Math survey extended

The Mercer Island School District will extend its Math Curriculum and Program Review until Friday, Oct. 10. The review, which includes an online survey at www.surveymonkey.com, has been going on for several weeks. The district’s goal is to evaluate the current math program based on newly adopted standards, school district and national assessment data, as well as teacher, parent and student survey information. A committee of administrators, teachers and parents will use the information to evaluate the district’s math program. For more information, contact Michael Schiehser, director of instruction and assessment at Michael_Schiehser@misd.wednet.edu.

Hats Off

Last month, the Reporter printed a list of this year’s National Merit semifinalists from Mercer Island High School. Four Island teenagers attending Lakeside School in Seattle also qualified as semifinalists: Kate Blumstein, Steven Diamond, Mark Fischer and Micah Larus-Stone. Jake Rubin, of Seattle Academy, is another Island semifinalist. A total of 16,000 students nationwide were elected as semifinalists. The qualifiers will continue in the competition to become National Merit finalists. In order to become a finalist, high school juniors must complete the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Students must also have an outstanding academic record, high SAT scores, be endorsed by their high school principal and demonstrate strong leadership skills and community involvement.

Walk to

School Day

Mercer Island will celebrate International Walk to School Day today, Oct. 8 with all three elementary schools participating. Although each school has its own program, the overall message is to encourage children to walk, bike or bus to school. According to Marlo Isaac, a member of Island Park’s Safe Routes to School Committee, the initiative has three goals: improve physical fitness among students, help the environment and build community.

“It’s a great way to build a stronger sense of neighborhood,” she said, adding that parents are chaperoning groups of children to walk to school together. To ensure safety, a number of neon flags and caution signs will be posted along school routes. Some students, Isaac said, will walk as far as two miles to make their point. Students who live too far from school to walk are encouraged to take the bus instead of riding in a car with their parents. Efforts to encourage healthy alternatives to school will continue all year long. West Mercer has the Healthy Pups program and Lakeridge has the Healthy Ways to School program.