Tag: Susan B. English
Congratulations Seldovia Graduates! Part I of V – Taylor Morgan Haller
by Jenny Chissus
This week, we are honoring our 5 Seldovia graduates, Alexandria (Xandria), Aydana, Chaela, Kaitlyn and Taylor! 5 beautiful girls with 5 stories to share about their Seldovia experience in school and community! This is part I of V in a series this week! Graduation will be held at Susan B English school on May 20, 2014 at 4:00pm in the school gymnasium and all are welcome to celebrate with our graduates and families!
There is one exception as Aydana Omar will be leaving Seldovia for Kazakhstan on Monday, the day before graduation, so there will be a Community Graduation/Certificate Ceremony for her on Sunday, May 18th at the Sea Otter Community Center at 4:00pm, with a potluck to follow – and all are welcome!
Congratulations Taylor!
Gazette: What is your “Seldovia” story?
Taylor: When I was younger, my dad was in the army for 13 years, so we moved around a lot, and I do mean a lot. Before we moved to Seldovia we spent a few years in Washington. My parents came to us kids and we had a family meeting. We, as a family, decided we were going to move to Seldovia. June 28th we came off of the Kennicott into this beautiful town and that is when my life changed.
I can remember getting off the boat in the car and Kaitlyn and a few other people were standing there to wave to us. A part of me missed Washington, but a part of me knew that I was home.
Being in Seldovia has let me do things I would never be able to do. For example, walk around town with my friends or stay out till midnight on teen night. I remember the first year I was here, every time I wanted to go outside I asked my dad, out of habit. He finally got annoyed with me asking every day if I could go outside and he said that I don’t have to ask anymore because if I do something, it would get to the other end of town before I even got home. He knew I would be safe.
Living in Seldovia has given me wonderful opportunities. I played volleyball for 3 of my 4 years. I attempted to play basketball my junior year and I enjoyed being the girls’ basketball team manager! I was part of student council 3 of my 4 years and president and vice president throughout the last 4 years. This year I am also part of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Board. Also, being in Seldovia I have been able to have a summer job every year, which is a lot of fun! All in all, I love Seldovia and how everyone cares. Seldovia is just very homey.
Gazette: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Now, as a senior – what do you want to be when you grow up? How has that changed?
Taylor: As a child I wanted to be anything and everything! Like any child, I wanted to be a firefighter, a doctor, a princess, (oh if only I could be a princess) a singer and a marine biologist. But I think my true passion lies in cooking. I think it started to come out in middle school, but started showing more here in Seldovia. Through the last four years I have had the privilege of having foods class with Mrs. Bornheimer and it has been my favorite class every year. I love to cook!
Gazette: What are some of your favorite school memories? Seldovia memories? Favorite school memories?
Taylor: Well where do I begin? I think my favorite memories always happen on volleyball trips. This year we got to do co-ed. Having the boys on the team was a BLAST! There was NO drama at all and they kept everything fun. One of the funniest things I can remember was last year when I was obsessed with One Direction. I made a cake and put a lot of decorations on it, and in the corner of the cake I put 1D on it. The whole cake was eaten except the part that said 1D! Everyone teased me about it for like 2 weeks!
Another one of my favorite memories in school was when Seth and Kaitlyn would sing “Believe” by Cher. Mr. Winters was our teacher at the time, and when they came to the part “Do you believe in life after love?” Mr. Winters said very loudly, NO! I laughed so hard. One of my favorite Seldovia memories is whenever I have a bonfire with all my friends. My friends are the greatest people in the world.
Gazette: What are your plans this summer? This next year?
Taylor: This summer I will be working my own hot dog stand called Main Street Munchies. That is the only thing I really have planned. This next year my best friend from Washington will be moving up here. We will both be going to KPC the following year. This next year we plan on working before we go off to college.
Gazette: Growing up requires a lot of help – who do you want to thank? Who made a big impression on you and has influenced you in a positive way? Who deserves a “Virtual Rose”?
Taylor: I would like to thank many people. Mom and Dad, thank you for dealing with me the last 18 years. I know I have been a pain but thank you for never giving up on me even though I’m probably the most stubborn person in the house. Thank you for raising me right. You guy are the best. Jenny, thank you for everything you’ve done to help me with my photography. It means a lot to me. Ms. Montgomery, thank you for all the hard work you put into me and all the other students. You are an amazing teacher and friend! Mrs. Bornheimer, thank you for paying out of your own pocket most of the time just to do foods class. We all love that class and I am so happy you did it our senior year. Ms. Sensenig, thank you for being our advisor and helping so much with everything.
Gazette: What would you do with your life if you KNEW you could not fail?
Taylor: If I knew I would not fail I would open a small bakery/coffee shop. That is what I have wanted to do for the past two years.
Gazette: Final thoughts?
Taylor: My time in Seldovia was short but in the years I’ve been here I have made wonderful friends, I have learned and seen so much. Thank you to everyone who was there for me and everyone who never gave up. This is one of the saddest goodbyes I’ve had to say. I know I will see everyone around town, but this goodbye means the start of my new life, as an adult. So thank you to everyone who has helped me grow up into the person I am today. As I am writing this, my eyes are tearing up. I feel like I am saying goodbye for good. Where ever my life takes me, Seldovia will always be my home.
Meet Seldovia’s New School Principal Alan Haskins and his Wife, Laura
by Jenny Chissus
Our new principal Alan Haskins and his wife Laura, are excited about coming to Seldovia and working with our community and students. Alan plans on moving to Seldovia in July to familiarize himself with our school and meet with the community in preparation for the 2014-2015 school year. Laura will join him in Seldovia as soon as she gets their daughter off to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. They will be making an initial quick trip to Seldovia in June to celebrate Laura’s birthday and meet folks. But until then, here’s a quick introduction to our new Principal/Teacher for Susan B English School and his wife, Laura!Seldovia Sea Otters Shine at March Madness Alaska State Championship
by Jenny Chissus
After a full night of heavy snow, the roads were crazy, and the parking lot at South Anchorage High hadn’t been plowed and was bathed in over 18 inches of snow! I think it was a big surprise to the entire city to see that kind of build up – but we were all there and ready to go and the first games started on time!
Seldovia vs Selawik (DOUBLE Overtime Stats not available)- click to view full size
Our first game was on the 15th at 8:00am against Selawik and it was an extremely exciting game. The lead went back and forth, and at the end of the fourth quarter they were tied at 66 and so into overtime we went. Those four minutes were just as exciting, and resulted in a tie again! But at the end of the second overtime, our Sea Otters pulled ahead to win the game – Sea Otters 81 and Selawik 76! Double overtime! A very, edge of your seat, nail biting game! In commenting about how the guys felt about their first win, Janes replied “They were a little stunned, they had the talent, but their nerves were the challenge, and they truly overcame some obstacles and were able to eek out a win, and in the second overtime they really put the pressure on, and were able to outscore the other team, so that was good!” Being in the stands cheering, it was fun to be there to support our team with a great turnout of Seldovians for that first game – in spite of the weather and the distance from Seldovia! The image above is of the first part of the game – up to the initial tie, the rest of the game’s stats were not available on line.
Seldovia vs Yakutat – click to view full size
Our second game was against Yakutat, and the guys were pretty thrilled to be playing in the Sullivan Arena yesterday at 11:30am. One of our guys big goals was to play in the Sullivan Arena, and they achieved that! We played on Court 2, and Mark exclaimed “Yakutat has a pretty big team, and one of their players was actually rated All-State for Region 1A, so the guys knew it was going to be a tough fight for the win.” This was a very close game – all the way through, until the 4th quarter when Seldovia took the lead for good! Seldovia Sea Otters won the game, 55 to Yakutat’s 47.
Tonight they will play Toksook Bay at 7:00pm, who is a fast and physical team that will be shooting a lot of 3 pointers – so this game will be a challenge. Coach Janes stated that he has a lot of confidence in his team, their shooting abilities, rebounding acquisitions, sense of predicting the other player’s actions and the team obviously wants to do their best, and make the most of this time on the court.
GOOD LUCK SELDOVIA SEA OTTERS!!!
Mark’s highlight at this point has been the guys ability to improve as they go, they are all doing their best, and enjoying the competition! The made their first goal – to play in the Sullivan Arena. What’s their next goal? They are looking forward to playing on the Championship Court at the Sullivan Arena tomorrow!
Come and see the game tonight – 7:00pm at the Sullivan Arena!
Thank You!
by Jenny Chissus
To the generous and supportive community of Seldovia! This weekend we had the drawing for the Kindle Fire HDX. Our 7 students got out the door and made phone calls to relatives and friends, and sold $1,925 in tickets to raise funds to attend Close Up in Washington DC this April! Thankful for the anonymous donation of the Kindle Fire, all those monies go directly to funding travel, lodging and tuition expenses for the trip.
The winner’s name was drawn this past weekend at the High School Basketball tournament, and the winner was Jeanice Janes – Coach Mark Janes’ mother from Texas! Congratulations Jeanice! We want to sincerely thank all the generous folks who bought tickets from students, not only once, but twice and even three times! One local gal said “I’ll buy tickets from anyone who stops by the door to ask! I love to support our kids and our school and Close Up is a valuable trip! I just buy a few from each – spread it out a bit!”
Also, we had a baked goods sale that also included a wide variety of items from canned fish, bread, cookies, eclairs to brownies, piroshkis, and two beautiful handcrafted wood items built and donated by Dick Yingling to raise an additional $690!
So, thank you again to the entire community for your endless and continued support of our Susan B English students!
Seldovia Time
