West Seattle schools: 68 attend Denny’s Winter Break Academy
(Math teacher Gary Lai with students; photo courtesy Denny International Middle School)
Classes resume tomorrow at Seattle Public Schools campuses, including Denny International Middle School, whose administration shares this report of another Winter Break Academy in the books:
Wednesday, January 2nd through Friday, January 4th Denny International Middle School held its annual Winter Break Academy. Teachers, students, staff, and volunteers spent three days engaged in skill building work in math and literacy. The camp had 68 Dolphin scholars attend.
Denny teachers and staff showed great teamwork, flexibility, and effort as they worked with our students to practice skills in math, reading, and writing. Students practiced math equations and word problems, assessed their reading skills, analyzed different genres of text, and honed their critical thinking skills.
Denny ended the week with 62 scholars being eligible for the field trip to Skate King for having exceptional attendance during the camp. Students worked hard during the week in order to demonstrate their skill level and growth in math and literacy. Denny would like to thank all staff members, volunteers, Community In Schools, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and volunteers for making this a successful academy for our scholars.
SIDE NOTE: While the just-concluded winter break was two weeks as usual, mid-winter break is different for Seattle Public Schools starting this year: It’s a 4 1/2-day break instead of the previous full week; students will get out three hours early on Thursday, February 14th, be off Friday through Monday, then return on Tuesday, February 19th.
West Seattleite to defend his title @ Seattle Invitationals
(Bret Wiggins at Feedback Lounge El-Fest last August; photo by Nick Adams for WSB),
Love Elvis? Maybe so much that you are an ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist)? Or enough to offer your services as an ETA judge? In any or all of those categories, here’s your invitation to next Saturday’s 16th annual Seattle Invitationals, from Marlow Harris, who says West Seattleite’s Bret Wiggins (above) is expected back to defend his title. The event’s not here – it’s at the Experience Music Project‘s Sky Church, 8 pm next Saturday (January 12th) – but the invite’s gone out regionwide (and $15 advance tickets are on sale). The punk-rock Elvis band Graceland Five will start the night; El Vez “The Mexican Elvis” will MC. Here’s the call for help:
1. We are still looking for Elvi! Calling all Seattle-area Elvis Impersonators? Can you swivel and sway and belt out a song? Then contact us at marlowharris@msn.com and we’ll send you all the details.
2. We are still looking for judges! Contact us if interested.
Thank you. Thankyouverymuch!
Congratulations, Seahawks and fans! A few notes
Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks, who just won their first playoff game this season, 24-14 over the Washington Redskins. A few notes:
WHAT YOU’RE HEARING … We’ve getting widespread reports of what’s believed to be postgame celebratory fireworks in various areas of West Seattle.
NEXT GAME … looks like next Sunday morning in Atlanta, 10 am our time, vs. the Falcons.
WHERE TO WATCH: If your venue will be watching – let us know! We got too-late word from a few spots this time around. We’d love to have a longer list – mention everything from your screen size to any specials you’re planning. editor@westseattleblog.com
The WSBeat: From guns to cat food to ‘questionable characters’
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?” We skipped a roundup in mid-December, so there are several incidents from that time toward the end:
*On December 27th, officers were dispatched to a North Admiral apartment where an elderly man who needs a wheelchair had been beaten all over his body by his adult son. Dad also had a severe contusion over his left eye and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Son had fled the scene before officers arrived.
*On the 28th, on Marine Ave. SW, a man saw a stranger in a neighbor’s car. He pulled the man out (the suspect’s three friends scattered) and held him while he called 911. Before officers arrived, the friends returned. One punched the victim in the chin, causing him to let go of the suspect. The suspects were described as four thin white males, about 17-18 years of age, wearing all dark clothing.
*On the afternoon of the 30th, a car broke down on the lower West Seattle Bridge. The driver pushed it clear (though the vehicle was sparking and smoking) and then walked away, dropping a small handgun in a construction tool belt nearby. A bit later (after officers found a stun gun in a holster in the vehicle), a woman (claiming to be the driver’s girlfriend) and another man arrived. She gave officers the boyfriend’s name, but she was evasive and nervous. A records check showed that her boyfriend was a convicted felon (prohibited from having a gun) and was wanted on two warrants. The car was left at the scene and the weapons taken as evidence. The gun had a magazine loaded with five .22 caliber rounds.
*A dog walker called 911 after finding a shotgun in a wooded part of Me-Kwa-Mooks park on the 28th. An officer confiscated the firearm.
11 more summaries ahead:Read More
Local libraries resume Sunday operations, starting today
As promised in the campaign for the library levy last year, its passage means Seattle Public Library branches closed on Sundays to save money can reopen on those days again – and as announced last month, today is the first open-again Sunday. From hereon out, Delridge, High Point, and South Park library branches will be open 1 pm-5 pm on Sundays. The library system says this is the first time in at least a century that all of its branches are open Sundays. Special Sunday celebrations are planned over the next few months, too (as listed here) – first one in this area will be at High Point next Sunday (January 13th).
Grounded oil rig Kulluk to get another tow try before decision on resuming trip here
(From Thursday: U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Painter)
Before it’s decided if Shell’s grounded drilling rig Kulluk can and will resume its tow back here for offseason maintenance, an effort is afoot not just to tow it off the Alaskan island where it’s stuck, but to move it 30 miles to a “safe harbor” for inspection. The Kulluk, which spent almost a year at Harbor Island’s Vigor Shipyards, got into trouble in bad weather more than a week ago, while being towed back here. Finally, after problems with tow lines and its tow vessel Aiviq – which spent time here last year too – the Kulluk went adrift and grounded New Year’s Eve on Kodiak Island (map), carrying more than 100,000 gallons of fuel, none of which is believed to have spilled. A “unified command” has since been set up to manage the salvage operation, and the Anchorage Daily News has a report on its Saturday briefing, saying that if the attempt to move the Kulluk is successful, then they’ll decide whether to resume towing it here.
SIDE NOTES: Seattle weather analyst Cliff Mass says the decision to tow it through stormy weather and seas was “misguided” and explains why; the Dutch Harbor Fisherman, meantime, has reported that the motivation for trying to move the rig out of Alaska involved taxes. One other link: The “unified command” organized for the salvage operation has its own website at kullukresponse.com, with a variety of materials and documents, including a partial transcript of the Saturday briefing.
| 3 COMMENTS