March 2016

Rainier School District Newsletter
P.O. Box 98, Rainier, WA 98576
Serving the Patrons of the Rainier School District #307
Vol. 32 No. 3
March 2016
www.rainier.wednet.edu
Rainier Elementary School
Kindergarten Round-Up
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
5:30pm to 7:30pm
Rainier Elementary School is hosting a Kindergarten Round-Up for all prospective Kindergarteners for the 20162017 school year. If your child will be five years of age on or before August 31, 2016, he or she is eligible to attend
kindergarten next year.
During the Round-Up students and parents will be able to:
Meet the Kindergarten teachers
Meet the Principal and additional staff
Pick up or return Registration Packet
Do a brief kindergarten screening
Enjoy refreshments & free book
Have a guided tour of the building
Speak to the nurse regarding immunizations, medications and other health care issues
For the registration process you will need the following:
A completed Registration Packet
Immunization records
A copy of your child’s birth certificate
Proof of residency
The Registration process needs to be completed before the first day of school.
Registration Packets can be obtained prior to the Round-Up at the Elementary Office starting March 28, 2016
We look forward to seeing our future kindergarteners and parents.
Thank you for sharing your precious child/children with us.
Rainier Preschool Registration
New Preschool registration packets will be available beginning April 6, 2016 for the
2016-2017 school year at Kindergarten Round-up. Space is limited and will be handled on a first come basis. Your child
needs to be three and half years old and potty trained by August 31, 2016. Please bring a copy of your child's birth certificate and immunization records. If you have any questions about the program, please call 446-4020.
Rainier School District Refinances Bonds—Taxpayers Save
The Rainier School District has refinanced a portion of its outstanding bonds in order to take advantage of lower interest rates. The recent refinancing will save the District’s taxpayers a total of $480,433 during the next thirteen
years. These savings flow directly to taxpayers through reduced annual taxes.
The Rainier School Board accomplished these savings by approving the refinancing of $6,045,000 in existing bonds
that were approved by voters back in 2007 to remodel the elementary and middle schools. The District has been monitoring bond market conditions over the past year and recent low interest rates allowed the District to actually exceed
their savings target. Interest rates averaged 2.28% on the new bonds compared to 4.40% on the old debt.
Sessions are interactive and skill based, with activity handouts, discussion topics, skill-building
exercises, and information on positive parenting.
Topics for this 5 week course:
February 25—Preventing Substance Abuse in the Family
March 3—Setting Clear Family Expectations
March 10—Avoiding Trouble
March 17—Managing Family Conflicts
March 24—Strengthening Family Bonds
Classes use Guiding Good Choices Curriculum
Where: Sugar N Spice Daycare, 201 Centre St. S, Rainier, WA
Time: 5:30pm to 8:00pm
Free Dinner served from 5:30pm to 6:00pm. Free child care for children 3-12
Classes especially designed for parents of children ages 6-12
Free Registration! Sign up online at: http://goo.gl/LLUpSg
or call: 360-446-9222 or email: info@rainiercares.org
Sponsored by: Sugar and Spice Daycare
Rainier Community Cares
Washington State Department of Social & Health Services
TOGETHER!
Principal Rita Meldrum
(360) 446-4020
Fax: (360) 446-4022
Annual Youth Essay Contest
Rainier Elementary will be hosting a spring
book fair. It will be held March 28th through
April 1st, in the Elementary Library from 8:00am
to 3:30pm.
Schedule is subject to change, please contact
the Elementary office 360-446-4020.
Rainier Elementary students will once again
be participating in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart. Rainier students
have been participating in this event since
1989. This years’ event will be held on Tuesday,
March 29th from 11:45am to 12:30pm in the
Elementary school gym.
Parents need to pick up their child/children
by 12:30pm. This is an early release day during
conference week. There will be no transportation for this event. All participating students will
need to have a signed permission slip turned in
to the office.
Jump Rope for Heart is an excellent way for
students to learn about the value of physical
exercise while helping their community fight
heart disease
This program is designed to promote Americanism and
stimulate critical thinking among American’s youth by having them compose an essay about a patriotic theme. The
Youth Essay program is open to all students in grades 3, 4
and 5.
This year Rainier Elementary had two students participate
in the essay contest.
Dulcea Ventura’s essay took
3rd place among the 4th grade
entries.
Dulcea also received a participation award.
Amanda Morris received a participation award for 5th grade
entries.
Beginning January 25 thru February 11, the PE and Music classes teamed up to learn about dance! Students saw
many different types of dance, and explored their own creativity by choreographing a dance of their own. This unit also
included a "Virtual Field Trip" where students dressed up, practiced good audience behavior, and went to the music
room, which was set up like a real theater! They watched excerpts from the ballet "Swan Lake."
Pictures taken by:
Amber Lantz
Principal Bryon Bahr
Assistant Principal John Beckman
(360) 446-2206
(360) 446-2227
Students at the middle school have a fun new option during lunch on Fridays. Chess Club! Students in 6th, 7th and
8th grade can bring their lunches to Ms. Summers’ room on Fridays and play chess or checkers. Some students are
chess wizards, some are just learning to play. No matter the skill level, all are having fun!
Did you know that RMS has been implementing a brand new program this year, sponsored by Rainier Community
Cares? It’s called Peer Assistance and Leadership or P.A.L. The program originated in Austin, Texas in 1980 and has
evolved to become an evidence based program for peer helping. That means it has been researched and tested to
show an increase in students’ ability to succeed in school, value diversity, maintain good health and be less likely to
engage in behaviors such as alcohol use, illicit drug use, sexual activity and violence.
At the beginning of the year, teachers nominated 8th grade students they thought could be potential candidates as
mentors. After a group orientation and interviews, the pool of students was limited to 9. These students include MiKayla Mantegna, Brody Klein, Haley Suave, Sophie Beadle, Erika Demint, Clara Wagner, Tanna Spivey, Bo Sleeman, and
Kyona Seay. They participated in approximately 40 hours of hands on training during the fall semester and are now
team teaching Ms. Summers’ 6thgrade Advisory students in all they learned. Thanks so much for their commitment in
wanting to make a positive difference in the lives of their peers!
You are cordially invited to attend the
Rainier Education Foundation
17TH ANNUAL AUCTION FOR EDUCATION
SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2016
~~ Location~~
Rainier High School
308 2nd Street West, Rainier, WA
~~~~~~~
Doors open at 3:30pm
4pm Silent Auction
6pm Catered Steak & Baked Potato Dinner
7pm Live Auction with Larry Schorno, Auctioneer
Free Admission
Dinner Tickets $14 per person
Dinner tickets can be purchased on our website: www.rainiereducationfoundation.com
or at the high school office.
Funds raised at the auction help support seniors, renewal scholarships and staff grants!
Volunteers are Welcome!
Principal Bryon Bahr
Assistant Principal John Beckman
(360) 446-2205
(360) 446-2227
Congratulations to Jesse Nubbe, Ivory Cranshaw and Lane Trissel. The 3
person metals class team took 2nd place in the regional SKILLS USA welding fabrication competition held in January. The team now qualifies for
the state competition March 31st.
SENIOR ENGLISH NON-FICTION READ
GETS VISIT FROM AUTHOR
Three years ago, "Two Grannies in a Garage" got their book from the publisher and the front cover picture was blurry, they couldn't sell it. They donated 35 copies to Rainier High School. At the same time one
of the new requirements of Common Core/Smarter Balance was to increase non-fiction reading to our Language Arts Standards. Rainier High School Instructor Sandy Rossmaier took the opportunity to have her Senior English Class read this book together and it has become a yearly tradition in Mrs. Rossmaier’s Senior English. On Wednesday's they read aloud and talked about vocabulary or procedures and processes that happened in the book. There would always be a "student talk" closure to each class meeting. The students also
got the privilege of trying a different flavor of Ice Chips each week.
The book is humorous and inspirational, reverberating that the secret to success is reach for your dream,
work hard and try, try, try. The seniors loved it and enjoyed the peer talk that
went with it. Entrepreneurial information, along with local ties made it interesting and informative. Keanna Vermillion contacted the author Beverly VinesHaines and asked if she could come once the class finished the reading.
The author and Charlotte Clary, co-founder of Ice Chips and Green Leaf Healing, LLC agreed to come and talk to the third hour Senior English Class on February 11. The "grannies" were delightful, funny and answered the questions the
students had. They shared several stories about failure and how to pick up and
keep on trudging to success. The students bragged . . . “I got to meet the author of the book we read.” Many thanks to Sylvia, Beverly Vines-Haines and
Charlotte Clary for taking the time to make a difference in the lives of students.
Rainier High School Greenhouses
308 2nd Street West
Rainier, WA 98576
360-446-2205
May 5th and 6th 3:15pm to 6:30pm
May 7th
Bedding Plants
Perennials
Hanging Baskets
Vegetables
Herbs
and MORE!
11:00am to 4:00pm