The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DIXIE – The deep or- anges and yellows blanket- ing Biscuit Ridge provided an idyllic backdrop to the Dixie Elementary School playground that, covered in bouncing dots of red and green, looked more like Christmas than fall on Friday afternoon. Those bursts of color were elemen- tary students from Dixie and Starbuck, clad in bright red and green uniforms, darting across the field in a rousing game of soccer.

In a tradition spanning back further than the cur- rent administration of either school can recall, the two elementary schools have been facing off in extramural games of soccer and basket- ball.

“It’s been going on as long as I can remember,” said Starbuck Business Manager Karen Rubenser. “We used to play other schools as well – Kahlotus, Washtucna and Touchet – but they eventu- ally decided not to play coed. We’re so small in number that we have to play with both boys and girls, so now it’s just us and Dixie.”

Competing with another school allows these students to gain experiences not typi- cally available for schools with such small student bodies. Starbuck currently has 34 students enrolled in grades K-5, and numbers have ranged from as few as eight students up to 54 in the recent past. Dixie has a current enrollment of 28 students in grades K-5 with seven students enrolled in their part-time preschool program.

“Playing Starbuck gives our students a team to play and helps teach competitive sports with a good sportsmanship attitude,” said Di- xie’s Assistant Coach Kelly Dabulskis, who also works at the school as a para-educator and bus driver.

In smaller schools, employees are often required to wear several hats. The coaches/teachers at each school spend several weeks practicing with their students prior to the official games. Grade K-1 Teacher Kathy Pickel and Dabulskis work with Dixie students while Elementary Teacher Chelsey Smith coaches Starbuck stu- dents. Smith teaches grades K-2 in the morning and grades 1-4 in the afternoon. Para educator Deb Hoilman serves as her assistant coach.

“I think this is a wonderful opportunity for our kids to work on sportsmanship and teamwork against a school that has a similar structure to ours,” said Smith. My students look forward to our soccer and basketball games every year!”

The Dixie Braves and Starbuck Stars play each other twice, once on each home field. The games are a school-wide event with Dixie Superintendent/Principal/ Teacher Mark Weg- ner and Starbuck Superin- tendent/Principal/Teacher Laura Christian joining their players on the bench while eagerly encouraging those on the field. Cheering par- ents, siblings and grandpar- ents root their team on from the sidelines.

“The parent support has been really great,” said Pick- el. “They like the fact that the children can have the opportunity to play another small, local school.”

Students are divided into three age groups (K -1st, 2nd – 3rd, 4th – 5th) with each group playing one game. The focus is on skill devel- opment and sportsmanship and scores are not kept. It is not unusual to see a referee gently guiding a player in the right direction.

“ It gives students a chance to play competitively but without pressure as the games are not officially scored,” said Pickel.

The two teams will meet up again during the winter to face off on the basketball court. “I think it’s cool,” said Starbuck fourth-grader Caleiha House, who is eagerly anticipating basketball season. “It’s a lot more fun to play another school. It’s too small when it’s just our school. It’s fun to have two actual teams.”