Shoreline School District Current Headlines

District, SEA approve contract extension; 2013-14 school year calendar dates set

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:36:13 -0700

The Shoreline School Board and Shoreline Education Association have approved an agreement to extend the SEA Collective Bargaining Agreement to Aug. 31, 2015. The terms of the two-year extension were ratified by SEA membership and approved by the Shoreline Board of Directors on June 17. The 2013-14 school year calendar has previously been approved and published.

This calendar:

• maintains the same number of student instructional days offered in 2012-13

• reinstates the 3.5 non-student work days for SEA members lost in 2011-12 and 2012-13 due to the State's reduction in funding for teachers and other instructional staff

• adds one non-student work day for SEA members specifically for professional development related to implementation of the new teacher evaluation process

• first day of school is the Wednesday following Labor Day (Sept. 4)

• last day of school is Friday, June 20

Here are the key dates:

Sept. 4: First day of school

Sept. 27: Early Release for students

Sept. 30: No School, staff work day

Oct. 9 to 11: Elementary parent conferences

Oct. 25: No School, staff work day

Nov. 11: Veterans Day

Nov. 27: Early release for Thanksgiving break

Nov. 28-29: Thanksgiving break

Dec. 2: No School, staff work day

Dec. 23 to Jan. 3: Winter Break

Jan. 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Jan. 21 to 24: Elementary parent conferences

Jan. 27: No School, staff work day

Feb. 17 to 21: Mid-Winter Break

March 21: No School, staff work day

April 7: No School, staff work day

April 21 to 25: Spring break

May 23: No School, staff work day

May 26: Memorial Day

June 9: No School, staff work day

June 20: Early release, last day of school

The complete calendar is posted here:

http://www.shorelineschools.org/calendar/13-14calendar.pdf

The 2013-14 District wall calendar will be mailed to families in August.

Public auction of surplus Shorewood equipment set for June 26

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:10:07 -0700

With the transition to the new school facility, the current Shorewood High School offices and facilities will be closed to the public between June 24 and 30 while staff packs and moves the school.

James G. Murphy Co. will hold a public auction of surplus equipment in the old Shorewood at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 26. Preview begins at 8 a.m. For more information, visit their Web site

Surplus items include culinary arts kitchen equipment, fitness equipment and school furnishings such as student and teacher desks, chairs and lockers.

Demolition of the old Shorewood is expected to begin the week of July 1.

The new Shorewood administrative offices will open Aug. 12, but the remainder of the building will be closed to the public prior to the opening of school Sept. 4.â¨

A community open house and dedication for the new Shorewood will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Register now for Aug. 24 Back to School event

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:50:32 -0700

Registration is now open for the annual Shoreline Back to School event which provides school supplies, hair cuts, and clothing assistance to Shoreline School District families with low incomes and/or circumstances that make it challenging to adequately prepare their children for school.

The event will be held from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24 at the North City building, 816 N.E. 190th, Shoreline.

To register, volunteer or view a list of needed items, visit www.btsconsortium.org or call the information line at 206-393-4916. Registration closes Aug. 16.

In 2012, more than 1,000 students received needed school supplies and clothing at the Back to School event.

Register now for summer at the Shoreline Children's Center

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:50:57 -0700

Join us for Summer at the Shoreline Children's Center!

With the theme "Mysteries of the World" summer programs are available June 24 to Aug. 29 at the Children's Center in Shoreline.

It's a great way for kids to spend their summer!

Sign up at the Shoreline Children's Center, 1900 North 170th St. Call for more information: 206.393.4256 or visit their website:http://schools.shorelineschools.org/slcc/

Children's Center Summer Programs Flyer (pdf)

Students receive awards at Northwest High School Film Festival

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:32:46 -0700

Shorecrest and Shorewood students received awards at the annual Northwest High School Film Festival.

This is the high school video festival of the Puget Sound region. This year 25 area schools participated, and over 200 entries were judged by a panel of film and video professionals. Students receive valuable written feedback from professionals, have a chance to get beautiful awards, and to see the best the region has to offer.

From Shorecrest:

Alex Ramsey took home an Excellence Award for both Dramatic Narrative and Commercial. He also received an Honorable Mention for Documentary, and a $500 scholarship.

Tantalus

https://vimeo.com/59717853

Center For Human Services Advertisement

https://vimeo.com/63494886

Drew Nisco and Bogui Adjorlolo took home an excellence award for their Dramatic Narrative.

Tennis Ball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbjTNLGsRNM

Surafel Mamo won two Honorable Mentions for his commercial and music video projects.

Football Commercial Visualizing Sound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OliYF8eTWs&feature=youtu.be

Shorecrest All School Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQXcow3lmmE

Nicholi Wytovicz won Honorable Mention for Sports Video.

Hip Hop Dancing and Breaking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3VNSssq6K0

From Shorewood:

Tyler Nickell received an Honorable Mention for his music video, "Wash.”

http://www.schooltube.com/video/d90cbf1f258b464ea6d7/Wash%20-%20Bon%20Iver%20(Music%20Video)

Shorecrest students receive honors at Student BioExpo

Wed, 29 May 2013 12:50:45 -0700

Shorecrest High School students won several awards at the Student BioExpo held May 22 at the University of Washington.

The Shorecrest students competed against 375 others, representing over 30 schools across Washington and Oregon.

Students in Lisa Chen and David Svrcek’s Honors Biology classes participated and researched a molecular level biotechnological/biomedical subject and represented the information through a creative project. They were judged on their ability to communicate the science concepts through interviews, research papers, and their projects.

Shorecrest swept the Multimedia Category, the third year in a row a Shorecrest student has won first place in that category.

The winners from Shorecrest were:

Mara Childs, “Lamin A/C in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria,” first place, Multimedia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmcsZ8NZpV8

Craig Simpson, “The Disharmony of Bipolar Disorder,” first place, Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0MOfnJE7P4

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16XQgw5BLRs

Indy Bungiranto, “Biofuels: The Way Forward?,” second place, Multimedia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY-4T1JvOB4

Shannon Collier, “Deep-Sea Dreams,” second place, Creative Writing

Christopher Potter, “The Gene Machine,” second place, Journalism

Bogui Adjorlolo, Issac DeWitt, Will Yoder, and Andre Zamani, “The Reality of Dreaming,” third place, Multimedia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWM9ahTGip4

Kelley McCaffrey, “Skin Cancer: The Surface of Discovery,” Honorable Mention, Journalism

The mission of the Student BioExpo, a program of the Northwest Association of Biomedical Research, is to promote an understanding of bioscience research among high school students. NWABR provides access to scientific resources and engages students in new creative ways to demonstrate what they know and are able to do within the disciplines of biotechnology and biomedicine.

Update on Shorewood, Shorecrest construction

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:13:48 -0700

SHOREWOOD:

The building remains on schedule to open for the beginning of school in September.

Electrical rough-in will be completed in Ronald School and sheetrock will be installed this month.

Exterior metal panels installation is nearing completion with the theater being the final area to complete.

Windows at the library, commons, main entry and south classroom entry are nearly complete.

All basketball hoops, divider curtain, speakers, light fixtures have been installed in the gym. Only a few sports accessories remain prior to starting installation of the gym floor.

Casework installation is nearing completion in the classroom building.

Most of the ceiling grid is installed in the building.

Main electrical room has been energized with permanent power.

Light fixtures are installed in most of the classroom building.

Restroom fixtures, flooring and wall tile installation is complete in classroom building.

Main kitchen equipment is delivered and being installed.

Site concrete continues to be poured with good weather. Main south courtyard is 90 percent complete and north main entry courtyard is 50 percent complete.

Carpet and rubber flooring installation is underway on all three levels of the classroom building

Installation of Culinary arts kitchen equipment is nearly complete.

SHORECREST

GYM

Final punch list items (additional painting, etc.) to be completed over summer break.

THEATER

Final punch list items (additional painting, etc.) to be completed over summer break.

MAIN ACADEMIC BUILDING

West Wing:

Installation is under way of interior metal stud wall framing on first floor.

Exterior masonry veneer installation continues along south wall; veneer installation to begin along north wall.

Mechanical and Electrical rough-in to continue at first floor.

Window installation to continue at second and third floor levels.

Installation of insulation to continue at exterior walls at second and third floor levels.

Commence installation of gypsum wallboard at interior walls at second and third floor levels.

Middle Wing:

Electrical and plumbing rough-in continues at all levels.

HVAC ductwork installation to continue at second and third floor areas.

Interior steel stud wall framing continues at all levels.

Underground electrical installation to commence.

Concrete floor slab pours scheduled for second and third floor areas at north end.

East Wing:

Preparation of sub-grade material at main floor level for slab pour to continue.

Exterior metal stud wall framing to commence at third floor level.

HVAC ductwork installation to begin.

Concrete floor slab pours scheduled for second and third floor areas.

SITE

Completion of underground utilities and excavations for site concrete walls continues.

Shoreline Math Olympiad receives Community Recognition Award

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:47:30 -0700

Shoreline Math Olympiad was among those honored by the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) at its Community Recognition Awards luncheon held May 17 at the Puget Sound Educational Service District in Renton.

Each year, WASA 110, which includes Shoreline, holds a luncheon and an awards ceremony to honor community leaders nominated by their respective districts.

Representing Shoreline Math Olympiad at the event were Lisa McDonald, Suzanne Gugger, Jacqui Rublee, Amy Stapleton, Catherine Thompson, and Santosh Zachariach, along with Superintendent Sue Walker and Ellen Kaje, director of ELL, Title I, LAP, and Highly Capable Programs.

For 15 years, Shoreline Math Olympiad has been bringing together students in grades 4 to 8 from Shoreline and Lake Forest Park for fun, friendly competition and learning. The event has grown steadily over the years. The 2013 event, held on March 9 at Shoreline Community College, served over 700 "Mathletes” from every public and private school in the community. More than 150 volunteers assisted with the event.

The guiding force of Shoreline Math Olympiad for the past 10 years has been committee chair Lisa McDonald, a Shoreline Schools parent who has given thousands of hours of her time to this effort. Each year Lisa brings together her planning team of community volunteers and expertly manages the event, which begins at the school level with Math Olympiad clubs that encourage students to learn challenging, above grade-level math concepts.

Teachers and parent volunteers coordinate Math Clubs, which can range from small group work to full classroom settings. Students are presented with appropriate math problems that challenge each grade level. Shoreline Math Olympiad awards medals to the top 40 percent of the individuals participating, and the top 60 percent of teams participating. Each year the gymnasium is filled with hundreds of parents and children as the medals and team trophies are awarded.

Frank Halferty of Einstein honored as 2013 Teacher of the Year

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:08:58 -0700

Frank Halferty, band director and music department head at Einstein Middle School, has been selected as the 2013 Shoreline Teacher of the Year.

Halferty will be honored at a reception at 6:15 p.m. on Monday, May 13 in the Shoreline Center lobby. The community is invited. The District will celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week May 13 to 17.

“Frank has the universal respect of peers, students, parents and administrators, and shows the highest degree of professionalism,” a parent wrote in nominating Halferty for the award. “He provides a teaching environment that fosters vast musical and personal growth in his students.”

In 2012, Halferty was elected to the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) Hall of Fame. The Washington Music Educators Association is the largest arts organization in the state, and represents more than 2,000 music teachers in the state of Washington.

“Frank exemplifies everything that defines a great teacher,” said his colleague Dan Wing, Einstein and Shorewood orchestral music director, WMEA president and the 2008 Shoreline Teacher of the Year. “Every aspect of his classroom work and community presence shows his commitment to excellence, caring for others, patience, persistence and the complete sharing of his passion for teaching.”

Halferty, a graduate of Shoreline High School, has taught at Einstein since 1993 and serves as the District Music Coordinator. He holds two Bachelor of Arts Degrees from Seattle Pacific University in Music Education and Music Theory and Literature. He received a Master of Music in Composition from New Mexico State University.

Currently Halferty has more than 200 compositions and arrangements in print, including the Folk Song Trilogy performed by the Shoreline School District Honor Choir in its concert with the Cascade Youth Symphony at Benaroya Hall in 2011. â¨â¨Halferty has 38 years of experience teaching instrumental music at all levels, and has held numerous positions as director of choirs and community groups. He is the recipient of 14 ASCAP awards, Outstanding Educator Awards in both the Shoreline and Lake Washington School Districts, and the Outstanding Music Educator Award from the Sno-King Music Educators Association. Halferty has also served as a board member on the Shoreline Lake Forest Park Arts Council. He maintains a busy schedule composing, fulfilling music administration and teaching duties, guest conducting, and adjudicating music festivals.

The Teacher of the Year is selected by a committee from nominations solicited from around the District. Halferty will be the District's nominee for 2014 Washington State Teacher of the Year.

Photo: 2013 Shoreline Teacher of the Year Frank Halferty, left, with Superintendent Sue Walker and Einstein Principal Stephanie Clark.

Shorewood girls track named Academic State Champions

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:57:37 -0700

The Shorewood High School girls track team will be honored as Academic State Champions for the spring sports season.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, Dairy Farmers of Washington, and Les Schwab Tires sponsor the Academic State Champions. The Scholastic Awards Program recognizes the team with the highest grade point average among all Washington high schools in their enrollment classification. The winning teams will be presented with a special plaque at the WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires State Championships.

The Shorewood girls track team of 23 members have a combined 3.917 grade point average. The T-Birds head coach is Lance Neubauer.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association exists to assist member schools in operating student programs that foster achievement, respect, equity, enthusiasm and excellence in a safe and organized environment.

Shorewood teacher's sunset photo wins statewide award

Mon, 06 May 2013 13:56:24 -0700

A beautiful photo of Shorewood High School cross country team members silhouetted at sunset received a perfect score from the Washington School Public Relations Association (WSPRA) in its annual awards competition. WSPRA is the professional organization for K-12 communications in the state.

Paul Villanueva, Shorewood mathematics teacher, activities coordinator and coach, took the photo during a preseason camp on Whidbey Island at Camp Casey last summer.

“It was the first evening of the team building camp,” Villanueva recalled. “We split our team up into teams to participate in mini-team competitions. Just as we brought the athletes outside, I noticed the sun was at the right angle while mixed in with a slightly elevated field. I asked a few athletes to go over and start jumping and this is one of the pictures that resulted in that moment. So glad that I saw and caught this.”

Shoreline Schools also received awards from WSPRA for the District Web site, redesigned this year by Brent Degenhardt, technical support manager and Webmaster; and for the 2012-13 District wall calendar designed by Craig Degginger, public information officer.

Eight District schools receive Washington Achievement Awards

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:16:32 -0700

Eight Shoreline schools are receiving Washington Achievement Awards for 2012. The Washington Achievement Awards, now in their fourth year, are sponsored by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education. Award winners are selected using the state’s Achievement Index and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Waiver.

“We’re thrilled that the Achievement Awards have come to mean so much to schools and districts across the state,” said State Board of Education Chair Jeff Vincent. “It’s important to us at the state level to ensure that our work benefits everyone, and the award and index do exactly that.”

Shoreline Schools are being recognized for being top performers in these categories:

Overall Excellence: Lake Forest Park and Shorewood
Science: Brookside, Highland Terrace, Lake Forest Park and Parkwood
Closing Achievement Gaps: Briarcrest, Highland Terrace, Parkwood and Shorecrest.
High Progress (Title I eligible or participating schools only): Ridgecrest.

This year the Washington Achievement Awards have been combined with the awards and accountability criteria in the ESEA Flexibility Waiver. The “High Progress” category replaces the “Improvement” category from previous years.

State Superintendent Randy Dorn praised this new collaboration. “Schools and communities expect state and federal governments to work together on accountability,” he said. “We’re grateful that the Flexibility Waiver has given us a chance to align our accountability efforts with the federal government’s expectations. This will streamline both systems over time and provide a better picture of how our schools are doing.”

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

Washington’s School Achievement Index rates all schools according to specific outcomes and indicators from 2010 to 2012. The five outcomes are student performance in statewide assessments in reading, writing, math and science tests, as well as the school’s extended graduation rate, which includes those students who took longer than four years to graduate.

Those outcomes are each measured using four indicators:

achievement of students who are not from low-income families;
achievement of students who are from low-income families;
achievement of a school when compared to “peers” (schools with similar student characteristics, such as the percentage of students who have a disability, are learning English, are designated as gifted, come from low-income families, and are mobile); and
improvement in the achievement of all students combined from the previous year.

The average of the resulting 20 measures comprises the overall index.

Learn more about the Washington Achievement Index

Learn more about the Washington Achievement Awards

Shorecrest again ranked among Best High Schools by U.S. News

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:46:00 -0700

Shorecrest High School has been awarded a silver medal for the second consecutive year for U.S. News and World Report's 2013 ranking of the Best High Schools.

Shorecrest is ranked 11th in Washington by U.S. News out of nearly 600 high schools in the state, and 660th in America out of more than 21,000 high schools. Last year Shorecrest ranked 24th in the state. Shorecrest will again receive silver medal status for its academic achievement. U.S. News awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals to the top-performing schools.

U.S. News partnered with the Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research (AIR), which implemented U.S. News's rankings methodology. To determine the Best High Schools national rankings, schools were first analyzed at the state level in terms of how well students in each school performed on state assessments for the 2010-11 school year, taking into account the test scores of low-income and minority students.

High schools that made it through this analysis were then eligible to be ranked nationally, in terms of college readiness. U.S. News determines the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work by analyzing student success in Advanced Placement (AP) which include college-level courses. Shorecrest offers 15 AP courses to students this year, with 51 percent of the students participating. In the survey year studied by U.S. News, Shorecrest students passed 72 percent of their rigorous AP exams.

U.S. News Best High Schools ranking information for Shorecrest

District protests exorbitant rate hikes from Shoreline Water

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:12:17 -0800

In January 2012 the Shoreline Water District significantly increased the rates charged for water to our schools and facilities in their service area. With no ability to appeal and no reasonable justification for the increases, the school district included a letter of protest with each water bill paid in 2012.

The spreadsheet attached below illustrates the exorbitant charges imposed by the Shoreline Water District, compared to the other water districts that serve our school community. Specifically, the total cost per ccf from Seattle Public Utilities and Lake Forest Park Water District was $8.92 and $8.82 per ccf, respectively. For Shoreline Water the total cost was $19.68 per ccf. And now in January 2013, we were notified of yet another rate increase to take effect immediately.

The school district does not have a choice as to where to buy its water. The Shoreline Water District rates are impairing our ability to maintain our sites, eroding programs in our schools and reducing services to our children. These rates are not justified and more importantly they are not sustainable for our already underfunded schools.

Q13 Fox News story on the water rate hikes

Shoreline accepting applications from non-residents for 2013-14 school year

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:25:19 -0800

The Shoreline School District is currently accepting applications from out-of-district students for the 2013-14 school year for grades 1-12. Applications will be processed in the order in which they are received beginning March 1. Please submit the completed original application directly to your first choice elementary school. For middle or high school, you must also attach a copy of the transcript and attendance record from your current school to the application. You can download the applications from our Enrollment Page. Out-of-District students should use the Non-Resident Transfer/Boundary Exception form. Please note, once your application has been approved, you will have 10 business days from receipt of the notice of admission to submit a release from your resident school district.

Kindergarten Non-Resident Applications

Applications from out-of-District students for Kindergarten may be submitted to the Instruction Department at the Shoreline Center, 18560 1st Avenue NE beginning Monday, Feb. 4. If you have any questions regarding the Kindergarten application process, please contact Cathy Allred at (206) 393-4211 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Kindergarten enrollment now under way at all elementary schools

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 07:39:08 -0800

Kindergarten enrollment for Shoreline School District residents with students starting kindergarten in the fall of 2013 is now under way at all elementary schools. In order to attend kindergarten in the fall, a child must be five years old by Aug. 31, 2013.

For students living outside of the Shoreline School District, kindergarten registration and transfer request paperwork must be submitted to the Instruction Department of the Shoreline School District, which is located at the Shoreline Center, 18560 1st Ave N.E. The Instruction office is open between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Families will be notified by the middle of April as to the status of their request.

Non-Resident District Transfer Form (pdf)

For more information about kindergarten enrollment, please contact Cathy Allred at 206-393-4211 or cathy.allred@shorelineschools.org.