The word from:
Kamiak High School
“The (school body) election just finished up. There have been campaigns that have kind of brought us together as a school. Everyone is looking forward to spring weather. The seniors will be finishing up … I’m playing football at the UW (next fall), so that’s exciting.”
— JUSTIN GLENN, senior
Arlington students take message to the streets
Students from two middle schools in Arlington will be holding signs on street corners this week, protesting tobacco use.
They are part of their school’s Teens Against Tobacco Use clubs, also known as TATU, and are bringing attention to an anti-drug campaign. TATU is a national program that works with the American Lung Association.
Students from Haller Middle School, 600 E. First St., plan to be in front of their campus at 2:30 p.m. today, while Post Middle School students will share their message at 2:30 p.m. Friday at 1220 E. Fifth St.
The students also will visit elementary schools to talk to fourth- and fifth-graders this spring.
Cimbal Irwin-Rainey, prevention and intervention specialist in the Arlington district, said students can have a big impact on their younger peers.
“Young school-age children really look up to the middle school students,” she said.
Everett looks for feedback on textbooks
The public can review learning materials under consideration at an open house from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Everett School District’s Educational Service Center, 4730 Colby Ave.
The materials being presented to the school board are “Handwriting without Tears,” for kindergarten through fifth grade;
“Sitton Spelling,” for third through fifth grade; and “Wright Skills Phonics,” for kindergarten through second grade.
Mukilteo seeks help for boundary committee
Volunteers are needed for a Mukilteo School District boundary committee scheduled to begin work next fall.
The panel will look for ways to reduce overcrowding within schools.
The committee will likely consider changes to school attendance boundaries that will shift students to schools that are less crowded and it also may discuss whether realigning grades or changing the school calendar might ease overcrowding.
One parent representative will be appointed from each school. Volunteers should contact the principal of their child’s school or the leader of their school’s site-based decision-making board.
Bond refinancing saves Northshore taxpayers
Taxpayers will save $585,000 in the Northshore School District now that the district has refinanced $13.6 million in outstanding bonds issued in 1998.
The savings will be used to lower the tax rate. The Northshore School Board approved the refinancing March 25.
Refinancing bonds is similar to refinancing a home mortgage when interest rates drop. The district was able to take advantage of lower interest rates, in part, because financial rating agencies Moody’s and Standard &Poor’s have given Northshore outstanding bond ratings.
Mariner band boosters plan bike swap
The Mariner Band Boosters plan a bike swap from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 19 and 20 at Mariner High School, 200 120th St. SW, Everett.
The event is for bicyclists of all kinds. Trade or sell with others who enjoy cycling. It’s also an opportunity for bicycle and sports shops to clear their discontinued, close-out and used items.
Admission for adults is $3; children 5 and under are free.
New parent group gets going at Glacier Peak
The Glacier Peak High School PTO and Booster Club is continuing to hold meetings to establish bylaws for the constitution at the new Snohomish School District high school, which is scheduled to open next fall.
Parents can attend the next meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. April 23 in the Valley View Middle School library, 14308 Broadway Ave. SE, Snohomish.
Northshore district hires new administrators
The Northshore School Board recently hired three new district administrators, including two with ties to Snohomish County.
Kathleen Poole is the new assistant superintendent of elementary education. She’s now principal at Highland Middle School in the Bellevue School District. She worked for nine years as a music specialist at several Northshore elementary schools and as a fourth-grade teacher at Fernwood Elementary in Bothell. She also served as principal at Riverview Elementary in the Snohomish School District.
The district promoted Carolyn O’Keeffe, its director of secondary education, to interim assistant superintendent for secondary education.
Northshore Junior High School Principal Gretchen Schaefer will serve as interim director of secondary education for next year in place of O’Keeffe.
Before joining the Northshore School District in 2002, Schaefer worked in the Everett School District, where she served as a middle school teacher, a middle school assistant principal, both an elementary and middle school principal, and the director of instructional support services.
The appointments are effective July 1.
Marysville Rotary offers student scholarships
Marysville Rotary Club scholarship applications are now available at www.marysvillerotary.org.
Click on “Education Foundation” to access the form.
Scholarships are available to students who live or attend school in the Marysville or Lakewood school districts.
All applications are due by April 25.
Mukilteo plans book reading events for teens
The Mukilteo School District, Sno-Isle Libraries and Everett Public Library have teamed up to present Mukilteo Teens Read, a districtwide project designed to stir up excitement about reading and generate conversation among teens and between teens and their parents.
The project will continue through May with events, author visits and book signings.
The book selection for the first Mukilteo Teens Read is “Stuck in Neutral,” by Terry Trueman.
Schools plan gatherings where students can discuss the book, and Trueman plans to spreak to students at six Mukilteo secondary schools in late May. He also plans to speak and sign books at events open to the public at the Everett Public Library at 7 p.m. May 28 and 7 p.m. May 29 at the Mukilteo Library.
The schools and public libraries are carrying extra copies of “Stuck in Neutral” for check-out during this period.
Many cities across the country are embarking on similar “One Book” projects, in which everyone in a community is invited to read the same book.
A team of librarians from the Mukilteo School District, Sno-Isle Libraries and the Everett Public Library chose “Stuck in Neutral” for the issues it presents and for its appeal to middle and high school students.
What’s new at your school? Call us at 425-339-3446 or e-mail schoolfyi@heraldnet.com.
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