Snoqualmie Valley School District Headlines

Students Qualify for State Competitions

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Good luck to many Mount Si students whose talents and hard work have qualified them to compete in state level competitions in the coming weeks.

Culinary Arts: Four student chefs will represent Mount Si High School in the state-level Skills USA Competition on April 12-14 in Renton. Congratulations and good luck to: Mount Si senior Carter Williams (in the food and beverage category); sophomore Danielle Clark (baking); senior Kayla Morrill (baking) and junior Brian Harris (culinary).

Gymnastics: Good luck to Mount Si gymnasts who will be representing our community in state-level competition Friday and into this weekend: Mackenzie Brown, Elizabeth Holmes, Hailey Johnson, Hannah Richmond, Jenn Rogers, Lexi Swanson, and Jessica Trotto.

Speech & Debate: Congratulations to brothers Andrew (junior) and Ryan Hartman (freshman), and Jeremy Knight and Will Richards (both juniors) for qualifying to compete at the State Speech and Debate tournament at Gonzaga University in Spokane in March.

Wrestling: Congratulations to the Mount Si Wrestling team for earning the KingCo 3A League Wrestling Tournament championship earlier in February! The following individual athletes qualified to advance to state-level competition, which starts Friday and continues into this weekend: AJ Brevick, Josh Mitchell and Aaron Peterson.

2011 Youth Citizen of the Year

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Mount Si High School senior Heidi DeHart was named the 2011 Youth Citizen of the Year, by North Bend's Mayor Ken Hearing and City Councilmembers in January. DeHart was selected for this first-time award, based on her leadership, community service and academic excellence.

As noted in a press release from the City of North Bend….

She has worked hard to balance a challenging AP schedule with many after school activities. She gets excellent grades, exhibits exceptional artistic talents, and serves as a positive role model and leader. Miss DeHart has worked to develop her leadership skills by attending both regional and national leadership conferences. She has spent hundreds of hours serving our community, with possibly her biggest impact being through the Key Club Relay for Life Team. She has coordinated the Relay for Life garage sale that has become a community event and earned thousands of dollars for this charity. Her commitment to Key Club is just an extension of her hard work in academics.

“Congratulations to Miss DeHart, I am confident she has made a tremendous impact serving as an excellent role model for the youth of our valley,” said North Bend Mayor Hearing.

Schools Foundation Luncheon

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

The community is invited to attend Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation's Annual Fundraising Luncheon on March 22, 2012 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Snoqualmie Ridge Golf Club.

Join others in support of public education, and hear inspiring stories shared by teachers and students on how support from the Foundation has had a positive impact on learning in schools across the Valley. The 2012 Educators of the Year from our district (to be named) will also be guests of honor at this event.

Please RSVP for this event or learn more about the Foundation at www.SVSFoundation.org.

"Donations provide educational programming throughout the school district - the spark that is needed to ignite a life-long love of learning and ensure that our students are ready to enter college or the workplace with the skills they need to be successful," said Carmen Villanueva, Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation President.

Kindergarten Registration Update

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Kindergarten Registration:

On Tuesday, March 6, all five Snoqualmie Valley elementary schools will host two registration sessions - 1:30-3pm and 6-7:30pm - to enroll students starting Kindergarten next fall, as well as new students joining our district in other elementary grades.

Children must be five years of age by August 31, 2012 to start Kindergarten in the 2012-13 school year. Parents will need to bring the following information to enroll their student: birth certificate, immunization history, and emergency health and contact information. Click here for more enrollment information or to download forms in advance that parents will be required to complete.

Proposed Half-time Kindergarten Schedule: (updated 2/10/12)

The Snoqualmie Valley School Board voted, at their February 9 meeting, to make no changes to the current Kindergarten program model for the 2012-13 school year.

3 Schools Earn Wash. Achievement Awards

Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Three Snoqualmie Valley schools have earned 2011 Washington Achievement Awards from the State Board of Education and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). This award recognizes the top 5% of highest-performing schools on the basis of state test scores, graduation rates and closing achievement gaps over time.

We congratulate Snoqualmie Valley school staff, students, principals and parents at:

Chief Kanim Middle School for "Overall Excellence - Middle School" and "Special Recognition in Science" awards;
Twin Falls Middle School for an "Overall Excellence - Middle School" award; and
Two Rivers School for a "Special Recognition - Extended Graduation Rate" award.

"We are extremely proud of the work occurring in our schools and the terrific outcomes that are being produced. This is the third consecutive year that a number of our schools have qualified for Washington Achievement Award recognition," said Superintendent Joel Aune. "As we celebrate their outstanding work and congratulate our schools on these excellent results, we look forward to sustaining these efforts so that our schools will continue to rank among the very finest in the state."

To celebrate this achievement, the award-winning schools from across the state have been invited to a special awards ceremony on April 25, 2012 at Mariner High School in Everett.

The Washington Achievement Awards program recognizes top performing public schools (based on two-year averages) in seven categories: Overall Excellence, Language Arts, Math, Science, Extended Graduation Rate, Improvement and Closing Achievement Gaps. The selection criteria for the awards and analysis of scores are determined through the Achievement Index, a matrix our state developed to provide a fair and consistent measure of public school performance using assessment data. The index looks at how schools are improving over time, how they compare to schools of similar demographics, and whether they are closing achievement gaps.

For more information about the Washington Achievement Awards on the OSPI website, visit http://www.k12.wa.us/educationawards/WashingtonAchievement/default.aspx.

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

Educational Program and Facilities Planning

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Planning for how our Snoqualmie Valley schools can best serve the needs of a growing student population continues to be a priority in the district. This topic has been the goal of several bond campaigns, extensive research and discussion on options, and hundreds of hours of community involvement over the past several years. Because the 2011 bond proposition to build a replacement middle school did not receive 60% voter approval needed to pass (one vote short), the challenges still remain: How to effectively manage growth and overcrowding in our high school? And most importantly, how to strengthen and bolster our programs and schools to further improve the educational experience for our students and better ensure their success?

The purpose: With two newly elected directors starting on the School Board in January, the district is providing a comprehensive review of this complex subject - in a four-part presentation. The purpose is to bring the Board up-to-speed on the facilities and programming solution that was approved by the Board in February of 2010. This review process will equip our directors with the facts and data they will need to make the best decision for Snoqualmie Valley students, regarding the timing of converting Snoqualmie Middle School (SMS) into a Freshman Learning Center.

The timing: These important discussions are currently underway because if the district is to move forward with annexation by the fall of 2013-when high school enrollment is expected to exceed the program capacity of the Mount Si High School (MSHS) campus-a decision is needed by March. Since this transition will require 15-18 months to fully implement, the Board must decide whether to move forward with the transition in 2013 or delay the decision.

Board meetings: Interested citizens may learn more about these developments as follows:

1/12/12: Facilities perspective: Program capacity and projected enrollment
(Click to listen to the 1/12/12 presentation - approx. 25 minutes)
1/26: Delivery of educational programming: Middle school perspective
(Click here to listen to the 1/26/12 presentation - approx. 40 minutes)
2/9: Delivery of educational programming: High school perspective
(Click here to listen to the 2/9/12 presentation - approx. 40 minutes)
2/28 (6:00pm): Additional considerations (funding for portables, transportation, delivery of student services, cost implications, timing of future elections, etc.)

The solution: The current solution was based on recommendations from the Long-term Facilities Planning (LTFP) Committee and the High School Educational Program Study Committee, comprised of staff, students and parents from across the district. It involves annexing Snoqualmie Middle School as part of nearby Mount Si High School to create a Freshman Learning Center for all 9th graders in our district. The Freshman Learning Center would provide extra support for freshman students during this key transitional year to build academic success in high school and strong relationships within their class (coming from different middle schools). Expanding the high school campus would not only alleviate overcrowding for many years to come, it would also provide space to grow vital programs such as: Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM), robotics, and other opportunities to help students prepare for 21st century careers.

To make this feasible (in the absence of bond funding intended to build a replacement middle school), students and staff at SMS would need to attend the district's two larger middle schools: Chief Kanim Middle School (CKMS) and Twin Falls Middle School (TFMS). This transition would create two middle schools with approximately 750 students in the fall of 2013. (Current middle school enrollments are 404/460/575 at CKMS/SMS/TFMS, respectively.) Approximately 6-7 modular classrooms would need to be added to both CKMS and TFMS to serve our middle school population.

Please share your thoughts: We welcome community input regarding the timing of implementing this important school facilities solution. Comments submitted via the link below by Monday, March 5, will be shared with board members prior to their decision in March. Click here to send your feedback.

Background information:

LTFP Committee Recommendation to Annex SMS to MSHS (February 11, 2010)
Long-Term Facilities Planning Report to the Board

9th Grade Campus Recommendation (September 9, 2010)
High School Educational Program Study Report to the Board

Enrollment Projections from Calm River Demographics (November 17, 2011)
Enrollment projections & program capacities of CURRENT school configuration
Enrollment projections & program capacities with ANNEXATION of SMS

Opstad Principal Announces Plan to Retire

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Opstad Elementary School Principal John Jester recently announced his plans to retire at the end of this school year. Jester has been the principal at Opstad Elementary School for the past 15 years.

"This has been a wonderful school community to serve -- with extremely supportive parents, great kids and fantastic staff, so my decision to retire was not an easy one. What I will miss most are the smiling faces of the students each day and the great working relationships that we as staff members have built over the years. With tremendous support from parents and PTA, it's been a privilege to help build a strong educational foundation for the children who've attended Opstad. As I look forward to some new life adventures, I will cherish many great memories here," explained Principal Jester.

"I commend John for the significant contributions he has made during his 40-year career in education; a career that was highly accomplished and extremely successful. We especially appreciate the strong leadership that he has provided the Opstad community during the past 15 years as principal there. I have the utmost respect for John as an educational leader, and as a man of integrity and character. While he will be missed by staff, students and parents, we wish him the very best in his retirement years. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with John. He is a class act and an outstanding leader."

Jester's career in education spans 40 years, with half of that time in the role of elementary school principal. In 2009, Jester was awarded the Regional Distinguished Elementary Principal award by the Elementary School Principals Association of Washington (ESPAW). Prior to joining Opstad and the Snoqualmie Valley School District in 1997, Jester held a variety of roles in education which includes: a central office administrator overseeing special education support programs for the Bellevue School District, principal at Medina and Eastgate elementary schools, high school and Jr. high science teacher, 3rd grade teacher, and K-12 special education teacher. He began his career in 1969, teaching college-level life sciences in South Korea through the Peace Corp., then at Eastern Illinois University after earning a master's degree in Education.

Jester shared that his retirement plans include spending more time travelling, reconnecting with old friends and "...intruding more on the lives of my three adult children." For starters, this summer he's planning a trip to Paris, France.

Jester will continue in his current role as principal of Opstad Elementary through June 30, 2012.

Details on the process to hire a replacement for Jester will be outlined for Opstad staff and parents next month, after mid-winter break.

Opstad Elementary School (www.opstadelementary.org) is one of five elementary schools, serving students in grades K-5, in the Snoqualmie Valley School District. The Snoqualmie Valley School District (www.svsd410.org) provides quality public education to approximately 6,000 student in grades K-12, serving the communities of North Bend, Snoqualmie, Fall City and surrounding areas of east King County in Washington State.

Board Adopts Resolution for School Funding

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

Earlier this month, the Snoqualmie Valley School District Board of Directors adopted Resolution 771, entitled "Funding for Schools". This resolution has been sent to Governor Gregoire and our legislators in Olympia, and is intended to urge the protection of funding for K-12 education.

"As the State begins to comply with the Supreme Court ruling and finds solutions that ensure ample, stable, long-term funding for education, it is vitally important that decisions made during the upcoming legislative session do not involve more cuts to K-12 education for 2012-13," says Superintendent Joel Aune.

Please contact our state leaders to share your thoughts on the importance of education funding.

Governor Christine Gregoire http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/default.asp

5TH DISTRICT:
Senator Cheryl Pflug (R) Pflug.Cheryl@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jay Rodne (R) Rodne.Jay@leg.wa.gov
Representative Glenn Anderson (R) Anderson.Glenn@leg.wa.gov

45TH DISTRICT:
Senator Andy Hill (R) Andy.Hill@leg.wa.gov
Representative Roger Goodman (D) Goodman.Roger@leg.wa.gov
Representative Larry Springer (D) Springer.Larry@leg.wa.gov

To learn who represents your area, visit: www.access.wa.gov/government/index.aspx.