West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle schools: New signs for Gatewood Elementary

Just received from the Gatewood Elementary PTA‘s 2011-2012 Board – that photo, and this explanation:

We are proud to show off our two new signs at Gatewood Elementary. They are located at the corners of Myrtle and Frontenac along Fauntleroy Way SW. This is the final piece of our Operation Imagination project that included a new big toy on the playground, construction of an amphitheater, and of course the goats, who helped us with our ivy problem. This has been many years in the making and many parents who started on the project have sense moved onto middle and high school. Big thank you to them and everybody still at Gatewood who have been so instrumental in this fabulous project. Welcome to Gatewood.

Many years indeed! Checking our archives, WSB coverage of those milestones stretches back to 2007 – including the goats’ visit in 2007 and the new “big toy” in 2008.

High-school basketball: Post-season win for Chief Sealth boys

Chief Sealth International High School‘s boys-varsity basketball team has another post-season game tomorrow night, after a victory last night at home. Our summary and photos, ahead: Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Post-season win for Chief Sealth boys…

High-school basketball: Senior night at Seattle Lutheran

Wednesday night, Seattle Lutheran High School celebrated its senior basketball players – and senior cheerleader Valerie Reid, above – while closing out their regular season at home against Rainier Christian‘s teams. Ahead, our summary of the games – Lutheran won both – and photos of the senior athletes: Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Senior night at Seattle Lutheran…

West Seattle schools: ‘Seussical The Musical’ at Alki Elementary

(Nikolai Siguenza as the Cat in the Hat, Ian Gesellchen as Horton, Jovanna Barron as Sour Kangaroo)
Thanks to Alki Elementary parents for sharing dress-rehearsal photos (both taken by John Hinkey) from the big show that students are about to present: “Seussical The Musical!” 7 pm tomorrow and 2 pm Saturday, at the West Seattle High School Theater – and we’re told there aren’t too many tickets left!

So if you want to cheer on all those local kids who’ve worked hard to put on a show (not to mention parents/volunteers/staff), find your ticket info on the official poster/flyer.

P.S. We know it’s play/musical season for many schools, so if yours isn’t on our Events calendar yet, please send the info! Thanks!

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: As noted in comments, both “Seussical” shows are now sold out.

New STEM school, more discussed @ Marty McLaren meeting

With open enrollment approaching, and an information/input meeting next week about West Seattle’s new elementary school (to be known – for now – as K-5 STEM at Boren), you won’t be surprised to hear that West Seattle’s school-board rep Marty McLaren was asked about it today during her community-conversation meeting at High Point Library. Bottom line – no specifics yet, but go to the meeting. Today’s well-attended gathering touched on a few other topics too: Click to read the rest of New STEM school, more discussed @ Marty McLaren meeting…

‘Soul Jambalaya’: Musical celebration this Saturday @ Sealth

Last year, we called it a “talent feast” – a powerful lineup of music, by musicians of all ages, including Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School, under the banner “Soul Jambalaya.” This coming Saturday night, it’s happening again, with many performers from last year returning (including reggae veteran Clinton Fearon, seen above in one of our video clips from the 2011 event). Here’s the invitation from award-winning Denny/Sealth music master Marcus Pimpleton:

Please join music students of Chief Sealth International HS and Denny International MS for our annual Black History month celebration. The event takes place Saturday, February 11th, at 7 pm.

This concert affectionately titled Soul Jambalaya is a musical mélange of gospel, jazz, blues, funk, and reggae in celebration of the influence of black people to the musical landscape of America. The night will feature performances by the Total Experience Gospel Choir, Jamaican reggae singer Clinton Fearon, Septimus, The Chief Sealth International High School Jazz I, and the Denny International Middle School Jazz Band.

The event is free and open to the public, but donations will be accepted to offset costs associated with travel costs for the Denny and Sealth Jazz Ensembles. I assure you this will be one of your favorite school events of the year. Clinton Fearon’s voice is so rich and the Total Experience Gospel Choir is stirring.

It’s in the Sealth auditorium at 2600 SW Thistle.

K-5 STEM at Boren: Feb. 15 meeting for new West Seattle school

As promised by Seattle Public Schools when we contacted them for the followup published here yesterday, they have shared the letter they’re sending out about the new STEM (science, tech, engineering, math) “option” elementary that will open this fall at the former Boren Junior High School in Delridge. And the letter includes news that the informational/input meeting they promised is set for 7 pm February 15th, one week from tonight, at Schmitz Park Elementary. Full text of the letter, ahead: Click to read the rest of K-5 STEM at Boren: Feb. 15 meeting for new West Seattle school…

High-school basketball: Sealth boys’ 1st post-season game

Story and photos by Randall G. Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Bronte Corbray scored 12 of his 26 points tonight in the fourth quarter, while Charlie Smith and Aaron Knox tallied 13 each, but they couldn’t keep Chief Sealth from taking a loss at home, as the Seahawks fell to Eastside Catholic 83-65 on the second day of the Metro League Playoffs.

You could forgive the Seahawks if they entered their home gym Tuesday night with great expectations. They were facing a team they had faced just 11 days prior, winning by 10 on the Crusaders’ home court, the result of which was ultimately a higher seed for Chief Sealth and the home court advantage in last night’s rematch.

Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Sealth boys’ 1st post-season game…

West Seattle schools: Author Paul Owen Lewis @ Arbor Heights

(Photos courtesy Mark Ahlness – more on the AH Elementary Facebook page)
February is a most literary month at many West Seattle schools, with writing/reading events dotting many a calendar. Tonight, for the second consecutive night, we bring you a story about an author visiting a local school – this time, Northwest author Paul Owen Lewis at Arbor Heights Elementary. It’s the third time he’s visited AH, according to longtime teacher Mark Ahlness, who says Lewis’s first visit was in 1998 – that would have been before EVERY student currently enrolled at AH was born! He spoke to assemblies as well as to classes:

Mark says, “As always, he was dynamic, entertaining, and inspirational. A great day that the kids will remember!”

Followup: District about to explain new STEM elementary

Since the Seattle School Board‘s vote last month to create a new “option” elementary focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), to open this fall in a temporary home at the former Boren Junior High (left), many have asked – when will the district provide specifics about the plan for this school?

This afternoon, we have new information after following up with district spokesperson Lesley Rogers. She tells WSB, “A letter will go out to families in West Seattle this week announcing plans for the school, as well as a state for an open house” to be held before “open enrollment” starts February 27th. (We’ll add a copy of that letter when we receive it from the district communications team.) Rogers also says the district is creating a website for the new school, “hoping to get that up and running soon.”

The new school is also bound to be a topic tomorrow, when West Seattle’s school-board rep Marty McLaren holds her next community-conversation meeting, 11:15 am-1:15 pm at High Point Library (34th/Raymond).

West Seattle schools: Author Katherine Schlick Noe visits WSHS

(From left, Katherine Schlick-Noe and students Katherine “Kit” Hall, Taylor Chapman, Andres Acevedo)
On any given day, you never know who you will see at a local school. Special-education teacher Paula Tortorice‘s Language Arts class at West Seattle High School hosted a local author today. Dr. Katherine Schlick Noe is the author of “Something to Hold,” which does a turnabout on the topic of discrimination. Tortorice explains that the book is written from the perspective of “Kitty,” a white girl who with her family moves to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in central Oregon, and that the book also explores topics including bullying. She says Dr. Schlick Noe showed a PowerPoint presentation featuring many of the places in the story, answered students’ questions, and listened to their opinions about “Something to Hold.” During their study of the book, they wrote about it and drew posters depicting “what they thought their favorite scenes in the book might look like,” Tortorice says. (In addition to being a writer, Dr. Schlick Noe is a professor at Seattle University.)

West Seattle schools: Congratulations to Alki, Denny, Madison, Sealth

Four West Seattle schools are honored in the newest round of annual statewide Washington Achievement Awards. Thanks to Laurie for the tip – she e-mailed to let us know about Alki Elementary, which won for Closing the Achievement Gap, as explained on the school’s website. Checking out the full statewide list, we also note that Madison Middle School won three – for Excellence, Improvement, and Science – and that Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School both won for Improvement. Congratulations to all!

West Seattle schools: Golden (Apple) night for Marcus Pimpleton

(Photos courtesy Bruno Cross)
He’s the Denny International Middle School music director, he’s the Chief Sealth International High School band director, Seattle’s All-City Band director – and he’s now officially a Golden Apple Award winner: Last night was the big event for Marcus Pimpleton, and we’ve received photos from the ceremony at the Intiman Theatre downtown. Sealth Jazz Band musicians were there:

And so were colleagues – with the honoree in the next photo, Alki Elementary principal Chanda Oatis (former Denny assistant principal) and Denny principal Jeff Clark, who notes, “Mr. Pimpleton does incredible things with our scholars every day — he richly deserves this prestigious honor”:

This is the 20th round of Golden Apple Awards presented by KCTS 9; we published first word three months ago. Here’s the official news release with the full list of statewide honorees.

High-school basketball: Senior night for West Seattle HS teams

The seniors playing basketball for West Seattle High School were honored last night during a busy night at the WSHS gym, with Eastside Catholic visiting. Though both varsity teams lost, it was an occasion to pay tribute to the hard work this season and the achievements of the departing players – we have the seniors’ photos, plus game recaps, ahead: Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Senior night for West Seattle HS teams…

High-school basketball: Two wins for Seattle Lutheran

Story and photos by Randall G. Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Spirit Week at Seattle Lutheran High School came to a happy conclusion tonight as the girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball teams celebrated “Senior Night” with comfortable victories.

Surrendering no more than a baker’s dozen points defensively will generally translate into victory for a basketball team. This was the case for the Lady Saints, who managed 13 points in the first quarter alone on their way to a 43-13 win over the Lady Eagles of Evergreen Lutheran.

Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Two wins for Seattle Lutheran…

West Seattle schools: Celebrations at Seattle Lutheran

Wednesday was a day to celebrate athletics, academics, family, and community at Seattle Lutheran High School – all in one assembly. Above, three generations of West Seattle’s Menashe family were at SLHS as its gym was dedicated as the Menashe Family Gymnasium. Jack and Linda Menashe have been involved with SLHS since its start, with four children, one daughter-in-law and seven nieces and nephews going there; Jack, Jacob and Jack Jr. all have coached at Lutheran, per SLHS’s Bil Hood, who says, “We are honored to have our gym named after this great family.”

In that very gym, at the same Wednesday assembly, two-time state Soccer Player of the Year, Ashley Shaw, ceremoniously signed her Letter of Intent to play for Seattle Pacific University:

That’s proud mom Teresa watching as her daughter makes the college commitment. And the four additional pictures ahead are in honor of academic awards given out at the same assembly – read on: Click to read the rest of West Seattle schools: Celebrations at Seattle Lutheran…

High-school basketball: Sealth vs. WSHS, night 2

For the second consecutive night, West Seattle High School hosted Chief Sealth International HS for a varsity-basketball matchup. Tonight, the girls played – and as with last night’s boys’ game, Sealth came away with the win. Details ahead: Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Sealth vs. WSHS, night 2…

West Seattle schools: Madison gets Macs, and more

Thursday night, Madison Middle School welcomes prospective families to come visit for an Open House, 6:30-8 pm. If you go, you might want to ask about their new high-tech acquisitions – here’s the update the school wanted to share:

There are some exciting new advances in technology happening at Madison Middle School this year. Thanks to funding from Madison Middle School, Madison PTSA, the Frazier Foundation, and the Gerston family, Madison got a brand new Mac computer lab for their multi-media communication class taught by Curt Gerston. The 32 brand new Mac computers are all loaded with the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop, i-Movie, and Microsoft Office. They also have three class sets of digital cameras for photography and video.

Thanks also to a grant from the Madison PTSA, the Madison Middle School library now has new e-Readers that will be available for student use. With this funding, Madison will also be purchasing a mobile lab of Netbooks that can travel around to classrooms for research use and word processing. This mobile lab will not only allow teachers to access technology when the library computer labs at school are already occupied, but it will also give the librarian at Madison the chance to bring her library services, including teaching research and information literacy skills, directly to the classroom. Staff at Madison are very excited about the great opportunities this new technology is opening up for students at Madison Middle School.

Madison is at 3429 45th SW.

High-school basketball: Crosstown matchup, WSHS vs. Sealth boys

Tonight (Wednesday), the girls-varsity basketball teams from West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International HS face off for the final time this season. That’s what their male counterparts did Tuesday night, in a game won by the visiting Seahawks at WSHS, 63-48. The summary, ahead: Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Crosstown matchup, WSHS vs. Sealth boys…

High-school basketball: Monday scores; Tues./Wed. games, food drive

Tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow, it’s crosstown-matchup time in high-school basketball: West Seattle High School‘s boys’ varsity team hosts Chief Sealth International HS at 7:30 tonight, and the girls’ varsity teams play same place, same time, Wednesday night. At both games, Bev Corey tells WSB, the WSHS cheerleaders will be collecting food for the West Seattle Food Bank, so spectators from both sides are encouraged to bring something to donate. Both schools were in action Monday night – WSHS hosted Bainbridge, and Bev reports that the boys won 68-45, while the girls lost 29-53. At Sealth, per our partners at the Seattle Times, the Seahawk boys lost to Lakeside 79-73, and the girls came up short too, 64-44.

No more snow makeup days? District seeks waiver

(Mid-January West Seattle snow; photo by JM)
No more makeup days for this month’s snow? Seattle Public Schools is hoping to get the state’s blessing:

Rather than add days to the end of the school year, Seattle Public Schools is asking the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for a waiver for the Jan. 19 and Jan. 20 snow days.

Gov. Chris Gregoire declared Washington in a State of Emergency for those days, prompting Seattle Public Schools to seek a waiver to not make up the Jan. 19 or Jan. 20 snow days. This is contingent on a decision allowing the Emergency Proclamation to apply to schools in King County.  OSPI officials said they will have more information next month on how to apply for waivers.

It would cost Seattle Public Schools roughly $500,000 to make up the two days in June.

Seattle schools made up one of the three snow days on Friday, Jan. 27. State law does not require students to make up a day for Tuesday, Jan. 17, when students had a late arrival and an early dismissal.

Making up the time during mid-winter break is not an option, as families and staff have arranged their schedules around the school calendar, which was approved by the School Board in May 2011. That calendar, which is available online at http://bit.ly/DistrictCalendar, listed Jan. 27 as a weather make-up day, and up to three additional days are to be made up at the end of the school year.

Madison Middle School students get a look into the future

(Photos by Jessica Ruger)
It’s never too soon to learn what it might be like in the “real world” after high school. Last week, two career-centered events at Madison Middle School brought that point home. School staff shares photos and a recap:

More than 45 adults representing Madison parents, the Y, City Year and South Seattle Community College visited our students during two career events.

(Lauren Hadley from the Georgetown Apprenticeship/Education Center, Vanessa Reed Calonzo from SSCC, Colleen McDevitt and Sean Goode from the Y)
On Tuesday the YMCA, with support from the City Year team at West Seattle High School, put our 8th grade students through an exercise called “A Real Life Fair”. Each student was given an envelope with a high school degree, Associate Degree or a Bachelors Degree paper, a job title and some play money that would be associated with that job. Students were told to manage their money by going around to each table to make payments for child care, food, transportation and housing.

(Math teacher Mr. Meltzer collects payments for transportation
Some of our students ran out of money quickly, while others decided to pursue higher education to increase their wages.

(Ms. Yoshitomi talking to a class about entrepreneurialism)
Career Day on Thursday allowed each student to hear from 3 adults talking about their careers and what education is required for their job. The students showed a lot of interest in learning about their future and the adults were excited to share insights about how to succeed in life.

P.S. Madison’s annual auction date is set – March 10; full details on the school’s webpage.

High-school basketball: Senior Night at Chief Sealth

The Chief Sealth International High School Band, directed by Marcus Pimpleton, had a special occasion to play for last night – Senior Night for the basketball teams. Though both Sealth varsity teams were bested by visiting Bainbridge Island, it was still a festive night, including a celebration of the players who will graduate this year. We have photos of them all, right after the game recaps, ahead: Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Senior Night at Chief Sealth…

West Seattle schools: WSHS marketing students’ latest successes

The marketing students at West Seattle High School were recently invited to “compete in an advertising campaign by the Department of Ecology and Seattle Public Utilities for advertising materials to be used in a car oil leaks marketing campaign,” according to marketing teacher Michelle Sloan, and they came in third, winning $833 for the class. Congratulations to: Team 1, Shane Fay, Tyler Prom, Alijah Gibson; Team 2, Camara Harris-Weaver, Leanna Le, Laurie Bui; Team 3, Makenzie Harrison, Helena Sallas, Mohammed Abdulkadir. In addition to that achievement, 21 WSHS marketing students recently participated in regionals. Sloan says, “Though we did not win any of the few top spots to compete at state, we had several WSHS marketing teams score very well on their presentations.”

West Seattle schools: Board OKs starting new elementary at Boren

West Seattle is getting a new elementary school, starting next year, after having closed two elementary campuses in the past four years. The Seattle School Board voted unanimously tonight to spend $6 million for a “short-term capacity-management” plan that includes reopening the former Boren Junior High School on Delridge – which has long served as an interim site for schools whose permanent campuses are temporarily out of commission – as a new elementary school. The district says it will focus on STEM – science, technology, engineering, mathematics – and will be an “option” school, the second one in West Seattle (joining Pathfinder K-8), meaning that it will admit students by application only, instead of serving a specific neighborhood zone. Boren is supposed to be the school’s temporary home, but its permanent home is not stipulated in the board motion, only that it will open this fall. Though this was part of the district’s “short-term capacity-management” proposal, intended overall to deal with overcrowding at many elementaries, district staff had previously acknowledged the new school would not likely draw off enough students from jampacked campuses to avert addition of more portables elsewhere – board member Harium Martin-Morris stressed before tonight’s vote that the district will wait for this spring’s enrollment data before deciding which schools, if any, need them.

In a series of community meetings, and other discussion venues (including here), West Seattle’s new board member Marty McLaren acknowledged she heard a strong sentiment for adding a new neighborhood school, but that was not possible for next year, and a week and a half ago, she changed her mind about trying to delay the “option” school plan. Board president Michael DeBell acknowledged during tonight’s meeting that West Seattle had been “tough” to deal with during the capacity-management discussions – without elaborating.

Next step: The district’s “open enrollment” period starts February 27th, and by then, we should know more about what the new school is supposed to be like. Meantime, the board is expected to start work soon on “intermediate” and “long-term” capacity management, which would include decisions about opening more schools, and possibly building at least one with money to be raised in the future BEX IV levy.

West Seattle schools: Congratulations to Seattle Lutheran soccer stars

Congratulations to Seattle Lutheran High School soccer stars who have just won big honors. At right, Ashley Shaw has been chosen Washington State B Soccer Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. She is also the Saints’ all-time soccer-scoring leader, with 94 goals and 37 assists, and led them to the state tournament every year she’s been there, including the state championship last year. At left, Emily Winter, also a key player these past four years, was elected to the All-State second team. Both girls are seniors and have made their college choices – Ashley (who says she’s been playing since she was a preschooler!) is going to Seattle Pacific University on a soccer scholarship – expecting to sign on Letter of Intent Day next Wednesday – and Emily is going to Washington State.

High-school basketball: Chief Sealth vs. O’Dea

While the wind howled outside, a tough boys’-varsity basketball matchup proceeded inside, at Chief Sealth International High School on Tuesday night. Visiting O’Dea won, but the final score was only part of the story: Click to read the rest of High-school basketball: Chief Sealth vs. O’Dea…