School Winners

Snohomish juniors called outstanding by Masons

Snohomish High School juniors Melissa Cook and Robert Weakly recently were named outstanding students at the annual Masonic Scholastic Achievement Awards ceremony at the Masonic Centennial Lodge No. 25 in Snohomish.

Annie Stoller-Patterson and Cameron Turner, winners of the same achievement in 2007, presented the awards to Melissa and Robert, who were among 11 juniors from the school to be honored.

Their credentials will be presented to the National Masonic Scholarship Committee for an allocation of eight $1,000 awards for the state.

Snohomish High principal Diana Plumis presented recognition certificates to all the candidates. Others included Malanie Bjornethun, Kristen Fairbanks, Ashley Tombelaine, Megan Wilson, Eric DeMaris, Dylan Estes, Zachary Randolph, Spencer Thomas and Ryan Wilson.

Sherri Hammons, a teacher at Snohomish High, was named Outstanding Educator of the Year.

Lake Stevens Imagination team heads to globals

Roderick Jimenez, McKenna Berg, Anna Green, Tanner Siler, Garrett Gershmel, Emma McGee and Amanda Kristofferson, fifth-graders at Highland Elementary School in Lake Stevens, recently won second place in the Washington State Destination Imagination contest, qualifying for the global competition May 21 to 24 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Their team, “DI’ve Got a Secret,” created an optical illusion to capture the second-place award.

Their project included script writing, theater arts, optical physics and collaboration.

Destination Imagination is a community-based program designed to foster creativity, teamwork and real-life problem solving. Students use critical thinking skills to solve problems and then present a theatrical performance of an original story based on their challenge.

The students are now seeking donations for their trip to the global level of the competition, where they will represent Washington state. Students are selling Destination Imagination pins for a minimum donation of $5. Local businesses can sponsor the team by donating $100. The business’ name will be added to the back of team shirts. For more information, call Jill Haack at Highland Elementary at 425-335-1585.

Fifth-grader named university youth scholar

Brandon Parmley, 11, a fifth-grader at Canyon Creek Elementary School in the Northshore School District in Bothell, recently was named a Youth Scholar in the University of Washington Search for Youth Scholars Program, operated by the UW’s Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars.

Brandon was one of nearly 1,100 fifth- through eighth-grade students across the state chosen for achieving high scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning or other tests, such as the ACT college entrance exam. The students were selected based on their verbal and or mathematical abilities.

Students will be honored by the UW at a recognition ceremony May 18.

Brandon earns excellent grades and is active in music and sports. He dreams of becoming a commercial airline pilot.

Since a very early age, Brandon has had a fascination with flying; at the age of 9, he enrolled in flight school and started logging hours toward his pilot’s license. Last year, Brandon completed a course through Washington Pilots Association-Aviation Academy and is currently flying with Northwest School of Aviation.

Brandon plays clarinet, guitar and bass and is active with his school’s concert choir. In addition, Brandon plays quarterback and linebacker for the Arena Youth Football League.

Bothell senior earns golf caddie scholarship

Darcie Richmond, a senior at Bothell High School and a caddie at Overlake Golf and Country Club, was among seven high school seniors from Washington who have been awarded the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship. The full-tuition college scholarship is for the 2008-09 academic year and is renewable for up to four years.

Evans scholars are golf caddies who were selected based on a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.

The Western Golf Association, headquartered in Golf, Ill., has administered the Chick Evans Scholarship Program through the Evans Scholars Foundation since its inception in 1930. It is the nation’s largest privately funded scholarship program. The program was founded in 1930 by Charles “Chick” Evans Jr., famed Chicago amateur golfer and winner of the 1916 U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur.

County students win national art awards

Six students from Snohomish County schools recently were honored with gold and silver Portfolio Awards, the highest level of achievement in the 85th Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

The recipients from Snoho­mish County are Olivia Love, 17, a junior at Kamiak High School, who won an American Visions gold award for her sculpture “Facing a Storm;” Ilona Palamarchuk, 17, a senior at Cascade High School, who won a gold award for the drawing “Me, Myself, and I;” Kyle Luck, 17, a junior at Stanwood High School, who won a gold award for his design, plans and models project entitled “Concept Super Car;” Tatsuro Nakajima, 14, an eighth-grader at Valley View Middle School, who won a gold award for his mixed media art “Equal;” Kellyann Johnson, 17, a senior at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, who won a silver award for her design of a product entitled “Basket By Kelly;” and Jarin Troxel, 17, a senior at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, who won a silver award for a drawing entitled “Faucet.”

The Arts Council of Snoho­mish County served as a regional affiliate for the art awards, representing the county’s students.

More than 1,100 junior high and high school students in grades seven to 12 from across the country were chosen to receive national awards, as well as opportunities for writing and art scholarships.

Students created and submitted their best works in 19 art categories.

Winners will be honored June 5 at a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Selected work will be showcased at exhibitions in three Manhattan galleries from May to June.