Rachel Carson students strive to inspire people they’ve never met
February 7, 2012
Last November, Kelly Urlacher’s sixth grade class at Rachel Carson Elementary took part in a “found art project.” Lesa Widner, a Discover Art volunteer, suggested and led the project.
The children would select an inspirational quote from people such as Virgil, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, or Walt Disney.
“Choose what inspires you,” Widner told them.
The sixth grade class preparing for their next art project, papier mache masks. Photo by David Rollins
Language program takes flight in Issaquah district
February 7, 2012
Students at Cascade Ridge riffle through articles of clothing in “La Tienda de Ropa,” a make-believe clothing store in a first-level Spanish class.
“La bufanda!” and “El vestido!” they shout as their teacher instructs them to repeat after her.
These 10 boys and girls, all between the ages of 6 and 11, are a part of a growing program in the Issaquah School District. Foreign Language for Youth, or FLY as it is also known, is an after-school series that equips elementary school students with foundational language skills in Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese and Mandarin. Featured in 15 of the state’s school districts, the program uses games, conversation and activities to engage young pupils who are otherwise not exposed to foreign languages until later in their school careers. Read more
Creative students move on to state Reflections contest
January 31, 2012
More than a dozen Sammamish students recently found out they were among the most creative entrants in this year’s Reflections program.
Eighteen students from five Lake Washington School District schools in Sammamish earned honors for their efforts to express their idea of the theme “Diversity Means…” Of those, 10 students will advance to the state-level Reflections contest, with potential to go all the way to national-level judging, according to the Lake Washington PTSA. Read more
Students compete for slots in aerospace residency
January 31, 2012
One memorable assignment so far was designing a space shuttle, according to Spencer Schiefelbein.
“I really like my robot,” said Alison Chiu.
Schiefelbein and Chiu, both 16 and juniors at Skyline, are two of five Issaquah School District students taking part in this year’s Washington Aerospace Scholars program. Read more
Skyline student makes others think about plastic
January 18, 2012
Skyline junior Macey Knecht doesn’t consider herself a “tree-hugger,” she said.
But during a curiosity-driven after-school “dumpster-diving” session, it hit her just how much plastic the approximately 1,800 students at her school use and throw away — as much as 1,000 bottles — every single day.
“Skyline High School tries to give the image we’re environmentally friendly, but…” Knecht said. “When you see something like this, it changes your perspective of the school.” Read more
Science Circus comes to McAuliffe Elementary
January 12, 2012
Nearly 500 McAuliffe Elementary School students went wild as Rhys Thomas attempted to demonstrate the law of gravity with juggling balls. The professional juggler and science performer danced, jumped, spun and scampered about as he dropped a ball or lost track of how many he was supposed to be handling.
Thomas had everyone in the building laughing and eager for the next trick as he spent an hour teaching Newtonian physics through his antics in Science Circus. It’s a school assembly program that uses practical and colorful explanations to explain gravity, gyroscopic stability, centripetal force, balance and inertia. Read more
Lake Washington School District choice school application deadline is coming up
January 9, 2012
Lake Washington district parents and students will get a chance to apply to attend the new STEM School (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at an information night Jan. 19.
Parents of students in Lake Washington schools heading into ninth or 10th grade this coming fall may learn more about the district’s newest choice school at the meeting at 7 p.m., Jan. 19 at the LWSD Resource Center. The meeting gives families the opportunity to learn about the application process for the district’s numerous choice schools, as well as stay up-to-date on deadlines and admissions processes. Read more
Student-run group promotes math
January 9, 2012
The average student in Sammamish might discount math class as just another requirement to complete to get into college — a non-essential skill that they will forget once in the real world.
But for a handful of Skyline students and their peers at other area high schools, math is a fun hobby — an intriguing craft to be applied everywhere in the real world. Read more
No solution on Issaquah High School schedules
January 9, 2012
The Issaquah School District committee tasked with coming up with a uniform schedule for all three district high schools was unable to reach an agreement on what such a schedule might look like, according to Sara Niegowski, district executive director of communications.
The committee held its last meeting Dec. 14, Niegowski said. Read more
Renaissance to stay at Eastlake
January 4, 2012
The 91 students currently attending Renaissance School of Art and Reasoning will get to stay at the Eastlake High School campus in fall of 2012.
As the district reconfigures the grades — bringing in a whole freshman class to Eastlake next fall — administrators had considered moving the choice school for junior high-age students. But instead, Renaissance will move from its roost on the second floor of the high school building outside to a mini-campus of portables. The classrooms, just like those to be used at BEST High School for Northstar Middle School, will have plumbing and water. Renaissance students will continue to use the Eastlake gyms and library, the district said. Read more
