July 13, 2022 / A classroom at Stearns Elementary School was converted to a barbershop Tuesday when Fresh Cut Barbershop owner Cesar Lopez and his four barbers set up five chairs and shared their expertise by providing free haircuts and trims to students attending the district’s migrant summer school. 

July 29, 2022 / Erin Donahue spent the first part of her summer working as an intern at the OSU Extension Service, gaining valuable experience and creating and producing a workbook that will be used by elementary students in a hands-on chick hatching program. Brissa Mares earned money and customer service experience helping customers at Turn Thom Point S Tire and Auto Service. Hadyn Burk, a junior, worked at the food truck, Mac and Cheese Steaks, getting work experience with the added benefit of trying out the menu. The three are among 15 teenagers who participated in this summer’s Basin Partners Internship Program (BPIP), which pairs students with local organizations and businesses so they can earn a paycheck and gain job experience. The program is currently operated by Klamath County School District and is open to all high school students in the Klamath Basin.

Aug. 18, 2022 / Violet Wyatt had never heard of pickleball before she showed up Monday for the first day of a week-long camp featuring the game. Neither had Archer Fincher and Harper Balsz. But by the second day of camp, the three third-graders were volleying the plastic balls used in the game across nets, practicing serves, and grinning as they scrambled to hit the ball with their paddles. “It’s fun,” Archer said. “I’m pretty good, too. I’m better at this than other sports.” The Klamath County School District partnered with the Klamath Basin Pickleball Association this summer to purchase equipment and create pickleball courts on existing tennis courts at Mazama and Henley high schools. Local pickleball players then volunteered their expertise and time to coach students in a free week-long camp aimed at introducing youth to the game.

Sept. 8, 2022 /  Bonanza Junior/Senior High School Principal Jordan Osborn doesn’t expect students to do what he isn’t willing to do. “I told my students my pledge to them was I was going to be a better principal every day, and my challenge to them was to be better every day as well,” he said Wednesday as he handed out “Be Better” T-shirts to the school’s 235 students. Establishing a positive school culture and climate is an important start to a new year, and schools put out the welcome mats this week as the Klamath County School District welcomed a record number of students into its classrooms. The district has nearly 7,200 students attending 21 schools. 

Sept. 9, 2022 / We asked you to share your first day photos and you did! Seeing these smiling faces reminds us why we do what we do at the Klamath County School District! Here's to a great year! Enjoy our annual "Your First Day" video slideshow! Watch the video

Sept. 16, 2022 / Watermelon grown on a local farm will be served in all KCSD school cafeterias next week! The melons were grown by John and Mary Ann Anderson of Maranatha Farm in Klamath Falls. Maranatha Farm grew the melons -- 2,625 pounds worth -- specifically for Klamath County School District. Students can expect to enjoy the fresh melons on Thursday. Maranatha Farm cucumbers also will be served in our school cafeteria salad bars next week.

Sept. 22, 2022 / It was all about the watermelon during lunch today in all Klamath County School District school cafeterias. Maranatha Farm, located in Klamath Falls, provided more than 2,600 pounds of watermelon to school cafeterias as part of the district’s Farm to School Featured Food program. The farm also provided cucumbers for school salad bars. Each month, KCSD cafeterias highlight an Oregon-grown food, providing it as part of their menus and educating students on how that food made it from the farm to their plates.

Sept. 29, 2022 / As she watched third-graders approach and touch a dairy cow named Daisy and pet a 6-day-old calf, Karli Britton knew her senior project – an Ag Field Day at Lost River Junior/Senior High School – was a success. “It’s so important to educate youth about agriculture and its role in the world we live in,” she said.  Nearly 300 third-graders from Shasta, Chiloquin, Peterson, Merrill, Malin, and Bonanza traveled to Lost River on Wednesday for the hands-on event. The students rotated between nine stations, where they met a llama, the calf and cow, rabbits, sheep, and chickens while learning about nutrition, hay, planting, potatoes, dairy, beef, sheep and poultry.

Oct. 12, 2022 / Students at Henley and Ferguson elementary schools  sampled Crenshaw melons from Maranatha Farm this month as part of the district’s Farm to School program. “Taste tests are a great way to introduce new menu items and get students excited to try healthy foods at school,” said Jennifer Detwiler, KCSD’s food services supervisor. “They give students voice and choice, and survey results can be used to improve recipes and create school meals that students want to eat.”

Oct. 20, 2022 / High school students had a chance to explore possible futures and talk to college representatives, military recruiters and even local employers Wednesday during Mazama High School’s first-ever “Don’t Dream It, Be It!” career, college, and military night.

Oct. 21, 2022 / Grab a carrot and join students across the Klamath County School District on Thursday, Oct. 27 for the fifth annual Countdown to Crunch in celebration of National Farm to School Month. More than 3,270 students from 12 schools will countdown together and crunch into locally grown carrots produced by local farmer Kent Simons, owner of Simple Gifts Farm on Crest Street in Klamath Falls. 

Oct. 27, 2022 / Student musicians from Brixner Junior High School, Henley Middle School, and Mazama and Henley high schools will get a chance to perform Nov. 5 with a professional musical ensemble, the Dallas Brass, on stage at the Ross Ragland Theater. Tickets for the 7 p.m. public performance are $10 for adults and $5 for students and youth, and are on sale now at the Ross Ragland ticket office. They also can be purchased the day of the performance. 

Oct. 27, 2022 / “These taste a lot better than those small carrots,” the Ferguson Elementary School first-grader explained as he held up his fresh-from-the-farm carrot with the leafy top still attached. Those small carrots he referred to are the processed baby carrots often purchased in bags at grocery stories. The carrots more than 3,200 Klamath County School District students ate with their lunches Thursday (Oct. 27) were grown by Klamath Falls farmer Kent Simons of Simple Gifts Farm on Crest Street. Simons provided the carrots to 11 KCSD schools as part of the district’s Farm to School program.

Nov. 8, 2022 / Shasta Elementary School fourth-graders chatted live with U.S. Olympic nordic skier Rosie Brennan on Monday, asking her questions about competing, maintaining friendships, and confronting challenges. It was the first live video chat between the students in Dena Morosin’s class and Brennan, a two-time Olympian, four-time U.S. champion, and back-to-back World Cup holder. As an athlete mentor with Classroom Champions, Brennan will work with the class throughout the school year, providing video lessons once a month on life skills such as goal setting, community service, leadership, emotions, community, perseverance, healthy eating, diversity, and feedback.

Nov. 11, 2022 / Members of the 173rd Fighter Wing at Kingsley Field visited with Ferguson Elementary School students Thursday, the day before Veterans Day. Students heard their stories and were able to ask questions. Tony Clark and John Walling visited with the fifth-grade classes, dressing two students in military clothing and gas masks as they discussed how the gear worked to protect active military members.

Nov. 12, 2022 / Lost River, Mazama, Henley, and Bonanza FFA students represented their schools and communities well this year competing in district, state, and national contests. Sixteen students from Lost River, three students from Mazama and one student from Henley attended the 95th FFA National Convention and Expo in Indianapolis in late October, earning degrees and awards.

Nov. 10, 2022 / The Brixner Junior High School band performed for residents of Pelican Pointe Assisted Living on Wednesday. They were joined by Michael Levine, head of the professional musical ensemble, the Dallas Brass. The performance was a culmination of a multi-day clinic Levine, who worked with student musicians as part of group’s Harmony Bridge program. 

Nov. 18, 2022 / Chiloquin students and staff enjoyed salmon cooked over an open fire pit for lunch Thursday after participating in a powwow led by members of the Klamath Tribal Youth Council. After watching their classmates perform traditional Native dances, most of Chiloquin Junior/Senior High School’s student body joined them in the Round Dance, forming a large circle around the drummers. The first-ever traditional salmon bake and powwow was a way to celebrate the Native culture within Chiloquin Junior/Senior High School’s student body and honor National Native American Heritage Month, said Will Hess, a Klamath Tribal member who works with students through the On Track OHSU! program. He organized the event with help from Klamath Tribal Health & Family Services Prevention Program, the Klamath Tribal Youth Council, Klamath Tribes Education & Employment Department, Chiloquin High School administrators, On Track OHSU!, FoodCorps staff, and staff from the Klamath County School District Office Title VI and Food Services. “We wanted tribal students and staff to feel recognized and celebrated in a way that highlights and respects their culture, and also for all students and staff, native and non-native alike to come together and learn about the first foods of the Klamath Tribes and celebrate the rich history of the Klamath Tribes in the Klamath Basin,” Hess said.

Nov. 22, 2022 / Students from Gilchrist, Stearns, Chiloquin, and Bonanza are thankful for many things -- from Grandma's pie to family and fishing. Enjoy our annual "We are thankful" video on the KCSD YouTube channel.

Fifteen Mazama and Henley high school education pathway students  volunteered to teach arts and crafts Dec. 7 during the Ferguson Elementary School’s first-ever Christmas Crafts and Cocoa event for third-graders and their families. The event, organized by Ferguson’s three third-grade teachers -- Karyssa Cisneros, Domingo Arriola, and Alyssa Sweeney -- invited families of the third-graders to join their students to make 10 different crafts and enjoy frosted cookies and hot chocolate. “We wanted to do something to get parents into our school and enjoying activities with their students,” Cisneros said

Dec. 16, 2022 / Students and staff throughout the Klamath County School District this week teamed up with community organizations and each other to make the holidays a bit brighter – and yummier – for their communities. Several schools hosted food drives or coin drives to benefit local food banks and organizations.

Jan. 4, 2023 / A Mazama High School senior spent a week this fall immersed in hands-on simulations and leadership training at the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. As part of the five-day camp, Alex Lehman participated in a simulated space mission, mall collapse, and fighter jet mission. He was one of 200 out of 700 applicants worldwide chosen to attend the week-long camp in Huntsville, Ala., in October. Students are selected through a rigorous application and review process based on academic achievement and community involvement.  Alex described the camp as a “leadership academy based around space,” saying he learned how to lead, give speeches, and build teamwork through participating in challenges. “Our main focus was teamwork, leadership, and crisis management.”

Jan. 6, 2023 / Fifth- and sixth-graders at Shasta Elementary School are expected to move into a new six-classroom addition by the end of March and finish off the school year in their new digs. KCSD maintenance and project crew members were hard at work this week, polishing floors, tiling the bathrooms, and finishing up plumbing and baseboards. Next up is completing the exterior of the building, adding soffit and metal siding. The new 9,500-square-foot building is between the main school building and Shasta’s Big Gym. It will feature a wide, brightly lit hallway, reflective windows, polished concrete floors, and the latest classroom technology.

Jan. 20, 2023 / Henley High School senior Karishma Malakar and the fourth-graders were ready for customers. High school students lined up at the door, armed with play money for their hot chocolate orders. The Hornet Express hot chocolate bar was open for business. Malakar, who organized the event as part of her senior project, used the hot cocoa to teach a scrumptious and chocolaty hands-on math and business lesson to fourth-graders in Kacie Palmer’s class at Henley Elementary School. The fourth-graders then used those skills to take drink orders, add up the total cost and provide change, and make the drinks.

Jan. 24, 2023 / If Henley High School business students had their way, Klamath Falls would be home to 27 new businesses from duck decoys and a bakery featuring bubble tea to high-end tracker jewelry and a Korean barbecue. Students in Luke Ovgard’s Intro to Business class took their hands-on final exam by presenting complete business plans to members of the local business community. The presentations took place last week in the conference room of the coworking space, Gaucho Collective, on Main Street. After their presentations, they hit Main Street, visiting local businesses to find answers to 70 questions. “This class gives them a taste of what it means to be an entrepreneur,” Ovgard said. “These skills are something no textbook, test, or flash cards can ever teach.”

Four high schools in the Klamath County School District boasted graduation rates above 93 percent in 2022 and two of those – Lost River Junior/Senior High School and Chiloquin Junior/Senior High School – had perfect graduation rates of 100 percent. For Lost River Junior/Senior High School, it was the fourth year in a row that the school graduated 100% of its cohort on time. “The secret? The secret is everyone cares – the staff, the students, and the parents,” said Jamie Ongman, who served as Lost River’s principal through 2022 before taking a promotion as KCSD director of school operations. “The 100% not only reflects their graduation rate, but also the amount of effort students, staff, and parents put in from year to year. Staff tirelessly invest in the students, students set goals and work to achieve them, and parents give the school unwavering support.”

KCSD’s upgraded technology and progressive planning by our district leaders and IT department attracted the attention of the editors of EdTech: Focus on K-12 magazine. KCSD is among school districts highlighted in an article this month about planning ahead to ensure students will always have access to modern technology and devices. IT Director Kiran Malakar and Superintendent Glen Szymoniak are interviewed in the article. It also features photos of students in Kacie Palmer's third-grade class at Henley Elementary School, Malakar, and Szymoniak. Here is an excerpt from the EdTech Focus on K-12 article: "Klamath County School District in Oregon has a wide array of technology to manage. During the pandemic, KCSD purchased roughly 5,000 Samsung Chromebooks. More recently, the district rolled out more than 300 86-inch digital interactive displays from Newline. The district’s secret for refreshing those devices over time: standardized technology and a bit of budget wizardry that ensures IT reserve funds won’t be used for other purposes. 'We try to keep the number of models to a minimum,' explains Superintendent Glen Szymoniak. “From projectors and document cameras to desktops and laptops, we try to go with one model and use it for its lifecycle.' This standardization allows technicians to cannibalize parts from broken or defective machines to repair other devices, Szymoniak says, and it can encourage adoption and simplify tech support. 'We repair everything in-house,” says Kiran Malakar, the district’s technology coordinator and network systems manager. “It usually costs more than it’s worth to replace a screen, but we’re often able to salvage a screen from another defective machine and make the repair.' 

Feb. 2. 2023 /  Mazama High School junior Will Hawkins holds up the plastic tube of colored liquid as he directs a class of fourth-graders to pour corn syrup into a bottle of water as part of a color density lab experiment. The science lab lesson for Julie Dentinger’s class at Ferguson Elementary School was one of the final assignments for Hawkins’ intro to teaching class last semester. “It was an experience, and it was hard to manage the class at first,” he said. “But as I kept going, I started to understand what to do and how I could teach it better next time.” 

Feb. 14, 2023 /  Fifty-six teams from 10 schools competed for state qualifying status as well as tournament trophies Friday and Saturday during the fifth annual Klamath Icebreaker VEX Robotics Competition at Mazama High School. 

Feb. 22, 2023 / Fystin Qualls carefully sliced into the steak he and his classmates had prepared for their final exam. They marinated the meat in garlic, soy and Worcestershire sauce before pan-searing it, aiming for a medium rare finish. The high school junior teamed up with seniors Kylie Basso and Gabby Keyes to make a meal out of five ingredients as part of the semester final in their food industry and science class at Bonanza Junior/Senior High School. Students had two days to plan and prepare a meal that included steak, cilantro, oranges, cauliflower, and buttermilk. The meals were then given to school staff members to enjoy and judge.

March 11, 2023 / Five KCSD robotics teams – three from Mazama, one from Henley High, and a middle school team from Lost River -- qualified for Worlds today during the 2023 Regional VRC/VEX Robotics Championships at Mazama High School.

March 14, 2023 / A Mazama High School senior has been awarded $10,000 toward her future in the form of Oregon State University’s most prestigious scholarship. Makayla Quirk was awarded OSU’s Presidential Scholarship in a surprise presentation March 14 during one of her classes. OSU’s Craig Brauner presented the Viking senior with the award and a swag-filled Beaver Box. Out of nearly 3,000 applicants, only 127 students were chosen for the scholarship. The $10,000 annual scholarship is renewable for up to four years.

March 20, 2023 / A career in the medical field had not occurred to Mia Hutchinson. Until now. The Mazama High School junior is among 32 Native American students who joined On Track OHSU!,  an Oregon Health & Science University college-career readiness program that targets underrepresented student populations and has supports and structures in place to help them pursue medical careers. Mazama kicked off its new partnership with On Track on March 3 with an introductory meeting in the high school library. It was then that Hutchinson heard about Jared Delaney, a Klamath Tribal member and 2016 Henley High school graduate who is currently in his second year of medical school at OHSU. What caught the teenager’s attention was that Delaney, like herself, is Native American.

March 22, 2023 / “You grow potatoes perfect,” a third-grader at Ferguson Elementary School told Marc Staunton, a South County farmer who grows and sells potatoes with Cal-Ore Produce. “Oh man! Thank you!” Staunton responded giving the student a high-five. Staunton – Farmer Marc to the students – was at Ferguson to talk to students about how he grew the potatoes on their lunch trays. Locally grown potatoes from Cal-Ore were served in all Klamath County School District cafeterias today (March 22) as part of the district’s Farm to School program.

March 23, 2023 / FFA students from Mazama, Lost River, Henley, and Bonanza represented Klamath County well at the 2023 Oregon FFA State Convention March 17-20 in Redmond. Students competed in various categories, attended motivational sessions and workshops, visited career shows, and sat on committees for proficiency interviews. Lost River’s Alicia Venegas was elected 2023-2024 Oregon FFA state reporter, the first FFA state officer in the school’s history. Eight students were awarded the coveted FFA state degree, earned by only 2% of Oregon FFA members.

March 23, 2023 / The Klamath County School District was recognized March 23 by Worksource Oregon for its support and employment of military veterans. Paul Messett, Worksource Oregon disabled veterans outreach and local veterans employment representative, presented a framed certificate and challenge coin to KCSD Superintendent Glen Szymoniak. Messett was accompanied by Kim Laugsand of Worksource Oregon’s Klamath office. “On behalf of the Worksource office here in Klamath Falls we would like to present you with this certificate of appreciation as a small token of our appreciation,” Messett said. “That certificate is printed on paper that is handmade from recycled military uniforms.”

March 24, 2023 / Chicken coops. Greenhouses. Grow towers. Raised garden beds. Students throughout the Klamath County School District are not only eating fresh, hyperlocal produce and meat, they are learning to grow, harvest, and produce food for their school cafeterias. Over the past several years, the school district has wrapped an educational and nutritional component into its food services program, offering Oregon-grown and hyperlocal fresh fruits and vegetables, locally harvested beef, lamb, and eggs, and special Try-It Days and Tasting Tables, which encourage students to try foods such as cranberries, squash, and beets they may not otherwise eat. School-based food production is the next step in expanding not only learning opportunities, but the availability of hyperlocal produce, eggs, and meat on school lunch and breakfast trays, district leaders say. This fall, KCSD was awarded a $99,847 Oregon Department of Education grant to purchase school-based food production equipment and conduct hands-on education events.

April 7, 2023 / Henley Middle School eighth-grader Robert Alvarez is considering a career in construction. Classmate Lilly Schott isn’t sure what she wants to do. Robert and Lilly were among Henley eighth-graders who spent the day at Henley High School Wednesday, exploring Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and pathways available to them when they enter high school this fall. The event is one way of helping eighth-graders determine their interests and forecast what classes they want to take as ninth-graders.

April 7, 2023 / Each year, the Klamath County School District awards Crystal Apples to eight certified and classified staff who best exemplify its mission: “Inspiring today’s students to meet tomorrow’s challenges.” The winners will receive their Crystal Apples during a celebration at 7 p.m. April 25 at the Ross Ragland Theater. The event is open to the public. Our winners are: Adriana Atwood, Rachel Belenfant, Christopher Benjamin, Robert Chambrose, Shannon McDonald, Crystal Renslow, Laci Teaters, and Olga Wenick.

April 11, 2023 / Nearly 200 eighth-graders from Brixner Junior High School visited their soon-to-be high school Tuesday (April 11) to explore Mazama High School’s academic and elective course offerings, see the campus, and meet teachers and student leaders. After an introduction to the Viking student leadership team, the rising freshmen were given a forecasting sheet with a list of all of the elective classes they could sign up for next year. As they toured the school, they had a chance to see some of those offerings firsthand. At Mazama, the choices are varied and include the arts, food science, automotive, woodshop, chemistry, teaching, robotics, foreign languages, health occupations, journalism and yearbook, among others. “The more students are engaged, the more successful they are,” said Mazama Vice Principal Sergio Cisneros. “We want to match students up with courses they are interested in. When they are enjoying the classes and following the sequence, they’re also more likely to take some advanced courses their senior year.”

April 27, 2023 / More than 60 FBLA students from Bonanza, Lost River, Gilchrist, and Mazama qualified to compete at the national level during the Oregon FBLA State Business Leadership Conference earlier this month in Portland. Mazama FBLA won the Sweepstakes Award at the state event, earning the title of Oregon State FBLA Champions for 2023. Oregon FBLA is a career and technical student organization that has chapters in schools ranging from 1A up to 6A. The four school’s FBLA chapters all earned awards and recognition at the state conference.

May 3, 2023 / Henley High School student Gracie Poe won third place and $300 in OSHA's media contest to promote young worker safety. Poe, who is a member of Henley's Digital Art Club, submitted an entry in the graphic design category.

May 9, 2023 / Allen Hill plans to attend West Texas A&M University with a goal of being a large animal veterinarian.  Josie Cole signed with College of the Siskiyous to play volleyball and will study nursing. Kylie Basso is aiming for a career in forensics after studying criminal justice at Umpqua Community College. The three Bonanza Junior/Senior High School seniors joined their classmates May 8 for the school’s second annual Signing Day, a celebration honoring and recognizing the choices seniors have made and a way to inspire younger classmates to plan for their futures. Families attended, watching their students sign for their intended path and taking photos.

May 12, 2023 / Seven Klamath County School District seniors – two from Lost River, two from Henley, one from Mazama, one from Bonanza, and one from Chiloquin -- have been selected for four-year Ford Family Foundation Scholarships that will pay for 90 percent of their unmet college costs. Recipients are Mazama senior Natalie Norris, Bonanza senior Yahir Raygoza Cortez, Chiloquin senior Anastasia Shanks, Henley seniors Michelle Bonilla Gonzalez and Kaylee Haddox, and Lost River seniors Daniela Valadez Perez and Isaac Hernandez. 

May 17, 2023 / Fourteen student athletes – seven from Henley High School and seven from Mazama High School – have signed to play at the collegiate level next year. The athletes, coaches, and families gathered at the schools this week for a Signing Day celebration. Sports represented include basketball, baseball, football, soccer, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer, cross country, track and field, and shotgun sports. The students will represent Klamath County throughout Oregon and as far as Arizona, Nebraska, and the United Kingdom.

May 19, 2023 / Massage therapist. Nurse. Forensic scientist. These are just a few of the career goals of Lost River Junior/Senior High School’s Class of 2023. The 30-member senior class committed to future plans Thursday during the school’s seventh annual Signing Day. The event featured a luncheon for the seniors and their families followed by the signing ceremony. The soon-to-be graduates will represent their alma mater at two community colleges and seven four-year universities in Oregon, Arizona, Indiana, and Texas. One graduate, Alicia Venegas, will spend a year as an FFA state officer, traveling the country and representing FFA.  

May 23, 2023 /  Work has started on a four-lane, 200-meter track with a 50-meter straight-away extension at Stearns Elementary School. The project is funded through the Klamath County School District with federal ESSER funds along with local grants and private donations. Completion is expected by mid-June

May 24, 2023 / Meet KCSD’s class of 2023 valedictorians and salutatorians from each of our high schools – Bonanza, Chiloquin, Gilchrist, Henley, Lost River, and Mazama. These 42 students not only are at the top of their classes academically, but also participated in a variety of extracurricular activities, representing their schools and communities.

May 31, 2023 / More than 200 high school and middle school students from Lost River, Chiloquin, Mazama, Brixner, Henley Middle and Henley High put their robots to the test May 31 in the second annual end-of-the-year KCSD Robotics Bash. Eighty-four teams – 40 middle school and 44 high school – gathered at the Klamath County Fairgrounds to compete against each other in a game designed by KCSD robotics students.

June 1, 2023 / Even a cloud burst couldn’t dampen the smiles of the nearly 700 graduating high school seniors parading down Main Street today for the eighth annual Klamath Promise Graduation Sensation. Soon-to-be graduates from 12 high schools across Klamath County -- including Bonanza, Chiloquin, Falcon Heights, Gilchrist, Henley, Lost River, and Mazama – paraded in caps and gowns down Main Street with bands and mascots, then joined together with family, friends and supporters in Veterans Park for a celebration and awards distribution. Photo link

After school ends for the day, a group of Shasta Elementary School fifth- and sixth-graders are ready for a different type of learning. They don helmets and hop on bicycles provided by the school and ride a couple of miles to Steen Sports Park to meet up with members of the Klamath Basin Pickleball Association. Grabbing their paddles, the students join the adult volunteer teachers on the pickleball courts to learn the popular game. After an hour of pickleball, the students bicycle back to the school.

June 8, 2023 / Klamath County Transition Program celebrated Independence Day for its Class of 2023 in an outside ceremony Thursday (June 8) attended by family and friends.

More than 470 seniors received their diplomas this weekend from seven high schools across the Klamath County School District. Check out our graduation photo albums:
Falcon Heights
Mazama High School
Bonanza Jr/Sr High School
Lost River Jr/Sr High School
Gilchrist Jr/Sr High School
Chiloquin Jr/Sr High School
Henley High School

June 13, 2023 / Students in Bonanza Junior/Senior High School’s culinary program took lessons learned over the past nine months and put them to real-world use last week by catering a 250-person dinner for the school’s end-of-the year honors and awards event. Featured on the menu was a locally sourced pig purchased with grant money through OSU Extension’s Farm to School program.

June 14, 2023 / History came to “life” last week when third-graders at Stearns Elementary School presented their living history wax museum to family and friends. Students researched historical figures, created an exhibit and then dressed up as that person for the museum program.

June 14, 2023 / “Make sure you touch the summit marker,” Bonanza P.E. teacher Jason Hardrath told the 40 sixth-graders as they reached the top of Hogback Mountain, which, at 6,205 feet, offers panoramic views of Klamath Falls. The students had been on the challenging 2.3-mile route to the top for the last couple of hours, gaining 1,761 -feet in elevation from the school bus near the trailhead off Foothills Boulevard to the lookout tower marking the summit. Some were still bursting with energy, others were tired and thirsty. Hiking to the summit of Hogback has become a sort of rite of passage for sixth-graders at Bonanza, Shasta, and Ferguson elementary schools.

This summer, children can enjoy lunches at no charge through the Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded nutrition program open to all youth ages 1-18 years. A sack lunch with a hot entrée, a fruit, a vegetable, and a milk will be offered June 20 through Aug. 10, Monday through Thursday.

Klamath County School District Board of Directors appointed a new board member last week to fill the position vacated by Laura Blair. Brooke KIiewer will represent the Henley and Keno attendance areas, serving until June 30, 2025, the remainder of Blair’s term.