HawkTawk			November 2009
Important November Dates November 4 – First Quarter Ends November 9-10 – Early Release for K–12 Conferences November 11 – Veteran's Day – No School November 23 – Regularly scheduled School Board meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the High School IT room. November 25 – Coffee & Doughnuts with the SuperPrince at 9:00 am. November 25 – Early release for Thanksgiving no school on the 26^th November 26 & 27 – No School – Thanksgiving Break November 20 – High School Play at 7 pm in the Gym.						Oops!! 4^th Grade Mini-Fair Correction Unfortunately, Jessa Headley was left out of the article about the 4th Grade Mini-Fair last month. In addition to the students previously mentioned, Jessa showed her 2 bunnies along with the ribbons she earned at the fair. Congratulations and our apologies, Jessa!
Senior Spotlight!! The bright beam of the November Senior Spotlight has captured Nathaniel Coleman, who shares the following about himself and his plans: I have been at Oakesdale for the past 3 years. Before that I went to school in Rosalia (grade school), Protovin, Iowa, and was home-schooled. After graduation I plan to move to Arizona, though my career plans are not yet determined. Some things I enjoy doing in my spare time are lawn care, driving my Grandma crazy and various outdoor activities such as dirt biking, jet-skiing, 4-wheeling, boating and shooting. My favorite thing about school is lunch – especially beef fajitas and pronto pups – and going to the Spokane Skills Center for my classes in Collision Repair. I really enjoyed volunteering at the Book Fair last spring, as Clifford, the Big Red Dog. Oh yeah… I can’t wait to graduate!!					Nathaniel Coleman
T/O Nighthawk Booster Club We would like to thank you for your support of our kids this past school year. During the 2008-09 school year the T-O Booster Club contributed approximately $2100.00 to the following organizations: Oakesdale Jazz Band, Tekoa and Oakesdale Honor Band, Tekoa High School Marching Band, Tekoa and Oakesdale Pep Bands, T/O Volleyball, Girls and Boys Basketball, Softball, Golf, and Track. Tekoa-Oakesdale Booster Club funding is open to all organizations of both Oakesdale and Tekoa High Schools. Request For Funds forms are available at both schools. Please feel free to request information on the monies given to our school organizations. This is the kickoff for our 2009-2010 school year membership drive. Membership dues are the same as last year: $25.00 per family. If you wish to join, please fill out the form found on the Oakesdale school web page and return it to Kim Schulz or Kathy Hutton. Mail it or catch us at a ballgame – whatever is best for you. If you know of any other families who would like to join booster club, please let us know and we will contact them. We are selling sweatshirts and T-shirts during volleyball and football seasons with the same design as last year’s shirt: black with T-O Nighthawks across the front. Order forms have been sent home with our students and are also available at Crossett's and Tekoa Variety. Thank you for considering Booster Cub membership – our T/O kids appreciate your support. Sincerely, Kathy Hutton and Kim Schulz
Winter Book Fair Amy Warwick will be hosting a December Book Fair at the Oakesdale School Library sometime during the week of December 1 – 8. This is a wonderful opportunity to give the gift of reading for the youngsters on your Christmas list! If you are interested in helping Amy with the Book Fair please contact her at 285- or writer.amywarwick@gmail.com Stay tuned for exact times and dates!!!
		New School Bus Oakesdale School recently purchased a new school bus, which will be in service on the Farmington route by the time you read this.
Homecoming 2009 Recent Nighthawk homecoming festivities at Oakesdale included hall decorating with a Treasure Island theme for the Juniors/Seniors, a Frosh Milk and Soph Cookie theme for the Freshmen/Sophomores, and an Outer Space theme for the Junior High; dress-up days for all grades; morning costume judging, and afternoon games/competitions; culminating with the football game on Friday night in which the Nighthawks defeated the Dayton Bulldogs 26 – 6. On Saturday students from Tekoa, Oakesdale and Rosalia joined for the Homecoming Dance where seniors Desiree Chappell and Nick Wright were crowned 2009 Oakesdale Homecoming King and Queen, based on their leadership, participation, and spirit during football and volleyball season as well as Homecoming Week. Other class royalty candidates were: Juniors Britney Radford and Michael Conklin; Sophomores Kaela Dewan and Jeffrey DeGon; and Freshmen Katie Renstrom and Jesse Johnson.
Magazine Sale Making an “earthquake” The annual Magazine Sale is currently underway for Oakesdale students in Grades 5-8. Orders must be turned in by November 3^rd, so if you want to order something, please contact your favorite 5^th – 8^th grader or call the school for more information. Thank you for your support of our Middle School programs.
Classroom Connections
.	Musical Happenings – Oakesdale musicians had had a fun day at this year’s Guitar Workshop on October 7th. Ten middle and high school musicians traveled to Washtucna for a day of instruction in guitar, bass guitar or upright bass. Instructors included EWU faculty members and SEWMEA educators. There are a number of upcoming events for family calendars: •High School Mass Band/Choir – Wed. Oct. 28 in Waitsburg, 6:30 pm Concert •Junior High Mass Band – Tues. Nov. 3 in Rosalia, 7:00 pm Concert •Hampton Jazz Combo – Wed. Nov. 4, WSU Jazz Festival, Pullman •Hampton Jazz Combo – Sat. Nov. 14, EWU Jazz Dialogue Festival, in Cheney
Fourth Science – To connect their knowledge of earthquakes and landforms, the 4^th graders learned about the recent earthquakes in Indonesia and in American Samoa. They used “Google Earth” to access real satellite images to locate Indonesia and American Samoa. They again used Google Earth to zoom in on satellite images of Tekoa Mountain, Steptoe Butte, and the hills that line the Snake River Canyon to see landforms that were created from soil violently shaken by historical earthquakes. To simulate those earthquakes, the 4^th graders poured a layer of flour to represent the soil, and then used their fists to start a quake gently, and then developing it into a monster earthquake. They observed what happened to the flour (soil) as it created landforms that we can observe in real, natural settings, such as Tekoa Mountain				Flour “Landforms”			Making an “earthquake”
Calling All Patrons! This month you will find the National School Lunch Program form enclosed within the HawkTawk. We are asking that all Oakesdale School families complete these forms and return them to Penny as soon as possible. Many services the school district provides to the students are a result of funding from the federal government. This funding is largely based on these forms being completed and returned to the school. Because of this we are asking all families to complete these forms, whether you think you qualify or not and whether you plan to participate in the program or not. These forms, and all information contained within them are strictly confidential.
Staff Snapshot This month our Staff Snapshot “camera” focuses on the Upper Elementary – Tanya Shrope, Bobbi Mackleit and Jason Reed.
After teaching 1 year at the Moscow Day School and 5 years in Creston, Tanya Shrope is beginning her 7th year of teaching at her alma mater. She earned her teaching degree at the University of Idaho and her Master’s in Reading at EWU. Mrs. Shrope and her husband, Gary, were “very happy about moving back home after being gone for over 10 years.” Growing up in Tekoa and Oakesdale, they loved having their grandparents close and knew that was what they wanted for their children, Maddy (9) and Gavin (6). They appreciate how supportive the community has been the past 7 years and Mrs. Shrope says, “The school is a wonderful place to work – it allows me to be active in my own children’s education and I love working with all the teachers here.” After teaching 5th & 6th grade for 10 years, Mrs. Shrope is enjoying the change to teaching 3rd graders. When she is not busy teaching, Mrs. Shrope spends her time attending Nighthawk sporting events, running to her children’s various activities and working on their new home.
Bobbi Mackleit currently teaches 4th grade and is in her 9th year at Oakesdale School after teaching in Clarkston for 6 years and the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School for 1 year. She attended High School at Gonzaga Prep and received her Bachelor’s Degree from EWU and her Masters Degree in Educational Technology from City University. Her parents and sister still live in the Spokane area and her brother is a Presbyterian Pastor in Vancouver, CA. In 2006 she married Mark and they have two daughters – Bailey (13) and Averi (8) and a son, Keagan (17 months). Some of Mrs. Mackleit’s interests are “kissing Keagan’s face off,” working with kids, spending time with family and friends and making her own greeting cards. Her favorite thing about teaching at Oakesdale School? “The sense of family! This is truly a special place! Our administration is remarkable!! Our staff is fabulous and our kids rock! This is the best place to be.”
Jason Reed is sometimes called the “Jason-of-all-trades” because of his varied teaching assignments – 5th & 6th language arts and reading, 6th math, 5th & 8th U.S. history, 7th grade English and Traffic Safety. A unique opportunity he brings to the students each year is teaching a roping unit where he shares the skills and experiences he learned growing up on a Quarter Horse ranch. Mr. Reed has taught at Oakesdale for 6 years after teaching in the Mesa (AZ) Public Schools for 5 years and in Bridgeport WA for 2 years. He double-majored in English and Social Studies at WSU and received his Master’s degree from Gonzaga University. Mr. Reed says he is “lucky to be married to the most beautiful woman in the county” and shares a home with her and their 3 beautiful daughters and 6-month-old son. Mr. Reed’s school duties took on a new dimension this fall as an assistant coach with the Nighthawk football program. In his spare time he enjoys playing at the lake with his family during the summer and watching Cougar football and Gonzaga basketball through the fall and winter. Mr. Reed’s favorite thing about teaching in the Oakesdale School District is “living and working in a small town where you are in contact with the students, parents and families at school and in the community.”
		Future Volunteer Opportunity!!! Mr. Lindgren thanks George Young for volunteering to run the Football Scoreboard/Clock this season. He is still looking for an adult to run the Football Scoreboard/Clock for future seasons. If you would like to support your Nighthawk Football team by providing this service, please contact Mr. Lindgren at 285-5296. Thanks, and GO NIGHTHAWKS!!!