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Neighbor’s Excursion got hit last night just next to Alki auto repair heading East. From the leftover carnage you can see that a black GMC truck or other full size hit him. Not an expert on automobiles but judging from the plastic its probably no older than mid-ninetys at most. The truck’s grill will be mostly if not completely gone and I’d expect big damage to the front right quarter panel at least. Judging from the fact it hit a 5000 lb Excursion hard enough to smash into the car in front of it there might be a lot more damage as well. Keep your eyes open.
Dateline: “West Seattle” (South of Alaska)
Saturday, September 25, 2010
As one would expect, there’s a ton of high-tech audiovisual stuff in the classrooms at the new Chief Sealth.
Forget flying school buses (that’s so 20th Century!) — now every teacher has a veritable computer magic show at his disposal, in the form of the “SmartBoard.” Using this mother-of-all-gizmos, a teacher can electronically “capture” documents, parts of documents, or even notes that he scribbles on documents, all by tapping his finger on a projection screen. Think of the SmartBoard as an 8 x 5-foot iPad that actually makes your kid smarter, not dumber.
Note: The phrase you’re most likely to hear from your Sealth student of the future: “No school today, Mom. The Internet’s down.”
Sealth’s new auditorium is now the best in the district.
With superb acoustics and seating for 1200 grown-ups, it’s like having our own performance hall right here in the ‘hood. Naturally, I’ll be looking for opportunities to see a show there. My preferred seating section? “Free” of course.
Old Chief Sealth H.S. is now Chief Sealth International H.S.
What’s that mean, exactly? Probably not as much as you think — you won’t be suddenly hearing lots of Swedish spoken at the Target in Westwood Village, for example — but still more than nothing. There will be a strong focus on culture and language programs (with a special resource center devoted to languages) as well as international exchange programs and an “international baccalaureate” degree, whatever that is.
According to Principal John Boyd, the “international high school” feature was something that Sealth staff really wanted, and is also in keeping with the character of the student body at Sealth, which is now the most ethnically diverse high school in Seattle.
New district-wide enrollment policies also ensure that a much higher percentage of Chief Sealth’s student body will hail from local neighborhoods than was formerly the case.
The trade-off for getting an international school (and having what Principal Boyd refers to as a “full-service” school) was that Sealth class sizes will be larger than those of some other Seattle high schools.
The building feels open and airy.
Many spaces are lit at least partly with “ambient” light (i.e., daylight) so that, in some spots, it feels like being on an open-air campus. Let us hope that all this light and air will have a salutary effect upon those of our young people afflicted with the tragic disorder of hyperkinesia.
[Hyperkinesia: (n.) A tendency to run around a lot.]
The new plan uses the available space more efficiently.
For example, the enclosed multipurpose “Galleria” connecting the high school with Denny Middle School is a much smarter use of space than what was there before, which was just a ho-hum breezeway from the main building to some portables. It’s impressive to think that a space that was originally designed for well under a thousand students will now be serving > 1000 high schoolers, PLUS all the Denny Students. And the designers didn’t even have to go high-rise to do it.
The project is efficient in other ways as well.
Some material from the old building was recycled or preserved during the upgrade. For example, benches from the old auditorium were resurfaced and reused throughout the building, and the original (beautiful) gym floor was simply sanded down and resurfaced, instead of being replaced. Energy efficient materials (like double-paned windows) were used throughout, and I believe the HVAC system is also superefficient.
Although the campus will ultimately serve both high school and middle school students, there will be little mixing between the two species.
— Or that’s the theory anyway. (We’ll see if it pans out.)
Sealth students will get where they’re going by one route, Denny students will use another. In cases where an area is shared, each group has its own designated space. Some areas have partitions that can be removed for all-campus activities — another example of efficient design.
“My goat ate my yardwork.”
Sixty specially trained high-tech goats were contracted to eat the blackberry thickets that formerly infested the slope on the west side of the building. I’m happy to report that the goats finished their meal on time, within budget, and without a single case of indigestion.
Now if we can just get them to eat a tunnel under the Seattle waterfront.
The Sealth renovation was originally budgeted at $50 million. Due to a precipitous decline in the price of steel, however, all of the extra wishes from the staff “wish list” (things like a deluxe weight training set for the gym) were granted.
Pretty cool, huh? Sure, fifty mils is a lot. But hey! Deluxe weight training set! — Right? Come on . . . you know you want one.
Was there anything about the new Chief Sealth I didn’t like?
Yeah. I don’t like the parking lot. But I guess cars gotta hang out somewhere. And if they stay at school, at least they won’t be getting into trouble.
So next time you pass by Chief Sealth, take a moment to reflect and feel good about what Seattle schools are doing to safeguard the future.
And as you think of the sacrifices that were made to clear that west slope of blackberries, always remember:
. . . No goats, no glory.
—Mad props to Principal John Boyd, and to Nels Enquist, Assistant Coach and tour guide par excellence.
West Seattle, Washington
06 Friday