3 Sammamish schools earn awards
February 23, 2011
Students, staff and parents at three Sammamish schools are patting themselves on the back after learning they earned a 2010 Washington Achievement Award from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Eastlake High School and Mead and McAuliffe elementary schools each will receive the Overall Excellence recognition at an April 27 ceremony at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, according the Lake Washington School District. They are three of 12 Lake Washington schools that earned the award.
The state recognizes top-performing schools in seven areas: Overall Excellence, Language Arts, Math, Science, Extended Graduation Rate, Improvement and Closing Achievement Gaps.
OSPI selects schools (186 total recognized for 2010) based on their statewide assessment data for the previous three years.
It uses the Achievement Index and other approved methodologies to analyze the data.
To see the full list of awarded schools and the methodologies used for selection, visit http://www.k12.wa.us/educationawards/WashingtonAchievement/default.aspx.
Police Blotter Feb. 23
February 23, 2011
Open doors
Police found a garage door open at around 2:30 a.m. Feb. 12 on the 25700 block of Southeast 31st Place. They advised the owner to close it.
Bank fraud
A Sammamish resident discovered $2,800 charged to their credit card on Feb. 4 for reservations at a lodge in California. The resident cancelled their credit card and called police.
Sammamish City Council retreat cost $8,500
February 23, 2011
The Sammamish City Council spent about $8,500 on its three-day retreat to Suncadia Resort earlier this month.
Finance Director Lyman Howard said the costs include about $3,850 for rooms and meals for the seven City Council members and a half dozen or so department directors. During the retreat, the council and city staff participated in team-building exercises and discussed long-range city issues like a potential community aquatic center, the Town Center and park projects.
The city also paid about $4,650 for the services of Dick Thompson. Thompson, a former state budget director under Gov. Gary Locke and chief-of-staff to Gov. Booth Gardner, worked as a facilitator for the meeting, leading discussion and providing expertise in policy discussions.
EFR buys new boat
February 23, 2011
Eastside Fire & Rescue increased their ability to rescue citizens trapped in rivers, lakes or rising flood waters.
At their Feb. 10 meeting, the agency’s board of directors agreed to buy a used boat from the Duvall Fire District for $10,000.
The district is replacing the 1982 Wooldridge Extra Plus 21-foot jet boat with a newer model. EFR deputy chief Jeff Griffin said the district has taken excellent care of the old boat and that the 200 horsepower Yamaha outboard motor has plenty of life left in it. Griffin estimated a brand new version of a similar boat would cost the district $40,000 or more. Read more
Alcott, Blackwell and Carson stack ‘em high
February 23, 2011
The clatter of little foam-plastic cups hitting tabletops filled the Alcott Elementary gym as dozens of fourth- fifth- and sixth-graders practiced their stacking routines.
Three Inglewood Junior High students sat and recorded times as the competitors, from Alcott, Blackwell and Carson elementary schools, rapidly stacked pyramids of colorful cups and slapped the timing bar. Parents took pictures and video of their children, encouraging them as they waited in line to perform. Some focused students, relieved once the time-trial was over, celebrated with a fist pump or gave themselves a pep talk to do better next time.
Trevor Horton, an Carson* sixth-grader, performs the cycle speed stacking routine Feb. 15. Photo by Christopher Huber
Sammamish schools have 9 National Merit finalists
February 23, 2011
Nine Sammamish students recently learned they are in the running to receive National Merit Scholarships. They are among 15,000 high schoolers in the nation who were announced as finalists for the scholarship competition.
Five Skyline students made the cut: Saumya Copparam, Ben Huang, Dipanwita Maulik, Praveen Puvvadi, and James Richardson. Read more
Eastlake swimmers bring home state titles
February 23, 2011
As Edward Kim turned to sprint back to the finish during the 50-yard freestyle race, he could tell his opponent, Kentridge’s Chase Bublitz, was a little bit ahead. Kim, an Eastlake freshman, had held the best time in the state much of the season and was the favorite to win. So he kicked it into gear in the final 25 yards and won by .10 seconds.
“I just didn’t want to lose,” Kim said. “So I did just whatever I could to pull out ahead. I breathed once and just stuck my head down.”
The phenom swimmer from Sammamish won the 4A state title with a time of 21.32 seconds, earning his first state title of the day Feb. 19. Read more
Skyline girls fall to Woodinville in KingCo championship game
February 23, 2011
Skyline senior guard Lindsey Nicholson gave the Spartans plenty to cheer about in the first half against the Woodinville Falcons. She hit her first three 3-point shots of the first quarter-and-a-half and, at one point, helped Skyline get out to an early 18-10 lead.
But Woodinville’s Deidre Miller sunk more, and they all counted down the stretch.
After three quarters, the KingCo 4A girls basketball title seemed to be the Spartans’. But Miller’s barrage from beyond the arc aided the Falcons to a 55-47 comeback victory over Skyline for the league championship Feb. 18 at Juanita High School.
Woodinville’s Alexis McLeod blocks the shot of Lindsey Nicholson, Skyline senior guard, in the fourth quarter during the KingCo 4A championship game Feb. 18. Photo by Christopher Huber
Eric Harper takes 6th at Mat Classic
February 23, 2011
Eastlake grappler Eric Harper placed sixth in the 160-pound bracket at the 2011 Washington State Mat Classic Championships in Tacoma, Feb. 19.
The sophomore lost his first bout to Tahoma’s Garret Autrey, but battled his way back in the consolation round. He won three-straight matches to face Sam Voightlander, of Mead. Harper lost that match 3-0 and finished his state tournament appearance off with a 2-1 loss to Bethel’s Taylor Smith in the fifth-place bout.
In the 4A competition, Eastlake placed 37th overall (9 points) and Skyline placed 52nd (0 points). In 3A, Eastside Catholic scored six points to place 42nd overall.
Sammamish Grammy winner to play at Bake’s Place
February 23, 2011
Eric Tingstad, one half of the Grammy winning duo Tingstad and Rumbel, has been quite busy over the last two years collaborating on six albums with other artists.
But it is his latest project that the Sammamish resident is perhaps most excited about. The Halyards’ “Fortune Smiles” represents Tingstad’s artistic reunion with his high school buddies Chris Funk and Larry Mason. The album’s sound is unmistakably Americana, Tingstad said. It’s a sound that is decidedly a far departure from the last time the three played together in the prog-rock band Pegasus in the 1970s. Read more
