Snoqualmie Valley School District Headlines

Battle of Books 2013 District Champions

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 PST

Congratulations to the 2013 District Champions of the Battle of the Books competition. This year, the Fall City Elementary Dinomites team took home the trophy from the lively reading competition, that took place on April 26, 2013! The FCES Dinomite team members include: Lorenzo Perez, Luke Nieman, Will Desler, Chloe Barber, and Oliver Lang (pictured below).

The Battle of the Books is a popular reading competition that involves hundreds of Snoqualmie Valley students each year in grades 3-5 from all five elementary schools in the district. Students who choose to participate read approximately 12 books from a list that the elementary librarians pre-select. Each spring, students form teams of five and compete within their schools by answering questions about the books. After weeks of elimination rounds, a top-scoring team emerges from each of the five schools and advances to the final district-level round to represent their school. Then, busloads of supportive classmates, along with many proud spectating families, attend the intense event to cheer on their teams in an impressive show of reading comprehension and memory skills. Our schools take turns hosting the championship event; this year it took place at Fall City Elementary.

For more photos and related stories as reported May 1 in local newspapers:

Snoqualmie Valley elementary readers bring A-games to Book Battle finals, by Carol Ladwig, Snoqualmie Valley Record.
Battle of the books brings students into the library, by Megg Joosten, SnoValley STAR.

Think & Drive Week Promotes Prom Safety

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 PST

New - Q13 news story on MSHS Think and Drive assembly, aired May 16.

In anticipation of Senior Prom on Saturday, May 18, Mount Si students are focused on Think & Drive Week -- a long-standing tradition that urges students to choose safe options during this fun time of year. Several thought-provoking activities have been planned by the high school's ASB Student Relations Committee for the week preceding prom. The activities are intended to raise awareness around the risks and realities of alcohol use, to urge students to consider the impact that bad decisions can have on their lives and loved ones, and to encourage decisions that will protect their futures and their friends -- during prom night and other spring activities.

On Monday, May 13: Seniors Received Prom Pal Letters from 5th Graders

Watch the story that ran on Q13 TV that aired May 13-14 this week.

"Prom Pals" is an annual tradition at Mount Si High School that 12th graders look forward to each spring. For the past 15 years, high school students match the names of each senior student with a 5th grader in our district. Then the 5th grade students, who have been learning about the dangers of alcohol and tobacco as part of their health curriculum, write a personal letter to their senior counterpart urging safety at Prom. The letters are often very heart-felt, compelling, and sometimes entertaining, as 10- and 11-year-olds provide advice on the importance of making safe choices, and how to have fun at prom. Many seniors recall writing a similar message to their "Prom Pal" when they were in 5th grader themselves.

As part of this activity, the high school team selected one winning letter from each of our five Snoqualmie Valley elementary schools for a special prize. Each winner will select one friend to join them, along with the team of ASB kids, for a limo ride, pizza party, and day out of school to play at GameWorks in Seattle. Congratulations to the following 5th graders for their exemplary Prom Pal letters: Bella Mariani (CVES), Abrielle Zelek (FCES), Jolie Shelton (NBES), Ericka Mickelson (OES), and Amrutha Susarla (SES).

Tuesday, May 14: Fact Shared about Drinking & Driving

On Mount Si school's television broadcast to all classrooms, statistics and facts were shared with all students on Tuesday morning. The information showcased the negative impact of alcohol use on youth and how young lives have been lost or drastically changed as a result of drinking and driving.

Wednesday, May 15: Student Documentary Film Features Mount Si Graduate's Story

Film Production students created a documentary that tells the story of Rachel McNaul, who graduated from Mount Si High School and was the victim in a drunk driving accident. During second period, her compelling story of tragedy and survival was broadcast to all the high school students -- many of whom know her personally since Rachel now substitute teaches at the school.

Watch the Video of Rachel McNaul's story, made by MSHS film students.

Thursday, May 16: Think and Drive Outdoor School Assembly

Mount Si High School will partner with the Washington State Patrol and Snoqualmie Police on Thursday morning to bring a special program to all high school students in a school-wide assembly in the stadium. Among the activities, an obstacle course will demonstrate the impact of driving while intoxicated (as simulated through special eye glasses) and driving while texting, with the use of golf carts. Then on a more serious note, the special guest speaker will be Rachel McNaul, MSHS graduate and substitute teacher whose story was featured in the video shared with students on Wednesday (see above).

Focus Group #2 for Facilities Planning

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 PST

The Snoqualmie Valley School District Board of Directors has scheduled a second Focus Group for May 22, from 6-8 pm at the Mount Si High School library. The Focus Group will be comprised of approximately 50 invited guests who represent a broad sampling of community perspectives. The purpose of the meeting is to gather input on school bond scenarios the School Board has been studying in recent months. Feedback received from the Focus Group will help the Board as they work toward finalizing scenarios for additional review by the community in the coming months.

The first Focus Group meeting on this topic took place on May 1, 2013, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Snoqualmie Middle School. In addition, a third Focus Group is being planned for Tuesday, May 28. The meetings are open to the public.

If you'd like to be invited to be a participant in an upcoming focus group, please add your name and contact information here.

Debate Duo Excels at Tournament of Champions

Mon, 6 May 2013 00:00:00 PST

Congratulations to Mount Si High School brothers Andrew Hartman and Ryan Hartman who recently competed in the Tournament of Champions (TOC) on April 27-29 in Kentucky. Together, the team placed 9th overall in Public Forum debate at this prestigious contest, considered by many to be the premier national championship for high school debaters! In addition, Andrew (a senior) placed 15th in the Best Speaker ranking, while freshman Ryan earned a 5th place finish.

Mount Si's Speech and Debate Coach Diana Young-Blanchard added, "I did not know this previously, but the Hartman's are the first team from Washington State to get in to the TOC in Public Forum debate. They are both so low key and modest about this, but it is really a very big accomplishment."

Hats off to the dynamic duo of Hartman and Hartman. (Ryan is on the left, Andrew's on the right.)

Mount Si among "2013 Best High Schools"

Fri, 3 May 2013 00:00:00 PST

US News and World Report ranked Mount Si High School among the highest performing schools in our nation in its 2013 Best High Schools report. The school earned a national and state ranking, and was awarded a Silver Medal, in the publication's annual review recognizes top performing public high schools based on math, reading and college readiness.

According to the recent report, Mount Si High School placed 38th out of 587 high schools in Washington State.

In the national comparison, Mount Si High School ranked 1349th out of 21,035 public high schools.

Mount Si High School also received a Silver Medal by U.S. News and World Report. According to the report, 2% of high schools earned gold medals (10 in Washington), 7% earned silver medals (45 in WA), 13% earned bronze medals (67 in WA), and 78% of schools in the nation did not qualify for this honor.

For details on Mount Si High School in the 2013 Best High School list, click here.

To see how other Washington State schools compared in this year's ranking, click here.

To produce the 2013 U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools rankings, U.S. News teamed up with the Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research (AIR), one of the largest behavioral and social science research organizations in the world. AIR implemented U.S. News's comprehensive rankings methodology, which is based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college-bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators.

They used a three-step process to determine the Best High Schools. The first two steps ensured that the schools serve all of their students well, using performance on state proficiency tests as the benchmarks. For those schools that made it past the first two steps, a third step assessed the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work.

2013 Summer School Information

Wed, 1 May 2013 00:00:00 PST

The Snoqualmie Valley School District has opened enrollment for the 2013 Summer School Programs.

Classes offered this year:

Bridge Summer School Program (Grades K-8)
High School Credit Recovery/Enhancement (Grades 9-12)
New - Enrichment Program - Uncharted Territory (Grades 3-5)
New - Enrichment Program - Robotics (Grades 6-8)
New - Enrichment Program - BOTS on the Sound Summer Camp for Girls (Grades 9-11)
New - Enrichment Program - BOTS on the Sound Summer Camp for Boys (Grades 9-11)
New - High School PE Credit Course - Fitness in the Northwest (Grades 9-11)

Click here for information on dates, times and registration matrials for all of the 2013 Summer School programs.

If you have additional questions about these programs, please contact the Summer School Secretary, Angela Zwiefelhofer at zwiefelhofera@svsd410.org or 425-831-4215.

Mount Si Students Among Best in State

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PST

Mount Si High School students in a wide range of clubs and sports have represented the Snoqualmie Valley with great pride, as they've qualified to compete among the talented peers around the state.

Mount Si Debate, following an exciting season of competitions around the state, had two 2-person debate teams qualify for the Washington State Debate tournament. Seniors Jeremy Knight and William Richards, along with brothers Andrew and Ryan Hartman (grades 12 and 10, respectively) competed in the state competition in Tacoma, at the University of Puget Sound last month. Hartman and Hartman advanced past 6 preliminary rounds to quarter finals, and finished among the top eight teams in the state for their skills of persuasion.

The Hartman Brothers went on to qualify for and compete in the national Tournament of Champions (TOC) in Kentucky on April 27-29, 2013 -- placing 9th as a team in Public Forum Debate. Individually, in the Best Speaker category, Ryan was ranked 5th and Andrew 15th. See related story.

Swimmer Alexandria Havas won one silver and three gold medals at the Regional Special Olympics swimming competition in April, and she will advance to the state this spring. Congratulations!

Mount Si Gymnastics Team finished their season as KingCo League Champions, then went on to win the District Championship, and ultimately placed 3rd at State! This was a first-time accomplishment for the team, according to coach/counselor Jessica Easthope. For individual competitions, sophomore Jenn Rogers qualified for event finals, where she tied for 7th on floor, tied for 10th on balance beam, and placed 19th in the state in All-Around. Senior Hannah Richmond qualified for event finals on the uneven bars where she tied for 11th; then place 18th in All- Around with a career high score!

Mount Si's Culinary Arts students tested their cooking and baking skills among promising young chefs this spring. Junior Danielle Clark won 1st place at the Skills USA Puget Sound Regional Baking Competition -- her yeast rolls, cookies, muffins, lemon meringue pie and a double-layer frosted cake decorated with roses, plus a written exam, qualified her to advance to the state contest this spring. Also, three Mount Si seniors dominated the Skills USA Culinary Competition in Everett based on their written exams, resumes, and their results from cooking chicken chasseur with rice pilaf, and vegetable of choice. Brian Harris placed 1st, Matt Blakely placed 2nd, and Kendall Wright placed 3rd; with first and second earning a spot at the upcoming state competition.

Bon Appetit Matt, Kendall, Brian and Danielle.

Mount Si Cheer Team earned 1st place at the Washington State High School Cheer competition in January, as announced earlier. This state championship qualified them to advance to nationals in the medium varsity non-tumbling division, where they joined 10,000 cheerleaders from around the country in Orlando, Florida. The team then placed 6th at the National High School Cheerleading Championship! In addition, Mount Si's Cheer Coach Jessii Stevens was recently voted the 2013 Cheer Coach of the Year by the Washington State Cheer Coaches Association.

Mount Si's Wrestling seniors Mitch Rorem and Tim Corrie qualified among the best wrestlers in the state to compete at the WIAA State Wrestling Championships in the Tacoma Dome earlier this year. Also, senior Nate Whited and junior Eli Clure also qualified as state alternates.

Mount Si DECA competed in the DECA State Career Development Conference that took place in Bellevue in March. Two wildcats finished in the top 20 of their competition: Mount Si junior Jason Edwards -- Principles of Business Management and Administration, and senior Conner Coleman -- Human Resources Management. Others who qualified to represent Mount Si at the state competition included: senior Matt Mahrer -- Marketing Management Series; freshman Bianna Backman -- Principles of Marketing; and freshman Caitlin Marakack -- Principles of Marketing.

Mount Si Band student Janna Haskin was moved from 1st alternate to Regional Finalist and will compete on saxophone at State this month at Central Washington University. She will join junior Boone Hapke, who placed first at Regionals in the Bassoon division. Best of luck to both next week at State!

Mount Si Football finished 3rd in state for the first time in the school's history! In February, seniors Blake Herman and Jimbo Davis were recognized at the National Football Foundation's 47th Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Ceremony, and Varsity Coach Charlie Kinnune was named as the 2013 KingCo 3A/2A League Football Coach of the Year! (See related story in the Valley Record's March 19th issue.)

One more celebration...Knowledge Bowl sent two 5-person teams to the Regional competition in March at Mt. Tahoma High School. Mount Si's "A" team placed 9th out of 35 schools, just missing the cut-off of the top eight teams advancing to state. Students on the "A" team include Jeremy Knight, Will Kramer, Naomi Litwack-Lang, Tyler Moore, and Will Richards. "I am so very proud of all our wonderful academically-strong young people," said club advisor and science teacher Kevin Knowles. "This year showed marked improvement especially with our strong A team moving up six positions from just the year before! Way to go Knowledge Bowl!"

CKMS Earns State Achievement Awards

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PST

During Spring Break last week, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the State Board of Education confirmed that a second Snoqualmie Valley school -- Chief Kanim Middle School (CKMS) -- earned 2012 Washington Achievement Awards, joining Snoqualmie Elementary School this year.

This is the fourth consecutive year that CKMS has been recognized for "Overall Excellence" and "Science" for scoring among the highest-performing and improving schools in our state. Based on the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) state assessment exams, Chief Kanim 8th graders last spring earned the top average science score among middle schools with more than 100 students.

"We are extremely proud to once again be recognized for the Overall Excellence and Science awards. It is nice that the state has these awards to recognize the hard work that our students, staff, and parents have done to achieve and maintain such high levels over the past four years," said Chief Kanim Principal Kirk Dunckel.

"Congratulations to the staff and students at Chief Kanim Middle School for once again receiving this prestigious recognition from OSPI and the State Board of Education. A number of our schools have earned Washington Achievement Awards since the state's recognition program was instituted four years ago. During this time however, Chief Kanim Middle School has been recognized on numerous occasions, demonstrating sustained levels of both excellence and improvement, year in and year out," said Superintendent Joel Aune.

Washington Achievement Award celebrates student achievement on many different levels and subject areas. Winners are selected based on the previous three years of statewide assessment data, which is analyzed using the Washington Accountability Index and criteria from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility waiver. Achievement Awards are given to elementary, middle, high and comprehensive schools in seven categories: overall excellence, language arts, math, science, extended graduation rate, closing achievement gaps and high progress.

The 2012 award-winning schools from across the state have been invited to a special awards ceremony on April 30, 2013 at Kentwood High School in Covington.

Learn more about the Washington Achievement Awards on the OSPI website.

The Snoqualmie Valley School District (www.svsd410.org) provides quality public education for approximately 6,000 students in grades K-12 in ten schools. The district spans more than 400 square miles, serving the communities of North Bend, Snoqualmie and Fall City, parts of Redmond and Sammamish, and surrounding areas of unincorporated east King County in Washington State.

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Media contact:
Carolyn Malcolm
Snoqualmie Valley School District
malcolmc@svsd410.org
425-831-8423

SES Earns 2012 Washington Achievement Award

Wed, 3 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PST

Snoqualmie Elementary School (SES) is a 2012 Washington State Achievement Award winner, recognized for High Progress. The State Board of Education and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) announced winners of this prestigious annual award, recognizing 381 top-achieving schools in Washington State.

Washington Achievement Award winners are selected using the Washington Accountability Index and criteria in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Waiver. The award is given to elementary, middle, high and comprehensive schools in seven categories: overall excellence, language arts, math, science, extended graduation rate, closing achievement gaps and high progress.

"We are thrilled to be recognized for this honor. I am very proud of the work our staff has accomplished. In recent years, staff have been using a variety of research-based instructional strategies to ensure learning, and closely monitoring student data to identify struggling learners who may need more support," said principal Kerstin Kramer. "It's great to see those efforts paying off with improved student learning."

Superintendent Joel Aune noted, "I too am proud of the students and staff at Snoqualmie Elementary School. Earning a Washington State Achievement Award is indeed a very special honor, reserved only for those schools that are truly exceptional. During the past eight years, all of our schools have been focusing their efforts in order to achieve steady improvement from one year to the next. The results of those efforts have been impressive as our schools now perform among the very best in the entire state. The dedicated staff at Snoqualmie Elementary is to be commended for their commitment to improving levels of student achievement there, and it is only fitting that they have been named an award winner this year. I suspect that this will further motivate the staff and students to continue to strive for excellence."

The award-winning schools will be honored during an award ceremony on April 30 at Kentwood High School in Covington.

For more information about 2012 Washington Achievement Awards, visit the OSPI website.

This is the second time that Snoqualmie Elementary School has been recognized for excellence in student achievement. Last month, SES was named a 2012 Reward - High Progress School by OSPI, for placing in the top 10% of Title 1 schools based on three years of sustained improvement in reading and math achievement.

CKMS Hosts First-time Chemistry Challenge

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PST

Can chemistry be made fun for the middle school students? Just ask students from around our state who participated in the lively new academic competition called You Be The Chemist Challenge (YBTC)®.

Chief Kanim Middle School (CKMS), in partnership with the Seattle Science Infinity Club, hosted the inaugural Washington YBTC Challenge on April 20, 2013 bringing the event to Washington State students for the first time. The competition, sponsored by TRInternational Inc. and Univar, attracted students in grades 5-8 from 25 schools across King, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties.

You Be The Chemist Challenge (YBTC)® is an interactive academic competition, based on the National Science Education Standards. The Challenge engages students in grades 5 through 8 to learn important chemistry concepts through extensive study materials and activity guides while preparing them to take Chemistry in high school and possibly pursue it as their career path! The challenge:

Introduces students to the central role of chemistry in all of the sciences & in their everyday lives;
Uses the drama of competition to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education;
Provides educators with an exciting way to educate their students and assess their learning;
Encourages parents to participate in their child's education;
Allows industry members to connect with their community and actively show their support for science education.

On April 20, all the participants took a written test as a qualifier from which 30 students qualified for the electronic rounds. There were four electronic rounds each consisting of fifteen multiple choice questions. Students with lowest scores were eliminated at the end of each round. In the final round, when only two participants were left, the format changed to a round of twenty oral questions asked alternately between both students. Kirk Dunkel, principal from Chief Kanim Middle School (CKMS), hosted the final oral round.

Eshan Kemp, a 6th grader from Odle Middle School emerged as the state winner and will be traveling on an expense-paid trip to Philadelphia for the National You Be The Chemist Challenge held on June 24th. Other winners included: runner-up Mehek Dedhia (6th grader from Odle Middle School), 3rd place: Rahul Chaliparambil (7th grader at Chief Kanim Middle School), 4th place: Veenadhari Kollipara (7th grader at Jefferson Middle School), and 5th place: Vishnu Rathnam (8th grader at Chief Kanim Middle School).

Principal Dunckel explained, "This is an exciting event which provides a great opportunity for the kids to learn Chemistry, a critical subject that connects physics and biology."

Chief Kanim science teacher Todd Henderson and math teacher Catherine Fredenberg also helped bring the quiz style academic competition to the school. Henderson added, "(The challenge) exposes the students to world of chemistry in a special way."

More information about Science Infinity, CKMS and YBTC:

Science Infinity Club (www.scienceinfinity.org) is a non-profit organization formed to:

Prepare students for academic excellence in science through coaching, on-the-go interactions and competitions with other like-minded students;
Develop young leaders by providing leadership roles and opportunities to achieve the current mission;
Raise the standard of science education and research.

Chief Kanim Middle School, part of Snoqualmie Valley School District, is the winner of Washington Achievement Award for four years (2009 through 2012) for Overall Excellence and Science. Located in Fall City, Washington, it is the only middle school in the state to receive science recognition for four straight years.

You Be The Chemist Challenge was created by the Chemical Educational Foundation® (CEF) to make chemistry fun. CEF is a nationally recognized, award winning non-profit organization committed to enhancing science education among every generation, beginning with our youth. By emphasizing the central role of chemistry in all the sciences and in our everyday lives, CEF strives to inspire our future leaders in pursuing science-related careers and to improve the overall understanding of, participation in, and appreciation of chemistry and chemicals.