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May 8, 2026 Community Update
Knappa School District No. 4 May 8, 2026 Superintendent Community Update One School, One Book Finished K–5 students at HLE recently finished reading Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe as part of our One School, One Book project. Each student received a copy of the book and followed a nightly reading schedule at home with their families, helping to build a shared reading experience across our school community. After completing the book, students had the exciting opportunity to participate in a virtual visit with the author, Victoria J. Coe. During the visit, Ms. Coe met with groups of students to share insights into her writing process, how she developed the idea for Fenway and Hattie, and what it’s like to be an author. Students also had the chance to ask thoughtful questions about her books. We extend our sincere thanks to the Knappa Schools Foundation for funding this meaningful project and author visit. An Outrageous Request has been given! Each year, Wendy Montgomery's class of 6th graders, prepare a hand-written letter to mail anywhere they want to request something outrageous from! So far this school year, only one 6th grader has heard back - Matthew Pina received a new basketball and a $50 gift card from Dick's Sporting Goods in Hillsboro! Pictured to the left. A big thank you to Wendy Montgomery for putting this on every year to excite our students and to have something for them to look forward too. Lastly, thank you so much to the Hillsboro Dick's Sporting goods for making Matthew's outrageous request come true! KHS Spring Days Recap Day 1: We want to take a moment to sincerely thank all of our students who showed up ready to give back for community day during spring days. It means a lot to see our students supporting the community that supports them. Our students spread out across several projects: • One group traveled to the Knappa cemetery, where they cleaned up debris, limbed trees, and cared for gravesites. • Another group worked here at school organizing coaching closets and writing thank-you and sponsor letters for our athletics program. • A group helped out at the wildlife center, taking care of important tasks to support their work. • Some students stayed on campus to wash buses, work in the flowers beds, and help make our school grounds look great. • Another group went to Evergreen Church/Preschool in Knappa to assist Ms. Kara in preparing for Vacation Bible School. We are incredibly proud of the effort, teamwork, and generosity shown by our students. Thank you for representing our school so well and for making a positive impact in our community. Day 2: For Tuesday's Career Day, we were joined by 14 professionals who shared their expertise with our students. A huge thank you to our partners: Columbia Memorial Hospital, ODFW, NW Regional ESD, Knappa Fire Dept, Team Peterson Real Estate, Ashriver Woodworks, Wild Alchemy Salon, Tidewater Barge, Graf's Auto, Clatsop County Sheriff's Office and the Clatsop County DA, Warrenton Fiber's attorney, Fort Clatsop National Park, Clatsop Community College Nursing Program, and Aspen Tree Service. Day 3: The students got a fun day of many options to partake in fun activities for the whole day in return for their hard work on Day 1 and Day 2. Some groups went to hike Falcon Cove while some went Fishing with Mr. Rathfon at Coffenbury Lake. They caught a lot of fish, hiked around the lake and made themselves a bonfire. A HUGE thank you to Jenny Smith and all HS staff that helped in the process in making these days take place. This is one amazing event that KHS puts on every year! Thank you to our Career Day Guests! Congrats Kade Kinder! Seniors are counting down the days.. Seniors showed off their senior projects by presenting them to a panel and the community yesterday evening, May 7th. We love to see and hear the results of what our senior class brings to our community each year by implementing these projects. Many of these senior projects help the community in so many ways. Thank you to all the students who chose something that made an impact to someone, our school and/or to our community! Modern Band Performance On Wednesday, our Modern Band put on a great performance at KHS. Students were treated to several songs by our accomplished musicians who have been working with Mr. Hughston the last few years. Way to rock the stage, Marcus Edwards, Faith Pederson, Alabama Rogers, and Blake Miller! KHS Career Learning High Schooler, Dayton Puerta, went to PCC Rock Creek's auto show/auto tech tour and we visited Sylvana's PCC ASCE's program there as well. This was a non TRIO event and funding provided from Career Connected Learning from ODE. Thank you ODE for funding this trip for our high school student. Athletics: Softball, Baseball & Track Our baseball and softball teams posted great wins last night against Nestucca. For softball, Mylie had 3 hits with a triple. Jo Ayla and Sassy each had 2 hits with Sassy getting a double. Kate Teagan Zoey and Maddy each had one hit with Maddy getting a double. Girls all played well in the field. We hope to do the same thing on the Bobcat fields tonight for their double headers. The track team will be competing at Catlin Gable tomorrow. On May 5th, we took a moment to recognize and honor a truly special figure in Knappa High School baseball. After 24 years as our head coach—and one year prior as an assistant—Coach Jeff Miller has left a legacy that is simply unmatched. His record of 490 wins to just 121 losses speaks to a standard of excellence that few programs ever reach. Under his leadership, Knappa baseball became a powerhouse. His teams captured 4 state championships, made 11 semifinal appearances, and reached the quarterfinals 18 times. Twice, his teams went undefeated—an incredible achievement at any level. But beyond the wins, Coach Miller built something even greater. He helped develop 21 collegiate players, coached 8 State Players of the Year and 19 Northwest League Players of the Year. His impact on individual players and their futures is something that will continue for generations. His excellence did not go unnoticed. Coach Miller was named Northwest League Coach of the Year 16 times, State Coach of the Year 5 times, and in 2018 was recognized as the MaxPreps National Coach of the Year. Coach Miller built a program defined by toughness, discipline, and pride. He shaped young men, strengthened our community, and gave countless memories to players, families, and fans. Coach Miller, thank you for your dedication, your passion, and the incredible legacy you leave behind. Knappa baseball is what it is because of you. Thank you Coach Miller for 25 outstanding years! Summer Programs We are pleased to share that Knappa School District has received a three-year competitive grant from the Oregon Department of Education an amount of over $200,000. We will be offering Summer Adventure Camp from June 15 to July 9 (M-Th, incoming grades 1-5) and Kindercamp in early August for our students. You will see advertising for how to sign up shortly. Please be on the lookout for this. It will be a fun learning opportunity which includes trips to OMSI, the Maritime Museum, the zoo, and Fort Clatsop, with some literacy and math learning tied in. For more information call the HLE office at (503) 458-5993. Art Attack. Both Saturday and Sunday were full houses for the drama club’s performance. The young actors were enthusiastic and entertaining for both shows which took place at Ten-Fifteen Theater in Astoria. Many thanks to Sam Dinkowitz, and assistants Lilly, and Gabrielle. These drama coaches from the theater have mad this entire year a success for this group of students. Many thanks to the theater for hosting us, Hampton Lumber for their sponsorship, and our other donor who supported these students. Plant Sale - Tomorrow May 9th Cash & Card payment options are available! Items available for purchase: Hanging Baskets Marigolds Zinnias Sunflowers Tomato Broccili Pumpkin Peppers Zuchinni Squash Basil Lettuce May 19th - Spring Band Concert - 7pm - KHS Gym May 25th - HLE Carnival Donation Items Due (Cupcakes due the 27th) May 26th - Senior Awards Night - 6:30pm - KHS Commons May 28th - HLE Carnival End of Year Celebration June 1st - 8th Grade Promotion - 6pm - KHS Gym June 3rd - Pre-K Graduation - 2-3pm June 4th - Last day for 12th Grade June 5th - HALF DAY - Last day for all students June 6th - KHS Graduation - 11am - KHS Gym The 26-27 School Year is starting before.. LABOR DAY! School will start before Labor Day in Knappa and all Clatsop County school districts. Please make your summer plans accordingly. I should also share that with good budget planning, we have been able to eliminate furlough days for next year. While other schools in Oregon have been considering adding furlough days to their schools, we have been able to provide students with more days for learning in 2026-27. Thank you for your ongoing support for Knappa School District. We look forward to these final few weeks of learning and fun. Sincerely, Play @ KCC!
Friday, May 08 2026
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MS Athletics Seattle Mariners Tickets Fundraiser
We are happy to partner with the Seattle Mariners to offer our community the opportunity to attend a game at a discounted rate! Please contact Cori Jones at jonesc@knappak12.org for more info or to get on the list! This is open to the entire community to purchase tickets, transportation to the game is dependent of the ticket purchaser as no bus transportation will be provided. Lets represent our Knappa community at this game!
Saturday, May 02 2026
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KSD Employee Spotlight - Heidi Bartlett
Heidi Bartlett is the Head Food Service Worker at the “Logger Cafe” at Knappa High School. In our small school, she is a “one woman show” preparing and serving food to our hungry and growing high school students, along with several student helpers. Heidi grew up in Knappa. Her parents, Don and Marcy Boettcher, also are Knappa alum and volunteered for the district for years. Don would still be in his logging attire while he would fling burgers for sports teams and Marcy volunteered her time to support student activities while Heidi and her children grew up. While in school, Heidi played volleyball and softball. Later in life, she continued to play women’s slow pitch until an injury. She married a Knappa alum continuing deep roots in Knappa. Out of her three grown Knappa alum sons, two do temporary work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska each winter building ice roads for the oil rigging crews and her youngest son works locally for Bigby's Tree Service. She is now a grandmother to one granddaughter so far, whom she is very proud of. After high school, she worked as a waitress and in other food industry jobs in the Astoria area. She spent a while as a “Mom” before coming to work with Knappa School District in 2014, and eventually taking on the lead cook role at the high school in 2016. Heidi loves being in the woods, hiking and spending time at the beach with her dogs - and sometimes she likes to cast a line for fish. She has a Labradoodle, a Corgi, and a Dachshund, plus two cats. She also likes being in Knappa because it allows her to continue to be close to her family. She loves working with our students because being in the kitchen and serving the students is different than in the classroom. Students get friendship and full bellies in the cafeteria rather than a history lesson so it's more to her than just serving food. She enjoys working on her own, because she is good at holding herself accountable to ensure the job is done the best she can while following laws and protocol guided by the state of Oregon. She enjoys the student helpers who work with her - it’s important for her to listen and show she cares for students to establish good friendships and connections. As for advice to parents, she advises them to always know what their kids are doing, be on top of their schooling, come to conferences, track their grades - simply be involved and be their trusted adult, instead of a friend, because they notice and need it to become trusted adults themselves. Heidi continues to fill our high school student bellies with goodness and truly cares about our students and community. We are so pleased that she is here each day running the “Logger Cafe”. Quotes: "Heidi is one of the strongest people I know. no matter what life throws at her, she still shows up and does her best." "Heidi has a warmth and strength about her that not everyone has. She can turn your bad day good so easily and deserves so much for that in todays world"
Friday, May 01 2026
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Summer EBT Program
https://www.oregon.gov/odhs/food/Pages/sebt.aspx Questions or to Email Application: summerebtinfo@odhs.oregon.gov
Friday, May 01 2026
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ISO: 🎡 Donations for HLE School Carnival
Dear Community Members and businesses, Support Our Students! On May 28, the Student Council at Knappa Middle School is hosting our first annual School-Wide Carnival in the HLE Gym, and we would love your support to make it a success!Our goal is to create a day of fun and celebration for all our students, but we can't do it alone. We are currently seeking donations for two key areas of the event: Raffle Prizes : We are looking for items such as gift cards, toys, themed baskets, or local experiences that will excite our students and help us raise funds for future Student Council projects. Cupcakes : We are hosting a "Cake Walk" and need dozens of delicious cupcakes! These items must be store bought.Your generosity directly impacts our students by providing a safe, joyful environment to celebrate the end of the school year. All donors will be proudly recognized during the event. Donation Details: Deadline: Please let us know if you can contribute by May 15th. Drop-off: Items can be brought to the front office. Thank you for being such an important part of our school community. If you have any questions or would like to coordinate a pickup, please reach out to Maddy Buoy at buoym@knappak12.org or by calling the school at 503-458-5993 ext. 217 Warmly, The KMS Student Council UPDATE: Thank you to all those who have signed up for items and/or volunteering. There are still a few items/volunteers needed, sign up on this post! All donations are due May 25. Cupcakes are due the 27th!
Wednesday, Apr 29 2026
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April 27, 2026 Community Update
Knappa School District No. 4 April 27, 2026 Superintendent Community Update Dear Knappa Community, This week, we celebrate the arts in multiple forms! An Evening of the Arts. On April 28, our middle and high school art and metal fabrication students will present “An Evening of the Arts” from 5-6:30 in the KHS Library. The event will showcase artwork made by our students, under the guidance of Miki’ala Souza and Mike Rathfon. Our band students will be playing music at the event (thank you Mr. Hughston). We hope to see you there! Art Attack, the Play. On Saturday, May 2 (7pm) and Sunday, May 3 (2pm), Knappa drama students will be presenting their play, Art Attack, to the public at the Ten-Fifteen Theater in Astoria (you guessed it, at 1015 Commercial Street). We hope you can join us in celebrating this year’s hard work by the drama students. Free tickets are available at the button below: Get your FREE Tickets Here! A big thank you to Hampton Lumber for supporting the drama club this year. Come See Our New Curriculum Materials. During the arts event, and throughout the week, we will have proposed curriculum materials available for public review and feedback. This includes secondary English Language Arts materials, a curriculum for a new post-Geometry secondary mathematics course, and materials to provide financial literacy to high school students. Please visit the business office if you want to request to review. You can make that request via email at ap@knappak12.org. Athletics. The softball team swept North Douglas last week in their double header. The baseball team had one close game and one not-so-close game at Portland Christian on Friday under beautiful blue skies. Both teams play Clatskanie this week, Tuesday is away and Friday is at home. Come cheer for both Logger Teams!! Join us as we honor longtime Knappa Baseball coach Jeff Miller for his years of dedication and impact on our program and community. We will recognize Coach Miller on Tuesday, May 5th, prior to our 4:30 PM home game against Nestucca. We hope to see you there as we celebrate his incredible coaching career! The track team competed in Sweet Home on Saturday and will run, jump, and throw at Nestucca on Thursday afternoon. This Saturday, they compete in Jewell. At our home meet last week, the “anything but a baton” event was quite the hit! Our Knappa athletes ran the relay with a fishing pole…other teams carried a stuffed animal, a cell phone (recording the race), and a shoe to name a few. This event is sure to become an annual affair! At the meet, time was taken to recognize or Track & Field seniors as well, Payton Champagne, Bailey Richardson, Aemilia Graham, Nadia Gremar, Henry Oien, Tannar Cagwin, Bird Ogier, Gavin Jasper, Wyatt Jacobson and Oskar Pietsch. Pictured below: Show what you know! Our students continue to make progress on their state testing this week. Please continue to encourage them to do their best and not get too stressed about the exams. Young Learners. We are enrolling 3 and 4 year old children for next year’s Knappa Early Learning classes. If you have a child or know somebody who is in this age bracket, please contact the HLE office to get signed up now. We will have scholarship funds available for those in need, so don’t let finances be a barrier. To request assistance, use this form. Additionally, last week, I got to meet the class of 2039 at the Kindergarten Registration event. If you missed the event, please contact the HLE office to get signed up. We don’t want you to miss updates on Kindercamp for this summer or related to the start of school in the fall. Calendar Reminder. Remember, next year, school starts the week before Labor Day, with Orientation on August 31 and the First Day of School on September 1. Please plan accordingly when making your summer plans! Spring in Knappa is always fun, with the high school celebrating Spring Days this week (formerly May Week), the HLE end of year Carnival - more coming soon on this event, Senior Awards, and both Promotion and Graduation coming up. Please remind students to stay diligent in their studies and to maintain appropriate school behavior even though summer break is approaching fast! Sincerely, Play @ KCC!
Monday, Apr 27 2026
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April 23, 2026 Community Update
Knappa School District No. 4 April 23, 2026 Superintendent Community Update We have so much to share this week! Mental Math Competition. We had 14 students in grades 3-8 compete in the Mental Math competition at CCC last week. We had 2 winners! Bryson Humphries got 1st place in the 3rd grade division and Alister McDaniel got 1st place in the 8th grade division (both are individually pictured here along with the team photo)! Thank you to Ms. Palenske for coordinating participation in the event. Art Field Trip. Our KHS artists travelled to Seattle last week and had an opportunity to visit a number of art exhibits there. Thanks to Knappa Schools Foundation for supporting this trip and to Ms. Souza for leading this educational (and fun) opportunity for our students. Softball. Last week, the Loggers swept Vernonia. They are scheduled to play a non-league game with Warrenton today, weather permitting. Baseball. The team also swept Vernonia last week. They compete against Portland Christian this week, weather permitting. Track Update. Wyatt Jacobson broke the school record in the 1500 at our meet in Estacada three weeks ago and then rebroke the record in Banks the weekend before last with a time of 4:07.57. Wyatt is the head of our very strong distance team, holding the state lead in the 1500, 3000, and second place in the 800. Our boys currently hold four of the top 10 times in the state in the 3000, with Wyatt, Rowdy Justus, Oskar Peitsch, and Gavin Jasper. Rowdy is also in the top 5 in the state currently for the 1500 and Emma Jackson is in the top 10 for the girls 1500. Paul Thompson headlines our sprinters with top three times in the state for both the 400 and the 300 Hurdles. On the girls side, Faith Pedersen is in the top ten in the state for both the 100 hurdles and the 300 hurdles and Aemilia Graham is top five in the league in the 400. In the throws, Lucy Oien is ranked second in the state in both the shotput and the discus, and Nadia Gremar is ranked fourth in the Javelin. Tannar Cagwin is the lead male thrower, ranked third in the league in the shotput, joined by Ben McDorman and Camden Demase in the top 10, and Tannar is also ranked in the top 10 in the discus. Jasper Teague is currently tied for first place in the league and fifth in the state for the high jump. Our meet at Banks was not scored, but at Estacada, the boys took first out of the 2A teams present, fifth overall, and the girls took third out of the 2A teams present, eighth overall. The team competed at Portland Christian last week and at home yesterday. We will share updates on these with the next Community Update. Thanks to Coach Samuelson, Coach Jacobson, and our runners for their great efforts and performance. We had a great home track meet on Tuesday with some very good marks and good progressions as we head into the second half of the season. It began with a senior day celebration in which we had the opportunity to honor ten incredible seniors that have given a lot to our program. We came out with many PRs and good standings as districts and state are coming quickly. We are beyond thankful for all of those that volunteered their time to help the meet run smoothly and for all of the parents, staff, and community members that came out to support our team. Playmakers Summit. Over the weekend, seven student-athletes and two coaches attended the 9th Annual Playmakers Summit, held at Oregon Episcopal. There were approximately 600 attendees. The Playmakers Summit is a premier girls sports leadership conference, merging athletics, leadership, and professional passions to shape the future. The event aims to equip young women and girls in sports with the mindset, leadership skills, and confidence to dominate life and athletics. The day included excellent keynote speakers and presenters including Olympic medalists, WNBA and Division 1 volleyball players, industry experts, college coaches, and more. The girls are pictured with former WNBA player, Angel Robinson. Keep Up the Good Work. As you know, it is testing week at Hilda Lahti Elementary and Knappa Middle School. Please continue to support students in showing what they know by encouraging them to do their best, getting plenty of rest, and working hard. We believe in Knappa students. Teacher Appreciation. The board signed the Teacher Appreciation Resolution at the April 22, 2026 regular board meeting. The resolution declared May 4th - May 8th to be “Teacher Appreciation Week”. Please join me in thanking our dedicated educational professionals for the hard work they do every day in support of our students. Thank you for your ongoing support for the students in our community. Warm Regards, Play @ KCC!
Thursday, Apr 23 2026