Memories from 2019

The year has come and gone, and 2019 was good to South Bend School District.  As I wrap up my last day of the year this New Year's Eve, I can't help but remember some of the great memories we saw in 2019.  I opened up the Photos app on my Mac and went through each of the months, selecting just a sample of these moments to share below.  Each of these pictures provides a testimony to the great staff and people we have working to bring continued opportunities for our students.  I am thankful for each of our employees, our students, and our supportive community.  All of you helped make South Bend School District a Great place for kids in 2019 and will ensure we continue our mission into 2020.  Happy New Year!

Some of 2019's moments at South Bend School District

In January we recognized our school Board of Directors for their Washington State Board of the Year award. A great group of individuals dedicated to providing quality education.  A well deserved recognition.

In February we delivered our completed plans to the City of South Bend as part of our building permit application for the new South Bend Elementary School.  This was a culmination of almost a full year of planning.

In late February Coach Wilson and the Lady Indians qualified for the State 2B Basketball Tournament in Spokane.

In March, South Bend played their first game on the new Cheney Park baseball field.

In May we hired Wyatt Kuiken to take over as facility director to succeed retiring Gary Wilson.

In May we held our annual Staff Appreciation BBQ lunch, and Mr. Rangel's last BBQ as head chef.

In May we hosted the SW Washington Mass Band, organized by Mrs. Sam Lanka.  A great event!

In May, senior Drew Rose signed a letter of intent to play baseball for St. Martins University.

In May, South Bend students helped the City of South Bend prepare to celebrate the city's 150th anniversary.  Thanks to Mr. Keahey and Mr. Blevins!

In May, Mrs. Dearmore and students show off a recent batch of new books for the school library.  Our library continues to grow under Mrs. Dearmore's leadership.

In June, I fall victim to the Class of 2019 and their last day pranks!

In June, we break ground on our $16 million dollar new elementary school, a project resulting from years of preparation, work, and support from our community, school board, facility committee, and state legislature.

In June we say farewell to long-time South Bend employees Gary Wilson and Steve Lazelle, two hardworking gentlemen who left a lasting legacy on our school and community. 

In August we broke ground on the resurfacing of our rubber track, the final result shown below:

In September we come back to school with a new building well under way. Rognlins continues to make great progress.

In October\November we complete our new metals\welding\fabrication shop, a new CTE program with a lot of future growth ahead.

In December, South Bend students show their generosity and hard work in providing food for the local food bank.  A great accomplishment!

In December our new school is starting to take shape with the new roof installation beginning.

Last day in the office for 2019. 

I wish I could share all of the other great moments of 2019.  We have much to be thankful for at South Bend and I am looking forward to another great year in 2020!  

Happy New Year!

Input requested on possible football combine

There will be a meeting about the possible combination of the South Bend & Raymond high school football programs in the South Bend School Cafeteria on Thursday, December 5th, at 6:30 pm.  Parents, students, and community members are invited to attend.  

Feedback will be collected.

SB receives CTE grant for greenhouse

South Bend School District received notification on November 1, 2019 that we received a grant to construct a permanent greenhouse to be located on our campus.  The competitive grant is almost $77,000 and will construct a 1200 square foot structure, which will house South Bend's horticulture and natural resources programs.  The greenhouse will be built on a concrete foundation and contain heating, electricity, water, and ventilation systems.  We look forward to further developing our CTE programs!

Veterans Day Assembly Next Week

South Bend School District is having our annual Veterans Day assembly on Friday, November 8, 2019 at 9:30 am.  All Veterans, their families and friends, and the community are welcome.  Please join the South Bend School students and staff at Koplitz Field House next Friday as we honor those who served our country!  Refreshments will be provided after the assembly.

Seeking HS Boys Varsity Basketball Coach

South Bend School District

Accepting applications for Head Boys Basketball Coach

South Bend School District is seeking qualified applicants for head boys basketball coach, which will begin this coming 2019-20 season.  Interested candidates should contact athletic director Jon Schray at jschray@southbendschools.org, or at 360-875-6041.  Position open until filled.

District Update: FFA, Metal Shop, Media Productions, "Adulting", and more coming to SB's 19-20 school curriculum

South Bend School District

UPDATE

May 2019

As the month of May quickly comes to an end, I want to share a few highlights in and around the school district from the last couple weeks.  Below are some quick updates that may be of some interest... Lots of good things happening at South Bend!

SB Jr. High student Lola Moseley shows off her original art

School Library

You never know what you might find when visiting Mrs. Dearmore's library at South Bend Schools.  Contrary to some recent statewide media reports characterizing school libraries as "a collection of books", our #SB118 library is a place where students ages kindergarten through high school come together to learn.  This learning goes beyond traditional library activities of research and quiet reading, and includes Genius Hour classes, Makerspace, and other facilitated student learning opportunities where students can explore their passions and interests.  It is vital students have the opportunity to pursue what interests them.  The impact can certainly be seen in the above young lady's smile and pride in her art, created in her Genius Hour class.

Mrs. Dearmore and kindergarten students with new books

All this being said, we still treasure our books!  In fact, over the past four years we have added hundreds of new books (non-fiction and fiction alike) to meet the needs of students at all grade levels, both English and Spanish.  Our library recently received their newest shipment of 172 books filling many student requested titles.

Career & Technical Education

New CTE Teacher & Classes

As noted in prior district updates, South Bend is in the midst of revamping our career & technical education (CTE) courses.  Historically known as "vocational" classes, the South Bend school board has recently approved some significant changes to our CTE lineup coming this Fall.  Last month at their regular meeting, the board approved the hiring of Ms. Jayda Jessie as our newest CTE teacher.  Ms. Jessie is graduating from Washington State University this month and will be certified as a CTE Agriculture Education teacher.  Her credentials allow us to offer new courses in metal shop, welding, fabrication, and utilization of our new CNC plasma cutter.  Ms. Jessie will also be starting a new FFA program, will be teaching classes in our greenhouse, and will be teaching Natural Resources.

Harbor Trades & Technology Center

You might recall my update from a couple weeks ago that mentioned the new Harbor Trades & Technology Center, a joint partnership with Raymond School District and the Port of Willapa Harbor.  We are currently planning interior changes to the Port building, setting up teacher training, identifying materials our new classes will require, and developing a lease agreement with the Port.  I have high hopes that this new program will transform the way we engage students in meaningful skill development and future career paths.  

I have had people approach me wanting to contribute to this new program financially.  If you are interested in this, or know of others who are interested, please contact me at the email below.

Media Productions

South Bend High School is also adding a Media Productions class, where students will be learning to compose various video and other media creations.  The course will be instructed by Mr. Mike Lee, who is currently putting together course curriculum and materials consisting of video cameras, green screens, video editing software, and much more.

"Adulting"

I can't tell you how many times I hear people say, "It would sure be nice if schools taught kids how to balance a checkbook, how to cook, how to buy a car...", the list goes on an on.  Well, though some of these skills are covered in certain places during high school, South Bend is taking it one step further for the 19-20 school year.

"Adulting" as referred to by principal Jason Nelson, might just be a 21st century version of the traditional "Home Economics" or "Life Skills" classes that almost all of us remember.  Though the class most likely will have a more official title come Fall, the course is designed to introduce students to concepts like: kitchen safety, healthy eating, menu planning, basic cooking, child development & care, car & home maintenance, personal finance, etc.  I am very excited for what this class will bring to our students and look forward to the class growing into a bigger program.  The class will be taught by high school teacher, Mrs. Jana Johnson.

New School Construction Update

South Bend's new elementary school build is moving forward.  Currently, contractors are surveying the building site in preparation for the approximate 180 piling that will be installed. 

At the same time, South Bend maintenance crews are removing our greenhouses and playground equipment.  I spoke with Rognlin's construction superintendent, Brandon Russell, today where he told me they hope to move piling in the week of June 3.  Rognlin's hopes to begin driving pile on June 10.


Around Town

You might have seen some new signage around South Bend recently.  To help commemorate South Bend's 150 year celebration, SB design and construction classes have created several billboards that

are installed along HWY 101.  Mr. Duwayne Keahey and Mr. Aaron Blevins worked on the project with their students and coordinated with the City of South Bend for installation.  What a great opportunity for our students to create something of which all residents of South Bend can be proud.

Coming Up

Don't forget that South Bend's Class Day and Graduation are fast approaching.  Class Day will be on Thursday, June 6 at 1:30 pm and Graduation will be Friday, June 7 at 6:30 pm.

QUESTIONS ABOUT SOUTH BEND SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 118 CAN BE DIRECTED TO 

SUPERINTENDENT JON TIENHAARA AT: JTIENHAA@SOUTHBENDSCHOOLS.ORG

Night of Culture

South Bend School District

Night of Culture 2019

South Bend School families, come join us for a fun celebration for all ages!

You don’t have to know Spanish to attend, translation services available

What: Authentic cuisine, traditional games, family time, Mother’s Day poem reciting by South Bend Students and more!

Where: Chauncey Davis Elementary Cafeteria

When:   May 10, 2019,  5:00 to 7:00 pm 

Who: Guest Speaker Tony Johnson Education Director and Tribal Council Chairman

Why: To celebrate our school’s cultural diversity

For more information, contact Manuel Rangel or Julie Haugan @ 360-875-5707

*This idea originated with some enthusiastic South Bend parents and a committee of supportive staff.  We hope that this will become an annual event that will expand to represent all the many unique cultural groups that make up our South Bend School family. 

School Board approves Wyatt Kuiken as next Facility Director

South Bend School District Facility Update

New Facility Director

New facility director Wyatt Kuiken

At their regular April meeting, the board of directors approved the hiring of Wyatt Kuiken as the next facility director.  Wyatt will take over for retiring Gary Wilson, who has worked for the district for the last 34 years.  Wyatt is currently the district transportation supervisor and mechanic.  Though

Wyatt will maintain his role as transportation supervisor, the district is currently evaluating options for school bus mechanic services and will be transitioning those duties in the coming months.

Elementary School Construction 

On Friday, May 3, the district signed a contract with Rognlin's Inc. to construct the new elementary school.  Piling are tentatively scheduled to be delivered the week of May 27.  Contractors may be mobilizing prior to this date to install fencing, survey the construction site, and construct the building pad.  District staff will be removing our greenhouses and pay equipment in the next week.  The existing playshed and hard surface playground will be securely fenced off from the construction area.

Track Resurfacing

The district will be resurfacing our rubber track this July.  Though the track had some repair resurfacing in 2008, the rubber has not been removed to bare asphalt and resurfaced since the track was installed in 1995.  The project will take approximately 4 weeks.  Both the track and the football field will be closed during this time. 

Preschool HVAC system

This week, Capital Heating completed the installation of a new HVAC system in our preschool and early learning center.  The district received a $178,000 competitive grant earlier this school year that paid 100% of the costs of the project.  The new system includes all new heating units and air conditioning, as well as new controllers.

Playshed Conversion

Concept of playshed gym conversion project. CMGreen Design

Last week, the district submitted building plans to the City of South Bend for the elementary playshed gym project.  We received a $200,000 competitive grant to fund the project.  Work will begin this summer and will include enclosing the current structure, insulation, new lighting, the addition of heating and cooling, new backboards and baskets, and the installation of a multi use playing surface.  The building will be adjacent to the new elementary school.

Questions about these projects can be directed to superintendent Jon Tienhaara at:

jtienhaa@southbendschools.org