West Seattle, Washington
25 Saturday
Story and photos by Ellen Cedergreen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
West Seattle High School head girls-basketball coach Sonya Elliott says the team needed a lot of work when she took over this year: The locker rooms were a mess, morale was way down, team enrollment was at a minimum, and the team had won only 3 games last year. In addition, there was a budget of just $4 to work with. This year, the players had to purchase their uniform shirts themselves.
Coach Elliott is working on a new approach: the girls have study hall three times a week (because discipline in the classroom is just as important as on the court), and the team is working hard on the core fundamentals of the game with a very disciplined approach. Coach says: “When they do a drill and go down and touch the line, they have to actually touch that line.”
Though this is her first year at WSHS, Coach Elliott is no rookie. She’s been in West Seattle for 16 years and has spent a good portion of that time coaching and playing at community centers and in recreational leagues. As a result, she understands the game from every perspective.
When she heard that Seattle Storm coach Brian Agler – the WNBA’s “Head Coach of the Year” – would be willing to give her team a pep talk, she jumped at the chance. And so did the team. During this afternoon’s visit, Coach Agler had the girls sit according to class, with the seniors to the front of the line.
Coach Agler enlisted the seniors to lead the other girls. and to help implement the steps in a three=point plan he laid out for success: Work ethic, attitude, and togetherness. One of the main tenets of the plan is “no drama,” because according to Coach Agler, “drama will kill a girls-basketball team.”
Elaborating on how to accomplish the plan, Coach Agler repeatedly referred to Storm veterans Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird and to their high levels of dedication and discipline. He said that their talent only got them so far and credited their high level of dedication and focused training to improving their games. Focus was a central theme in Coach Agler’s talk. “These are, believe it or not, some of the best years of your life. Don’t waste a day,” he told the team. “Whatever your position, you ought to be as good as you can and accomplish as much as you can.” He sad that winning was great but that doing their absolute best was the bottom line.
(Agler’s in the back row, 3rd from right, with Elliott next to him)
After the talk, Coach Adler handed out FIT T-shirts for the girls and told them he’d be tracking them. He also informed the team, to heavy cheering, that they would be getting tickets to a Storm game in the coming season. By the time he left, the excitement in the air was palpable.
The team has already made some major improvements this year, with a 2-1 record so far this season. Their next game is Saturday night at WSHS at 5:15 against Seattle Lutheran. Their game schedule is here:
Looking for another way to support the WSHS girls? Coach Elliott is donating 50% of all proceeds of sales from her inspirational product line “peacelovebasketball” to the team.
We mentioned earlier that local students are out early today. In at least one case, one school in West Seattle had no classes at all – Seattle Lutheran High School, whose students are out volunteering. The photos are courtesy Bil Hood, who explains:
The Saints are hitting the streets today for the culmination of the Seattle Lutheran Month of Giving.
The month started with a week-long food drive for the West Seattle Food Bank. That was followed by a week of change-giving to buy gifts for kids who would otherwise not get any. This week, toys and clothes were collected for the Salvation Army. At tonight’s 3-on-3 Charity Basketball game, the students at Seattle Lutheran should reach $5,000 and 1000 hours in giving this month.
Today, staff and students have fanned out across the community to use their last day before Christmas break to give. Saints can be seen this Giving Day cleaning at Alki and traffic circles in the neighborhood.
Students are knitting scarves and hats for donations. Groups are making cards and hand-crafted gifts for shut-ins. They are also helping at other local schools and community centers who have needs. It is our way to say thank you for your many years of support, and have a blessed Christmas, West Seattle.
This last photo shows the blessing of handmade scarves headed for a women’s shelter:
We have giving opportunities listed on the West Seattle Holidays page, if you’re still looking for someplace or someone to help.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
As the 2010 portion of the 2010-2011 school year closes out on this day before winter break, it is time for many to reflect on how the year’s gone so far.
Among those whose roles in local schools doubtless will send them into the break with much to think about: Kristen Okabayashi, the new principal at West Seattle’s Hope Lutheran School, the first school she is leading as principal.
Though she is new to that job, and role, she is not new to West Seattle – she is a 10-year resident. She had been working at Concordia Lutheran in North Seattle while studying for her masters’ degree – and the Hope job opened up just as she had completed those studies. Now she is the school’s principal, as well as one of its parents, with four sons attending hope – a seventh-grader, fifth-grader, and twin second-graders.
That gives her extra insight into one focus this fall has been to help build relationships between the school and its students’ families. And she has been closely reviewing the Hope Lutheran curriculum: ” … making sure we meet all the state standards, reviewing whether we have the right curriculum, do we need to switch something we offer?”
Language arts, for example, is one area that will be changed schoolwide.
Here’s some music for your morning: Video/photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux produced 16 minutes of highlights from several of the student groups — vocal and instrumental — who rocked the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium during the music program‘s Winter Concert last night.
Big night for high-school basketball on the peninsula: West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School teams are playing at WSHS.
The girls’ varsity game was close – the home team beat Sealth, 41-39. (added) West Seattle spent the fourth quarter erasing Sealth’s lead, tying the game with a minute to go and taking the 41-39 win after the Wildcats’ Hailey Hage made the winning basket with only 10 seconds to go. Sealth played a more physical game which had put them out in front by as much as nine points early in the third quarter, but their more-aggressive style put them in foul trouble in the fourth quarter, which allowed West Seattle to pull close and finally win the game. Hage was West Seattle’s leading scorer with 15 points. Sealth’s Justine Decker had 17 points and broke up what had been a tie game for most of the first half by drawing back-to-back shooting fouls and following that up with a basket a minute later.
9:55 PM UPDATE: Boys’ varsity final – Sealth 70, WSHS 42. While the West Seattle boys’ varsity started strong, they were unable to keep up with Sealth. The game’s leading scorer was Sealth’s Keon Lewis with 22 points. His six-point run at the start of the third quarter pushed Sealth into a double digit lead, which they held until the end of the game.
The West Seattle teams play Seattle Lutheran High School on Saturday.
Thanks to Westside School (WSB sponsor) for sharing photos of a big event today – for the fourth consecutive year, Westside kindergarteners hosted the holiday toy drive for Toys for Tots, and their toys/books/bikes/pillows collection was bigger than ever! Above, the proud kindergarteners; the picture below was taken a few hours later as firefighters from the new, nearby Station 37 received the donated toys:
If you can give toys – a number of drives continue – at Twilight Artist Collective in The Junction, they’re collecting for foster kids via Treehouse; at every West Seattle community center (“like” them all together on Facebook!) they’ve got a drive under way; and of course, there are your local firehouses. More giving opportunities on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page.
Not only was it the perfect holiday field trip – it was the first field trip ever, we’re told, for the Holy Rosary preschool class taught by Tauna Evans and Sara Velling. As you’ll notice in the background, the kids were headed for Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) for hot chocolate after caroling; Hotwire is just one short block from HR. Thanks to Shannon for sharing the photo.
HOLIDAY REMINDER: Don’t miss this weekend’s highlights on the West Seattle Holidays page – including Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s tree-lighting coming up at 7 tonight (35th/Myrtle) – and the Christmas Ship comes to West Seattle for three stops tomorrow (Saturday) night plus a fourth on Monday night.
Story, photos, and video by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
27 groups and 85 students, including some Sealth alumni and a few students from other schools, were represented last night at Chief Sealth International High School‘s 4th annual Multicultural Night. The newly renovated school’s Galleria and Commons had throngs of students, families and neighbors milling through tables to learn more about the school’s clubs and programs, as well as classes offered at Chief Sealth.
The Chief Sealth PTSA held a raffle throughout the evening, with winners announced at the evenings stage performances. Community-donated prizes including certificates for Proletariat Pizza and Snap Fitness, as well as an iPod shuffle, back packs and the enormous food basket shown atop this story, filled with delectables:
Nan Johnson, woodshop-class instructor , explained that woodshop students sell their craftwork from their classes and even honor requests for customized engraving on items including, puzzles, pens and ornaments:
The pens shown above are made by the students on lathes, using imported woods such as zebra wood as well as colorful acrylics. The pens sell for $15/$20 each and, like other woodshop products, can be purchased through Ms. Johnson (ncjohnson@seattleschools.gov). Johnson says that her courses also use donated leftover construction materials which are then used to teach students construction and carpentry skills rather than going to the landfill. Inquiries for donations or pricing can be made to Ms. Johnson.
Also showcased last night: Global Visionaries, with students currently raising money for a two-week spring trip; the film festival we covered last week also was related to the program. Twelve Sealth students will be traveling in April and June with Sealth teacher Noah Zeichner to Guatemala,
In Guatemala, they will spend time on a coffee plantation among other experiences, learning about global environmental-justice issues. Meantime, a cheering crowd watched stage performances last night, including the Ukulele Club, Poetry Club, Filipino Club, Latino Dance Club, Hip Hop Club, and in this next clip, the Vietnamese/Cambo Club:
And dancing was very well-represented by talented students in the Polynesian Club and the Break Dance Club:
P.S. It’s school-tour season, and Sealth’s tours are listed on the school homepage.
Thanks to Curtis for the tip from last night’s West Seattle High School 2010 football banquet: Head football coach Davis Lura announced he’s leaving after four seasons. Having listened to what he described as an emotional speech, Curtis said, “Despite what was a very difficult season, it is very clear that Coach Lura cares about the young men on his team very much.” We checked today with WSHS athletic director George Foster, who confirmed Coach Lura’s departure, saying he is pursuing coaching opportunities in Ballard, where he teaches. No replacement for the Wildcats yet – the interview process may take a while.
Gatewood Elementary students have just gathered a quarter-ton of pennies — but that’s only half their charitable work. Teacher Darren Radu, who also shared the photo, explains:
Over the past 4 weeks, kids from all classrooms worked together to bring in close to 500 pounds of pennies (and other coins) as part of the 2010 Penny Harvest. The bags of coins were shipped off to the local Penny Harvest offices last Thursday.
The next steps for the kids (in the New Year) will be to convene a Philanthropy Roundtable, where students from each grade will come together to research organizations working for justice in the community, country, and world, and determine which organizations are in most need of support. The Philanthropy Roundtable will then allocate grant funds from the pennies raised to these organizations. One of the Roundtable’s most important criteria is ‘leverage per dollar’ – the Philanthropists use their research to allocate funds in a way that works most effectively to make a positive difference in the world. Last year, Gatewood students awarded Penny Harvest grants to PAWS, Haiti Relief, the Mockingbird Society, and Child Haven. They had some guidance from teachers, but did most of the research and made the final decisions on where to send the money themselves.
The attached photo shows some of our many ‘harvesters’ with a few of the 30-pound bags they filled.
Big gratitude to the Gatewood community, families, and friends, for supporting this worthwhile work!
Darren Radu
4th/5th Teacher at Gatewood Elementary
ADDED 7:12 PM: Via Facebook, Stacey tells us Madison Middle School collected for Penny Harvest too – about 300 pounds.
(Photos courtesy Hope Lutheran School)
That’s Tracy Dart, West Seattle breast-cancer survivor and activist, high-fiving a Hope Lutheran student at the end of the fifth-grade class’s special journey. Hope’s Bil Hood explains:
Last fall the Fifth Grade Class at Hope Lutheran School decided to do what they could to help out Team Tracy as they participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for breast cancer research. It started with writing encouraging letters that the members of Team Tracy could read while they were participating in the walk and grew from there.
The students wanted to walk as well. They decided that they would not be able to do 60 miles, like the members of the 3-Day did, but they could walk around the block. And for the last several weeks, they hit the street in all kinds of weather aiming to walk 60 laps.
Last Friday they were joined by Tracy herself and other members of Team Tracy as they completed their 60th lap around the block.
By the way – tonight’s the night that Team Tracy is the beneficiary of the first-ever fundraising Monday Night Scrabble tournament at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor) – starting at 7:15 pm
WESTSIDE SCHOOL MIDDLE-SCHOOL INFO NIGHT TONIGHT: One month after announcing they’re expanding to add middle school, Westside School (WSB sponsor) is having an informational meeting tonight for interested families. 6:30 pm at Westside’s new campus (former Hughes School in Sunrise Heights, 7740 34th SW).
LAFAYETTE PLAYGROUND PROGRESS REPORT TONIGHT: The “Play It Forward” project to match a $100,000 city match-it-or-lose-it grant has a community meeting tonight about the playground improvements’ design, 6:30 pm, school library (2645 California SW) – and a fundraising auction this Friday, too.
NEED MONEY FOR COLLEGE? INFO EVENT AT WSHS West Seattle High School invites you to learn how to get it, at a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) information session this Thursday, December 9, 6:30-7:30, in the West Seattle HS Theater. WSHS invites you to “bring all your financial aid questions. Go home with answers!” (3000 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE ELEMENTARY SELLING ‘ENTERTAINMENT’ BOOK: Special deal from West Seattle Elementary, in its first year of a high-stakes, high-intensity improvement effort that’s gained regional attention: They’re raising money by selling Entertainment coupon books, $25. Stocking stuffer, perhaps? Stop by the WSE office in High Point, 6760 34th SW, during school hours, or call Diane Stuart in the WSE office, 206-252-9450.
High-school basketball season is under way, and a four-team, two-day regional tournament concludes today at Seattle Lutheran High School in West Seattle. In addition to SLHS, Portland Lutheran, Cedar Park Christian, and Mt. Rainier Lutheran are participating. Both Saints teams won their games against Portland Lutheran last night – above, video from the girls’ 35-29 victory; after the jump, toplines from the games, plus a clip from the boys’ 63-28 win:
(WSB video and photo by Ellen Cedergreen)
And our third and final report on a Thursday night full of showcases for local student creativity – Winter Jazz Night at Chief Sealth International High School. In the clip above, Jazz Band II, which opened the night, performed “Emergency Stopping Only,” featuring Jesse Torres-Cruz on drums, Jazz Band II was led by Marcus Pimpleton, who, WSB contributing photographer Ellen Cedergreen reports, talked onstage about how exciting it is for Sealth to have two Jazz Bands, since as an alum he remembers when there were none. Also performing last night, Jazz Band I, led by Debbie Meyer – sorry we don’t have video of this group too (next concert!), but here’s a photo:
Jazz Band I performed six songs, after Jazz Band II’s five-song set. Thanks to the community members on- and off-campus who share the news about events like this and the others we covered last night; if you have school/community/etc. news/event notices to share, please let us know, any time!
The 2nd of 3 events we covered last night celebrating local students’ creativity and talent was a Community Film Fest at Chief Sealth International High School, with five short films screened, each exploring an environmental issue. Over the past four months, Environmental Science/Global Studies students made the films, with research trips including an examination of how the city handles solid waste as well as a Duwamish River tour to see how industrial and urban residential uses affect local waterways. Onstage in our top photo are Global Studies students who produced the film “Heavy Metal,” answering questions onstage afterward. The program was presented in connection with Bridges to Understanding; a rep told us they’re expecting to make the students’ work available online (we’ll follow up when we get word on when/where to find it).
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
Thursday night, we covered three events showcasing student creativity – and here’s the first report. Above, that’s Denny International Middle School student Jasmin Fredriksson proudly displaying “Through Our Eyes,” a first-of-its-kind compilation of Denny students’ personal narratives. She wrote “Bow to the 8th Grade,” about a bullying incident. Jasmin told WSB she’d love a career as a writer. We met Jasmin and other young writers during an event at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) celebrating the debut of “Through Our Eyes”:
Language Arts teacher Nehaya Dashti happily reported that it was the first time she could recall students outnumbering parents in the crowd at an event like this.
You can buy a copy of “Through Our Eyes” ($30) by contacting the teacher at 817-602-9378 or nadashti@seattleschools.org.
From December 3rd through 17th – two weeks starting this Friday, continuing till the last day of school before the winter break – West Seattle High School hopes you will join in its Holiday Drive. Science teacher/cheerleading coach Christina Ruzzine says contributions will be accepted at the school office. Full details:
We are asking students and our community to donate all the warm clothes and blankets that they are no longer using. Also, we are taking canned and non-perishable food items.
Our goal is to have a two-week-long donation effort to raise clothing for the Orion Center, and food for the West Seattle Food Bank. We are having a competition between classes for who can raise the most, and want to open up our campus to those members of the community who would be willing to donate.
Our goal is to allow our community and school to work together in efforts to help those in need. We here at West Seattle High School have many families in need, which lead us to believe that there are many more families in West Seattle that could use our help during this cold winter season. We want to give community members a chance to step on to our campus and see what the Wildcats are all about.
Haven’t been there yet? WSHS is at 3000 California SW. The office is reachable from the entrance on the north (Hiawatha-facing) side of the school.
P.S. Got a holiday donation drive that’s not on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page yet? Please let us know so we can help get the word out.
Seattle Public Schools has announced how it’ll make up for the days lost to last week’s snow: Since elementary and K-8 students weren’t having classes (because of parent-teacher conferences), no change to the calendar; middle- and high-school students did miss two days of class, so that means two days tacked onto the end of the year, June 21 and 22 – so June 23rd will now be the last day of school. Here’s the district’s news release.
Three quick notes:
COMCAST OUTAGE IN WEST SEATTLE: Via Twitter, the cable company confirms an outage here – affecting 2,500 homes and businesses, though we don’t have an exact area yet (aside from one affected customer’s e-mail mentioning they’re at 36th/Juneau). Comcast says crews are working on it, and the cause might have been a “fiber cut.” (10:58 am note – They’re now “splicing cable” but no estimated time for restoring service. … 1:58 pm update: Service is coming back, as both Comcast and a commenter indicate. Comcast says the cause “appears to be a bullet hole through a fiber line.”)
WINDY FORECAST: No special alert yet but the National Weather Service is expecting a windy day around here tomorrow, with gusts possibly as high as 45 miles per hour.
HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY DONATIONS SOUGHT: We already have the school’s holiday bazaar this Saturday on the Holidays page, but a new event’s been added to it, and your donations are needed. From the school:
Highland Park Elementary 4th and 5th graders need your help! On January 19th they leave for Camp Seymour for three days and two nights. In order to keep costs affordable for the 125 students they are holding a ‘Rummage Sale’ in conjunction with the Highland Park PTA Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, December 4, from 10 to 3pm. For this sale to be successful they need donations of gently used household items such as dishes, pots and pans, knick knacks. tools, books, small furniture, toys, etc. You can also make a monetary donation to help defray the costs for some of our students who would not otherwise be able to attend. The cost per student is $60. If you are able to help in either way please contact Ryan Schaedig at 206 252-8240 or rwschaedig@seattleschools.org.
Back to school tomorrow – but we have three school notes tonight:
CHIEF SEALTH AUCTION TOTAL: The Chief Sealth International High School PTSA announced via e-mail tonight that the November 18th Seahawk Spirit Dinner and Auction “netted nearly $25,000 to support academics, athletics, the arts, and student activities.” (Here’s our story from that night.)
2 SEALTH EVENTS AHEAD – FILM FEST AND MULTICULTURAL NIGHT: Received a note tonight about an event at Sealth this week – a Community Film Fest of Digital Stories, “short environmental videos made by youth in the global leadership class,” at 6 pm this Thursday in the school’s Little Theater (2600 SW Thistle), everyone invited (here’s the official flyer). Meantime, the PTSA is reminding the community about the upcoming Multicultural Night at Sealth, 6:30 pm December 9th, including music, dance, and spoken-word performances by school groups; more details here.
LAFAYETTE ELEMENTARY PLAYGROUND PROJECT: The “Play It Forward” committee raising money to match a $100,000 city grant – with January deadline looming – has set a meeting for December 6 to provide a progress report, and is inviting community input on project design. The meeting’s at 6:30 pm in the Lafayette library (2645 California SW). (Here’s our recent story about the project and the quest to match the grant.)
Some of the news we share from local schools is quickly summarizable – a photo, a few words. This report is more verbose – because it’s about words. Just before what became this snow-extended Thanksgiving break (most students have been out since noontime Monday, if not earlier), West Seattle High School language-arts teacher Kira Hopkins shared her news about WSHS and Writers in the Schools, working with her ninth-grade students. Here’s what WITS writer-in-residence Katie Ogle writes about her experiences so far – including a sample of student work:
Writers in the Schools at West Seattle High School
Writers in the Schools, a program of Seattle Arts and Lectures, employs local teaching artists to bring creative writing into King County public schools–and I, Katie Ogle, am delighted to be a 2010 writer-in-residence at West Seattle High School.
I visit Kira Hopkins’ four 9th-grade Language Arts classes each Friday. The early morning classes are usually still waking up and the afternoon classes are sprinting toward the imminent weekend, and yet they still are able to give me astute observations about published work I bring in to examine and push themselves to create stunning responses to my challenging writing prompts.
So far we are learning about the autonomy the writer has over language, the efficacy of literary devices, and how to develop honest, interesting poetry and writing. In keeping with Mrs. Hopkins’ course-theme, Identity, we have written self-portrait poems, odes to cherished objects, and poetic memoirs. I am so pleased to share one of many sharp and well-crafted poems that has come out of our short time together:
Click ahead to read that “well-crafted poem,” and a bit more from Katie Ogle:Read More
(Photos courtesy Bil Hood)
Congratulations to the Seattle Lutheran High School soccer team – they have won the state 2B/1B title, beating Napavine this afternoon in Sumner, 1-0. ADDED 4:32 PM: Photos courtesy of SLHS’s Bil Hood – including this one of longtime coach Jeff Norton with the trophy:
We talked with Coach Norton last month after his 200th career victory. He was the SLHS boys’ coach when that team (the girls’ team is the school’s only soccer team now) won the state championship in 1991. For SLHS athletics overall, this is the second state title this year – they took the 2B baseball championship in May (WSB coverage here).
ADDED 6:57 PM: More photos – courtesy of Bike Hugger, a West Seattle-based blog about bike culture; Angela Wissmar, the publisher’s daughter, played in the game:
Holiday bazaar/arts-crafts sale/open house season continues, as noted in our quick preview – and Schmitz Park Elementary is a big one to visit today, benefiting the Schmitz Park PTA. More warm hats for the cold weather ahead are part of what sale co-chair Anne Weglin, is selling (with her daughters assisting nearby, close to treats including $3 chocolate pretzels). She pointed out that the fourth-graders are raising money for an environmental campout – here’s Emma Kasameyer with mom Karen Kasameyer:
Their fundraising wares include Re-Usies, the increasingly famous reusable snack/sandwich bags invented by West Seattle moms (from nearby Lafayette Elementary). And don’t miss the raffle bags in the hallway – vendors donated items for those; raffle proceeds also benefit the PTA. The bazaar’s on till 3 today in the Schmitz Park cafetorium, 5000 SW Spokane. (P.S. Late addition to the list of all bazaars/open houses/etc. – JF Henry in The Junction is having one today/tomorrow too – we’ve added that to the list on the West Seattle Holidays page.)
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