Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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utumn sets the table as we give gratitude for the harvest and beauty around us. November provides a time of reflection to celebrate the fruits of our labor and is time of rest for nature and the gardener's soul. While the garden pace slacks, it is a time to think ahead as we enjoy all this year's season has provided up. Think of planting bulbs to prepare for their own seasonal show in a few months. Pruning dormant plants, planting evergreens and culling plants that do not fill our needs. It is time to be out and doing things as we tidy up and...
The foundational work of primary grades can never go unnoticed. It is the core structure and instruction that takes place in the beginning years of a child's education that lays the groundwork for student success. Wahkiakum School District has a trifecta of excellent teachers building that foundation for our students as they enter their educational career at JA Wendt Elementary. Meet the Kindergarten-1st grade team in this week's teacher feature. Karrin Stephens Karrin Stephens joined the JA...
An easily looked over fruit, cranberries are a staple ingredient in holiday baking placing Washington in the top five producing states for the tart fruit. Cranberries are noted as a festive addition to the Thanksgiving table and have more benefits than merely a side dish served with turkey. Cranberries are a native wild fruit in North America and became a staple in colonial diets, as native peoples were consuming wild cranberries, combining the crushed fruit with tallow and deer to make pemmican. The vitamin C in the fruit also hyelped fight...
The middle school leadership class at JC Thomas is learning about filling a need in the community while putting the focus on others with the holiday season approaching. For five years, Mrs. Badger’s Leadership class has organized a food drive to benefit the local food bank. She teaches her students that small acts can create a significant impact. The class of fourteen students has promoted the food drive to the middle and elementary school classrooms, encouraging them to donate to the food drive by creating a contest. Food items are given a p...
The Wahkiakum High School leadership class put together a heartfelt ceremony to honor our local veterans on Thursday, November 7th at the high school gym. Over ____ veterans were in attendance as the students from the high school and middle school paid tribute to their time as service men and women. The program kicked off with a robot parade created by Mrs. Olson’s 4th and 5th grade students. Robots were decorated in red, white, and blue and were programmed to create a heart shape formation as patriotic music played in the background. This ente...
The Wahkiakum School District Board of Education held their regular October meeting on the 22nd. The board, school administration and a few guests were present for the meeting. The meeting opened with public comment from cheerleading coach, Kaitlin Kincaid. She came to address the board about the exciting opportunities the cheer team has in starting competitions this winter. “The team has grown significantly over the last few years, from four to over sixteen. The squad is ready for the next level and to shine in their own world as a...
Student health and wellness is a focus of attention at Wahkiakum High School and finding ways to help students advocate for themselves is at the forefront of the student care package from an academic setting. For the third year in a row the community came together to provide an education on healthy living and resources for students and what services are available to them at the Health and Wellness Fair hosted by the district on Tuesday, October 22. Twelve booths were on display for high school...
Our teacher features this week shares teachers' passions beyond the classroom and their committed to the district by waking up early to commute long distances from Longview and Rainier to serve our students. Katie Baker came to Wahkiakum amidst pandemic learning as a student teacher, then became a full-time substitute and has been in the fourth-grade classroom for three years. When she was growing up her teachers had a strong impact on her, specifically Nicole Wilson and Carrie Badger. She knew...
A sea of orange dots the store fronts and porches in the communities and farm fields throughout the state as the love of pumpkin mania has grown to a $16 million dollar a year industry for the state of Washington (2023, USDA). The agtourism sector has jumped to astounding levels, much due to the love of the fall pumpkin harvest connected to the upcoming holiday, Halloween. Families flood the fields to pick their favorite pumpkins to use as art projects for their little goblins and goons. The pumpkin is one of the most versatile plants one may...
Jamie Cothren has been teaching 25 years. She taught one year in Montana prior to moving to Cathlamet. Mrs. Cothren is the 2nd grade teacher, but has taught Kindergarten, 1st,5th and Title/Lap as well. She loves to teach the "littles" of the community and see their excitement for school. "My why (for teaching) is promoting this excitement! I love fostering a love of learning." Cothren hopes to encourage curiosity in her students while nurturing their enthusiasm to build a relationship with...
The John C Thomas Middle School volleyball team wrapped up their 8-week season on October 9th with their last league championship game. This was a big year of growth and building for the team of 19 girls. With eight strong players moving to the freshman level of play this fall, and nine young 6th grade players to replace them, the season was about developing skills as an individual and learning to play as a team. The team struggled to pull out consecutive wins with a season record of 1-10 for...
Volunteers from the Wahkiakum Fire Department teamed up with Kyle Hurley's FFA program to provide a day of fire safety fun and learning at J a Wendt Elementary School Thursday, October 10th. Three stations gave interactive opportunities for students to learn about fire safety. The collaborative event was a tremendous success and is held annually to address the importance of fire safety with young people. A stop, drop and roll station hosted by Helen Lewis and Carra Tawater gave students...
As the leaves turn color and signs of fall paint the landscape with beautiful autumn tones, the gardener is reminded of the fateful end of the season coming near. With the number of to—dos to complete during harvest season, the top priority list should be to plant. Plant garlic that is! While we busy ourselves colleting the bounty of our labor, let us not forget to plan and prioritize the planting of a garden staple on that to do list. Garlic, a member of the allium family, needs a total of 240 days to mature when planted from cloves, however t...
Wahkiakum Mule Cheerleaders showed their spirit loud and proud representing the district at the UW Spirit Days, hosted by the University of Washington in Seattle. This took place during the UW vs. Northwestern football game on Saturday, September 21st. Cheer program participants that attended the Spirit Day event had a dance training session by their hosts, then choreographed their own dance based on the training experience. They performed both dances at the halftime show of the UW vs....
The bounty of a beautiful summer harvest of cucumbers is nearing its end; however, one can tap into summer in the midwinter months by enjoying a freshly pickled cuke to reminisce about the beautiful growing season. No one likes mushy pickles and finding the best tricks to preserve make the pickle pop with a crunch is easier than expected. Picking a variety of pickling cucumber is the best place to start, then picking them when they are small, and firm will yield the most optimal future crispers....
Ask any student and likely their favorite class is PE, Art, or Music. It’s not just about the hands on and interactive learning that caters to the creative mind. These classes are taught by specialists in the field of education that emphasize learning and understanding in a different way. These classes, termed as specialists in school, are also taught by some pretty special teachers who work hard to make school fun and engaging for all. Carrie Badger Carrie has been teaching 29 years and s...
The dairy, logging, and fishing heritage of Wahkiakum county has been a central focus of student learning recently. The River of Life and Burkhalter Dairy provided an extension to the classroom recently, connecting classroom curriculum to the world right outside their doors. This has made learning about heritage more interesting and relevant. September 19, forty 4th and 5th grade students from the Julius A. Wendt Elementary School went on a field trip, utilizing resources in our own community...
The John C. Thomas Middle School Associated Student Body leaders are looking forward to a great year as they embark on developing their personal leadership skills while serving their student body. The ASB officers are required to take the Leadership class, taught by Carrie Badger. In this class they learn how to become leaders and serve other people by recognizing their own strengths and weaknesses, while enhancing the school experience for their peers. “It’s so exciting to watch the kids enter Leadership as a 7th grader questioning the...
How can you have a garden column in Washington state and not share the significance of apples? Washington river valleys make the perfect setting for growing this tasty fruit with just the right amount of winter to chill fruit stock and encourage fruit to set in the spring. Annually, Washington grows 175,000 acres of apples, providing 10 billion apples for consumers. According to the Washington Department of Agriculture, “If you put all the Washington State apples picked in a year side-by-side, they would circle the earth 29 times.” The var...
Students at Julius A .Wendt Elementary School kicked off the school year with their first assembly promoting kindness as a focus for character development in the month of September. The fifth-grade class shared a skit on how sacrifice and sharing demonstrate kindness based on the children’s book, “The Rainbow Fish.” Their finished artwork is displayed in the hall multipurpose room corridor and showing ways we can make sacrifices of ourselves to be kind to others. Students are invited to pa...
Our focus this week is the impact of teaching and influence of sports to inspire well rounded athletes. We highlight three teacher's backgrounds in coaching as they share what impact the classroom has on sports and academic achievement. Tina Merz has 28 years of experience and is currently teaching sixth through eighth grade English Language, Arts and Career Explorations. Merz coaches high school volleyball, high school track and middle school boys basketball. She said that "ever since I was...
The school district food service program made a substantial change that has had a lasting impact on the district while teaching students the value of recycling and managing waste. They have implemented a composting program and replaced throw away trays with new reuseable plastic. The state of Washington banned most expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam containers, which included styrofoam starting 2024. This change led the district to replace their food tray system to reuseable red meal trays. "We...
The Associated Student Body (ASB) government at Wahkiakum High School has set the bar high for demonstrating that leadership seen in daily actions to be successful. The ASB officers for the 2024-25 school year include: President Parker Leitz, Vice President Jessie LaFever, Secretary Haileeahna Nielsen, Treasurer Rylie Wills, Public Relations Officer Aaina Nakonsky, and Executive Liaisons Memphis Coleman and Evelynn Miller. At a leadership retreat prior to the start of school this group of student leaders determined that they wanted to see...
Students in the Wahkiakum agriculture education program are reaping the rewards of hard work by untapping a new level of opportunity. Recently the Washington FFA Foundation provided them with a $40,000 grant, which was extended into an additional $40,000 to enhance the program. The FFA is a leadership organization that is an integral part of the classroom model in the agriculture education career and technical education (CTE) program at Wahkiakum High School. Kyle Hurley, the program advisor and district CTE coordinator, initiated the grant...
As the summer stretches out into another beautiful week, the miles of invasive blackberries that lace the West Coast will see another boost in fruits dangling from their thorny hosts. While some may find an obnoxious foe in the relentless host of Washington’s most popular wild fruit, others are rejoicing in another bountiful bucket of berries from a session of blackberry yoga. Stretching to reach the plumpest, most juicy berries can be a workout, but also result in a plethora of blackberry d...
