School winners

Students at Braille school host food drive

Three students at the Louis Braille School in Edmonds recently collected 20 large shopping bags of groceries and roughly $125 in cash in a food drive they organized. The students collected the food and cash over two days working for about 45 minutes each day. The students used the money to buy more groceries, then delivered the food to the food bank at the United Methodist Church, 828 Caspers St., Edmonds.

Marysville leadership program earns award

The Marysville-Pilchuck High School leadership program recently received the Distinguished Council of Excellence Award from the Washington Association of Student Councils. Six other Washington high schools also received the award including Meadowdale, Woodinville, Inglemoor, Everett, Shorecrest and Snohomish high schools.

The award was given to programs that encouraged students to be dependable and responsible leaders and where administrators helped students find leadership opportunities and provided training. The program must also have played a part in improving school environment and in boosting academic excellence.

Students in the Marysville-Pilchuck High School leadership program implemented a Raising Student Voice and Participation effort to encourage student involvement. A representative from each second-period class took ideas from the classroom to a summit where members discussed ways to accomplish student ideas.

Middle school raises $900 for Ugandan school

Harbour Pointe Middle School recently raised $900 for its sister school, the Mukono Day and Boarding School in Uganda. Students and staff were challenged to drop one dollar in the wishing well to raise money to refurbish the girls’ shower at the Ugandan school.

In one week the school collected $878.35. One middle school parent wrote a check for the remaining $21.65 helping the school reach its $900 goal. Students also collected 4,336 toiletry items for the Mukono School, surpassing their goal to collect 4,000 items.

In the spring, students from the Mukono Day and Boarding School plan to join the Harbour Pointe Middle School students and staff to share their music, dance, and culture and to show their appreciation for the community’s generosity.

Catholic robotics team wins Lego League honors

The robotics team at Immaculate Conception Our Lady of Perpetual Help School recently earned the Robot Performance Award in the Lego League regional robotics competition in Edmonds. The team also won the Regional Directors’ Award. Twenty-four teams participated in the event. The Catholic school’s team included students in sixth through eighth grades. Team members were: James Bieda, Lily Bieda, David Comeaux, Isaac Linder, Mirka Mandich, Reilly McVay, Patrick Stanton, Zachary Weber, Holden Wendling and Malia Wendling.

The team won the performance award for having its robot score the most points in task completion. The directors’ award was given to the team that scored best overall in research and presentation, robot design, robot performance and teamwork.

The Immaculate Conception Our Lady of Perpetual Help School robotics team also won eighth place in the Washington State championship rounds, competing against 31 other regional winners. Judges gave the team high marks in a variety of areas including communication, strategy, design, confidence, teamwork and research.

Sixth-grader Lily Bieda operated the robot at the last minute after illness sidelined another teammate. Mandich, a sixth-grader, provided research and comprehensive answers during the competition. Sixth-graders Stanton and Weber beat their previous high scores by more than 50 points and calmly handled being the first competitors at both regional and state competition. Wendling reached out to other groups.

The Immaculate Conception Our Lady of Perpetual Help School’s robotic program is in its second year.

Everett fire science program graduates 17

Seventeen Everett Community College Fire Academy recruits recently earned Firefighter 1 certification after completing 15 weeks of training.

Graduates included: Tim Bandel, Patrick Bellows, Kyle Boroughs, Tom Chewning, Heath Chischilly, Adam Cunningham, Emmy Duros, Joshua Frei, Shaina Grow, Kory Hansen, Ged Karl Hart, Raymond Hestikind, Tobin McGowan, David Moe, Emily Riddell, Gabriel Shultz and Kellie Simon.

The drillmaster for the group was Dave Neyens, a retired battalion chief with the Everett Fire Department.

Everett Community College’s fire science degree program runs two Firefighter 1 academies each year in the fall and spring. The academy meets the standards for Washington State Patrol Firefighter 1 certification. Recruits receive training and certification at the Washington State Fire Academy for live fire training. Students can earn an 85-credit certificate or a 90-credit associate degree in technical arts, fire science. The next academy begins March 23.

To submit a story for the School Winners column, call Leita Crossfield at 425-339-3449 or e-mail crossfield@heraldnet.com. Please include a subject line.