News & Information

Bellingham, Sehome and Squalicum high school students, as well as Shuksan Middle School students receive state honors. Sehome students place well on national exam and Fairhaven Middle School choir finishes first in county competition.

District High School Students Selected as All-State Musicians
The Washington Music Educator’s Association (WMEA) has selected students from three district high schools to participate in a 2010 WMEA All-State performing groups. These students were selected through auditions, and will meet Feb. 12 through 15 to compete against other outstanding high school bands, orchestras and choirs. The following students have been selected to participate:

Bellingham High School
Alex Hoelzen, Flute, Chamber Orchestra; Roman Yearian, Violin, Chamber Orchestra; Ari Cornett, Percussion, Symphony Orchestra; Emily Doran, Tuba, Wind Ensemble; Danielle DeLisle, Soprano 1, Treble Choir; Daniella Smith, Soprano 1, Treble Choir; and Devon Younger, Alto 2, Treble Choir.

Sehome High School
Molly LeCompte, Violin, Symphony Orchestra; Liam Horner, Viola, Symphony Orchestra; Eric Schneider, Bass 2, Symphonic Choir; Myan Rush, Soprano 1, Symphonic Choir; Kayla Gray, Alto 1, Treble Choir;  and Elysse Laskey, Soprano 2, Treble Choir.

Squalicum High School
Kyle Matson, Cello, Symphony Orchestra; Austin Czarnecki, Bass 1, Symphonic Choir; Jeanelle McConnell, Alto 2, Symphonic Choir; Jeremiah Rice, Tenor 1, Symphonic Choir; Alec Smith, Bass 1, Symphonic Choir; Mason Wayerski, Tenor 1, Symphonic Choir; Aiden Woods, Bass 2, Symphonic Choir; Lauren Carlsen, Alto 1, Treble Choir; Cheyenne Galindo, Soprano 1, Treble Choir; and Meagan Dooley, Alto 1, Treble Choir.

Shuksan Students Participate in State Video Contest
Students from Shuksan Middle School participated and won prizes for the videos they submitted to Lights Camera College Student Film Contest, a contest encouraging middle and high school students to create videos about college preparation. The Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) chose eight videos for special recognition from the 30 entries.

Winning students will receive college sweatshirts or t-shirts and HECB certificates of achievement. The students’ work has been posted on the HECB’s YouTube Web site www.youtube.com/HECBWashington and was showcased at the Washington State School Director’s Association’s annual conference Nov. 18 to 21 in Seattle. The following students and videos were chosen:
First Runner-Up: Cora Peterson, Kyle Saxton, Carlos Tovar, Samantha Starr, Chais Sugden and Bridgette Hawes for “You Can Get Financial Aid.”
Second Runner-Up: Satvir Kaur, Samantha Bennett, Lesley McCaslin, Katie Tang and Brisella Gonzalez for “Why Go to College?”

Sehome Ranked One of the Best Schools in the State
Sehome High School received a silver ribbon based on its college readiness index from the newly published 2010 ranking by U.S. News and World Report. The school received an index score of 33, a measure of the degree to which students master some college-level material. Only three schools in Whatcom County were named: Blaine High School (silver ribbon) and Mt. Baker High School (bronze ribbon).

Western and Columbia Elementary Partner to Redesign School Grounds
With the support of five environmental education graduate students at Western Washington University (WWU), fourth and fifth grade students at Columbia Elementary are helping redesign some of the school’s grounds. The main focus is to provide a new wildlife habitat at Columbia. WWU students are helping the three classes research native plants and will assist synthesizing their research to create a site plan and rationale. The research will be combined by a parent and staff committee and reviewed by the district.

Sehome Students Win Third Place in Robotics Tournament
Students at Sehome High School recently traveled to Vancouver, B.C. to participate in their first-ever VEX BC Season Opening Robotics Tournament, competing against 50 other teams from four different states. Sehome sent two teams, one placing third in the skills challenge, which involved both programming skills and driver skills. The students are excited about their success and are eager to keep improving, said Sehome Principal Phyllis Textor.

Sehome Students Recognized for Outstanding Spanish and French Test Scores
In spring 2009, Sehome Spanish and French students competed in the National Spanish Exam and the National French Exam, the only test given across the country based on national standards for second-language learning. The test is an online, standardized assessment tool to measure listening, reading and writing proficiency. The following students received honors for their achievements:
Spanish Gold Medals
Owen Chambers, Louise Highleyman, Evan Ingalls, Molly LeCompte and Evan Madill.
Spanish Silver Medals
William Giller, Evan Johnson, Brailey Murray-Kraft, Ryan Newell, Tyler Poradun and Patrick Sodt.
Spanish Bronze Medals
Taylor Brown, Katie DelaHunt, Laura Deplazes, Ian Earle, Alex Goodwin, Miranda Hewlett, Katie Johnson, Alex Lane, Glen Marquardt, Geordie Marriner, Joe Murphy and Katelin Taylor.
Spanish Honorable Mentions
From Level 1: Jade Bautista, Tiffany Chou, Robin Crandall, Liz D'Amelio, Loren Dolan, Camille Gates, Jacob Highleyman, Liam Horner, Elisabeth Larson, Janice Liang, Kyle Lukacovic, Lauren Pittis, Erik Poulin and Alexandra Simon.
From Level 2: Katie Davis, John Groen, Maddie May, Isaac Poulson, Anthony Rech and Jessica Taubenheim.
From Level 3: Sara Dillard, Maddie Smith and Teresa Osborne.
From Level 4: Trent Eason and Judy Reyes.
French Certificate of Honor
Kathryn Klein and Alison Work.
French Certificate of Accomplishment
Margaret Landis and Martine Madill.
Certificate of Merit
Sarah Hyun, Alex Foote and Tessa Smith.

Sunrise Choir Wins First Place in County Music Competition
Fairhaven Middle School’s Sunrise Choir won first place in Whatcom County’s holiday music competition. The Sunrise Choir, along with two other finalists, was featured on 104.3 FM, where listeners then voted for their favorite act. The FMS Sunrise Choir, under the direction of teacher Paul Klein, was chosen by the audience for its performance of the song “Beautiful December.”

Fairhaven Middle School Teacher Receives Grant for New Class
Fairhaven Middle School art teacher Cathy Gersich recently received a grant from the Whatcom County School Retirees Association. The grant will support new equipment for her pioneering class, art technology. The course utilizes film making, graphic arts and other technology-based mediums, allowing FMS students to explore different tools and express themselves artistically.