month : 06/2010 383 results

More school news: Interim principal for West Seattle High School

June 22, 2010 9:43 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

In a letter to the West Seattle High School community, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson announced an interim principal for WSHS, whose current principal and assistant principals are all leaving: Ruth Medsker, a former principal at Beacon Hill’s Mercer Middle School, will take over on July 1st, after five years in district administration as an education director, supervising middle schools and K-8s. Here’s the letter from the superintendent.

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Congratulations, 8th graders! Now on to high school …

June 22, 2010 9:03 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Speaking of the last day of school … it’s not just a momentous occasion for formal “graduates” moving from high school to college, or from college to the next chapter of their lives, but also for 8th graders moving into high school. Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark sent photos this morning, reporting, “Last night … we had a terrific promotion ceremony as we celebrated the accomplishments of our eighth-graders. They are an amazing group of kids who are now ready for high school – the next stop on the road to their college graduation.”

(Any other schools’ 8th-grade ceremony photos, we’d be happy to share those too – send ’em along!) Congratulations to ALL of West Seattle’s students – and educators! – for their 2009-2010 accomplishments!

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West Seattle Tuesday: Happy last day of school!

June 22, 2010 8:13 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Port photo, looking across from Salty’s, contributed to the WSB Flickr group by Hanards)
Forecast says mostly sunny later today! Just in time for the last day of classes for Seattle Public Schools students – out an hour early, back Sept. 8 (except for West Seattle Elementary, which starts Aug. 31). This afternoon at 2 pm, it’s the City Council committee item noted here yesterday about how to reduce waste from junk mail and phone books. Otherwise, not much on the calendar for today/tonight – except for some of the regular items on the calendar, like rock ‘n’ roll trivia night at Feedback Lounge (see and buy the new South Park Bridge Memorial T-shirts – and open-turntable night at Skylark Café and Club – bring your records! (Feedback and Skylark are WSB sponsors).

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Sustainable West Seattle community forum: News about money

June 22, 2010 1:04 am

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| Sustainable West Seattle | West Seattle news

It’s been a big month for Sustainable West Seattle. First, the group’s third annual festival brought out hundreds as part of ReFRESH Southwest at Delridge Community Center on June 5; a week later, the long-planned West Seattle Tool Library celebrated its grand opening; and Monday night, nine days after that milestone, SWS had more news: Announced at their monthly Community Forum at the Senior Center of West Seattle, they’ve gotten their official nonprofit status, which means your donations are tax-deductible. Speaking of donations, the Tool Library is now up to 500 tools (here are its hours) and starting July 4th, SWS will table at the West Seattle Farmers Market every other Sunday, which means another chance for you to drop off tool donations. They STILL need that electric pressure washer, by the way! (And before next month’s meeting, they’ll be co-presenting GreenLife during West Seattle Summer Fest, July 9-10-11 in The Junction.)

Monday night’s featured topic was public campaign financing and its role in sustainability. At right is Craig Salins, executive director of Washington Public Campaigns, which just celebrated its biggest awards banquet yet, more than 300 people at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center on Saturday night. His group contends that public financing of political campaigns would enable more voices to be heard – particularly by the elected officials who should be paying more attention to their constituents’ needs, instead of spending their time in endless pursuit of the big money that is usually required to pay for a winning campaign these days. The group has worked in particular to advance legislation to publicly fund state Supreme Court campaigns; Salins told SWS that the bill had support, but the Legislature ran out of time to deal with it while trying to pass a budget, so WPC will try again next session. He also said the group’s working on a Town Hall meeting about public financing next month. Side note: 34th District State House Position 2 candidate Marcee Stone is past president of WPC and a longtime public-financing advocate; one of her opponents, Geoffrey “Mac” McElroy, was the lone candidate in the audience at the SWS meeting..

Sustainable West Seattle’s community forums are usually at 7 pm on the third Monday of the month; on July 19, the spotlight’s on beekeeping. In the meantime, this Thursday, anyone interested in permaculture is invited to join that SWS subcommittee at Uptown Espresso to talk about a rainwater project on the Pathfinder K-8 campus.

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Digital story screening during FEEST potluck at Youngstown June 30th

June 21, 2010 10:46 pm

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| Announcements

An extra-special addition to the next FEEST potluck – here’s the official announcement:

YOUTH-LED COMMUNITY DINNER AND DIGITAL STORY SCREENING AT YOUNGSTOWN

Bridges to Understanding youth-produced digital stories will screen at the youth-led Food Empowerment Education Sustainability Team (FEEST) community potluck dinner on Wednesday, June 30 at 5:45pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center Theatre in the Delridge neighborhood of West Seattle.

Supported by a grant from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs’ Youth Arts Program, the digital stories were produced by middle and high school students from throughout Seattle during their participation in Bridges’ after-school digital storytelling programs.

“Focusing on a community gardening project at Aki Kurose Middle School and service learning projects conducted by Global Visionaries in Guatemala, production of the stories gives students experience in research, writing, photography and multimedia production in addition to global awareness,” notes Bridges Program Director Tania Westby. “FEEST brings young people together to prepare and share healthy, delicious food, learn about growing food as well as provide a space for youth to become actively engaged in issues of food resources and built environment in their communities. It’s a great combination!”

The event is free of charge and open to the general public. Adults are requested to bring a prepared food item (local and organic) or drink and are asked to stay to help clean up the space. Wednesday, June 30, 5:45 pm. Youngstown Cultural Arts Theatre, 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle. For more information: 206.925.5301.

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North Delridge alley update: ‘It is the beginning of something’

June 21, 2010 9:16 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

When we dropped by the alley behind Delridge Library this past Saturday morning, to check on the ongoing neighborhood alley cleanup, we found Karrie and Amanda toiling to make more progress (with the help of tools from the new West Seattle Tool Library!). We asked Karrie a followup question later – and received a full progress report:

It was our 3rd weekend working on the alley and we have all come to the realization that it’s a summer-long project. We originally thought we could knock it out in 2 days, but we didn’t realize just how much work it was until we dug in. Blackberries are adamant about holding their ground and the layers of garbage make me feel like an archaeologist. I do have an anthropology background so it’s kind of fun to see what we unearth, as long as it’s not too nasty.

Interesting finds so far: a decaying purse filled with syringes, couch cushions, a toilet, an active underground bee hive, a polaroid of a birthday party, enough green yarn to sew a sweater, dirty diapers and several other unmentionables. …

It is the beginning of something. Our plan now is to focus on small sections and start planting them so that people can see some reward for their hard work in the beautification sooner rather than later.

Neighbors north of our block have heard about this project and have said they want to clean up their alley now, so it’s catching on. That’s my hope. I would love to know that I could walk through any alley in Delridge/West Seattle and feel safe and see something beautiful. We are starting here, where we are.

Our block sees this alley as part of our community and we know that if we leave it to be swallowed up by weeds, brambles and litter, it’s a more attractive and hidden place for behavior that is not supportive of our community. So, we are determined to transform this particular alley into one that is safe, clean and a beautiful place to walk. It’s going to take time, clearly we have amazing neighbors who are invested in this project and who keep showing up. Bit by bit, we’ll make this happen.

And “bit by bit” of course also means person by person – here’s a photo Karrie shared, taken weekend before last, when a couple boys out for a bike ride stopped to help:

And the alley itself – though she notes, “Keep in mind, these pics are from our 2nd week into it so you cannot see the massive piles of brambles and trash we picked up the weekend prior.”

There’s also a much-tagged metal building along the alley that she says they have reported many times over, and if it isn’t handled soon, they’ll paint over the vandalism themselves. If you want to help with the ongoing alley cleanup, they’ll be in this alley (map) Saturday middays TFN, 11 am-1 pm.

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Transportation notes: Viaduct groundbreaking; South Park Bridge $

June 21, 2010 6:34 pm

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| Alaskan Way Viaduct | South Park | Transportation | West Seattle news

VIADUCT GROUNDBREAKING: The date’s set tonight for ceremonial groundbreaking on the project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s southern mile: 2 pm Tuesday, June 29 (one week from tomorrow), at 1st Avenue South/Royal Brougham Way. This work is expected to last into late 2013. If you’ve still got questions about any or all of what’s in store for The Viaduct, the state reminds us they’ll have reps at West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB) on July 9, 10, 11 in The Junction, for in-person Q/A.

SOUTH PARK BRIDGE MONEY: We reported last week that the King County Council would vote today on authority for issuing bonds to finance a $30 million contribution toward the construction of a replacement for the South Park Bridge, which will close permanently one week from Wednesday. Linda Robson from Councilmember Jan Drago‘s staff tells us the vote was unanimously in favor, 8-0; Drago herself was absent because of an out-of-state family emergency. Robson confirms that a media event is still in the works for Wednesday to discuss bridge funding – which so far includes this contribution and the $15 million Seattle City Council pledge as major components. A multi-contributor strategy is considered vital to the county’s chances of getting a federal grant; letters of intent for the grant are due in about four weeks.

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Tonight: Mariners-Diamondbacks in the championship game!

June 21, 2010 3:25 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

No, not Major League Baseball – 4 months too soon for that – it’s Bronco Baseball, from Southwest Seattle PONY Baseball. Thanks to Jeff for the tip:

The Bronco Baseball Championship game is tonight at Lincoln Park starting at 5:30. The game features 11 and 12 year old baseball players. The Mariners are taking on the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks are coming from the losing bracket and the Mariners from the winners bracket. The Diamondbacks will have to beat the Mariners 2 times to win the championship; if the Mariners win tonight they are the champions.

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Update: SW Othello reopened after closure for gas-pipe break

June 21, 2010 2:05 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| Utilities | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

ORIGINAL 2:05 PM REPORT: On our way to check out a report that some people might have had to leave their homes while authorities deal with a natural-gas leak at Othello/Vashon (map), just north of Solstice and Lincoln Parks. SW Othello is closed for much of the stretch between California and Fauntleroy. 2:16 PM: We’re at the scene – Fire Department’s still here, Puget Sound Energy has just arrived. Still working to find out exactly what happened; no indication of injuries. Just added a photo looking east toward the scene from across Fauntleroy. 2:26 PM: SFD says it’s a broken 2-inch pipe but otherwise, their crews are there as a “standard gas-leak response.” Media is not being allowed close enough for us to find out anything else, but there’s no indication this is affecting any more than a small area in this residential neighborhood. We’ll be checking back. 3:28 PM: Road still closed, new photo:

No new info at the scene but commenters below are shining some light from within the zone. 5:50 PM UPDATE: As we noted in comments, the street is open again. Puget Sound Energy confirms the break was caused by a contractor working at the scene and it only affected the service at the home where the work was being done.

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Cutting down on phone books, junk mail: Council reviews options

June 21, 2010 1:51 pm

| 14 COMMENTS

| Environment | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

We’ve talked before about phone books and junk mail, and how to try to opt out of them. The city council’s Public Utilities and Neighborhood Committee (which had a special meeting on another topic here in West Seattle last week – here’s our report) is taking up the topic tomorrow, with several options before them. In case you want to let them know which sounds best to you, here’s the “draft memo” listing the options. They range all the way up to passing a new law that would allow some phone books to be delivered on an “opt-in” basis only. The preferred option, according to the memo, is to contract with a company called Catalog Choice that would provide an online “enhanced opt-out service” for both city and county residents via Web access; the memo says it would cost $30,000 to get that going next year. Tomorrow’s committee meeting is at 2 pm at City Hall downtown; here’s the full agenda.

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West Seattle girl gets on ‘Jeopardy’ – from among 10,000 hopefuls!

June 21, 2010 10:30 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

At left, that’s Washington Middle School student Vivian Lappenbusch, who lives with her family in North Delridge and is about to gain nationwide fame – when she appears on the legendary game show “Jeopardy!” during its upcoming “Kids’ Week.” Vivian’s proud mom Brittany Abbott Von Spreecken e-mailed to let us know about Vivian’s achievement – 10,000 kids took the test this year, according to Brittany, and Vivian was one of just 15 to make it onto the show – and to ask publicly if any local establishment might be interested in hosting a viewing party! Vivian’s episode has already been recorded, of course, though the family is sworn to secrecy; it will air at 7:30 pm Friday, July 9th. You’ll be able to watch it on Channel 4 that night any place that has a TV, but if you’ve got a viewing-party venue (all-ages, obviously), let us know and we’ll put you in touch with Brittany.

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Update on SW Genesee paving: Now set for Wednesday

June 21, 2010 9:50 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| Genesee Hill | Transportation | West Seattle news

Latest from SDOT on the SW Genesee paving project, which they announced last week would expand to four blocks:

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) paving crews have been preparing SW Genesee Street from 47th Avenue SW to 51st Avenue SW for resurfacing. They recently completed grinding off the old asphalt surface. Weather permitting, they plan to lay new asphalt on Wednesday, June 23, from approximately from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. During this work, traffic flaggers will assist traffic in both directions share a single lane.

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West Seattle Monday: First day of summer! Really!

June 21, 2010 7:58 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

If we can’t see the sun, how about sun-like imagery? The building next to the light in Pye42‘s photo from the WSB Flickr group, if you don’t recognize it, is Link, going up in The Triangle along 38th south of Fauntleroy, kittycorner from the future West Seattle Trader Joe’s. Meantime, it’s now officially summer, with the solstice just a few hours ago; if it looks like sunset might be something resembling visible, you can watch it at Solstice Park with Alice Enevoldsen of Alice’s Astro Info – 9:11 pm , read about it here. And that still gives you time to check out Sustainable West Seattle‘s monthly Community Forum, tonight focusing on the role that public campaign financing would play in community sustainability, featuring Washington Public Campaigns (whose annual award banquet was in West Seattle this past Saturday night), 7 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction … Two events at Southwest Library today – Baby Story Time at 11:30 am (details here) and Afternoon Book Group at 2 pm (details here) … Lots more – just check the WSB West Seattle Events calendar.

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Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade: Less than 2 weeks away!

June 21, 2010 2:23 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | Holidays | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from July 4, 2009)
Now that it’s Monday, we are less than two weeks away from the 4th of July, rain or shine. And this year will be the 15th for a West Seattle family tradition – the Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade. You don’t have to be an Admiral resident to be part of it – it’s for anyone and everyone in West Seattle – no pre-registration required, either. It’s already been mentioned in our reports from Admiral Neighborhood Association meetings, since ANA is handling concessions this year, but this morning we’re also sharing some other details from parade organizer Sherri Chun: She says start time is 10 am at 44th/Sunset (map); King County Executive (and Admiral resident) Dow Constantine will be the kickoff speaker; West Seattle Hi-Yu royalty will be there too; as always, games and concessions will follow at the end of the parade route, at Hamilton Viewpoint. Sherri also sends a hearty thanks to sponsors Weitzel Construction (providing the porta-potties), speech therapist Kayle Shulenberger, and Holy Rosary School. Here’s the official flyer; this is a grass-roots effort, as always, so spread the word – the parade through neighborhood streets is always quite the sight, and a great way to start the holiday.

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Alki Homestead’s owner: “You always want to keep hoping”

June 20, 2010 11:35 pm

| 25 COMMENTS

| Alki Homestead | West Seattle history | West Seattle news

Two weeks from today is the 4th of July, the day the Southwest Seattle Historical Society plans a rally of sorts outside the Alki Homestead to take a group photo to publicize how many people are concerned about the landmark’s future. Its owner Tom Lin, meantime, says concern is great, but contends nobody’s contacting him directly to help save it from sitting, idle, indefinitely, as it has for a year and a half since the electrical fire that charred its interior and closed the restaurant. As noted in our original report on the Historical Society’s plan, we asked him for comment – to respond, he sat down with us this past week at an Alki coffee shop:Read More

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Housing and Resource Fair at Senior Center of West Seattle on June 29

June 20, 2010 10:33 pm

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| Announcements

Announced by the Senior Center of West Seattle:

Senior Housing & Resource Fair
Tuesday June 29
10 am – 1 pm
Lunch compliments of Daystar Retirement Village, Merrill Gardens Admiral and Merrill Gardens West Seattle [WSB sponsors].
Reservations required 932-4044 x1.
Where will you live as you age?

One stop shopping:
Look into your options of where to live or get assistance as you or your loved ones age. Various companies and organizations will be here to present their services.

• Learn of current services for ages 50+
• Assisted Living In Home Care
• Retirement Communities Downsize & Moving Companies
• Adult Family Homes Chore Services
• Independent Living
• Senior Housing Organizations
• Insurance & Financial plans

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West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival float brings home another award

June 20, 2010 10:18 pm

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| West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle news

First an award in Port Townsend in mid-May, then another one in Shelton two weeks ago, now another award for Seattle’s only traveling neighborhood-based float, the West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival float, living out this year’s theme, “Dreams Do Come True“:

The West Seattle float participated in the Marysville Strawberry Festival Parade on Saturday evening. It fortunately did not rain all day, until the float was on the trailer on the way back to Seattle.

We won the Berrysville award. The crew worked hard to install lights for our first evening parade. However, because of our early position in the parade, it was fully daylight when we were on the route. Everyone will have to wait for Seafair Torchlight Parade to see the float lit up.

The picture shows Junior Court Princess Kaitlin Morgan (left) and Junior Court Queen Kailin Spencer enjoying the strawberry shortcake that the festival provides for royalty and float crews.

Tim Winston
President
West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival

…and that sets the stage for a reminder, applications are being accepted for this year’s Junior Court, whose members will be chosen on July 16 – the info and application-form link are in this story!

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Deadline nears for West Seattle Volunteer Recognition nomination

June 20, 2010 7:33 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Tomorrow night’s the deadline for nominating someone in the next round of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards. WSB co-sponsors these awards with the Southwest and Delridge District Councils; reps from those two groups then review the nominees and choose the winners. This is the third round since spring of last year, and the winners will be honored one month from tonight at the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park. Click ahead for the form you can use to nominate someone – thanks!Read More

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Update: West Seattle Bridge reopens after crash shutdown

June 20, 2010 6:25 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Checking out multiple reports that the eastbound West Seattle Bridge is closed right now because of at least one crash. Witnesses say they’re seeing a vehicle on its side. 6:45 PM UPDATE: Witnesses say this crash is near the Walking on Logs curve. The fire/medic response for it already has closed; there was an earlier one further along the eastbound lanes, about an hour ago, and that call also has closed. City traffic cameras are not currently showing the bridge beyond the Fauntleroy entrance, so they’re not of use right now in determining its status. 7:04 PM UPDATE: The crash scene is cleared; police are reopening the bridge.

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West Seattle coyotes: Two latest sightings

June 20, 2010 3:33 pm

| 16 COMMENTS

| Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

2 quick notes for those keeping tabs: Early Saturday morning, from Sonia via Facebook, a coyote was spotted running south in the 6500 block of 42nd SW (behind West Seattle Thriftway in Morgan Junction); midmorning on Thursday, Marsha reported a coyote at 36th and Dawson (map). We publish these not as a warning, but as a reminder, if you think “Nah, not MY neighborhood” – they’re everywhere, and here’s how to coexist with them.

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West Seattle Father’s Day: No rainout for car show at The Mount

June 20, 2010 1:53 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news

Just in case you were wondering, there’s indeed a small-but-spirited classic-car show at Providence Mount St. Vincent as promised – a Father’s Day tradition. BYO umbrella. Scheduled to be on display till 3:30 pm. (Not pictured, a few more cars, including a Corvette. Here’s a map to The Mount.)

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More West Seattle school news: Chief Sealth ribboncutting set

June 20, 2010 12:33 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Denny-Sealth | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

As work continues on Chief Sealth International High School renovations, and construction of the new Denny International Middle School next door, the date’s already set for two events celebrating the reopening of Sealth’s permanent campus (map): The day before classes start for next school year, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned, 9:30 am September 7th, at the main entrance. Then on Saturday, September 25th, an all-community celebration is planned, described in the announcement as “an opportunity for the community to come tour the renovated main building, gym and new Galleria/Commons.” The galleria’s where this photo was taken earlier this month (it, and the photo above, are courtesy of the project team):

If you missed it the first time, here’s our story from a hard-hat tour with Sealth students in April.

SIDE NOTE: Sealth’s graduation is one of four we covered in West Seattle this month – here are the story links:
South Seattle Community College (June 17th photos/video)
West Seattle High School (June 16th photos/video)
Chief Sealth International High School (June 15th photos/video – including the “flash mob”)
Seattle Lutheran High School (June 11th photos)

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West Seattle school news: Another math win for Denny

June 20, 2010 11:44 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Thanks to Laurie for the tip on this week’s big win for Denny International Middle School students – and sharing the report that fellow Denny parent Lisa sent to a mailing list (republished here with permission):

On a wet and rainy Wednesday, Denny International Middle School took first place overall in the Seattle School District’s Middle School Math Olympiad. This was their second title in a row. They competed against a dozen other schools en route to their title defense. The team was led by 8th graders Bradley Marquez, Katy Carter, Lucille Bermes, and Eileen Lee. The 8th graders finished first overall, with the highest total score of all teams competing. The 7th grade finished 2nd in the 7th Grade division. The six members of the 6th grade team sacrificed their class field trip to the beach in order to participate in the event; however, the victory made the sacrifice worthwhile. The current 6th and 7th graders are looking forward to an unprecedented 3rd title in row next year. Congratulations to all who competed!

P.S. The new Denny continues taking shape nearby; while Chief Sealth International High School moves back to its renovated permanent buildings this fall (stand by for the next update), the adjacent new Denny isn’t scheduled for occupancy till 2011. Here’s a new aerial from the project team – top of the photo is north: