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Mr. Pelican Tickets

New School Records, KU Swimming Honored With State Clap Out

By Joaquin Aguilar-Flores, KFCS

The week before the state swimming competition came and went for members of the Klamath Union boys and girls swim team.

For many, 6 a.m. is the time one’s alarm clock goes off to wake up for the day. For Klamath Union’s swim team, at 6 a.m., they were swimming at their home pool, preparing for the OSAA Class 4A/3A/2A/1A 2025 Swimming State Championships, held Friday and Saturday at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center.

After a more than memorable district meet, Klamath Union junior Max Hendricks stood tall, along with his fellow 400 freestyle relay team, Kamron Bouma and Jack and Wyatt Jensen.

The four KU boys’ swimmers have forever been engraved in school history. Hendricks earned a new school record while competing in the team’s district competition last weekend in the 100 backstroke, while he, Bouma and Jack and Wyatt Jensen, also punched in a new school record in the 400 freestyle relay at the same event.

Hendricks was itching, tasting what it would be like to earn a school record at Klamath Union since the beginning of the season. He hinted at his goal after his team’s lone home swim meet at the Henley Freeze last month, having his eyes set on Klamath Union’s 100 backstroke record.

Before last weekend, Hendricks tasted the record on the tip of his tongue, knowing just how close he had come to making school history. At Klamath Union’s conference meet three weeks ago, Hendricks was 0.3 seconds off the school record.

He did not remain in dismay after he did not get close to the school record during his team’s ensuing swim meets, finishing right at or just under the time of 1:02.

What came next was Klamath Union’s swim meet at its district competition, a day which will be remembered for a long time in the KU community. During a preliminary race in the 100 backstroke event, Hendricks swam 1:01:09, knowing how close he finally was.

During the finals, he reached the mountaintop, earning the time of 1:00.54, a new school record.

“I just think it is a really cool experience to know you are the best that has ever done it at this school. It is a huge milestone for any athlete ever,” Hendricks said. “When we also broke the school relay record, I did not even think we were going to do that … we did not even realize that until two hours later. It shows the heart this team, all the guys, are made of.”

KU girls swimming earns third place in district meet

For the KU girls swim team, the school’s 400 freestyle relay team will also compete in the state tournament, which includes Hazel Squibb, Elly Amos, Elsie Baumann, and Gretchen Lindecamp.

“It is really loud and noisy but you have to stay focused and stay with your group and realize you made it here; you are here to swim and do your best. Understanding I deserve to be here,” Baumann said.

“I love them so much; they are amazing. My team is amazing. I am really proud of all the great swims I have been able to have with them. We had a big PR (personal record) for our relay. It was one of the most exciting parts of our season to realize all the hard work paid off. I think we can do well at our state meet. We have a great team and we are all together, from our coaches and with all the male swimmers also. We are excited to make our school proud of us.”

Mr. Pelican Held at Ross Ragland In Two Weeks

Mr. Pelican is around the corner! Do not miss your opportunity to see live and in person one of the most exciting Klamath Union events of the year.

You can purchase tickets from the following link: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?actions=4&p=1

Contestants for Klamath Union's Mr. Pelican and members of Klamath Union ASB have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming event starting at 7 p.m. Friday, March 7 at Ross Ragland Theater.

Follow the images below to see which of the seven contestants you want to vote for and to receive information about each contestant.

KFCS Fourth Graders, Eagle Ridge New Tech Students At The Farm Expo

Find more photos from the farm expo here: https://www.facebook.com/Klamath.Falls.City.Schools

Klamath Falls City Schools' fourth graders took a trip to the Klamath County Fairgrounds’ John Hancock Event Center Tuesday morning for a memorable experience for students to behold.

More than 900 fourth graders learned from over 15 organizations relating to agriculture in the Klamath Basin. The two-day event had KFCS and Klamath County School District fourth graders attend, which was part of the Klamath County Cattlewomen Farm Expo.

The fourth graders were guided by Lost River, Henley, Mazama, and Bonanza Future Farmers of America members. During the evening event held for the community, Eagle Ridge New Tech High School students, accompanied by instructor, Katharine Smith, helped at the farm expo as well.

Show Us Your Spirit, KU!

KU family, we’re on a mission to win the OSAA #1 Student Section Video Contest, and we need YOU to make it happen!

We're calling on all students, parents, and fans to send in your smartphone videos that capture the heart and soul of KU school spirit. Whether it's epic crowd moments, acts of incredible sportsmanship, or anything else that screams KU pride, we want to see it!

We need videos from:
KU Swim Team, Pep Band, Wrestling Team, Boys, Cheer Squad, Boys and Girls Basketball, Hockey Team

If you’ve got a clip from this season, send it our way! Just email your videos to Dan Stearns at stearnsd@kfalls.k12.or.us by March 1st.

But wait, there’s more! If our video is selected by OSAA, the winner is decided by public video views. That means we’ll need your help again to share the video far and wide to rack up those views!

First place wins a banner for our gym – let’s bring it home, KU! Anyone that submits a video clip that ends up in our final video submission, will receive a prize.

So, get those phones out, find those clips, and let’s show the world what KU spirit is all about!

Available in hard copy or digital version—read it your way!

Check it out here: https://www.pelspress.com/copy-of-newest-release

KFCS High School Options Information

Community Awareness Information Concerning the Ponderosa Middle School Building

As we look towards the future of our community, I want to bring to your attention a critical need that we must address to ensure the success and readiness of our students: the replacement of Ponderosa Middle School.

Klamath Falls is on the cusp of growth, and we need to be prepared to meet the educational demands of our expanding population. Last year, during our community conversations, we received a clear message: our community wants our youth to be life and career-ready. Specifically, there is a strong desire for more hands-on, applied learning opportunities, such as Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Effective career-ready programs must begin with robust middle school initiatives. During the Board’s visit to California last year, we saw firsthand the exceptional programs at Mad Tech Middle, which serve as an inspiring model for what we can achieve here. These programs are essential for setting our students on a successful path through high school and beyond.

Our district is diligently working to build these programs at the high school level and forge strong connections to postgraduate destinations like the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) and Klamath Community College (KCC). However, to truly accelerate our students along this track, we need a middle school that supports and enhances these efforts. Unfortunately, the current Ponderosa Middle School is outdated and does not meet the needs of our evolving educational goals.

The urgency of this need cannot be overstated. While the current middle school building is safe, our engineers have indicated that it could become unusable at any time because it is located on an active fault line. Our trusted advisors and the Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee have unanimously agreed that the time to act is now.

We estimate the budget for replacing Ponderosa Middle School to be around $120 million. This number may fluctuate slightly up or down as we consider incorporating other essential items, such as security upgrades and early learning facility support, into the overall bond. We may also determine that we can build at a lower cost depending on what year we decide to call a bond election to support the possible project in the future.

Replacing Ponderosa Middle School is not just about updating a building; it is about investing in the future of our community and ensuring that our youth have the tools and opportunities they need to succeed in life and their careers.

We appreciate your continued support and engagement as we take these crucial steps forward. Together, we can create an educational environment that prepares our students for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

Over the next year, we will engage more with our stakeholders about Ponderosa. We will also schedule tours of the building for the community to see the current facility.

We do want to be very clear that we have not set any date for a potential Bond election. We just want to make sure our community is aware that we are working on a solution to replace Ponderosa on a different site that does not have an active fault line on it.

For anyone who has any questions about his message please e-mail Keith A. Brown at brownk@kfalls.k12.or.us.