West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
Holy Rosary‘s preschool teachers shared that photo along with an invitation to interested families to check out their open house today, 10 am-1 pm, northeast corner of 42nd and Genesee. And another preschool open house today is literally steps away – West Seattle Christian Preschool, right across Genesee, 1-3 pm. Also today: The first week of “Emilie” at ArtsWest continues with a 3 pm performance (tickets available online) … And one more event in The Junction: The West Seattle Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm as always, 44th/Alaska (here’s what market managers say you’ll find) … Two remembrance events today: The celebration of life for Christy Tyson (see this WSB story), 3-6 pm at Camp Long Lodge (5200 35th SW), and the Jeremy Peck memorial and benefit potluck dinner, Chelan Café, 6-10 pm (3527 Chelan SW; more information on this Facebook event invite page).
(Updated Saturday and Sunday with comments from filmmaker, principal)
This just landed in the WSB inbox. We don’t know the backstory (yet) but we recognize the team at Denny International Middle School (even principal Jeff Clark), and this one’s going viral – it’s been on YouTube for a day and already has 1,000+ views. (P.S. The end credit attributes the lyrics to math teacher Gary Lai, who’s prominent in the video – note the scooter; we looked him up in WSB archives and found our story on the extra studying getting done at Denny during midwinter break back in 2008.)
ADDED SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Will Braden, who produced the video, answered our note asking for a little backstory:
The video was shot a couple weeks ago; it only took us one four-hour session and one follow up hour long session to get all the shots.
Gary Lai, who is a math and science teacher at Denny, wrote the lyrics. He and I went to high school together (at Garfield) and are old friends. I do videography and filmmaking, and he asked me to shoot it for him. We came up with a lot of the ideas and settings on the fly, just using whatever we could find. I’ve done some video stuff before as a favor, just to support Denny (and Gary) but this was definitely a more ambitious undertaking!
Gary has a real passion for teaching, and I know he relishes being the “cool” teacher, so I knew this was right up his alley.
We’re hoping to do more of these, since people seem to be responding positively to this one!
ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: A comment from Denny principal Jeff Clark, among those featured in the video:
Thanks to the efforts of Denny staff and an outstanding volunteer, Will Braden, Denny International has our second motivational video filmed and posted online. The goal is to continue to connect our students to their studies and the plan of college graduation in ways that are relevant to them. I would like to thank Mr. Lai, Mr. Braden, Ms. Oatis, Ms. Whited, Mr. Kimball, all of our dancers and everyone else who helped – thank you!
Go Dolphins!
As Seattle Public Schools gets ready to revise its transportation plan for next school year, it’s launching a new round of meetings, and there will be one in West Seattle. It’s set for 6:30-8 pm Wednesday, February 8, at Denny International Middle School (8402 30th SW). You can see what’s being proposed by following the links from this page on the district website.
12:11 PM UPDATE: The district just sent word they have to move the location of this meeting – it will be at Chief Sealth International High School instead.
In case you missed Tuesday night’s special safety presentation at Denny International Middle School, our video has the main event in its unedited entirety – 35 minutes on cybersafety, presented by a local expert: Stefanie Thomas from the Seattle Police Department, where she is a victim advocate with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Think you know everything about the online do’s, don’ts, and dangers? You might want to watch, just to be sure. (As noted here in our preview, the event was presented by the Denny PTSA.)
Westside School (WSB sponsor) is sharing news this afternoon about two teachers visiting from the Republic of Korea. This is the second year they’ve had a visit like this (first year at their new West Seattle campus in the former EC Hughes School). Westside’s announcement explains:
The teachers have been selected for their excellence in teaching and are currently working with the A.C.E. Language Institute at Seattle Pacific University. They are very interested in how Westside School uses strategies such as Project Based Learning, Investigations, and Integrated Lessons to teach the children. The Korean teachers will be observing all classes and they will have the opportunity to present lessons on Korean culture to the students.
“This is an exceptional opportunity for our community to learn about life in Korea as well as for our guests to experience the ‘Westside Way,’ remarked David Bergler, Westside School’s Director of Admission. He continued, “It is our hope that this experience will cultivate long-lasting cross cultural understanding and the building of a relationship between our school and those of our guests. We believe that through this experience our students will learn about another culture and spark interest in becoming globally-minded citizens and future world travelers.”
The teachers are halfway through a two-week visit.
“It’s time to get serious about your family’s personal safety.” So begins the Denny International Middle School PTSA‘s open invitation to a special event tomorrow (Tuesday) night, 6-7:30 pm at Denny, and they tell us that students are welcome as well as parents, from anywhere in our area, not just Denny families. The event promises “important safety tips to help keep you and your child safe both in the real world and the cyber-world,” with guests including the school-safety officer assigned to Denny. There’ll also be Giannoni’s Pizza on sale for $1/slice. Denny is at 8402 30th SW (map).
Arbor Heights Elementary third-grade teacher Mark Ahlness is not only an online pioneer – he continuously leads his young students out onto the technological cutting edge of exploration. Latest way that’s happening: The laptops the kids are holding in our top photo are XO’s, which Ahlness describes on his website as a “unique piece of hardware that kick-started the competitive innovations leading to the netbook, the Kindle, and yes, even the iPad.” You might remember hearing about them a few years back – the idea was, you buy two and donate one – here’s a promotional video that explained them:
As soon as Ahlness let the word out that he was interested in having his students work with them, that word got around in a way that now has 28 XO’s taking up residence in his room. As he writes online, the students weren’t short on technology, but this is a wholly different kind of technology, which has sparked them into more exploration, and collaboration, since the computers are networked.
He’s not stopping at one XO laptop per student – he’s hoping to get more donations, enough to create a lending library, among other goals (listed here).
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
South Seattle Community College‘s food and wine programs are famous in their own right – perhaps because they’re open to even international education, with guests like the team from Spain that came in on Thursday. Among the team that led cooking and wine classes and presentations almost all day was guest sommelier Jesús Sanguino Collado (above). The featured wines and foods were from the Castilla y León region of Spain. Click ahead to see what they tried, and how:Read More
There’s excitement under every footstep at the Community School of West Seattle. Sarah Airhart shares the photos and the news, along with words of thanks:
The Community of School of West Seattle wants to let everyone know that after a year of planning, auctioning, fundraising and grant writing and 3 weeks of being closed to remodel, our new Marmoleum floors and children’s bathrooms are finally IN.
They are so beautiful and we are so thankful to all our friends and families in and around the West Seattle community that made this happen. We raised $17,000 at our auction and were awarded a grant for $21,000 we worked hard and saved our pennies to make this happen. Any past alumni families (and anyone who just wants to come and look around) are invited to stop by to our Open House on January 22nd between 10 am and 2 pm – we can’t wait to show you what YOU helped make happen. It truly does take a village!
CSWS is at 9450 22nd SW.
Story and photos by Ellen Cedergreen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
A big celebration at Roxhill Elementary today as it received a total of 4 grants, all from the Seattle Education Foundation, awarded in a dignitaries-laden ceremony that also marked grants for schools elsewhere in the district.
Roxhill teachers applied for and were selected for the grants after they submitted proposals to Seattle Education Foundation’s board. Up to $20,000 in grant money is distributed annually among Seattle Public Schools, whose superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson was among those at Roxhill this morning for the presentation.
Last year, Roxhill was given $1,000 (the foundation’s maximum allowance for a single grant) for audio library books and equipment. This year, they’ll get to expand the impact with grants going to fund a variety of areas including: physical education, kindergarten, and reading intervention.
Today’s ceremony at Roxhill happened during the morning assembly. Students carried out their regular assembly business items; student of the month awards, reminders to be persistent and responsible, school chant, and birthdays. But the end portion of the assembly brought a big surprise in the form of a really big check.
Students got to hear a short and humorous presentation by Roxhill alum and foundation board member, Jim Oftebro, who shared a story from his tenure as a PE teacher at Roxhill. Then Dr. Goodloe-Johnson, and School Board member Steve Sundquist helped present the check along with the general manager at SEF’s Foundation House, Farron Bernhardt. Bernhardt told WSB he’s gratified to see the whole process go full circle, all the way from Foundation House back to the schools. Roxhill students gave big cheers at the prospect of more field trips, PE, and art.
Read on for more about the specific grants, and the Seattle Education Foundation:Read More
We’re at UW’s Hec Ed Pavilion, where Chief Sealth International High School‘s boys-varsity basketball team just beat Bellevue High School, 60-58, as part of the two-day King Holiday Hoopfest. More to come!
3:03 PM UPDATE: Our first clip shows the team taking the floor in the big arena. WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand covered the game at Hec Ed, and reports:
Chief Sealth took advantage of Bellevue’s foul trouble late in the game to put up a 60-58 win at the 2011 King Holiday Hoopfest, at Hec Ed Pavilion on the UW campus. Both teams had foul trouble throughout the game, but Sealth’s rough patch came early. In the first quarter, Bellevue had 12 points, most from free throws. The Wolverines held onto a steady lead for most of three quarters due to Sealth leading the game in turnovers with 25. But late in the third quarter the Seahawks’ Pepe Hernandez and Keon Lewis worked to bring their team a one-point lead going into the fourth quarter. From there Bellevue’s foul problems kept them for regaining the lead.
After the game Coach Colin Slingby met the media along with Lewis and Hernandez:
Lewis and D’nique Harris-Welch were Sealth’s high scorers with 18 points each. Bellevue’s standout player was Nate Sikma, who had 27 points Nate is the son of former Sonic Jack Sikma. No break for Sealth – big game tomorrow night at home against Rainier Beach.
(April 2010 photo courtesy Denny IMS, from one of 4 marching-band performances in a single day)
Two announcements tonight from the music department at Denny International Middle School in West Seattle — first, an invitation to their next concert; second, a request for help with a chance to get to a big gig on the road:
The Denny International Middle School Music Department will be having their Winter Concert on Thursday, January 20th at 7:00 PM in the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium.
Please join us for a fabulous array of performances by the Jazz Band, Concert Bands (beginning, junior and senior), Orchestras (junior and senior), World Music Choir, and Steel Drum Ensemble. It is sure to be a night filled with delightful music created by many talented and enthusiastic students. We are very excited to be able to perform in the newly renovated Chief Sealth Auditorium — a big step up for these students from their previous performance venue.
The Denny Marching Band has been invited to give a performance down Main Street Disney which will be quite a thrill for them. If there are people out there able to help contribute to a scholarship fund, we would gladly accept donations to enable more students to take advantage of this special opportunity. Donations can be made to the Denny Music Department via department head Marcus Pimpleton. For additional information, please contact Marcus Pimpleton at mjpimpleton@seattleschools.org.
Seattle Lutheran High School‘s boys-varsity basketball team used its deep bench to wear down Tacoma Baptist in West Seattle on Saturday night, cruising to a 55-27 win. Details ahead:Read More
In one week, Roxhill Elementary School librarian Pat Bliquez will officially receive the Golden Apple Award that was announced last October (here’s our coverage of the Roxhill assembly where students and staffers congratulated her). Our partners at the Seattle Times also wrote about her, and Roxhill’s head teacher Chris Robert says that story inspired a good deed from miles outside West Seattle:
A grandmother in Kent read the story and was inspired to donate over 200 hand- knitted caps/hats to Roxhill and Mrs. Bliquez. Pat created a lesson for all the Kindergartners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders in which she read a story about caps/hats, students wrote/drew about the story, and every student left (the) lesson with a new cap. It was incredible seeing the look on students’ faces as they were told they got to select a cap to keep, and it was fun watching kids keeping their caps on all day at school.
Hearing about this, we asked for a photo, and received the one above, some of the Roxhill kindergarteners in their prized caps!
8:58 PM: Two scores in so far tonight from local high-school basketball games. In girls’ varsity matchups, it was Seattle Prep 78, Chief Sealth 43, and Seattle Lutheran 50, Chief Leschi 16. Boys’ varsity games are under way now in both of those pairings, which are being live-tweeted (Sealth at @wsblive, SLHS at @seattlelutheran). West Seattle HS teams are playing Nathan Hale tonight.
ADDED 9:09 PM: Another final: SLHS boys’ varsity 43, Chief Leschi 35.
ADDED 9:28 PM: And another boys’ varsity final, Seattle Prep 57, Chief Sealth 50.
WSHS scores and details from tonight’s spotlight matchup (Sealth/Prep) ahead:Read More
Hundreds of Chief Sealth International High School students just found out in a surprise announcement in the school auditorium that a free year of college awaits them – and potentially thousands of their future counterparts. In an event under way at Sealth right now, South Seattle Community College has announced that CSIHS is the second Seattle Public Schools high school to become part of the SSCC 13th Year Promise Scholarship program. (Cleveland High School was the first, starting with its Class of 2008.) The official announcement explains:
The groundbreaking scholarship program, which is the first of its kind in Washington state, guarantees every graduating senior the opportunity to attend South tuition-free for one year, regardless of grade point, test scores or other factors. …
The 13th Year Promise Scholarship was developed to address data that shows the enormous difference just one year of college can make in terms of earnings and a student’s likelihood of continuing in higher education. This critical “Tipping Point” has been identified as a high school diploma and one-year of college. The scholarship is also designed to increase the access to higher education for our community’s students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, including students of color, low-income and first-generation college students. …
The program is funded by financial aid and/or scholarship funds raised through the South Seattle Community College Foundation. …
The announcement event is being led by two Sealth graduates – SSCC president Gary Oertli and CSIHS principal John Boyd.
ADDED 3:34 PM: Oertli and Boyd are in the video added atop this story – also participating, school-board rep (and Sealth parent) Steve Sundquist:
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
Besides the monthly West Seattle Art Walk (see our previous report), Thursday night brought another major art event – the West Seattle High School Winter Art Expo, a juried show. Here’s a group of WSHS ceramics students and their teacher – from left: Korina, Nelsy, Silvee, teacher Michelle Sloan, Regine, and Justice:
Parents, jurors, and students perused a vast array of “Me Boxes,” one of three featured mediums:
What’s in a “Me Box,” you ask? They are process boxes the students make and decorate.
WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen, who covered the expo, explains that each panel represents a different part of the student, in the following layout: The outside top of the box represents who the students appear to be to the world; the inside is meant to show how the student sees her/himself; the four outer walls represent one of four emotions – peace, sadness, anger, and joy. WSHS student Socheata Thon told Ellen that the inside of hers is primarily dedicate to speed since she is fast, “like a cheetah”:
Here are WSHS students Jordan Jackson and Tyler Johnson with their “Me Boxes”:
Retired Ballard High School art teacher Jane Morris (in the next photo with WSHS student Maxwell Zimmerman), was a juror:
Jane told WSB that students were judged primarily on how well they executed their own artistic intent, which they wrote out as “artist statements.” Jurors read the statements before sitting down with students for one-on-one critiques. The expo included 10 professionals judging more than 200 students; winners will be announced in class today.
Chief Sealth International High School is one of three Seattle Public Schools on the “persistently low-achieving” list released by the state today. That list is compiled annually to show which schools are eligible for a federal grant of up to $2 million over three years – if they pursue one of four federally designed plans of action. The district says that while it is pursuing grants for its other two schools on the list, AS#1 and Rainier Beach High School, whose deficiency is listed as “achievement,” it is not doing so for Sealth, whose deficiency is listed as “graduation.” From a news release sent by SPS tonight:
One other school – Chief Sealth International High School – is also on the state list of eligible schools based on low graduation rates. Seattle Public Schools is not pursing a grant application for Chief Sealth, because the school is well into implementation of a plan to ensure a high-achieving school. “Chief Sealth leadership, staff and families are working very well together, and in cooperation with Denny International Middle School, to create an outstanding 6-12 pathway based on the International Baccalaureate and international education,” said Goodloe-Johnson. “While additional funding would be helpful, we do not want to disrupt the momentum that has been created.”
Seattle Public Schools and its teacher union decided last year that any school for which a grant was sought would follow the “Transformation” type of improvement plan – which requires “Replace the principal and take steps to increase teacher and school leader effectiveness; institute comprehensive instructional reforms; increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; and provide operational flexibility and sustained support.” Last year, West Seattle Elementary was on this list, and the district pursued a grant. This state document explains the criteria for landing on the list. We have a message out seeking further comment.
Three news notes this morning from Chief Sealth International High School: The first of three official tours during this school-choice season is happening today, 1 pm. Sealth principal John Boyd provides an introduction before you meet student leaders, counselors, and teachers, along with a tour of the newly renovated school. RSVP to 206-252-8550. (Other tour dates are 9:30 am February 15 and 1 pm March 3; Sealth’s open-house-style Choices Night is 6-9 pm February 17th; here’s the official flyer.)
One more just-announced event on the Sealth calendar – The school’s Jazz Band 1 is hosting a Big Band Dinner Dance fundraiser on April 15th, 6-11 pm in CSIHS’s Galleria – Italian dinner, swing dancing, and music by Jazz Band 1 and the West Seattle Big Band. $15 adults/students, $7 kids under 10. For tickets, contact Deborah Meyer at dlmeyer@seattleschools.org or Tristan Addington-Ferris at teaf_14@msn.com.
And the Sealth PTSA sends word that this Friday night’s varsity basketball game against Seattle Prep is in the running for KIRO’s Game of the Week. All depends on who wins the vote – you can vote here till 5 pm today.
1:01 PM: Just in from Seattle Public Schools via robocall – all afterschool activities are canceled for today because of the potentially snowy weather. That includes “afterschool-activity transportation.” You can hear the announcement here. (If you know of any private-school changes, please send word and we’ll add that info here too – thanks!)
2:02 PM UPDATE: Just in: “Westside School [WSB sponsor]has cancelled today’s after school classes and childcare due to potentially hazardous weather conditions. PreK & Kindergarten children will be dismissed at 2:45 and grades 1-5 will be dismissed at 3:15.” Also, via Twitter, Seattle Lutheran High School says its basketball game vs. Bear Creek is canceled.
With the new year just one week old, resolutions are still fresh, and the future’s bright. Arbor Heights Elementary teacher Mark Ahlness mentioned his third-graders’ resolutions today via Twitter; after checking them out, we got his permission to share the link. Some are simple; some are big dreams, and not even on behalf of the resolution-makers. Writes Yadira:
My wish is that everybody can have a house. Because then if people have a house and it rains people won’t get wet. But if people don’t have houses people will get wet. So they have to have a house so the people don’t get cold.
Read them all here.
One more school note: It’s school-choice season, and West Seattle private and public schools are opening their doors in various ways, literally and figuratively, to share information with you. Tomorrow, for example, Parent Map is presenting a fair at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center, 10 am-1 pm. It’s called Preschool Preview but it includes schools going all the way up to high school, and a few nonschool participants too. Here’s the full list; say hi to WSB sponsors Westside School (which is having its own open house tomorrow, 1-3 pm), West Seattle Montessori/WS Academy (with its own open houses 1-3 pm January 22 and 6:30-8 pm February 9), and Bryan Brenner, DDS. It’s also tour time for Seattle Public Schools – the lists are all linked from the bottom of this page on the district’s new-look website (note that the elementaries are split into two “service areas” – Denny and Madison).
Followup on our two latest reports about West Seattle public schools dealing with big enrollment growth because of the district’s New Student Assignment Plan (Wednesday report here; Thursday report here): The district confirms that more portables are on their way to schools including three elementaries in West Seattle: One double portable each to Gatewood and Lafayette, one single portable to Schmitz Park. According to district spokesperson Teresa Wippel, they’re set for delivery sometime before the start of next school year. (We happened onto this news because the Gatewood portable classrooms need approval from the Landmark Preservation Board, since that school is an official city landmark, and the plan turned up on the agenda for the LPB’s Architectural Review Committee next Friday.)
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