Education

Gig Harbor Now staff are proud to provide coverage of Peninsula School District, Tacoma Community College, private schools and home schools, emphasizing the value and experiences of learning here and beyond.

Students learning mental health first aid

May 08, 2023 | By:

Editor’s note: This story deals with mental health issues, including suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, text HOME to 741741, the Crisis Text Line, or call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. When someone is having a heart attack, most people know to call 911 and start CPR. But what

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Peninsula High film students’ work showcased at the Uptown Galaxy

May 01, 2023 | By:

It’s a sunny day on a country road, as an old man riding a blue scooter greets the mail carrier and invites him to dinner. Three teens appear walking down the road, and the plot twists wretchedly. Just wait ‘til the postman takes a bite of Edith’s pot roast. “The Scoot-Scoot Man,” a horror short

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Love of sports and teammates’ support helped Peninsula’s Clark beat cancer

Apr 27, 2023 | By:

Toward the end of his sophomore wrestling season at Peninsula High School, Boden Clark started noticing some unusual bone pain.  It’s wrestling. Pain is part of the deal. He figured it was no biggie.  Then his cardiovascular fitness started to lag, bizarre for a highly active two-sport athlete who prides himself on being in great

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Peninsula School District cuts target district office, deans

Apr 24, 2023 | By:

Peninsula School District on Friday shared details of positions eliminated or reduced because of $12 million in budget cuts for the upcoming year. The announcement revealed some teaching staff positions — including deans at some elementaries and high schools — will be among those affected, along with non-teaching support staff. In addition, the district office

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Minerva Scholarship Fund now affiliated with GGHF

Apr 14, 2023 | By:

The Minerva Scholarship Fund is a scholarship fund under the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation, both organizations announced this week. GGHF will be responsible for managing the fund in accordance with Minerva’s investment goals. Minerva was established in 1991 by three members of the Gig Harbor branch of the American Association of University Women. Since the

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Peninsula School District issues layoff notices to 15 in non-teaching roles

Apr 07, 2023 | By:

Peninsula School District has given layoff notices to 15 employees in non-teaching positions. The district will cut the hours of 31 more as it trims $12 million from its 2023-24 budget. The district must cut payroll because enrollment remains lower than before the pandemic: 5% lower than in 2019. Also, grants that helped schools weather

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11 from Gig Harbor speech and debate team headed to nationals

Apr 05, 2023 | By:

Eleven members of Gig Harbor High School’s speech and debate team qualified for the National Speech and Debate Tournament, to be held in June in Phoenix. In January, coach Chris Coovert predicted up to seven Tides debaters might make the cut, but his team greatly exceeded his expectation. The 11 Gig Harbor debaters qualified during

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Peninsula School District to eliminate 40 non-teaching positions

Mar 24, 2023 | By:

The Peninsula School Board on Thursday approved a plan to cut $12 million from next school year’s budget by eliminating 40 staff positions, none of them teachers. The district needs to make the cuts, Chief Financial Officer Ashley Murphy said, because of lower enrollment coupled with the end of pandemic aid. School districts around the

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Captain Seahawk slashes lunch debt at Peninsula High School

Mar 23, 2023 | By:

The $6,000 donation was one of several items deemed routine business. The gift “to pay off delinquent lunch accounts” at Peninsula High School was accepted without discussion or debate as part of the Peninsula School Board’s Feb. 9 consent agenda. The donor was none other than “Captain Seahawk,” a Gig Harbor resident who raises money

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Peninsula School District embracing potential of ChatGPT

Mar 16, 2023 | By:

Kara Beloate, an English teacher at Peninsula High School, isn’t banning her students from using ChatGPT as part of their school work. She’s encouraging it. Released in November by OpenAI, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot that has creating a buzz for its uncanny ability to engage in dialog and to create original written content

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