Schools Applause

Geography bee: Dane Bratz of Brighton School in Lynnwood and Rostislav Shkurinskiy of Olympic View Middle School in Mukilteo both finished in the top 10 at the recent state-level National Geographic Bee. An Issaquah boy won the state competition and now heads to the national bee. Dane and Rostislav, both in eighth grade, were among eight local boys to reach the state competition.

Art award: Snohomish High School student Emily Zimmer received a Gold Key Award in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, sponsored by the national publishing company. Her mixed media sculpture, “What’s Below,” will be displayed in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Valley View honors: Valley View Middle School in Snohomish Vikings of the Month:

February: Kendra Peterson, seventh-grade girl; Jordan Prete, seventh-grade boy; Amanda Reeves, eighth-grade girl; Edwin Guerrero, eighth-grade boy.

March: Rachel Bachler, seventh-grade girl; Nick Persha, seventh-grade boy; Alyssa Retallick, eighth-grade girl; Jonathon Scattaregia, eighth-grade boy.

Vikings of the third quarter: Rachel Bachler, seventh-grade girl; Rylan Kautz, seventh-grade boy; Alyssa Retallick, eighth-grade girl; Jonathan Scattaregia, eighth-grade boy.

Harbour honors: Harbour Pointe Middle School March students of the month are:

Sixth grade: Betsaida Vazquez, Brennan Day, Kevin Chamblin, Courtney Moody, Melissa Mullan, Ashwin Prasad.

Seventh grade: Chris Smart, Alysha Vota, Lauren Brown, Tim Varner.

Eighth grade: Josh Hegvik, Rachel Wiegand, Eric Border, Raisa Akbar, Andrew Lauletta, Michelle Meier, Trevor Lofgren, Vicky Tian, Giada Arnese, Alex Van’tLeven, Kelsey Knowles, Stefan Hristov.

Scholarships: Lauren Helleren, a senior at Meadowdale High School received a $3,000 Crimson Regents Scholarship at Washington State University in Pullman.

Christopher King, a senior at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, received a $3,000 Crimson Regents Scholarship and $1,700 Alumni Leadership Scholarship at Washington State University in Pullman.

Benjamin Winters, a senior at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, received a $5,000 University Achievement Award at Washington State University in Pullman.

Whitney Mueller, a senior at Monroe High School, received a $2,500 University Achievement Award at Washington State University in Pullman.

Jennifer Hudson, Everett, received a $500 Jerry House Human Services Scholarship at Western Washington University in Bellingham.

Mueller academics: Cascadia Community College student Whitney Mueller was recognized at the annual statewide All-Washington Academic Team Award ceremony. She has a grade point average of 3.92 at the Bothell campus.

Dean’s list: Students on university and college dean’s list’s include:

Emily Ballbach, Biola University, La Mirada, Calif.

Deborah Zylstra, Arlington, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill.

Sarah Zylstra, Arlington, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Voyager honors: March students of the month at Voyager Middle School are Nicholas Almelia, Jessica Antoci, Brendon Burby, Marco Calva, Hector Campos, Michelle Cruz, Stephanie Cruz, Kyle Dunlap, Sergey Fomin, Arturo Gaspar, Kristen Hackney, Shauna Harth, JuanCarlos Hernandez, Ali Jackson, Nick Johnson, Max Kirkach, Kaylee Laird, Chris Lambert, Anthony Mack, Berty Mandagie, Peter Maytak, Brad Mills, Danielle Monteiro, Tania Montoya, Anthony Mozeak, Carlos Neri, Luc Nguyen, Lucia Osei-Shearman, Taylor Passmore, Desiree Peters, Emmilee Phommachanh, Leslie Piedra, Edward Putrya, Jenna Riewer, Kimberly Ruelas, Jina Salama, Mike Salzer, Anastasia Shatzka, Cameron Simpson, Kayla Storey, Jalane Thomas, Frenchescia Trowery-Stafford, Katie Torpova, Estefania Valdovinos.

Poet award: Everett Community College English instructor Kevin Craft won the 2005 Rhea and Seymour Gorsline Poetry Competition for his recently completed manuscript “Solar Prominence.” The poetry competition is open to residents of the United States and Canada for previously unpublished manuscripts submitted in English. Craft’s manuscript will also be considered for the Northwest Poetry Series, a publication of Cloudbank Books.

Sultan supports relief: Sultan Elementary School students raised more than $1,748 for tsunami relief. The collection was organized by Kathi Allen’s Excel class.

Arbor winner: Taylor Aitken of Sunnycrest Elementary School, Lake Stevens, won third place in the Washington Arbor Day Poster Contest. The theme was “Trees are Terrific and Energy Wise.” Taylor received a $50 savings bond and Arbor Day patches for fellow students.

Sultan accreditation: Sultan High School received its regional accreditation from the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools’ Commission on Schools at its recent annual meeting in Las Vegas. Sultan High School was first accredited with the association in 1983, and is also approved by the state accreditation committee for the academic year of 2004-05. The school is one of 1,715 in the region and one of more than 36,000 schools nationally that maintain regional accreditation. Accreditation ensures a school meets basic environmental standards, maintains a valid school improvement plan and is engaged in an ongoing self-study and onsite peer evaluation process. Accreditation also guarantees recognition by other schools of Sultan High’s students’ credits, transcripts and diplomas.