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Partners in Learning Month salutes its partners
Walla Walla Public Schools has proclaimed May as Partners in Learning Month to raise awareness of the vital role businesses, agencies and individuals have in our school system. Tuesday night the district recognized the following partners for their outstanding support.
- City of Walla Walla
- Mary Garner Esary Trust
- Blue Mountain Action Council
- Lincoln Health Center
- Walla Walla Kids Read
- Camp Fire USA - WW
- Providence St. Mary Medical
- Hepler’s Big Cheese Pizza
- Blue Mountain Dental Care
- Wa-Hi Latino Club
- Whitman College
- McDonald Zaring Insurance
- WWCC
- WSU GEAR UP
- School PTAs
- Walla Walla - Columbia School Retirees’ Association
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Public Meeting/Work Session/Excess Bond Proceeds from Edison School Project
- Wednesday, May 26
- 8:30 a.m.
- District Board Room/364 S. Park Street
The Walla Walla School Board has scheduled a public meeting/work session on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. Purpose of the public meeting/work session is to discuss and hear comments regarding excess bond proceeds from the Edison School project. The public meeting/work session will be in the district board room at 364 South Park Street and is open to the public.
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Matt Bona named new Sharpstein Principal
Tuesday night Walla Walla Public Schools Board of Directors approved the hiring of Matt Bona as principal of Sharpstein Elementary School. Bona replaces Principal Laure Quaresma who was recently named the district’s new Executive Director of Personnel. Bona’s tenure at Sharpstein begins July 1.
Bona has 18 years experience in education. He has been an assistant principal at Walla Walla High School for the past four years. Prior to coming to Walla Walla, Bona worked for four years as an assistant principal and dean of students at Lake Roosevelt High School in the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Bona was also a high school physical education teacher for three years at the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Bona has social studies and physical education teaching experience at Toppenish, Ellensburg and Highland School Districts.
Bona was also an adjunct professor teaching health education at Linn-Benton Community College and a lecturer on health related topics at Western Oregon University.
“It is a great honor to become the new principal at Sharpstein Elementary School,” Bona said. “My family and I love living in Walla Walla and are excited about the opportunities that our town affords young children. Sharpstein is a school that has a lot of cutting edge programs in place that are beneficial for students and their education. My goal is to keep the positive things that are in place at Sharpstein moving forward and continue to make collaborative decisions that are best for students.”
Bona earned his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education (History) degree from the University of Idaho, his Master of Science in Education Degree (Health) from Western Oregon and his Administrative Certification from Heritage University. A search for a new Walla Walla High School assistant principal is underway.
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Personnel Report (from 5/18/10 school board meeting)
Employment
(Administrative) Matt Bona, Principal, Sharpstein
(Certificated) Tammy Baker, Fifth grade, Berney
Tina Brennan, First grade dual language, Blue Ridge
Daisy Cruz, Kindergarten dual language, Blue Ridge
(Classified) Cathy Mehn, Family Service & Mental Health Coordinator, Blue Ridge Head Start/ECEAP Program
Resignations/Retirements
(Certificated) Julianne Anderson, LAP/2nd grade, Berney, 5 years
* Julianne is resigning .2 FTE - she will continue as a .6 FTE LAP teacher
Jennifer Kontos, Special Education, Walla Walla High School, 1 year
* Jennifer is resigning .5 FTE and will continue as .5 FTE TOSA in Special Programs
Leave of Absence
(Certificated) Julianne Anderson, LAP/2nd grade, Berney, 5 years
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New Walla Walla High School head football coach resigns position
Recently hired Walla Walla High School varsity head football coach and math teacher Matt Hamlin announced he is resigning his positions from Walla Walla Public Schools citing a family decision to not move to Walla Walla.
Longtime Walla Walla High School math teacher and assistant football coach Mike Gobel will assume the head coaching duties on an interim basis for the 2010 season.
“Mike Gobel is an outstanding leader and will do a great job coaching our football team,” Walla Walla High School Principal Darcy Weisner said. “We will offer our full support to Gobel and the rest of our coaching staff as we move our football program forward.”
Spring football practices and team camps will remain as scheduled. Visit the Walla Walla High School Football website for more information on the spring schedule: http://168.212.78.15/wwhs_bdfootball/Default.htm
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District teams with Walla Walla Sweets for “Last Day of School Summer Blowout at Borleske”
Date: Thursday, June 10
Time: 1:05 p.m. (first pitch)
Location: Borleske Field
Game Highlights:
- First pitch: Superintendent Rich Carter
- National anthem: Walla Walla High School Chamber Singers
- 7th inning stretch: Ron Higgins to sing “Take me out to the ball game”
- Discount tickets for staff and students - $3 (normally $7) or $6 for a ticket, hot dog and soda
How to get tickets:
Fill out order forms available at all schools and bring payment to the Sweets Office (109 E. Main St., Suite C - Downtown) before June 8. Tickets will not be available at the box office at this price, so get yours in advance today!
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High School regional and state sports tournaments
Girls Softball
May 21 & 22
Spokane - University High School
Walla Walla vs. Gonzaga Prep @ 3 p.m. (Friday, May 21)
Track & Field
May 21 & 22
Yakima - Zeaphel Statium
3 p.m. - Friday, May 21
10 a.m. - Saturday
28 athletes competing
Tennis
May 21 & 22
Spokane - Central Valley/University
1 p.m. - Friday, May 21
Boys singles - Cameron Davis
Girls doubles - Presley Peck and Tianna Cummings
Boys Golf - State Tournament
May 24, 25 & 26,
Kennewick - Canyon Lakes
Monday, Practice Round - Tuesday and Wednesday State Golf Tournament
Wa-Hi entrant – Drew Reinland
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Explorer students produce documentaries for C-SPAN
Tuesday night Explorer Program students from Garrison and Pioneer Middle Schools reported to school board members on the video documentaries they produced for a C-SPAN competition.
Although the 32 documentary topics were vast, all videos centered on two themes:
- challenges we face as a country
- strengths we have as a country
School board members and audience participants were treated to the showing of two of the videos submitted for the competition. One focused on the impacts of cyberbullying in schools and the other on the negative media coverage schools often face. Explorer teacher Dan Calzaretta reported to school board members the students spent about 60 hours per video or more than 1600 hours total for all the productions.
Explorer teacher Beth Clearman said the project challenged the students to hone their research skills, enhance their understanding of technology and work as a team. The videos are posted on the Pioneer and Garrison websites. Calzaretta said approximately 250 people attended the film showing evening at Walla Walla High School earlier this year.
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Yamate students bring Japanese culture
Tuesday night Walla Walla High School Associate Principal Mira Gobel and teachers Rob Ahrens and Bill Calhoun presented to school board members on the recent Yamate Japanese exchange student visit.
Seventy-two Yamate students traveled to Walla Walla in April for a two-week stay in the valley. Students stayed with 35 host families and were treated to numerous activities and tourism sites. Gobel said saying good-bye was difficult for everyone.
“It’s amazing how attached you can get in just two weeks,” Gobel said. “Everyone was in tears as we hugged good-bye. We have already heard from many of the students and they all say how much they enjoyed their visit.”
Ahrens and Calhoun are participating in the return trip this summer. They will chaperone 19 students in July during their two week stay in Japan.
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Senior presentations continue to improve
Walla Walla High School Associate Principal Mira Gobel said 353 seniors have completed their senior presentations. Now in its third year as a high school graduation requirement, Gobel said the presentations continue to improve. This year 222 community members volunteered to serve on the review panels.
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Winston named male athlete of the year
Congratulations to Walla Walla High School senior Gary Winston for being named “Male Athlete of Year” during the 34th Annual Blue Mountain Youth Awards. Winston led the Blue Devils to a fourth place finish in the 4A state basketball tournament and received all state honors. Winston was also stand-out football player as a wide receiver, defensive back and special teams specialist. Winston will attend the University of Idaho in the fall on a basketball scholarship.
Other Wa-Hi finalists included:
Michael Weisner - Male Athlete of the Year
Jamie Weisner - Female Athlete of the Year
Hope Klicker - Female Athlete of the Year
Phillip Somer - Special Student Award
Vicki Reardon - Scholar of the Year
John Golden - Coach of the Year
Walla Walla High School boys basketball team - Team of the Year
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Earthquake preparedness pilot study
Chief Financial Officer Pat Johnston reported to school board members Tuesday night the district is participating in an earthquake preparedness pilot study. This no cost study will provide information on the district’s facilities. The report will be completed in November.
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JROTC students honored during annual Military Ball
Cadets in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Walla Walla High School gathered Saturday for their annual Military Ball. Outstanding performance and leadership in the program were highlighted during the awards ceremony.
Lt. Col. Bill Bialozor, Senior Army Instructor, and Master Sgt. Gerald Taylor, Army Instructor, presented most of the cadet awards, but were also assisted by representatives from some organizations who also selected deserving recipients.
Those awards included:
JROTC Distinguished Service Award
- Cadet Casey Victorino
- Cadet John Gossett
- Cadet Triton Perrin
- Cadet Terrika Zapata
Senior Army Instructor Leadership Awards by Leadership Education and Training (LET) level:
LET 1 - Cadet Sam Gentzler
LET 2 - Cadet Shane Perkins
LET 3 - Cadet Micah Schenk
LET 4 - Cadet Jessica Wilson
Embry-Riddle Celebrate Freedom Ribbon
- Cadet Seth Thomas
Distinguished Cadet
- Cadet Drea Retherford
Washington Army National Guard Award
- Cadet Aric Stahl
Reserve Officers Association
- Cadet Rishi Patel
Daughters of the American Revolution
- Cadet Amairani Juarez
Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Cadet Vince Blakely
AMVETS
- Cadet Katie Chavre
American Legion Awards:
- Scholastic Excellence Cadet Delacey Heater
- Military Excellence Cadet Michael Hobbs
- Marksmanship Cadet Skyler Carpenter
Scottish Rite Award
- Cadet Robyn Paul
Superior Cadet
- LET 1 - Cadet Kaylee Bialozor
- LET2 - Cadet Karri Mickelson
- LET 3 - Cadet Michelle Pinza
- LET 4 - Cadet Stan Southern
After the awards were presented, the SAI called the graduating seniors to their feet and promptly, with tongue in cheek, “fired” this year’s cadet leaders and staff and announced their successors for next year. The cadet chain of command and special team assignments, reflecting promotions for the incoming leaders for academic year 2010–2011 are:
Company First Sergeants:
- c/1st Sgt. Vince Blakely
- c/1st Sgt. Kevin Brown
- c/1st Sgt. Clement Cantil
Company Executive Officers:
- c/2nd Lt. Rishi Patel
- c/2nd Lt. Aric Stahl
- c/2nd Lt. Bosco Brittain
Company Commanders:
- c/1st Lt. Shane Perkins
- c/1st Lt. Richard Jimenez
- c/1st Lt. Karri Mickelson
Battalion Command Staff
- S1 - Personnel: c/Capt. Delacey Heater
- S2 - Security and Intelligence: c/Capt. Katie Chavre
- S3 - Operations and Training: c/Maj. Amairani Juarez
- S4 - Logistics and Supply: c/Capt. Micah Schenk
- S5 - Public Affairs: c/Capt. Kaylee Bialozor
- S6 - Office Automation: c/Capt. Drea Retherford
Special Teams Coordinator - c/1st Lt. Nathaniel Greene
PT Team Captain - c/1st Lt. Nathaniel Greene
Honor Guard Captain - c/1st Lt. Triton Perrin
Color Guard Captain 1 - c/Maj. Amairani Juarez
Color Guard Captain 2 - c/Capt. Drea Retherford
Range Operations Officer - c/1st Lt. Wyatt Wilks
Rifle Team Captain - c/Capt. Katie Chavre
Armed Drill Team Captain - c/Capt. Kaylee Bialozor
Unarmed Drill Team Captain - c/Capt. Delacey Heater
Executive Officer - c/Maj. Michelle Pinza
Command Sergeant Major - c/Cmd. Sgt. Maj. Seth Thomas
Battalion Commander - c/Lt. Col. Robyn Paul
At the close of the official ceremonies, the SAI called Master Sgt. Gerald W. Taylor to the front and announced his retirement at the end of the current school year after 21 years’ service to WWHS JROTC cadets and the Walla Walla School District. Bialozor presented Taylor with an “Iron Mike” statuette from Fort Benning, Georgia. The statue is symbolic of the United States Army Infantry, representing the “Follow Me” spirit of superlative leaders. Bialozor estimated conservatively that during Taylor’s tenure with Wa-Hi JROTC, he taught and trained well over 1,000 cadets. Also during his WWHS years, Taylor coached the Rifle Team and developed many outstanding marksmanship talents, and produced teams that consistently captured top honors around the Pacific Northwest and even a National Champion. The banquet, awards and promotion ceremony, and retirement announcement were followed by the Cadets’ Military Ball where students from all levels of the program spent the rest of the evening sharing memories with the outgoing seniors.
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Walla Walla High School spring sports All Conference Honors
Tennis
Cameron Davis, 2nd Team - Boys
Presley Peck, 1st Team - Girls
Tianna Cummings, 2nd Team - Girls
Baseball
Jake Campeau, Honorable Mention - 1st base
Justin Mathews, 2nd Team - 2nd base
Jake Jimenez, 2nd Team - 3rd base
Kevin Toon, Honorable Mention - shortstop
Matt Watson, 1st Team - outfield
Morgan Maddess, 2nd Team - outfield
Conner Holbrook, Honorable Mention - catcher
Matt Watson, 2nd Team - pitcher
Boys Golf
Drew Reinland - Big Nine MVP
Jake Hanson, 1st Team
Dean Atkinson, Honorable Mention
Soccer
Andrew Glaeser, 1st Team
Juan Rojero, 1st Team
Marco Lopez, Honorable Mention
Sean Williams, Honorable Mention
Josh Bates, Honorable Mention
Jose Beleche, Honorable Mention
Ricky Saldana, 2nd Team
Rene Saldana, 2nd Team
Mike Washington, Coach of the Year
Andrew Glaeser, Player of the Year
Softball
Hope Klicker, 1st Team Pitcher
Alyson Ambler, 1st Team Pitcher
Vicki Reardon, 1st Team Catcher
Jill McDaniels, 1st Team,2nd Base
Paige Pontarolo, 1st Team Outfield
Andrea Hamada, 1st Team Outfield
Tarynn Fortune, 2nd Team Outfield
Ashley Bezdicek, Honorable Mention 3rd Base
Hope Klicker, MVP
Vicki Reardon, Co-Offensive Player of the Year (Emily Shepard from West Valley)
Jerry Humphreys & Arch McHie, Coaching Staff of the Year
Track
1st Team
Jamie Weisner, Girls javelin
Garrett Gerling, Boys 110m hurdles
Garrett Gerling, Boys 300 m Hurdles
Brandon Porter, Boys Javelin
2nd Team
Jamie Weisner, Girls 300m hurdles
Jamie Weisner, Girls long jump
Ashley Cornia, Girls 4x400m relay
Domiinique Cox, Girls 4x400m relay
Kailee Davisson, Girls 4x400m relay
Maggie Callan, Girls 4x400m relay
Jake Robertson, Boys high jump
Brandon Porter, Boys shot put
Honorable Mention All-League
Aaron Nelson, Boys 3200m run
Eric Hisaw Boys Coach of the Year
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Green Park PTSA carnival next week
- Thursday, May 27
- 4 to 8 p.m.
- Dinner will be available for purchase
- Tickets are $.25 each for games and food (some items will cost more than 1 ticket)
- Silent Auction being held in conjunction with the event.
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Walla Walla High School and Garrison Middle School TRiO-ETS Advisor earns leadership award
Walla Walla High School and Garrison Middle School TRiO-ETS Advisor Max Weber was honored at Eastern Washington University Saturday, April 15 by the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) as the 2009-2010 Cesar Chavez Leadership Award for Counselor of the Year.
Weber received a commemorative plaque, which reads: “For outstanding leadership and quality student service in support of the College Assistance Migrant Program.”
“Max has done amazing work as an advisor for the ETS program and been a remarkably positive role model,” said Vince Ruzicka, Advisor for the TRiO-Educational Talent Search Program (ETS) serving Walla Walla High School, Lincoln, Garrison, and Pioneer. “His work ethic and passion for helping low income and first generation students get to college is evident not only in this prestigious award, but can be seen every day in the students he works with. Max pushes his students to be responsible for their own future while providing them with support.”
TRiO-ETS is a federally funded program through the US Department of Education that serves as an advisor to encourage low-income, first-generation students to succeed in school, graduate from high school, and attend college. The grant serves 600+ students in middle school and high school in Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater.
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District End-of-Year Celebrations
Lincoln Alternative High School Graduation
Thursday, June 3: 6 p.m. - WW Fairgrounds
Walla Walla High School Commencement
Friday, June 4: 7 p.m. - Wa-Hi Commons area (gym if raining)
Pioneer Middle School 8th Grade Recognition
Tuesday, June 8: 7 p.m. - Wa-Hi Gym
Garrison Middle School 8th Grade Recognition
Wednesday, June 9: 7 p.m. - Cordiner Hall, Whitman College
* Last day of school - Thursday, June 10 (early dismissal)
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“BDAD” - Blue Devil Athletic Development summer program
The BDAD summer program is designed to help boys and girls in grades 6-12 improve their overall athletic ability for all sports!
Dates: June 29 to August 5 (Monday - Thursday)
Session 1 - 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. (Incoming 9th-12th grade students)
Session 2 - 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. (Incoming 6th-8th grade students)
Session 3 - 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. (Incoming 9th-12th grade students)
Instructors: Eric Hisaw & Amy Hisaw
Location: Wa-Hi Weight Rm & Gym
Cost: $30 pre-registered / $35 at door
Note: Students will need a medical release and a parent permission form, which they can get at the Wa-Hi Athletic Office any time or at the door. (PHYSICALS ARE NOT REQUIRED)
Information: Contact Eric Hisaw at 527-3020 or by e-mail at: ehisaw@wwps.org
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Classroom Close-Up features Walla Walla High School special education teacher
This week Walla Walla High School Special Education Teacher Karan Jamieson is featured as part of the district’s Classroom Close-Up series. A fun, information filled newsletter will be posted on the district website next week - (www.wwps.org). A public service announcement radio spot featuring Jamieson is now playing on regional stations.
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Retirement Celebrations 2009-2010 (remaining)
District Office
Rich Carter
Date: Tuesday, June 1
Time: 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Transportation Co-Op Building
Bill Jordan
Date: June 3,
Time: 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Location: District Office Board Room
Edison Elementary
Nancy Withycombe
Date: Tuesday, May 25
Time: 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Location: Edison
Garrison Middle School
Greg Reid
Date: Thursday, June 10
Time: 4 to 8 p.m.
Location: Red Monkey Downtown Lounge
Plant Facilities
Lowell Schneider
Date: June 8
Time: 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Location: District Office Board Room
Walla Walla High School
Sue Bloom, Pat Hanford, Bonnie Hanson, Don McCoy, Jerry Taylor, Lynn Waldron and Harvey Wellington
Date: Thursday, May 27
Time: 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Location: Wa-Hi Commons
Theme: “Happy Trails”
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