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Highline Schools Foundation Says THANK YOU to HPS Employees

The Foundation would like to thank the Highline Public Schools employees for their tremendous support during this year's annual employee giving campaign. Employees have pledged more than $16,000, a 50% increase over last year's giving! "We are honored to see the enormous support from district employees to the Foundation" said Foundation President, Holly Moore. "Each of the trustees are working hard to bring recognition to the district and the finest educational staff in the Nation!"

On February 1, the Highline Schools Foundation will be accepting nominations for this year's Gold Star Awards. Nomination forms will be available through school administrators and on the Foundation's website, www.fund4excellence.org.

The Gold Star Awards honor outstanding employees and volunteers in the Highline Public Schools and all members of the school community are invited to nominate their peers. Winners receive a cash award and will be honored at the Foundation's Gold Star Luncheon on May 30.

High Schools Students Adopt 40 Families

Students from Highline High School, Mount Rainier High School, and Global Connections High School adopted 40 low-income families for the holidays. The students did food and gift drives during the month of December to benefit families of children enrolled in Highline's early childhood education programs. As a result, the families received presents for their children and food for their holiday celebrations.

Pacific Middle School has been selected to participate in the Washington State Mathematics Helping Corps program (MHC).

Pacific will receive $30,000 to fund math training for teachers and the principal, including sending teachers to the Northwest Math Conference. These funds will help Pacific to realize its math goals for students.

The Mitten Tree

A Chinook Middle School Winter Project

I have worked at Chinook Middle School, SeaTac-s only public middle school for the past 22 years and I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of our students, families and staff - otherwise known as our Thunderbird Community. It is even more stunning when you consider that Chinook has one of the highest poverty rates in the state. Since many of our families have struggled, they are quick to recognize needs in others and respond in any way they can to help through hard times.

On December 13, 60 fourth-grade science students, teachers, and parent volunteers took an hour-long field trip to the Shorewood construction site. The students were working on a science module about erosion so it was an ideal time to visit a rain-soaked construction site overlooking Puget Sound. They were able to trek through the mud in hardhats and see first-hand the challenges and methods for dealing with erosion. The visit was tied directly to the textbook materials. They were able to view holding dams and catchments, plastic tarps, pumps and pipelines, catch basins, interceptor swales, temporary ponds, and a huge underground storm water retention reservoir under construction. The students asked many pertinent questions and had the opportunity to see (from a safe distance) large construction machines and cranes working away.

Qwest Foundation has announced its grant application process for Learning Technologies Grants. Applications are due February 4, 2008.

This grant application is the first step in a competitive process that will award $10,000 grants to individual teachers or teacher teams. These grants fund projects that use the power of real-world technologies to bring standards-based curriculum to life. The grant is managed by Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Educational Technology unit.

Derek Schlieps, a senior at Aviation High School, has been selected to participate in the Reischauer Scholars Program, a distance learning course sponsored by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). With only 25 students selected from across the country, entrance into this program is highly sought-after. Derek was nominated by his teacher, Ken Kumakura, and will engage in an intensive study of Japan in an Internet-mediated course from February to June 2008.

Currently in its fifth year, the RSP provides students with a broad overview of Japanese history, literature, religion, art, politics, economics, and contemporary society, with a special focus on the U.S.-Japan relationship. Ambassadors, top scholars, and experts throughout the United States and Japan provide lectures via the Internet as well as engage students in online dialogue. These lectures and discussions are woven into an overall curriculum that will provide students with reading materials and assignments. Concurrent with the Internet-mediated course, students also develop individual research projects. Final research projects are printed in journal format and students are required to lead two presentations on Japan at their schools or in their communities. Students who successfully complete the course will earn Stanford Continuing Studies Program (CSP) credit and a Certificate of Completion from SPICE, Stanford University.

Congratulations, Derek!