Elementary school organizes first geography bee
February 3, 2012
Winning student Colby Vuong has chance to enter state competition
Fifth-grader Colby Vuong waits to reveal his answer to a written question during the final round. Vuong went on to win the competition.
Just slightly and not at all.
Hazelwood community garden takes students back to nature
February 3, 2012
Every year, the Renton School District provides teachers in each grade science kits that enable them to teach hands-on basic science in three categories: life, physical and earth sciences.
Kindergarteners get the animals two-by-two kit, where they study the structure and behavior of snails. First-graders use units about insects and seeds.
But Kate Ingalls, whose second-grade class will tackle the air and water kit this year, said she’s ready to take that hands-on learning to a whole new, integrated level by way of founding Hazelwood Elementary School’s first community garden.
She said she wants to see the students with dirt under their fingernails while they expand their relationship with the world around them.
“We certainly have involved parents, we have the space and we have a PTSA that is very supportive of us,” she said. “I started looking at the possibility of doing a garden but tying it in to the science that we’re already doing.”
After reading child advocacy expert Richard Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods,” Ingalls said she started to grasp just how out of touch today’s generation of children can be from nature and the outdoors.
Teacher librarian named teacher of the month
February 3, 2012
Diane Ferbrache
Diane Ferbrache, teacher librarian at Hazen High School, has been selected as the Renton Rotary Club’s teacher of the month.
She attended Texas State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Ferbrache attended the University of Houston, where she earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and instructional technology.
She also has certification in library media services from Sam Houston State University.
Ferbrache has been a t
Renton Rotary honors Kyle Arinobu
February 3, 2012
The Renton Rotary Club has selected Hazen High School senior Kyle Arinobu, who has a 3.9 grade point average, as student of the month.
Kyle Arinobu
Arinobu has been involved in National Honor Society, Gordy Guides/Ignite, cross country and baseball. He has received the Advanced Placement Scholar Certificate, has several Athletic Scholar certificates and has several varsity and junior varsity letters.
Arinobu volunteers with the Newcastle Weed Warriors, Bellevue Farmers Market, Blaine Methodist Church and Nikkei Concerns. He plans to attend the University of Washington to study in the dental or pharmaceutical fields.
Free preschool classes to be offered
February 3, 2012
The Issaquah School District is offering a chance for parents of preschool-aged children to enroll their youngsters in Early Childhood Education classes at no cost to the families.
The district is looking for typically developing youngsters to be part of Early Education classes that serve children with special needs at Apollo, Discovery and Sunset elementary schools.
Each classroom may have up to 12 children with special needs along with three typically developing peers — who will pay no cost to participate in the preschool program. Research shows that such combined learning opportunities benefit both special-needs and typically developing children. Students must be at least 3 years old by April 15 to participate.
Any interested parent can pick up an application and get more information at the main offices of any of the three elementary schools involved. Applications are due Feb. 10; peer volunteer screening is scheduled for Feb. 15.
Newcastle holds kindergarten orientation
February 3, 2012
Newcastle Elementary School’s Kindergarten Parent Orientation night is set for 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the school.
Families with an incoming kindergartner at Newcastle Elementary for the 2012-13 school year will receive registration packets and other information at the event. A student must be 5 years old by Aug. 31 in order to start school next year.
Proof of the child’s birth date, immunization records, proof of residency and a parent’s driver’s license must be provided while registering a child.
Art submissions sought
February 3, 2012
Students are invited to submit artwork or photos for the Issaquah School District’s 2012-13 student art calendar.
Entry deadline is April 6.
Physically submit either high quality 8.5-by-11 color copies or high resolution digital images of any size on CD. Do not send the original artwork.
All submission should include the student’s name, grade, school, teacher and parent name. Mail photocopies or CD and email to Lissy Mandel, Communications Department, Issaquah School District, 565 N.W. Holly St., Issaquah, WA 98027. Or email high-resolution digital images of any size to mandell@issaquah.wednet.edu.
The art selection will be finalized in May, and the district will notify families and request a brief statement giving the district permission to publish the picture and the student’s name, grade, school and teacher in the 2012-13 calendar.
Get a head start with Running Start
February 3, 2012
As college acceptance letters start to go out, many parents begin the agonizing task of figuring out how to pay for tuition and expenses.
According to Maraea Skeen, now 20 and starting her master’s program, Running Start saved her (and her parents) tens of thousands of dollars.
“My older sister participated in the program part time,” Skeen said. “When I was a junior, I decided it was a program I wanted to do full time.”
Running Start is offered to juniors and seniors on the Eastside through Bellevue College. Applicants must be enrolled in a public high school to be eligible, but they are not required to attend public high school. Upon acceptance, the state will pay for up to 15 credit hours per semester.
Local students make WSU honor roll
February 3, 2012
The following students were named to Washington State University’s president’s honor roll for the 2011 fall semester.
To qualify, undergraduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of nine graded hours in a single term at WSU and earn a grade point average of 3.75 or earn a 3.5 cumulative GPA based on 15 cumulative hours of graded work.
Newcastle: Michael Chau, Adriana Ho, Vy Hoang, Henry Kohm, Rosalyn Krueger, Lauren La Fontaine, Katie Lane and Ryan Maio
Renton: Matthew Asahara, Lauren Bay, Kelsey Beer, Hannah Blue, Ashley Brennan, Emily Dennison, Jeffrey Elliott, Tiana Ellison, Cameron Fuentes, Nicolaus Hoifeldt, Nathan Janders, David Johnson, Kelly Knauss, Henry Kohm, Paige Lane, Janelle Mattern, Georgia Mee, Rodney Pearce, Tiffany Sasaki, Joseph Sawyer, Ian Smith, Thor Steingrimsson, Sarah Wilcock and Teresa Wong
Liberty class schedules won’t be changing soon, superintendent says
January 31, 2012
NEW — 3:55 p.m. Jan. 31, 2012
No major changes, at least not immediately.
That was essentially the recommendation of Issaquah School Superintendent Steve Rasmussen regarding possible adjustments to the schedules at the district’s four high schools.
But at the same time he made that recommendation to what proved to be a somewhat dissatisfied school board, Rasmussen did lay down several action steps he expects high school principals to take in the coming months.
District officials have been studying common schedules at the high schools in part in order to make better use of resources, including teachers. A schedule committee failed to come up with any final recommendation for a unified schedule, though they shared numerous findings on the overall issue.
