School winners

Middle-schoolers collect 4,135 pounds of food

Students at Heatherwood Middle School recently collected 4,135 pounds of food for the Salvation Army. The effort was organized by Associate Student Body president Sue Lee and secretary Andrew Hopkins, led by Debby Cox, ASB adviser. To gather the food the school held a competition among classes at each grade level with the top class bringing in 700 items.

Grace middle-schoolers best in spelling bee

Three middle-schoolers at Grace Academy in Marysville recently were named finalists in the Grace Academy Spelling Bee. Chadi Moussi, eighth grade, won first place; Nathan Senff, sixth grade, won second place; and Joelle Moussi, seventh grade, won third place.

The competition is open to all students in first through eighth grades. Each class has its own spelling bee competition and the four finalists from each class compete at the school spelling bee event. The first and second place finalists in the schoolwide contest advance to the Association of Christian Schools International District Spelling Bee in January.

Rotary names Stanwood students of the month

The Stanwood Camano Rotary Club recently named Havila Vaimauga of Camano Island and Luis Valle of Stanwood its November Students of the Month. They were selected based on academic progress, activities and overall academic plans.

Havila is a seventh-grader at Lincoln Academy. She was selected for her leadership, her positive attitude and a willingness to work toward success in the classroom and in life. She loves math and science and plans to attend college when she graduates high school. Havila is the daughter of Veronica McCleary.

Luis is a senior at Lincoln Hill High School. He has a perfect attendance record and was selected for his dedication and commitment to his studies since enrolling at the school three years ago. Luis moved to Stanwood from Mexico and has immersed himself in his studies, mastering English as a second language. He plans to pursue a career in fashion design.

Everett woman graduates from Michigan college

Amy Hudson of Everett recently graduated with a bachelor of applied arts degree from Central Michigan University.

Edmonds woman receives $80,000 award

Kathryn Walker of Edmonds recently earned the Presidential Scholarship at Elmira College in New York. The scholarship is valued at $80,000 over four years.

Walker is majoring in mathematics. She is the daughter of Julia and Darcy Walker.

Lake Stevens woman wins scholarship

Meghan Fosth of Lake Stevens recently enrolled as a freshman at Lake Forest College in Illinois, where she also was awarded a Deerpath Academic Scholarship.

Ninth-grader honored at military school

Tyler Miller of Mukilteo, a ninth-grader at Howe Military School in Indiana, recently was named to the Headmaster’s List for the first and second six week grading periods of the 2008-09 school year. Tyler received the honor by attaining at least a 3.0 grade point average in his studies in a college preparatory curriculum. Tyler is the son of Kristi Miller of Mukilteo. He has been attending the school since August 2006.

Monroe resident named to UW honors group

Jesse Stipek of Monroe recently was named a member of Sigma Alpha Lambda, a national leadership and honors organization at the University of Washington.

County students win music honors

Two Snohomish County music students recently earned honors in events sponsored by the Washington Music Educators Association.

They are Chelsea Sybach of Granite Falls High School and Christina Rukstalls of Eisenhower Middle School.

Sybach was selected to participate in the 41st biennial Northwest Division National Association for Music Education’s All-Northwest High School Performing Group. Chelsea was selected as an alto for the mixed choir group. Her music teacher is Diana Lawrence. Chelsea is will join nearly 1,000 other high school student musicians from Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Alaska at the regional conference in Spokane in February.

Rukstalls was selected to participate in the fourth annual Washington Music Educators Association Junior All-State West band in trumpet. She will join more than 200 other students at a performance at Burien’s Highline Performing Arts Center in March. Christina’s music teacher is Greg Metcalf.

Past participants in the honors programs have included trumpeters Doc Severinson and Allen Vizzutti, cartoonist and columnist David Horsey, 2008 National Teacher of the Year Andrea Peterson, and musician Kenny G.

Stanwood teacher earns board certification

A Stanwood eighth-grade teacher, Bill Rodgers, recently attained national board certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The certification is the nation’s highest teaching standard. Rodgers teaches history and English at Stanwood Middle School.

National board certification is a voluntary performance-based assessment program in which teachers are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach. It typically takes one to three years to complete. Rodgers spent about 700 hours working on the certification effort during the year. He hopes to inspire other Stanwood teachers to attain the certification.

Stanwood has two National Board Certified teachers, including Rodgers, who now joins the more than 70,000 National Board Certified teachers in the nation.

Snohomish students win essay contest

Three Snohomish County students recently were named winners of the “Follow A Leader” essay contest, sponsored by Macy’s, KING-5 TV and The Seattle Times. The winners received a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond and also had the opportunity to spend a day with one of the 20 local community leaders.

The winners from Snohomish County were:

Maggie Hoffman, a fifth-grader at Mill Creek Elementary, who wrote about Brian Scheehser, executive chef at Trellis Restaurant.

Shannequal Scheffler, an 11th-grader at Mariner High School, who wrote about Paola Maranan, executive director of Children’s Alliance.

Nicholas Nam, a 12th-grader at Kamiak High School, who wrote about Sharon Chan, a reporter with The Seattle Times.

The students were selected from among more than 600 other students in the fourth through 12th grades Each submitted an essay explaining why they would like to meet and spend a day with one of 20 leaders and how education could help them achieve their dreams.

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