West Seattle, Washington
22 Friday
(Photo courtesy Lorie Bennett)
Thursday afternoon rain didn’t stop students from Lafayette and Schmitz Park Elementaries from playing the first-ever West Side Flag Cup – Leopards vs. Foxes, respectively. We’re told it started with the Lafayette after-school football class and coach – third- through fifth-graders – challenging their Schmitz Park counterparts. Above, the two teams before the game (thanks to Lorie for sharing that photo!); below, action on the field at Hiawatha:
(This and next 2 photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
We stopped by for a bit of the early action. According to the Schmitz Park Facebook page, the Foxes won. Lots of family and friends out to cheer for both teams.
The SP page also notes: “The score ranges from 49 to 42, 42 to 35, it was a close game with back-and-forth touchdowns. We forgot to assign an official scorekeeper.”
But you know the saying – “it’s not whether you win or lose …” The Foxes and Leopards are hoping to make this a tradition, trophy and all, with another faceoff as soon as late spring.
Two notes from Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor):
(Photo courtesy Explorer West Middle School)
AWARD-WINNING, AGAIN: EWMS has again scored big in local theater honors:
At an awards ceremony on Monday (12/9), Explorer West students walked away with top honors in the Young Playwrights Program at ACT. Annually, ACT, a professional equity theater in downtown Seattle, hosts more than 200 high school and middle school students from across King County in the Young Playwrights Program. Explorer West 7th-grade students were two of the eight students selected to win the top prize, a production of their play with professional actors at ACT. Two additional 7th-grade students each received one of the 22 honorable mentions in the contest. Explorer West is very proud to be part of this program and for our students to be recognized for the third year in a row.
More details are on the school’s website.
THEATER TONIGHT DURING BOOK FAIR: EW students will be performing live theater, both classic and original works, 4:30-5:30 pm today at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village, which is hosting their Book Fair tonight. That’s also an opportunity to have part of your purchase proceeds support EW (the third local school this week with a Book Fair at B&N); they’re raising money to expand the school library.
Wednesday night at West Seattle High School, it was the Wildcat girls’ turn to host Lakeside, whose varsity left with a 42-39 win. Above, that’s WSHS’s Charli Elliott in the foreground, fighting for control of the ball. Here are the game stats, via our partners at The Seattle Times; leading scorers for head coach Sonya Elliott‘s WSHS team were Gabby Sarver with 14 points and Lydia Giomi with 12. Friday night, they are on the road at Rainier Beach.
High-school basketball season has begun in earnest, and the boys of West Seattle High School hosted Lakeside tonight. The Lions left with the win, 57-48, though the Wildcats had been on top at halftime, 28-25. Our partners at The Seattle Times have the stats; Ruslan Burduzha led West Seattle scoring with 18 points, while DeAndre Love and Malachi Cain had 12 each. (That’s Cain in our top photo, #21, with Spenser Elder, #10.) This was the first Metro League game of the year for head coach Keffrey Fazio’s 2013-14 WSHS varsity squad; its first game, non-conference, was a home-court win over Kent-Meridian, 72-58. Next up, the Wildcats visit Rainier Beach on Friday.
Just got word that the pipe problem is fixed and Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) will be open tomorrow, normal start time. The school says its Tuesday night open house is on, too, last one of the season, 6:30-8 pm.
7:48 AM: Just heard from Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) – the school is CLOSED today because of a broken pipe.
9:45 AM: They hope it’ll be fixed in time to resume classes tomorrow (which is also an Open House night); we’ll update when info is available later.
Just in case you have ties to Gatewood Elementary and heard something about a power outage – we went there to check as soon as people started texting us (206-293-6302, any time) about it. We confirmed at the school that while power WAS out for a few minutes, it’s back on now. Checking with Seattle City Light to see if they have information on what happened.
A tradition at Madison Middle School brought in more than a ton and a half of holiday spirit to be shared with schoolmates and their families. Thanks to Anne Weglin for sharing the photos and story:
Madison Middle School students and families showed their generosity with their recent Thanksgiving Basket Food Drive. Science teachers participated in the annual class food drive competition, bringing in a grand total of 3,300 pounds of food.
New this year, the winning class teacher receives “The Madison Turkey Cup” trophy, which they will proudly display in the classroom throughout the year. The winning class this year was Ms. Quynn’s (pictured below with the trophy) 8th-grade students with a total of 1,126 pounds of food.
The donations were organized by volunteer coordinator Lora Bunch and the school nurse, Ms. Kate Bobo. The canned foods along with turkeys, dairy products, toiletries and more were distributed to 30 Madison families just in time to enjoy for Thanksgiving. This monumental effort could not have been successful without the help of staff and parent cash donations, the student helpers, and the volunteer delivery drivers. Special thanks to MacPherson’s Produce on Beacon Hill and Jefferson Square Safeway as well.
High-school basketball season is about to tip off, and Chief Sealth International High School is getting a double jump on it this weekend. First of two big events was tonight’s 2nd annual Nels Enquist Alumni Game, first one organized by new athletic director Ernest Policarpio. Above, the women’s game featured alums vs. current varsity players; the alums won, 44-30. The men’s game, with alums comprising both teams, went into overtime after tying at 69-all with 13 seconds to go.
The minute-and-a-half overtime ended with the blue squad victorious, 75-70. Sealth head coaches Katie Jo Maris and Colin Slingsby lead their teams into the regular season soon, but first, the boys host a Jamboree tomorrow afternoon/evening in the Sealth and Denny (next door) gyms, with participants including West Seattle High School and, from White Center, Evergreen – the schedule’s in our preview.
Did you go downtown for the Macy’s Holiday Parade this morning? Dozens of West Seattleites were part of it:
Among them, two groups in the clip above – the Salty’s (WSB sponsor) Nutcrackers, followed immediately by the West Seattle High School Marching Band, directed by Ethan Thomas. Below, their counterparts from Chief Sealth International High School, directed by Marcus Pimpleton:
The Sealth band also will be part of the 10th annual West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays Tree Lighting one week from tomorrow – Saturday night, December 7, 5 pm, at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska), also featuring emcee Brent Amaker, the Endolyne Children’s Choir, and more.
Chief Sealth International High School is hosting two big basketball events: Friday night (November 29th), it’s the second annual Nels Enquist Alumni Game, 6 pm at the Sealth gym, admission $5 (12 and under/free). Then on Saturday (November 30th), the 13th annual Sealth Jamboree features 13 varsity and JV teams, including West Seattle High School as well as Sealth. Here’s the full lineup:
Admission for the Jamboree is the same as regular-season admission – $6/adults, $4 students. Varsity games are in the Sealth gym on the southeast side of the campus, 2600 SW Thistle; JV games are in the Denny gym on the north side of the two schools’ shared campus, 2601 SW Kenyon.
Typhoon survivors in the Philippines have a long recovery ahead – and your help can make a big difference. Young West Seattleites are helping too, including students at Gatewood Elementary, whose message to us – which is a message to you, too – was shared (along with the photo) by teacher Darren Radu:
We are 4th and 5th grade students of Team Mt. Si at Gatewood Elementary. We know that a lot of people in West Seattle are already helping people displaced in the Philippines, and we wanted to do something to help too. We held a drive for first aid kits, personal hygiene products, and nonperishable food, and were able to deliver a couple hundred items to the Filipino Center of Seattle on Saturday.
When our teacher dropped off our items, the rep there said that they’re still in need of more donations in order to completely fill a shipping container before they can send it (there’s currently enough for about half the container). We’re hoping you can help us get the word out to West Seattle families who haven’t had a chance to contribute yet. There’s a link below for how to donate, and what kind of items will help.
Thank you!
Team Mt. SiFrom the Filipino Community of Seattle:
Immediate need for personal hygiene products, nonperishable food items, and first-aid kits.
· Cash donations can be mailed or dropped off at the center: 5740 MLK Way, Seattle 98118
· At Wells Fargo – Account #5612975465 RTN#125008547
· Click here to donate online
· FCS will arrange for a 20’ container to ship collected relief goods
The weather at Southwest Athletic Complex was clear and cool as the girls-soccer teams from Denny International Middle School and Madison Middle School took the field Friday for the second “Battle of West Seattle.” Madison won again this year, 2-0.
The West Seattle Soccer Club sponsors the “Battle” – as you might guess from that brightly striped scarf beneath the trophy:
It’s a “perpetual” trophy, engraved with each year’s winner, who gets to keep it until the other team takes the title!
P.S. We dropped by for just a few photos, but you can see dozens in this gallery by goalWA.
Pathfinder K-8 on Pigeon Point had about 300 special visitors for lunch today – it’s the annual day that grandparents/elders are invited to join Pathfinder students. Two of the grandparents we recognized in the crowd were busy community volunteers Sandy Adams and Jim Guenther, with grandson Chase, a Pathfinder second-grader:
The visiting elders/grandparents didn’t all arrive at once – lunchtime is in shifts, as it is in most schools.
Thanks to principal David Dockendorf for the invitation to stop by; he tells WSB it’s “one of our best school events.”
PATHFINDER SIDE NOTE: Today’s the last day to order pies in the school fundraiser, for pickup next week – go to the WSB Holiday Guide and scroll to the “Holiday Fundraisers, Donation Drives, Other Giving Opportunities” list.
The photo and report are from Chief Sealth International High School academic dean Lori Douglas:
Author and actress Madhur Jaffrey was the guest speaker (Tuesday) at Chief Sealth International High School. The award-winning actress and bestselling cookbook author spoke to students from Family and Consumer Science classes and Health classes. Her visit was brought to Sealth as the result of the school’s Writers in the Schools residency with Seattle Arts and Lectures. Ms. Jaffrey is an expert on Indian food, writing more than 15 cookbooks, and has appeared in more than twenty films; she has a new book titled Curry Nation, just released. She was on the radio in the morning, visited Sealth mid-day, and then was featured in the Seattle Arts and Lectures series at Benaroya Hall. The 80-year-old proved a lively story teller, and students were able to ask questions and spend time with her after her presentation.
That gathering in the West Seattle High School gym this morning wasn’t just any old assembly – it was a conference! This is the third year WSHS has used the Link Crew program to have seniors and juniors mentor and welcome new arrivals. (We reported on the launch in fall of 2011.) And it’s the first time they have hosted a regional conference related to it – about 400 Link Crew leaders from around western Washington, according to WSHS coordinator Laura McCarthy. Her students made this sign listing the mascots of the visiting groups:
She says 50 Link Crew leaders from WSHS participated in the half-day event – some are in this photo, in the red shirts:
Other participants included about 20 from Chief Sealth International High School, which started Link Crew last year. McCarthy says the students gathered “to share program ideas and get a day of training from one of the national staff from the Boomerang Project (the organization that created Link Crew)” in what she expected would be “a great celebration of teen leadership!”
(WSB photo from 2012)
The West Seattle Soccer Club sends word of a big match tomorrow afternoon, and you’re invited:
This Friday (November 22nd), the Madison and Denny International MS girls-soccer teams will be competing in a friendly match for the rights to take home the 2nd annual ‘Battle of West Seattle” trophy. This is a perpetual trophy, with the winner’s name engraved on the trophy and placed in the winning school’s trophy case until the next season’s match. In the short time the West Seattle Soccer Club (WSSC) started and sponsored this event, it has become a source of pride for each school. There is a similar ‘Battle’ for the boys’ teams in the spring.
Kickoff is 3:45 pm at SWAC (across from Sealth HS). The game officials are WSSC volunteers. The teams were scheduled to meet earlier this fall, but the game was forfeited. This time, both teams should be at full strength and are eager to square off.
Last year, Madison won, 2-1 – who will it be this year? See for yourself tomorrow; forecast calls for more sunshine!
7:56 PM: In case you’re wondering, and not able to be there in person or monitor the cable TV live feed – the Seattle Public Schools board hasn’t yet gotten to the vote on proposed boundary changes; its meeting is running about an hour and a half behind schedule. Board members did approve an action item that is related to the recent expansion of “no extra charge” full-day kindergarten to some schools, and they have approved a new firearms policy. We’ll add live notes when they get to the boundaries item; the Seattle Schools Community Forum site has been reporting live for the entire meeting, if you’re looking for details on what happened earlier; here’s the final version of the agenda (now on business agenda item #3).
9 PM NOTE: Not there yet, but it’s the next item, #7; they’re currently close to the vote on #6.
9:09 PM: Now they are on to the Growth Boundaries item, and 13 proposed amendments, none of which involve West Seattle boundary changes; our area’s board rep Marty McLaren is co-sponsor of the final amendment on the list, proposing that the boundaries be reviewed each year.
9:40 PM: They’re on Amendment 4, but that’s a little deceiving in terms of tracking time; the three after this one apparently will be withdrawn. By the way, once the entire Growth Boundaries plan comes to a vote, the Intermediate Capacity Management Plan follows, with components including changing Boren’s status to permanent school, and Hughes’ status to emergency site once vacated. This plan also has amendments, none West Seattle specific, though many families here will be interested in the one proposing the district develop an Advanced Learning Master Plan.
10:40 PM: Now, voting time on the maps (West Seattle unchanged from the version in this agenda). Unanimously passed. No further discussion. Here’s what changes for NEXT school year in West Seattle, text taken from the agenda document:
Fairmount Park Elementary School (Area 45 from Lafayette to Fairmount Park, Area 55 from West Seattle to Fairmount Park, Area 61 from Gatewood to Fairmount Park, Area 65 from Alki to Fairmount Park, Area 71 from Schmitz Park to Fairmount Park) – Fairmount Park Elementary School will open for grades K-5 effective September 2014. New boundaries apply to incoming K students and new residents of the attendance area. Students currently in grades 1-5 who live in the new attendance area are grandfathered at their current school, but will be assigned to Fairmount Park if they apply during Open Enrollment through September 30.
Also related to Fairmount Park’s opening:
APP will be offered as an option for eligible students at Fairmount Park in West Seattle beginning in 2014-15 (and subsequently at Madison). This will be a different service delivery model, which is why enrollment is optional. It is anticipated that this will serve students who live in West Seattle who may not have participated in APP previously because of the distance to their pathway schools.
Related to that, the document mentions that the district will “offer Spectrum at Fairmount Park in a blended model with APP.” Meantime, everything else you see in the packet of maps – as it relates to West Seattle – would be implemented at later dates.
And on, literally one minute later, to the Intermediate Capacity Management item, which has a few proposed amendments.
11:15 PM: Those amendments are still being gone through.
11:47 PM: The meeting is adjourned, a few minutes after unanimous approval for the Intermediate Capacity Management Plan.
THURSDAY NIGHT NOTES: Maps that take effect next year are now posted to the district site, specifically labeled as approved for next year. See them here; as of this writing, they include Lafayette, Schmitz Park, and the opening-next-fall Fairmount Park.
West Seattle Elementary School now has a big new banner to tell the world about its progress. We recently published an update from WSES on continued test-score growth, and on Tuesday, principal Vicki Sacco and her staff welcomed visitors including Washington Education Association president Kim Mead (above left), Seattle Education Association president Jonathan Knapp (above right), and State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, and received a special recognition banner. Mead and Knapp are touring federal School Improvement Grant-receiving schools in the city, and WSES is one of the stops; WEA says our state’s grant recipients have outperformed those in every other state.
WSES students and staff are also proud of their anti-bullying campaign, shown off for the distinguished visitors:
Pink is the signature color for the no-bullying campaign (previously reported here last March). The hand-raising in our photo shows students/staff affirming the pledge to be kind to each other.
(First 3 photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
West Seattle’s Holy Rosary School is celebrating its centennial, and as part of that, its 460-plus students gathered today for a group photo in the church. That’s our view of the big picture, above. Here’s Carl Baber, the parent who served today as official photographer:
He had quite the task to wrangle 460-plus photographic subjects at once. But they got a treat after their historic pose – they were all allowed to make goofy faces:
We asked HR if they had a comparable all-school shot from sometime in the past hundred years. Answer: No; but for comparison’s sake, here’s a 6th-grade group shot from 1959:
And for a bonus view of history, an aerial (looking west-northwest, with 42nd SW in the middle, between church and school):
The people we talked with at HR today didn’t know what year that’s from – do you? Meantime – read about the school’s history here.
Two more school fundraisers of note:
DINE OUT TO BENEFIT GATEWOOD ELEMENTARY TODAY/TONIGHT: Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) is donating 25 percent of its food proceeds from today/tonight to Gatewood Elementary:
It’s on until 10 pm tonight at 9261 45th SW.
‘DINGO’ FOR WEST SEATTLE HS JUNIORS TOMORROW: If you haven’t seen it in our calendar yet, here’s the announcement of this Thursday night fundraiser:
Dessert + Bingo = Dingo!
WHAT is it? It is a FUNdraiser for the WSHS junior class!
WHERE is it? West Seattle High School (in the commons!)
WHEN is it?
November 14 @ 6:30 pm (It’s okay if you’re lateJ)WIN AWESOME RAFFLE PRIZES: Coastal Basket, Tully’s Basket, Movie Night Basket, Golf Basket, Boeing Basket, Spa Basket, Boeing Basket (with 2 Museum of Flight tickets), Bookworm Basket, WSHS Basket, Wakeboard, Mountain Bike
Entrance fee is $7 and includes a bingo card (additional by donation). Bingo lovers of all ages are welcome!
If you have any questions, contact Class President Ellen Salenjus @ ellensalenjus27@gmail.com
Babysitting service available for $5.00 per child
WSHS is at 3000 California SW.
WSHS’s gala next week, Chief Sealth’s gala this week, and six other school fundraisers are listed in our previous roundup – if you haven’t sent word of yours yet, please do, for our next update (and our calendar if it’s a time-specific event) – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
Congratulations to West Seattle High School sophomore Gabby Carufel, who qualified Saturday night for 3A state competition in the 100-yard backstroke. The report and photo are from Gabby’s proud mom Danette Carufel. The girls’ championships begin Friday night with preliminaries at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) is adding another bachelor’s-degree program as of next year. Here’s the announcement:
The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges recently approved a new baccalaureate of applied science (BAS) degree in Sustainable Science Technology that will be offered at South Seattle Community College in the fall of 2014.
In response to industry demand, the primary purpose of this program is to provide students with the skills needed to run an energy-efficient facility.
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