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Former Highline High School Student
Excels |
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Katrina Morgan Recognized as Leader
"It amazes me that I go to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University. This year marks the four-year anniversary of
an event that changed the direction of my life. After I
tore my ACL my junior year of high school, my dreams of
playing Division One were put on hold. I was devastated.
Now I am endlessly grateful. Without soccer for that
period of time, I turned to other things to fill that
void. Aviation quickly became my new passion. I looked at
Embry-Riddle and hesitated because of the price. A teacher
told me to never let the price of your dreams cause you to
loose sight of them. So I decided I’d find a way to go to ERAU. Soccer was that avenue. Now I have the best of both
of my passions. I go to the premier school in the world
for aviation and I belong to the greatest family of
athletes I could ever imagine."
This is an excerpt from the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletes recent online magazine. To read
the entire article, click on this link:
http://naia.collegesports.com/champions-character/news/ERAUK.Morgan-Spotlight.htm
Sending students like Katrina out into the world is
exactly what Highline aims to do. She exemplifies the
attitude and leadership skills we strive to foster here.
The teacher who encouraged Katrina to “go for her dream”
should be very proud!
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OSC Aviation Careers Class |
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Members of SeaTac OSC’s Aviation Careers class have
fun on board the Spirit of Delta’s farewell flight;
the historic Boeing 767 retired after more than two
decades of service with Delta Airlines |
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Students Take Part in Historic Event
By Robin Lee, Aviation Careers instructor
In 1982, Delta Airlines posted it's first financial loss
and the employees rallied around the carrier – raising
money to purchase the airline’s first Boeing 767-200,
which was named the Spirit of Delta. Now, some 24 years
later, the airliner is being retired and is making a
farewell tour around the country. The Aviation Careers
Class at the Sea-Tac Occupational Skills Center (OSC) was
invited to participate in this historic event. The
students were included in a 45-minute flight on board the
plane – where they received commemorative pins, wings, and
certificates. They also had the opportunity to visit the
flight deck while airborne. Very exciting for aviation
students!
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OSC Aviation Careers practicing their executive
waves from the door of SAM970, the first Air Force
One jet |
And that’s not all the Aviation Careers students have been
up to…in addition to their ground-school studies, the
class has visited the control tower at King County
International Airport (Boeing Field), McChord Air Force
Base, and the Museum of Flight.
At McChord, they toured the life-support division where
students donned parachute gear, learned how fighter pilot
helmets are made and checked out the latest night vision
equipment. They toured a C-17 Globemaster III on the
flight line, and then actually logged simulator time,
complete with HUD equipment (Head Up Devices) and full
motion! Each student was able to “take off and land”
a C-17 in the simulator!
Exposing the students to these careers is an important
part of the class and helps them be better prepared to
make critical decisions about their futures.
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DECA Students Compete at State |
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Three Qualify for International Competition
What’s worth months of hard work and a weekend of lost
sleep? To Alana Vinther, the DECA teacher at Global
Connections on the Tyee campus, it was the delight of
seeing the students perform well at the recent state
competition!
Alana commented, “All the students who went to state
competition represented us well and were a delight to work
with – and lose sleep for!” The following students
qualified to attend the DECA International Competition in
Dallas, Texas April 28 – May 2:
Jennifer H. - Apparel and Accessories Management
Jacob L. and Alyssa S. - Chapter Awards
Program Project
Jacob L. was also awarded the Washington State DECA Member
of the Year award! Congratulations, Jacob!
Although they did not qualify for the International
Competition, two additional students, Juan V. and
Amy V. did well at the state level. They placed
10th in Hospitality Management.
Ms. Vinther and the DECA students issued an invitation to
all district employees to attend the DECA
Dinner/Auction on April 6 from 5 – 7 p.m.,
where they will raise money to send the international
competitors to Dallas. The lead item at the auction is a
cruise on Holland America Cruise Lines (thank you LaDonna
McNeil). Come join the fun!
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OSC Instructor Awarded Scholarship |
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 Robin Lee, Aviation Careers instructor at the Sea-Tac
Occupational Skills Center (OSC), has been awarded the
Elisha Hall Memorial Scholarship through Women in Aviation
International (WAI). The scholarship provides for flight
training instruction.
Applicants were required to submit an essay, resume, and
other documentation and were evaluated on achievements,
attitude toward self and others, commitment to success,
dedication to career, and other factors. Ms. Lee will
receive the award at the 17th annual WAI conference in
Nashville, Tennessee, scheduled for the end of March.
Galvin’s Flight School Manager Nick Frisch and CEO Peter
Anderson visited the Aviation Careers class at OSC
recently to make the official announcement.
Lee commented, “I hope this inspires my students to strive
for excellence in their portfolios and apply for
scholarships and awards and persevere in their career
choice.”
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First Annual Employee Walking
Challenge |
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Join us for the first annual Highline May Madness
Employee Walking Challenge!
An ALL-district, month-long,
walking challenge
PRIZES will be awarded for: Most Steps Walked by a
Team (overall), Most Improvement by a Team and by an
Individual, Best Team Name, and Most Inspirational
Individual.
DETAILS:
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The challenge will start on May 1 and end on
May 31.
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ALL DISTRICT Employees are invited to participate
in teams of 3-5 individuals.
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REGISTER EARLY at
www.walkingchallenge.com (starting April 1)! The
first 10 teams that register will receive free
pedometers (little devices that count steps). A limited
amount of pedometers will be available for $5.00 and
$15.00 at the informational sessions (or you can use
your own).
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All of your steps during this month will be tracked and
logged into a website,
www.walkingchallenge.com beginning May 1
Information Sessions will be held at ERAC on:
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Tuesday, April 4, 7:30-8:00am, 8:00-8:30am, 3:30-4:00pm
(ERAC Board Room)
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Tuesday, April 18, 7:30-8:00am, 8:00-8:30am
(ERAC North Classroom)
Click for
flyer with more details
* If you would like more information or to purchase
pedometers, please attend one of these meeting. Please
RSVP to
kramercj@hsd401.org.
Questions to Carolyn Kramer:
kramercj@hsd401.org
,
kramercj@seattleschools.org, 206-252-0754 or
206-396-1189
* This event is sponsored by Steps to Health, King County
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The Highline Schools Foundation
for Excellence Gift |
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What is an ORFF?
 The Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence has made
another generous donation to Highline Public Schools’
music education department. The purchase of two ORFF
instrument sets was made official at a Parkside concert
held at the Performing Arts Center on March 1.
Kathy McCabe, representing the Foundation for
Excellence, presented one set of instruments to Parkside
Elementary Principal Robin Lamoureux. Ms. McCabe
also presented Parkside with a check for $500 designated
for string instrument repair. On hand for the presentation
were Barbara McMichael, the music chair at Parkside,
and Orchestra Director Debbie Ladenburg.
Arranged by John Melver, district activities
coordinator, the other set of instruments is destined for
White Center Heights Elementary School.
Ms. Lamoureux commented, “On behalf of Highline Public
Schools, Parkside Elementary is honored to be the first to
induct the new instruments donated to us by the Highline
Foundation for Excellence.”
 So, what is an ORFF? It is a set of eight
instruments designed for use in a general music program –
appropriate for elementary schools where students are not
yet in a formal band or orchestra program. The Orff Method
and the associated Orff Instruments stem from the work of
composer Carl Orff. The concept originated with a
hand-made wooden xylophone, a gift to Orff from Africa.
The xylophone had twelve wooden bars tied together with a
string attached to the open side of a box. Each bar
produced a different pitch. From that simple instrument,
Orff developed what is known today as the Orff
Instrumentarium – a series of melodic barred instruments.
The instruments include xylophones, metallophones, and
contrabass chime bars.
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Welcome Security Officer Stephan Derout |
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Please join us in welcoming Stephan Derout to the Security
& Safety Department. Stephan is working the night security
officer shift. Stephan was born and raised in France and
has been in the United States for approximately ten years.
He completed a seven-month police academy in California
and worked for the Bay Area Transit Police Department.
Stephen recently relocated to Washington where he worked
for the Tumwater Police Department and Retail Security.
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Board President Byers Enjoys
Reading to Elementary Students |
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In celebration of Read Across America, School Board
President Phyllis Byers appeared as Dr. Seuss’
Cat-in-the-Hat to read to students at McMicken
Heights, Bow Lake, Valley View, and Midway
Elementary Schools. |
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Midway Elementary Offers New
Program |
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Weekend Backpacks Meet Nutritional Needs
Some children spend the weekend waiting for Monday and the
chance to go to school because they love learning and the
socialization. Too many, however, have a different reason
for wanting to get to school...that's the only place they
get a meal to eat.
Midway Elementary has one of the highest percentages of
students qualifying for the free or reduced lunch program.
The mobility rate at the school is also high -
contributing to instability and high needs.
The Community Engagement group teamed up with the Des
Moines Area Food Bank to create a Weekend Backpack program
for students. The backpacks are filled by volunteers with
kid-friendly food that is easy to prepare. Students pick
up a backpack on Fridays and return the empty pack on
Monday to be refilled for the following weekend. Backpacks
used are similar to the kind students use for supplies and
books and, like the program itself, are intended to be
low-key and not easily identifiable so as not to embarrass
the children or pose a potential hurdle to a hungry child
taking advantage of the food.
The Des Moines Area Foodbank encourages donations to this
and other programs. You can contact them for more
information or to arrange a donation by calling: (206)
878-2660.
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White Center Heights Program Makes
News |
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Chess Becomes a Family Event
 What
started out as a class project - funded by a grant from
the American Foundation for Chess - has turned into quite
the program! Last fall, staff at White Center Heights
Elementary applied for a grant through First Moves, the
complete curriculum and training program developed by
America's Foundation For Chess and funded in part by King
County. The grant includes representatives from the chess
foundation visiting the school once a week to teach the
second- and third-grade teachers how to teach chess and
the students how to play chess. Both Southern Heights
Elementary and White Center Heights Elementary are grant
recipients for this two-year grant. Ron Sims, King County
executive, highlighted this program on his Web site after
a celebratory inaugural visit last September.
 Everyone
has enjoyed learning this new skill and the school has
even hosted Family Chess Nights to broaden the experience.
Last week, much to everyone’s surprise, a student perusing
Scholastic News, a national publication, noticed a
story about chess and realized it featured White Center
Heights!
Following is the text of the Scholastic News (March
6 edition) article:
In third-grade classes around the country, a famous
game is becoming a part of weekly lessons. That game
is chess, and it’s bringing lots of fun to the
school day!
Chess
is a game of planning. Players move their pieces one
at a time and try to trap and capture each other’s
pieces. But it’s also a learning tool. Studies show
that kids who play chess score higher on math and
reading tests. They are also more confident, or sure
of themselves.
“Here we have a chance to help children improve
their thinking skills and have fun at the same
time,” says Greta Salmi. She is the principal of an
elementary school in Washington State where the
students play chess.
Chess is catching on in many states. You can get
into the game too, either in the classroom or after
school with friends! |
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Multicultural Books Funded by
Highline Schools Foundation fro Excellence and Washington
Mutual |
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 Washington Mutual, in conjunction with the Highline
Schools Foundation for Excellence, generously granted
funds to all Highline school libraries to purchase current
multi-cultural books that reflect the diversity of our
community and that engage students in literature.
On March 7, Chinook students gathered to celebrate and
enjoy a book talk by Librarian Carolyn Rancour.
Joining the students were Washington Mutual representative
Jonathan Macaranas, Foundation Boardmember Georgia Locher,
and Foundation Executive Director Kathy McCabe.
Some of the donated books Mrs. Rancour shared with
students were Color, Red Midnight, Blue
Jasmine, Tangled Threads, Project Mulberry
and Saladin.
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Highline Schools Foundation Receives Grant of $1,274 from The Fred Meyer Foundation |
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Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence announced today
it has received a community grant totaling $1,274 from The
Fred Meyer Foundation for its Excel Grant program. Excel
Grants are offered by the Foundation annually to teachers
in Highline Public Schools. The Fred Meyer Foundation
grant will be used to inspire innovative teaching and
enrich student learning.
 "The Fred Meyer Foundation and its Advisory Committee
Members were particularly impressed by the successful
track record of Highline Schools Foundation and its
programs," said Glynda Brockhoff, philanthropy coordinator
for Fred Meyer and The Fred Meyer Foundation. "We hope
this community grant will help the Foundation continue the
important work it is doing to enhance the welfare of the
community. We are proud to be part of the Highline
community and are committed to helping where we can."
The Fred Meyer Foundation's community grant program is
driven by 29 local Advisory Committees made up of local
Fred Meyer associates who research nonprofit organizations
in their communities and then award grants. "These grants
are the results of true community efforts involving both
our associates through our annual Employee Giving Campaign
and our customers though the contributions they make in
our stores using the Make Change Count coin boxes and scan
cards at the check stands," Ms. Brockhoff said.
On hand to receive the grant was Eric Aasness, president
of Highline Schools Foundation. "We appreciate the support
of the Fred Meyer employees and customers and will use
their contributions to give students in Highline Public
Schools valuable learning experiences," said Mr. Aasness.
For more information about Highline Schools Foundation
contact Kathy McCabe, executive director, at 206-248-5196.
For more information about The Fred Meyer Foundation, call
1-800-858-9292, ext. 5605.
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