Liberty High School construction costs rise by $138,000
February 5, 2013
The Issaquah School Board approved an increase of $138,328 to Liberty High School’s construction bill Jan. 9.
Most of the 13 items that accounted for the increase range between $1,000 and $6,000, including $4,668 to restore power to the parking lot lighting, $3,599 to reconnect cold water in the boiler room and $2,031 to demolish greenhouses that were not originally shown on the drawings. The change order also include two big ticket items — $77,207 for electrical conduit additions to provide power to the stadium expansion in Phase 3, and $21,596 to add an ADA bridge to the temporary locker rooms.
The increase, which includes $12,000 in taxes, brings Liberty’s construction bill total to $19,989,583.
Nominate schools’ ‘green’ achievements for King County honor
February 5, 2013
NEW — 4 p.m. Feb. 5, 2013
Nominate eco-conscious students, teachers, staffers, volunteers and programs — or even entire schools — for the King County Earth Heroes at Schools awards program.
The awards program aims to honor people and entities for contributions to environmental protection and student environmental education. Honorees in past years included programs related to recycling, restoring habitat, composting lunchroom waste and growing pesticide-free gardens. Issaquah School District campuses typically perform well in the awards.
The program encourages self-nominations. Or, colleagues, classmates and the public can nominate potential Earth Heroes. Find nomination forms and the list of 2012 winners at http://1.usa.gov/y5Hpzf. Call 206-296-4477 to learn more.
Measles exposure possible at Tiger Mountain Community High School
January 30, 2013
NEW — 4 p.m. Jan. 30, 2013
Officials said a staff member with contagious measles could have exposed Tiger Mountain Community High School employees, students, visitors and volunteers to the disease.
Public Health – Seattle & King County alerted the school community Wednesday to the possible exposure. The agency said people at the Issaquah campus from Jan. 23-25 could have been exposed to measles.
Measles is easily spread and highly contagious, although most people are immune to the disease due to vaccinations.
Officials said people exposed to the disease and not immune is likely to become ill between Jan. 30 and Feb. 4, or as late as Feb. 15.
Students express mixed feelings about Skyline lunches
January 29, 2013
A standard public school is expected to serve lunch on a daily basis under specific dietary regulations. However, whether students actually like the options provided is not something that is enforced.
Sampurna Basu
Skyline High School
Skyline High School has many daily options for lunch, ranging from the featured hot lunch of the day to a wide array of salads. In addition, there is a Student Store where students can purchase Yoko’s Teriyaki and other lunch choices. All meals are strictly regulated by the Issaquah School District so each serving size is no more than 300 calories.
At the average lunch table, varied responses come in reaction to these seemingly fair conditions.
Board adjusts Liberty High School graduation requirements
January 29, 2013
Students who start at Liberty High School next year will need to earn more credits to graduate.
The Issaquah School Board voted unanimously Jan. 23 to increase graduation requirements at the school from 28 credits to 29.5 credits, beginning with the class of 2017.
The plan is designed to better align Liberty with the other schools and take advantage of Liberty’s eight-period schedule, Issaquah School District Associate Superintendent Ron Thiele said.
Thiele, along with administrative staff members Emilie Hard and Michelle Trifunovic and Liberty Principal Josh Almy, studied the idea of making Liberty students earn more credits.
Sunny Hills Elementary School receives donation for books
January 29, 2013
The Issaquah School Board approved a $5,000 donation from the Sunny Hills Elementary PTA on Jan. 23.
The money is for “Just Right” books for classroom libraries. The books are part of a leveled reading method that determines how well individual students within the same classroom read and then matches them to books that are challenging enough for them to make progress.
Endeavour Elementary School, programs garner gifts
January 29, 2013
Endeavour Elementary School and educational programs in the Issaquah School District received more than $120,000 in donations during a Jan. 9 Issaquah School Board meeting.
Endeavour PTSA gave $24,647.98 to the school, with $10,000 of that earmarked for buying reading book sets for a new book room. The remaining money is to replace the building’s sound system equipment.
The Issaquah Schools Foundation donated $96,606 to programs in the district, including $4,000 for Career & Technical Education; $12,500 for Financial Literacy; $2,600 for the PSAT; $19,000 for TEALS; $26,000 for VOICE; $6,231 for English Language Learners; $7,475 for All in for Kids; $18,000 for National Board Certificate Training; and $800 for Robotics/STEM at Issaquah High School.
Taking a closer look at nutrition in schools’ lunches
January 29, 2013
Lee Xie
Skyline High School
This month, we are choosing to start off the year with a bang by reporting on an issue that is relevant and important to our audience: school lunches.
We all know that the Issaquah School District is innovative and dedicated when it comes to education, but how do our schools fare when it comes to feeding our students in a nonintellectual way? Our journalists explore the issue and how lunches shape up at Skyline, Issaquah, Liberty and private Eastside Catholic high schools.
In the grand scheme of things, school lunches in America have been a hotly debated topic in the past few years. Last January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued new guidelines that stated that school meals would have to offer fruits and vegetables to students every day. The meals would also have to reduce sodium, saturated fat and trans fat levels. The new standards called for schools to offer more whole grains, as well as more fat-free or low-fat milk options.
Flu epidemic spares Issaquah community — so far
January 22, 2013
Beth Whitaker (left), a staff nurse at Eastgate Public Health Center, gives a flu vaccine to Patrick Gill, of Bellevue, as his wife Candice Gill looks on in sympathy Jan. 19 during a free flu clinic. By Greg Farrar
Health officials urge vaccinations
Flu remains widespread in Washington and throughout the United States, and local health care providers and school administrators said although the epidemic is raging elsewhere, Issaquah is OK — so far.
Issaquah School Board seeks applicants for vacancy
January 22, 2013
A seat on the Issaquah School Board is up for grabs.
Board member Chad Magendanz left the position when he resigned Jan. 9 in order to start his new job in the state Legislature.
The remaining four board members have 90 days to appoint a new representative from Issaquah’s fourth district, from the Issaquah Highlands through the downtown corridor south to Tiger Mountain and Mirrormont.
All voting-aged residents of that area are invited to apply for the position by 4 p.m. Feb. 14. The new member would need to serve the remainder of Magendanz’s term, through November 2013.
