Bring back Core Qualities

It took several years for the Bethel School District, Franklin Pierce District and the faith leaders group to come up with a list, but back in the 1990’s the Core Qualities project was brought to fruition. Teachers had posters in their classrooms with a good character quality to promote each month. Students did special projects…

Bethel moves school start to Aug. 30, before Labor Day

It is a first. The Bethel District is starting school on August 30, 2023, before Labor Day weekend. Students will attend August 30 & 31, but not Sept. 1. Then school resumes on September 5 after Labor Day. A link to the Bethel 23-24 school calendar is here. Last day of school is June 14,…

Family Promise of Pierce County seeking CEO

Family Promise of Pierce County is hiring for a Full-Time Chief Executive Officer About Family Promise of Pierce County:Family Promise of Pierce County (FPPC), an affiliate of the national Family Promise program, isdedicated to preventing and ending family homelessness in the Pierce County area through acommunity-based response. We provide housing, meals, case management and community…

Norwegian Heritage Festival at PLU April 29

A Parkland event that is delightful to visit, called the Norwegian Heritage Festival is this Saturday, April 29, 2023. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the PLU Anderson University Center will have booths with delightful Scandinavian items, Vikings, krumkake and creamy Rømmegrøt. Food, music and dancing will be had on the main floor and the…

Get those scholarship applications in by May 1

The Kiwanis of Parkland Spanaway gives a $1000 scholarship to a student from each high school in the Bethel and Franklin Pierce Districts each Spring. The deadline to turn in the applications is May 1, 2023. To apply, you can request an application from your school counselor. Kiwanis makes the decision on who wins the…

Bethel Apprenticeship Expo March 22

Join us on Wednesday, March 22 for our Apprenticeship Expo. The event runs from 5:30-7pm and will feature over 50 booths with representatives from unions, healthcare, IT, police agencies, construction companies and much, much more! We will also have three food trucks onsite if you get hungry during the event!

Food donations needed April 13

The need for food support is great in the Bethel and Eatonville communities. In response, the Rotary Club or Graham, Frederickson, Eatonville and the Kiwanis Club of South Pierce County have combined forces to address that need by holding a food drive that ends on April 13th. The Food Drive will be held at the…

B.E.S.T. Scholarship Auction March 10

[B.E.S.T is Bethel Education and Scholarship Trust] From the GBA Facebook page: The Graham Business Association (GBA) is hosting our annual scholarship auction on Friday, March 10, 2023, at 6 p.m.! We are excited to be back in person at our largest and most popular event of the year as it helps to fund scholarships…

Multicultural Night Feb. 16, Spanaway Elementary PTSA

By Marianne Lincoln When I attended Bethel schools, there wasn’t much diversity. Aside from the fact that many of my classmates at Elk Plain were multigenerational descendants of local tribes, there were not many Asian, Hispanic or African American classmates. Years later, I discovered the connection of our community to mixed blood families from Fort…

Local Kiwanis gifts first year teachers

It was an inspiration of Parklands-Spanaway Kiwanis President Bruce Rice. One night he was thinking about how difficult it is to graduate from college, be burdened with student debt, rent payments and also try to start teaching in a classroom where often teachers have to use their own resources to acquire supplies for their students’…

Help support Winterfest 2022

Each year, community services in the Parkland-Spanaway area support low-income families by collecting items for Winterfest. Families receive invitations from those community services to participate in the event. Winterfest has served hundreds of local families over the past 30 years. They share refreshments, hold a children’s fair with games, face painting, a visit with Santa,…