Congratulations to Skyline High School’s Gretel von Bargen on being selected as a recipient of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship for the 2017-18 school year! The AEF Program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to serve in the national education arena. Fellows spend eleven months working in Federal agencies or in the US Congressional offices, applying their extensive knowledge and classroom experiences to national education programs and/or education policy efforts.
Von Bargen, who has been a teacher at Skyline since 2002, says that there are many reasons she chose to apply for and pursue this Fellowship. Apart from hoping to be intellectually challenged by the experience, she looks forward to invigorating both her own professional practice and that of those around her, as well as overall wanting to make an impact by playing a part in the promotion of science as a way of knowing, thinking, and problem solving. Ultimately though, von Bargen is motivated by her students, siting her main incentive for applying as being able to positively impact student learning.
For the next year von Bargen will be working at the Department of Energy (DOE) aiding in a number of tasks. She will help run the National Science Bowl, which involves vetting questions, training team coaches, and overall facilitating the event. At the National Labs she will work with other educators and scientists to connect authentic scientific research to classroom students. Also, she will be working on her own professional development via a professional issue of concern. While she hasn’t finalized her focus yet von Bargen is hoping to bring awareness to the challenges presented by the teacher shortage, along with emphasizing the importance of STEM teachers in education.
At the end of the eleven month fellowship, AEF educators are prepared to return home, equipped with access to a national network of education leaders and programs, a better understanding for the challenges and possibilities in STEM education, and a renewed passion for teaching, ready to make signification contributions to their schools and school districts.
Current sponsoring agencies include: the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). For more information about the Albert Einstein Fellow Program, please see their website.
For more information about the National Science Bowl, please click here.
For more information on the National Labs, please click here.
More than 460 students from 158 public and private schools, heritage institutions, and home tutoring programs competed in the 2017 Washington State Chinese Language and Talent competition. Congratulations to the following Skyline High School students who took home honors.
This annual competition is co-organized by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and all the winning students receive OSPI certificates signed by Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal. Skyline Principal Donna Hood, State Senator Bob Hasegawa, OSPI World Languages Supervisor Angela Dávila joined more than 800 attendees celebrating students’ achievements at the award ceremony held on May 28 in Seattle. Skyline junior Daniel Qiang, on behalf of the winners, played his winning performance at the award ceremony.
For more information about the Washington State Chinese Language and Talent Competition, please visit their website at http://www.waace.org/2017-wa-chinese-competition.html
Photo from left to right: Kevin Zhu, Kevin Cai, Annie Tang, Jeremy Gunawan, Young-Young Ma and Ms. Cathie Jing (award presenter)
Cascade Ridge is so proud of Coyote Sarah Parker! She was nominated by Safety Patrol advisor, Paula Parks, to possibly be named as one of the top 10 patrollers in the state of Washington. Sarah was selected and was inducted into the AAA School Safety Patrol Hall of Fame. Her accomplishments were celebrated at an awards ceremony in May at Safeco Field before a Seattle Mariners game. Cascade Ridge has a team of about 47 patrollers who all work hard for the safety of our students every morning and afternoon. Sarah stood out from this amazing group because of her great leadership skills, enthusiasm, commitment to patrol, and keen eye for ways we could improve on safety. There are about 100 students nominated throughout Washington State and it an honor for her to be selected as one of the 10. Congratulations Sarah on a job well done!
It takes commitment and dedication to be a AAA School Safety Patroller. For some elementary students, the Patrol is their first taste of responsibility and their first time to serve in a leadership role. Each year, AAA Washington recognizes 10 School Safety Patrollers who have shown selfless service, leadership and the dedication to brave all types of weather to protect the safety of fellow students who are heading to and from school. For going above and beyond the call, these 10 outstanding patrollers in Washington State to be inducted into the 2017 AAA School Safety Patrol Hall of Fame. The 10 School Patrollers will be recognized at an evening awards ceremony held before a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field on Saturday, May 20. As a long standing tradition, AAA Washington and a panel of judges from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission select top patrollers from schools across Washington each year and honor their accomplishments through induction in the AAA School Safety Patrol Hall of Fame. Patrollers are evaluated and judged on their commitment to traffic safety, citizenship, leadership skills, and contributions to school safety patrol programs. Nominations require input from both the patroller and their advisor, including responses to a series of essay questions. 2017 AAA School Safety Patrol Hall of Fame Inductees: Peter Fleisher, Frantz Coe Elementary, Seattle Shane Haslett, Logan Elementary, Spokane Ally McCarty, Poulsbo Elementary, Poulsbo Journey Mohn, Columbia Valley Elementary, Vancouver Maddison Morgan, Olympic Elementary, Longview Sarah Parker, Cascade Ridge Elementary, Sammamish Ashleigh Swartz, Ritzville Grade School, Ritzville Britta Thomas, Highland Terrace Elementary, Shoreline Carly VanGiesen, Broad View Elementary, Oak Harbor Ashlyn Van Gorkom, Horace Mann Elementary, Redmond
AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor of the Year: Irma Guerrero-Kusmirek, Tukwila Elementary, Tukwila Irma Guerrero-Kusmirek from Tukwila Elementary will be recognized as the 2017 AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor of the Year. The AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor is critical to the success of their school’s Safety Patrol Program and this award recognizes the Safety Patrol Advisor for their years of dedicated service to the children, the school and the community. Guerrero-Kusmirk’s recognition is part of the annual AAA School Safety Patrol Hall of Fame celebration. AAA created the School Safety Patrol more than 90 years ago. The Patrol has been credited with being a major contributor to the substantial reduction in traffic related fatalities of school age children.