Students, parents make a big flap for retiring Chase Lake principal

EDMONDS — The end of a school year can be bittersweet. Students at Chase Lake Community School were determined to mix smiles and laughs with the sadness of saying goodbye to Karen Nilson, the leader of their school for the past 13 years.

During a school assembly, they lifted their feet and flapped their arms as they did a chicken dance. Some students and staff wore yellow and red chicken hats. And each class prepared large cards decorated in chicken themes to hand to their departing principal. Students inscribed the cards with messages about what she had meant in their lives. Others stepped to the microphone.

Sixth-grader Nick Anderson told Nilson, “You gave me your time, the most awesome gift of all. On behalf of our school, we’ll all miss you.”

Some students couldn’t resist the urge to frame their goodbyes in a chicken theme, such as: “We heard you were flying the coop. Don’t worry about us chicks. You made a good nest.”

The school’s strong affinity for chickens dates back five years, explained Pam Peters, the school’s office manager. It began with a family-night reading of a book called “The Interrupting Chicken.” It grew as Nilson found chicken puppets and used the puppets in videos to tell stories.

Nilson has been principal at Chase Lake for 13 years. Her eyes sometimes filled with tears Tuesday afternoon when she talked about leaving. “It’s just such an honor to share in the lives of children and watch them grow,” she said. She told students she plans to travel, including trips to Honduras and Ethiopia, and hopes to write a book and learn to drive an RV.

After the assembly, parents, students and staff were eager to say what Nilson has meant to the school.

“She’s always calm when you have a problem,” said fourth-grader Drew Goadpacheco. “She’s not like other principals that put you in detention.” Instead, she calmly lays out the problem “and then lets other people speak,” he said.

Fourth-grader Acacia Kakuta said she could describe Nilson in three words: friendly, caring and giving. “I wish she never had to leave,” she said.

Parent Marisa Cortes said that Nilson helped the Hispanic community and created an atmosphere so the school “feels like a family.”

Chase Lake was just one of the schools with special celebrations to mark the end of the school year. At Everett’s Penny Creek Elementary School, students were given what technology teacher Wanda Hill called a “bubble send-off” Wednesday. It’s a tradition that dates back more than 10 years, she said.

“We always made it a point to stand at the fence and wave goodbye on the last day of school,” Hill said. That evolved to blowing bubbles, waving small clapper hands and sometimes wearing silly hats. “It’s a fun send-off,” she said.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

School’s out

The last days of school at districts throughout Snohomish County were a bit jumbled. Rolling teacher walkouts, intended as a signal to legislators about state school funding, postponed the last day for many.

The Arlington, Darrington, Granite Falls, Lakewood, Mukilteo and Sultan school districts dismissed students Friday.

Monday was the last day of school for the Stanwood-Camano, Lake Stevens and Snohomish school districts.

The Monroe School District ended classes Tuesday . Wednesday was the last day of school in the Edmonds School District, which didn’t have a teacher walkout, and in Everett, which did.

Herald staff

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