LWSD Students Receive College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships
Four Lake Washington School District (LWSD) students are among the 2,800 students nationwide who have received National Merit Scholarships financed by colleges and universities. Each sponsoring college selects scholarship winners from finalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 - $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

The following students received these scholarships:

• David Ulrich, Lake Washington High School National Merit University of Washington Scholarship
• Brenda Kao, International Community School National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship
• Alena Rau, International Community School National Merit Harvey Mudd College Scholarship
• Kellianne Bennett, Eastlake High School National Merit Carleton College Scholarship

Redmond High School Teacher Receives National Award
Cathy Michaelis, a mathematics teacher at Redmond High School, has been selected as a winner of the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished High School Mathematics Teaching by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). Michaelis is one of 23 teachers selected from all of the high schools in the United States and Canada for this international recognition. She was nominated by Sam Keller, Jonathan Shi, and Meir Lakhovsky, students at Redmond High School. Nominations for this award were solicited from students who were on the teams that achieved the 60 highest scores on the American Mathematics Contest 12 (AMC 12) in the United States, Canada, APO/FPO and U.S. Embassy schools.

As a winner, Michaelis receives a cash award; a letter of recognition; a Sliffe Award Winner pin and certificate from the MAA; a one-year Institutional membership in the MAA; 20 subscriptions to Math Horizons for distribution to students; and a one-year membership in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), a professional organization dedicated to mathematics education pre-K through 12.

Eastlake Senior Places Fifth in Washington State 2008 Trig-Star Competition
Eastlake High School (EHS) senior Katelyn Atakturk placed fifth in the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) Washington State 2008 Trig-Star competition. Math instructor Adam Schmierer proctored the 60-minute exam on May 12, 2008. Fourteen high school students statewide participated in this year’s competition. Katelyn qualified for the state exam by finishing first in the local exam given to students at EHS. The State Trig-Star competition is a timed 60-minute test consisting of three questions dealing with various aspects of trigonometry pertaining to the land surveying profession.

Redmond High School Students Win $23,000 at WSU Environmental Contest
Ten students from Redmond High School (RHS) competed in the Imagine Environmental contest at Washington State University (WSU) in early May. Award winners received cash awards to be split among the team and an equal award for their advisor’s academic program: in total, these students won $23,000.

In the Societal Challenge, the Cool Schools Campaign from RHS won first prize, including $5,000 each for the team members and their advisor’s program. Team members are Zachary Doleac, Joseph Hegge, Emily Guo, Laura Wang and Jamie Hall and their advisor is Mike Town.

A team from RHS won first prize, including $5,000 for the team and $5,000 for their advisor’s program, in the Behavioral Challenge for Global Climate Change Takes a Toll. Katherine Catlin and Akanksha Saxena make up the team with Mike Town serving as advisor. Another team from RHS placed third in this category with Earth Food, receiving $1,500 to be split by the team and $1,500 for their advisory’s program. This team consisted of Elena Stelzer, Melvin Taing, and Stephanie Myer, with Mike Town again serving as advisor.

LWSD PTAs Receive Honors from State PTA
During their annual convention held May 2-4 at the Doubletree Seatac Hotel, the Washington State PTA announced several awards received by local PTA groups.

Communications Awards:

• Outstanding Web site – Wilder PTSA, third place
• Outstanding E-mail – Redmond El. PTA, Mead PTSA, first place (tie)

Newsletter Award:

• Category 6 (Councils) – Lake Washington PTSA Council, first place

100% Membership Award: (PTA membership equals or exceeds the number of students enrolled at the school)

• Alcott Elementary
• Blackwell Elementary
• Kirk Elementary
• Rush Elementary
• Smith Elementary
• Wilder Elementary

100% Active PTAs in a Council: Lake Washington PTSA Council

PTAs Taking Significant Action: Recognizes the accomplishments of units and councils across the state that present programs, projects and activities that show significant originality, involvement, potential, usefulness, and results.

• Wilder PTSA for its community service “Care and Share Club” – second place

Standards of Excellence: Provides PTA local units with a set of standards that define qualities of excellence, provides training to local units on attainment of those standards, and identifies, recognizes and honors units that achieve the standards.

• Gold Level (highest) – Wilder PTSA
• Silver Level – Mead PTSA

Honor Unit: An Honor Unit is a PTA/PTSA local unit that has, in its service to children, gone significantly beyond the attainment of standards of excellence and has demonstrated the kind of exceptional qualities that merit replication by others.

• Bronze Level – Wilder PTSA

Redmond High School’s Theatre Arts Department wins “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble”
Redmond High School’s Theatre Arts Department won “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble” for their production of How to Eat Like a Child in the Fifth Avenue High School Musical Awards. The Fifth Avenue Theatre sends judges out to local high school performances of musicals to select award recipients throughout the year.

The awards ceremony will be held on June 9 and broadcast later on local stations.

The cast consisted of the following Redmond High School students:

• Gregory Rocha
• Rachel Soloman
• Josh Oratz
• Thomas Moore
• Patrick Mulligan
• Darren Caulley
• Spencer Clouse
• Carly Gilliland
• Lauren Isherwood
• Kelsey Kinzer
• Emily Mann
• Geena Pietromonaco
• Akshika Patel
• Kimberly Cundy
• Catlin McCartney
• Lauren Funaro
• Joanna Turner
• Bridget Dillon

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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.