| | |  | Click here | The Covington Middle School seventh grade Language Arts and Social studies teacher recently collaborated to create a day dedicated to the reading and analysis of writings by famed author Edgar Allan Poe.
Members of the community were invited to the school to read various works with small groups of students and then do detailed analysis into the meanings.
"We felt like this was a great way to culminate our time learning about such a famous, but also challenging writer such as Poe," said Covington teacher Karri Fansler. "It was a great opportunity for the students to gain additional perspective on Poe's writings and welcome the community in to see how we're working to make learning innovative and engaging for kids." | Approved | 30 | 11/18/2008 3:53 PM |
| | |  | Click Here | Current U.S. Army Sgt. Jeff Sivason, who is also a parent at Columbia Valley Elementary School, presented the school with an American flag on Veteran's Day.
The flag had previously been flown over an Army Life Support area in Kuwait and had been retired. Sivason presented it during the annual Veteran's Day assembly at the school.
Sivason was home on a brief leave to spend time with his family before returning overseas. | Approved | 29 | 11/12/2008 8:36 AM |
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Students at Pacific Middle School joined in the election day excitement by staging their own mock election.
The School's Honor Society put together a program that required students to register to vote and then gave them the opportunity to make their voice heard with their vote in the presidential election.
Almost all 1,200 students registered and participated. | Approved | 28 | 11/10/2008 7:51 AM |
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Athletes from the Mountain View High School (MVHS) volleyball and football teams, visited students at Ellsworth Elementary School to read to every class in the school.
The elementary school students listened raptly as the high school students read to them about pigeons driving buses, doing your best and the importance of friends.
MVHS Associate Principal Wes Allen said that they hope to continue doing this program each sports season and visit each elementary school that feeds into Mountain View.
| Approved | 27 | 11/3/2008 7:48 AM |
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Culinary and restaurant management students from the Clark County Skills Center were treated to the rare opportunity to spend two days learning from world-class chefs.
Chef Sonnenschmidt is only one of 46 Certified Master Chefs in the country and has won international acclaim as well as authored several books. Chef Prosperi (pictured) is a Certified Executive Pastry Chef and instructor. Both chefs came to the Skills Center as part of a program sponsored by the Culinary Institute of America in New York. | Approved | 24 | 10/13/2008 8:29 AM |
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Students at Orchards Elementary School received a visit from Governor Chris Gregoire's husband, Mike Gregoire. "First Mike" as he is often called, read to students and answered questions. Gregoire visits schools throughout the state promoting literacy. | Approved | 23 | 10/20/2008 10:05 AM |
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Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize winning author for the book Angela's Ashes, spent time in an informal session with students from Mountain View High School.
McCourt was in town to speak to a large group of school librarians from Oregon and Washington, but expressed a desire to also speak directly with students.
Students were invited to ask questions which ranged from tips on creative writing, to McCourt's childhood experience of growing up in Ireland. | Approved | 22 | 10/27/2008 10:31 AM |
| | |  | Click Here | Clark County Commissioner Betty Sue Morris joined students from York Elementary School to help students paint the curb near the new ‘no parking’ signs that have been placed on the east side of 152nd St.
“This is a huge step for school safety at York,” said Principal Dawn Harris. “Cars parked in that area have long been a hazard for students and we appreciate the Clark County Commissioners taking this step to improve the safety environment for the school.”
Harris testified at a commissioners’ hearing about the issue which led to an approval of no parking signs being placed on the street.
Peter Capell from Clark County Public Works wasl also in attendance. His office provided the safety signs, paint, brushes and equipment for the curb painting. | Approved | 20 | 10/6/2008 11:20 AM |
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Mountain View High School (MVHS) student Joseph Garcia's School Bus Safety Poster for 2008 has been chosen to represent the state of Washington in the national contest at the end of October in Myrtle Beach, North Carolina.
Garcia's poster was first selected to represent ESD 112 at the state level where it took first place in his division. Garcia is pictured with MVHS Principal Mike Meloy and district Transportation representative Jenny Bullard. | Approved | 19 | 9/30/2008 11:24 AM |
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Union High School student, Eloisa Carbajal recently won a district-wide label design contest sponsored by Talking Rain, Chartwells and Evergreen Public Schools Career and Technical Education. Students were challenged to create a new label for the popular beverage to be featured for the next three years on all Talking Rain bottles in Evergreen Public Schools.
Carbajal created her entry as part of her advertising class at Union. She received 365 bottles of Talking Rain beverages and a $50.00 gift card. | Approved | 18 | 9/26/2008 7:58 AM |
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Each time a new school or public facility is built, the State of Washington Arts Commission grants money to be used to commission an art project for the building. Cascade chose artist Jack Archibald who worked with an advisory team from the school and created a stunning stained glass piece at the end of the main hallway. Archibald also created a smaller piece that has been inset above the main entrance to the school.
Cascade Middle School Principal Gary Price said, "We were very impressed by Jack and his commitment to middle school education. He is in very high demand across the country and even so he took the time to provide even more glass and a bigger project than he was commissioned to undertake because of how impressed he was with the school and the beauty that the natural lighting would create." | Approved | 17 | 6/24/2008 7:45 AM |
| | |  | Click Here | Songs, dances, games and food representing the cultures of people from around the world were featured at Image Elementary School’s Culture Day on Thursday, June 12. Culture Day is an annual event where students learn about and appreciate the diversity of all people.
Every homeroom class had chosen a country to feature. The students created decorations for their room appropriate to their chosen country. Parents and volunteers helped out in preparing ethnic or traditional food, music and other exhibits. Students then received “passports” to gain entry to “countries” throughout the school. In each class they had the opportunity to taste the food and complete a craft and literacy piece.
Two assemblies were held in the afternoon Representatives from each “country” will march into the assemblies, present a flag made by the students, and say a welcome in their chosen language. Songs and dances will be performed, group songs sung, and cultural games played.That evening, parents and others family members are invited to the school for a mini world tour.
“Culture Day has a special meaning for us at Image,” says Principal Lauren Hopson. “We have great diversity in heritages among our students whose families speak 26 different languages at last count. It gives students a better appreciation of our differences as well as learning how much alike we are. Our school is a microcosm of the diversity of America.” | Approved | 16 | 6/16/2008 7:43 AM |
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Ellsworth Elementary School students from Angelina Yelverton's fifth grade class recently completed a waste audit as part of their fifth grade exit project. The waste audit assessed how much trash was being thrown away, versus how much was being recycled. The state mandates that a recycling program be in place, but the students in Yelvertno's class determined that Ellsworth's was not that effective.
Students came up with a slogan "recycle more, throw away less" and began to proactively educate classes on what could be recyled and which recycle bins to put them in. At the end of the year, they did another audit and the difference was significant. "We truly had reduced the amount of garbage substantially!" said Yelverton. "Teachers constantly commented on how much was being recycled and how little there was being thrown away. It was like receptacles switched places, instead of having a full garbage bin, we had a full compost bin every day. There has been talk about switching the sizes of the bins due to the amount being thrown away in them." | Approved | 15 | 6/9/2008 8:19 AM |
| | |  | Click Here | In partnership with the Lower Columbia River Estuary, second and fourth grade students from Riverview planted a bird friendly garden in the back of the school. Students did all the work including digging holes and planting all the native plants, spreading a bark chip path and watering the new garden. A rain barrel and bird feeder were also installed. | Approved | 14 | 6/2/2008 9:20 AM |
| | |  | Click Here | Superintendents from from every school district in Educational Service District 112 (ESD 112) each had the opportunity to nominate someone from their community for a Community Leadership Award. The award was presented at a regional WASA meeting held at ESD 112. Evergreen Public Schools Superintendent John Deeder nominated long-time volunteer Russ Williams as one of the recipients.
Williams has been a volunteer in Evergreen Public Schools for the past 12 years. He has worked tirelessly at the elementary level reading with students. He no longer drives, but takes C-Tran to get to schools every week. He has also been a strong community advocate for schools. "It's people like Russ Williams that benefit our district in significant and life-changing ways," said Deeder. "We have all benefited through his commitment to education and students." | Approved | 13 | 5/25/2008 5:27 PM |
| | |  | Click Here | The Washington Scholars program recognizes the accomplishments of three high school seniors from each of the state’s 49 legislative districts. Students receive state scholarships for up to four years of public resident undergraduate tuition and fees. The scholarships can be used at any Washington public or independent college or university.
High school principals nominate the top 1 percent of their school’s graduating senior class on the basis of academic achievement, leadership and community service. A committee, composed of high school principals and college admissions staff, selects the top four students in each legislative district, naming three as scholars and one as a scholar alternate. | Approved | 12 | 5/19/2008 7:39 AM |
| | |  | Click Here | Mayor Royce Pollard, local dignitaries and administrators and students from both Evergreen and Vancouver School Districts participated in the Annual Children's Culture Parade which celebrates the diversity of people and cultures around the world. Evergreen had 19 teachers and approximately 450 students participating in this year's event including Illahee, Sifton and Sunset Elementary Schools. Covington Middle School's Eighth grade Band and Color Guard also performed.
Students marched a parade route through the Vancouver Historic Reserve, carrying banners with their school names and dressed as representatives of countries throughout the world. Each class was escorted by a member for the Vancouver Reserves. | Approved | 11 | 5/12/2008 7:31 AM |
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DeAnn VanNess is always looking for new and innovative ways to increase her second grade students' interest in learning. This year, she decided to focus on the University of Portland Men's Basketball team "The Pilots" as a point of interest for students. She wove the Pilots into writing projects, math lessons and the popular Flat Stanley program, where students send a flat paper doll with people who are traveling. When Flat Stanley returns he comes with stories and sometimes mementos of his travels. VanNess's class sent a Flat Stanley with the Pilots Team on all of the team's away games.
The team has been highly receptive to involvement with VanNess's class. Students were invited to a game this year and then a special autograph signing afterwards. Students follow the Pilots in the newspaper and proudly wear team gear. "This project has really taken off," said VanNess. "I never would have imagined how much the students would enjoy learning about the players and how much of a learning incentive it would be."
On April 22, members of the team paid a special visit to VanNess's class, where they were interviewed by students for a writing project, signed autographs and chatted with students about learning. | Approved | 10 | 5/5/2008 9:01 AM |
| | |  | Click Here | Illahee Elementary School teachers, parents and Principal Joel Hauge were invited to a chess match against students in the school's chess club. The club meets twice a month for an hour after school and has grown to include more than 50 students. This particular meeting gave students the opportunity to practice their skills against adults.
All students have the opportunity to play and range from beginning level to more advanced students, who will sometimes use the projector to showcase demonstration games while explaining their moves.
Parent volunteer Alan Morasch said, "This club has been a great way for students to learn and hone their chess skills. There has been such a positive response to the club and it's great to have be able to encourage student interest in this type of educational and skill-building activity." | Approved | 9 | 4/27/2008 10:34 PM |
| | |  | Click Here | Shahala Middle School students participated in th Project Citizen competition with two teams advancing to the state competition. Project Citizen is a program for middle school students which focuses on teaching students to express their opinions, which level of government and/or agency is most appropriate to address the problems students identify and how to influence policy decisions. It is part of the We the People program competition for high school students.
Each group of students must identify a problem, i.e. junk food in vending machines, formulate arguments on why it is an issue and create a detailed plan of action on how to resolve it. This year's state teams are Heather Fowler's first period class "Know What Buttons to Push" regarding healthy vending machine snacks and Lynnette Sundstrom's fifth period class "Why Should the Study of Life Require Death" regarding dissection. | Approved | 8 | 4/21/2008 7:32 AM |
| | |  | Click Here | Created by artist Etsuko Ichikawa, the Aurora Borealis stretches from one end of the foyer to the other. The piece was paid for by the Washington state Art in Public Places fund. Students from Covington Middle School and Evergreen, Heritage, Mountain View and Union High Schools all created their own interpretations of the art, which will be displayed at Covington until the end of April. | Approved | 7 | 4/17/2008 1:46 PM |
| | |  | Click Here | Students from every elementary school in the district showed up at the annual PE (physical education) showcase to demonstrate skills in categories from line dancing and step routines, to badminton and bowling. These areas are representative of some of the activities that students learn and become proficient at in PE classes throughout the school year. | Approved | 6 | 4/30/2008 9:19 AM |
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Muffins with Moms is an annual event which occurs at many of the elementary schools in the district. Moms of students are invited to come in and read with their child while enjoying some muffins, juice and milk. These events last an hour and are widely attended. It's a great opportunity to encourage parent involvement and get families reading together. | Approved | 5 | 4/2/2008 8:58 AM |
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Students from Patti McMaster’s Advanced Placement (AP) Youth and Government class were recently informed that House Bill 2781 introduced by Rep. Deb Wallace, has unanimously passed both the state Senate and the House of Representatives and received concurrence from the House of Representatives for the amendment added by the Senate.
This bill is significant to these students because not only does the bill require school districts to incorporate information into curriculum dealing with 21st century politics, international trade and state constitution and policies, but students from McMasters class met with Wallace as she was she was writing the bill and four traveled to the state capitol to testify in front of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee about the importance of the bill and the changes it entailed.
Senator Rosemary McAuliffe said “The students were so impressive that they received the full support of the Senate. They were the ones who made this happen.”
The entire class traveled to the state capitol to attend the signing of the bill on Thursday, March 27. | Approved | 4 | 4/2/2008 8:58 AM |
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Heritage High School recently hosted their Second Annual Community Connections Day. The school invited local community members, community leaders, and business owners to come to the school and see how Heritage is providing students with a 21st century education with the goal of preparing all students to be world-competitive upon graduation.
Student ambassadors took visitors to classrooms, answered questions and showed special projects such as the biodiesel project that students have been working on. | Approved | 3 | 4/2/2008 8:58 AM |
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Donuts with Dads is an event geared towards encouraging dads to read with their students. Several of the elementary schools hold this event, which invites dads to come in to school for an hour in the morning, have some donuts and juice and read with their students. These events are highly attended and are a great opportunity for dads to spend time with their students and see the school. | Approved | 2 | 3/17/2008 2:01 PM |
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The Green Wrenches finished 45th during a recent competition at the Memorial Coliseum. The robotics teams were challenged to create robots that were judged based upon their ability on a track and how well they handled a ball.
The competition was sponsored by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). This was a precursor to a world championship robotics competition next month in Atlanta. | Approved | 1 | 3/14/2008 2:45 PM |