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.
Issaquah re-examines Klahanie annexation
January 22, 2013
Last annexation attempt failed in 2005
The question of how a large-scale annexation on the Sammamish Plateau could affect residents in Issaquah, Klahanie and other unincorporated King County neighborhoods is under the microscope again, almost a decade after a citizen panel tackled the issue.
Issaquah leaders commissioned a $100,000 study and created a citizen task force to examine the Klahanie Potential Annexation Area — 10,800 people in about 3,900 households in the namesake neighborhood and adjacent communities.
The potential annexation area under consideration is in unincorporated King County, and bordered by Issaquah to the south, Sammamish to the north and west, and more unincorporated areas to the east.
State Rep. Chad Magendanz gets to work in Olympia
January 22, 2013
State Rep. Chad Magendanz, a former Issaquah School Board member, took the oath of office Jan. 14 to represent Issaquah and the 5th Legislative District in Olympia.
Magendanz, a freshman Republican and 17-year resident in the district, succeeded longtime former state Rep. Glenn Anderson in the House of Representatives seat.
Magendanz is the assistant ranking member on the House Education Committee, and also serves on the House Higher Education and House Technology & Economic Development committees.
Hagertys celebrate 50th anniversary
January 22, 2013
Tom and Su Hagerty, of Issaquah, celebrated their 50th anniversary Jan. 19, 2013, with their five children and nine grandchildren at the Mount Si Senior Center.
Tom Hagerty and Su Humphreys met in July 1962, when Tom’s mother Ruth invited Su to dinner after choir practice at Kirkland Assembly of God Church.
Su was a student at Northwest College. Tom was employed at The Boeing Co., where he worked for 40 years before retiring.
Issaquah School District superintendent to retire in June
January 15, 2013
Steve Rasmussen, Issaquah School District superintendent, sits in his office Jan. 14. The 62-year-old educator plans to bid farewell to the district when he retires June 30. By Lillian O’Rorke
Superintendent Steve Rasmussen intends to retire June 30 after leading the Issaquah School District for six years.
Legislators’ priorities reflect education, transportation needs
January 15, 2013
Lawmakers confronted a familiar scenario as the Legislature convened Jan. 14 — a budget shortfall, opposing pressures to preserve essential services and rein in government spending, and a court mandate to spend more money on education.
Mark Mullet
Chad Magendanz
Observers expect education and transportation to rank as the dominant issues in the 105-day session. The state faces a $900 million budget shortfall for 2013-15 and, in the meantime, faces a court order to increase education funding by 2018.
In addition to the statewide issues on legislators’ docket, a lobbyist hired by city leaders to represent Issaquah is in search of support for local projects, including dollars to upgrade transportation infrastructure and Lake Sammamish State Park.
Issaquah is also focused on securing state dollars for a transportation improvement district in North Issaquah near Costco headquarters and high-traffic retail centers.
