Public Schools

Press release:

A meeting of the SW King School Retirees Association will be held on Tuesday, April 23, 2013, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 8th and So. 192nd St., Des Moines, at 11:30 a.m.

A donation ($6) lunch will be served and the program, to follow, features Mr. Richard Anderson, President of WSSRA.

He will bring us up-to-date on the happenings in Lacey, and the benefits that AMBA has for us.

(We are also still collecting food and money for the local Food Banks; this month the Feinstein Foundation will double our contributions.) Please join us. If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please call Eileen at 206 878 3294.

Press release:

Two Highline schools are headed to St. Louis at the end of the month to compete in the FIRST Robotics World Championships.

Aviation High School holds the Washington State Robotics Champion title this year. The team also earned the Chairman’s Award at the state competition, which honors teams for excellence in design, creativity, innovation, and competition performance.

Highline High School will also compete in the World Championships. The team earned their ticket at the Seattle Regional competition by winning the Judge’s Award and the Safety Award.

Highline’s coach, Fred Leuke, won the Woodie Flowers Award as the region’s best mentor.

As an organization, FIRST exists to inspire young people to become science and technology leaders.

In the FIRST Robotics Competition students compete to build robots that perform various tasks. The tasks change each year and are revealed in January. Teams have just six weeks to construct the robot before competition.

Press release:

The Northwest Association for Blind Athletes (NWABA) has announced that it will be hosting a 2013 Paralympic Experience in SeaTac in conjunction with U.S. Paralympics, a division of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 11th at the Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th St. It is open to all K-12 students with visual impairments across the state of Washington.

"We are very excited to announce our Paralympic experience for students who are blind and visually impaired. This event will introduce students to several different sports, and give them the opportunity to learn more about the Paralympic games," said Executive Director Billy Henry

"The Paralympic Experience program encourages physical fitness and overall well-being for individuals with physical and visual disabilities, and we are thrilled to be working with Northwest Association for Blind Athletes (NWABA) on this initiative," said Charlie Huebner, USOC Chief of Paralympics.

Press release:

This spring, more than 2,000 students will hit the beach with the Environmental Science Center's naturalists to explore intertidal Puget Sound. A new component this year includes an expanded field study from one and a half hours to two hours so that students can learn about the harmful effects of marine debris on our oceans and actions they can take to be a Beach Hero.

Taking advantage of ESC's new facility at Seahurst Park, students will be able to explore plastics collected from the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" in the North Pacific Gyre, view satellite imagery of earth's ocean currents, and learn how to pack a sustainable lunch box by minimizing single use plastics.

When students make the pledge to REFUSE, REDUCE, RE-USE, and RECYCLE plastics in their daily life, they will receive an official Beach Hero identification card.

Most of the more than 90 classes that ESC will serve this spring receive a one-hour classroom session, two-hour field study, and bus transportation free-of-charge.

Press release:

Budding scientists at Cascade Middle School and the Arts and Academic Academy (AAA), both in SeaTac, are working together to experiment on new biotech equipment.

High school students in AAA’s BioInformatics, Technology, and Ethics class are partnering with 7th grade science students from Cascade to learn together. While the older students are mentoring the younger students, both groups are learning from each other.

“Working with the students was really fun and it seemed that they responded better and were more interested in working with other teenagers rather than teachers,” said high school student Kateah Nims. “I felt they were more inspired to be more involved with what was happening.”

In class, the students are learning about the genetic basis for antibiotic resistance.

“This lab is a real world application of everything they have been learning,” said Cascade teacher Anna Kramer, “It wouldn’t be possible without the AAA students leading each small group on the specific lab skills.”

Press release:

Practice is paying off for math students at North Hill Elementary in Des Moines.

Students at the school finished 1st on the West Coast and 7th in the world for most minutes logged in the Math Mania Bowl.

The Math Mania Bowl is a computer based competition where students play one minute math games in real time. The competition lasted 24 hours and students from around the world participated.

“The students went wild and logged in an incredible amount of minutes online,” said North Hill Principal, Nancy Melius. “The kids were excited to compete against each other, and the rest of the world.”

Many students logged in for 5-6 hours.

Fourth and fifth graders started training for the competition in September when the school started a Math Club through V-Math, an online math program and interactive game. To join the club, students were asked to put in 100 minutes of work each week, on top of their regular weekly homework.

Press release:
Parents in Seattle and South King County are invited to a free event that will provide the information and resources they need to help their children do well in school – from cradle to college and career.
Hundreds of parents are expected at the April 20 Road Map Region Parent Forum, which is designed to help parents understand school systems, get information on academic requirements and build stronger relationships with schools. Research shows these factors are critical for student academic success.
The Parent Forum will feature workshops, prizes, inspirational speakers and an interactive Resource Fair that will include Radio Disney.

Road Map Region Parent Forum
Saturday, April 20
Foster High School
4242 S. 144th St., Tukwila, WA 98168

Registration opens at 9 a.m. | Welcome begins at 10 a.m. | Workshops run until 3 p.m.
Resource Fair is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Three Highline schools have won multiple 2012 Washington Achievement awards. The awards were announced Tuesday, April 2.

Aviation High School in Des Moines earned awards for overall excellence, math, and science.

Global Connections High School on the Tyee campus in SeaTac won for overall excellence, extended graduation rates and closing achievement gaps.

Health Sciences and Human Services High School (HS3) on the Evergreen campus in White Center won for overall excellence, extended graduation rate and high progress.

Single award winners were Marvista Elementary in Normandy Park, science; Gregory Heights Elementary in Burien, closing achievement gaps; and Southern Heights Elementary in Burien, high progress.

In the Tukwila district, Cascade View Elementary was honored for math.

Aviation, Global Connections, HS3, and Southern Heights also won 2011 Washington Achievement Awards.

The office of the state superintendent of public instruction issued a press release giving details about the awards:

Press release:

Highline Community College students Jemimah Kamau and Lloyd Thomas have been named members of the 2013 All-Washington Academic Team for their academic achievement, community service and involvement on campus.

“We are proud to have Jemimah and Lloyd as Highline’s All-Washington Scholars this year,” said HCC President, Dr. Jack Bermingham. “They both overcame extraordinary challenges to gain access to higher education, making their academic achievements even more remarkable. Their outstanding success both inside and outside the classroom demonstrates the character and leadership that merit national recognition.”

Kamau, Thomas and other top scholars from the state’s 34 community and technical colleges were recognized today during the awards ceremony at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia.

KeyBank honored each team member with a $500 scholarship. Kamau also received a $1,000 scholarship from the Washington Trustee Association of Community and Technical Colleges at the event.

Press release:

Dr. Susan Enfield, Highline schools superintendent, invites business owners, representatives of community organizations, and other community members to make appointments to meet with her during her monthly office hours.

Each month Superintendent Enfield hosts office visits, an opportunity for anyone in the community to share ideas and ask questions. The last two scheduled dates for office hours this school year are April 25 and May 23, both from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

“Most of my office visits this year have been with parents and staff members. I have enjoyed these meetings and have learned a great deal from them,” said Enfield. “I am also hoping to have the opportunity to meet with members of the general community. You provide a different, and important, perspective.”

To schedule a 15-minute visit during office hours, please contact Jan May at 206.433.2217 or jan.may@highlineschools.org.