Touchet School District

We are thrilled to invite you to our Winter concert "Under the Winter Sky", which will take place on Monday, December 18th at 6 pm in the multipurpose room. The kids have been working hard on a special performance just for you, and we are excited to announce there may be a special guest joining us for the evening! We sincerely hope you can join us for this wonderful event.

The Touchet School District would like to remind you that you have an opportunity to join Mr. Elizondo for "Coffee with the Superintendent" on Friday, December 8th at 7:30 am. During this event, Mr. Elizondo will share current school district updates and answer any questions you may have! Thank You!

This week's Touchet Teacher Spotlight is Mrs. Hilda Morales! Mrs. Morales is a 2009 Touchet Graduate! She teaches Spanish 1, 2, and Elementary dual language PE. Her favorite subject to teach is Spanish where she enjoys seeing students grasp the language and engage with it creatively. For college, she attended the University of Washington and graduated in 2014. Her favorite class in college was Understanding Early Childhood and Family Studies Research, where she enjoyed learning about early childhood development, early learning, and family studies from a variety of perspectives across a range of disciplines. As a Touchet Alum, Mrs. Morales has many fond memories of attending school here, but her favorite memories include the fun Touchet traditions including Homecoming and Mayday. It makes it extra special that her daughter now gets to experience them too! Her favorite hobbies outside of teaching include crafting, planning and decorating for parties, and taking photos! If she had the chance to live anywhere in the world, she would live somewhere on a beach! Thank you, Mrs. Morales, for returning to educate the students of Touchet, where the school had such a positive impact on your education while growing up!

🌱🌧️ Last week Touchet High School students had the chance to explore the fascinating world of erosion with Mr. Maiden's CASE NRE course. 🏫 Ever wondered why construction sites get muddy after rain or why rivers turn brown post-heavy rainfall? During Mr. Maiden's lab, the students uncovered the secrets behind erosion, a natural process accelerated by human activities like deforestation and construction. 🌍 The students designed an experiment with their group, testing the erosion potential of soil under different conditions, made predictions, and developed a data collection plan. 🌿🔍 It was a great chance for the students to work together to protect our environment and preserve the essential role soil plays in supporting diverse ecosystems. 🌎💚 #ToucehtHighSchool #CASENRE #ErosionExploration #SoilHealth #EnvironmentalEducation

Redhawk Happenings this week! Both Middle School and High School Basketball action and our first Lego League Regional Qualifiers trip! Join Mr. Elizondo for Coffee with the Superintendent this Friday at 7:30 am. Get updates and answers to your questions!

Redhawk Fans, are you ready for an exciting evening? Redhawk Basketball season opener tonight in the Redhawk Gym! Girls' action tips off at 5:30 pm. During the game, seniors will be selling coffee for both drinking and taking home. It would make an excellent Christmas gift for your loved ones. Additionally, TEF will be selling senior raffle tickets, with the big drawing taking place during halftime of the boy's game. AND JUST ANNOUNCED! We have a SPECIAL GUEST TONIGHT! Our new mascot "THUNDER" is going to be at the game tonight! GO REDHAWKS!

This week's Touchet Teacher Spotlight shines on Mrs. Cathy Plucker, who has been teaching for an impressive 43 years! Mrs. Plucker finds it fulfilling to see her students discover new authors, build confidence, and develop a love for learning. She graduated from Eastern Washington State College in Cheney. If she hadn't become a teacher, she would have enjoyed working as a librarian. Mrs. Plucker enjoys cooking Italian dishes like lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. She also loves traveling and has fond memories of her trip to Ireland. She hopes to revisit Ireland one day, and she also dreams of visiting Athens, Greece, and Rome, Italy. Touchet School District is fortunate to have such an amazing teacher who has taught so many Touchet kids!

Redhawk Happenings this week! Welcome Back from Thanksgiving Break! We have both Middle School and High School Basketball action this week, as well as Lego Robotics! Don't forget the See's candy orders are due tomorrow, so if you haven't ordered your See's candy yet contact Mrs. Crenshaw and she will send an FBLA student your way!

As much as we'd like you to fill the stands to cheer on our Redhawks, we know that isn't always an option, especially for loved ones who live far away! Now you can watch live or on-demand Redhawk games on the NFHS.com network. -NFHS.com is a subscription-based service for 11.99 per month or $79.99 per year. -If you choose Touchet as your school when signing up for a yearly subscription, 10% is donated back to our athletic program. -All MS and HS winter sports will be broadcast this year, as well as all fall sports next year. -Your subscription also Includes access to all other schools' live streams nationwide. Check out https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/ to sign up or contact Mr. Johnny Brown, our athletic director with any further questions!

Who's ready for some exciting basketball action? We are exactly one week away from the start of RedHawk basketball! Until then, check the Facebook page for a fun recap from Donkey Basketball last weekend! Thank you everyone for coming to support your Touchet FFA and FBLA clubs and filling the gym with laughter!

Happy Thanksgiving Touchet Community! We had incredible success with our Thanksgiving Food Drive! ~The students collected over 500 items! ~The school purchased 8 turkeys and 5 hams, with a kind donation from Grocery Outlet (thank you for organizing that, Mrs. Nolan!). ~Thank you to Nancy Gutierrez, who helped bring all the food over to the library and count it! ~ASB sorted all the food into 10 boxes overflowing with Thanksgiving meal items. ~All food, turkeys, and hams were distributed to needy community members by the end of school today, ensuring they felt loved and fed for the holidays. Thank you for all your help in making this happen Touchet Community! As our superintendent, Mr. Elizondo said it best... "Thank you!!!! What a great gift to support our families. Touchet is special because of our students and great role models!" We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving break and enjoy time with friends and family celebrating togetherness. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Congratulations to our Fall Sports Academic Athletes! So many this year it was hard to fit them all in one picture! And to our First and Second team all conference recipients! Thank you to all the Coaches, Parents Athletes, and Booster Club for making this a successful Fall Sports Season!

Redhawk Happenings Thanksgiving Week!

This Week's Touchet Teacher Spotlight is Mr. Nick Genereux! Mr. Genereux has recently started our STEAM Lego Robotics club taking place after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with competition in December! Interested in more information about the Lego Robotics club, or have questions, Mr. Genereux would love to chat with you! We asked Mr. Genereux a few questions about himself! Enjoy learning more about our excellent teacher! How long have you been teaching? "I am in my 16th year of teaching. Before coming to Touchet, I taught at Walla Walla Community College and in the Walla Walla school district. This is my ninth year in Touchet." Where did you go to college? "I completed the Walla Walla Hat Trick, an undergrad at Whitman College in physics, classes at Walla Walla Community College, and a master's from Walla Walla University." How did you get into the Lego robotics, and what is your favorite part about it? "Back in my day, Legos were Minecraft IRL. Bills and battles were just something you did every afternoon, and all summer long. During teacher training, there was a summer workshop to be certified in Running a Lego Robotics Program; it was like a reset button for my imagination. My favorite part about Lego robotics used to be making something from science fiction accessible for everyone. But now, I love the moments of discovery, and the thrill that is in the room as students solve problems and imagine even more ways to use the technology. I get to learn from the ingenuity of the kids. Oh, and it's really good for careers and making the world a better place." Where is your favorite place to vacation? "Anywhere with my wife and two kids is perfect. We enjoy traveling to cities and exploring the little nooks and crannies. The kids love traveling to the island of Kauai for the beaches and the food. It's like Touchet, but with amazing fruit, fish, and swimming." What hobbies do you enjoy outside of teaching? "I play piano and guitar, sometimes writing my music. I do some wood projects, some electronics projects, and some 3-D printing. I took up coding a while back and put together useful little apps. Whenever possible, I play video games. And I love to cook, especially with my wife." Thank you, Mr. Genereux, for all you do for Touchet School District!

COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY Saturday, November 18 at 10:00 am Join a group of people at the top of Touchet Gardena Road at the intersection of Riggs Road to pick up litter. Bring gloves, and trash bags, and wear a bright-colored shirt or vest.

Here is another great holiday gift idea while supporting the Touchet FFA kids! Sock Fundraiser! Scan the QR code and place the order directly while helping out the Touchet FFA! Or Contact Mr. Maiden with additional questions!

Did you know you can get a box of See's Candy delivered right to your doorstep just in time for the holidays? FBLA is selling See's candy to raise money for their club! Contact Mrs. Short or Mrs. Crenshaw for more information on how to order your holiday chocolates from an FBLA member. Orders will be turned in on November 27th! So, get your chocolates ordered today! Also are you curious what FBLA is and what they raise funds for? Come to the informational meeting on November 21st @ 5 pm, in the school library. Mrs. Crenshaw will be available to answer any questions!

Middle School Fall Sports Awards! Tuesday the 21st, 2:05 pm during 7th period in the commons!

IMPORTANT DATE CHANGE! The Fall Sports Awards banquet has been moved to Tuesday, November 21st, at 7 pm!

Who's ready for a little donkey basketball action! FFA presents an evening of fun and entertainment this Sunday night at 6pm in the RedHawk gym! Get your tickets in advance and save $1 on admission!