Planning for building bond
The school district is conducting a facilities review of every building in the system to help shape the construction bond that will go before voters in November 2004, administrators say.
According to Superintendent Ken Crawford, enrollment projections and technology needs will also be considered during the planning process, which will be ongoing through May.
Artificial turf sports fields may be included in the bond proposal.
Commodore is expanded
Renovations to Commodore Center have expanded the remaining building. New square footage was added to an entryway to house a food service area to feed 125 students from the Commodore Options School.
The building has been under renovation since summer, with the older wing and cafeteria torn down and various improvements made.
Guidelines for gifts to schools
Bainbridge school officials will discuss proposed guidelines for accepting gifts to the district at the Jan. 15 school board meeting.
As continued cuts to funding by the Legislature necessitate looking more to the private sector for support, guidelines are being established and refined, the district said.
Changes to existing policies slated for discussion include:
• Banning the acceptance of gifts that appear to advertise a business or endorse a product.
• Accepting only “designated” gifts that don’t contribute to inequities among schools or among the different programs within a school.
• Accepting only designated gifts that meet a need that is unfunded or underfunded.
Public comment is invited. Call Pam Keyes at 780-1398 for more information.
Anti-bullying presentation
Bainbridge author Dorthea Ross will address youth harassment in a presentation based on her book, “Childhood Bullying, Teasing, and Violence: What School Personnel, Other Professionals and Parents Can Do,” at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 at Eagle Harbor Book Co.
The discussion will suggest specific school programs to combat violence and harassment.
Ross, a research psychologist at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco, examines the problem of bullying by presenting the most current national and international research.
She officers techniques for counseling bullies and their victims, and strategies for involving parents and school personnel in preventing the problem. Information: 842-5332.
Native culture is honored
Pacific Rim Native cultures were the focus of a day-long classroom celebration for Wilkes teacher Alice Mendoza’s third-grade students recently.
The event featured Native islander John Jones’ account of the annual journey of large canoes from Puget Sound to British Columbia, a display of Toni Jones and Penny Miguel’s hand-crafted cedar baskets and headbands, as well as a sampling of such native foods as fry bread.
“This presentation has been a tradition in my room since I had the Jones’ daughter, Chelsea (in class),” Mendoza said. “Not only do students come to appreciate the traditions of their Native American culture, they are able to see native Americans outside the stereotype depicted in movies and textbooks.”
The event also honored Miguel, a long-time school district employee who retired at the end of November.
