Exciting! Inspiring! Informational! These are just some of the words used to describe the district-wide Life After High School event held October 22 at Mount Rainier High School. For high school juniors and seniors, there were representatives from over 100 different schools, ranging from community colleges to universities to trade schools and apprenticeships, available to provide first-hand insights and information about their programs.

Organized and hosted by Barbara Wilson and Marianna Goheen of the Office of College and Career, the event has grown over the last few years. Attendance at this year's event was well over 1,000 people.

The seminar presented by Northwest Education Loan Association - featuring information on how to pay for college - was held in the 300-person theater and was standing-room only!

One of the highlights of the evening was the middle school college rally featuring the U.W. Husky Pep Band. With over 300 middle school students and their parents engaged in the music and a UW / WSU balloon popping contest, the excitement level was palpable! "The motivational speakers, Cascade Assistant Principal Jacob Ellis and the staff from Know How to Go were incredible," observed Alternative Education Principal Michael Sita.

Information was also available on the College Bound Scholarship program for middle school students.

Sita commented, "I was so inspired by how young and how enthusiastic the kids were. The college-going culture is really taking hold!"

It all started in the summer of 2006 when staff at Madrona Elementary were dreaming of having a running/walking program for students. Brianna Smith of Nutrition Services heard of a grant through King County Steps for Health, and she shared that information with the Madrona group. And, as they say, the rest is history.

WSU announced the winners of their Regent Scholarship Awards last week and two students from Highline Public Schools were recipients!

Kathrin Pitt, Mount Rainier High School, Silver Regents Award in the amount of $4,000. And, Perryn Jakowski, Aviation High School, Crimson Regents Award at $3,000. These award amounts are per year of a two-year scholarship. Way to go Kathrin and Perryn!

Two Highline kindergarten teachers have recently tapped the internet-savvy community to stock their classrooms with items that will enhance student learning. Teachers have traditionally reached into their own pocket to purchase some these "extras." One teacher had the idea to engage the community in this effort and created donorschoose.org. The site's slogan sums it up - "Teachers Ask, You Choose, Students Learn."

Fourteen organizations across Washington will receive grants totaling $75,000 from the Bank of America Mentoring Initiative and Washington State Mentors (WSM).

Students at HS3 - Health Science and Human Services High School - recently hosted the American Red Cross and Puget Sound Blood Center for a blood drive on the Evergreen campus. Students Tim Calamiong and Tony Vo were credited with outstanding project management and organizational skills resulting in 37 donors - 19 of which were first-time donors - participating in the drive.

Donor Recruitment Representative Nikanne J. Nietzsche said, "Thanks to the guidance of Stephen Miguelez and the student leaders, we will be able to help many patients in Western Washington."

Swarming like bees, representatives from the University of Washington, The Boeing Company, and vendors for Boeing were all buzzing about Aviation High School's focus when students from Aviation spoke at the Second Annual Governor's Aerospace Summit.

On Tuesday, December 2, you'll find Midway Elementary staff hard at work - not at their school - but, at McDonald's at 22644 Pacific Highway South in Des Moines.

Billed as McTeacher Night, McDonalds has created a way for educators around the country to fundraise for their schools. Teachers staff the local McDonalds from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and get 20% of that evening's sales for their non-profit organization.

Stop by and support Midway!

The letter might be hard to read but the message is clear...custodian Michael Carver went above and beyond to help this neighbor in need. And, it was most appreciated! Way to go, Michael!

Click to see the letter...>

Aviation High School students have developed two inventions

Representative Dave Upthegrove takes the Hovershelf for a test ride.    Below - The AHS science class responsible for the hovershelf invention.

and are applying for a patent for one of them.

Students developed one invention while designing and building hovercraft in science class. Students decided a practical use for hovercraft might be to use them to move heavy store shelves, allowing staff to clean under them and re-arrange displays. The concept of the hovercraft was joined with shelving to produce "hovershelving." Students researched the idea and found that there was nothing like it in existence. They have applied for a patent through the United States Patent Office.

The Fiestas de Alfabetizacion Temprana en Espanol (Early Literacy Parties in Spanish) are a series of weekly workshops that bring Spanish-speaking families together in a social neighborhood setting to learn and practice essential early literacy skills. Parents are their children's first and best teachers, and all Spanish-speaking families with children from birth through age 5 are invited to attend the parties in their communities. This project is generously sponsored by the KCLS Foundation http://www.kcls.org/foundation/newsletter.cfm.

"Stop on Red, Kids Ahead"

More than 400,000 Washington state students use school buses every day, and they're transported by about 10,600 bus drivers. The dedication of those drivers to ensure that all students arrive at school and home safely has led to National School Bus Safety Week, which is celebrated October 20-24.