Board recognition
The annual Federal Way School Board recognition events will take place during March, April and May, with one being held at each of the seven middle schools. The evening begins at 6 p.m. for a social time, with the program following from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. A board member will introduce the honorees, which include students, staff, parents and business partners/community members.
The schedule:
• Kilo Middle School, Wednesday, March 11. Participating schools: Thomas Jefferson High School, Kilo Middle School and Camelot and Meredith Hill elementaries.
• Sequoyah Middle School, Wednesday, March 25. Participating schools: Todd Beamer High School, Sequoyah Middle School, and Lakeland, Mirror Lake and Rainier View elementaries.
• Illahee Middle School, Wednesday, April 8. Participating schools: Federal Way Public Academy, Illahee Middle School, and Enterprise, Lake Dolloff, Panther Lake and Sherwood Forest elementaries.
• Sacajawea Middle School, Thursday, April 16. Participating schools: Federal Way High School, Sacajawea Middle School, and Lake Grove, Nautilus, Wildwood and Woodmont elementaries.
• Lakota Middle School, Wednesday, April 29. Participating schools: Decatur High School, Lakota Middle School, and Adelaide, Green Gables and Twin Lakes elementaries.
• Totem Middle School, Thursday, May 21. Participating schools: Truman High School, TAF Academy, Totem Middle School and Mark Twain, Star Lake, Sunnycrest and Valhalla elementaries.
• Saghalie Middle School, Wednesday, May 28. Participating Schools: Internet Academy, Saghalie Middle School, and Brigadoon, Olympic View and Silver Lake elementaries.
Student-led conferences
Elementary student-led Conferences are scheduled for March 23 and 24. High School conferences will be on May 14 and 15. Most conference appointments will last between 20 and 30 minutes.
Prior to the conference, students will collect work that reflects what they have learned. Students will be taught how to select work samples and how to evaluate their work to determine their strengths and weaknesses. This work will usually be assembled in a portfolio or folder. As the students conduct the conference, they will explain skills they have learned and share goals they have set for themselves. To learn more, call (253) 945-2266.
School calendar change for next year
Federal Way Public Schools have announced a change to the 2009-2010 school year calendar as follows: The first day for students has been moved from September 2 to September 3.
College Prep Night
College Prep Night will run 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 9 at Todd Beamer High School. Learn about the admissions process, college applications, transfer options and information about two-year and four-year institutions. A representative from the University of Washington and Highline Community College will discuss ways to achieve higher education aspirations. To learn more, call (253) 945-2266.
Federal Way students go to Olympiad
Federal Way High School had 15 students participate in the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad, a competition which helps students discover how linguistics can be used to solve real-life problems. Only five high schools within the state of Washington competed.
Kilo awarded $10,000 for pre-engineering classes
Kilo Middle School received a Qwest grant of $10,000 for its pre-engineering program. Design technology teacher David Steele, computer tech teacher Nancy Noble and Principal Pat Larson applied for this grant.
When woodshop was discontinued at the school, staff was looking for a technical subject to offer classes. They were able to obtain surplus computers from Decatur’s pre-engineering program, which came with AutoCAD software already loaded, as well as freeware such as Google SketchUp and Bridge Designer.
Seventh- and eighth-graders at Kilo can take pre-engineering as an elective. This semester, students are building bridges from manila folders. The curriculum they are using — West Point Bridge Designer — is modified from high school curriculum originally written by a colonel at West Point.
The grant will be used to obtain additional hardware and software for the program. Noble and Steele are looking at ELMO devices, plotters, and even drafting boards, noting that they want to stick to some of the old hand drawing for drafting. The teachers expect that they will be making use of Microsoft Excel and some presentation software.
