Maple Elementary Principal Pat Hunter, center, receives a $25,000 award check from Bob Watt, left, vice president, State and Local Government Relations and Global Corporate Citizenship, The Boeing Company; and retired Boeing Chief Administrative Officer John D. Warner, right. The school received the award for posting outstanding WASL scores and making the greatest academic strides among schools in the three-county area.

Representatives from The Boeing Company surprised students and staff of Maple Elementary School during a May 30 school assembly with a $25,000 check and the John D. Warner Award for Excellence in Education. The check, which Boeing gives annually to a public school in King, Pierce, or Snohomish County, is an unrestricted grant that rewards schools that demonstrate excellence in school leadership, teacher excellence and student learning. Alliance for Education staff helped organize the award presentation and were on hand to congratulate Maple Elementary Principal Pat Hunter.      Partnership for Learning, a Washington nonprofit organization, found that the school posted outstanding WASL scores of 80 percent to 90 percent in math, reading and writing in the fourth-grade test.

School Board reviewing Student Assignment Plan
     The Seattle School Board is reviewing the Student Assignment Plan - a policy that determines where students go to school. Staff and community are invited to visit a Web site that explains the process. The goal is to adopt a simplified Student Assignment Plan for 2008-09 that supports academics, is easier for families to understand and manage, and results in cost savings. There will be no changes in the plan for the 2007-08 school year.
     The Web site, which will be updated regularly, will include board information and working documents. Community workshops and meetings were held during May. A student assignment plan “framework” motion was introduced to the School Board on June 6, a public hearing held on June 13, and a vote on the framework is planned for the June 20 School Board meeting.

Student Celebrations

First place - Lilianne Stevens, Lawton Elementary

Second Place - Xavier Mallett, Dunlap Elementary

Two Seattle Public Schools students win top prize in Seattle Aquarium Art Contest
     Two Seattle Public Schools second-graders were the top winners among hundreds of local elementary students who participated in the annual Seattle Aquarium “Your Ocean – Our Home” Art Contest. The theme was on the conservation of Puget Sound’s aquatic resources and Washington state's giant Pacific octopus.
      The winners are:
■ First place - Lilianne Stevens, a second-grader at Lawton Elementary School. Lilianne completed the art project at her after-school art club with teacher Genya Parks. Lilianne will receive a $2,500 T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan, offered by the Education Trust of Alaska.
■ Second place - Xavier Mallett, a second-grader at Dunlap Elementary School. His art teacher is Donna Amira. Xavier will receive a $1,500 college savings account.
      Both students will receive a family pass to the Seattle Aquarium; and have their art on display at the aquarium and at the aquarium's Web site.

Emerson student goes to SCORES National Poetry Slam in New York City
     Emerson Elementary student Keyah Wilson was one of 30 elementary school students across the nation who was chosen to perform her poetry for the America SCORES National Poetry Slam in New York City. Keyah was chosen from among 5,000 America SCORES students nationwide to represent their home cities. The SCORES program is a nonprofit organization that empowers students in using soccer, writing, creative expression, and service-learning as an after-school program. SCORES has programs at Emerson, Dunlap, Roxhill and Rainier View elementary schools.

Renowned author, activist visits Washington Middle School

Nathan Hale physics students to work as polar scientists
      Several Nathan Hale students submitted winning proposals for polar ice experiments and will follow with a visit on the Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy ­- all while being paid interns for research company NorthWest Research Associates.
     The students are:
■ Andrew Geiss, who seeks to answer the question:  How does the interaction between pre-existing and/or newly formed ice ridges and winds affect the opening, closing, and other behavior of leads and the motion of arctic ice?
■ Phil Alexander-Lees, Alex Dupler and Jordan Paeth, who want to better understand ice deformation and growth. They will investigate variables that affect the opening, closing, and motion of leads.
     This summer, the students will analyze the data from their experiments, write reports and give seminars to NWRA staff. They will also present their findings to a Nathan Hale audience in fall 2007. 

Hamilton teachers receive grant to teach students cutting-edge technology
     Patty Smith and Robin Lambert, teachers at Hamilton International Middle School, have received a grant to learn how to use cutting-edge multimedia and help students incorporate the tools in their lives. The students will learn how to use video, audio, digital photography, animation, and Web design to explore and comment on their world and take an active role in their communities. The grant came from Adobe Youth Voices, a nonprofit youth media organization.
      The school purchased additional media equipment with the grant. Also, two volunteers from Reel Girls have been working with about 120 8th-graders on their video skills. Several students have produced three-minute public service announcements. The school has also been selected as an Adobe Youth Voices site for 2007-08. Other Adobe Youth Voices sites are Aki Kurose and McClure middle schools and Garfield and Nathan Hale high schools.

B.F. Day teacher selected for teacher exchange program in Norway
     B.F. Day Elementary teacher Janet Raymer has been selected to participate in a short-term teacher exchange in Bergen, Norway. School officials from Bergen will send a teacher to Seattle Public Schools in the fall for four weeks. For more information about the exchange, e-mail Mary Reece at mjreece@seattleschools.org

Around the Community

Ballard float takes first place in annual Syttende Mai parade

The Ballard Maritime Academy float took first place in the Syttende Mai parade in Ballard. The highlight of the Ballard float was a Russian spy sonar device obtained from Steve Aarvik, owner of the fishing vessel "Windjammer."      The device was recovered off the Washington coast of La Push in 2005. Community volunteers, as well as staff and students of the Ballard Maritime Academy, spent hours decorating and dressing up the float, then passing out candy and exercise hand balls during the parade. Syttende Mai is the celebration of the day in 1814 when Norway's constitution was signed.

Coming Up

Viewlands to hold closing celebration June 16
      Viewlands will hold a closing celebration June 16 to celebrate 53 years of serving children in the Broadview, Oak Lake, Greenwood and Crown Hill areas. Viewlands will be closing its doors in June and merging with Broadview-Thomson Elementary School. As part of the celebration, current and former students are invited to say their goodbyes to friends, students, staff and teachers. A memory wall will be available at the school for people to add their favorite stories. Superintendent Raj Manhas will also say a few words. The school will have entertainment and refreshments, slide shows, past talent show videos, posters, T-shirts and yearbooks.

Rainier View Elementary plans for ?A Celebration of Learning? June 20
     Families and staff at Rainier View Elementary School are planning a June 20 community event to celebrate the education of students and successes at the school over its 46-year history. Rainier View will close this summer as part of the School Board?s July 2006 decision to close seven district buildings. The Rainier View program is merging with Emerson Elementary. Staff, students and families from both schools have been working together to ensure a smooth and positive transition. For questions or information, contact Teresa Stout, administrative secretary, at (206) 252-7420.

    A Celebration of Learning
     5:30-8:30 p.m., June 20
     Rainier View Elementary
     11650 Beacon Ave. S.

School District offers summer foreign-language camps beginning July 2
     Seattle Public Schools, through a foreign-language assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Education, is offering four fun-filled foreign language summer camps for elementary school students beginning July 2. The summer camps will offer the following languages: Chinese, Korean, Arabic and Farsi. To register for the Chinese or Korean language camps or for more information on registration fees, contact Betty Lau at (206) 252-6211 after 1:40 p.m. To register for the Arabic or Farsi language camps, visit the Web site at www.cultural.org/wlp/ or contact Maka Janikashvili at (206) 217-9644.

     Summer Language Camp
     (Chinese or Korean, K-4th grade)
     8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., July 2-13
     Mercer Middle School
     1600 S. Columbian Way

     Summer Language Camp
     (Arabic, ages 6-12)
     9 a.m. to 3 p.m., July 2-13
     (Farsi, K-4th grade) 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
     Northgate Elementary School
     11725 1st Ave. N.E.


Organization plans improvements at Northgate Elementary Sept. 22
     Every year, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) gives back to the community.  Join the organization on Saturday, Sept. 22 to help beautify Northgate Elementary School. This K-5 school is a community of many cultures who work collaboratively to get all students to standards and beyond. The planned improvements include cleanup, maintenance, and expansion of planting areas, pavers and gravel at entry and walkways; painting of walls, fencing, doors, and trim; resurfacing and striping of parking and play areas; and adding a new play structure. The work will support the school’s goal of providing an inspired learning environment for its students. For more information, contact Bryce Taylor (206) 689-0484 or e-mail bryce.taylor@lewisbuilds.com or Mark Krane, (425) 451-8877 or e-mail at mark@gly.com.

     Northgate Improvement
     Northgate Elementary School
     7 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 22
     11725 1st Ave. N.E.

School and District Events Calendar
     If you would like to know about current special school events, fundraisers or other district events, go online to the District Events Calendar where you can see what’s going on monthly at Seattle Public Schools or search for specific events by date, school and event type.

We Need Your Ideas
     The Communications office is always looking for stories on interesting classroom projects, inspirational people, or events in our schools to share with the greater Seattle community. We often highlight stories submitted by school staff for potential media coverage as well as district and community publications. For examples of stories we have published in the past, please visit this link. We would like to hear from you. If you have a unique story to share please send your ideas directly to goodnews@seattleschools.org.

In the News
     For a sampling of this week’s local newspaper stories on Seattle Public Schools, please click here.

SCHOOL BEAT is an electronic newsletter covering district and school-based news and is published twice a month for the employees of Seattle Public Schools.