FYI, Your Schools

The word from: Marysville-Pilchuck High School

“We have a bunch of sports going to district and state, a four-day weekend this week (and coming back) Tuesday. … The only reason I know half of that is because we had a pep assembly today (Thursday).”

Russell Daggett 12th grade

ORCA heads to Orca Bowl

High school students in Everett Community College’s Ocean Research College Academy will compete Saturday in the Washington State Ocean Sciences Bowl.

The public is invited to cheer them on at the Orca Bowl, set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the University of Washington’s South Campus Center in Seattle.

The “Jeopardy”-style academic competition will award the winning team an all-expenses-paid trip to the national competition in April in Stony Brook, New York.

The ORCA team will answer rapid-fire questions about the biology, chemistry, geology, physics, history and economics of the ocean.

Northshore, Index set remaining make-up days

The Northshore School District plans to hold classes April 6 and May 29 – previously scheduled as teacher work days – to make up for days lost to snow and ice.

The district earlier extended the school year to June 22 to account for four days missed in November and December because of bad weather.

A full calendar is at www.nsd.org.

The Index School District, hit particularly hard by bad weather, has extended school three days to June 18 because of snow.

The state also is allowing the tiny district to waive six days because of flooding and high winds.

“It wiped out the bridge into town,” said Martin Boyle, the district’s administrator. “We couldn’t get kids into town.”

Arlington speaker to give hints on talking to teens

Ken Wong, program director for the city of Redmond, is scheduled as the featured speaker at a gathering aimed at parent volunteers at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Haller Middle School Commons, 600 E. First St.

The event is sponsored by the Haller PTSA, Post Middle School PTA and the Parents on Campus volunteer programs at both schools.

Wong teaches parents and teenagers how to communicate effectively with each other. His address will include anti-bullying strategies and the importance of maintaining a visible presence in children’s lives in middle and high school years.

Free babysitting is available.

Gold Bar teacher picked for Saudi Arabia study trip

Gold Bar Elementary School teacher Bill Franklin was one of 20 educators nationwide selected to participate in this year’s two-week study tour of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, set for March 26 to April 11.

“This trip should allow me to bring back new learning opportunities to our students that will not only enrich different curriculum areas but bring to light an often misunderstood yet very important part of the world we all share,” Franklin said.

The group will visit the cities of Dhahran, Riyadh and Jeddah, focusing on Saudi education, industry, history, culture and global relations.

The Educators to Saudi Arabia Program is run by the Institute of International Education on behalf of Aramco Services Co., an affiliate of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the national oil company of Saudi Arabia.

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