May 2013

Coming to the 2013 White Center Jubilee Days (July 13-21) will be new a robotics competition set for July 21, during the community celebration.

It’s the brainstorm of the High Tekerz Robotics (Team 3574). The High Tekerz are a group of junior high and high school age students with a passion for technology and the useful applications of technologies. They belong to FIRST (www.usfirst.org). For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology was founded by Segway creator Dean Kane to promote science and math in American schools.

The competition scheduled for this year’s Jubilee Days is the “Space Elevator”. Based on the scientific concept that a very strong tether bound to the earth and anchored in low earth orbit would allow powered “Elevators” to take humans and needed materials into space for far less money than it takes to send a rocket with the same payloads. This is a concept first espoused in the late 1950’s. But not until the last decade were the technologies available. NASA has been studying the concept for some time now and there is a “Space Elevator” conference held every year in Seattle.

Lauren Aquino got her dog Amen, a German Boxer, from a breeder in Federal Way, Rachel Traore who specializes European and German Boxers. He's five years old and his name came from the breeder.

He weighs 85 lbs right now, eating Blue Buffalo dog food twice a day and, "he's usually food motivated," said Aquino. She said he's surprisingly low maintenance. "I've lucked out because he's a white Boxer. Most people think that white Boxers are deaf and blind but because of his good breeding and he's not an American Boxer he's had great health his whole life." Amen gets Turkey training bits for snacks.

"One thing that he likes to do that I love about him is that if I'm watching TV and he's in on his bed he will eventually, to get my attention just lay upside down. If he doesn't get my attention he will fall asleep. It's really funny. I have way too many pictures of him upside down."

It’s that time of year again when Burien’s downtown will be bustling with music, dance, arts, crafts, food, a car show and ample family fun for the 2013 Wild Strawberry Festival, put on by the City of Burien and supported by a number of sponsors, including the Highline Times.

The event runs Saturday and Sunday, June 15 (10 to 6pm) and 16 (10 to 4 pm). Plenty to enjoy!

Entertainment Schedule

Saturday, June 15

Town Square Stage (152nd & 5th)
Band-a-Palooza
10:00am - 10:45am Highline Community Symphonic Band
11:00am - 11:45am Renton City Concert Band
12noon - 12:45pm Backwoods Wind Jammers
1:00pm - 1:45pm Woodinville Community Band
2:00pm - 2:45pm Bellingham High School Alumni Band
3:00pm - 3:45pm Bellevue Community Band
4:00pm - 4:45pm Around the Sound Community Band
5:00pm - 6:00pm Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band
6:00pm - 6:45pm MJJO Swing Band

150th Street Performance Pavillion (150th & 5th)
10:00 - 12noon PK Dwyer (Blues)

Awards from the Families and Education Levy announced by Mayor Mike McGinn and SPS Superintendent Jose Banda will total $3.2 million with a some West Seattle Schools seeing significant funding. In fact the majority of the funding will be coming to schools and organizations in our area.

Highland Park Elementary will get $69,542 for early learning.
Neighborhood House in the High Point neighborhood will get $161,560
Sound Child Care Solutions on Delridge Way SW will get $421,210.

Roxhill and Highland Park Elementary Schools will get a continuation of previous funding for "Elementary Innovation" with this year's funding being $316,000 each.

Madison Middle School under what SPS calls "Middle School Linkage" will see $240,750.

Under Middle School Innovation Denny International Middle School will get $556,788 for the 2013-2014 School Year.

West Seattle High School will get $374,500 for High School Innovation for the coming school year.

Also seeing funding from the awards are Community Based Organizations. Community Day School Association with Highland Park Elementary and the White Center Community Development Association.

SUMNER--Controversy shrouded the ending to a sensational season for the Tyee boys soccer team.

The Totems were cruising along with a 1-0 lead in the Class 2A state championship game Saturday when the opposing Cheney Blackhawks tied it on a disputed goal with 10:44 to go in the first half.

The two teams remained in a 1-1 tie through regulation time, bringing the game down to whoever could score first in two five minute overtime periods.

It was decided on a goal by Cheney's Ian Scimandl with 1:43 left in the first overtime, as he took a Micah Weller assist and drilled it in one-on-one with freshman Tyee goalie Alan Mora from four yards out.

But whether or not Cheney really scored the first goal to tie it and send the game into overtime is where the controversy came in.

"We felt the goal should be called back," said Totems head coach Allen Rider. "We had an official protest and the call didn't go our way."

The protest was filed at halftime, and caused a delay of an extra 20 minutes for the teams to return to action on the Sunset Chev Stadium turf.

The controversy will remain for as long as the game is remembered.

Symetra press release

On Friday afternoon, May 24, 2013, Symetra and the Seattle Seahawks honored the 24 Puget Sound-area teachers who were recognized as Symetra Heroes in the Classroom® during the 2012 NFL season, at a special celebration at CenturyLink Field.

Among the 2012 honorees were two Highline Public Schools teachers:

· Elle Parsons — Health Sciences & Human Services High School, Seattle

· Lyn Nelthropp — Global Connections High School, Sea-Tac

Jim Pirak, Symetra SVP, Marketing, and Mike Flood, Seattle Seahawks VP, hosted a luncheon in the Coach’s Loft, welcoming the teachers, their school principals and special guests, including Highline Public Schools Superintendent Susan Enfield.

Information from Highline Public Schools

Highline will add several new sports programs at the middle school level over the next two years, as recommended by the district’s Middle School Athletics Assessment Committee.

Starting next fall, middle school athletes will have the opportunity to turn out for wrestling (Season 3), girls’ soccer (Season 2) and running-conditioning clubs (Seasons 2 and 3).

Cross country, softball and tackle football will be added in 2014-15. Also in 2014-15, to increase the pool of potential coaches, traditional fall and spring sports will swap seasons. Track and field, boys’ soccer, and softball will run in Season 1; volleyball, football and cross country will run in Season 4.

League of Educational Voters press release:

Creating new models of teaching and learning: From NYC to Highline
June 13, 2013, 7 p.m.
UW at South Lake Union, Room TBA

We know that students learn in unique and different ways. To meet each student’s learning needs, schools and educators across the country are re-imaging school and what happens in the classroom. Educators are implementing strategies like personalization, project-based learning, online instruction, blended learning, and new roles for students and teachers.

In New York City, the innovative schools are clustered in the city’s nearly three-year-old iZone, which offers a portfolio of schools for kids and families to consider. With the intent to build a culture of innovation that supports personalized learning, the city’s iZone office launched three major initiatives: iZone360, to support whole-school redesign; iLearnNYC, which supports implementation of online and blended strategies; and Innovate NYC Schools, which identifies learning challenges and pilots education technology solutions.

The letters went out in January. Seventy-two letters from the Ballard Historical Society informing homeowners their house had been nominated to be part of the 2013 Ballard Historical Society Classic Homes Tour. After that preparations really escalated for the June 23 event, but work on tour actually began within hours of the 2010 tour.

Since February I’ve been tracking the work of those BHS members most involved in preparing for this event, which is the society’s largest fundraising source. Our house got one of those letters in January and I was impressed at the potential rewards; BHS researching the house, a photograph of the house from the Puget Sound Archives, a reception for homeowners. I was ready to commit based on the line item: complimentary floral display.

After the original 72 letters, another 25 were sent out. Some of the nominations date back to the 2010 tour; there are always attendees who are inspired to suggest a home they know or one that intrigues them from the outside. Since 2010 all of the lessons learned, suggested homes, etc. have been part of the planning process that never stops. It just intensifies.

In a way, the folks at Dirt Exchange by the Ballard Bridge represent the American Dream. They are the quintessential family-owned small business.

The father, Gary Ard, grew up on a farm and went on to be an architect. The daughter, Brittani Ard, was a land use consultant. But both dropped their respective careers to do what they love: Play in the dirt, and allow others the opportunity to play in the dirt, too.

“It’s a lot less stress and a lot more fun,” Brittani Ard said of switching careers.

Or, at least, Gary Ard says it’s a different kind of stress. Whereas before they could spend all day working full bore and not necessarily feel like they got anything done at the end of the day, at Dirt Exchange they can go to bed every night knowing they helped someone with something.

“It turns out there’s something really enjoyable providing a service, a product,” Gary Ard said. “It’s a fun place to work because everyone is trying to improve their property.”

Gary Ard jokes that while the do all the fun stuff, his wife Rowena Ard has to do all of the hard, boring work -- accounting and paper work.