As if it were in a 1990’s game show, the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation wants to phone a friend.

Actually, thousands of them.

The foundation’s second annual Phoneathon is from 4:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 13 and 14. Every family with children in the school district will receive a phone call from volunteer students asking for a donation.

The money will pay for tutoring at the high school and enrichment programs across the district, said Jonathan Pearlstein, chairman of the foundation’s Phoneathon committee.

Last year, high school students struggled in math, but budget cuts eliminated tutoring hours.

The money acts as a lifeline for such programs at the high school and for math and reading enrichment programs at middle and elementary schools, Pearlstein said.

The goal is $20,000, he said. Last year, the Phoneathon raised just shy of $19,000, said Carmen Villanueva, the foundation’s interim president.

Villanueva said the goal is actually $25,000. Last year, the initial goal was $50,000, but the volunteers did not have enough phones or enough hours, she said.

If the school just matches last year’s total, Villanueva said that’s OK.

“Nineteen thousand dollars is great, because it’s $19,000 more than we have to give back to the schools,” she said.

Many organizations compete for the community’s dollar, Villanueva said.

That is one reason why the foundation holds the Phoneathon less than a month into the school year.

“Unlike the PTSA at every school, our organization is completely nonpolitical and seeking to reach every student at every classroom at every school,” Pearlstein said.

The Phoneathon is the second-biggest fundraiser for the foundation.

The largest is a luncheon in spring that last school year gathered $38,000.

For the Phoneathon, a minimum requested donation is $25.

Every donation is tax-deductible, Villanueva said. Volunteer students from Two Rivers School and Mount Si High School will earn community service hours toward graduation requirements.

Villanueva said she worries people might think the foundation is the same as the PTSA or the district.

In the past, this confusion has resulted in some ugly phone calls for volunteers.

“There are people who say, ‘Do not call me ever again,’” Villanueva said. “There’s always going to be issues and people who think we’re the same as the school. We’re not.”

This year’s slogan is “Assuring Opportunity, Ensuring Excellence.” Learn more at www.svsfoundation.org.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

The new standardized test scores released Tuesday brought mixed results for Snoqualmie Valley School District.

Some schools in the district saw big improvements in their standing relative to other Washington schools over last year. Other schools saw continued success, but some schools slipped.

This year was the first for the High School Proficiency Exam and the Measurement of Student Progress for elementary and middle schools. The tests replaced the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, which was introduced in the late 1990s.

Mount Si students scored 87.1 percent in reading, down 2 percent from the previous year, but better than state and district averages.

Mount Si scored 57.7 percent in math, down from 60 percent in the 2008-2009 school year but well above the state average 41.6 percent.

Reading scores for Mount Si slipped to 87.1, down from 89.1.

The school’s science scores increased almost 10 percentage points to 58 percent.

Despite Mount Si’s gains, the school’s principal, Randy Taylor, criticized the new test after results were released for students who took the test last spring as 10th graders.

“The reading portion took longer than anticipated, and we had kids needing more time to finish the test,” he said.

Randy Dorn, state Superintendent of Public Instruction, said in an Aug. 31 news release that the state will shorten the reading test to be taken in spring 2011.

Taylor said the math standards changed since the previous test and that it’s not fair to compare two tests with different standards.

The comparison is valid this year but won’t be next year, said Chris Barron, a spokesman for the superintendent. The state will replace the current math test with two exams on algebra and geometry in 2011.

The exams will be the third different high school math tests in three years.

Taylor criticized the move. “The kids and teachers will have to adapt to a different test again,” he said.

The Snoqualmie Valley School District declined to comment for this story.

The tests are not the only way to measure student success, Taylor said.

“There’s other indicators that say kids are being successful despite the WASL and HSPE scores,” he said, referring to the old and new standardized tests.

He pointed to the results of another standardized test — the ACT, a college-admission test — taken by juniors last school year.

“Our ACT scores … they are phenomenal, just blew our socks off.”

Other scores include:

• Cascade View Elementary scored on average 19.6 percent above state averages in all its grades’ reading tests.
• Opstad Elementary’s third- and fifth-grade reading scores of 76.7 and 78.9 percent respectively, each dropped almost 10 percentage points from last year. Both scores stand above state average. Fourth-grade reading improved 7.2 percent from 2008-09, with 81.9 percent. The school had math scores below district and state averages on fourth and fifth grades.
• Chief Kanim Middle School’s scored 88.1 percent in sixth-grade reading, 86.7 percent in seventh and 86.2 percent in eighth. On average, these scores stand 21 percentage points above the state average. The school’s math scores, 79.7, 84.8 and 78.9 percent respectively, stand on average 26 percentage points higher. “We attribute our success to the district as a whole,” he said. “It’s kind of a trickle-up effect,” Principal Kirk Dunckel said. “Kids are benefiting from good teachers all along the way, from elementary.
• Snoqualmie Elementary third-graders scored 74.6 percent in reading, a drop from last year’s 81.7 percent. Fourth-graders dropped from 75.3 percent to 69.2 percent. Fifth-graders jumped from last year’s 77.4 to 78.8 percent. The school scored better than the state average in math in fourth and fifth grades. Fifth-graders scored 50 percent in science, 16 percentage points better than state’s average, but down 9.1 percent from last year.
• Snoqualmie Middle School scored 73.3 percent in sixth-grade reading, a drop from the 2008-09 score of 82 percent. The school improved on last year’s scores in seventh-grade reading, with 77.2 percent and eighth grade, with 82.8 percent. The school scored 75.5, 74 and 68.8 percent in sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade math, respectively. Math scores were on average almost 20 percent higher than the state averages.
• Twin Falls Middle School scored 80.3 in seventh-grade reading, a 7.3 percent jump from last year. Eighth-graders scored 86.5 percent, a 1.7 percent jump. Sixth-graders’ scored 79.2 percent, a 5.4 percent drop. Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders scored 70.3, 69.7 and 67.6 percent in math, respectively, on average 16 points above the state marks.
• Two Rivers School eighth-graders scored a 38.5 percent on their reading test. Two Rivers’ 10th-graders scored a 66.7 percent in reading, down from 69.2 in 2008-09. Tenth-graders scored 15.8 percent in math, 71.4 percent in writing and 36.8 percent in science.

Sebastian Moraga: 3926434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

Two Rivers School will offer Friday classes this year for the first time, Principal Tom Athanases said.

Friday classes will end at about 12:35 p.m. and teachers will work the rest of the day on professional improvement, he said. Both things already occur at the district’s other schools.

Before the change, Two Rivers staff worked four 10-hour days, Athanases said. Now, they will work five eight-hour days.

Start time will be at 9 a.m. all five days. School will get out at 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

The staff at Two Rivers started talking about changing the schedule in February, Athanases said.

Besides classroom time, the students will have physical education, intervention classes and 30 minutes of advisory time with a teacher on Fridays.

Each teacher at Two Rivers advises about 20 students, he said.

The change in scheduling is permanent, said Athanases, who has been at the school for 24 years, was its director from 1992-1995 and has been its principal ever since.

The school will tweak the schedule after this year if needed, he said.

Jack Webber, a math teacher at Two Rivers, said other changes are coming to the school.

Encouraged by last month’s Summer Learning Academy, teachers at Two Rivers will bring more technology to their classrooms.

Students will use Google Earth to study Snoqualmie Valley history, they will write blogs in language arts classes, and use an electronic whiteboard in science and math.

Athanases said it was too early to tell how the students would react to the scheduling change.

“Students who like Two Rivers will go with everything,” he said. “They will find the same opportunities they have always had to get an excellent education.”

Two Rivers is split between middle and high school students. About 125 high-schoolers and 15 middle-schoolers attend.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

Nothing beats a great burger. Not even raindrops falling on it.

Just ask the students at Chief Kanim Middle School.

Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at the Fall City school braved the rain, in shorts and T-shirts some of them, to celebrate the start of a new school year with a barbecue outside the school Aug. 26.

“We’re trying to create an open, friendly atmosphere. We know that the start of the year can be stressful on parents and kids,” Principal Kirk Dunckel said.

About 380 students will attend Chief Kanim this year, Dunckel said, up about 50 from last year.

“We’ve got a big sixth-grade class coming in,” he said, adding that almost all of the 50 are sixth-graders.

Yummy as the burgers were, the students knew that the barbecue also meant vacation was over. Not that all of them minded.

“We’re getting a new hallway and a new carpet,” said Harrison D’Anna, a seventh-grader.

Dakota Bethell, an eighth-grader, said he was in no hurry to become a high school freshman. He said he will miss everything about Chief Kanim when the year is up.

Seventh-grader Cameron Page said he did not want to leave, either.

“I’m good being young,” he said.

Not everything was tasty burgers and self-aware children. Some tended to serious business, too. Children checked out classrooms, parents paid fees, talked to the school’s PTSA, or learned about the school’s newest fund-raiser: the Hawk-A-Thon.

Students will ask friends, neighbors, parents and relatives to sponsor them and then will team up in groups of six to run relays Sept. 17 on the school’s track.

Start time is 8 a.m. Each grade will run for one and a half hours. Seeking sponsors is optional but “highly encouraged,” said Lori Hollasch, co-chair of the Hawk-A-Thon. Participation in the relay is mandatory.

“No student in the school will run just the one lap,” she said.

Donations can be made online. Go to the school’s PTSA webpage, www.ckmsptsa.org, then click on “see our Hawk-A-Thon page.” On the next page, scroll down, click the yellow “Donate” button and follow the instructions.

The Hawk-A-Thon replaces the magazine sales, whose company fees diverted funds that could have gone to the school.

“Sixty percent of the money they raised would go to the magazine company and only 40 percent would stay at the school,” Hollasch said.

Last year, the magazine sales brought in $34,000 before the split. The school collected $13,600, she wrote in an e-mail.

The goal for this year’s Hawk-A-Thon is $24,000.

“We decided to start out cautious, see how it is received,” she said of the Hawk-A-Thon not starting at $34,000 or a similar amount.

Besides overhead, all of the money collected at the Hawk-A-Thon will go to the school’s Associated Student Body and PTSA in a 60-40 split, Chief Kanim PTSA president Cathy Renner said.

“We’re guessing that we are going to keep over 95 percent,” Hollasch said.

Volunteer at the Hawk-A-Thon by e-mailing PTSA grants committee chairwoman Betsy Evensen at betsyevensen@hotmail.com.

Tannim Salisbury, of Twin Falls Middle School, and Laurel Kroschel, of Mount Si High School, won awards at the Evergreen State Fair’s “Living Evergreen” essay contest Aug. 26.

Salisbury finished first in the middle school division and Kroschel finished second in the same division, which included students from sixth to ninth grade.

Students wrote about why it’s necessary to be environment-friendly and how to improve conservation measures and sustainable living practices

First-place winners received a $200 U.S. Treasury bond, second-place winners received a $100 bond and third-place winners received a $50 bond. The first-place winners will read their essays in front of Snohomish County leadership, the press release stated.

So let’s just say this past week your spouse handed you a shopping list.

And the list said that he or she wanted egg-carton caterpillars, paper-towel-tube telescopes, tie-dye towels, a lava lamp, a pet rock, yarn dolls, a cup of extra-gooey Gak, a fake candlestick and a set of his or her very own pom-pom people.

Where would you have gone? If you were in the Valley, you would have gone to Encompass.

The preschool closed its summer camp season with Marketplace, a weeklong activity where 36 children ages 5-9 made their own products and then “sold” them to parents, teachers, guests and other children at a fair Aug. 20.

“We don’t use real money,” said Julie Forstin, summer camp manager. “We use ‘Encompass’ money.”

Regardless of whether it’s George Washington or Curious George on the bills, children and adults took the camp seriously.

They brainstormed, they teamed up and then submitted a business plan to Gregory Malcolm, the preschool’s executive director, and to Nela Cumming, director of programming.

The children aren’t intimidated when they walk into Malcolm’s office, idea in hand, he said.

“They are so well-rehearsed, so eager to share this idea that they really look forward to it,” he said. “We only tweak the prices a bit.”

After Malcolm and Cumming approve the plan, the children have to apply for a business license and buy supplies, always using Encompass money. Then, they start working on their product.

Children learn about product manufacturing and business, but mostly about teamwork, Malcolm said.

Rose Pliego and Autumn Kasprowicz teamed up to make egg-carton caterpillars. While Pliego painted them, Kasprowicz used both hands to push the hole-punch through the cardboard. That’s where the caterpillar’s eyes go, she said.

Pliego said the choice of what to make was easy.

“I just thought caterpillars would be cool,” she said, although the team was also making telescopes with paper-towel tubes. Hence the name of their business: “Crawling Through The Stars.”

Sometimes, the choice wasn’t so easy.

Veronica Ayars sat by herself, making yarn dolls. She did have a partner, she said, but the partner would rather make something else.

Telescopes were going for $10, caterpillars for $5 and yarn dolls for $15, so you needed to be loaded with Encompass cash, and with patience. More than 100 people have showed up in past years, with parents shopping side by side with the mayor, police officers and firefighters.

“Firemen love to come, because they have food,” Forstin said.

With big crowds and plenty of fake dough, the children end up selling everything. If there’s anything left after the first rush of people, other children buy it, she said.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

Every year around July, Nancy Flanagan and Jan Van Liew wonder if they will meet the needs of children in the Valley.

And every year so far, the same answer arrives in late August: “Yes, by the grace of God,” Flanagan said.

Parents and children showed up Aug. 18 and 25 at the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank in North Bend for the annual school supply and shoe drive.

Backpacks filled with basic supplies for grades K-12 and boxes of new shoes waited for the children, who in turn could hardly wait to open their new possessions.

“Don’t be excited,” Janardan Dave told his daughter Datta as she tore the tape off her shoebox.

While the backpacks for kindergartners had things like crayons and glue sticks; backpacks for high-schoolers had pens and binders and stacks of paper.

One hundred and fifty-eight children were signed up in July for this year’s drive. That surprised Flanagan, who organizes the supply drive.

Last year, the drive helped 170 children, and since the economy is still weak, she said she expected a higher number.

Nevertheless, both Flanagan and Van Liew — who organizes the shoe drive — said they relished helping the community.

Flanagan called participating in the drives a blessing. Van Liew called it the highlight of her year.

Van Liew’s church, Snoqualmie Valley Alliance, began holding the shoe drive five years ago. Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church and Mount Si Lutheran Church have worked together for more than a decade on the supply drive. Flanagan has participated for seven years.

“I thought ‘I want to make this my last year,’ but I’ve become pretty attached to it,” she said. “If I could find someone to share the responsibility, it would be awesome.”

Flanagan is more attached to the drive than some of the children are to their new goodies. A girl asked Flanagan if she could trade her new backpack for another one. Flanagan said no — once she picked a backpack, it was hers.

“If we had a pile of backpacks and a pile of supplies, maybe we could allow some trades,” she said.

All of the backpacks had been filled with grade-specific items.

Children get choosy sometimes, though most are thrilled.

“I like it,” Datta Dave said of her new backpack, while holding a folder. “I like this folder. It has designs on it.”

Filling more than 150 backpacks took 40 minutes. Last week, volunteers set the supplies on a table, and then walked around it like on an assembly line.

For the supply drive, some people donated money and businesses like Costco donated 160 backpacks. Used items were accepted, but they had to be in great shape.

For the shoe drive, the church made cards with the ages, gender and shoe sizes — no names — of the children who signed up.

Members of Snoqualmie Valley Alliance picked as many cards as they wanted. The rules were: No child gets more than one pair of shoes, to avoid inequality, and the shoes had to be brand new.

“People asked me, ‘What do I get?’ I told them ‘Get what you would buy for your own children,’” Van Liew said.

Some children got more than they expected, as some people bought socks. Someone even bought tiaras for the kindergarten girls.

Once school starts, the need does not disappear, so Flanagan hopes to put on a “refresher” school supply drive in January.

“It’s probably one of the more successful community outreach drives,” Van Liew said. “It’s Valley people helping Valley people.”

Just call it Teaching 2.0.

Teachers from the Snoqualmie Valley School District learned how to bring wikis, blogs, podcasts and other techie buzzwords into their classrooms Aug. 20, 21 and 23 at Twin Falls Middle School.

Droves of teachers attended class, some showing up for several classes each day.

Teachers from the district also taught classes, which led to the sight of schoolteachers teaching schoolteachers.

“We’re hoping that any strategies they leave here with, they can put to use very soon,” said Jeff Hogan, the district’s director of technology.

Karen Schotzko taught a class on podcasting, which filled one of the computer labs. Of all of the teachers in the room, one said she had experience podcasting. That made teaching the class easier, with most everyone on the same level, she said.

Schotzko’s class opened with a three-minute video from www.commoncraft.com, where someone explained the meaning of podcasting — think “Playable On Demand” plus “broadcasting” — and the myths of podcasting — no, you don’t need an iPod to do it.

Another video explained the importance of bringing podcasts and other technology to a classroom that is full of tech-savvy children nine months out of the year.

Schotzko and the other instructors — almost 20 — received three to four days of training earlier in the year, “because it’s different to teach kids than to teach adults,” Hogan said.

During training, the instructors brainstormed what classes they wanted to teach. Teachers Kerstin Kramer and Gayle Smith helped put the curriculum of classes together, Hogan said.

One of the purposes of the classes is to help children get excited about learning, Hogan said. A geography class might look more interesting than usual if instead of a map, children use Google Earth.

There’s more to it than just using the training in the classrooms, Hogan said. Just as important is that teachers set goals for themselves. In spring, teachers assessed their tech know-how prior to the classes. In the first two months of 2011, it will be reassessed.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

First day of school, grades one through 12. Aug. 31

First day of school, kindergarten, Sept. 3.

Early dismissal, Sept. 3, 10, 17

Cascade View Elementary School

Meet The Teacher, grades one through five, 1:30 p.m. Aug 30

New student orientation, 3:15 p.m. Aug. 30

Kindergarten first-day supplies collection, 8 a.m. Sept. 3

STAGE — Guitar — PTSA enrichment, 3 p.m. Sept. 9

GYM — Gymnastics — PTSA enrichment, 1 p.m. Sept. 17

North Bend Elementary School

Meet And Greet Your Teacher, 3 p.m. Aug. 30

PTA board meeting, 4 p.m. Sept. 8

Volunteer orientation, 9:15 a.m. Sept. 10

Curriculum night, 6 p.m. Sept. 16

Opstad Elementary School

Meet Your Teacher, grades one through five, 1:30 p.m. Aug. 30

PTA board meeting, 9:10 p.m. Sept. 7

Curriculum night, 6 p.m. Sept. 16

Snoqualmie Elementary School

Meet Your Teacher, grades one through five, 1:30 p.m. Aug. 30

Curriculum Night, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16

Chief Kanim Middle School

First day of school, grades one through 12, Aug. 31

First aid/CPR, 5 p.m. Sept. 1

Picture day, 8 a.m. Sept. 2

Hawk-a-thon, Sept. 17

Twin Falls Middle School

Picture day, Sept. 8

PTSA board meeting, 1 p.m. Sept. 14

Two Snoqualmie Elementary School students show how the green team helps recycle at the school on a weekly basis. By Laura Geggel

For many students heading back to school this year, green is the new black.

From the clothes and appliances they buy to the way they conserve energy and recycle waste, green students are infusing their lives with an environmental perspective.

But even students with the greenest of intentions need guidance, and many got it from the King County’s Green Schools program.

Out of the 10 schools in the Snoqualmie Valley, eight have participated in the program: Two Rivers School, Cascade View Elementary School, Fall City Elementary School, North Bend Elementary School, Snoqualmie Elementary School, Twin Falls Middle School, Chief Kanim Middle School and Mount Si High School.

King County Green School began as a pilot program in 2002 and opened to K-12 public and private schools in 2003, Project Manager Dale Alekel said.

“Interest in the program has grown tremendously over the past few years,” Alekel said. “I think that students and adults are becoming more and more aware of how we are impacting our environment and becoming more knowledgeable about how the steps they take and the changes they make in their everyday lives can make a positive impact and make a real difference.”

Students can be the eyes and ears of the school, reporting leaky faucets, turning off lights and computers after school and educating their classmates about recycling.

At Mount Si High, students recycle cardboard and bottles, and the Green Team is working to transition the school from plastic to compost-friendly silverware, Green Team member Mik Metzler, who is a senior, said.

“We have the resources to become a very green school, but it just kind of takes the initiative from the students to get it done,” he said.

Mount Si’s Green Team has already spearheaded a food-scrap compost program set to start this year that would include not only the high school but also local businesses.

Younger students are also contributing to green teams.

At Cascade View Elementary, students improved the school’s recycling rate by 58 percent, from 16 percent to 38 percent, by increasing classroom recycling and initiating a lunchtime recycling program for milk cartons and juice boxes.

Cascade View students and staff members also collect plastic bags, eyeglasses, cell phones, printer cartridges, Capri Sun packets and glue sticks for recycling.

Recycling has saved the school money, too.

By decreasing paper use and making double-sided copies, teachers reduced the amount of paper ordered for the workroom, saving more than $300 in a single month.

“The beauty of conservation is that energy and water conservation and recycling do save money,” Alekel said.

Green teams can also teach children about the environment. Both North Bend and Snoqualmie elementary schools have gardens, where children can learn about the life cycles of plants and animals, as well as compost food scraps from lunch.

In addition, students often carry the green spirit home.

“I think it’s helped me become more conscious of the environment,” said Metzler, who recycles and composts at home.

Back to school shopping

As students head back to school, they and their parents can work together to buy more environmental products.

Alekel suggested using the Center for a New American Dream at www.newdream.org, a nonprofit that works to conserve natural resources. Instead of buying new supplies, the nonprofit advises people reuse material from last year or to frequent thrift stores.

It also suggests alternatives to regular supplies, including soy-based crayons instead of paraffin wax crayons, and avoiding polyvinyl chloride, PVC — a plastic that contaminates the environment with cancer-causing chemicals when produced, according to the Center for a New American Dream. PVC can also leach out chemicals mixed with it, including phthalates and lead.

To steer clear of PVC, the nonprofit advised avoiding products with the word “vinyl” on the packaging, such as vinyl three-ring binders, or the number three underneath the recycling symbol.

People can also help the environment by using durable water bottles and utensils, instead of disposable plastic ones, and plastic containers or reusable cloth bags instead of plastic sandwich bags.

Metzler said he saw many students carrying colorful water bottles that were steel or plastic, so long as they did not have Bisphenol A, better known as BPA, an environmental estrogen that disrupts the body’s hormones.

“I think more and more it’s trendy,” Metzler said. “They get them to match their clothes or their purse. I carry my Nalgene around. I know a lot of my friends do it, too.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Once classes start, Mount Si High School will look different than it did 12 months ago.

A construction worker works on the electrical system at the main office of Mount Si High School. With the first day of school looming, crews continue working at several points around the school. By Sebastian Moraga

Thanks to the $27.5 million bond passed in February 2009, 61 of 71 projects will have been completed in the Snoqualmie Valley School District by Sept. 1. More than a dozen have involved the high school.

Carolyn Malcolm, the public information officer for the district, wrote in an e-mail that at the time the bond passed, the high school was the neediest of the district’s buildings. The building is also the one that has received the most help since then, she said.

According to a document from the project’s lead architecture firm, Richert & Associates, this year the school will open its doors with:

• An additional 6,000 square feet of enclosed commons space for food service and social activities. “Kids don’t have to eat in the hallway anymore,” said Clint Marsh, the district’s construction program manager.
• New carpeting in all classrooms and rubberized flooring in science labs.
• A new backup generator.
• New tennis courts and new lights on tennis courts for evening matches.
• An upgraded softball field.
• A new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
• Increased capacity, thanks to 12 new portable classrooms.

“It was needy,” Marsh said of the school. “It’s not needy anymore.”

The high school was one of several buildings getting help. Chief Kanim Middle School, and Snoqualmie, North Bend and Opstad elementary schools also saw their share of hard hats.

A release from the district described the work as upgrades in areas ranging from heating and ventilation to roofs, security and fire protection. Snoqualmie Elementary also received two portable classrooms.

At least 160 people worked during the one and a half years of the project, Marsh said.

The cost of individual projects ranged from $19,000 to $5 million.

The smallest projects involved replacing HVAC systems at North Bend and Opstad elementary schools. Those cost a few thousand dollars each, Marsh said.

The largest project involved installing a geothermal heat pump system at the high school, which cost about $8 million.

The last 10 projects will happen at Snoqualmie Middle School, as it prepares to become annexed by the high school in 2013.

The Snoqualmie Valley School Board has not approved a final design on those projects yet.

“The only thing left is what we’re going to do, and nobody knows for sure, at SMS,” Marsh said. “The school board didn’t want to spend the money until they figure out what they are doing.”

Waiting for the go-ahead is not frustrating, Marsh said. It’s how the business is.

“School districts are constantly on an ebb-and-flow motion based on enrollment, where they don’t know where they are going to be from year to year,” he said.

The wait will lead to better planning and a more effective use of the district’s money, he said.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Students must be immunized against diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, poliomyelitis, varicella (chickenpox) measles, rubella, mumps and hepatitis B.

Immunization schedule

• Hepatitis B: Must have had three shots on or after 6 months of age. The series may not be completed in less than four months.
• Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis: Kindergarten requirement is four shots by age 4; first- though fifth-grade and eighth- through 12th-grade requirements are three shots after age 4.
• Diphtheria and tetanus: Sixth- and seventh-grade requirements are students need to get another immunization at age 11 or when it has been five years since their last one.
• Polio: Students must have had at least three doses if the last shot was given after age 4. However, four doses is acceptable for students who had their last dose before age 4.
• Measles, mumps and rubella: Two shots, with the first having been on or after age 1 and the second at least one month after the first.
• Varicella (chickenpox): Your child must be at least 1 to get his or her first shot. The second shot is given between ages 4 and 6.
• A seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for all children 6 months through 18 years.
• Vaccinating children against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus is recommended.

Prior to entering school each year, parents or guardians must present a completed certificate of immunization status form.

Your child’s immunization status form must indicate one of the following:

• Full immunization has been completed.
• Your child is exempt from all vaccine immunizations.
• Your child has a combination of required immunizations and exemptions.
• Your child has a conditional status that he or she has begun having or is continuing a schedule of immunizations.

The health agency or doctor you are receiving the immunizations from will indicate this on the card for you.

Exemptions from one or more vaccines can be granted for religious or personal reasons, upon written request from a child’s parent or guardian. Exemptions may also be granted for medical reasons, at the request of and with the signature of a physician.

However, if an outbreak occurs at school, your child may be excluded from school by order of the health department during the outbreak if it is a disease he or she has not been immunized against.

Getting immunizations

Private:

• Schedule an appointment with your family physician or child’s pediatrician.

Public clinics:

• Public Health — Seattle & King County: You must call 206-205-1681 to schedule an appointment at any of the county’s four clinics: Downtown Seattle, Renton, Columbia City or Federal Way. The Renton clinic is at 3001 N.E. Fourth St.
• Health Point,16315 N.E. 87th St. Suite B-6, Redmond: You must call 882-1697 to schedule an appointment.
• Health Point, 200 S. Second St., Renton: You must call 226-5536 for an appointment.

The cost of immunizations visits is typically $20. In addition, there may be a service charge of $15 for each dose.

For those with a limited income, office visits and service charges may be reduced. No one will be turned away for inability to pay.

Other medical needs

If your child has other special medical requirements, such as prescription medication he or she is required to take during school, go to www.svsd410.org/departments/ healthservices/Immunization- Requirements.asp and click on “Immunization requirement information form.”

Education — most specifically, the school experience — is deeply embedded in our culture. It is a phenomenon that we’ve all experienced, and one that shaped each and every one of us in a significant and lasting way. Our community appreciates the value of education and its importance to children. But the importance of education extends beyond the Snoqualmie Valley.

All citizens in a democracy have a voice in decision making. Because it is important that every citizen possesses the ability to reason and the knowledge to make sound decisions, a basic principle of our democracy is the notion of educating every child.

Preservation of our democracy requires an educated people, and our nation’s well-being is dependent upon the decisions of its educated, informed citizens.

Ensuring that the citizenry is educated is the core purpose of our schools.

There is widespread belief in America that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue a good and happy life, regardless of individual circumstances.

Our schools foster interactions and understanding among people of different ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. Young people in school learn and internalize the concepts of diversity, respect, teamwork and collaboration. Education makes this possible, and without it, democracy’s promise of the pursuit of happiness is not available to all.

In addition to the preservation of our country’s democracy, education is critical to our economy. Resources spent today to educate students and keep kids in school reduce future costs of welfare, intervention services and prison.

The future support of our aging population depends on strong public schools. In 1954, there were 17 workers to pay the Social Security cost for each retiree. In the future, it is projected there will be less than three for each retiree. The strength and vitality of our public school systems will ultimately determine the productivity of these three workers.

Our nation’s future is dependent upon the character and capacity of our children, and the future of our children depends upon the health and stability of our nation.

Those of us who have made the education of young people our life’s work, are truly blessed in that we get to experience with students the energy and excitement associated with a new school year. This is also the time of year, however, when all of us — students, parents, staff, and the entire community — should be mindful of the importance of education and our obligation to teach our children well.

Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

About 400 square miles with 10 schools, which covers parts of Redmond, Fall City, Snoqualmie, North Bend and areas all the way to Snoqualmie Pass. This fall, about 6,000 students are expected in classrooms throughout the district.

Who is in charge?

Joel Aune begins his fifth year as superintendent and will report to the five-member board of elected officials. The board is responsible for setting policy and the overarching goals of the district.

Aune oversees the day-to-day operations and makes sure the board’s goals are met. All employees in the district report directly to him or work for someone who does. Learn more about the school board at www.svsd410.org/districtinfo/board.

Where does school funding come from?

From three places: the state’s general fund, the federal government and local tax levies. State funding is set by the state Legislature and is based on the number of enrolled students. Federal funding is for students from low-income families and from the federal stimulus package.

Local levies are approved by voters in elections, held every one to four years. Learn more at www.svsd410.org. Click on “District Departments” and then “Business Services.”

Which bus should my student ride?

Families should have received information about bus stops and schedules in their mailboxes the week of Aug. 11. For more information, visit www.svsd410.org/departments/ transportation or call 831-8020.

What school supplies should students have?

School supply needs are posted at each school and, in most cases, on each school’s website at www.svsd410.org. Select “Back to School Information.”

Where can students or parents find lunch menus?

These are posted on the district’s website at http://svsd410.org/departments/ foodservices.

When will students find out who their teachers are?

Students attending the elementary schools can view class lists by visiting their respective schools Aug. 27.

The lists will be posted at 4 p.m. Teachers will be in school to meet students Aug. 30. See school websites for specific times.

Chief Kanim Middle School has a sixth-grade barbecue and fee payment day from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Aug. 26. Seventh- and eighth-graders are invited from 1-4 p.m. Aug. 26 to get their schedules and physical education uniforms, and pay for their fees and lunches.

Snoqualmie Middle School’s student orientation is from 8:30-11 a.m. Aug. 24 for seventh- and eighth-graders and from noon – 2:30 p.m. Aug. 24 for sixth-graders.

Twin Falls Middle School has its back-to-school event at 4 p.m. Aug. 26.

Wildcat Days at Mount Si High School are Aug. 23-24, when students will get their schedules, pay fees, get their pictures taken, pick up student planners, confirm locker assignments and turn in appropriate forms that were sent home earlier.

Other school clubs and parent organizations will have information as well.

Seniors are invited from 9-11 a.m. Aug. 23; sophomores from 1-4 p.m. Aug. 23; juniors from 9-11 a.m. Aug. 24 and freshmen and new students from 2-6 p.m. Aug. 24. Visit www.mountsihighschool.com for more information.

How can parents get more involved?

To volunteer in a classroom, contact the teacher. Many elementary schools have art and science docent programs, in which trained parents give lessons.

Several elementary schools have Watch D.O.G.S. programs, which invite fathers to volunteer in the classroom, lunchroom or playground.

Twin Falls Middle School and Opstad Elementary School have the Volunteers In Schools To Achieve Success program. VISTAS volunteers help students who struggle with reading or math. Call either school to learn more.

To learn more about the Snoqualmie Valley PTSA Council, visit www.svptsacouncil.org or your school’s PTSA or PTA website. Parents are also needed to volunteer with booster clubs and sport teams.

Snoqualmie Valley School District officials have outlined a teaching and learning plan that would integrate three major departments: curriculum and instruction, student services and instructional technology.

Deputy Superintendent Don McConkey listed ways to merge the three departments by concentrating on professional development, assessment and leadership.

Professional development

McConkey said professional development — classes teachers take to learn more about content and lesson delivery — helps teachers grow, which in turn helps their students.

Professional development should be mandatory and job embedded, so teachers can take classes during the day, when they are most alert, he said at the Snoqualmie Valley School Board work session July 8.

Some professional development would have teachers observe other teachers in different departments. A history teacher might observe a science teacher and glean ideas about how to engage students and teach a lesson.

Professional training in technology will start at the end of August, when teachers can take classes at the Snoqualmie Valley Summer Learning Academy. If teachers attend the classes and prove they have incorporated new technology, like ActivBoard strategies, into their lessons, they will receive an additional $1,650 at the end of the year with money from the 2010 levy.

Student Services Director Nancy Meeks said professional development would also help students with disabilities and English language learners. Several professional development courses offered by the district instruct teachers how to create lesson plans that not only help their regular but also their struggling students.

The programs, called Guided Language Acquisition Design and Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, have already helped students who don’t have immediate access to teachers trained in special needs or English language learning. 

Assessments

Teachers need tools that allow them to analyze data related to their students’ learning, McConkey said.

Teachers should spend less time scoring and more time synthesizing, he said.

There are quite a few assessment tests out there, including the Measurement of Student progress for middle school students, the High School Proficiency Exam and Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, better known as DIBELS. Although there is no shortage of assessments, teachers don’t have one, go-to place where they can electronically see all of them for a given student.

That is about to change.

The school district is buying software — an electronic teacher data dashboard and portal — that would group students’ grades together along with their assessment scores and discipline issues in a color-coded spreadsheet. Green for good scores, yellow for average and red for poor results.

Superintendent Joel Aune said the district would have to train teachers how to use the software and take advantage of it.

“It will be a two- to three-year learning experience until we can get to a point where teachers are agile and they can leverage that,” Aune said.

The district hopes to launch the software this year, McConkey said. 

Leadership

There are several leadership avenues available to teachers, including content area and grade level leaders, teachers who are on special assignment and administrative interns.

Teachers can also become leaders through professional development opportunities, and then translate their knowledge into the classroom, helping their students learn.

McConkey said the district has integrated student services into its professional development workshops for years.

“It all makes sense that we need to be working in concert and leveraging resources so that we can ensure we’re providing seamless services for our kids across the district,” he said.

Once educators have more ideas from professional development, they can focus on curriculum and instruction by increasing the content level and complexity students are asked to learn. McConkey also challenged educators to make teaching more student centered and less teacher centered.

“If we are not doing one of these three things, we are not improving teaching and learning,” McConkey said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

A student charged with second-degree assault after an incident in November at Mount Si High School was found not guilty in King County Juvenile Court on Aug. 11, after a two-day bench trial.

Because the student is a minor, neither he nor any of the other minors associated with the case will be named.

During the Nov. 6 incident, a student was punched and kneed in the face while in the boys’ locker room after standing up for a friend, who was being bullied for reportedly being gay.

King County Juvenile Court Judge Chris Washington, who heard the case without a jury, said that based on testimony “it seems there was an agreement between these two individuals to fight,” and said that while he did not condone the behavior, it appeared to be a fight and not an assault.

The state appointed prosecuting attorney Lena Smith to the complaining witness for the Aug. 10-11 trial. The respondent’s family hired private attorney Jim Conroy.

Two minors and the complaining witness testified at the trial, answering questions about exactly what happened that day in the boys’ locker room. The respondent — the minor who threw the punches — did not testify.

A student who witnessed the incident testified first, saying he remembered the respondent hitting the complaining witness at least once in the face.

The student who allegedly bullied the student recounted that the complaining witness had heckled him before the incident. The respondent, who was also in the locker room but did not know the boys, walked toward the complaining witness, exchanged words and then both of them got into a fighting stance, the student testified.

The respondent then punched the complaining witness and left the boys’ locker room, he said. The student said he then found the nearest teacher.

The complaining witness was the last person to testify. Smith subpoenaed the student who had allegedly been bullied, but he did not come to the trial, Peggy Johnson, the mother of the complaining witness, said.

The complaining witness, a 14-year-old freshman at the time of the incident, said some of his memory was fuzzy because of the concussion he had sustained. He also had a fractured eye orbit, a broken tooth and bruises.

The complaining witness said he remembered the alleged bully taunting his friend, “So, I stuck up for him,” he said.

He admitted he does not remember the event clearly.

“I’m not a fighter. It’s not who I am. It’s not what I do,” when asked by the defense about his reputation at school.

He said he recalled hearing something hit the ground — the respondent’s backpack — and “the next thing I remember is my friends pulling me off the floor.”

He was later taken in an ambulance to Overlake Medical Center.

The complaining witness was known to provoke fights and had provoked one with his client by saying, “I’ll fight anybody,” according to witness testimony. Washington agreed that it sounded like a fight, and said that because the complaining witness might have tried to get up after he was punched, the respondent would have thought the fight was still happening, explaining why he kneed the complaining witness in the face, too.

Smith disagreed, saying that the respondent had not even been involved in the verbal exchange, and had introduced himself to the situation, asking what was going on when he could have walked away.

“This is simply not a locker-room brawl,” Smith said. “This case is about a swift, violent and brutal response to a 14-year-old freshman.”

However, Washington said it sounded like the fight was mutual and not a second-degree assault, proclaiming the respondent not guilty.

“I would like to thank all of the witnesses for telling the truth,” the respondent’s father said after the trial.

Johnson broke down in tears when the verdict was announced. She said her son had stuck up for his friend and then “was beaten unconscious and then beaten some more while he was down.”

She said Smith had not spent much time consulting with her family before the trial, and the bullying that led to the incident was not discussed.

The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the federal Department of Justice is looking into how Mount Si handled the incident. Meanwhile, Johnson said her son will not return to Mount Si this fall.

“The evidence will come out if it didn’t come out here,” she said. “This is not done. This is so wrong.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Echo Glen Children’s Center — a state juvenile detention facility in Snoqualmie with education administered by the Issaquah School District — has received a grant from Puget Sound Energy for a renewable energy program.

Echo Glen has been awarded funding for a 1.5-kilowatt portable household power system, charged by an 85-watt solar module. The grant also includes funds for educational materials and teacher training. The total award comes to about $6,000.

Sunrise Elementary School in Redmond also received a grant for the system.

“Our environment and our economy both demand new ways of thinking about how to produce energy cleanly and efficiently,” Cal Shirley, PSE vice president of energy efficiency services, said in a news release. “Expanding the grant eligibility to select educational institutions will offer real-world, first-hand experience to students and citizens interested in how energy is produced, and how vital it is to use energy wisely.”

Bellevue-based PSE awarded about $100,000 in renewable energy grants to Echo Glen and six other educational institutions in Western Washington.

In order to receive the grant, the renewable energy demonstration systems must require no fuel and minimal maintenance for 20 years or longer. The systems must also generate enough power to operate 10 notebook computers for eight hours per day.

The grants must support Web-based monitoring software to allow students and interested community members to track how much energy the system generates as weather changes.

The grant recipients submitted detailed plans about their educational goals, how their projects could bring renewable energy technologies to new areas of the Puget Sound region and what steps should be taken to increase community awareness of the potential for using renewable energy technologies.

PSE expects to offer a new round of grants through a similar application process in early 2011.

Marley Roberts

Marley’s accounting class curriculum included learning business accounting and management, with hands-on experience as an employee of Sno Falls Credit Union’s Wildcat branch inside Mount Si High. She was co-branch manager for two years and earned 10 college credits for her participation in the program.

This summer, she is attending a foreign exchange program in Germany. She will attend Western Washington University in the fall, and work at Sno Falls Credit Union as her time permits.

4.0 grade point averages

Eighth grade: Karinne Bailey, Aaron Baumgardner, Carson Breshears, Riley Buck, Marcus Deichman, Tabitha Dorn, Ehren Eichler, Sean Flanagan, Carly Goodspeed, Nathaniel Hinton, Olivia Howland, Jordan Koellen, Gregory Malcolm, Rachel Mallasch, Tyler McCreadie, Nicholas Mitchell, Emma Panciroli, Lydia Petroske, Elizabeth Purser, Alexandra Raphael, Rian Ruyle, Bailey Scott, Christopher Solomon, Samantha Sparling, Melanie Templin, Zachary Tidwell, Elizabeth Young and Maile Young

Seventh grade: Megan Ayers, Ali Barry, Haley Burbrink, Gretchen Chase, Becca Crowley, Emma Currie, Mykaela Gardner, Kaitlyn Gate, Benjamin Gutenberg, William Hinman, Aoife Hough, Karlie Hurley, Kenon Jeffers, Hailey Johnson, Rachel Massey, Anna McCreadie, Andrea Mills, Phoenix Moomaw, Sean Pilon, Nina Pinkley, Erin Shervey, Renee Spear, Paul Stedman, Joshua Stone, Jesse Tavenner, Jake Turpin, Heidi Vikari, Natalie Werner and Zachary Williams

Sixth grade: Samantha Bleha, Zachary Blessard, Emily Creamer, Joshua Ebert, Jacob Engdahl, Brian Helzerman, James Howland, Nellie Joselyn, Brittany Justham, Hayden Kajercline, Leslie Kolke, Indira Lalgee, Hannah Martin, Megan McCullough, Caleb Mitchell, Megan Morrell, Alexander Nelson, Brenna Quinton, Axel Smith, Jake Stringfellow, Ashlee Treharne, Jamie Trotto, Fletcher Van Buren and Jacob Wachtendonk

3.2-3.99 grade point averages

Eighth grade: Madeline Ashby, Jacob Barrus, Wesley Behrend, Alex Blair, Austin Borgstrom, Morgan Braun, James Calhoun, Krista Cassidy, Calli Clay, Logan Cochran, Brandon Copitzky, Lauren Creed, Joshua Crowley, Trevor Daniels, Joseph Dunning, Caitlyn Eads, Willy Eand, Josiah Ellsworth, Joshua Fisher, Jackson Foster, Sebastian Gant, Daniel Green, Amanda Hagen, Sarah Hays, Joshua Helzerman, Chelsea Henak, Samantha Hontas, Rebekah Houldridge, Hanna Houser, Kaitlin Howland, Sarah King, Natalie Korssjoen, Laurel Kroschel, Veronika Legat, Sydney Leonard, Lyric Lewis, Kelsey Lindor, Peter Link, Eric Lynne, Peyton McCulley, Aubrey McMichael, Wilkins Melgaard, Sonora Metreveli, Kristin Moore, Tyler Moore, Madison Murphy, Mikayla Nelson, Sally Nelson, Lauren Padilla, Collin Peery, Autumn Pesce, Shelby Pillo, Ashley Poirier, Rachel Prior, Christian Ramos-Pena, Joanne Richter, Tye Rodne, Emmitt Rudd, Tanner Simpson, Conner Skylstad, Mitchell Smith, Tatyana Stangell, Britney Stevens, Jacob Stoddard, Logan Stone, Nicole Stone, Grant Thomas, Raisha Tibbetts, Nicolas Vikari, Ingalisa Wickstrom, Grace Williams, Kyle Williams, Mikayla Williams, Nolan Wolgamott and Andrew Zinkan

Seventh grade: Nicole Acker, Alexander Adams, Adrienne Barnhart, Dylan Cannon, Trystan Cannon, Ryann Carney, Anthony Channita, Natalie Chow, Matthew Cowan, Avery Dahline, Micaela Davidson, Cameron Davis, Mikaelyn Davis, Sophia Fischer, James Grice, Justine Harte, Jordan Hartman, Gunnar Harrison, Kyley Hayes, Forest Heintz, Claire Hill, Seth Houldridge, Jesse Howland, Sean Hyland, Samantha Inman, Jonah Kingery, Sarah Kirschner, Tanner Lakeman, Kaitlyn Lilleberg, Hayden Malberg, Shawn Masters, Brendan McCartney, Madeline Montgomery, Kailene Morgan, Andrew Oakley, Colton Oord, Erin Parsons, Kiley Pfiffner, Jacob Pinkston, Brooke Potoshnik, Jordan Pulsipher, Aydin Quinton, Adrienna Rasmussen, Harley Salter, Rebekah Serchio, Miles Shimchick, Sydnee Springer-Simon, Joseph Steenvoorde, Katelyn Stewart, Olivia Swanson, Jordan Tedeschi, Alyce Titus, Jalenica Troutman-Watson, Maria Villegas, Dane Whetsel Jr, Brandon Whiteley, Sky Whitson, Hannah Wilhelm, Richard Willard III, Connor Williams, Muriel Woods and Ursula Woods

Sixth grade: Collin Anderson, Madison Andrews, Amanda Antoch, Ashley Armstrong, Colby Ballas, Nathan Blazevich, Breanna Bolves, Dayna Boord, Baly Botten, Darren Breshears, Chayla Brewster, Camryn Buck, Gabrielle Burrell, Ashley Buzard, Katherine Cava-Peltan, Kaitlin Chomentowski, Cody Copitzky, Kelly Corder, Thomas Crandell, Cecilia Dahl, John Day, Estella Diegel, Matthew Diloreto, Mitchell Dover, Elizabeth Dowling, Parker Dumas, Zachary Dunning, Sommer Edmonds, Makayla Edwards-Bentley, Kelsey Frederick, Forrest Golic, Jake Guenther, Abigail Gunning, Riley Haney, Alek Harbachuk, Carissa Howland, Ryan Hyland, Michelle John, Dylan Johnson, Jake Karavias, Emma Kenney, David Lancaster, Jessica Lelas, Nicolas Lydon, Elijah Magnan, Stefan Mahler, Savanah Manos, Emmillie Marconi, Nicholas Mcalister, Sarah Miller, Ryan Moore, James Morris, Elijah Murphy, Leia Nedblake, Jillian Nelson, Cruz Parker, Riley Peerboom, Cody Perrine, Joseph Petroske, Cody Randall, Nathaniel Raphael, Jordan Rawlings, Emilie Reitz, Kalyn Rodne, Lauren Rutherford, Christian Spencer, Colton Swain, Zoe Thompson, Hunter Titus, Mylan Trostel, Joshua Trotto, Makayla Turpin, Cole Van Gerpen, Taylor Watne, Elizabeth Webb, Hailey Weed, Anastasia Wilbert, Kelsey Willard, Hailey Williams, Ireland Wood and Zachary Wunder

District Business Director Ron Ellis (left) meets with his former co-workers from the Federal Way School District at his retirement party in May. By Laura Geggel

During the 2009 Snoqualmie River flood, Snoqualmie Valley School District administrators learned water had permeated Mount Si High School.

Technology Director Jeff Hogan brought his two kayaks, and paddled from the district office to the high school with Superintendent Joel Aune, Operations Director Carl Larson and Business Director Ron Ellis to assess the damage.

Everyone was wearing jeans and boots, except for Ellis, who was dressed in his regular business attire.

“We got Ron in his suit and tie,” Hogan said.

His story, and many others, illustrated Ellis as a man who does not falter in the face of a flood or financial cuts. Ellis, who retires Aug. 31, has worked in the Snoqualmie Valley School District for eight years and in education for 36.

Snoqualmie resident Ryan Stokes will replace him as business director for the district.

Friends and colleagues praised Ellis for his work at his retirement party in May.

Larson said he once gave Ellis a Snoqualmie Valley operations baseball hat, a gift that Ellis recently returned.

“He said, ‘I’ve got to give it back, it’s public money,’” Larson said. “I’ve never known a guy who has more morals or ethics. I’m going to miss him dearly.”

Guests at the party took turns thanking Ellis for his dedication.

“Ron was my mentor for the past eight years,” Food Services Director Pat Reilly said. “I wanted to thank you very much. I’ll still be calling you.”

Though he is ending his career in Snoqualmie, Ellis started it at The Boeing Co. He grew up in Rainier Beach, attending Franklin High School and the University of Puget Sound, where he took classes in math, engineering and economics.

“I lived at the library,” Ellis said. “I probably spent as many hours there as I do at work.”

Former Federal Way School Board member Nancy Robertson said his work ethic never faltered.

“He worked so hard. I understand he keeps the same hours here,” Robertson said. “He couldn’t have kept us better informed of school finances.”

In his spare time, Ellis taught himself about World War II aviation. He has about a dozen fighter pilot jackets, and knows details about every symbol — including that the Memphis Belle on the back of one jacket was the girlfriend of one of the flying commanders.

Ellis worked at Boeing for three years and even got a tour of one of the first 747s on the production line. When Boeing began a round of layoffs, Ellis decided to take off, returning to school to get his masters in business administration with an emphasis in statistics.

From there, Ellis got a job as an operations analyst at the Federal Way School District and then as a finance director at Bellevue School District.

He landed his job at Snoqualmie Valley in 2002.

“I wanted a challenge and I got it,” Ellis said. At Snoqualmie Valley, “I feel like I’m building the train and driving it, too. As long as there isn’t a train wreck before I leave, I’m good.”

Wherever he went, he met his duties with a quiet and confident determination. Diane Fountain, his former secretary at Federal Way said Ellis “was the type of boss who would make you stretch and grow. He challenged me to take on more responsibilities in the department.”

At the end of the retirement party, Snoqualmie Valley School Board President Caroline Loudenback gave Ellis a golden apple and a certificate — and he was assured they were purchased with private money so he could not attempt to return them, as he did the hat.

When given a poster featuring all of the district’s schools, Ellis zeroed in on Cascade View Elementary School, remembering the 2003 bond he helped write.

“Anything I’ve done in the school system has been the result of a lot of people with a lot of hard work,” he said. “I’m going to miss all of you.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

4.0 Honor Roll students

Eighth grade

Jennifer Carroll, Nikki Carroll, Guy Everett, James Gendro, Natalie Holmes, Samantha Kieffer, Ivy Paradissis, Bailey Pfeiffer, Sophia Rouches, Warren Sanctis, Ella Thompson and Devon Wattenbarger

Seventh grade

Jessica Brady, Madison Brown, Jason Chapman, Benjamin Cosgrove, Olivia Doherty, Emma Gieseke, Courtney Hall, Sean Hoeger, Hallie Lynn, Wilhelmina McMichael, Amber McNaughton, Morgan Myers, Mackenzie Popp, Will Raymond, Audrey Rodriguez, Sarena Thorpe, Eleni Trull and Paige Wetherbee

Sixth grade

Christopher Bauer, Anna Butoryak, Sarah Edwards, Michael Fischer, Miranda Fischer, Kendall Lockard, Cameron Page, Silas Palmisano, Dean Sanctis and Danielle Seaman

3.7-3.99 Honor Roll students

Eighth grade

Paul Bateman, Ryan Bolen, Leanna Brownell, Sean Collins, Leah Corra, Cara Currier, Madeline Dai, Jason Edwards, Madelynn Esteb, Camden Foucht, John Fusetti, Jessica Guyer, Lianne Hoeger, Delaney Hollis, John Hunt, Adam Husa, Marisa Joplin, Hailey Kuykendall, Parker Mccomb, Laurel Meredith, Jackson Nelson, Jack Nordby, Ashley Petersen, Blake Phillips, Gloria Piekarczyk, Brianna Rosentreter, Keara Shelton, Jameson Showers, Teanna Smith, Lauren Solene, Morgan Treado, Zoe Vierling-Coulter and Alexandra Wallace

Seventh grade

Malisa Aumaium, Brielle Barrett, Angelina Belceto, Tiani Blakely, Jack Clemens, Claire Connor, Bruce Corrie, Gunnar Crittenden, Nicholas Dolewski, Julianna Foster, Mitchell Gardner, Nathaniel Gieber, Emilia Glaser, Kyle Grate, Natalie Gunn, Shalene Haynie, Maren Jensen, Madison Jones, Mackenzie Kendall, Reannah Klassen, James Marshall, Kennedy Mccann, Kelly McCracken, Dylan Miller, Meg Myers, Stena Peterson, Bailey Rosenberger, Garrett Sharpe, Victoria Shim, Kayla Steilen, Taylor Stewart, Katherine Sullivan, Paul Theda, Amanda Triboulet and Judy Zhu

Sixth grade

Christopher Chelgren, Nicole Clabaugh, Amelia Cobb, Matthew Coleman, Brooke Covello, Mary Kate Crittenden, Thomas Crozier, Julia Cunnington, Hannah Curd, Courtney Deveny, Kaja Englund, Oliver Eriksen, Mckenna Esteb, Natalie Esteb, Lauren Garske, Christian Glennon, Clayton Gutmann, Gage Gutmann, Carley Husa, Parker Ivan, Maggie Kenow, Katherine Kieffer, Logan Madani, Caitlin Maralack, Grace Marshall, Emma Mischke, Tanner Moreland, Nick Polito, James Radek, Joseph Roy, Connor Schattenkerk, Mckenna Shaddox, Abigail Shaw, Ameya Susarla, Hannah Swan, Henrik Thompson, Taylor Treado, Nell Sherwin Viala and Rose Vogt

Snoqualmie Middle School Honor Society

4.0 Honor Roll students

Eighth grade

Abigail Bottemiller, Duncan Deutsch, Riley Dirks, Boone Hapke, Savannah Morrison, Annapurni Sriram and Dean Sydnor

Seventh grade

Adham Baioumy, Yousef Baioumy, Angus Brookes, Audrey Brown, Amber Caudle, Nitya Chivukula, Jennifer Clark, Blake Franzen, Claudette Golpe, Matthew Griffin, Sabrina Hill, Emily Johns, Danielle Kraycik, Madison Mariani, Paige McCall, Nicole Mostofi, Courtney Myers, Natasha Ng, Elizabeth Prewitt, Kevin Pusich, Hannah Rovito, Kayla Scheffer, Annie Shaw, Micah Smith, Tyler Smith, Anthony Tassielli, Hannah Winfrey and Nicole Wood

Sixth grade

Abigail Bateman, Olivia Bewsey, Veronique Bourgault, Allyson Conlon, Christian Duvall, Taylor Farris, Jacob Gonzalez, Hannah Griffin, Alden Huschle, Kathryn Krivanec, Nathan Kuhnhausen, Reid Lutz, Jack Mulligan, Raine Myrvold, Hailey Norris, Jacob Rovegno, Jeanbenedict Salaya, Regan Simonson and Jack Wilbourne

Other Honor Roll students

Eighth grade

Emma Bateman, Brooke Beatie, Hedin Beattie, Mackenzie Brown, Tiana Bursten, David Butler, Gunnar Carlson, Lindsay Carr, Kyle Carter, Eliza Dolecki, Henry Dunn, Anthony Erickson, Celine Fowler, Justin Freeman, Zachary Gappa, Eric Golpe, Ryan Gregg, Graham Griffin, Alanna Hayes, Erica Hookland, Ruth Isaac, Kira Jerome, Zahra Kassamally, Alaina Kinghorn, Emma Larson, Carl Lindberg, Kaylee Marcinko, Kevin McLaughlin, Kylie McLaughlin, Chelsea Meadows, Kennedi Norris, Karlee O’Keefe, Kiara Olsson, Nishtha Patel, Spencer Ricks, Karli Rogers, Holly Schwartz, Shea Smith, Ryan Sodora, Mackenzie Stinson, Noelle Stockstad, Syedii Tahirzadeh, Haley Taylor, Zachery Usselman, Rieley Vancampen, Abigail Wilcock, Emily Wood and Sydney Young

Seventh grade

Bryce Abbott-Heutmaker, Jason Anderson, Nicholas Ashton, Elizabeth Barrett, Malia Barrett, Jonica Beatie, Lefonte Beverly, Zachary Brooks, Tuchu Cha, Amanda Chamberlin, Brandon Cole, Nancy Gallacher, Kaitlyn Gallagher, Ryan Garvin, Callahan Gillard, Alonzo Gonzalez, Madeline Hager, Hayley Harmon, Ryan Hartman, Jonathan Hillel, Samuel Hruska, Brooks Jansen, Alexander Johns, Gerritt Jones, Elizabeth Larson, Abigale Lord, Kaitryn McDade, Madeline Miller, Nathan Montag, Victor Moore, Matthew Mounsey, James Mullins, Taylor Murray, Reed Pattenaude, Kerry Pemberton, Robb Rainey, Kennedy Ray, Jennifer Rogers, Caleb Salmon, Christopher Sayles, Christopher Schlichting, Mckinley Smith, Kennedy Stinson, Katelyn Sundwall, Britton Tree, Kaitlyn Van Cise, Zoe Virta, Michaela Wallace, Elle Wilson, Tye Wright, Samuel Yoshikawa

Sixth grade

Nicholas Amandes, Brady Anderson, Griffin Armour, Sierra Backes, Bianca Backman, Konrad Beattie, Isaac Benedict, Hunter Bettin, Alexander Burns, Joseph Butler, Alexander Campo, Sofia Caputo, Steve Chang, Kelli Christopherson, Joseph Clifford, Sidney Conger, Anamaria Constantin, Skyler Cooper, Tess Davis, Kira Denny, Cameron Dirks, John Dodeward, Autumn Dukich, Rylee Durham, Toby Exner, Rachel Forrest, Madison Fougere, George Fowler, Hunter Franklin, Mckayla Freitas, Murdock Gelhaye, Lainie Gibbs, Asia Goodwin, Kristopher Gordon, Payton Graves, Erin Grimm, Jared Hager, Kai Hapke, Victoria Hellervik, Haley Holmberg, Sarah Hong, Madeleine Hotchkin, Diana Hruska, Melissa Hruska, Rachel Hunter, Haley Huntzinger, Mackenzie Hutchison, James Jacobson, Ryan Jarchow, Nathan Jones, Logan Knudsen, Mackenzie Kulsrud, Allison Larsen, Emily Latta, Nicole Laufenburger, Connor Lind, Jane Livingston, Karley MacMillan, Cassidy Majack, Lauren Maland, Andrew Marcinko, Connor McCoy, Andrew Melkonian, Julia Miller, James Mitchell, Cooper Morrison, Paige Neether, Patrick Nguyen, Mason Ou, Zachary Pitman, Maxwell Puff, Jordan Reamey, Katherine Richardson, James Ricks, Tyler Rubalcava, William Saimo, Braden Smith, Jayna Smith, Joshua Smith, Peyton Sparks, Thomas Sprague, Taylor Suliveras, Tanner Sundwall, Brock Toney, Nicholas Townsend, Scott Treglown, Megan Tressler, Giovanna Valenca, Dawson Van Cise, Joel Vanbrunt, Cameron Vollbrecht, Charlotte Walker, Joseph Wallen, Cameron Washington, Abby Weber, Sara Whitley, Trevor Willhite, Sadie Woolf, Telsey Wright, Christina Zlock

Honor roll students from Twin Falls Middle School will be published in next week’s SnoValley Star.

The camp is from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Aug. 9-10 and 12-13 at Snoqualmie Middle School, 9200 Railroad Ave. S.E., Snoqualmie. Registration costs $75, which includes a T-shirt.

Youths entering grades six through 12 are invited to enroll in the camp and march in the Aug. 14 parade. Snoqualmie Valley teachers Dean Snavely and Adam Rupert will lead the camp.

Call 831-8474 or go to www.mrsnavely.com.

Mount Si High School sophomore Kendall Maddux laughs as driving teacher Art Galloway delivers some wise cracks about learning how to drive. By Laura Geggel

Although her driving and knowledge tests were two months away, sophomore Kendall Maddux needed to log more hours behind the wheel with her driving instructor, Mount Si High School teacher Art Galloway.

“Everybody’s ready? Everybody’s buckled up?” Maddux asked, turning around in her seat to face Galloway and sophomore James Cha, another student in driver’s education.

“Can you tell me what gear you’re in?” Galloway asked.

“Drive,” she said.

“Okay, we’re going to go in reverse,” Galloway said.

Maddux laughed at herself before changing gears and backing out of the parking space at Mount Si. Galloway instructed her to drive up to Snoqualmie Ridge, where she could practice parallel parking and backing around a corner.

Mount Si is one of the few high schools left in the state that offers driver’s education. Ten years ago, 246 school districts out of the 295 in Washington were approved to teach driver’s education, according to the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Only 106 districts, including the Snoqualmie Valley School District, were approved to teach the class this past school year.

The class is expensive — $450 a semester — but students still sign up in droves. Galloway said he likes teaching students in class, as well as taking them out on practice drives.

“The other thing I like about driver’s ed is I get to know the kids better,” he said.

Cha said the hardest part of the class was “impressing Mr. G,” but changed his answer when Galloway gave him a look.

“I find trouble backing out of an alley,” Cha said, though later he perfectly executed backing around a corner.

Galloway quizzed him as Maddux drove exactly 40 mph up Snoqualmie Parkway. Cha correctly answered that it’s appropriate to change into another vehicle’s lane if you can see both of the vehicle’s headlights in your rearview mirror.

Galloway had his own rearview mirror and brake in the front passenger seat, but he said he rarely had to use the brake.

“I always feel that if I have to use it, I’m not being a good teacher,” Galloway said. “I grab the wheel a lot more than I grab the brake.”

Both Cha and Maddux said they couldn’t wait to get their driver’s licenses. With a license, Cha said he would be able to drive himself to break dance competitions in Seattle and Maddux said she would drive herself to after-school sports.

The two said they also understood that driving is not all fun and games. They had several drunken driving awareness lessons, including one lesson in which Galloway required students to write a mock letter to their best friend’s parents, apologizing for killing them in a drunken driving accident. He also has them do several role-playing exercises, asking them to pretend calling their parents to pick them up from a party because they are too drunk to drive. Next, they called their parents from the police station and the hospital.

“Then, I turn off the lights and I go out the door,” Galloway said. “I knock, and I’m the state trooper telling them that their daughter or son is dead.”

One time, a girl was so affected by his presentation that she started crying and gave him a hug.

Retired teacher Bob Baumann, who also takes students on practice drives, said that though the class had serious parts, the students paid attention.

“Everyone’s trying their hardest because they all want their license,” he said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Teachers assigned students to teams and asked them to research one of three topics: Do zoos do more harm than good? Should juveniles be tried as adults? Is animal testing ethical?

Logan Cochran said the debates were challenging, but fun.

Sydney Leonard reads from her notes while her team members, Sally Nelson and Nick Mitchell, wait for their presentations about animal testing during a debate at Twin Falls Middle School. By Laura Geggel

“I think it’s pretty helpful,” he said. “I can see how it could help us later in life.”

The debates are part of a new class, called critical thinking, which teaches students persuasive public-speaking skills. In the class, students learn about strategies one might find at a Toastmasters International speaking club, including speaking volume, rate, emphasis and articulation, as well as body movement, eye contact and poise.

The class also addressed the most dreaded part of public speaking: speech anxiety.

The lessons must have worked, because many of the students spoke with ease at a debate about animal testing June 1. The affirmative and negative teams each presented their arguments, complete with an opening statement, rebuttal and closing statement. Their classmates in teachers Janet Munson’s and Emily Rourke’s classes listened intently, knowing they would have to vote for a winner at the end of the debate.

Nick Mitchell used charged words for his opening statement.

“There are cruel people in the world who believe in animal testing,” he said.

His three supporting arguments hit the mark; he said scientists could use computer simulations instead of animals to test medicines, that animal testing was unsanitary and cruel and that many animals respond differently than humans to drugs, making the trials misleading.

On the opposing side, Peyton McCulley countered with arguments of her own, including that animal testing can save people’s lives.

“Animals’ lives are important, too, just like humans, but testing on them can benefit not only us, but the animals as well,” she said.

McCulley added that some animals that are experimented on are on death row at animal shelters.

“Testing on animals sometimes puts their lives to good use when it’s going to end no matter what,” she said.

Each side followed these arguments with a rebuttal and then a closing statement.

Munson said debating helps students learn a multitude of skills.

“It is important for students to learn debate skills, because they are not only learning how to research fair arguments based on reasoning and evidence, they are also learning how to actively listen,” Munson said. “Debate teaches you to find areas of agreement and to use those to persuade others to be willing to listen openly to what you have to say.”

Students said that while research was the longest part of their presentation, they enjoyed doing the debates overall.

“I learned that you have to get a lot of information and do a lot of research,” said Tatyana Stangell, who debated about zoos.

Like a student working on a Ph.D, Cochran said he liked researching his subject, but that “I was never too sure if I had enough evidence.”

He also learned to separate his emotions from the issues and instead listen to the facts.

“The numbers don’t lie,” he said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

The school’s main office is open from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. It is closed Fridays. The school’s counseling center is closed.

All school offices will be closed June 28 – July 6 and July 30 – Aug. 16.

Beginning Aug. 17, the school’s offices will be open from 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. That includes the main office, counseling center and attendance office.

School begins Aug. 31.

Mount Si High School has gone to its summer hours.

The school’s main office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. It is closed Fridays. The school’s counseling center is closed.

All school offices will be closed June 28 – July 6 and July 30 – Aug. 16.

Beginning Aug. 17, the school’s offices will be open 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. That includes the main office, counseling center and attendance office.

School begins Aug. 31.

The Two Rivers School class of 2010 — minus a few students who could not make it — celebrate with one another following their graduation June 16 at Chief Kanim Middle School.

In the 23 years since its inception, 415 students have graduated from Two Rivers School in North Bend. Twenty more students graduated from Two Rivers June 16, amid congratulatory cheers from the audience.

Two Rivers Principal Tom Athanases thanked the class for its dedication, listing volunteer projects, including tutoring Opstad Elementary School students, and projects like the North Bend Elementary toy drive, they worked on throughout the year.

Each student presented a slideshow with audio, thanking their friends and family and listing their secondary education and career goals, which included occupations like law enforcement, the military, landscaping and film school.

“Two Rivers gave me the piece of mind to succeed in college,” graduate Sean Stone said in his speech.

The Snoqualmie Valley Rotary Club gave Stephanie Koplin and Kyler Waldrop $200 Rotary Youth Scholar Awards and the Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis Club honored Allison Connors, Melissa Driscoll and Jessica Day-Buehring with $500 scholarships.

The students said Two Rivers was more like a close-knit family than a school and said it had prepared them for the future.

“I will miss everyone in high school. However, I am ready to spread my wings,” Koplin said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Every year for the past six years, the contest has honored two students — one west of the Cascade Mountains and the other east. The westside winner, fifth-grader Cassidy Rudd, will have her poster displayed on a billboard in downtown Seattle on Dearborn Street starting July 12 for at least one month.

Fifth-grader Cassidy Rudd holds a framed copy of her drawing of a wildlife bridge over Interstate 90 with Amanda Sullivan of WSDOT I-90 communications. Photo by Laura Geggel

The eastside winner, Taylor Moulton, of Moutainview Elementary School in Yakima, will have her art featured on a billboard in Ellensburg.

At a surprise assembly for the fifth grade June 11, the department told students about its I-90 project. The department is working with the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition to build pathways for wildlife above or below the interstate. These pathways should provide animals safe passage around the interstate, so they don’t have to cross it and harm themselves and drivers, said Jenn Watkins, with the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition.The project is part of a larger renovation planned for I-90. In addition to building wildlife bridges on I-90 from Hyak at milepost 55 to Keechelus Dam at milepost 60, the department has other improvements it plans to finish by 2016, including widening the interstate from four lanes to six lanes and straightening curves for visibility.

Rudd said it was fun to learn about the interstate project.

Upon learning she had won, “I was really excited and surprised,” she said

Her colored pencil drawing shows a bear, elk and cougar crossing over the interstate on a wildlife bridge.

Her mother, Minna Rudd, said the family would be sure to drive to downtown Seattle to see the billboard in July.

Her father, Robert Rudd, said he couldn’t wait.

“I was pretty surprised, because I didn’t realize the competition was this big,” he said. “I didn’t know they were going to do a billboard.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Two Rivers Middle School teacher Joe Burgener introduced the kite project to his class of 17 so they could learn about math, history and nature, but have so much fun they wouldn’t even realize they were learning.

Jacob Husman shows a Rokkaku kite that he made with classmates at Two Rivers School. Photo by Laura Geggel

First, he taught them about the history of Rokkaku kites, which are similar to the kites made popular by the Afghanistan-based book, “The Kite Runner.”

“Apparently, these were originally Japanese fighting kites,” student Jake Newcomer said.

Just like the original Rokkaku models, students got into groups and made six-sided kites using bamboo spars, but they used Tyvek, a house wrap material, instead of Japanese washi paper.

Burgener had them work with local materials, including bamboo. He and teaching assistant Denise Atkinson took the students to a North Bend bamboo grove, where they cut stalks with handsaws, trying to find the straightest ones that could compose the spar, or frame, of their kites.

Burgener cautioned them to cut with moderation, so that there would be enough bamboo left for next year’s class.

Using bamboo and piping, the student constructed the spar for their kites. But first, they had to paint the front.

“Everybody in our group drew their own design and we put them all together,” eighth-grader Jacob Huseman said.

Once the paint had dried, “there was a lot of measuring and we had to be precise with everything,” eighth-grader Hope Gray said.

They didn’t want the kites to lie flat, but to have a bent shape, like a V, so they could catch the wind. Students used string to create tension and maintain the kites’ contours.

“You have to get the tension or otherwise it won’t fly,” Gray said.

On the first windy, non-rainy day, students took their kites outside, wearing protective gloves so the string wouldn’t cut their fingers, in case of unpredictable gusts pulling at their creations.

“You actually don’t need that much wind,” Gray said, but students doubled up on the kite spool, since the wind could easily yank their kites away.

“It will pull you,” Huseman said. “You need like four people to hold it down.”

Burgener said students had to work closely with one another for the project and practice communicating with each other about their ideas and goals.

“They have to learn in group work and group work is not easy,” he said.

Students had a great time flying their kites, and though Rokkaku are traditionally made to cut each other out of the sky, all of the flying at Two Rivers was friendly.

“It was really good we didn’t have to fight with these,” eighth-grader River Johnson said, saying she preferred friendly flying with the enormous kites.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.