West Seattle, Washington
29 Friday
Here’s a chance for kids and tweens to be mentored for a day by high-school students: Children in grades K-5 are invited to the one-day Mini Cheer Camp that West Seattle High School cheerleaders are planning for Saturday, June 9th, 10 am-1 pm. They’ll learn cheers, make crafts, and get a chance to follow up the fun this fall by performing at a home football game as an honorary WSHS cheerleader. $30 for the day includes a T-shirt, and more; see the flyer here, and the registration form here. Contact Bev Corey at coreym_b@comcast.net if you have any questions.
Chief Sealth International High School athletic director Sam Reed and Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) proprietor Sue Lindblom – in her Rotary Club of West Seattle vest – are two of the people we caught up with this morning at Rainier Golf and Country Club, scene of today’s 2nd annual Sealth Athletics benefit golf tournament. The late-spring showers were coming and going as participants hit the links around noontime, with the afternoon of golf scheduled to be followed by dinner and a raffle.
Some Seattle Public Schools parents may already have seen this in e-mail directly from the district (we got first word from Cami MacNamara of Webcami Site Design), and after what they describe as a few tweaks, the communications team has shared it with news media too: The bell times are out for next school year. Here’s the list. You might remember the uproar earlier this spring when the district suddenly pursued a transportation-plan change that might have drastically changed times for many, then scrapped most of the plan; this is the final result, and except for six schools (NONE in West Seattle), they’re described as mostly the same. Read on for the explanatory letter sent to families:Read More
Madison Middle School counselor Lauren Divina asked to share this with the community, regarding a school-system budget-cut effect you might not have heard about. We are publishing her open letter in its entirety, ahead:Read More
(K-5 STEM at Boren principal Dr. Shannon McKinney, center, leading last night’s meeting)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Every decision, every discussion, is a momentous one, if you happen to be creating a new school from scratch.
If you happen to be creating one that is the first of its kind in the state’s largest school district – only the second of its kind in the region – then those decisions may seem magnified.
Yet the atmosphere was relatively relaxed last night as the Design Team for opening-this-fall K-5 STEM at Boren continued its third month of meetings (here’s our coverage of their first one in March).
The team already has made big decisions, such as pursuing Singapore Math.
Principal Dr. Shannon McKinney has made big decisions too, including her first staff hires – among them the celebrated Schmitz Park Elementary math teacher who fought to get Singapore Math there.
And Tuesday night’s agenda at Madison Middle School (now the team’s regular meeting site) brought not only more discussions, but also the start of a dialogue – uniforms, or no uniforms?
(Olympia takes a study break)
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Reading books out loud is a familiar task for elementary-school students, but 2nd-graders at Hope Lutheran School often find a particularly friendly 4-legged visitor in the classroom to make the experience a bit more special.
On most Thursdays during the school year, a gentle 5-year-old yellow lab named Olympia pays a 1-hour visit to the classroom along with her handler, Caryn Burnett Ridings, as students like Olivia Turner (all pictured below) take turns reading their favorite books aloud:
If it’s doing its job, your heart is out of sight and (mostly) out of mind – but that can change in an instant, as West Seattle resident Kayla Burt learned almost a decade ago. She was a UW basketball starter, hanging out with friends, when sudden cardiac arrest almost ended her life way too soon. As amply covered at the time and afterward, she survived – in no small part thanks to her friends, whose actions included calling 911, performing CPR, and making way for emergency personnel to get to Kayla. She visited West Seattle High School health classes this past week with a message that could save others’ lives – about heart-health awareness, about learning CPR, and more. Her host was health teacher Sarah Orton:
Kayla’s post-college achievements have included working as a coach at the University of Portland, serving as an EMT and a hospital staffer, and, now, as outreach coordinator for the Bellevue-based Hope Heart Institute, which her online bio explains she joined “after realizing her passion for heart disease awareness and prevention of cardiac arrest, especially in athletes, overcame her desire to do anything else.” Kayla, by the way, says that while experts never figured out why she went into cardiac arrest, she now lives “a completely normal life that involves daily exercise, basketball, biking, running, and anything else I set my mind to do!”
(SIDE NOTE: It’s not affiliated with Hope, but if you are interested in learning CPR – which we’ve evangelized here before, because of incidents like this one – here’s one of the places to check with.)
Tomorrow he dedicates a brand-new building – but today, Fr. Jack Walmesley from Our Lady of Guadalupe was in a hockey jersey at Barnes & Noble/Westwood, right after reading a hockey-themed story during the OLG School Bookfair. We just missed his turn reading, but we did catch another celebrity reader:
That’s Brian Callanan from Seattle Channel, also a familiar face at OLG. While today is the official Bookfair day, with events till 4 pm, purchases made with the special code #10749117 at any B&N, or online, benefit the school through May 30th (next Wednesday).
It’s a beautiful day for that once-every-so-often car wash, and the only charity car wash we’ve heard of in West Seattle today is this one …the WSHS Class of 2012 raising money for Grad Night, the post-graduation all-night extravaganza meant to keep the new grads safe while they’re out celebrating. Because it’s extensively planned and managed, it costs $, and fundraisers like this one are paying for “scholarships” for those who might otherwise be shut out. The car wash continues till 3 pm at West Seattle Autoworks (WSB sponsor), 35th/Webster.
SIDE NOTE: The car wash is one of a long list of WSHS events and news notes that you can find on the comprehensive Westside Weekly newsletter, linked from the school website at the end of each week – see the latest edition here.
It’s reunion season! For the Chief Sealth High School Class of 1972, this year marks their milestone 40th class reunion, and while it’s not until September 22nd, they’re getting a jump on things by looking for classmates they haven’t heard from in a while – maybe you know what happened to one (or more) of them. First, the reunion details: Saturday, September 22nd, 2 pm school tour, then the reunion activities 5 pm-midnight at Rainier Golf and Country Club (11133 Des Moines Memorial Drive S.) You can join the Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/Seahawks1972. Click ahead for the list of missing classmates:Read More
Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark is famous far and wide for his suits – especially the bright blue one. He wore something darker to get dunked during a school carnival in honor of the recent state-mandated testing (same round for which they made another “inspirational music video”). Patricia Rangel from Denny shares the photo, and this report:
To celebrate the best performance of the students during the MSP, the Washington State Exams, the Denny International Middle School Staff hosted a school-wide carnival including dance, face-painting, and dunk booth. Principal Jeff Clark took his turn in full suit and tie while students aimed fire at the bullseye. Last year Denny International 8th graders saw more growth in their MSP scores in math than any other middle school in the city. They are expecting similar results this August when the 2012 scores are announced.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
A letter to families, or a news release, only says so much – so after news came in Thursday afternoon about the new principal hired for West Seattle’s most populous elementary school, Lafayette in the Admiral District, we asked for a chance to speak with her.
The announcement of Shauna Heath‘s hiring pointed out that she is a West Seattleite.
Not only does she live here, she told WSB in a Thursday-evening phone conversation, she lives less than a mile from the school she will be leading as of July 1st.
“My child said, ‘We could ride our bikes to school together'” if she worked close to home, instead of in Kent, where Heath has been principal of Sunrise Elementary for two years. (Her son is an Alki Elementary first-grader right now.)
Making a school community also feel like a “home”/”family” community is one of the goals Heath says she has strived for, wherever she has worked.
(Click for full-size image)
Congratulations to the musicians at Madison Middle School, back from an out-of-state festival with some major honors. Music teacher Clark Bathum shares photos and a report, plus word of their upcoming concerts here at home:
Last weekend 100 Madison Middle School band and orchestra students and 16 brave parents, grandparents, and staff had a fantastic time on their annual 3-day trip to the Music in the Parks Festival in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
All of our groups represented West Seattle well against some extremely tough competition. Madison’s string orchestra and concert band both finished second in their divisions, receiving ratings of “excellent.” The Jazz Band won their division and also earned an “excellent” rating. Madison 7th grade saxophonist Logan Schiller played fantastically and continued a dominant Madison win streak becoming the 9th straight Madison student to win the Outstanding Middle School/Jr High Jazz Soloist Award:
After the competition on Saturday morning students had a great time riding rollercoasters and attending the awards ceremony at Silverwood Theme Park.
Congratulations to all of our young musicians for representing Madison and your community so well on and off stage!
With our trip behind us all of the Madison music groups have thrown themselves into preparation for our upcoming spring concerts so come and check them out. Our spring band concert will be on Tuesday, June 5 and our orchestra and jazz concert will be on Thursday, June 7. Both concerts will start at 7:00 pm in the Madison Commons. We would love to see you there.
(We’re adding those dates to the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar, which always welcomes listings for school events and already has lots for the weeks before school lets out – just please e-mail us with as much lead time as possible! Thanks!)
Just in (thanks to those who forwarded it), a letter from Seattle Public Schools to families at Lafayette Elementary, whose first-year principal Jo Lute-Ervin announced three months ago (long before the investigation that has made news this week) she would not be returning for a second year:
Dear Lafayette Elementary community,
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Shauna Heath as your new principal, effective July 1.
Ms. Heath comes to Lafayette from the Kent School District, where she served as principal of Sunrise Elementary for the past two years. Ms. Heath is not only a great educator, but she lives in West Seattle and will be an excellent fit for the Lafayette community.
Ms. Heath started her career as a special education teacher in King Salmon, Alaska and then as a special education teacher for the Shelton School District in Washington. She was the assistant principal for Tillicum Middle School in Bellevue from 1998-2002, served as an elementary school principal in Clinton, Tennessee, and was a middle school principal in Riverdale, Georgia. Before moving back to Washington state, she was the pre-kindergarten through 5th Grade Instructional Services Director for City Schools of Decatur, Georgia.
Ms. Heath holds a Washington State Administrative Certification from the University of Puget Sound, and a Master of Teaching and a Bachelor of Arts from Evergreen State College. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in K-12 Leadership through Walden University.
Ms. Heath was selected following an interview process that included a school-based screening by members of the Lafayette Building Leadership Team and family community. She was interviewed by the school-based hiring team and also completed an instructional school walk through with Executive Director of Schools Aurora Lora. The selection team was particularly impressed with her knowledge of curriculum and instruction, her years of experience as a school and district administrator, and her dedication to the West Seattle community as a resident and parent.
I know you are all eager to get to know your new principal. She will be available to meet staff and families before the end of the school year. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Heath to the Lafayette community!
Sincerely,
Susan Enfield, Ed.D.
Interim Superintendent
(The website to the new principal’s current school is here.)
(Photo courtesy WSHS)
A West Seattle High School teacher/administrative intern is crossing town to become an assistant principal at Chief Sealth International High School. The hiring of Andra Maughan was announced by Sealth principal Chris Kinsey, who made the announcement in e-mail to the school community. He tells WSB that she will succeed Bob Hunt, who has worked this year as substitute assistant principal. Maughan’s background also includes work as a special-education consulting teacher for the district and as a special-education coordinator for a school on the Eastside. He says they’re working now on a transition plan so she can “begin to acclimate herself to our community” before officially starting work for next school year.
One Lafayette Elementary parent e-mailed us, puzzled about a PTA e-mail that arrived last night, addressing a situation that, as the note said, some had been following closely, and some knew nothing about. We hadn’t heard about it before the Seattle Schools Community Forum website published a report last week headlined “The Lafayette story.” As that site’s main writer Melissa Westbrook reported, it started with an accusation that a student had sexually harassed other students, and escalated into an accusation that the principal had mishandled the investigation. Now, the reason more are talking about it – including a Seattle Times [WSB partner] story published last night – is that the district has concluded its investigation, and says it found no evidence of wrongdoing. The resulting memo was provided to news organizations including WSB. It is the first independent corroboration we have had of this investigation. For those who would like to see it in its entirety, read on:Read More
Another school fundraiser to mention tonight – a car wash to raise money for those who need scholarships to join in West Seattle High School‘s Grad Night celebration (less than a month away!) is coming up on Saturday. The announcement we received via e-mail notes, “With several graduation ceremonies occurring in the area on June 16, the Grad Night committee believes that it is extremely important to offer as many WSHS students as possible, a safe and chaperoned event to celebrate their HS accomplishments.” The car wash is planned for 10:30 am-3 pm this sun-forecast Saturday (May 26) at West Seattle Autoworks (WSB sponsor), 7501 35th SW.
(WSB photo from 2011 tournament)
With a week and a half to go till the second annual Chief Sealth Athletics Golf Tournament, organizers are ready to see the final spots fill up so it’s a full lineup when everybody tees up. June 1st is the day, Rainier Golf and Country Club the place. Sealth athletic director Sam Reed explains, “The goal of the Chief Sealth Athletics Golf Tournament is to become the prime method of fundraising for our student-athletes. The inaugural event in 2011 raised over $5,000 which went directly toward supporting athletic efforts including transportation, uniforms and equipment, and building quality lower level programs (JV and C-teams).” There are also some specific needs, from buying banners to celebrate past championships – previous banners were lost in the remodel – to funding a certified strength coach who can design programs to help the students best utilize Sealth’s state-of-the-art weight room. If you can swing it, it’s a great excuse to take that Friday afternoon off – and you can register online right now, with the fees including food and beverages as well as golf.
When José Banda, just hired to be Seattle Public Schools‘ next superintendent, visited Arbor Heights Elementary last Thursday (WSB coverage here), the final official stop of his tour was an orchestra rehearsal in the cafetorium, shown in our video clip above. The rehearsal also provided a view into a community partnership that is playing out at schools around this area. Since 2008, the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras have provided professional music coaches to several schools in West Seattle and South Park, in hopes that will increase the number of students who go on to play orchestral music with string instruments in middle school and high school. Two SYSO-provided coaches were there during the Thursday practice, according to Kathleen Allen, education/communication/partnerships director of SYSO, a West Seattleite who also was on hand. Earlier in the week, she had circulated a video – see it here – promoting the SYSO/SPS partnership in this area, and she provided this list of 13 school concerts over the next three weeks to which you are welcome (including next Thursday at AH):
May 22, 1:30 pm and 6:30 pm at Highland Park Elementary
May 24, 1:30 pm and 6:00 pm at Arbor Heights Elementary
May 24, 2 pm and 6 pm at Gatewood Elementary
June 1, 1:30 pm and 6:30 pm at Sanislo Elementary
June 6, 6:30 pm and June 8, 1:30 p.m. at Concord International (Elementary)
June 6, 7:00 pm, Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School Choir and Orchestra concert at the Sealth Auditorium
June 11, 1:30 pm and 6:30 pm at Roxhill Elementary
The program is supported by grants and donations, and the collaboration also includes the West Seattle Community Orchestras, Allen says.
(Saturday photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
The bonnets worn by Arbor Heights Elementary first-graders Lynn and Lucy on Saturday afternoon might look familiar – two days earlier, they and their classmates wore old-time farmers’ gear to greet a distinguished visitor to their school, newly hired Seattle Public Schools Superintendent José Banda:
(Thursday photo courtesy of AH parent volunteer)
We had reported before on their tomato-growing adventure in teacher Marcia Ingerslev‘s class, and the plan to give away tomato plants at Roxbury Safeway on Saturday; by the time we checked in toward the end of their four-hour stint outside the store, hundreds of plants had new homes, they told us, and as you can see in their table decoration, they had a healthy-food message to go along with it.
The West Seattle High School baseball team fought to get to the state playoffs, but were shut out this morning in Bellevue in their first-round playoff game. Timberline won at Bannerwood Park, 5-0.
That’s one of the most personal moments we caught on video this morning as Arbor Heights Elementary School played host to José Banda – who starts work as Seattle Public Schools’ next superintendent July 1st, after the School Board voted unanimously last night to finalize his hiring. It might be a little hard to hear (with multiple camera shutters mixed in), but he’s speaking with a student about world geography, and mentioning that his son is currently working half a world away – as a teacher. Banda looked in on classrooms all over the school, as well as orchestra practice in the cafetorium, and gave short interviews to the panoply of media crews that showed up (this was his only official photo op as his Seattle visit continued today). But before the designated 10 am start time for the school tour, he was greeted by AH students:
Thanks to an AH parent for sharing that photo of Marcia Ingerslev‘s first-graders, who were dressed as farmers, since they presented the new superintendent with a plant – you saw their story here last week, as they are selling and giving away tomato plants, and will be at Roxbury Safeway this Saturday. (Watching the students, from left, are district communications director Lesley Rogers, executive director of West Seattle schools Aurora Lora; superintendent-to-be Banda; and AH principal Christy Collins; WS school-board director Marty McLaren was there for the visit too). We also took many photos, and more video, and are going through it all right now, to add more to this story later.
(And yes, the new superintendent said, the students did make sure he knows about the poor condition their building is in – rated worst in the district – the BEX IV levy currently proposes a new building for AH, but not to be completed until 2018, and the community is campaigning to have that timetable moved up before the levy plan is finalized this fall; its problems were amply explained during a BEX-related meeting at AH that we covered in April.)
ADDED 4:50 PM: More photos, ahead:Read More
An amazing season ended tonight for the Chief Sealth International High School boys’ soccer team – one in which they were ranked among the state’s top teams, ran up an incredible winning streak, and made it to the state playoffs. Shorewood, the state’s #1 team, edged the Seahawks 2-1 tonight at Shoreline Stadium.
At the end of the game, the team applauded and cheered those who had come to cheer for them. Toward the start, we photographed them in an on-the-road edition of the “Hawks Nest”:
The game was a draw through the first half, 0-0 at halftime – no scoring till the 49th minute, as our partners at the Seattle Times report. Led by Head Coach Ron Johnson, Sealth closes the season at 14-3-1; Shorewood is undefeated, with 20 wins.
In a comment on the WSB Facebook page, Sealth athletic director Sam Reed thanked the fans who made the trek to Shorewood, then writing, “So proud of our boys and especially the Seniors that worked so hard to build something special during their time as Seahawks.”
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