FYI: Your Schools

The word from: Snohomish High School

“Snohomish High School is getting to the point where everyone has merged into one group. It’s not cliques. Everyone has accepted each other. Construction is making it hard to get around the campus. The debate team has grown to 90 students.”

— Arielle Hogan, Jr.

Northshore hires interim school superintendent

The Northshore School Board last week hired Dolores Gibbons to serve as the district’s interim superintendent through June.

Gibbons joined the district in September as special assistant to the superintendent to support the district’s late superintendent, Karen Forys, while she was undergoing cancer treatment. Forys died Sept. 17.

Gibbons served for nine years as the superintendent of the Renton School District and six years as the superintendent of schools in Mount Vernon.

“Dr. Gibbons has been a blessing for our district,” said school board President B-Z Davis. “She has quickly become part of our community and a source of valuable expertise, which will help immensely as the school board searches for a new superintendent.”

Gibbons does not plan to apply. The search will begin immediately in order to have a new superintendent in place for the beginning of the next school year. More information about the superintendent search will be provided at www.nsd.org as it is available.

Stanwood offers new middle school program

The Stanwood School District has added an alternative middle school this fall.

The focus is to create a motivating and engaging environment for seventh and eighth graders to learn social and academic skills, school officials said.

The goal is to make school a place where students want to be and to get students on track before they enter high school.

The middle school program is housed in the same building as Lincoln Hill High School, an alternative high school.

For the first semester, there are 20 students.

Gateway PTSA brings in expert on Internet safety

Gateway PTSA with help from Qwest Communications plans a talk for parents by an Internet safety expert at 6:30 Thursday’s PTSA meeting in the school library, 15404 Silver Firs Drive.

Linda Young will discuss “Understanding Your Child’s Virtual World.” Parents and educators from Everett School District schools are invited.

Young is a family therapist specializing in technology and communication, a senior staff psychologist at Seattle University and spokeswoman for Qwest’s online safety program. Her program is geared toward parents of middle and elementary students. Young discusses the pros and cons of technology and Internet usage, how it’s affecting friendships and family, and how parents can start a conversation with their children.

Kamiak homecoming looks for purple pride

Kamiak Knights’ football supporters want to stir up community spirit and have asked area businesses and homeowners to “Paint the Town Purple” for homecoming week, which started Monday.

The Gridiron Club, made up of parents and local residents, doesn’t really want people to paint the town purple but rather to decorate Mukilteo businesses and yards with football and purple decorations to show support for the football team.

Kamiak football posters and yard signs are available free to any businesses or homeowners wishing to participate.

Awards will be presented to the business and homeowners who best capture the theme Paint the Town Purple for Homecoming. To enter, send a photo of the decorations to kamiakfootball@hotmail.com by Friday.

The annual homecoming game is 7 p.m. Friday at Goddard Stadium against Meadowdale High School. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for students. The Gridiron Club will be tailgating in the parking lot beginning at 5:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Sheila Countryman-Bean at 425-760-5964.

Career fair slated for Snohomish High School

Snohomish High School will host a “High School and Beyond” career fair from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 23 in the school’s new gym, 1316th St.

The event, which is open to the public, includes programs for students in high school such as Running Start, the Everett Community College ORCA program, Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center and college in the high school. There will also be after high school programs, including two- and four-year colleges and universities, tech schools, the military, and apprenticeships.

EvCC will also present two financial aid sessions to help families understand financial options.

Meeting set for parents with special-needs kids

Parents of special needs students in the Marysville School District can attend a parent meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 23 in the district boardroom, 4220 80th St. NE.

Heading up the meeting are special education directors Linda Sax and Ken Chovil along with parents Cindy Erickson, Vicki Huffman and Donna Stevick, wife of Herald reporter Eric Stevick.

Chovil will provide an overview on changes to the state law. That will be followed by parents and staff meeting in small groups to discuss how the district can work more effectively with transitions between schools and programs.

Program has dads helping at school

A ‘Dads and Kids’ pizza night is set for 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Little Cedars Elementary, 7408 144th Place SE, Snohomish, to kick off a new father involvement program called WATCH D.O.G.S., short for Dads of Great Kids.

WATCH D.O.G.S. is the safe schools initiative of the National Center for Fathering. It started after the 1998 Jonesboro, Ark., school shootings. Since then, the program has spread to more than 500 schools in more than 25 states.

Fathers and father figures are invited to sign up to spend one day this year volunteering, serving as a positive male role model and helping increase a sense of security in the building.

During their volunteer days, dads will engage in various activities, such as welcoming students, reading to classes, tutoring small groups of students, helping during recess or sitting down and connecting with students during lunch.

What’s up at your school? Call us at 425-339-3036 or e-mail schoolfyi@heraldnet.com.

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