In this Issue

Upcoming School, Community Events
KFCS Headlines
KUHS Alumni
Phone App Download for District Website
Join Our Team
KFCS Board of Education

Ponderosa Middle School Spirit Week

Mr. Pelican a Success at Ross Ragland

Klamath Union's Mr. Pelican was hosted last Friday at the Ross Ragland Theater.

KU's Associated Student Body did a stellar job recruiting funds from local businesses to help fundraise for the event, which filled the Ross Ragland from top to bottom.

The Mr. Pelican pageant lived up to its reputation, involving humor, skill and personality from its contestants for judges and family and friends who came to support the event's cause.

Results:

1st place - Bryce Petersen

2nd place - Ulises Oreta-Delgadillo

3rd place - Jose Garcia

KU's Kenzi Freid, Zoe Bitzer and Elsie Baumann Earn Honors in C-SPAN Video Competition

Exciting News from KU Digital Media!

We’re proud to announce that two of our student teams have earned recognition in this year's C-SPAN StudentCam Documentary Competition! Out of 1,500 of entries nationwide and over 3,500 students entering the contest, our talented students placed 29th and 36th, continuing KU’s tradition of excellence in filmmaking!

29th Place – "The Education Gap"

Created by sophomores Kenzi Freid and Zoe Bitzer, this powerful documentary explores disparities in education funding and opportunities, highlighting the challenges students face across the country.

36th Place – "Run Free"

Created by sophomore Elsie Baumann, this is her second consecutive year in the top 40—last year, she placed 3rd overall! Her film showcases the removal of the Klamath River dams and the positive effects on fish runs.

This marks the fourth straight year KU Digital Media students have been recognized in this prestigious competition, reinforcing the impact of our program and the opportunities made possible by ODE funding.

Special Event Coming Soon

To honor these achievements, Comcast and Spectrum dignitaries from Los Angeles will be visiting KU to present a special award to our winning students! We’ll be hosting an onsite celebration in April and May.

An Award Presentation – Honoring our StudentCam winners and their incredible work.

A Tour of KU’s Facilities – Showcasing the programs and technology made possible by ODE funding over the last four years, highlighting how these investments have transformed student learning.

This is a huge moment for our students and a testament to the power of education and storytelling. Stay tuned for more details—we’d love for you to be part of this special celebration!

Watch the winning documentaries here:

The Education Gap – Kenzi Freid & Zoe Bitzer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D30mC2wRkro

Run Free – Elsie Baumann

https://youtu.be/eAaDNWCEJ2w

Congratulations to our talented students!

Roosevelt Readers Head to State

Photo: Roosevelt 5 th graders Vega Priem, Bridget Duarte, Izzy Ford and Elsie Brodbeck following their

first-place win at the Southern Oregon Battle of the Books regional competition on March 8, 2025 at Central Point Elementary School.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 11, 2025

Contact: Jennifer Laitinen

Roosevelt Elementary School

laitinenj@kfalls.k12.or.us

(541) 883-4750

Four Roosevelt Elementary School students, known as the Super Smart Serpents, took first place at the

Southern Oregon Regional Battle of the Books Competition for the 3 rd – 5 th grade division on March 8 at Central Point Elementary School. Team members include Roosevelt 5 th graders Elsie Brodbeck, Bridget Duarte, Izzy Ford and Vega Priem. The Roosevelt team is coached by 5 th grade teacher Jennifer Laitinen and parent Katherine Duarte.

Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is a statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension

program designed for students in grades 3 through 12. It is sponsored by the Oregon Association of

School Libraries (OASL) and the Oregon Library Association (OLA), with support from a Library Services

and Technology Act grant through the Oregon State Library.

Students form teams of four or five members, with only four participating in each reading “battle”.

Teams read books from an annually selected list, and compete in quiz-style tournaments at local,

regional, and state levels. The competition format includes pool play and bracket-style tournaments.

OBOB holds significant educational and social value. Through the program, students read more books

with greater intensity, enhancing their comprehension and critical thinking skills. By working in teams,

participants learn cooperation, communication, and problem-solving skills. The competitive format

motivates students to engage deeply with literature, promoting a love for learning. Open to all students

regardless of ability, OBOB fosters a sense of community through shared literary experiences. Parents

are encouraged to engage with their children’s reading, further enriching the experience. Through its

focus on collaboration, competition, and literary appreciation, OBOB has become a beloved tradition at

Roosevelt Elementary and across Oregon.

The Super Smart Serpents advance to the OBOB state competition at Chemeketa Community College in

Salem on April 12.

For more information, please visit www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org.

Ponderosa 6th Grader Blaine Welsh To Compete In State Competition This Weekend

Ponderosa Middle School sixth grader Blaine Welsh (pictured above) will compete in the middle school wrestling state competition this weekend. Welsh spent time this week preparing for his state competition at the wrestling room at Klamath Union High School, wrestling against older and heavier opponents, something he might face in the state competition.

Ponderosa Wrestling had a great outing from the state regional wrestling tournament this past weekend.

Here are the top finishers for Ponderosa Wrestling:

Blaine Welsh - 3rd place (State Qualifier)
Jacob Pyfer - 6th place
Jude Johnson - 8th place

Ponderosa had 17 competitors and there were 340 total wrestlers at the tournament.

Help Us Select the Next Pelican Elementary Principal – Your Input Needed!

Dear Pelican Elementary Families and Community Members,

As we begin the search for the next Pelican Elementary principal, we want to hear from you! Your input is invaluable in helping us determine the traits and skills we should prioritize in our selection process. We are using ThoughtExchange so everyone has a chance to share their perspectives and understand what’s most important to the group

Please share your thoughts and then rate at least 20-30 of the thoughts that others have shared. Your participation is confidential, so no one will know who shared or rated which thoughts. Come back often until midnight on Sunday, March 16th to rate new ideas.

Access the survey by clicking on the following link:

https://tejoin.com/scroll/792392849

You can also access the survey by scanning this QR code:

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.