Author’s work reunites former POW with Holocaust survivor
August 24, 2011
Thanks to the curiosity and perseverance of a former North Bend resident, a World War II veteran will be reunited with a woman he met 67 years ago in Holland while hiding from German security forces.
The reunion is the result of a self-published book written by James Keefe III about the experiences of his father, Jim Keefe Jr., during the war. The elder Keefe served as a bomber pilot until he was shot down over Holland. He evaded capture for several months with the help of the Dutch resistance.
Jim Keefe Jr., sits in the cockpit of his B-24 Liberator during World War II.
But his attempts to reach England and rejoin his unit, the 389th Bombardment Group, ended in his arrest after a double agent told German forces about his whereabouts. He spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war.
James Keefe III lives in Fall City and formerly lived in North Bend. He published the book, “Two Gold Coins and a Prayer,” in 2010. His father lives in Bellevue.
Dog goes missing on family visit in North Bend
August 24, 2011
A 30-pound, honey-brown pit bull is missing in North Bend. Rosie Ozie was last seen Aug. 19 near the North Bend Library.
The dog has a mostly brown coat with a white chest and black muzzle.
Rosie
“She is our kids’ dog, and we need her home,” said Shane Goin, whose family was visiting relatives in North Bend when the dog got loose.
Goin’s family lives in Mossyrock, so Rosie is unfamiliar with the area.
Information regarding the dog’s whereabouts can be passed along by calling 360-918-1143 or emailing emeraldhillsabs@aol.com.
A reward for Rosie’s safe return is being offered.
Innovative teaching boards replace ‘old-school’ tools
August 24, 2011
Moraga Ryan Hansen works on putting up brackets for an ActivBoard in a classroom. The new technology has made the whiteboard obsolete. By Sebastian
The classroom had no students in it. School wouldn’t start for two weeks.
But what stood at the front of it spoke volumes about the state of learning in the Valley.
There was still a whiteboard. But the whiteboard hung, almost hidden, behind an ActivBoard.
Teachers share tips and tricks of trade
August 24, 2011
In today’s classrooms, technology may be king, but now and then a wrench comes in handy.
“Sometimes, a teacher uses wacky methods,” Mount Si High School director of bands Adam Rupert wrote in an email. “Just to throw a wrench in the works and keep the kids from getting too comfortable.”
Brian McDermott shows off his scooter skills in a physical education class. Teachers are finding creative ways to make learning fun. By Sebastian Moraga
The wrench may take many forms, both simple and complex, Rupert said. From arranging seats differently to teaching outdoors, teaching in character, playing a board game that relates to the lesson or letting students teach.
“Or randomly flash-mobbing Mr. Hagler’s science class,” Rupert wrote, later clarifying that he was joking about that one, but had used all of the others, including teaching in character.
“Done it once or twice,” he wrote. “It’s easy in jazz band or concert bands when you are mimicking directors, composers or singers, etc. I haven’t done the history-teacher-dressed-up-as-Lincoln bit and don’t intend to go that far.”
Jokes aside, when teachers make learning more fun, he wrote, students learn more. Rupert calls this learning by accident.
Superintendent’s message: All our schools seek to get better with improvement plans
August 24, 2011
On Aug. 30, more than 6,000 youths will return from their summer vacations to begin the 2011-12 school year here in the Snoqualmie Valley School District. For educators, this is an exciting time as we look forward to greeting our students and reconnecting with them on the first days of school. To be part of a profession that provides opportunities to make a lasting impact on young people is both a privilege and a responsibility that we take seriously.
Joel Aune
While our schools are already performing among the best in the state, we are committed to making them even better. Through a systematic review of the available data related to student achievement, each of our schools will develop school improvement plans that will focus their resources and efforts in the coming year to further advance student learning. While these plans will include a wide variety of strategies and initiatives to boost student learning, a major thrust of our work for the coming year will be to build even more capacity in our teaching staff.
School district, foundation share common missions, goals
August 24, 2011
The following are the mission statements for the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation and the Snoqualmie Valley School District, along with the time and date of their first meetings of the school year.
Snoqualmie Valley School District Mission Statement:
It is the mission of the Snoqualmie Valley School District to meet the individual learning needs of its students, thereby enabling them: to identify and realize their potentials, to develop skills and attitudes for life-long learning, and to be knowledgeable, productive, and involved citizens.
First school-year meeting date: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8
The Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation is working hard to:
- Build community support for schools by partnering with parents, students, teachers, and business and community leaders. The foundation invites community input and expertise to strengthen or initiate school programs.
- Secure resources from individuals, business and foundations to support programs that will sustain excellence in Snoqualmie Valley Schools.
- Support the mission of the Snoqualmie Valley School District, which is to meet the individual learning needs of its students, thereby enabling them to identify and realize their potentials, to develop skills and attitudes for lifelong learning, and to be knowledgeable, productive and involved citizens.
First school-year meeting date: 7 p.m. Sept. 21
Sources: Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation and Snoqualmie Valley School District websites
Valley’s PTSAs have something for everyone
August 24, 2011
Monique Kruyt knows about the staple of elementary school parenthood but insists there’s much more to volunteering than just that.
“We, of course, bake brownies,” the president of the Snoqualmie Elementary School PTSA wrote in an email, “but not as often as you would think.”
Opportunities for volunteerism go beyond setting the oven at 350 degrees, Kruyt wrote. Those include, at Snoqualmie Elementary, an art program, a reading program, pep assemblies and family fun nights.
Little of which would succeed without volunteers.
“Anybody willing to spend time making a child’s educational experience better makes a good volunteer,” Kruyt wrote.
It’s that T-word that tends to scare volunteers away, she added.
“People believe it will take more time than they have,” she wrote. “But we have opportunities that take as little as half an hour of your time once a week.”
Liz Piekarczyk, president of the Snoqualmie Valley PTSA council, wrote in an email that many people think volunteering takes too long or is too hard.
Students must be up to date on immunizations
August 24, 2011
Hepatitis B
- Required grades K-12: Three doses
- Acceptable: Two doses of an adolescent vaccine, if given between ages 11 and 15, and the doses happened four months apart or longer
Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP, DT, Td, Tdap):
- Required in kindergarten: Five doses, the fifth happening on or after the fourth birthday
- Acceptable: Four doses of DTap/DT, if the child received fourth dose on or after the fourth birthday
- Required grades one through 12: Five doses, the fifth happening on or after the fourth birthday
- Required: One dose of Tdap for children grades 6-10, if the student is 11 years old or older and if it has been at least five years since the last DTaP, DT or Td
- Acceptable: Four doses of DTaP /DT, the fourth doses happening on or after the fourth birthday
- Acceptable: Three doses of diptheria- and tetanus-containing vaccines may complete the series for children 7 years old or older
Snoqualmie store to appear in film
August 24, 2011
In the movie business, it’s all about who you know.
In the candy business, it’s the same deal.
Just ask Wes Sorstokke, co-owner of Snoqualmie Falls Candy Store in Snoqualmie, whose wife Sharon befriended Karolyn Grimes after meeting at several Christmas festivals.
Grimes, a Seattle-area resident, played Zuzu, George Bailey’s youngest child in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Former child star Karolyn Grimes and filmmaker David Spies smile big inside the Snoqualmie Falls Candy Factory. By Sebastian Moraga
So when movie director David Spies told Grimes he needed a candy store for his next film, “Silver Bells,” and mentioned a couple of locations, the former child star suggested her new buddy’s place.
“Karolyn said ‘No, no, no. You want the Snoqualmie Falls Candy Factory,’” Wes said. ‘‘‘They have the ambiance and the cuteness of a candy store.’”
Spies met Wes in Snoqualmie and returned Aug. 9, this time with his director of photography.
“Silver Bells,” a story of a man searching for his first love, contains a flashback to 1955, Spies said. Downtown Snoqualmie’s buildings fit the mold.
College students bring the pain(t)
August 24, 2011
Meet the paint-repreneurs.
College students led by a former college student are painting the town red. And green. And beige. And off-white.
All for the chance to earn a few bucks while working outdoors before school starts again.
“It’s difficult and fun at the same time,” said Nikki Buzzell, a North Bend-raised physical education major at Central Washington University, while on the eighth step of a ladder, brush in hand.
It’s fun because progress comes quickly. It’s difficult because it’s an 8-to-5 job during summer vacation and the ladder sits on uneven ground in the middle of cluttered yards.
Tyler Karavias, who works for Student Painters, a group of college students who paint houses as a summer job, paints a house southeast of North Bend. By Sebastian Moraga
Plus, there’s that lovely paint smell.
“You get used to it,” she said.
The leader of this crew is Ben Garding, who was, up until a year ago, a college student himself. Working for someone almost her own age helps, Buzzell said.
“Of all the other jobs I’ve had, I like this one a lot better,” she said. “I’m more comfortable around him because I know he knows what us college students are going through.”
A former student at Western Washington University, Garding decided to leave school and “do something different.” He hooked up with Seattle-based Student Painters and after starting as just another painter, he was placed in charge of one crew and later a second one.
