News & Information

Students and faculty from Squalicum and Sehome high schools recently received national and state honors, along with local recognition. Whatcom Middle School principal, a school psychologist for Roosevelt Elementary School, and Sehome High School also received state recognition, and Columbia Elementary launched a school store, thanks to a grant.

Squalicum Student Co-Authors Book and Meets with Secretary of State Clinton

Iman Hafiz, a junior at Squalicum High School, wrote a book alongside his mother entitled, “The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook,” which is now being sold online and in bookstores around the country. It has received outstanding reviews from both its readers and the press. Hafiz recently had the opportunity to read passages for an audience at Village Books in Fairhaven. He also visited with Hillary Clinton in Washington D.C. a few weeks ago.

Columbia Makes Bulk Purchase of School Supplies for Cost-Effective Resale

The Columbia School Store opened its doors for the first time this year, selling complete packets of school supplies to families for $10-$15 per student. Columbia was able to make a bulk purchase of school supplies for resale with funding from the Department of Ecology’s (DOE) Terry Husseman Sustainable School Award.

The purpose of the Columbia School Store is to offer an alternative to the existing system in which families receive a list of school supplies from each teacher and visit various chain stores to purchase individual products. The concept is to buy products in bulk from KCDA to reduce carbon emissions, reduce the cost and packaging of supplies, and increase the amount of sustainably-produced school products purchased by families. The school store sold 160 packets of supplies, meaning 72 percent of students used the store. All income from the store was deposited into an account and will be used to purchase next year’s supplies.

School Psychologist Receives State Award

Deborah Munroe, a school psychologist at Roosevelt Elementary and Sehome High schools recently received a Best Practices in Consultation Award from the Washington State Association of School Psychologists.  The award will be presented to her at an awards luncheon at the fall conference on Oct. 30 in Spokane.

Jeffrey Coulter Receives Middle School Principal of the Year Award from State Association

The Washington Library Media Association (WLMA) has selected Jeffrey Coulter of Whatcom Middle School as Middle School Principal of the Year. His support of libraries, children and technology allowed him to win this commendable title.

Coulter attended a WLMA dinner at the Yakima Red Lion Conference Center where he was honored for his outstanding leadership and support of the library program at Whatcom. He gave an acceptance speech on behalf of the school and considered the night to be a “professional highlight.”

Sehome Student and Department Receive National Honors

Molly LeCompte, a student at Sehome High School, was recently recognized as one the most outstanding high school writers in the country by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Only 544 students were selected nationwide. LeCompte was one of only four high school students in the state to be recognized by this national council for her superior writing.

In addition to LeCompte’s recognition, the English department at Sehome was also commended by the NCTE for “excellence in its instructional program and for creating a climate that encourages student writing.”

Squalicum Student Receives Recognition from a National Program

Lucas Gonzales, a senior at Squalicum High School, has been selected as a 2009-10 National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) Scholar. This year, the NHRP is recognizing nearly 5,000 students from a pool of more than 200,000 who took the 2008 PSAT/NMSQT/PAA and identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino. Students with GPAs of 3.5 or higher are designated as Scholars.

Although the College Board is unable to provide monetary awards, it recognizes these students for their outstanding academic achievement by distributing their names to subscribing four-year postsecondary institutions. This gives students the opportunity to hear from colleges particularly interested in communicating with academically outstanding students of Hispanic/Latino heritage.

Squalicum Student Wins Ninth Place at National Conference

Don Wright, a sophomore at Squalicum High School, attended the National Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) conference, where he won ninth place for his written test on Business Procedures. Only students who placed in the top three at the state conference qualified to attend Nationals.

Six thousand high school students competed in more than 50 events at the national conference held in Anaheim, Calif. Wright was one of 21 winners from the state of Washington.

Squalicum Students Graduate from State Program

Loren Bates and Justin VonFeldt of Squalicum High School recently graduated from the Washington Aerospace Scholars (WAS) Summer Residency program at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. WAS is a competitive educational program for high school juniors across the state, designed to inspire students to pursue degrees and careers in areas such as science, technology, engineering and math.

Bates and VonFeldt were among only 150 students who qualified for the program from the 260 who applied last November. To qualify for the residency program, students spend six months studying a NASA-designed, distance-learning curriculum via the Internet. Based on their academic performance on the learning lessons, they were selected to attend the summer program.