West Seattle, Washington
03 Wednesday
(SLHS cheerleaders on the field before this morning’s game)
Another of West Seattle’s three major high schools has its first varsity football game of the season in the books. In the Emerald City Kickoff Classic at Qwest Field, Seattle Lutheran High School fell to Life Christian, 22-44. (We tweeted key plays live at @wsblive.)
ADDED 3:01 PM: Game toplines from WSB’s Patrick Sand: The Saints played the Eagles pretty close for the better part of two quarters trading touchdowns and two-point conversions. Early on, Lutheran managed to be opportunistic on defense and repeatedly threw the Eagles for losses, but by just before the half the game began to break in Life Christian’s favor.
The Saints managed three touchdowns, the most spectacular of which was Fred Lisko‘s 81-yard pass reception in the second quarter:
(Photo by Ian McKay)
9:58 PM: From Southwest Athletic Complex, that’s the final score of tonight’s game: Port Angeles 41, Chief Sealth 0, in West Seattle’s first high-school football game of the season. More details to come, including the special tribute to Sealth alum Petty Officer Jarod Newlove, the Sealth alum killed in Afghanistan last month. (We tweeted live during the game at @wsblive.)
12:02 AM UPDATE: The night began with a barbecue at Sealth. That’s where we found principal John Boyd sporting the official T-shirt, plus showing the Sealth helmets with “JN” as a tribute to Petty Officer Newlove. The barbecue raised money for a scholarship fund in PO Newlove’s honor:
Athletic director Sam Reed tells us the team had the idea to dedicate the season to PO Newlove. Meantime, we noted the signage going up outside the renovated campus, where there’s a ribboncutting on Tuesday and classes begin Wednesday:
And before the game, the band, cheerleaders, and team marched from the campus over to the stadium:
More high-school football on Saturday: Seattle Lutheran High School plays in the morning, West Seattle High School in the evening.
We made a quick stop over at Alki Elementary School last night where volunteers were enthusiastically pulling weeds and cleaning up the small courtyard at the center of the school. While they were working, they joked that “weed identification and classification” would not be on the curriculum for the kids this year.
The school is holding an Ice Cream Social for new families on Tuesday, September 7th from 2-3 PM. Classes begin the following day at 9:30 AM.
(UPDATE: First Day Reception & Assembly will be at 9:10 AM on September 8th)
(Photos by Cliff DesPeaux)
One week from tonight, Chief Sealth International High School students and staff – and their respective families! – will be resting up after the first day of classes inside the newly renovated school. Tonight, CSIHS principal John Boyd showed off his school’s shiny new digs to those who signed up for a “sneak peek” behind-the-scenes tour, benefiting the Friends of Sealth scholarship fund:
Photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux covered the tour for WSB, to capture the sights and sounds as the tour wound its way through areas including the spiffed-up gym:
He’s working on video right now that we’ll add when it’s ready, with an expanded look at what tourgoers saw.
You can read more about the two-year renovation project on the Seattle Public Schools website here – and our coverage archive, newest to oldest, is here. (The new Denny International Middle School, sharing the Sealth campus, remains under construction, with that move planned next year.)
Here is Cliff’s video:
Seattle Public Schools confirmed late today that the district has reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract with its teachers union, the Seattle Education Association, whose members are scheduled to vote at 4:30 pm tomorrow. Here’s the latest from our partners at the Seattle Times.
With a little more than a week to go till Seattle Public Schools classes begin, our partners at the Seattle Times report tonight that the district and its teachers union believe they’ve reached a tentative contract agreement. By most accounts, these had not been easy negotiations, so that’s bigger news than it might have been some years. The Seattle Education Association already had a membership meeting scheduled for Thursday, so if a deal has indeed been reached, that’s when teachers will vote. More details are expected tomorrow, according to the Times report.
That’s new principal Vicki Sacco greeting parents and students this morning at West Seattle Elementary in High Point. Students were decked out in new school clothes as they lined up to gather their school supplies before sitting down for a barbecue lunch prepared for them by the smiling cafeteria staff.
Orientation continued afterward with a school walk-through. Students will return for the actual start of classes at 8:15 am tomorrow.
(Photos by Jason Grotelueschen)
With classes back in session for many West Seattle schools, you’re likely to see a school bus or two in your neighborhood very soon. The bus row in the photo above was spotted at Alki Elementary this morning, where the Alki and Lafayette bus drivers were meeting to discuss the official start of Seattle Public Schools’ schedule (September 8th).
Also, you’ll see signs at your local Seattle Public Library branch similar to the one below at High Point. While the libraries are typically nice and quiet, they will be completely quiet this week as the systemwide SPL closure begins today, as we’ve noted previously.
3:24 PM UPDATE: Added the correct start date for most SPS schools (Sept. 8th)
Topping our look ahead at what’s up in West Seattle today/tonight: It’s the first day of school for hundreds of West Seattle students – classes begin at Holy Rosary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Holy Family … If you’ve got a K-8 student who’s NOT going back till next week, you’re invited to “end the summer with a blast” with Sonics legend Slick Watts at West Seattle High School, today through Thursday – Hoop Camp registration info’s online at wattsbasketball.com … One more reminder that the week-plus systemwide Seattle Public Library closure starts today … And for those involved in the community work to help King County decide how to reduce combined-sewer overflows in Puget Sound, with the least amount of community impact, the next meeting of the Murray Basin Citizens Advisory Group is scheduled for tonight (full details here) … You’ll find even more for today/tonight if you check the WSB West Seattle Events calendar.
Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
On the eve of the first day of school for 2010-11, Our Lady of Guadalupe drew a crowd this afternoon to celebrate the kickoff of its major fundraising campaign to build a new Gathering Hall/Gym on parish property at 35th and Myrtle.
And it began with big news – OLG’s Father Jack Walmesley (above) announced to the crowd gathered outside that they had already raised $1.25 million toward their $4 million goal, thanks to a major benefactor: Former parishioner and West Seattle resident Mike Hession, who left $1 million to the parish in his will to be used toward the new building (you can see a rendering here).
Designed by Richard Glasman of M/G Architecture, the new building will be a community center, gym, full kitchen and meeting spaces that will be open to the community. Father Jack says the intention of the building is to be a community resource to assist social-action groups and functions; he mentioned Family Promise of Seattle, which helps homeless families find resources (but is currently going through a tough time itself, as first reported here).
Father Jack adds: “This is a step toward reaching the full potential for ourselves and our community. It’s fun to watch people utilize their talents—this is happening because of (their) talents.”
The fundraising campaign will last through Christmas, with the intention of beginning construction in June of 2011. There’s more info online here.
Just so you know when to start watching for “school zone” lights, students crossing streets, and other signs that school’s in session – some West Seattle schools start as early as next Monday! Here’s the list we have so far – if we’re missing yours, please leave a comment or e-mail us and we’ll add it:
AUGUST 30 (next Monday): Holy Rosary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Holy Family
AUGUST 31 (next Tuesday): West Seattle Elementary
SEPTEMBER 7: Seattle Lutheran High School, Hope Lutheran School, Tilden School
SEPTEMBER 8: Seattle Public Schools (except WS Elementary, see 8/31), Shorewood Christian School, Westside School, Explorer West Middle School. Photo above is courtesy David Bergler from Westside, which is moving into a new campus; he reports:
(In the photo,) Ava & Helen Simmons put the finishing touches on a mural of the EC Hughes building. The students of Westside School created a number of beautiful murals for the walls of their new school. The first day of classes will be held on Wednesday, September 8th. Westside School will be having a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, September 7th at 4:00. Westside School currently has an enrollment of 235 students from preschool through fifth grade.
Second note – SPS sent a news release late today about teachers visiting several district schools from China this year, including some in West Seattle – read on for the full announcement:Read More
Roxhill Elementary School‘s distinctive “R” needs some help. And Westwood Neighborhood Council leader Donn DeVore (who shared the photo above) is offering the perfect chance for you to pitch in and make sure that a building working on teaching kids the “three R’s” – and then some – can be proud of its own “R” once more:
Calling for volunteers on September 11th/12th from 10 am to 2 pm. Need a minimum of 8-10 people (4-5 each day) to help sand, prime and re-paint the Roxhill Elementary School ‘R’ on SW Roxbury Street. The school doesn’t have the budget for this.
If people are interested in volunteering, please have them contact me at donndevore@hotmail.com.
As mentioned here about this time last night, Chief Sealth International High School got the go-ahead for teachers and other staffers to move in – and today, they did just that. Above, unpacking was still under way in the Proyecto Saber room, where we found teachers including Delfino Munoz around mid-afternoon. And the Southwest Precinct had just sent over its second tour-group-in-blue:
Speaking of colors, they play a role in the Sealth scheme – just look down the hallway:
With two weeks to go till the first day of classes – and 13 days to the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 am Sept. 7 – there’s still plenty of work under way, inside and out, but it’s clearly the home stretch – here’s a view from the front steps down toward the new Galleria:
Your first official chance to get a peek inside is just a week away – next Wednesday night, as a fundraiser for the Friends of Sealth scholarship fund, you can be part of a behind-the-scenes tour – reservations required, and you can make yours online at the new Friends of Sealth website. One month from today, a community open house will include tours, too – 10 am Sept. 25th.
Two weeks till the first day of school, and another local campus gets a bit of a facelift – Arbor Heights Elementary‘s playground-painting project is almost done, after two volunteer work sessions in the past four days.
Thanks to John for sharing the photos:
John wanted to share some acknowledgments:
I would also like to say thank you to BEAN, 99.9 The Rock, 100.7 The Wolf, 103.7 The Mountain, 107.7 The End. They worked their bottoms off. THANK YOU to everyone who helped!! Parents, Staff, Everyone! A HUGE THANK YOU to Amy, David, Jihyun, Rossyln, Molly, Gina, Hema, and Chris!!!!
We showed you some “before” photos a month ago, when AH put out the call for volunteer help.
If you’re associated with Chief Sealth International High School in some way, including students’ families, you’ve probably seen or heard a message in the past few days about the renovated campus awaiting Fire Marshal clearance before staff can move in. That clearance has just been achieved, says Sealth principal John Boyd, who tells WSB that teachers and administrators will start moving in tomorrow – exactly 2 weeks before classes begin.
Seattle Public Schools just sent a news release with a long list of new district administrators and principals. We’ve already published the news of the one West Seattle-specific principal announcement, Vicki Sacco taking over West Seattle Elementary (here’s our August 4th story). But there are a few other notes of interest: Former WS Elementary principal Gayle Everly‘s new job is on the list, co-principal of Bryant Elementary. Also, former West Seattle High School assistant principal Anitra Pinchback-Jones‘s new job is on the list too – she is becoming principal at Bagley Elementary, whose former principal Kimberly Kinzer will move to Denny International Middle School as a teacher. The new school year starts for most SPS students on Sept. 8 – WS Elementary, because of its improvement plan, starts classes Aug. 31st.
Meet Roxanne Brown. She’ll be teaching a brand-new early-education program in West Seattle starting next month, and you can check it out during an open house tomorrow (Thursday) night. The program’s called Small Scholars Academy and classes will be at High Point Community Center. Roxanne’s been teaching for five years, with two of those years in a Head Start program, and she says Small Scholars is meant to offer child-led experiences where kids can learn based on what they’re interested in – say, the kids want to talk about dinosaurs, and it’s time for language skills, you might bring in alphabet letters associated with dinosaurs. Play, Roxanne explains, can also lead to educational experiences. They’re registering kids 3-5 now for these options – Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays ($230 a month), Tuesdays/Thursdays ($185), or five days a week ($315/month), morning (9:30 am-1 pm) or afternoon (2-5:30 pm), kids must be potty-trained. Tomorrow night’s open house is 5-7 pm at High Point CC (6920 34th SW); classes start September 13th.
With the Chief Sealth International High School renovations close to completion – and the first day of school just three weeks away – the project-management team at DKA Architecture just sent along a new aerial. (Ever wonder about unmarked choppers/planes in the area from time to time? Keep in mind, some are taking photos like these!) It shows the Chief Sealth campus from the south side along Thistle, looking northward. Note the paved parking areas, among other touches. We talked to Sealth principal John Boyd a short time ago to find out how soon his staff will be moving in; as the quote in our headline indicates, they’re eager. Right now, Boyd says, they’re awaiting the results of fire/safety inspections. If those go well, the contents of administrative offices and classrooms – what Sealth teachers have already boxed up – will be moved over the weekend, with the hopes that administrators can come in Monday and Tuesday to start getting settled, with teachers following on Tuesday and Wednesday. “We’re anxious, we want to get over there, but we want everything to be done (right) – and we’re still operable at Boren” till then, Boyd tells WSB, adding, “The facilities are beautiful.” The upgrades have been under way for two years, and the new Denny International Middle School is being built on the same site, though its completion/move aren’t scheduled till next year. (More project background can be found here.) ADDED 1:12 PM: Also just got a new photo taken at the site today and shared by DKA, described as “the installation of the new water feature in the CS Galleria entrance”:
More new outside/inside photos here.
We’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor today, and as is customary, new sponsors are invited to share information about their business: The Andover School was established in 2009 after founder Kari Cassidy-Diercks had difficulty finding availability for her children in a West Seattle preschool. 
With a background in operations and marketing, she teamed with childhood educator and preschool director Kelli Palsha to create a high-quality, unique, artistic and academic curriculum. The Andover School in West Seattle is located between the Alaska and Morgan Junctions. It is a year-round preschool experience for ages 2 through pre-K, which Kelli says is based on the ideals of organic and holistic learning. Kari says they incorporate standard letter education with dramatic play, cooking classes with etiquette, and creativity while offering a strong emphasis on Kindergarten preparedness, especially in the afternoon program. She adds, “The Andover School aspires to help children grow their pre-academic and social skills in play-based learning. Social and emotional learning is emphasized, as this is the foundation for all other learning. Children are encouraged to feel empowered to put their own ideas into action, whether making a rocket ship out of cardboard, inventing a new game, or painting with their toes to learn to count, and The Andover School truly believes in the adage ‘learning through a sense of wonder’.” The dramatic play area is fully decorated in a completely different theme each month to stimulate play and learning.
The Andover School has expanded to a second location on Mercer Island that will open in September. With the graduation of students to Kindergarten, and with the opening of the new Mercer Island location, several AFTERNOON-only positions have just become available. The afternoon program is particularly designed to accommodate the preparation for Kindergarten with an emphasis on letter recognition and writing, math, and advanced cognitive processing. For more information about their half-day programs (9 am – 12:15 pm / 12:45 pm – 4 pm), drop them a line at faculty@theandoverschool.com or phone 425-772-5970.
We thank The Andover School for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
In his second week officially on the job as South Seattle Community College president, Gary Oertli got to take a quick field trip this afternoon. He visited the Seattle Chinese Garden‘s courtyard-construction project with a crew making a video about an upcoming multi-campus event in the Seattle Community Colleges system. We were there for the tour opportunity offered to media reps today – this is the project for which a contingent of Chinese artisans has come to Seattle:
The garden site is on the far northern edge of the SSCC campus; a followup on this afternoon’s whirlwind hard-hat tour is coming up later.
On assignment for WSB, contributing photographer Evan Miglorie stopped by Roxhill Elementary this morning to check on the garden-building party mentioned here yesterday. Volunteers are building nine garden beds where they’ll grow vegetables (“and other edibles,” Evan tells us) to study and eventually eat! It’s under the direction of Maggie Anderson from the King County Food and Fitness Initiative:
She’s been working with schools in eastern West Seattle and White Center to get programs like this one off the ground – and, you could say, IN the ground. Still time to drop by and pitch in – supplies and tools provided, as well as refreshments; they’re scheduled to be there till 3 pm (30th/Roxbury).
With 4 weeks till school starts, big things going on at West Seattle’s Roxhill Elementary School First, Lisa sent the photo at left, part of a sign you can see while driving past the school on SW Roxbury – it points out that Roxhill is getting work done through the Building/Technology (BTA) Levy – library improvements, heating-system upgrades, new energy-efficient windows, flooring, and stage drapes. And there’s a volunteer project you can help with tomorrow: 10 am-3 pm Thursday, a garden-building party is happening at Roxhill, and the more available to pitch in, the better. Maggie Anderson, school coordinator from the King County Food and Fitness Initiative, says they’ve got the supplies to build 9 garden beds to support nutrition, science and math programs at Roxhill – they just need the people who can help. You can RSVP to Maggie at 206-205-3186. (Tools and snacks provided as well as the aforementioned supplies!)
Chief Sealth International High School principal John Boyd is moving his school back to its renovated campus at 2600 SW Thistle after two years, and shares word of a sneak-preview event more than a week before the first day of school. It’s a fundraiser for the Friends of Sealth scholarship fund:
Friends of Sealth and Chief Sealth International High School cordially invite you to a:
Sneak Preview PartySeptember 1st, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Special Guest: Ross Parker, Bassetti ArchitectsJoin us at 6:00 p.m. at the Chief Sealth Main Building entrance for the inside story on the renovation.
At 6:30 p.m. a private tour will be given of the newly renovated main building, gymnasium and the New Galleria. Be the first to tour the completed site!
RESERVATIONS ARE RESPECTFULLY REQUIRED: $50 donation per person.
Proceeds from the Chief Sealth Sneak Preview will benefit the Friends of Sealth Scholarship program.
For Reservations please contact Dick Lee at (206) 252-0476 or email at rjlee@seattleschools.org
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