West Seattle, Washington
21 Wednesday
From West Seattle High School Key Club president Angelina Ly:
West Seattle High School Key Club is partnering with the African Library Project to help sustain libraries in Africa. We are hosting a book drive to collect books of 4th- to 8th-grade reading levels to donate to Mhlafuta Community Day Secondary School in Malawi, Africa. Our goal is to raise 1,000 books to donate, and we need your help to do so! We currently have a couple of drop off locations including New Leaf Bistro (2342 California SW), Paper Boat Booksellers (6040 California SW), and the library at West Seattle High School (3000 California SW).
Books You Should Try to Donate
-Mix of children’s fiction or universal themes (friendship, animals, love)
-Children’s nonfiction – Scientific books for students, reference materials like dictionaries
-Children’s books teaching life skills about topics such as health, hygiene, adolescents and careers
-Books about Africa or African-Americans
-Children’s books with diverse charactersBooks You Should NOT Donate
-Books with small, dense print
-Books with lots of slang
-Books referencing electronics (unless scientific)
-Books not in English
-Adult romance novels
-Books focused on U.S. or Canadian history/government
-Books about North American or religious holidays (Easter, Halloween, Christmas, 4th of July, etc.)
-Anything that evangelizes or promotes a particular religion
-Noneducational magazinesIf you have any questions, feel free to email 1wshskeyclub@gmail.com.
A nine-digit budget gap is staring down Seattle Public Schools, and the district is talking about major cuts including possible “school consolidation” (closures) as soon as the 2024-2025 school year. No specific local schools have been mentioned yet, but SPS is now getting to the “community engagement” phase, so plans and proposals might emerge soon. Here’s the district FAQ on where things stand, noting a $131 million “structural deficit” in the budget, with enrollment decreasing yet staff increasing.
Some background, if you’re new to the area, West Seattle has been through school closures before: Fairmount Park Elementary was closed in 2007, then expanded and reopened in 2014. The former Genesee Hill Elementary had hosted Pathfinder K-8, which was moved to the Pigeon Point site of what had been Cooper Elementary until the district closed Cooper’s “program” in 2009; the old GHES was torn down in 2014 and replaced by a bigger new school into which the former Schmitz Park Elementary was moved. Currently the former Schmitz Park campus is used as an interim site for schools during construction projects – West Seattle Elementary is in its second year there right now, and Alki Elementary is scheduled to move there during its rebuild, starting this fall. (Despite the talk of cuts and closures, there’s been no talk so far of cancelling projects like Alki, which will expand that school’s capacity.)
The School Board is required to pass a balanced budget by early July. They held a work session on the budget situation this past Tuesday; you can see the background information here, and watch the meeting video here:
The district promises a “community budget information session” March 20th. But before then, you have a chance this Saturday to talk with and hear from our area’s representative on the School Board, Leslie Harris – regarding the budget and/or any other SPS issues of interest. She’ll be at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge Way SW) starting at 2 pm Saturday (March 4th).
Here’s an easy way to help students at a local school – bid in an online auction! Bidding in the Fairmount Park Elementary PTA auction is open today and tomorrow. Here’s the announcement:
Fairmount Park PTA is hosting the Annual Virtual Auction. Bidding closes Friday, March 3rd, at 7 pm. Fairmount Park Elementary School serves a diverse community of 450 students and their families. The PTA works to promote the social, emotion and academic well-being of all students. The auction raises money to fund school supplies, teacher grants, meals and backpacks for families in need, grants to support the art and music programs and various other programs throughout the school year.
Auction items include tickets to Seattle sports games, gift certificates to local businesses and restaurants, tickets to Seattle experiences and Gift Baskets from Seattle businesses. We hope you have a fun time bidding to support the Fairmount Park Elementary School PTA.
Please click the link to access the virtual silent auction:
fpepta.schoolauction.net/auction2023
Hours after classes ended for the day, the Chief Sealth International High School galleria had a full house Tuesday night, with students, families, and educators gathered for the winter sports banquet. They celebrated student athletes for a variety of achievements – first, Luke Sketchley and Ryan Moore, signing letters of intent to play college baseball – Sketchley at Bellevue College, Moore at Wenatchee Valley College:
Then came the honors for recipients of the Seahawk Award, which ‘epitomizes attitude, effort, work ethic, and being a total team player.” Violet Beck was honored for flag football:
Valentina Minoprio Boffi, for cheer:
Elsa Chao, for bowling:
Owen Dortero, for swimming:
Declan Golan, for (corrected) basketball (below, with head coach Richard Stephens:
Jay Johnson, for wrestling:
Eden Lopez, for wrestling:
Giana Moore, for gymnastics:
And Maryann Passmore, for basketball:
One more plaque was presented – this one for a 2021 winner – no sports banquet that pandemic year. The honoree was Delaney Sipila, for basketball:
Congratulations to all!
Congratulations to the West Seattle High School boys’ basketball team for their strong season, which ended tonight at Bellevue College.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
In their first game of this year’s state tournament, the Wildcats fell to North Thurston, 51-34. Half their points came in the final quarter, but they started connecting too late, including this defiant dunk by #23, sophomore Alex Pierce:
The struggle started early – WSHS didn’t get on the scoreboard until a basket by #2, senior Maximus Holliman, more than midway through the first quarter.
He had eight points on the night, as did #5, senior Ryder Mackay:
The Wildcats never did manage to consistently break through North Thurston’s defense, which meant they had to do a lot of outside shooting, without much success, though #3, junior Bo Gionet, got two 3s:
The WSHS boys finished the season 14-12.
Congratulations to the West Seattle High School girls’ basketball team for a strong season. It ended far from home this afternoon, with a 47-45 loss to Lynnwood in a state-tournament regional game at Arlington High School. According to writer Doug Petrowski‘s tweets from the game, WS led 16-7 after the first quarter, with Carmen Cruz netting four 3-pointers; the Everett Herald‘s Evan Wiederspohn tweeted that Cruz led WSHS scoring with 24. The Wildcats finish the season 16-10.
8:21 PM: On their home court, the West Seattle High School girls’ basketball team has just won their opening game in this year’s state tournament, beating Central Kitsap, 48-37. Photos and details after we get back to HQ!
10:48 PM: Though the Wildcats led the Cougars by double digits for more than half the game. it was not a case of coasting to victory. They were behind 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, getting lots of shots but unable to convert many of them. In the second quarter, WSHS suddenly got prolific with three-pointers.
First one was by #0, senior Lauren Wright, then one by #4, junior Carmen Cruz, and then #22, junior Lucy Larson, netted three triples in the last two minutes before halftime – she was the Wildcats’ top scorer on the night, with 14 points:
Head coach Darnell Taylor‘s team went into halftime up 30-19.
First points of the second half came on a basket by Cruz, the night’s second-leading scorer with 13 points:
In the last minute of the third quarter, a triple by #11, senior Brooke Swanson (WSHS’s third top scorer tonight with 10 points), gave WSHS their widest lead, 42-22:
After that, though, Central Kitsap started a comeback attempt, with 10 unanswered points, halving West Seattle’s lead, until #21, sophomore Alyssa Neumann, broke the spell with a basket at four minutes to go. The Cougars answered with their own, but WSHS didn’t let them get any closer, and finished out the win in their home gym.
Another must-win game is next – the Westside girls (16-9) have to head 50 miles north to Arlington for a noon Saturday game against Lynnwood (16-6).
That’s the West Seattle Big Band in an outdoor performance last summer. But you don’t have to wait until warmer weather to enjoy their music – they’re guest stars at a benefit for the West Seattle High School music program in just a week and a half, with excellent student musicians featured too! Here’s the announcement sent to us:
West Seattle High School Big Band Dinner Dance
Friday, March 3, 2023 from 6-9 pm
West Seattle High School CommonsThe community is invited to our Annual Dinner Dance and Benefit, in support of our High School Music Program. Tickets are available at this link, either with dinner provided by the West Seattle High School Culinary Department or Dance only.
Performance by our Special Guest – the West Seattle Big Band, under the direction of Jim Edwards. Earlier performances by all our music groups – Jazz I & II, Band, Choir, Orchestra and Percussion – under the direction of our music teachers, Ethan Thomas and Taylor Fritts.
Thank you to our wonderful sponsor, West Side Music Academy! Auction items will be available to bid on, and all donations will be gratefully accepted.
Visit our webpage to purchase tickets and find more information, as we update it regularly. Please email westseattle.musicboosters@gmail.com with any questions.
If you have a preschool-age child, this is for you. The announcement was sent by the Greater Seattle YMCA (parent organization of longtime WSB sponsor West Seattle YMCA):
Ready for Kindergarten? By KCLS & YMCA of Greater Seattle
Wednesday, February 22; 2:00 pm-3:00 pm
Join us online to learn about:
-Reading at Home
-Kindergarten Expectations
-Literacy ResourcesRegister: tinyurl.com/KinderFeb22
This is a FREE session for the community and is aimed for families with 3-5 year-olds.
Thinking about college? You can attend right here in West Seattle. Learn about South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) and its sibling colleges during this series of upcoming events:
The Seattle Colleges District, including South Seattle College, is holding annual Discover Seattle Colleges events late February into early March. Join us virtually or in-person to learn about our programs and services. There will be two in-person open houses at South Seattle College’s main campus in West Seattle (March 7) and our Georgetown campus (March 6). Registration is now open for Spring Quarter, starting April 3, with in-person, online and hybrid courses available.
Online Events – Monday, Feb. 27 – Thursday, March 2, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
In-person Open House – Monday, March 6 – Thursday, March 9, 3-6 p.m.Visit seattlecolleges.edu/discover for dates, topics, locations and sign-up links.
Part I: Online Events ∙ Feb. 27-March 2
The first series is four online events exploring academic programs and career pathways at Seattle Colleges. Each one-hour online event offers prospective students (and their families) a chance to hear from instructors and learn more about the programs that interest them. The events are organized by area of study and include presentations from faculty in academic programs or career pathways in the following areas:
Health and Medical / Education and Human Services: Monday, Feb. 27, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Business and Accounting / Science, Engineering and Technology: Tuesday, Feb. 28, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Culinary, Hospitality and Wine / Skilled Trades and Technical Training: Wednesday, March 1, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Arts, Design and Graphics / Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages: Thursday, March 2, 5:30-6:30 p.m.Part II: Campus Open Houses ∙ March 6-9
The second event series is campus open houses. Prospective students and community members are invited to learn about our programs, take campus tours, and enjoy refreshments, demonstrations and college giveaways. Talk to faculty and staff about your goals and learn more about admissions and student resources.Georgetown Apprenticeship & Education Center, South Seattle College: Monday, March 6, 3-6 p.m.
South Seattle College Main Campus (in West Seattle): Tuesday, March 7, 3-6 p.m.
Seattle Central College and North Seattle College also have open houses this weekInterested participants are invited to attend all events. Learn more and sign up on our website at seattlecolleges.edu/discover.
As noted here Saturday night, both West Seattle High School teams have made it into the state tournament. Tonight, we know when and where they’ll play their first games. As announced by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, here’s the schedule:
GIRLS: Tuesday (February 21st) 7 pm, at WSHS vs. Central Kitsap
BOYS: Saturday (February 25th) 8 pm, at Bellevue College vs. winner of Tuesday’s Everett–North Thurston game
Both are open to the public, with admission charges.
Though their victories last night earned them berths in state-tournament competition no matter what, West Seattle High School‘s girls’ and boys’ basketball teams each had to play one last district game this afternoon at Bellevue College. Both scores are now in: The girls won, beating Eastside Catholic, 60-57, taking fifth place in the district; the boys lost to Rainier Beach, 71-58, finishing sixth. Seedings for the state tournament are due to be announced tomorrow afternoon, so that’s when we should know where and when both teams will play their first games in state competition, which begins Tuesday.
9:29 PM: West Seattle High School is also sending its girls’ team to the state tournament. The Wildcats just beat Holy Names 47-35 to clinch the spot. This game also was played at Bellevue College; details and photos when we get back to HQ.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
ADDED 3:20 AM: This was a little rough in the early going, with Holy Names’ defense succeeding for a while in keeping West Seattle from getting inside, forcing tough-to-land outside shots. But the Wildcats kept battling back.
That aggressive style, though, got them into foul trouble fairly quickly, giving Holy Names so many foul shots that those compromised much of the Cougars’ scoring. Nonetheless, WSHS stayed in command, with a 22-10 lead at halftime. Scoring leaders were #4, junior Carmen Cruz and #20, sophomore Colby Timmons.
Head coach Darnell Taylor‘s Wildcats play their final district game at 4:45 pm today (Saturday) at Bellevue College (3000 Landerholm Circle SE) vs. Eastside Catholic – winner takes 5th place, but both teans are guaranteed trips to the state tournament, which runs February 21-March 4.n
7:58 PM: The West Seattle High School boys’ basketball team is headed to the state tournament after a big win in districts tonight – 72-49 over Liberty HS at Bellevue College. Details and photos later.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
ADDED 1:40 AM: The Wildcats took the lead two and a half minutes into the game and never looked back. They just kept building, and Liberty had no chance to even attempt a comeback. By halftime, WSHS was up 38 to 29, then extended the lead into double digits in the second half.
West Seattle had four players with double-digit point totals – #2, senior Maximus Holliman; #3, junior Bo Gionet; #5, senior Ryder Mackay; and #11, senior Luke Wade.
For outside-shooting fans, this game had plenty of threes, and sharpshooting combined with tough defense led WSHS to the big win. Tomorrow, head coach Dan Kriley and the Wildcats have one more game at the district tournament, 3 pm today (Saturday) vs. Rainier Beach, again at Bellevue College (3000 Landerholm Circle SE).
The game is for fifth place in the district, but both teams already are guaranteed a spot at the state tournament, which starts next Tuesday (February 21st) – opening-round matchups and locations are yet to be determined.
As reported here last week, masks were recommended through this week at West Seattle High School because of “multiple” COVID cases. The original announcement to families didn’t say how many, however. But if you check the district dashboard, the stat is stark – between February 7th and 14th, for example, 82 cases were reported at WSHS – the only school in the entire district to even have a double-digit total; next-highest total in the district was 7 cases at three schools outside West Seattle, while the next-highest total in the greater West Seattle area was Madison Middle School with 5 cases. The WSHS masking recommendation runs through Friday, which is the last school day before the district’s weeklong mid-winter break.
When the state 3A high-school diving championships are held tomorrow night in Federal Way, a local student will be there – for the second time! Here’s the announcement we received:
West Seattle High School junior Giovanni Slye will be competing at the state diving championship tomorrow (Thursday) at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. His performance at the Districts meet last weekend guaranteed him a spot at the statewide competition. Diving Coach Stephanie Hunt is proud to take him all the way to state two years in a row.
Event info is here. You can see on page 5 here who he’s competing against.
Tough night for both West Seattle High School basketball teams at the King County District 2 3A playoffs. Both played at Bellevue College, and both lost. This afternoon, the girls fell to Bishop Blanchet, 55-48, and tonight, the boys lost to Eastside Catholic, 54-48. Both get one more chance to advance in the playoffs, with loser-out games Friday night (February 17th) at Bellevue College – the boys vs. Liberty at 6:30 pm, the girls vs. Holy Names at 8 pm.
Spring sports are approaching and West Seattle High School is looking for softball coaches. Athletic Director Corey Sorenson asked us to publish the announcement:
West Seattle High School is looking for qualified applicants interested in being a Head Coach or Assistant Coach for Girls Fastpitch Softball this year. Applicants are encouraged to apply in the link provided and contact Mr. Sorenson at cjsorenson@seattleschools.org. (Application Link – Head Coach or Assistant Coach)
The second round of the high-school basketball postseason has begun!
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
Tonight at West Seattle High School, the Wildcats won their first game in the district tournament. Strong defense as well as offense took WSHS to a 60-41 victory over visiting Mercer Island.
Top Wildcat scorer on the night was #5, senior Ryder Mackay (above), with 20 points. Not far behind at 18 points was #24, senior Chase Clifton.
#3, junior Bo Gionet, was next with eight points. Head coach Dan Kriley‘s Wildcats (13-9) move on to play Eastside Catholic Tuesday night (February 14th), 8 pm at Bellevue College (3000 Landerholm Circle SE).
Ticket info for Tuesday’s game is here.
If somebody you love is a Krispy Kreme fan – or maybe you yourself can’t resist the glazed treats – here’s a Valentine’s Day deal. The Madison Middle School PTSA is selling Krispy Kreme donuts again, for pickup outside the school on Valentine’s Day afternoon. You need to get your order in by 8 pm Saturday night (February 11th). Here’s the link for ordering – $15/dozen. If you just can’t commit in advance, they do expect to have some donuts available for walk-ups (cash or PayPal). Donut pickup will be 3:30-4:30 pm Tuesday (February 14th) outside Madison, 3429 45th SW.
(WSB photos. From left, Madison librarian Stacia Bell, Climate Clock creators Aidan Busby and Lola Thaler, teacher Robin Russell)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Talk about follow-through.
While in 8th grade at Madison Middle School last year, two students collaborated on a project so ambitious, they continued work on it even after the school year ended and they moved on to high school.
Now the result has a prominent place in the Madison library, where it presents a simple but powerful message to everyone who visits.
That’s the Climate Clock designed and built by Lola Thaler and Aidan Busby. They returned to Madison to install it a few weeks back, and now it presents a continuous two-part message. “It’s not a doomsday clock,” they are quick to tell you. You could in fact describe it as an anti-doomsday clock – the countdown shows the time remaining for emissions-elimination action to limit the planet to 1.5 degrees (C) of warming. So you can look at it as “cup half full” – there’s still time. The second number, chosen from other possibilities, shows the percentage of global energy use that’s renewable – another cause for hope, as that number rises (though slowly so far).
Not only did Lola and Aidan plan, design, and build the climate clock – he did the programming – they got funding for it; Lola applied for – and received – a $200 grant from the Madison PTSA.
This was a “Social Change” project originated while they were in teacher Robin Russell‘s class. Lola happened onto the concept of a climate clock while doing research. They could have ordered one. But the teacher suggested, “Maybe you could make your own.”
Aidan says he heard about the project and jumped in – “I thought it would be interesting to build.” He was the tech expert for the project, both hardware and coding.
Then they talked with Madison librarian Stacia Bell about setting it up in the library. She says this is the first time she can recall a student project seeking and obtaining PTSA funding. She’s proud to host it: “It’s become a topic of conversation.”
For teacher Ms. Russell, she remains impressed at how much time Lola and Aidan put into it – and how they saw it through. Finding the time was a challenge, the students admit – Aidan’s family was out of town for the summer, and Lola recalls it required “short bursts of work.” Aidan put dozens of hours into the coding, “including debugging.”
As for the clock’s message, it’s serious business to both. “I think we need to make serious changes,” Aidan observes, especially “better energy choices … solar, nuclear.” Lola sees the big picture – personal changes can only go so far, and beyond them, “it’s frustrating that it’s just a few big corporations doing most of the damage.”
Last year she also gave a Climate Clock presentation in the citywide Environmental Slam, held online in May.
The ultimate message is to challenge the status quo. “If we are to go on with business as usual, the goal won’t be met in time,” says Lola. So raising awareness is imperative. “The most important thing is educating others,” Ms. Bell agrees.
And that’s the lesson of students’ Social Change projects, Ms. Russell says: “That each person CAN make a difference.”
If you want inspiration to make a difference yourself, more information is available at climateclock.world (which also features additional metrics of ongoing world action).
Both West Seattle High School basketball teams played postseason games against Seattle Prep tonight – on opposite sides of the city. The girls played Prep at Ballard, and won 66-40, for a third-place finish in the Metro League tournament. They move on to the district championships with a 3:30 pm game next Tuesday at Bellevue College, vs. either Bishop Blanchet or Juanita.
(Added: WSB photo – #2, Max Holliman, 14 points)
The boys played closer to home tonight, facing Prep in the Chief Sealth IHS gym. This was a close game – the Wildcats lost 68-66, finishing sixth in the Metro tournament. They too move on to the district championships, with a must-win 7 pm game Saturday in their home gym vs. Mercer Island.
Thanks for the forward. West Seattle High School principal Brian Vance has sent families this note:
Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending that all students at West Seattle High School wear a well-fitting and high-quality mask for the next 10 calendar days starting Friday, 2/10/23 to help prevent further transmission of COVID-19. This will include Friday and next week. Masking is recommended but voluntary.
Our goal is to keep as many students learning in-person as possible while maintaining a safe environment. To help do that, we ask that you please monitor your child for COVID symptoms and keep them home if they are sick.
Covid Testing Event at WSHS – 2/10/23
In addition to the recommended masking, the district is initiating an in-school COVID-19 testing event on campus on Friday, 2/10/23. SPS staff will only test students who have consent for the current school year. If you would like to have your student tested, please consent to testing on the CIC Health website. Families will receive test results via text message or email.
Seattle Public Schools continues to update its COVID dashboard – you can see it here.
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