School Winners

Dairy ambassador contestants named

The 2014 Snohomish County Dairy Ambassador contest will be held April 5 in Everett. Three contestants were recently named:

Larissa Ablutz, a Monroe High School junior;

Nicole Buell, a Marysville Getchell High School junior;

Olivia Russell, a Stanwood High School junior.

The newly crowned dairy ambassador will spend the next year representing Snohomish County’s dairy industry at fairs, schools and other local events. After serving at the local level for one year, the county ambassador has the opportunity to run for Washington State Dairy Ambassador.

Drama students take 5th Avenue stage

Several local drama students took part in The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Rising Star Project, which culminated in an all-student production of “Spamalot” March 14-15 in Seattle.

Taking leading roles were Gaven Wilson (Kamiak High School graduate) in his 5th Avenue debut as Sir Bedevere, along with Cameron Lee (Monroe High School sophomore), who returned to the theater in the roles of Prince Herbert and the Historian, among others.

Other local students who took part: Sophie Burnett (tech crew deck carpenter), Tyler Good (performer in ensemble), Kevin Keogh (tech crew props), Eli Lotz and Mariah Lotz (performers in ensemble) and Isabelle Smith (tech crew sound-mics), all of Edmonds Heights K-12; Cole Conefrey (orchestra trumpet) and Liam McDonald (orchestra trombone), both of Edmonds-Woodway High School; Lydia Weir (performer in ensemble) of Everett High School; Sarah Arpin (performer in ensemble), a Jackson High School graduate; Miranda Quintanilla (tech crew costumes) of Kamiak High School; Ezekiel King (tech crew auto) of Lynnwood High School; Rachel Lee (producer), Anya Liebman (development and marketing) and Jordan Roche (tech crew hair and makeup), all of Monroe High School; and Kathryn Severson (tech crew deck carpenter), Alex Croce (tech crew lightboard) and Bryan Wilson (tech crew auto), all of Mountlake Terrace High School.

Youth art shines at state exhibit

This year’s Washington State Youth Art Month exhibition is on display through today at the Schack Art Center, 2921 Hoyt Ave. in Everett, showing artwork by students in kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Several local students won awards in the competition:

Allison Vu, of Mukilteo, won the high school category and best of showcategory which awards her, a parent, and her teacher (Deborah Barten of Kamiak High School) each a fully paid trip to New York City this summer sponsored by Sargent Art.

The middle school winner was Katherine Rupp, a student at Harbour Pointe Middle School in Mukilteo.

Carolyn Yip, of Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish, was the winner of the YAM Washington State Flag design, which will be displayed at the national conference in San Diego and at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Olympia.

Mariner chess team beats odds to finish 11th

Mariner High School’s chess team finished in 11th place, with a score that tied 10th-place Bellevue at the Washington High School State Team Championship held Feb. 28-March 1 in Issaquah, overcoming an 18th-place ranking entering the competition. The team members are Jignesh Trivedi, Austin Tang, Tim Kovalchuk, Anthony Luong and Leo Pankovets.

“This was a remarkable and unexpected finish,” said Rich Mar, the team’s coach, noting that Wesco is the traditionally weaker league in chess.

Snohomish High School also competed and finished 16th. Snohomish had edged Mariner in earlier league play.

Stanwood High School students competed in individual tournaments. Kyler Elmer placed second and Desert Stone tied for sixth. Jared Alfieri and Paxton Ritchey tied for sixth in the reserve (lower) section.

Mariner’s Prachatorn Joemjumroon took second place in the reserve section.

Lake Stevens robotics teams advance

Teams representing Lake Stevens schools are advancing to the VEX Robotics World Championships slated for late April in Anaheim, Calif. The teams qualified at the Western Regional Championships held at Cavelero Mid High School on March 1.

Advancing to the world championships are:

Team Trifecta (sophomores from Lake Stevens High School), which also won the regional Excellence Award and consists of Jonah Hansen, Jason Allen, Jacob Sasse and Alexis Hepburn

Team Five Guys Robots and Fries (ninth-graders from Cavelero Mid High School): Skyler Baugher, Aiden Pile, Andrew Deebach, Ryan Sobsky and Jordon Conner.

Team Geoff (Cavelero ninth-graders), made up of Jacob Lagajeno, Josh Beck, Jacob Hubar, Sean Lavering and Carter Alldredge.

Jackson research students earn honors

Six students from Henry M. Jackson High School’s Science Research and Engineering Club were recognized at the Central Sound Regional Science and Engineering Fair on March 8:

Celia Evans won first prize in the Behavior Science category and the American Psychological Association Award for her research, “Ascertaining Common Misconceptions About Concussions and their Consequences While Analyzing the Effectiveness of Concussion Health Laws.”

Hannah Choe won second prize in the Environmental Science category, the Stockholm Water Prize, and a second-place American Chemical Society Award for her research, “Spirulina Plantensis Cadmium Binding Ability in Aquatic Conditions.”

Indira Rayala won first prize in the Plant Science category and was selected as a Grand Prize finalist for her research, “Cranberry Extracts: A Quorum Sensing Inhibitor and the Novel Application of Cranberry Extracts as an Environmental Measure to Inhibit Pectobacterium carotovorum in Crops.”

Shruti Parikh won the Women of Geological Science Award for her research, “Analyzing and Mapping Coal Dust Loss and Developing Techniques to Capture Lost Dust.”

Natalie Weed won the Stockholm Water Prize for her research, “The Effect of Photo-catalyst TiO2 Concentration of E. coli Inactivation in Water.”

Anna Pischer won the third-place American Chemical Society Award for her research, “Efficiency of Electron Donors for Denitrification via Facultative Anaerobic Heterotrophs.”

Rayala later went on to earn more awards at the March 14 Washington Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at Seattle Pacific University, earning her an invitation to the national symposium April 23 in Washington D.C. Two days earlier, Rayala was the only Washington state student selected to compete at the International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering, Environment or I-SWEEP) Science Olympiad, to be held April 30 in Houston, Texas.

Word masters finish in top 10

A team of students representing Everett High School recently won highest honors in this year’s WordWright Challenge, a national competition requiring close reading and analysis of many different kinds of prose and poetry. Participating with 596 school teams from all across the country, the school’s 10th-graders tied for eighth place in the nation in the year’s third meet, held in February.

Students who won high individual honors in the meet are sophomores Eleanore Johnson, Shelby Hocking, Marielle Stockton, Hank Tian, Sean Underhill and Taran Vazquez.

DECA students invited to nationals

The following students placed at the Washington DECA State Career Development Conference in business- and marketing-related field events, and have qualified to attend the International Career Development Conference, to be held May 2-7 in Atlanta, Ga.

Cascade High School: Nick Janner, Brittany Burrus and Emily Irwin (first place, Chapter Awards Project)

Jackson High School: Nikolai Birchler and Crystal Tray (third place, Business Operations Research); Paul Schastlivets (third place, International Business Plan); Caitlin White (fifth place, Fashion Promotion Plan); Mitchell Weholt (seventh place, Marketing Management Series Event)

Lake Stevens High School: Alexis Alverson and Sarah Kylany (fourth place, Buying ad Merchandising Team Decision Making); Tallon Cote, Lilly Hannigan and Kaity Main (15th place, Chapter Awards Project)

Edmonds-Woodway High School: Max Teer and Julia Hutchison (fifth place, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making)

Mariner High School: Rafael Achacoso (seventh place, Retail Merchandising Series Event)

Marysville Getchell High School: Kymberlie Devlin, Ali Page and Savannah Duce (16th place, Chapter Awards Project).

Students spend time as pages in Olympia

Two local students served as pages the week of March 10 in Olympia with the state House:

Arlet Astorga, of Lynnwood High School, was sponsored by Rep. Luis Moscoso, D-Mountlake Terrace?and bigail Humbarger, a home-schooled student from Marysville, was sponsored by state Rep. June Robinson, D-Everett.

Teacher honored by regional group

Wanda Hill was recognized as the Northwest Council for Computer Education’s Outstanding Technology Educator of the Year during its March 13 conference at the Seattle Convention Center.

Hill has taught in Everett Public Schools for more than 25 years after teaching in Shoreline and Bellevue. She also has taught at Seattle Pacific University and the University of Montana Missoula.

“She says that she finds teaching to be an enjoyable challenge, regardless of the age of the student,” said Anne Carnell, Penny Creek Elementary School assistant principal.

Foundation breakfast breaks record

More than 350 community members gathered March 7 at the newly remodeled Snohomish High School to raise money for Snohomish School District students and to gain awareness about the programs the Snohomish Education Foundation provides to support student success within the District. The breakfast fundraiser raised a record $56,000.

“These funds will leave lasting fingerprints on student lives and greatly impact the futures of tomorrow’s students,” said Janelle Farley-Beyer, Breakfast Event Committee chair.

View Ridge students celebrate new garden

View Ridge Elementary students celebrated the start of spring on March 20 with a grand-opening ceremony for their raised beds. Parents, staff and students watched as each of the seven classes that requested a raised bed claimed their plot with a sign and ceremoniously planted flowers.

Students will grow vegetables and flowers which will be used for school events. The project will grow to include a compost bin filled with school kitchen compostable waste.

View Ridge Elementary PTA donated the tools and equipment needed to build the garden, and key staff, including Theresa Townsell and Heidi Davis, helped start the project. Families, staff and local volunteers built the garden beds and shed.

The school has arranged for the Boys and Girls Club to tend the garden in the summer and during school breaks.

Rotary honors Everett students

The Rotary Club of Everett honored high school seniors Michael Cizek of Cascade High School, Pablo Yeo of Everett High School and Steve Papgayo and Melissa Brown, both of Archbishop Murphy High School, as Students of the Month. Each month the club recognizes outstanding high school students for their accomplishments and their promise.

Lake Stevens staff honor peers

Nominated and selected by their peers, the following Lake Stevens School District employees will be recognized at the April 9 school board meeting with Apple Awards for their contributions to the district and for their demonstration of excellence in their work: Jennifer Allen, office professional at North Lake Middle School; Phil Biggs, technology teacher on special assignment; Melanie Hodapp, psychologist at North Lake Middle and Highland Elementary schools; and Guin Reeves, counselor at Cavelero Mid High School.

Young artists named National Medalists

Five Snohomish County students were named National Medalists for their entries in the 2014 Scholastic Art Awards:

Scott Schaffer, “Free Range” (sculpture), seventh-grader at Valley View Middle School

Sid Jensen, “In a Rut” (film and animation), senior at Cascade High School

Isaac Pierce, “Line of Glory” (photography), junior at Lake Stevens High School

Sam Cahill, “World War 3” (photography), sophomore at Cascade High School

Laila Vik, “Still Life Study” (painting), junior at Cascade High School.

“Over 255,000 pieces of art and writing were submitted to the national contest. Of those, 1,800 received national medals. We earned three medals from this school alone. Do we rock, or what?” said Ann Morgan, Cascade High School art teacher.

Future chefs whip up tasty treats

The winners of the Mukilteo School District’s Future Chef contest on March 14 were Jaquan Summers of Olivia Park (Tune Schooners) for best table decoration; Kenya Bobadilla of Challenger (Hot Cheetos Sandwich) for fun kid foods; Ethan Long of Serene Lake (Ethan’s Delight) for a health-conscious entry; Mohammed Al-Aboody of Odyssey (Arabian Chicken Pita) for the judges choice award; and Mohuwa Wahid of Picnic Point (Fun Size Fruit Sandwich) for kid-friendly preparation.

Students from each elementary school competed with their favorite recipes and were paired with an adult mentor from the district’s Nutrition Services department as well as with staff and students from Sno-Isle Tech Center’s own culinary class. Each of the future chefs received an official Sodexo coat and chef hat, a medal, a certificate and a gift bag. A cookbook filled with all 22 recipes was available to those attending the event.

Belk wins EWU scholarship

Donnie Belk, of Mukilteo, has been awarded a Presidential Scholarship of $3,000 for the 2014-15 academic year at Eastern Washington University. The scholarship is awarded to high school seniors with a 3.8-plus cumulative GPA and a 1,250-plus SAT or 28-plus ACT score.

At Eastern, Belk hopes to major in business. He also will be playing football. While at Kamiak High School, he played football and basketball.

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