The school board has approved the 2012-2013 calendar. School will start on September 4 and end on June 13. Click here for the calendar.

Liberty Bell Junior High Drama Club presents Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” at The Merc Playhouse this weekend.

The show is adapted for the stage by Dave Barton and Matt Bond and co- directed by Jane Orme and Elyse Fulcher.

Set in Missouri in the late 1840s, many of Tom Sawyer’s famous adventures are included. Audiences familiar with the story will recognize Becky Thatcher, Amy Lawrence, Tom and Huck, Aunt Polly, Muff Potter, Joe and other familiar characters.

Show dates are Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21 at 7 pm with a matinee on Sunday, April 22 at 3 pm at The Merc Playhouse. The Merc will have concessions, and the play is appropriate for any age. (about 75 minutes)

Admission is $5.00 for students and seniors and $6.00 for adults.

Doors open at 6:30 pm on Friday and Saturday and 2:30 pm on Sunday.

Methow Valley voters strongly supported three ballot measures in the April 17 election. As of election night, the results were:

M&O LEVY: 72% YES

Tech levy: 68% YES

Bond: 67% YES

“These are fantastic results,” said superintendent Mark Wenzel. “We’re very thankful to the community for this show of support. It means a lot to us.”

Methow Valley School District received notification last week that it was awarded $350,000 for energy efficiency improvements as part of grants made to districts across the state. The grant is contingent on the passage of a $1.8 million bond on April 17.

Statewide grants totaled $21 million and went to 43 school districts, according to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Seventy districts applied for the grants, said state superintendent Randy Dorn.

The Methow Valley grant extends the scope of the facilities bond to include lighting upgrades and control systems for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at the elementary and high school.

The lighting upgrades will replace old T-12 (and in some cases PCB ballasts) and metal halide lighting with state-of-the-art florescent and LED systems inside and out with appropriate controls.

“This is great news for the district,” said superintendent Mark Wenzel. “It’s an added incentive to pass the bond because it will maximize our bond dollars and allow us to do everything possible to save energy.”

The bond provides funds to improve the HVAC system in the 1978 wing of the elementary school. This system is original to the building. Two of the three major components – the entire cooling loop and a heat recovery unit – have failed. Still operated by pneumatic controls and configured for when the building was a high

school, the system is in need of urgent repair, according to Wenzel.

“Our facilities committee has been discussing this project for more than a year,” said Wenzel. “It’s exciting to see the grant become a reality. Together with improvements made from the bond, it will positively impact our students’ experience in the classroom.”

The district expects to save about $12,000 a year in energy costs, based on the proposed facilities improvements from the bond and the grant.

“Our intent all along has been to put together a package that is fiscally responsible, while taking care of pressing needs,” said Wenzel. “We were very excited to hear the news about the grant.”

Methow Valley School District will place three measures before voters on April 17, 2012 to continue to fund programs and building improvements. All three are replacing expiring levies/bonds, so taxes will not increase. The tax rate is about $1.80 per $1000 valuation.

The levies support extra-curricular activities, athletics, arts, technology, curriculum, daily operations, and small class sizes. They total about 25% of the district’s budget. The bond will provide funds to make urgent repairs to the elementary school heating system, as well as upgrade fire protection and irrigation systems.

“With community support, MVSD has earned regional and state recognition for high-quality learning,” said superintendent Mark Wenzel. “These ballot measures will have a huge impact on students and ensure the district’s success in the years to come.”

Ballots will be mailed March 30.  Bond/Levy Fact Sheet    Brochure

Kindergarten Round Up takes place at Methow Valley Elementary on March 8 in two sessions, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and 5 to 7 p.m. Teachers will meet parents to introduce the program and register the student. Anyone registering a child for kindergarten should bring the child, his or her birth certificate and immunization records. Children who will be 5 years old by Aug. 31 may enroll.

Methow Valley Elementary offers full-day kindergarten. The program includes academics and creative play for its youngest students. Students receive daily instruction in gym and health. They also spend time in the Classroom In Bloom garden in the fall and spring and have two eight-week sessions of Spanish instruction.

Liberty Bell Jr.-Sr. High recently received the Washington Achievement Award from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education, the agencies announced.

The award is based on a school’s performance as measured by the Washington Achievement Index, a barometer for how well schools are performing.The index uses state assessments from the past three years to recognize schools that have averaged in the top 5 percent statewide.

Schools can excel in seven different categories to receive the award. Liberty Bell earned recognition in two categories: overall excellence and high graduation rates.

Four schools in North Central Washington won the award for overall excellence: Liberty Bell, Osborne Elementary in Leavenworth, Ephrata Middle School and Wilson Creek School.

“This is fantastic news,” said Mary Anne Quigley, board chair. “It comes from the dedicated care of all faculty, staff and administration, including coaches and extra-curricular contributors. How exciting!”

Liberty Bell High’s wrestling team finished second out of 12 schools in the district wrestling tournament at Lake Roosevelt last Saturday. The top 6 in each weight category will move on to the regional tournament in Kittitas this weekend. Here are the results from the district tournament:

Trent Skelton

first – 106 lbs

Taylor Woodruff

third – 106 lbs

Justin McMillan

first – 126 lbs

Emmett Fink

third – 132 lbs

Jonathan McMillan

third – 152 lbs

Gunnar Doggett

first – 160 lbs

Shane Coleman

second – 170 lbs

Buck Prib

second – 182 lbs

Colt Jack

sixth – 220 pounds

Liberty Bell students will present National History Day projects on Friday February 3, starting at 1:15 pm at the high school. Projects include speeches, documentaries, papers, display boards and websites related to history. This year’s theme is: Revolution, Reaction and Reform in History. Successful students will advance to compete in regional and state tournaments.

For more information, go to http://www.nhd.org/

By Mike Maltais, Methow Valley News

Liberty Bell High School’s four Knowledge Bowl teams placed in the top half of the 18 teams from seven schools that took part in last Monday’s (Jan. 23) competition held at LBHS.

Coach Leverett Hubbard said he was well pleased with the performance of his thinkers who finished second, fifth, eighth and ninth against teams from Omak, Okanogan, Tonasket, Brewster, Chelan and Pateros.

Leading the field for the Mountain Lions with 52 points was Liberty Bell Three comprised of Duncan Hanron, Willy Duguay, Kathleen Chavey-Reynaud and Tyler David.

Liberty Bell Two with Rachel Layne, Nick Saunders, Johnnie Duguay and captain Tim Lewis placed fifth with 46 points.

Eighth place with 36 points went to Liberty Bell Four made up of first-timers Riley Calvert, Jacqueline O’Keefe and captain Jackson Lone.

Liberty Bell One with seniors Larkin Hubrig, Kameron Smith and Nathan David and junior Tommy Zbyszewski scored 35 points to take ninth place.

Photo by Mike Maltais: Kathleen Chavey-Reynaud confers with Duncan Hanron and Tyler David during the first round of Knowledge Bowl competition held at Liberty Bell High School last Monday.