First kindergarten class graduates at Groff Elementary
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 4 months AGO
Kindergartners at Vicki Groff Elementary jam out to surfing music at their graduation Friday. The class is the first at Moses Lake’s newest elementary school. The $18.1 million elementary school opened last September and is about 57,000 square feet in overall space.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Counselor Jannette Serrano-Vasquez opens the ceremonies at Groff Elementary School's first-ever kindergarten graduation.
Scarlett McCollough gets into her performance at the Groff Elementary School kindergarten Friday.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | June 13, 2022 2:24 PM
MOSES LAKE — The Vicki Groff Elementary School gym was brimming with adorability as 65 kindergartners held a graduation program Friday, joined by an audience of about 150 family members.
“We are so proud of all the work our students did this year,” said Counselor Jannette Serrano-Vasquez in her introductory remarks, standing in for Principal Nikki Mackey. “They have fun learning together, doing math, reading, science and writing, art and so much more.”
The kids leaving kindergarten Friday are the first class to attend Groff, which opened in the fall. They’ll be the high school Class of 2034, Serrano-Vasquez pointed out.
The kids entered the gym and said the Pledge of Allegiance before a flag held by kindergartner Shaurya Singh. Then they picked up little cardboard surfboards and rocked out to “Surfin’ USA” and “Dynamite.”
Then it was time for diplomas. One by one, teachers Katrina Betes, Rebecca Dalton, Carina Cruz and Candace Pitts called their students to the microphone, gave them their printed certificates and asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. There were plenty of prospective teachers, firefighters and police officers, as well as a smattering of gamers- and YouTubers-to-be.
Next came a slideshow depicting the kids’ activities throughout the year, and the attendees went outside to enjoy some snow cones. Each child received a “bucket of fun,” to take home, Betes said, which included chalk, bubbles, Play-Doh and a snack.
“The kids created the surfboards themselves,” Betes said. “The pictures in the slideshow are taken throughout the year during different celebrations. We do monthly celebrations for learning every color, from red to brown to all of them.”
“It was a big production,” she added. “We put a ton of time into it, to make sure that it was a blast, and one that's going to be remembered for the rest of the rest of their lives, hopefully, at least by their parents.”
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”