School bells signal end of summer
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 4 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | August 25, 2016 6:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Summer might not be officially over until mid-September, but summer is really over when school starts.
Depending on the school, summer is over late this week or early next week. Warden schools opened today for all students but kindergarten. Kindergarten kids will have orientation Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday will be their first official day of school. Othello schools open Thursday, with the exception of kindergarten. Parents of kindergarten students will meet with classroom teachers before Aug. 30, which is the first day of school for kindergarten. Construction is continuing on 14th Avenue in Othello and the road is closed past Wahitis Elementary. For now, 10th Avenue to Scootney Road is the access route for parents and others coming and going from Wahitis. The goal is to keep that route open all during construction, said Othello city administrator Wade Farris, although it may be closed temporarily periodically during construction. A “clearly marked” route for pedestrians along 14th Avenue will be ready for school, Farris said. Other local schools open next week. Tuesday is the first day of school in Ephrata for first-graders through high school. Kindergarten students start with the “kindergarten rodeo” at Columbia Ridge and Grant elementary schools, the district schools with kindergarten programs. The kindergarten rodeo is Aug. 30 and 31 and Sept. 1; parents of incoming kindergarten students set up appointments for their children to get hearing and vision checks and tour the kindergarten classrooms. September 2 is the first day of school for kindergarten students. Tuesday is also the first day of school in Wilson Creek for first-graders through high school students and for 3-year-old preschool students. Four-year-old preschool starts Wednesday. Kindergarten students Thursday. Wilson Creek parents and students are invited to “Back to School Night,” from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Monday. Parents can meet teachers and staff, and school administrators and teachers will talk about expectations and commitments for the school year. Soap Lake schools open their doors Wednesday for all students. Kindergarten students will attend half-days through Sept. 16. All Soap Lake parents and students are invited to a school open house and community dinner, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Soap Lake Elementary cafeteria, 410 South Ginko St. School doors open in Quincy Wednesday for all students. Pioneer and Monument elementary schools will hold open house for parents and students Monday. Parents and kids can meet teachers and look at the school from 4 to 6 p.m. at Pioneer and from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Monument. Seventh-graders get orientation from the eighth-graders on seventh-grade “Web Day,” scheduled for 8 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Eighth-graders show seventh-graders around the junior high school and, according to the school website, “give seventh-graders the tools they need to start off the year right.” School starts for most students Wednesday, but there are exceptions. Only sixth-graders attend school on Wednesday in Chief Moses Middle School. Only freshmen attend classes Wednesday at Moses Lake High School. Seventh- and eighth -graders start Thursday at CMMS, and so do sophomores, juniors and seniors at MLHS. All Frontier Middle School and Endeavor Middle School students start classes Wednesday. Conferences for parents of kindergarten students district-wide are scheduled for Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 and 2. The first day of school for kindergarten students depends on the last name. Kids whose last name starts with A through L begin Sept. 6, Kids with M to Z last names begin Sept. 7. All Moses Lake kindergarten students start class Sept. 8.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Aaron Garza selected as Othello Police Chief
OTHELLO — New Othello Police Chief Aaron Garza said he likes serving his community.
Othello School District to offer four-year EP&O levy
OTHELLO — Othello School District voters will decide the fate of a four-year educational programs and operations levy in a special election Feb. 10. Ballots are being mailed this week. Typically, Othello has submitted a three-year levy to voters, but Othello Superintendent Pete Perez said there are no guarantees when it comes to state funding. “I think it's certainly the unease around finances in the state of Washington for schools,” Perez said. “We were trying to look for a little more predictability and stability, and so the community group felt like four years was the appropriate amount of time for us to consider.”
New location, new look for Othello Library
OTHELLO — The Othello Library is attracting a lot of attention in its new space. “Everybody comments on how beautiful it is, and how fresh it is, and that it looks great, and that they’re really happy,” Othello Head Librarian Georgia Reitmire said. “One of our customers came in this morning, and she said, ‘Everybody in town is talking about the new library.’ And I thought, ‘That is amazing.’” The library moved to its new location, 125 E. Hemlock St., in December. While the new and old libraries are about the same size, the new library adds meeting rooms and updated spaces students can reserve to study. “We’re way busier than we used to be. Way busier,” said Jenny Nayala, library customer service specialist.