High School math curriculum adoption is put on hold
June 25, 2009
NEW — 2:31 p.m. June 25, 2009
After community concern and lack of clarity at the state level, Issaquah School District Superintendent Steve Rasmussen told school board members June 24 that he had decided to delay the district’s high school math adoption for one year.
“The teachers on the adoption committee have done thorough, exceptional work and we don’t want to lose that. But it is prudent to wait for the dust to settle,” he said.
Teachers will continue to use the current math program, College Prep Mathematics, when students come back to class in the fall, said Patrick Murphy, executive director of secondary education.
Field day is a ball for Maple Hills students
June 23, 2009
Maple Hills Elementary School students, using a large nylon parachute to play parachute catch, run underneath by grade to get to the other side before it comes down to the ground. By Chantelle Lusebrink
Classrooms may have computers instead of blackboards, and students may be researching online rather than checking out library books, but some things stand the test of time. You just don’t mess with field day.
That end-of-the-year, age-old tradition is still going strong and is better than ever at Maple Hills Elementary School.
“Everybody has a story about field day,” said Marsha Kauzlarich, an organizer and PTSA volunteer. “When I talk about it with people, like when I went to the QFC in Issaquah, they donated 10 percent toward the Popsicles and the guy that helped me said he remembered field day and loved it. He also went to Maple Hills.
“Kids look forward to it all year.” Read more
CLASS OF 2009
June 16, 2009
ISSAQUAH
Senior class officers
President Courtney Lester
Vice President Katy Abel
Secretary Dan Gibbs
Treasurer Jenna Tollefson
Valedictorians Read more
Principal honored on Wayne Hamasaki Day
June 16, 2009
Sunset Elementary School principal Wayne Hamasaki, his wife Sandy and his daughter Cathy (from left), enjoy the school assembly in honor of his 60th birthday. By Greg Farrar
June 5 was a day unlike any other for Principal Wayne Hamasaki, of Sunset Elementary School.
In song and rhymes, students and many parents gathered to put on the largest party of the year, honoring Hamasaki and celebrating his 60th birthday.
“A school is classes, books, janitors, a building and a lot of teachers,” Jody Mull, a parent and organizer, said at the event. “But it takes one person to lead them all and we are so fortunate to know and have Principal Hamasaki to do that.”
“I knew they had something planned, but I had no idea what the plan was,” Hamasaki said. “This was a total surprise.”
Principal Wayne Hamasaki Day was created four years ago. Read more
Students put their own stamp on Shakespeare
June 9, 2009
Juliet, played by Anna Banashak, lures Romeo, played by Patrick Frawert, to her balcony in the scene ‘parting is such sweet sorrow.’ By Adam Eschbach
At Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, students are bringing new life to William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
At the school’s third annual Shakespeare Showcase June 5, students acted in adapted scenes from the famous play, set in the Elizabethan era, the roaring 1920s’ era with mobsters and the 1950s’ era with “greasers” in front of their parents, friends and teachers.
“It was fun to do after reading Shakespeare,” said Patrick Frawert, a student who played a traditional Romeo in the balcony scene. “But it took a lot of guts and skill to go out onstage.”
While the showcase is a voluntary event, students are required to perform adapted scenes from the play for their final, Shannon Henderson, a language arts teacher at the school, wrote in an e-mail to The Press. Read more
Volunteering needs to return to its altruistic roots
June 9, 2009
Hall Monitor Allison Bolgiano Liberty High School
As the pressure of the college search mounts for high school juniors, one suggestion for success particularly annoys me. I’m always irked when a teacher says, “This would look great on your college résumé,” when referring to a volunteer or extracurricular opportunity.
Perhaps the reason for my annoyance is that I see volunteering as community engagement and a great reward, not another line on my college application. It is time our society halts turning volunteerism into a narcissistic activity and instead turns it back toward its altruistic roots.
Candidates file for city, school posts
June 5, 2009
NEW — 7:45 p.m. June 5, 2009
Mayor Ava Frisinger will run unopposed for a fourth term and seven City Council candidates will battle for four seats, according to unofficial King County Elections filings released today.
The deadline for candidate filing was 4:30 p.m. today. During the five-day filing period, Frisinger, seven council candidates and three Issaquah School Board hopefuls declared their candidacies for the nonpartisan seats. The county elections office posted the list on its Web site this afternoon.
Council incumbents Eileen Barber, David Kappler and Maureen McCarry entered the race. Newcomers Mark Mullet, Joan Probala, Tola Marts and Nathan Perea will seek council seats as well.
Duo posts high stock market scores
June 2, 2009
Discovery Elementary School fifth-graders Erika Shing and Jingyu Jenny Yang placed third in the elementary-level competition in the statewide Stock Market Game. By Christopher Huber
Discovery Elementary School fifth-grader Jingyu Jenny Yang did so well in the statewide Stock Market Game that she said her mom half-joked about letting her invest the family’s money.
Yang and classmate Erika Shing were among about 40 Washington students recently recognized for their high marks in the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s annual Stock Market Game.
The goal of the game was to have the top portfolio value at the end of the 10-week investment period. Participating teams, with members ranging from fourth to 12th grades, started out with a virtual cash balance of $100,000. Nearly 1,000 teams and 3,300 students participated across the state.
“I’m pretty happy,” Yang said. “Macy’s and Nike were the best.”
The students placed third in the elementary category after finishing the game with a balance of $110,223.88 — a 10.2 percent return.
What makes Yang’s and Shing’s accomplishment even more impressive is they made that money in just five weeks. They, along with the rest of teacher Jessica Daly’s class joined the game about halfway through the competition, Daly said. Read more
Sammamish students named National Merit Scholars
June 2, 2009
Garrett Black
Skyline High School produced two National Merit Scholars in the 2008-2009 school year.
Daryl Hansen and Garrett Black received word in April they achieved National Merit Scholar status, which came with various scholarships and recognition.
They are among the top 8,200 students in the country who received National Merit Scholarships this year.
Hansen, a member of the chess team who is preparing to travel to Poland for a world computational linguistics competition, said he received a $1,500 scholarship. Black said he is committed to the University of Washington and plans to study chemistry and possibly music.
“I thought the only people who were finalists were like 4.0,” Black said. “I’m very pleased, to be honest.” Read more
Walls come down, exposing the beauty of our surroundings
June 2, 2009
Hall Monitor Megan Kamitsuka Issaquah High School
As a senior merely days away from graduation, I am learning to appreciate all of the small things about my school before I leave it for the last time.
One aspect of being an Issaquah High student that I have come to love lately is the location of our campus. It only takes one glance around while walking to class to recognize that we Eagles are very lucky.
Our current stage of construction has brought this to my attention even more than in past years: As the walls come down, the natural splendor of our surroundings is exposed. The Issaquah equation is a combination of a deep-blue, cloudless sky; the sun shining down on open-air hallways; Poo Poo Point in plain view; green trees lining the hillsides in all directions; and the occasional barrage of colorful paraglider pilots spiraling toward the earth. Read more
