District Newsmakers

Bellingham Public Schools, district staff and students receive honors and recognition from local, regional and national organizations. District high schools and middle schools, Carl Cozier, Geneva, Happy Valley, Lowell, Roosevelt, Silver Beach and Sunnyland elementary schools, as well as the Bellingham Public School Foundation, are noted below.

Sehome Teacher Earns Fellowship with National Science Foundation
Sehome High science teacher Steve Ruthford has been selected for an Einstein Fellowship at the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the 2012-13 school year. The Einstein Fellowship is a prestigious and highly competitive program run by the Department of Energy to help build teacher voice in policy and programs involving Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.

Ruthford will hold a position in the Education and Human Resources Directorate, Division of Undergraduate Education. His work at NSF will help to broaden his understanding of education policy and available resources.

 Kulshan Teacher Selected as National Endowment for the Humanities Scholar

Kulshan Middle School teacher Joe Wooding has been selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Scholar from a national applicant pool to attend one of fifteen NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops. He will participate in a workshop, "The Most Southern Place on Earth: Music, Culture and History in the Mississippi Delta." The one-week program at Delta State University will cover the rich history of this region, its diverse peoples, and its impact on the American imagination. The program covers the Civil War to Civil Rights, the Great Flood to the Great Migration, the legacy of cotton to the legacy of the blues.

Last year Wooding was one of 60 teachers who participated in the Presidential Academy, a three-week workshop that involved careful study of three turning points in American history: The American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement. Participants spent five days in Philadelphia, six days in Gettysburg, and six days in Washington, DC, studying the three famous documents that memorialize these American epochs: the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the "I Have a Dream" speech.

The NEH is a federal agency that each year supports summer study opportunities for teachers to work with experts in humanities disciplines.

Sehome Senior Wins National Merit Scholarship
Sehome High senior Jacob Highleyman has been selected as a winner of a National Merit $2,500 Scholarship. From approximately 1.5 million students who entered the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program, 16,000 were named semi-finalists. To advance in the competition and be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, a semi-finalist had to become a finalist by fulfilling several requirements that included submitting a detailed scholarship application and presenting a record of very high academic performance. Then, from the 16,000 semi-finalists, 15,000 Distinguished Finalists emerge, and from them, 8,300 are named to a scholarship. Highleyman is one of those 8,300. For more information on the National Merit Scholar Program, visit http://www.nationalmerit.org/

Bridge Building Contest Winners
In March, Sehome High School senior Kyle Lukacovic won the 35 Annual Western Washington Regionals Bridge Building Contest. His bridge held 70 pounds and had an efficiency of 2300. Second place was Squalicum High School senior Benjamin Kaas with an efficiency of 1900. Both students moved on to the national competition on May 5 in Las Vegas. Lukacovic placed 10th in the nation at the Vegas competition. His bridge had an efficiency of 2866, a 20% improvement over his dominating regional-winning bridge. Kass placed 13th with an efficiency of 2330. Fiftytwo students from all over the country competed.

Sunnyland Student Honored with Sue Boynton Poetry Award
Sunnyland Elementary School fifth grader Finnigan Cooper won a merit award in the Sue Boynton Poetry Contest this spring. His poem, "Asperger's" will be displayed on a Whatcom Transportation Authority bus for one year. Finnigan also read his poem aloud at a May 10 awards ceremony at the Fairhaven ferry terminal. To read Finnegan's poem and to find out more about the contest, visit http://boyntonpoetrycontest.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/aspergers/

District Students Win Big at Washington State Science and Engineering Fair 2012  
Bellingham School District students excelled at the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair in early spring, bringing home more than 50 awards.

First place winners were (in alphabetical order): Olivia Benner, Whatcom, grade 6; Harry Conover, Sunnyland, grade 5, (also won Museum of Flight Award); Lucas Cunningham, Lowell, grade 5; Ethan Flanagan, Lowell, grade 5; Ben Grabau, Geneva, grade 5, (also won Bonneville Power Administration Award); Diana Haass, Whatcom, grade 6; Ian Hakeman, Carl Cozier, grade 5; Matthew Holroyd, Lowell, grade 3; Ben Krautwald, Silver Beach, grade 4; Orly Lindner, Lowell, grade 2, (also won Plant Sciences Award); Wyatt Murphy-Kangas, Roosevelt, grade 3; Umar Nadeem, Kulshan, grade 6, (also won Broadcast Masters Nominee); Tadeusz Pforte, Fairhaven, grade 6; Kira Smith, Shuksan, grade 8, (also won the Mildred Award); Jaren Tilley, Fairhaven, grade 7, (Broadcast Masters Nominee); Adrian van't Hoog, Lowell, grade 4; Jacob van't Hoog, Lowell, grade 5; and Emily Welsh, Happy Valley, grade 4.

Second Place winners were: Jordan Baron, Happy Valley, grade 3; Anna Sophia Flanagan, Lowell, grade 2; Ashley Grams, Whatcom, grade 6; Tessa Kilcline, Geneva, grade 5; Nate Krautwald, Silver Beach, grade 2; Ethan Oliver, Carl Cozier, grade 4, (also won People's Choice Award); Tayson Pickering, Whatcom, grade 6, Museum of Flight Award); Klara Schwarz, grade 4 (Oral Health Award); Larson Stalder, Whatcom, grade 6; Kevin Sun, Fairhaven, grade 8, (also won Bonneville Power Administration Award, Critical Thinking Award, and Museum of Flight Award); Lucy Sun, Happy Valley, grade 5; Thu Ton, Shuksan, grade 7; and Ruby Watson, Fairhaven, grade 7.

Third place winners were: Jackson Boyle, Roosevelt, grade 3 (also won the Bremerton PTSA Award); Ben Holroyd, Lowell, grade 5; Derek Johnson, Geneva, grade 5; and Colten Williams, Happy Valley, grade 3.

Honorable Mentions went to Alex Everett, Whatcom, grade 6, (Museum of Flight Award); Lincoln Hofer, Silver Beach, grade 4; and Micah Lehman-Loar, Lowell, grade 2.

For more information on the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair, please visit www.wssef.org

Pictured above left to right:  Ian Hakeman, Orly Lindner, Emily Welsh, Harry Conover and Adrian van't Hoog.

700 Attend Roosevelt Elementary Arts Extravaganza
Roosevelt Elementary School hosted the second annual Children's Art Festival Extravaganza on May 24. More than 700 people attended to see student performances and artwork. During the evening, the school dedicated the Poet Tree, a sculpture created and donated by local artist Tony Hermanutz (pictured below with principal Steve Morse, teacher Jackie Brown and Roosevelt students). Families had the opportunity to watch performances, eat a snack, and stroll through the school looking at all the art. Each of the 430 Roosevelt students displayed several pieces of art.

Team Tennis Trophies go to Bellingham, Sehome and Squalicum in 2012 Tournament
Three district high schools earned "team trophies" at the 2A state tennis tournament in late May at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington. Sehome and Bellingham tied for fourth place for boy's tennis. Squalicum girls tied for third place. All three high schools placed high enough to earn trophies (top 4 in state) this year.

The district tennis coaches (pictured below holding their team trophies) are Bonna Giller (SHS), Steve Chronister (BHS) and Cindy O'Brien (SQHS.)

First Annual Hungry Minds Breakfast Success for Foundation
The Bellingham Public School Foundation (BPSF) held its first annual Hungry Minds Breakfast on Tuesday, May 1, with more than 150 guests attending and raising more than $21,000. These funds provide the means to support programs benefitting students from requests from teachers, school buildings, and the district. The event supports Foundation efforts to ensure that Bellingham Public Schools have the means to provide the best possible education to all students.

Please visit the BPSF website at http://foundation.bellinghamschools.org for additional information and ways to get involved.


District Unified Soccer Teams Bring Home Medals
Bellingham School District soccer teams took home three medals at the State Tournament for Special Olympics soccer June 1 -3 at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma. The Bellingham High School team under coach Mark Wright took first place and a gold medal in the Senior Unified Division 2. Team players were: Dynae Bayes, Maddie Fritzen, Bryce Hamm, Ben Hilleary Terry McClement, Sean Messom Clayton Nevitt, Halie Potter, Bri Smith, and Olivia St. Claire.

The Sehome team under coach Ashleigh Eastham took second place and a silver medal in the Senior Unified Division 3. Team players were Riley Daugherty, Tim Davenport, Clifford Green, Christian Guier, Arie Knops, Maddie Lauffer, Emily Russell, , Nikki Thon and Christine Zlotek.

The Squalicum team under coach Miles Rydinski took first place and a gold medal in the Senior Unified Division 3. Team players were Jackie Dierdorff, Joel Demmon, Brittany Evans, Jocelyn Gonzalez, Elvie Herrera, Leigha Schjelderup, James Tan, McKenzie Vlasic and Lauren Wallace.

Special Olympics Unified Sports® brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to train and compete on the same team in a variety of sports. Unified Sports athletes and partners improve their physical fitness, sharpen their skills, challenge the competition and help to overcome prejudices about intellectual disabilities.


Student Dancers Head to National Competition in Scottish Highland Dance

Bellingham High School sophomore Savannah Ferron and Squalicum High School freshman Cora Peterson qualified in Scottish Highland dance as two of 17 dancers to represent the Northwest Region at the United States Inter-Regional Championship. Ferron competed in the 16-17 year old age group, and Peterson competed in the 14-15 year old group. The national championship will take place in July in Baltimore, Maryland.