This week, Highline Schools Foundation completes its Adopt-a-Classroom project, in which the Foundation has given $100 to every classroom in Highline Public Schools. The final presentation took place at on November 4 at Southern Heights Elementary School.

This week, Highline Schools Foundation completes its Adopt-a-Classroom project, in which the Foundation has given $100 to every classroom in Highline Public Schools. The final presentation took place at on November 4 at Southern Heights Elementary School.

Reba Gilman, Principal and CEO of Aviation High School, has received the Museum of Flight's 2008 Pathfinder Award recognizing pioneering achievements in flying, engineering, education, operations, and manufacturing.

Kevin Blaylock, Culinary Arts Instructor at Puget Sound Skills Center, has earned the Certified Executive Chef (CEC) designation from the American Culinary Federation (ACF). The CEC designation is usually earned by chefs who manage large foodservice establishments with a staff of five or more. Few have been earned in this region in the last two years.

A committee of math teachers was honored by the school board last night for their work to create math tools for teachers across the district. One group of these teachers developed curriculum guides to help teachers transition to the new math standards adopted by the state. Another group worked on making algebra consistent throughout the schools in the district. Their expertise is a true asset as the district strives to improve math teaching and learning.

Police are warning parents about a new drug fad among teens that is leading to overdose and even death. The drug is in a prescription painkiller known as "The Patch."

Please follow this link to King 5 News for the full report.

Global Connections High School hosted a Service to the Community Fair, which showcased various organizations with information and community service opportunities for students. The purpose was to help students find topics for their junior activism and senior culminating project and make connections with organizations needing volunteer work, which is required for the student projects.

Andrea Lin has been awarded the Roberts Leadership Scholarship at Culver Academies, beginning this fall. Andrea completed 8th grade at Sylvester Middle School as one of two athletes of the year and one of the two outstanding scholars last school year. She is one of 795 students from 41 states and 22 countries attending Culver Academies this year.

How do you teach about Thanksgiving? That's a key question to ask yourself as a classroom teacher.

Do you know the facts and history behind it? Are your teachings, activities and messages to the next generation based on myth, generalities or misinformation? What were you taught? What are you teaching? Where does it come from?

The Homeless Student Family Service team will host a multi-district summit for staff engaged in care for unaccompanied youth, families going through homelessness, and children in temporary foster care under the McKinney-Vento (MV) Act. In addition to expert guest speakers, the summit will include a panel of current and former MV students and parents.

In a release dated October 30, Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson told administrators about new regulations issued under Title 1 which in her words "will make the federal "No Child Left Behind" law will make even more difficult to implement here in Washington and throughout the country."

The entire letter from Dr. Bergeson is available here.

The new rules are contained in 440 pages of regulations issued last week.

This year's national election set the stage for many classrooms around the district to get an in-depth look at the election process. Students have spent the last few weeks learning how to put citizenship in action with campaigns, mock elections, and the electoral college.

Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce has announced two Highline students as Students of the Month for November. They are Devon Powell (left) of Mount Rainier High School and Dylan Harwood (right) of Highline High School. Both students will be honored at the Chamber's luncheon on November 14. Students selected for this honor are eligible to apply for scholarships offered by the Chamber's SUCCESS Foundation.

Big Picture High School students brought a bold message to a seminar on October 21 designed for new teachers in Seattle: If we are in your classroom, we are here to learn.

To help new teachers get off to a better start, Seattle Public Schools offers novices a structured mentoring program, Staff Training Assistance and Review, or STAR. Instituted more than a decade ago, the program incorporates mentoring research with concerns of new teachers and in this case, acclimation to a richly diverse student and community population.

Originally borne out of a desire for national focus on the importance of education, the National Education Association (NEA) continues to sponsor the annual event.

This year, American Education Week will be celebrated November 16 - 22. Superintendent Welch read the proclamation into the minutes of the November 5 board meeting.

For more history on this event, visit the NEA website at:
http://www.nea.org/aew/history.html

It was a joyous 'three ring circus' at Valley View ECEAP on October 23. Family Night brought 264 family members to share literacy, health, and family crafts.

Waskowitz now could be considered an art gallery!

Jeff Simpson and Richard Rock representing The PEMCO Foundation (Alliance of Pemco Insurance, School Employees Credit Union, and the Evergreen Bank) delivered to Waskowitz Outdoor School on October 21 stunning photography that is representative of the uniqueness of Washington State.

I recently had the pleasure of having Big Picture student Christian Bird shadow me at Highline High School. Christian was with me from 10:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. He worked right alongside our security team.

The Environmental Science Center is piloting an Out of School program emphasizing getting kids outdoors at Bow Lake Elementary and Madrona Elementary. Funded by a No Child Left Behind grant, in cooperation with Washington Parks and Recreation, the program targets students in grades four through six. In addition to the hour and a half sessions, two days per week, the students take one field trip per month, usually on early release or waiver days, and learn how to use the scientific method as part of the Science Naturalist program.

Over two years ago, when Superintendent John Welch and Alan Spicciati, then executive director for secondary schools, met with representatives from Oregon's Employers for Educational Excellence (E3), mutual goals were affirmed as educational leaders in the Pacific Northwest move toward smaller, more intentional learning environments for high school students.

Students from Pacific, Chinook, and Mount Rainier recently attended the 5th annual Latino Youth Summit. Held at the Tacoma Convention Center, the theme this year was college readiness.

Keynote speaker Joey Ray Lucero from Homeboy Industries shared his life story with the students and encouraged them to stay in school, stay away from gangs, and be prepared for college.

Reading, writing, and video-editing lead Pacific Middle School student Clara McMichael and Sylvester Middle School student Gina O'Kelly to participate in the King County Library System Foundation's Read•Flip•Win contest. The two teens won a new Flip video camera, grand prize in the competition.

More than three dozen teams submitted entries using YouTube within a one-month contest. Participation pleased and surprised judges showing, "an incredible range of talent," according to KCLS Teens Services Librarian Jennifer Wooten.

The Renton History Museum is hosting storytellers on November 8 and 11 who will share mythic stories of the Puget Salish tribes. And the exhibit, SQ3Tsya'yay: Weaver's Spirit Power (Coast Salish fiber weaving), continues at the White River Valley Museum.

Many of the historical Proverbs and Wisdom from Native American tribes are as true today as when they were first spoken. Here are a few from this month's Heritage Month Feature page on Fact Monster.

Students from Global Connections Marketing/DECA participated in four key activities in the month of October to develop their leadership skills and learn about the world outside the classroom.

On October 9 the Introduction to Marketing students took a field trip to Cascade People's Center and Islandwood on Bainbridge Island. The purpose for this trip was for students to learn about possibilities for ways to live "green."

The Facilities Department is testing a new method of vegetation control at Mount Rainer High School - goats!

Guy Manza explains, "New construction projects in our region are now required to monitor surface water collection and movement to Puget Sound to reduce negative effects on the environment." This effort is accomplished by a number of different methods depending on the site involved, including water retention ponds and bio-filtration systems.