Lake Washington School District Seeks Public Opinion on 2009-10 Budget
District wants to hear which programs should be given priority in funding
Because of anticipated cuts in the state budget, Lake Washington School District anticipates that the district will receive nearly $5 million less in state funds next year. The district is seeking parent, staff and community opinion on what items should receive priority in funding as it develops the budget for the 2009-2010 school year. An online survey is available here on www.lwsd.org now through March 13, 2009. More…

Mike Town Featured on KCTS Golden Apple Awards Broadcast
KCTS 9 will broadcast the 17th annual Golden Apple Awards, honoring excellence in Washington state education on Wednesday, February 25. Mike Town, a teacher at Redmond High School received the Stanley O. McNaughton Golden Apple Award, acknowledging outstanding ability and endeavors in the teaching world. The award is named after the late Stanley O. McNaughton, CEO of PEMCO Financial Services.

Town, who teaches Advanced Placement Environmental Science is known for his work to reduce the carbon footprint of schools. With his support, his students created the “Cool Schools Campaign,” a program that has helped schools throughout the district and state to reduce their carbon emissions through environmentally-friendly actions such as using less electricity, recycling, composting and more.

Rose Hill Elementary Students Participate in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Discover Dance
Students at Rose Hill Elementary have been participating in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s (PNB) “Discover Dance: Ideas in Motion” performance partnership, a large-scale education and outreach project involving over 400 elementary and middle school students from public schools in the greater Seattle area. The public is invited to the culminating performance, which will be held on Saturday, March 21 at 2 p.m. at McCaw Hall. “Discover Dance: Ideas in Motion” will also feature performances by REACH Student Dance Group (an outreach program for youth ages 11-15), as well as works from PNB’s repertoire performed by Company dancers. Tickets are $12 and may be purchased by calling the PNB Box Office at (206) 441-2424, online at www.pnb.org or in person at the PNB Box Office, 301 Mercer St. (Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.).

Composting Cuts Lunch Waste
Students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary in Kirkland have reduced their daily lunch waste by two and a half garbage cans as a result of their Green Team food composting and other waste reduction efforts.

Samantha Smith Elementary Wins “Battle of the Books”
Twenty Lake Washington School District elementary schools participated in this year’s “Battle of the Books,” a program offered by the school librarians to encourage and support students as they voluntarily join teams and read 12 books. The librarians introduce the books to the students in the fall and then students form teams and begin reading. The teams then “battle” at the building level in double-elimination tournaments run by the librarians. The battles begin in January and happen at lunchtime, lasting several weeks. During the battles, the students answer questions about the books they have read. These questions are created by the librarians. When the building winner is determined, that team will go on to the district competition. Close to 1000 students were involved in the battle this year.

In order to determine the champion team, the district is divided into east and west regions. The teams use Microsoft Instant Messenger to participate and observe the battles, with the librarians facilitating. Once the teams are at the district level, the competition is intense. As an example, the east region battle between Smith Elementary and Dickinson Elementary went on for 45 minutes before a team finally missed a question. Smith Elementary went on to represent the east region and Audubon Elementary represented the west region in the final battle on February 13. The 2009 LWSD Battle of the books champion is Smith Elementary.

Family Learning Center Presents, “Sideways Stories from Wayside School”
The Family Learning Center presents “Sideways Stories from Wayside School,” a play adapted from Louis Sachar’s Wayside School novels. The presentation, directed by Jennifer Reif, will have four presentations held at the Cadle Theatre at Lake Washington High School on the following dates:

• Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m.
• Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The cost of admission is $8.00. For more information, call (425) 828-3225.

“The Pirates of Penzance, Jr.” Presented by Evergreen Junior High
The Evergreen Junior High PTSA, in cooperation with Redmond’s SecondStory Repertory, will present Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance, Jr.” on March 19, 20 and 21 at Redmond High School. Showtime will be at 7:30 p.m. each night, with a Saturday matinee at 2:30 p.m. on the 21.

SecondStory Repertory has provided the talents of Kelly Willis as Director/Choreographer, and Lyndee White as Musical Director. Under their leadership, the 32-member cast is learning much more than just their roles: the “pirates” and “police” are being taught the skills of theatrical combat, and the “daughters” are learning ballet-based theatrical dance. This classic comic operetta tells the tale of Frederic, a pirate apprentice who encounters the lovely Mabel, the daughter of a very British “modern Major-General.” As with all Gilbert and Sullivan productions, the course of true love never runs smoothly. There are surprise revelations and plot twists all set to lively choral music. As a “junior” version, the vocal score has been simplified for younger voices and the play itself slightly shortened, making it a great introduction to Gilbert and Sullivan for students.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors. They may be purchased at the door, or at Evergreen Junior High. For more information, contact Vicky Broback at (425) 885-3896.

DECA Students Move on to State
In late January, DECA students from around the district participated in the area level contest. Of those, 13 from Eastlake High School, 20 from Lake Washington High School, and 22 from Redmond High School will move on to the state level competition in March. The students who placed first, second and third are listed below.

Redmond High School:

Jillian Jaccard & Dylan McBride	First place	Sports & Entertainment
Tyler Dougherty & Kambiz Shemashaki	Second place	Sports & Entertainment
Scott Koben & Brian Grina	Third place	Sports & Entertainment
Andrei Nedelcu & Simone Vieco	First place	Business Law & Ethics
Landon Sach & Matt Fuget	First place	Travel & Tourism
Brandon Robinson	Second place	Sports & Entertainment
Mandi Collings	Second place	Retail Merchandising
Caileen Cox	Third place	Hotel & Lodging

Sub-category winners:

• Netania Boentaram - second place on her test
• Mike Nelson - first place test
• Jessica Wolford - second place test
• Morgan Fiander - second place test

Lake Washington High School:

Kyler Blue	Second place	Quick Serve
Sara Athari	Third place	Hospitality
Saaroa Janmohamed	Second place	Buying & Merchandising
Addison Lewis	Second place	Travel & Tourism
Ashley Monson	Third place	Hospitality
Ben Slagle	Third place	Business Law & Ethics
JC Van Brunt	Second place	Hotel Lodging
Mark Wyse	First place	Accounting
John Tupper	Third place	Business Law & Ethics
Keira Rogers	First place	Full Serve Restaurant
Molly Navalinski	Second place	Travel & Tourism

Eastlake:

Ethan Parry & Josh Donaldson	Second place	Internet Marketing
Sam Roleru & Brie Mayer	Second place	Business Law & Ethics

Music Students Make a Big Impact
On Saturday, February 7 students from each LWSD high school performed at The Northlake Regional Solo and Ensemble Festival held at Woodinville High School. Below are the results by category.

Piano:

First alternate - Irene Chen (ICS); Second alternate - Jonathan Kim (LWHS)

Strings:

Viola:  First alternate - Andrew Pang (RHS)

Cello:  Second alternate - Melodie Nagasawa (RHS)

Bass:  First alternate - Todd Hammersberg (LWHS)

Strings - Small:  Winner - LWHS - Tatiana Kruse (piano), Michael Evans (cello), and Jimmy Bou (violin); Second alternate – RHS - Rebecca Li and Koyo Kim

Strings - Large:  Second alternate - Sixteen Hands (RHS): Erin Brown, Kyle Hiebert, Chelsea Kim, Koyo Kim, Rebecca Li, Mana Maloney, Melodie Nagasawa, and Andrew Pang

Percussion:

Percussion - Large:  Lake Washington Real Deal Percussion Ensemble (LWHS)

Woodwinds:

Flute:  First alternate - Darien French-Owen (RHS)

Clarinet:  First alternate - Bill Zorn (ICS)

Bassoon:  First alternate - Noah Cort (RHS)

Soprano-Alto Saxophone:  First alternate - Owen Evans (JHS); Second alternate – Frank Vitolo (EHS)

Woodwinds - Small:  Winner - Flute/Bassoon Duet (RHS); Second alternate - The Contrasts Trio (ICS)

Brass:

Trombone:  Winner - Jonathan Wilson (JHS); First alternate - Rachel Richardson (JHS)

Euphonium/Baritone:  Winner - Beserat Tafesse (RHS); First alternate - Connor Axworthy (LWHS)

Vocalists:

Soprano:  Second alternate - Margo Schadt (LWHS) and Zoe Silver (ICS)

Mezzo Soprano:  Winner - Claire Saunders (JHS); First alternate - Rebekah Hamilton (Bear Creek) & Alanna Saunders (JHS); Second alternate - Margo Schadt & Erin McMullen (LWHS)

Alto:  First alternate - Martina Mayr (LWHS)

Tenor:  First alternate - Kimani Iba (LWHS)

Baritone:  Winner - Adam Lindgren (LWHS); First alternate - Lars Myren (JHS)

Bass:  Second alternate - Spencer Kagen (LWHS)

Womens Vocal - Small:  First alternate - Saunders Duet (JHS)

Womens Vocal – Large:  Winner - Women of Lyrica (LWHS)

Mens Vocal – Small:  First alternate - Lake Washington IV (LWHS)

Mens Vocal – Large:  Winner - Men of Lyrica (LWHS)

Mixed Vocal - Small:  Margo Schadt & Adam Lindgren (LWHS)

Mixed Vocal - Large:  First alternate - Lyrica Vocal Ensemble (LWHS); Second alternate - JHS Chamber Choir (JHS)

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News from the Schools is compiled by the Lake Washington School District Communications Department. For more information or to submit your school's news, please e-mail Kathryn Reith or Shannon Parthemer.