Daily Sitka Sentinel

August 14, 2017, Community Happenings

Sesquicentennial

Speakers Told

The Sitka Historical Society and Sitka National Historical Park have listed presenters in the August Sesquicentennial Speaker’s Series. The events are free and open to the public.

On Aug. 16,  Chris Allan will speak on ‘‘Destination Sitka: Special Correspondents and the Scramble to Report on the 1867 Transfer of Russian America to the United States.’’ Is talk is at 7 p.m. at  Centennial Hall.

Allan, Ph.D., is a historian who lives in Fairbanks and works for Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. He is also the president of Alaska Historical Society. 

Those with questions can go to AK150.com or call 747-4821.

Registration Set

At Pacific High

Pacific High School is accepting registration for the school year. New students are to pick up registration packets 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Returning students and their families can call to set up an intake interviews at 747-0525.

PHS is an expeditionary learning high school for grades 9-12 with a hands-on approach.

Back to School

Set at BMS

Blatchley Middle School has announced back-to-school dates for August.

An open house for sixth-graders and new students and their families is slated 6-7 p.m. Aug. 23.

Aug. 24 is an orientation day and the first day of school for sixth-graders. It is also a community service opportunity for seventh- and eighth-graders 9-11:30 a.m. Students should stop by the office or call to sign up beforehand. A pizza snack will be provided.

Aug. 25 is the first day of school for all students.

Fiber Friends

Meet Saturday

Fiber Friends will meet noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, in the Gus Adams room at Sitka Public Library. All weavers, spinners and dyers are welcome. For more information contact Alice at 747-3931.

Sitka Fellows

Offers Workshops

Sitka Fellows Program will offer two free workshops this week that are open to all ages.

On Tuesday, Aug. 15, 7-9 p.m. at Yaw Chapel on the SJ Campus, ‘‘Playwriting from Intuition’’ will be led by playwright Lauren Wimmer. She will teach tools for ignoring personal judgment and following creative instincts through improvisation and writing exercises.

‘‘Comic Memories’’ by comic artist Hannah Brinkman will help participants build a comic art strip based on a vivid personal memory. It will be offered 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Yaw Chapel on the SJ Campus.

Class in Fish Skin Sewing

Scheduled at SJ Museum

The Sheldon Jackson Museum will offer a free fish skin sewing class taught by artist-in-residence Joel Isaak, Athabascan, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 29. 

Students should note this is a change in schedule, and the last day of the class is now Aug. 29. The class will be given at no charge to participants, but students will need to sign up in advance and acquire items on a materials list. Some of the materials will need to be ordered online in advance. By the end of the class, the students will have produced a single fish skin garment, which will become part of the Sheldon Jackson Museum’s hands-on education collection for use with Alaskan school children.

For a materials list or to sign up for the free class, stop by the museum or call 747-8981.

Isaak, a nationally recognized artist for his cross-cultural explorations, will be in residence at the museum between Aug. 19 and 30. His fish skin garments, bronze, and paper sculptures have been exhibited at the Anchorage Museum, Sheldon Jackson Museum, Ted Stevens International Airport, Bunnell Street Arts Center, Alaska State Museum, and Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In recent years, Isaak was awarded a fellowship to the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art in Indianapolis, Ind., and the Alaska Native Visionary Award.

Sheldon Jackson Museum’s Native Artist Residency Program is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum.

The museum is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. General admission is $7, seniors $6, and free for those 18 and younger and members of the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum and Friends of the Alaska State Museum.

A museum pass that gives visitors unlimited access to the Sheldon Jackson Museum and the Alaska State Museum is available for $35.

Coaches Sought

For Boys Run I

Coaches are being sought for Boys Run I toowú klatseen, a healthy relationship and life skills program for boys that incorporates Southeast Alaska Native cultural values and running games to empower them to become their best selves.

The program is for boys in third through fifth grades. It runs from the end of September through mid-December.

Coaches do not need to be runners. They facilitate a set curriculum and lead 1.5-hour-long lessons once or twice a week.

Contact Rebecca at rfoster@safv.org or at 747-3496, or apply at tinyurl.com/boysrun. Applications are due Sept. 5. 

Fish to Schools

Coho Drive Set

Commercial fishermen are being called for the Fish to Schools annual coho donation drive Aug. 16-31 at both Seafood Producers Cooperative and Sitka Sound Seafoods.

Fishermen are being asked to consider donating some coho salmon to ensure that all kids in Sitka schools can eat locally-caught fish throughout the school year. To donate, sign up and indicate the number of fish to donate while offloading.

Donation drive sign up sheets are being posted at the scale shacks and in the main offices. For FAS coho donations contact Lexi at 738-5684. Only coho donations will be accepted.

For more information about the Fish to Schools program or the Coho Donation Drive contact the Sitka Conservation Society at sophie@sitkawild.org or call 747-7509.

Tribal Council

Meets Aug. 16

The Sitka Tribe of Alaska Tribal Council will meet 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, at the Sheet’ka Kwáan Naa Kahídi. It will feature a “tribal citizens to be heard” item on the agenda. For public comment contact Anne Davis, 747-7352.

STA School Supplies

Distribution on Tap

Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s annual backpack and school supplies distribution will be 4-7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, at the SEACC, STA Language and Education Office, 205 Baranof Street.

All Sitka Tribe of Alaska Tribal citizens with school-aged children are invited.

Those unable to attend can stop in to the office between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 22-23.

For more information contact Lillian Young at 966-1357 or Lakrisha Johnson, 966-1956.