April 20, 2007   

Event to Honor former Superintendent Carl Jensen

The public is invited to Camp Waskowitz on May 26, noon to 4:00 p.m., to honor and celebrate the life of Carl Jensen. Former Highline Superintendent Carl Jensen passed away on November 21 at the age of 97. It was his request, in lieu of a memorial service, to hold a community-wide open house at Camp Waskowitz, a place he dearly loved. He was instrumental in purchasing Waskowitz for the Highline School District and establishing the Puget Sound Youth Foundation as a means of acquiring the additional 300 acres across the river. Because of his vision and forethought, thousands of our area youth have had the opportunity to learn about and enjoy the wonders of our natural environment.     Back to eHighlights

Elementary Essay Contest

Literacy Work and College Planning All-in-One!   Here’s a chance for students in grades K-6 to put their literacy skills to good use - by recognizing their favorite bus driver! The winner of the essay contest will receive a laptop computer and a $1,000 educational savings bond! Check out http://www.thomasbus.com/contest for all the details.     Back to eHighlights

Des Moines Rotary Teams up with Parks & Recreation Services

Valuable After-School Programming Provided     Students are making decoupage notebooks. The Des Moines Rotary Club has provided grant funding to the Des Moines Parks, Recreation & Senior Services for teen after-school programming this year. Programs include Activity Afternoons on the last Friday of each month, with 54 kids attending the March 30 event. The Activity Afternoons are entirely free to the students. In addition to the Activity Afternoons, there are also smaller classes, which have included a drill club, knitting and sewing for beginners, and a cooking club. Most of the students who participate attend Pacific Middle School.   Students work in Mr. Schifter's Computer Lab after school.   Participants recently created a decoupage notebook to take with them to school, played basketball and soccer, and worked in the computer lab - which is staffed by Pacific teacher Elliott Schifter. School’s Out Washington documents census data for our state indicating there are almost a million school-aged youth. They spend only 20% of their waking hours in school. The peak hours for juvenile crime are 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., and studies show that unsupervised children are at significantly greater risk of participating in unhealthy behavior, including substance abuse. According to Nic Lind, recreation director for Des Moines, "Research proves that kids who participate in high-quality, after-school programs have better peer relations, academic success, and in-school conduct than kids who are not enrolled in programs."   Back to eHighlights

$15,000 to Help Fund Community Improvement Projects

General Mills Sales, Inc. and Hamburger Helper are searching for people in your hometown that are raising funds to help the community. Hamburger Helper will fund initiatives to help hometowns across America. Grant Title: MYHOMETOWNHELPER.com Organization: General Mills Sales, Inc. and Hamburger Helper Eligibility: Community organizations Value: $15,000 per award Deadline: May 31, 2007   All requests for funding must be sponsored by a municipal or civic organization or public school. Hamburger Helper will give funds directly to the public school or nonprofit, such as civic leagues and social welfare organizations, that sponsors an application for funding. Visit www.myhometownhelper.com for more information. Contact: http://www.myhometownhelper.com/Rules.aspx   Back to eHighlights

Parents and Students Come Together to Learn about Math

by Jennifer Hefford-Anderson   Midway Elementary’s Family Math Night was a time for parents and their children to learn and play games that will increase their mathematical knowledge. Midway Elementary hosted a Family Math Night on March 29. With approximately 150 people in attendance, this was an opportunity for parents and students to learn math games that can be played at home to reinforce the skills that are being taught at school. Math Night was a tremendous success. Many families came to learn new games and have recreation time with their students. Attendees chose from several different games and activities lead by fifth-grade bilingual students. Thank you to everyone who participated, organized, and donated your time.     Back to eHighlights

Math is Cool!

At Highline Public Schools, Math is definitely Cool! The Mount Rainier High School math team joins in the state-wide Math is Cool program. The program, started in the late ‘90s by Gregg Sampson, a mathematics teacher at Lewis and Clark High School in the Spokane area, has grown each year and now encompasses school districts across the state. The Mount Rainier math team hosts several contests during the year, including two for elementary students. The Mount Rainier Math Invitational was held in January and February for 5th and 6th graders, respectively. Later this spring, the high school team will host the "Math is Cool" Championships for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. These students may qualify for the "Math is Cool" Masters contests. "Dr. Tom Tosch, the math team coach at Mount Rainier, emphasizes the importance of student leadership and community outreach to younger mathletes," observes Cherie Clymer, one of the MRHS math teachers. The competitions include both individual and team events and are grouped by ages. Individual events include completion of open-ended and multiple-choice problem sets. Team events include open-ended problem sets, relays, pressure rounds, mental math, and college bowl rounds. In addition to requiring good sportsmanship throughout the competition, the rules for the events include requirements such as; calculators are not allowed, all fractions must be reduced, and leave all answers in terms of pi where applicable. For a full listing of the rules and more information on organizing a team at your school, visit the Math is Cool website at: http://academicsarecool.com.     Back to eHighlights

Another National Merit Scholar Finalist Named

Charles Loeffler, Evergreen High School senior, has been named a National Merit Scholar Finalist. Congratulations, Charles! This brings the Highline total of finalists to five students.     Back to eHighlights

Torn By War, Healing Through Hope

Kendall Taylor & Monet Hendricks writing an oral history from their practice interviews.     One School’s Effort to Create a Culture of Peace in Their Community The Aviation High School Oral History Project is an effort to examine multiple perspectives on the conflicts in Laos and Cambodia, with an emphasis on the local Seattle community. Students hope to learn first-hand what experiences community members had during these conflicts, and how these events have impacted their lives. Tenth-grade students and their teachers, Jacob Savishinsky and Ted Dezember, are studying the history of these conflicts in class, reading personal memoirs of Cambodians, Laotians, and Americans who were directly involved with or impacted by the conflicts of the 1960s and 1970s in Southeast Asia, researching and conducting oral history interviews with refugees and veterans, and designing a full-scale traveling museum exhibit. A website and a documentary film are being made - by students - about the project, focusing on the experiences and learning of participating students and community members. This project, which was recently presented at a community event, included a presentation of the oral history archives created by students, a series of museum exhibits designed and constructed by students, as well as a discussion panel with oral history interview participants and historical experts. The exhibition opening and celebration event was held at The Museum of Flight. In May, it will move to the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, the Bellevue Art Gallery, and eventually to a display in Arizona.   See http://www.tornbywar.org/ for a student-created website detailing experiences with the project - complete with a video including some of the survivor interviews. Principal/CEO Reba Gilman had high praise for the teachers and students involved in "this very rich learning experience."    View more photos...>>     Back to eHighlights

Chinook Middle School Summer Activities Fair a Success

If you stopped by Chinook during the evening of April 4, you would have seen representatives from the Youth Volunteer Corp, the Boy Scouts of America, SeaTac Parks & Recreation Department, the Ecology Youth Corp, Highline Tutoring, and many, many more organizations – all there to share opportunities for summer activities with the students. Organizer Kim Ustanik noted, "We wish great success to the students of our community in finding wonderful, positive things to do this coming summer and as a result, they return to school in the fall happy, energized and ready participate!" In all, over 30 organizations participated – and nearly 500 families attended. Good work, Chinook!     Back to eHighlights

4th Annual Latino Education Summit

A group of Pacific Middle School students recently had the opportunity to attend the 4th Annual Latino Education Summit. Held at the University of Washington – Tacoma, the event offered these students a valuable look into life at the University and they came away seeing new possibilities for their own futures. The purpose of the summit is to provide Latino high school students with opportunities that encourage them to pursue post-secondary education as well as motivate them to strive for excellence while in high school. The summit consisted of workshops specifically designed to address the issues preventing Latino students from seeking education after high school and to inform them of the opportunities and resources available to them to help them achieve their dreams.   The theme for this year’s summit was "Si Se Puede! More than Words." Partnering to host the event were: Northwest Leadership Foundation, Proyecto MoLÉ, University of Washington, and Tacoma Public Schools with a goal of reaching 500 Latino high school students from surrounding districts. Not only did the students learn valuable lessons from the program and forums they participated in, they also had a lesson or two in "overcoming obstacles" according to Leo Castaneda, ELL teacher from Pacific, who accompanied the students. "We had a few transportation hurdles we hadn’t planned for, but the students managed to be flexible and made it an adventure," commented Leo. One of the most impactful sessions at the Summit was entitled, "No Excuses" where students and staff tackled typical reasons some Latino students give for not succeeding in school. "There were some real honest conversations taking place in that room," observed one participant. Program Director Melody Rodriquez commented on the participation of Mr. Castaneda and the Pacific students. She said, "The facilitators for the No Excuses workshop really appreciated the sharing. You made an impression on several attendees." The group from Pacific was the first-ever middle school group to participate in the Summit. According to Pacific Principal Cecilia Beaman, this was an important experience for these students. "They now know that college is attainable, affordable, and in their future!"      Back to eHighlights

Cascade Proudly Celebrates the 11th Annual Parade of Nations

Piñata Breaking     Piñata Making     Cambodian Dancing     Origami   Many Hearts Beating as One by Jeni White On Thursday, March 29, Cascade Middle School students, staff, families and community members celebrated the 11th Annual Parade of Nations cultural event. Parade of Nations is an all-school event in which participants share their culture through song, dance, skits, storytelling and a culminating fashion show from around the world. Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, Samoan, Hawaiian, New Zealand, Cambodian, Native American and U.S. traditions and customs were demonstrated. This exciting event is widely anticipated all year and has fast become the pride of Cascade Middle School. For the first time, this year our Leadership class led the way to extending the celebration by hosting the "After Party." It was an amazing opportunity for our students and staff to learn more about each other and the cultures around us. Classes were offered in categories such as Art Activities – Flag, Kite, Lei & Piñata Making, Origami, and African & Native Beading; Food Activities – Sugar Cookie Flag Decorating, Native American Fry Bread, Schnitzel, El Salvadorian Chocolate Bananas & Caribbean Fruit Punch/Kabobs; and Recreational Activities – Mexican, Cambodian, & Polynesian Dancing, Chinese Jump Roping, Flag Football, Soccer, Softball, Kickball and many, many more. The afternoon was spent exploring other cultures, appreciating classmate and staff diversity and having an all-around fun time. Our celebration of student and community diversity grows by the year and we look forward to continuing to expand our efforts year after year. Cascade is proud of the contributions, culture and traditions of our students, staff and community and we celebrate joyously!     Back to eHighlights

Two Highline Students Win Essay Contest

"Ready, Set, Goals"     Baluga Paosa-Tuito’elau   From over 200 entries in the recent Wells Fargo Ready, Set, Goals essay contest sponsored by the Seattle Seahawks, Highline students won first and second place! Madrona sixth grader, Baluga Paosa-Tuito’elau won first place. Uipa Atonio, fifth grader at Parkside Elementary won second place.   As the first-place winner, Baluga will be the guest of the Seattle Seahawks at the 2007 NFL Draft Selection in April in Kirkland. On the first day of the 2007 NFL draft, he and two guests will be taken on a tour of the Seahawks facilities in Kirkland, meet Seahawks personnel and be present for the Seahawks first draft choice. He will also meet Seahawks Insider reporter Mike Kahn and be a guest reporter.   Baluga is the son of Laura and Michael Poasa-Tuito’elau of Des Moines. His teacher, Christy Buezo, proudly shared Baluga’s exciting news with us. Read Baluga’s essay...>>         Uipa Atonio   Uipa Atonio’s teacher at Parkside is Tonni Best. She has nicknamed him Uipa Hasslebeck! Read Uipa’s Essay...>>         Back to eHighlights

2007 Regional High School Art Show Awards

Congratulations to Neil Solano of Evergreen High School and Catherine Dupre of Highline High School - both are award-winning artists in this year's Regional Art Show sponsored by the Puget Sound Education Service District. Catherine’s entry won the "Overall Best in Show Award (3-D)" and was selected as a Regional Winner. Her piece will advance to the 34th Annual State High School Art Show in Olympia. “This is an awesome accomplishment,” commented Theresa Matthews, community liaison for Highline High School. "It represents the highest accumulation of points from all of the judges in this category!" This show celebrates art from throughout the region with each art teacher selecting two to three pieces of art for entry. Chuong Tonnu also represented Evergreen High School in the show this year. These young artists were honored at a reception held April 15 at the ESD facility in Renton. If you didn’t make it to the show, you may view the artwork on the ESD website.       Back to eHighlights

Chinook Middle School Offers ELL Classes for Adults

Statistics are clear that students do better in school when parents participate. Engaging parents who don’t speak English has been a challenge for many of our schools. Chinook has teamed up with Highline Community College to offer parents the opportunity to learn English at free evening classes. Starting in mid-March, the class has grown each night it’s offered…first, there were 19 "students," then, 24, then 32. As word spreads, more parents are joining in – all with the same goal – learning to speak English so they can better assist their children achieve their dreams. Classes are Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. No childcare is available and only adults are invited to participate in these sessions.     Back to eHighlights

Health Science and Human Services Students Learn Vital Lessons

Students practice first aid and CPR.   The Health Science and Human Services School at Evergreen High School has partnered with the Red Cross to give students the opportunity for hands-on experience that will benefit their life at school, home, and in the community. The event is a continuation of training that started for last year’s ninth-grade students when they attended a week-long, intensive program at South Seattle Community College to learn about different diseases and health issues in the world. Last year’s training was so positive, the students and staff wanted to expand on the concept with the same group of students who are now 10th graders.   The Red Cross joined in and offered a special Disaster Planning program at Evergreen during the week of April 2. Students learned about disasters indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. They designed plans for home and school and created a useful product, which they presented to the group on Friday. Students also participated in afternoon sessions of First Aid/CPR class. The Red Cross not only taught the class for 100 students, they also offered students the opportunity to take the test and become certified. "Senior mentors assisted with this project," commented Assistant Principal Marci Stadiem, "so there was valuable learning taking place on several levels." The Disaster Planning and CPR/First Aid program is likely to become an annual opportunity as the Red Cross has expressed interest in continuing to sponsor this event. While all of this was happening at EHS, the new 9th graders were at the Health Week event at South Seattle Community College learning about disease and world issues.     Back to eHighlights

Highline Alumni Awarded Fellowships

Gwen Spencer (2001)     Elaine Hart (2002)     Daniel Walton (2003)   Three Mount Rainier High School graduates, Gwen Spencer (2001), Elaine Hart (2002), and Daniel Walton (2003), all received Graduate Fellowships from the National Science Foundation to do graduate study. All three attended at least middle school and high school in Highline Public Schools and participated in the International Baccalaureate program at Mount Rainier. All three also graduated (or will, in Daniel's case) from Harvey Mudd College and will be pursuing Ph.D.s. The National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships are generally for three years of graduate school and pay a stipend of $30,000 per year plus a tuition/books allowance. These prestigious fellowships are extremely competitive - only 28 were awarded nationwide this year in mathematics, Gwen and Daniel's area of graduate study. Elaine is currently a first-year graduate student at Stanford in materials engineering, and Gwen is a first-year graduate student at Cornell, studying operations research. Daniel will graduate in May with a mathematics degree, and attend UCLA in the fall. To have one former student receive a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship in a given year is impressive, but having three students receive them is remarkable. "I think it speaks highly of the great education they got at Mount Rainier and the quality of the IB program, in particular," commented Allan Walton (Daniel’s father), who alerted us to this story.       Back to eHighlights

King-Snohomish Spelling Bee Abuzz with Unusual Words

Seven students from around the Highline district were on-hand to compete at the March 25 King-Snohomish Regional Spelling Bee. Students won the right to represent their school by winning first or second (alternate) place at their local spelling bee. The following students participated and some even earned their way into the local news. School Representatives: Joshua Walters, grade 7, Manhattan Homeschool Center Miranda Atzbach, grade 8, Pacific Middle School Joey Couch, grade 6, Bow Lake Elementary School Nicholas Mead, grade 8, Sylvester Middle School Alternates: Mayumi Garcia, grade 8, Pacific Middle School Faith Yandall, grade 6, Bow Lake Elementary School Andrea Lin, grade 7, Sylvester Middle School     Back to eHighlights

Board Minutes

Click the date to read the minutes from the March 28, 2007 board meeting.       Back to eHighlights

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