Jennifer Ketring

K12 June E-Newsletter

SCHOOL NEWS & UPDATES

A Note from our Executive Director

The school year is nearly at its end and I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to everyone who has played a role in supporting our school during this year after distance learning.

Cultivating a strong community with committed members, from families to staff to students, is a foundational element of our school. Like any community, it is met with challenges at times and the ways that we come together to meet those challenges—whether it be facing a global pandemic, meeting academic standards, or addressing discipline issues—shapes the spirit of our school. In the spirit of recognizing our collective contributions, I would like to say THANK YOU!

THANK YOU…to all the families who choose to be a part of this alternative learning community and for contributing so much (time, heart, skills and more!) to support not only your children, but also all the others who are part of the Pacific School.

THANK YOU…to our staff for your flexibility in meeting the challenges of this past year and continually adapting to meet the needs of our students and families in the best ways you can.

THANK YOU…to our students for showing up ready to learn new things, lending a hand of support when someone is in need, and being a contributing member of our school.

THANK YOU…to our Governance Council for stepping up to support our school in a leadership capacity (and reviewing all of the many, many plans!).

In my role as Executive Director, I am committed to continuing to build our school community with a focus on supporting our staff, creating dynamic learning opportunities for our students, and making the best use of our resources.

I hope you enjoy the end of year celebrations and summer break!

-Jen

Read the Full E-Newsletter

Jennifer Ketring

K12 May E-Newsletter

SCHOOL NEWS & UPDATES

Pies, pies, pies! The seniors were busy making homemade apple pies this week for their end of year graduation celebration fundraiser. Thank you to all who ordered a pie. A special thanks to Lacey, Jessica, and Lili for helping make the crust, and Erandy, Graciela, Charlie, Kadence, Kady, Aibecad, Lacey and Briceda for putting the pies together (they are going to be delicious!).

Our 4th-5th graders are getting prepared for their upcoming field study to Fort Ross where they will participate in the Environmental Living Program. Thank you to family volunteer Kathy for helping with the period clothing, and Karnell and Sigrid for lending a hand with the food preparations!

Read the Full E-Newsletter
Jennifer Ketring

High School April E-Newsletter

SCHOOL NEWS & UPDATES
Students at the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program this month. Marcy and Brenda flexing after one of the kayak excursions (left). Checking collaborative skills through a fun “Telephone”- like game of tracing images on each other’s backs (right).

Read the Full E-Newsletter

Jennifer Ketring

Teacher Feature: Spring with Ms. Isabel

March and April have been busy months for the 4th thru 8th graders. In March, all students worked on a science fair project and I was very proud of all of their finished projects. For me the highlight was watching the students learn from each other and help each other complete their experiments and tests. In addition, students traded board design ideas and were inspired by each other. Other highlights from the month of March included outdoor learning trips to Irish beach for tidepooling, fort building and viewing a large flock of snowy plovers.

Then, before I knew it, April arrived and I was headed to Catalina Island with the 6th thru 8th graders. I was proud of all of the students for stepping outside of their comfort zones and trying several new and challenging activities. Although there are too many memories to recount in this short article, I will tell you some of the highlights from our epic journey.

After a lively hour-long ferry ride on the Catalina Express, we arrived at Catalina Island Just in time for lunch On Monday April 4th. Our afternoon and evening at camp included not one, but TWO snorkeling trips. All of our students rose to the challenge and after learning how to snorkel in the afternoon, they bravely ventured back into the ocean after dark for the night snorkel. Although they grumbled about putting on cold wetsuits, they all gleefully jumped into the bay, flashlights in hand and swam off with the group. Highlights included seeing some large lobsters that come out of their caves during the night and swimming under the stars. Best of all was the bioluminescence, which we all saw when we turned off our flashlights and moved our hands under the water. I was so excited that I dove down at one point and accidentally freaked Derringer out, as they thought I was a seal (oops). Hot chocolate and a quick warm Shower were our rewards.

The second two days were equally as full and active. Students completed team building activities, investigated the microscopic world of the kelp forest in the microscope lab ( we found numerous baby sea urchins, brittle stars, strange worms and a tiny crab), the climbing wall, and a knorkel. The knorkel, formally known as the the adaptive strategies kayak and snorkel, gave students a chance to explore a kelp forest in an adjacent bay, requiring that they first kayak to the bay and then snorkel from there. Highlights included snorkeling in clear water, which allowed for wonderful views of the orange garibaldi fish, beautiful kelp and much more. Oh and a cute seal sunning on a rock.

Students learned about the local ecosystems, sustainability, the islands history and composting. During their free time students enjoyed beach volleyball, free swim, Gaga ball, and card games in the cabin.

On the way home, we stopped a In San Luis Obispo and had the opportunity to tour Cal Poly University. Our guide, Violet, grew up in Point Arena and gave us a tour around the campus. Although it was a hot and busy day on campus, students enjoyed seeing what a large college campus is all about.

Overall the trip was a great success and I’d like to thank our chaperones Linda and Maryann for driving and joining us on the trip. I’d also like to give a big shout out to Jen and Lacey for doing most of the trip planning and dealing with the logistics. As always, I look forward to helping lead this trip in the future and thanks to all families for their support!

As April comes to a close, I can’t believe that we only have about seven weeks of school left. We still have many activities, lessons, and projects to complete including class performances, Gualala River kayaking trips, and hikes on the Stornetta lands. Looking forward to filling everyday to the brim with fun and learning.

Jennifer Ketring

Catalina Environmental Leadership Program

A group of 22 middle school and high school students, along with 5
staff and parents, from the Pacific Community Charter School traveled
to Southern California in early April to participate in the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program (CELP). The group stopped for a night in Manhattan Beach before heading
to the San Pedro Port where they took an hour and half ferry ride to Howland’s
Landing on Catalina Island. 

A group of nearly ninety 7th and 8th
graders from a French immersion school, Le Lycée Français de Los
Angeles, were also on the ferry headed over to spend the week at CELP. Middle
school students Steven Mitchell and Lewis Mueller stood before the group of 90
Le Lycée students during one group mealtime to share about their school,
describing it “as really small with 68 K-12 students and a focus on outdoor
learning.” 

The Catalina Environmental Leadership Program is a residential outdoor
environmental education program located on the west end of Santa Catalina
Island. While at CELP, students participate in a series of land and sea
explorations with a focus on marine science. According to the CELP program
description, “Catalina’s unique ecosystems create living classrooms which are
ideal for hands-on, experiential learning.”

Students spent
the week studying the marine and island ecosystems. They learned about the kelp
forest and sandy bottom ecosystems first-hand while snorkeling and kayaking. A
night snorkel encouraged students to find night-dwelling sea creatures,
including bioluminescent dinoflagellate that was visible when all the
underwater flashlights were turned off and the students churned the water to
illuminate the sparkling plankton. Freshman Kady Swartz “really liked the
bioluminescence and night snorkel. It was fun.”  

A shoreline investigation included time in the
marine lab to view organisms under the microscopes. Day hikes discovering the native
and endemic flora were complemented with evening hikes learning about the
constellations. 

The science-focused curriculum
was supplemented with initiatives designed to emphasize cooperation, leadership
and personal responsibility while cultivating connections that build a
successful team. This was an especially important benefit
of the program when considering the social and emotional impacts the pandemic
has had on young people.  

Before catching the shore boat to the ferry in Two Harbors,
CELP educators encouraged students to return to the island. The fact that camp
counselors only needed to be 18 to teach at their summer camps piqued the
interest of at least one student. On the way home, the group stopped for the
night in San Luis Obispo and took a morning tour of Cal Poly, planting more
seeds of future opportunities for these students.

This is the 4th CELP field study that the Pacific School has organized over the past decade. The previous three CELP trips were aimed at 7th and 8th grade students, but this year it was offered to high school students too since they missed out on other field study opportunities over the course of the pandemic.

Students helped fund the CELP field study by developing
fundraising plans and participating in local events such as Hometown Holidays
and the Native Craft Fair; families also provided individual contributions.
Supplemental funding provided by the Redwood Coast Education Foundation,
Community Foundation of Mendocino County, ACORN Partners in Educataion and Soroptimist of Mendocino-Sonoma Coast allowed access for all students.

Jennifer Ketring

K8 March E-Newsletter

SCHOOL NEWS & UPDATES

Science Night

Science Night 2022 was a success! All of our students and classes participated with individual and collaborative projects.

  • The K-1 class demonstrated their collaborative “Tornado in a Bottle” project.
  • The 2-3 class shared their “Cardboard Challenge” creations which included a mini bowling alley, leprechaun lighthouse, tree and more.
  • The 4-5 and middle school students presented individual projects on a range of topics based on their research and experimentations.
  • The afterschool STEAM program created a diagram of a steam engine that was presented alongside the 4-5s study of the transcontinental railroad.Job well done! Thank you to all the families who were able to join in the evening to ask questions, vote and recognize the students’ work.

Read the Full E-Newsletter

Jennifer Ketring

K-12 March E-Newsletter

SCHOOL NEWS & UPDATES

CLS Business Plan Project: Nautical Nut Balls

Students in our High School’s Community, Leadership, and Service (CLS) class have been busy developing a business plan and product to raise funds for the upcoming CELP field study. They shared the following update about their project.

“Recently, we reached out to local business owner, Nate Boucher, to see if he could give us some ideas to raise funds. He came to our class and gave an introductory presentation in Business 101. During a brainstorming session we came up with the idea of creating a nutritional snack that we could sell at local stores. In our market research, we decided that we would move forward by selling chocolate almond balls. We sourced ingredients with the idea that many folks in our area prefer goods that are local, organic, and affordable. We did a couple of test batches and think we’ve dialed in a recipe that folks will enjoy. We’re being trained in proper food handling and are currently in the midst of marketing and advertising. We’ve named the product Nautical Nut Balls and plan to launch them this Saturday morning (March 5) at a bake sale in front of Surf Supermarket. Hope to see you there.”

High School students are using the certified kitchen at the K8 site to produce their Nautical Nut Balls. Be sure to stop by Surf Supermarket this weekend and try them for yourself!

Read the Full E-Newlsetter