VFW honors essay winners, teachers
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8870 on Jan. 9 recognized several area students who participated in the annual National VFW Essay contest.
The theme for this year’s Youth Essay contest for third- through fifth-graders was “What I Can Do to Make Our Country Better.” Winners were Makayla Tourtellot, who is home schooled (first place, fourth grade) and Grace Hettinger, Mukilteo Elementary (first place, fifth grade). Runners-up were Mohuwa Wahid, fourth-grader from Picnic Point Elementary School, and Allessanda Valmonte, Ella Rohrbouth and Beckett Talmadge, fifth-graders at Mukilteo Elementary.
The Patriot’s Pen essay contest for grades 6-8 had the theme, “Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans.” The winning entry was submitted by Lara Wahid, a student at Harbour Point Middle School. The two runners-up were Lindsey Lundberg (Meadowdale Middle School) and Ian Crunkilton (Terrace Park Elementary School).
Olivia Olsen, a ninth-grader at Edmonds-Woodway High School, garnered first-place honors in the high-school Voice of Democracy audio essay contest. This year’s topic was, “Why Veterans are Important to Our Nation’s History and Future.”
First-place winners each received $100 and are now under consideration for state awards. Runners-up each received $25.
The local post also honored Sue Idso, of Mukilteo Elementary School, as its Elementary School Teacher of the Year; Marilyn Roberts, of Post Middle School, as its Middle School Teacher of the Year; and Becky Heckinger, of Edmonds-Woodway, as its High School Teacher of the Year.
Kids are ready to Go!
Columbia Elementary (Mukilteo School District) and Pioneer Elementary (Arlington School District) were crowned the winners of the 2014 Gear Up and Go! Winter Games, which ran Dec. 20 to Jan. 3. Each school will receive $500 for use toward fitness equipment.
In the second year of this competition, 2,353 fifth-graders and teachers participated in the Winter Games, which ran during the two weeks classes were on holiday break. Columbia and Pioneer had the highest percentage of students participating in the competition.
The Snohomish County Health Leadership Coalition created Gear Up and Go! to increase healthy activity among fifth-grade students in Snohomish County and to encourage lifelong healthy habits.
Brier pupils head to state
Brier Terrace Middle School hosted the Western Washington regional Technology Student Association (TSA) competition on Jan. 10. There were 83 students from six middle schools representing Edmonds, Lake Washington and Shoreline school districts in attendance, making it the largest regional competition in the state.
Brier Terrace performed well in all challenges. Team winners included: Alex Kozorus and Andrew Steck (first place), Joanne Yi and Krithik Duraisamy (second place), and Alec Matulka and Reece Newhouse (third place) in the Structural Engineering challenge; Cole Johnston and Aidan Alderson (third place) in the Balsa Cube challenge; and Michael Malysh and Minh Nguyen (second place) in the Problem Solving Challenge.
Students are now busy preparing for the WTSA State conference to be held March 26-28 in Bellevue.
Lake Stevens gives Apples to staff
The following Lake Stevens School District employees were recognized with November Apple Awards at the Jan. 14 school board meeting. Winners were nominated and selected by their peers for their contributions to the district: Sheryl Aubol, teacher, Lake Stevens High School; Karen Coulombe, teacher, Cavelero Mid High School; Christie Jones, paraeducator, Sunnycrest Elementary School; and Michelle Reither, nurse, Lake Stevens Middle School.
To submit items for School Winners, email newstips@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
