West Seattle, Washington
19 Friday
West Seattle High School‘s varsity baseball team spent sunny Saturday afternoon at The Safe, in the opening weekend of the High School Baseball Classic. Team parent Greg Slader shares the photo and this report:
Perfect day for a game at Safeco Field. The West Seattle baseball team got to enjoy fantastic weather and playing on their Field of Dreams. Unfortunately, the mighty Kentridge 4A proved to be too much, as West Seattle lost 5-11.
Next game is Monday 3:30 at Steve Cox Field in White Center, against Seattle Prep.
Every spring, it’s one of the biggest benefit book sales we’ve seen – and tomorrow’s the day for Sanislo Elementary to welcome the community into the school to shop for something “new” to read! Organizers promise, “You’ll find great kids’ and adults’ books for wonderful prices! Bring extra change for the delicious bake sale. All proceeds will go toward the annual 4th-grade field trip to Camp Sealth on Vashon Island.” The sale runs 10 am-2 pm Saturday at Sanislo, 1812 SW Myrtle (map).
(Ben Wexler pitching)
Another win for West Seattle High School‘s baseball team, reports parent Greg Slader, sharing photos and this summary:
The varsity baseball team improves to 2-1 on the season. Seven pitchers combined to hold Lakeside to one run. Spencer Elder had two hits as the offense executed when they needed to, in order to score four runs. Next game is Saturday @ Safeco Field – 4 pm, come support your team!
(Kevin Cuddy pitching)
As noted in this comment earlier this week, the Saturday game is WSHS vs. Kentridge at the Safe, and admission is free.
Photos by Nick Adams for WSB
(Sealth’s Elijah Lazo and Roosevelt’s Charlie Spurr fight for ball control)
On the first afternoon of spring, a wintry wind blew as Chief Sealth International High School‘s boys-varsity soccer team hosted Roosevelt on Wednesday afternoon. They fought to a scoreless tie – which gives them a 3-1-1 record after the first five games of the season.
(Sealth’s Anthony Masundire drives down the field)
More of WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams‘ scenes from the game, ahead:
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
People call him “Mr. Toilet,” and for Jack Sim, nothing could make him more proud.
Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organization, flew from Singapore to deliver the keynote presentation of World Water Week at Chief Sealth International High School on Tuesday night. It’s the school’s third annual WWW, billed as a “local ideas festival.” This year’s theme, according to student leaders, is centered around toilets, sanitation and health – a truly global issue with truly local connotations.
Sealth students worked tirelessly to plan this week’s events, along with social studies teacher Noah Zeichner, who serves as faculty leader for the project.
(Sealth teacher Noah Zeichner, left, with Jack Sim and an audience member.)
Tuesday’s night’s events kicked off with a Water and Health Resource Fair, featuring a jam-packed hallway of research projects and presentations from Sealth 9th-graders:
In an adjacent hallway, representatives from a variety of organizations like King County, Splash.org, and Friendly Water for the World were on-hand to talk to visitors. We also spotted “Diver Laura” James from Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and the tox-ick.org campaign:
After the resource fair, a big crowd gathered in the Sealth auditorium for a brief awards ceremony and a few remarks from event organizers, before Sim took the stage for his keynote address about toilets, sanitation and public health.
As Sim explained, the global statistics are staggering:
Without proper sanitation and disposal, human waste ends up out in the open or in the rivers and groundwater, further spreading disease. For Sim, who achieved success as a young businessman in Singapore but has now made public health his life’s work for 13 years, his goal is simple but lofty — “I want everybody on planet Earth to have access to clean toilets, any day, any time.” He believes that improved sanitation on a global scale is a goal that can be achieved in 15-20 years with the proper support, and he’s pleased to see people around the world start to rally behind the cause.
To get people talking about such a taboo topic, Sim said he’s worked hard to use humor and a close partnership with the media. The results have been impressive — Sim’s efforts are supported by big names like Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, and by world leaders and government officials everywhere. The Gates Foundation estimates that the outreach efforts have reached 3.3 billion people, and is starting to truly change the conversation.
“When we first started doing this,” Sim said, “no politicians wanted to have their picture taken next to a toilet. Now, they compete!”
Sim showed a series of photos of global “sit-ins” (essentially, huge groups of people sitting on toilets or assuming a “squat” pose in public), holding signs and talking about the issue, along with speeches and stand-up comedy events all designed to erase the stigma and talk about the problems. Social media has been a powerful tool as well, according to Sim. He recalled that on World Toilet Day (November 19) in 2010, the movie release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” fell on the same day — “we saw that toilets were trending on Twitter, one spot behind Harry Potter, and we beat Justin Bieber!”
In addition to increasing public support for dealing with sanitation issues, Sim emphasized the importance of education when it comes to the recipients of that support. In some very poor areas of the world, the usage of toilets is a totally unfamiliar concept. “When you give someone water, they know exactly what to do with it,” Sim said. “But if you give them a toilet, they may not know what to do.” Sim added that in some parts of the world, people avoid using what few toilets may be available, either because the facilities are unsanitary or because they’re located in areas that are unsafe or violent.
Next up for Sim? He headed to New York City today to meet with United Nations officials to discuss making World Toilet Day a “UN Official Day” worldwide. “Wish me luck!” he said.
Sim closed his presentation by showing two videos previously mentioned by WSB, featuring celebrity Matt Damon’s personal “strike” against global sanitation issues (saying that the toilet has “saved more lives than any invention in human history,”) and Sealth students’ creative response to that campaign. Sim praised the efforts of Sealth students and teachers in raising awareness and getting involved, and encouraged them to keep it up.
Sim’s appearance was co-sponsored by Town Hall Seattle. You can support Sealth students’ efforts by visiting their fundraising page, and learn more about Sim’s work in the video below:
Arbor Heights Cooperative Preschool is officially looking for a new home, and parent educator Judy Hall hopes you have a suggestion:
Arbor Heights Cooperative Preschool, one of five West Seattle cooperative preschools sponsored by South Seattle Community College, is currently seeking a new location. After sixteen years of operating out of Hillcrest Presbyterian Church, Arbor Heights Cooperative is actively looking for a new site in the area.
The site search committee is seeking a new location, ideally sited on the grounds of a church or other nonprofit organization, that would provide the school with approximately 1500 to 3000 square feet. The current location at Hillcrest Church offers two classrooms, a storage area, and access to an outdoor area, and the reasonable rent offered by the church has enabled the co-op to keep tuition affordable for local families, and provide scholarship assistance to those who need it. Arbor Heights Cooperative preschool serves children between the ages of two and five, and operates preschool classes in the mornings and afternoons Monday-Thursday from 9:00–3:00, and Friday mornings from 9:15–11:30.
Affiliated with community and technical colleges, which provide a crucial parent education component, the cooperative preschools offer both parents and children a rich and stimulating developmentally appropriate environment in which to learn together during the early learning years.
If you have a lead on a new site that would fit the Arbor Heights Cooperative Preschool’s needs, please contact Judy Hall at 206-938-2278 or Jkatalki@aol.com
As first reported here last November, the church where the preschool has been housed is selling its campus to Westside School (WSB sponsor), which plans extensive renovations. At recent community meetings about the campus’s future, Hillcrest Presbyterian’s pastor explained that its congregation just doesn’t need that much space any more and is moving to a new, smaller location.
Last year, West Seattle High School’s baseball team went to state – this year, they’re off to a good start, reports Greg Slader, sharing the photo and this report (thanks!):
West Seattle wins over Lakeside 3-1. Sam Hellinger (top photo) pitched a complete game, giving up only one run on three hits and no walks. Solid defense and timely hits helped West Seattle to a 3-0 lead as they cruised to their first win. The Wildcats are 1-1 on the season and 1-0 in league play.
(Spencer Elder makes the play)
Next game is Thursday against Lakeside, before they head to Safeco Field this Saturday @ 4 pm.
ADDED 10:17 PM: Slider reports in comments that WSHS softball beat Lakeside today too, 9-1.
For the third year, it’s World Water Week at Chief Sealth International High School – and the students/staff are hoping to shake us out of taking clean water/sanitation for granted. So many in the U.S. have it; so many in the rest of the world don’t. It’s a life-and-death topic, and yet it can be discussed with humor and inspiration – which is what you’ll hear from the man who’s traveled from the other side of the world to give the keynote speech tomorrow night, Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organization.
(From left, Sealth students Natalia, Riley, Syd, Tasha, with, center, teacher Noah Zeichner and Jack Sim)
He’s at the school today, and speaks at 7 pm Tuesday in the Sealth auditorium, right after a 6 pm resource fair at the school, and you’re welcome to attend the event for free. (Donations are welcome – here! – to support the ongoing WWW-related awareness-raising work, though.)
(Photos courtesy club volunteer coach Anne Higuera)
Robotics continue to grow in popularity at local schools – including the new LEGO Robotics Club that K-5 STEM at Boren launched just two months ago, with 50 students already participating. The photos are from a field trip this past Thursday to the UW Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, where grad students, writes club parent volunteer Christy Monge, “showed off robotic fish and some other projects that involve flight.
“The STEM students were invited downstairs to the tank where the robotic fish are tested, and were able to pilot the fish around the pool. … They also monitored the robot’s progress on a laptop computer below and tried out some of the tools and equipment, feeling right at home.”
Six teams from K-5 STEM are also getting ready to compete in the big FIRST Robotics Expo event at CenturyLink Field Event Center on March 30th.
Another school benefit this weekend! Tomorrow night, it’s Pathfinder K-8‘s turn, with months of planning and volunteer work all coming together in one big event, as Ginny Woo explains:
“Cirque du Pathfinder Auction: An Evening of Love, Chaos, and Community” will take place Saturday evening, starting at 5:00 at the Jerry Brockey Center at SSCC. The money raised that night will go directly to supporting the students through our programs at our alternative public school, Pathfinder K-8, where children are engaged in expeditionary learning. Pathfinder educates students to become passionate, lifelong learners, respecting themselves, others and the environment.
In addition to wonderful donations from our families and West Seattle businesses and supporters, we will be auctioning off “Clan Art” made by the students at Pathfinder. Each classroom is named after an animal and referred to as a “clan.” These original works of art are a beautiful reminder of the collaboration and dedication the students, parents, and teachers at Pathfinder K-8 have to the arts, the environment, and each other. Mary Lane is our Auction Chair and a Pathfinder parent.
Ginny included photos; since we so often feature bird images on WSB, we’re sharing the one above. P.S. Auction tickets are sold out!
Six years after Seattle Public Schools closed Fairmount Park Elementary (map), there’s news in what you DON’T see in that photo (shared by Deborah) – the old portables that had remained on the closed campus were demolished by district laborers following asbestos abatement by district maintenance,” district spokesperson Teresa Wippel confirms to WSB. She says they “had been vandalized and were beyond repair.” And this is also a sign that renovation and addition work on the Fairmount Park campus is getting closer. According to Wippel, the district will advertise for bids starting Monday, will open them in mid-April, and expects construction to start “sometime in mid-May. Construction activities will last until mid-July, 2014, with move-in immediately following.” The work includes a wing of new classrooms so that it would be able to handle to 500 students. The district has yet to announce whether it plans to reopen Fairmount Park as a neighborhood school or something else (such as home to K-5 STEM, which is in its first year of operation and temporarily housed at the Boren campus).
Two notes this afternoon from Seattle Public Schools HQ:
PARTIAL HIRING-SPENDING FREEZE: The district says that because of an expected $18 million budget shortfall for next year and uncertainty over how the Legislature will handle school funding, SPS is “implementing a non-critical hiring and spending freeze until further notice. This freeze is expected to save at least $2.5 million, which can be carried over to assist in building a balanced 2013-14 budget.” The district announcement stresses, “Critical positions that are needed for either safety or classroom instruction are excluded from this freeze.” (Full announcement here.)
STRATEGIC-PLAN MEETINGS: As the district updates its “strategic plan” – we recently linked to an online survey – it’s planning five community meetings. Here in West Seattle, there’s one at 6:30 pm Tuesday, April 2nd, in the auditorium at Chief Sealth International High School (interpreters will be available for Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Amharic). Read about the strategic-plan process here; the School Board is expected to get a first look at the proposed plan for its June 19th meeting.
Since St. Patrick’s Day is on Sunday this year, it’s a weekend full of festivities, particularly on Saturday. If you’re going to the parade downtown on Saturday, look for two local schools’ marching bands – West Seattle High School and Denny International Middle School. Full parade details are here, including the entire list of participants and the route, described as:
The Parade travels north on 4th Ave, starting from Jefferson [map] to the Reviewing Stand at Westlake Park, and officially ends at the Seattle Center with Closing Ceremonies at 2 PM.
We see the list of participants also includes the Tony Comerford School of Irish Dance, which teaches at locations including West Seattle’s VFW Hall. Anyone else from West Seattle participating? Please let us know with a comment here, or e-mail, so that local paradegoers will know to look for you!
(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
It was a lesson to remember. West Seattle Montessori teacher Matt Whittemore invited us to stop by as he fired up a hands-on learning experience in his backyard last Saturday. Whittemore’s class (the Horned Owls 1-3) has been studying early man; their culminating project was glazing pottery and seeing it fired in a backyard kiln and pots in the Raku pottery method. WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams captured the scenes.
“Our unit of study coincided with our study of early man and his basic needs and our yearly school auction,” Whittemore explained. “During our class conversations, we talked about basic needs such as eating, shelter, and clothes and where those items came from. The goal was to get the students thinking about what it might have been like to have to discover everything. Humans only had their natural resources to learn, utilize, and adapt from. So, I did some research on the ‘Raku’ style of pottery and took on the project.”
“The kids made the pots in the classroom in small groups. We air-dried them and then Bethany Woll bisque-fired them to remove any moisture and prepare them for glazing.”
The West Seattle High School PTSA has just announced that tickets are on sale for the annual “Taste of the Arts” on April 5th. Here’s the announcement sent by Lisa Clark from the WSHS PTSA:
This annual event celebrates the art programs at WSHS; culinary, visual and performing. The evening starts with the culinary art students preparing and serving delicious appetizers as attendees view the visual art (Student photography, ceramics, painting, drawing, and wood shop) on display that has been judged by 4 local artists. The musicians and cast of the spring musical, “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” are present for a short time to mingle before the attendees are escorted to the high school theater for the evening’s 8:00 pm performance. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 at the door, and include appetizers, 2 beverages, and entrance to the spring musical.
The night starts with the tasting and arts viewing, 6-7 pm at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church Hall next to WSHS, and then moves on to the school theater for the spring musical at 8 pm. You can buy tickets right now online – just go here.
P.S. The students’ art will be judged by four well-known local artists: Twilight Artist Collective‘s new owners Tracy Cilona and Christine Heidel; RobRoy Chalmers; and Stephanie Hargrave.
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand unless otherwise credited)
Even before we got to the big room with the big party last night at The Hall at Fauntleroy – Gatewood Elementary‘s annual Bids for Kids auction, whose organizers invited us to stop by – the sight above brought us to a full stop: A tree hung with old-fashioned rabbit’s-foot keychains, popular trinkets in the ’60s-’70s. Worked perfectly with the sign, given that the theme was Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, which also meant it was no surprise to spot more than a few hats in the crowd:
Also in keeping with the theme – this Cheshire Cat cake from the “dessert dash,” donated by Melinda Pond:
(Photo by Doug Branch)
Student-made artworks were among the auction items – as was this teacher/student (among others) collaboration:
The card with the puppet theater explained that the Team Lake Union kindergarteners of Nancy Carney and Charlene Higuchi worked on designs and sock puppets for the theater, which was built by Carney’s husband. Congratulations to everybody at Gatewood, including auction chair Ava Barnes and the numerous volunteers it takes to put on this kind of event. (Got a fundraiser coming up at YOUR school? Please let us know!)
As part of last night’s winter-sports banquet at West Seattle High School, the history-making girls’ basketball program took time to celebrate. We caught up with head coach Sonya Elliott – Metro League Coach of the Year and Star Times Coach of the Year – and her players and coaches:
Chief Sealth International High School athletic director Sam Reed usually ends each sports season with a detailed recap of the Sealth athletes, coaches, and others’ accomplishments. This morning, we’re presenting his latest recap along with photos taken by WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams at last night’s Sealth winter-sports banquet:
How quickly time flies. As I sat down to work on this season’s recap – something that has become one of my favorite parts of this job – I looked through my files to see that this is my 11th season recap over the past 4 years. And while this season didn’t bring State rankings, divisional championships, or the local media blitz that’s been associated with so many of our recent sports seasons, these recaps remind me what is special about high school athletics. 181 Seahawk student-athletes participated in a winter sport and they did so not because they were promised their name in the paper, a State title, or event recognition by their peers. Instead, they sweated through 14 weeks of practices and games because they valued the camaraderie of their teammates and the bond that comes out in competition.
No team bond might have been stronger this season than that of the swim team.
(Swim team head coach Les Holland)
Led by the ‘12-‘13 Metro League Coach of the Year Les Holland, the CSIHS swim team spent countless early morning hours in the pool, hours which paid off in a big way.(Sealth swim-team members)
The Seahawks were represented at the 3A State level by junior Michael Stewart, who qualified in both the 100 and 200 freestyle, placing 17th in the state in the 100M. Senior captain Kelsey Hastings capped off an impressive swim career by leading the girls’ team to multiple regular season team wins. This season could well be a stepping stone toward future success, as 23 members of the team were either 9th or 10th graders this year.3rd year head coach Katie Jo Maris felt confident about the girls basketball team’s odds heading into this past summer.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the final day of “open enrollment” for Seattle Public Schools, and this morning there are two more pre-deadline tours – Arbor Heights Elementary from 9:15 to 10:15 (3701 SW 104th), Alki Elementary from 9:30 to 10:45 (3010 59th SW).
Thanks to Gatewood Elementary parent Jennifer Dempsey for a peek inside the school, where the halls are decked in a theme that carries through to a big event Friday night:
The students, teachers, and staff of Gatewood Elementary are celebrating Alice in Wonderland week in preparation of the annual Bids for Kids auction this Friday. Under the fabulous direction of art teacher Rachel Moreau, each class not only created fun Alice-themed decor to decorate our hallways, but also produced an original piece of art to help raise money for our school. The students are dressing up as their favorite characters on the day that they have art class, and the class with the most participation will win a tea party.
P.S. Some of the art projects that will be auctioned off are shown in the photos.
Like these:
If you’re going – the full auction catalog can be previewed online.
(SSCC photos by Glenn Gauthier)
As previewed in our West Seattle Wednesday roundup – the annual “College Night” open house is under way till 7:30 pm at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) – a chance “for prospective students to explore the programs the school has to offer, meet with faculty, staff, and current students who are on hand to answer questions,” as communications director Kevin Maloney explains it.
Never been to SSCC? It’s at 6000 16th SW on Puget Ridge.
Actor Matt Damon says he’s on strike – and with the video you can watch above, Chief Sealth International High School students say they’re ready to join him. Haven’t heard about his strike? Watch *his* video:
With that recent “news conference,” Damon and his water.org did his best to make sure you know that 2.5 billion people don’t have access to something you likely take for granted – toilets.
Since Damon is looking ahead to World Water Day on March 22nd, and Chief Sealth is too – with their third annual World Water Week full of lessons and events March 18-22 – they’re thinking their suggestion that he come here should be an irresistible invitation, says social-studies teacher and WWW ringleader Noah Zeichner. Especially given their specific focus – sanitation and wastewater. So they’ve submitted their video to his strikewithme.org website, and sent photos like this one and this one to the #strikewithme feed he launched via Instagram. They hope he will come to Sealth to share the stage with Jack Sim, the activist nicknamed “Mr. Toilet,” who is coming all the way from Singapore to be the keynoter for WWW at Sealth (you are invited too), 7 pm March 19th at the school auditorium, admission free.
As Sim points out in this short video profile of Sim, it’s a taboo topic – and that’s killing people, as taboos too often do. So he talks about toilets, and the Sealth students are doing the same, as is Matt Damon. Will he take them up on their invitation? Stay tuned!
(P.S. A fundraiser continues, to help foot the bill for World Water Week costs and the 9th-grade WEST Project – check it out here.)
One final round of holiday giving, last night at Holy Rosary School – the Parents Club presented three local nonprofits with checks for donations from last year’s Holy Rosary Tree Lot. More than $2,000 each went to the West Seattle Food Bank (represented by Fran Yeatts) and the Salvation Army’s family shelter Hickman House (represented by Janet Sanders) as well as the West Seattle Helpline. The Tree Lot is an all-volunteer operation that traditionally gives a share of the proceeds to community charities.
Last night’s Parents Club meeting also included a discussion of LEGO Robotics:
The school’s annual auction, this year with the Kentucky Derby as its theme, is coming up April 20th.
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