.

Click here for the 2017 Wall of Fame Program

Welcome Address, Mike Morris

Ben B. Cheney Wall of Fame, Andy Mullen

1956 Basketball & 1963 Track, Steve Rogers

1972 Basketball, Gary Wilson & Andy Mullen

Badminton, Lorna Martinson

Steve Koplitz, Brent Koplitz

Della Taylor, Scott Taylor

John Thompson, Steve Rogers

Recognizing the Inductees, Tom Sanchez, Chuck Spoor & Jon Tienhaara

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Welcome New SB Staff & 17-18 School Year Information

New School Year Updates from South Bend School District

It's hard to believe school starts this month! Our staff have been hard at work all summer preparing buildings and grounds for the new school year, which begins August 31st. We are excited to welcome students back for another great year! Please read below for some important information on the upcoming school year.

New Staff from left: Tatiana Fox, Kayla Camenzind, Justin Hoagland, Haleigh See, Barb Cenci, Jewel Crow

New Staff

Our quality staff continue to make South Bend a great place for kids to learn. I am proud to welcome some amazing new teachers and staff to our team. We are fortunate to be able to hire people of this caliber and I am excited to see the great things they will bring to our school district.

Mrs. Tatiana Fox

Tatiana will be one of our First grade teachers. She and her husband arrived in South Bend this summer from Bakersfield, California. She earned her teaching degree in Venezuela and her masters degree in education from Ibero-American University in Spain. Fluent in Spanish, Tatiana is excited for the bi-lingual opportunities in South Bend and will be a great addition to our primary staff.

Ms. Kayla Camenzind

*Pre-school and Kindergarten start Tuesday, September 5th

Kayla will be our new K-6 school social worker. After working as an Americorp volunteer at South Bend during the 14-15 school year, Kayla returned to school to complete her masters of social work at Eastern Washington University. She has a degree in international relations and French from Gonzaga. Kayla is looking forward to working with our elementary students and families, and will provide quality services aimed at enhancing the educational success of our students.

Mr. Justin Hoagland

Justin began working at South Bend last February as a long term substitute teacher. This school year he joins our team as a full time faculty member teaching science in the upper elementary, junior high, and high school. He has a degree in biology and a masters in teaching from Western Oregon University. Part of his teaching assignment includes new courses in marine science for 8th grade and astronomy in the high school. Mr. Hoagland is a valuable asset to our staff and brings a wealth of knowledge to our district science program.

Ms. Haleigh See

Late this summer, long time teacher Mark Huber resigned to take a teaching position in Alaska.* Usually it is quite difficult to find teachers this late in the hiring season, so we are thrilled to have hired Haleigh to teach junior high social studies and PE. Haleigh is a lifelong resident of Pacific County and comes to us with a bachelor degree in history from Washington State University and a masters in teaching from Western Governors. Ms. See brings valuable knowledge to our history and social studies department and is excited to be an active member of our school community. *Note: Mr. Jim Bleecker will be teaching high school psychology and US History. Mr. Dan Raymond will be our new Spanish teacher.

Mrs. Jewel Crow

Jewel will be our new elementary special education teacher. She comes to us from the Aberdeen School District where she has experience in special education and Indian Ed. She has a degree in social sciences from Washington State University, and she is currently working on her masters degree for special education. Mrs. Crow is excited to serve our special needs children. I am excited to have her join our team and look forward to the positive contributions she will provide our special education department.

Mrs. Barb Cenci

Barb is our new head cook in the early learning program and will also serve as our district food services coordinator. She will oversee the district nutrition program and work to ensure compliance with state and federal nutrition guidelines. She comes to us from the Naselle School District where she was the head cook and food service director for 5 years. Mrs. Cenci is excited to join our food services department and looks forward to helping provide quality, nutritious, food to our students.

More info to come!

As we get closer to the start of school, parents and students will receive more specific information and updates from their respective schools. If you have questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to call your school office. Numbers are provided below. Also, please remember that my office door is always open. If you have questions, comments, or ideas, please do not hesitate to stop by and visit!

South Bend Schools Phone Numbers

Main School District Line: 875-6041

Early Learning Center: 875-5327

Chauncey Davis Elementary: 875-5615

Jr. Sr. High School: 875-5707

District Office: 875-6041

Transportation: 875-5000

Monday, July 31, 2017

RSVP to the 2017 Wall of Fame Ceremony

South Bend School District will host the 2017 Wall of Fame induction ceremony on September 9, 2017. The ceremony will be held at the Willapa Harbor Chamber of Commerce at 6:00 pm.

To help us plan for the ceremony, we are asking people who are planning to attend to RSVP:

Click Here to RSVP

You can also call the school district office at 360.875.6041 ext. 5 to RSVP.

We are trying to locate members of the 1956 boys basketball team, 1963 boys track team, and 1972 boys basketball team as we will have framed certificates for each team member or family. Though we will not be able to recognize the 20 years of individual badminton players, we will be honoring the program as a whole and long-time coach, Mrs. Koplitz.

Please contact superintendent Jon Tienhaara with questions at jtienhaa@southbendschools.org

The 2017 inductees include:

Della Taylor

Steve Koplitz

John Thompson

1956 Boys Basketball Team

1963 Boys Track Team

1972 Boys Basketball Team

South Bend High School Badminton Program

The Wall of Fame will also be named, "Ben B. Cheney Wall of Fame".

As we are trying to locate team members, please feel free to reach out to people you know who were members of these teams. Team rosters for the basketball teams and track team are below.

1956 Basketball Team 1972 Basketball Team

Tom McCutchan Ed Jouper

Mike Horne Mike Carl

Leroy Nevers Ollie St. Clair

Bob Lorentson Doug Blakely

LeRoy Johnson Mike Bailey

Marv Clements Mike Taylor

Jerry Coma Phil Davis

Don Newton Dan Cearns

Doug Petit Gordy Lynn

Mel Frank Mike Morris

Jim Coulter – Mgr. Steve Koplitz

Dick Mason – Head Coach Don Koplitz - Head Coach

Bill Peterson – Asst. Coach Dick McGovern, Asst. Coach

1963 Track Team

George Esveldt

Dave Lentz

Arnold Ariss

Dennis Wasberg

Don Kaye

Kurt Esveldt

Jim Remington

Armine Mullins

Mike Stearns

Don Lagergren

Larry Hill

John Moseley

Leonard Smith

Jim Barnum

Sam Shattuck

Rich Pearson

Bob Ogilvie

Norton Moe

John Barnum

Sam Lunke

Terry Rhoades

Jeff Stearns

Dan Needham

Harry Trask

Greg Ginther

Terry Lorentson

Steve Newton

Doug Patterson

Don Prior

Ron Beatty

Don Weisel – Head Coach

Coach Smethers – Asst. Coach

Friday, July 21, 2017

Secondary Teacher applications being accepted

South Bend School District is seeking applications for a secondary teacher with multiple endorsements for the 2017-18 school year. The position could include subjects in social studies, math, and physical education.

Interested applicants should contact Superintendent Jon Tienhaara at jtienhaa@southbendschools.org or at 360-875-6041 ext 5. Position open until filled.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

WA Legislature continues work, as SB moves school planning ahead

Community members and staff working on building concept design with architects

The South Bend School District and a team of community members are working hard on plans for a new South Bend elementary school, with the hope of state capital budget dollars coming to fruition in the next several weeks. [see previous story, "Senate capital budget proposes $7.7 million to South Bend Schools"] As the second special session of the Washington State Legislature moves closer to its June 21 deadline, the likelihood of a third special session becomes more probable. Even so, the school district is not taking this opportunity lightly, and is moving ahead to be ready when the special funding is finalized.

Since the beginning of the first special session called by Governor Inslee back in May, there has been relatively no information coming from behind the closed door negotiations of lawmakers. All we really know at this point is what we knew at the beginning: 1) South Bend is identified in the Senate capital budget to receive $7.7 million dollars for elementary school construction; 2) legislators from both the Democrat and Republican caucuses, in both the Senate and House, support our need; 3) we must be ready to move forward when the funding is approved.

After forming a community-based facility committee, the school district engaged Tovani-Hart Architects of Olympia to assist in preliminary planning, and we have been meeting on a regular basis since April. At our first meeting, the committee considered all possible options to site the new elementary school, with the goal of finding the most cost effective location to best serve our needs. The second meeting consisted of the first phase of concept design, where the group organized individual school spaces into a model that fits on the site.

Some of the challenges in determining a site is remembering the various needs of the campus. For instance, the current elementary contains the only cafeteria for K-12. With this in mind, it becomes clear a new school needs to be built close enough to the 7-12 school so that food service can continue in an efficient manner. We also need to align a new school within close proximity to gym space and school bus access. Even the idea of sunlight comes into play, making sure we build a school with maximum exposure. And, of course, distance to utilities is important when considering development costs.

Sample mockup showing scale building areas

With these and many other considerations in mind, the committee is looking at a site toward the west end of the current elementary building that could accomodate a partial 2-story design.

Our next meeting is June 27 when we will finalize concept development to prepare for our July 10 meeting to align final scope and budget. All of this work culminates with our July 25 school board meeting to approve a bond resolution to go to voters in November, as the Pacific County Auditor requires the bond resolution by August 1. The bond proposal will make up the difference between state capital funding, state construction match funding, and actual building cost. As funding becomes solidified and design progresses, we will be engaging the larger community for ideas and feedback. It is important the community has a voice in such an essential component of our district.

The potential funding included in the Senate capital budget is vital to us in South Bend. As we have explained throughout the time leading up to this point, South Bend's low assessed property values make it impossible for the community to replace our nearly 70 year old building on our own. Though the district has taken good care of the building for seven decades, the infrastructure is beyond its designed life. Our school floods and is not built to modern seismic codes. It is certainly time to rebuild.

We are thankful for the leadership of both Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature who understand our problem and who are working to provide needed assistance.

We will continue to update the public as work progresses. If you have questions, please contact Superintendent Jon Tienhaara at jtienhaa@southbendschools.org

Monday, June 5, 2017

2017 Wall of Fame Inductees Announced

South Bend School District is pleased to announce the 2017 Inductees for the South Bend School District Wall of Fame. The Wall of Fame induction ceremony will be Saturday evening, September 9, 2017 at the Chamber of Commerce building in South Bend, Wa.