School Winners
Published 9:41 pm Sunday, January 25, 2015
Nominations to military academies
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen on Jan. 23 announced his three principal nominees to the military service academies. The nominees, from Coupeville, Marysville and Oak Harbor, will be granted spots in the academies in this coming fall pending successful completion of their final year of high school. Larsen also will make 24 other nominations to the academies.
“I commend these bright young students for choosing to apply their talents at military academies and pledging service to our country,” Larsen said.
Nicholas Alonso of Marysville will be Larsen’s principal nominee to the U.S. Military Academy. Alonso is senior class president at Marysville-Pilchuck High School and a member of the National Honor Society. He serves as the battalion commander of the school’s Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps unit and as a captain of the football team.
Zachary Johnson of Coupeville will be Larsen’s principal nominee to the U.S. Naval Academy. Johnson is a member of the National Honor Society and on the honor roll at Oak Harbor High School. He is the battalion commander for the school’s Navy JROTC and serves as a member of the Civil Air Patrol. Johnson also practices karate and competed in the USA Junior Olympics in 2008.
Marisa Sligh of Oak Harbor will be Larsen’s principal nominee to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Sligh is a member of the National Honor Society and is an active part of the Oak Harbor High School community as a participant in varsity sports, the wind ensemble and several clubs. She also is an active volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, a local retirement center and as a middle school volleyball coach.
Explorer picked for orchestra competition
Explorer Middle School’s advanced orchestra has been invited to the American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival Competition, to be held March 19-21 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Orchestras were selected to participate based on their audition recording and supporting materials, and Explorer was one of just four middle schools in the country selected.
Now, they need help getting there.
The goal is $10,000 by Feb. 6. Local businesses are asked to sponsor students, and individual donations also are welcome. “This is a huge honor for these kids,” said Glenda Werner, a parent.
For more information, contact orchestra director Robin Enders at 425-366-5000 or endersrj@mukilteo.wednet.edu to make a tax-deductible gift through Explorer Music Boosters.
Schools celebrate MLK
Local schools celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. day in different ways.
Eisenhower Middle School students’ tribute included a portrait of the leader in Rubik’s Cube form. Their tribute incorporated more than 200 Rubik’s Cube pieces and took eight club members almost two hours to create. The tribute is in advance of the Everett school’s Jan. 31 Rubik’s Cube competition, open to elementary, middle and high school students.
At Granite Falls Middle School, students organized an assembly that included posting positive character traits on a wall. Granite Falls School Board member Carl Cary also spoke and shared the importance of character, like King spoke about in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Cary shared that “reputation is what others think of you and that character is who you are inside and who you are when no one else is watching.”
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