During its summer retreat last week, the Mercer Island School Board designed a new path for the Really Big Idea Committee (RBIC) in preparation for the next phase of achieving its 2020 Vision. The School Board will henceforth relinquish responsibility for the project, passing the reins on to Superintendent Gary Plano, who will continue to define the 2020 Vision with the RBIC.
Like many other American cities, Mercer Island has its own proud list of Olympic medalists. There is Mary Wayte — gold medalist swimmer in the 1984 Los Angeles Games — whose name has been eternalized by the Island’s Mary Wayte Pool; figure skater Peter Kennedy, who won silver skating pairs with his sister, Karol, in the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo; and Carl Buchanan, who won gold for sailing in the 1984 Summer Games.
This month, King County will conduct a Top 2 primary. Voters will not have to pick a party and will be able to choose among all candidates for each office. In each race, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to the November General Election.
Educational advocate and pediatrician Dr. Melvin Levine, whose expertise on teaching the “struggling student” has earned him national repute, is standing trial for accusations of sexually abusing five former patients when they were boys. The charges, although months-old, were brought to the national spotlight in a New York Times front-page story on Aug. 6. Levine has denied all accusations.
This fall, Crest social studies teacher Gavin Tierney will bring conflict resolution and international peacekeeping to the classroom. With 2008 headlines awash in political conflict — from Iraq to Darfur to the recent war in Georgia — the importance of such topics in education is growing. Eager to broaden Crest’s social studies program, Tierney attended a six-day summer institute at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, D.C., exploring ways to integrate international conflict resolution and peacemaking strategies into the high school curriculum.
In response to a proposed federal law restricting the use of public buses for student transportation, the Mercer Island School District (MISD) and King County Metro are voicing their dissent. Both parties have written letters of protest to CFR 49, a recent proposal by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) that could prohibit Metro routes from transporting students to and from school.
Rachel Van Gelder, 12, has started her own newspaper and the entire neighborhood is involved. In late May, the first issue of The Hoot, a newspaper covering the events and personalities of Mercer Terrace Drive on the South end, went to press. Van Gelder personally delivered the 11-page, full-color publication — named after the owl she hears hooting at night — to more than a dozen neighborhood families.
As September draws closer, teachers in the Bellevue School District (BSD) are bracing for what could be their first strike in years. More than 1,000 teachers in the Eastside district are prepared to picket if they do not have a tentative contract agreement by Sept. 2, the first day of school. Their current contract ended on Aug. 1.
As Hurricane Gustav tore through New Orleans this week, the parishioners of Blessed Seelos Catholic Church and their friends at the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church (MIPC) prayed to get through yet another natural disaster.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction released the 2008 state WASL results last week, with Mercer Island scores topping the list. The percentage of Island students meeting all three standards -— reading, writing and math — averaged 86 percent, far above the Washington state average of 45 percent.
The ongoing construction along S.E. 40th Street has caused daily congestion from the intersection of Island Crest Way and S.E. 40th east to S.E. 40th and Gallagher Hill. With school starting this week, the number of buses and cars passing through this area will double. The city and school district, however, are working to ease the problem.
Teachers from across Bellevue gathered behind picket signs today, striking in solidarity for higher wages and a more flexible curriculum. The districtwide strike, which was announced at a teacher union meeting on Sept. 1, left more than 1,600 students without classes on the first scheduled day of school.
Mercer Island High School is welcoming back three of its own students this fall as teachers. MIHS graduates Susan Rindlaub, Amie Fahey and Shannon Verschueren will join five other Islanders — Lee Jahncke, Jamie Prescott, Tony Scaringi, Brett Ogata and Karen Sherwood — who have returned to teach at the school that taught them.
