High School Proficiency Exams start next week
March 10, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. March 10, 2010
High School Proficiency Exams for sophomores will start March 16.
The exams are a state requirement — in addition to coursework and credits — for students to receive their high school diplomas.
Exams include reading, writing, math and science questions. The reading exam will be administered March 16, and the writing exam will follow March 17-18. The math exam will be given April 13, and the science portion will be April 15.
Due to the exam times, Issaquah School District schools will operate on alternate schedules March 17. Check your student’s school calendar or the district Web site for more information.
Students link computers to causes
March 9, 2010
Middle school multimedia program raises community awareness
Pine Lake seventh-grader Danielle Backman and eighth-grader Hope Chapman work on their awareness video Feb. 24 in the PLMS computer lab. By Christopher Huber
Pine Lake Middle School eighth-graders Kyle Feuerberg and Henry Jarvis threw a Super Bowl party for 25 homeless men for their multimedia elective class.
Through donating, students take part in global community
March 9, 2010
Hall Monitor Eric Bice Liberty High School
These past few months have taught me something very important about the students at Liberty High School. They have taught me that despite the worst economic recession of our lifetimes, we have been able to step up and contribute our hard-earned money toward Haitian relief efforts.
Haiti was devastated by an earthquake and represents a country in dire need of our monetary support. This is important, because there is no greater need for children to give than toward Haiti, and as of recently, Chile. Read more
Success on the Internet is a double-edged sword
March 2, 2010
Hall Monitor Page Dormier Issaquah High School
In my generation, we spend a lot of time focusing on and comparing other people’s lives. What we ourselves strive for is to become the best and most talked about. The way we know so much about one another is simple — the Internet.
If teenagers want to get exposure when it comes to singing, acting, modeling or even selling their own products, the Internet is the best way to do so. Anyone can make his or her own Web site at any age. Therefore, teenagers have the opportunity to show what they are made of to people all over the world. Some even become famous off free Web sites, such as MySpace or YouTube. Sites of all kinds have given teens a chance to become successful even before they graduate from high school. Read more
Student bands rock out for a good cause
March 2, 2010
Issaquah High School’s leadership class is getting ready to rock for a good cause and its members want you to join them.
The class is hosting its annual Battle of the Bands competition for high school students March 11.
The battle is one of the most anticipated events each year, said student Maria Tilden.
While rocking out, though, your admission and donations will go to a good cause, the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund.
About 10 bands from the school will play three songs each throughout the night.
Leadership students are still finalizing the lineup, but they said it’s guaranteed to be a good time for the community.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all the different bands and help expose them to the public, because I just think it’s great that we have so many talented high school bands and I think that is awesome,” said student Lindsay Baringer.
Scared straight
March 2, 2010
On display at Beaver Lake Middle School’s Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Awareness week is the Acura Integra after a July crash that killed Chase Tinsley, 18, and Zackary Oliver, 21, of Algona, after they were drinking at a party. By Chantelle Lusebrink
Twisted metal and stained car seats are all that remain of a car crash that claimed the lives of two best friends.
Chase Tinsley, 18, and Zackary Oliver, 21, were only going to drive about a mile to sleep at a friend’s house after a party on Lake Tapps that morning. They never made it.
Instead, something went very wrong. Their car hit a tree and fell 25 feet down an embankment; Chase was killed instantly. Zach was pinned inside the car, which landed upside down in a pond below. Emergency crews were unable to get him out in time, Chase’s mother Margaret Tinsley said Feb. 8.
“When I saw the car, it sent shivers up my spine and I don’t think anyone deserves that to happen to them,” seventh-grader Sadie Wilbur said.
“It is a strong deterrent from drinking,” seventh-grader Erik Crouch added. “It’s amazing that in two seconds, two lives were taken away. I don’t think anyone who sees that car will ever drink and drive.”
So why was a car belonging to a couple of Algona friends in Sammamish? It’s all part of Beaver Lake Middle School’s annual Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco and Addiction awareness week.
The school has hosted the weeklong awareness program for several years. Read more
A band of free spirits
February 23, 2010
Michelle Dvorak
The best part about being in a band, Nick Luempert said, “is jamming with friends.” For Neil Gregerson, it’s making music and “figuring out how to put the pieces together.”
The two seniors started their band, Masters and Johnson, during the summer of their sophomore year at Issaquah High School. You can catch them playing at a number of music venues, including the Old Firehouse in Issaquah, and at art galleries, such as the Ursa Minor in Seattle. Read more
Extreme clubs
February 23, 2010
‘For the love of Harry Potter!’
Olivia Spokoiny
In a Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, Allen Suner and Doug Dietzel fight for the Quaffle as (from left) Aseem Chipalkatti, Max Sherman, Sam Schneble, Erin Hoffman, Sam Stendal, David Zhong and Joseph Choung look on. By Jordan Rixon
Skyline High School’s Harry Potter Club is the largest (and certainly the quirkiest) club that the high school offers this year. Juniors Erin Hoffman and Erin Pazaski, founders and “Head Mistresses,” said the idea evolved over the past summer.
How to embrace your Facebook addiction
February 23, 2010
By Tiffany Xu
Facebook addictions are difficult to cure. Unless you’re about to resort to services such as Web 2.0 Suicide Machine (hand over your account information, say a few last words and watch your virtual profiles be erased within an hour), it’s time to fully embrace social networking.
Here are five tips for how to put your Facebook to better use. Who knows, they might temporarily alleviate your feelings of guilt and inadequacy as well. Read more
Class helps parents overcome teen misconceptions
February 23, 2010
Max Smith-Holmes
Any teenager is aware of the misconceptions parents have about them. Parents share stories and fears with one another, creating the illusion that certain issues are more prevalent among their children, while ignoring other potentially harmful ones.
In January, the Issaquah School District PTSA presented a series of educational seminars for parents, entitled “What Are Teens Really Doing Today?” Read more
