Thank you to the 2020-21 Scholar Representatives to the Board!

In Federal Way Public Schools, incorporating student voice is central to informing the work of serving our 23,000 scholars.

Students from the Scholar Advisory to the Superintendent team presented a recommendation and outlined the application and selection process for the Scholar Representatives to the Board.

The purpose of scholar representatives’ participation at board meetings is to provide valuable input on school district operations.

At the beginning of the school year an interview team selected Gina Philipose and Gunnar Appleton who served as Scholar Representatives to the Board for the 2020-21 school year.

We would like to acknowledge and thank them for their service!

This effort is in support of district strategic plan Goal 2: thriving, confident, responsible individuals.

Thank you for your leadership!

 

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Congratulations to Claire Xu, recipient of the Federal Way Public Schools Board of Directors Student Voice Scholarship Award!

The Federal Way Public Schools Board of Directors Student Voice Scholarship Award celebrates the accomplishments of a Class of 2021 scholar from the Scholar Advisory to the Superintendent who has used their “voice” to make a difference in their school and community. This supports Thriving, Confident, Responsible Individuals, Goal 2 of the district strategic plan.

Congratulations to Claire Xu who has been selected to receive this $500 scholarship!

Students from the Scholar Advisory to the Superintendent team previously created a selection process and criteria to be used for the scholarship. The board then reviewed applications and selected the scholarship recipient.

Claire, we’re so proud of you!

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Congratulations to scholars who placed 1^st-3^rd in the Battle of the Books!

We’re proud of our third through fifth grade scholars who participated in the district-wide Battle of the Books! Scholars compete to answer questions about 12 books they collectively read as a team.

Today, we’re excited to honor the scholars who placed first through third.

Green Gables’ Team Epic Rusty Pigs Supreme placed first:

• Leo Von Ruden
• Hunter McQuistin
• Lena Slaecker
• Josiah Lee

Lake Dolloff’s Mythical Wolfpack tied for second place with Adelaide’s Bob's Bizarre Adventures:

• From Lake Dolloff, we’d like to recognize:
  • Mei Wang
  • Li Wang
  • Nu Nu Tsin
  • Angeli Luo
• From Adelaide, we’d like to recognize:
  • Isaac Winslow
  • Marillyn Snell-Greer
  • Shaylynn Wilcox

Meredith Hill’s Chapter Crusaders, Valhalla’s The Book Guys, and Sherwood Forest’s the Triple E Book Bandits all tied for third place:

• From Meredith Hill, we’d like to recognize:
  • Hark Woodard
  • Elliot Rucker
  • Jaylen Song
• From Valhalla, we’d like to recognize:
  • Nathan Selzler
  • Max Kung
  • Miles Kung
• From Sherwood Forest, we’d like to recognize:
  • Ellie Tomlinson
  • Eleora Harpin
  • Ericka Sun

We are proud of these scholars for striving towards Content-Area Competence: Mastery of All Subjects – goal 4 of our strategic plan!

 

Congratulations to our teachers who have become National Board Certified Teachers! 

Federal Way Public Schools now has a total of 7 teachers who received 2020 National Board Certification! Congratulations to these additional 5 teachers for this achievement:

• Sunna Yi, Brigadoon Elementary, Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early and Middle Childhood
• Allison Lever, Sacajawea Middle School, English Language Arts/Adolescence and Young Adulthood
• Amanda Phillips, Sequoyah Middle School, Mathematics/Early Adolescence
• Christine Ha, Federal Way High School, Science/Adolescence and Young Adulthood
• Jeremie Welch, Thomas Jefferson High School, Career and Technical Education/Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood

This certification is considered the “gold standard” in teacher certification and advances the quality of teaching and learning by maintaining high and rigorous standards.

Thank you for your dedication to continued professional development to positively impact our scholars’ bright futures!

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Thirteen students are awarded the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship!

We have great news to share: 13 of our students have been awarded the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship!

The scholarship provides up to $22,500 in financial aid support and access to mentorship, professional development, and networking for students pursuing high-demand STEM and health care majors at colleges and universities in Washington state. This scholarship can be used to cover tuition, fees, housing, transportation, food, and more.

From Decatur High School:

• Favour Ayemere
• Reyhana Hassan
• Kelly Nguyen
• Emma Wadleigh

From Federal Way High School:

• Yacine Bennour
• Jameyah Rogers
• Adetutu Adeshina
• Vince-Arvin Magno 

From Thomas Jefferson High School:

• De'Aija Reece
• Andrew Dibble
• Vannary Sou
• Jessica Estevez Rodriguez
• Maral Saikhanaa

These students have persisted to graduation, and beyond. We’re so proud of them!

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Federal Way High School's London Houston places at national wrestling events

Congratulations to Federal Way High School senior London Houston who competed in the United World of Wrestling women’s freestyle National Championships in Irving, Texas, May 7-9 and took second place in the junior division! She also made the national U-23 women’s freestyle wrestling team, and competed up a weight class at 136-pounds, taking third place. In March she won the 132-pound High School National Recruiting Showcase title.

London is currently captain of the Federal Way High School women’s wrestling team. In June, she is traveling with Team USA to Mexico City to compete at the Pan-American Championships.

London’s accomplishments demonstrate our scholar-athletes’ commitment to be active learners: engaged, empowered, critical thinkers — Goal 3 of our strategic plan. Way to go!

Kilo Middle School’s Ashley Cundiff collected 800 items for Federal Way Senior Center and a local food bank

We’re excited to recognize Kilo Middle School’s Ashley Cundiff who provided an exceptional act of service to benefit the local community!

Ashley organized and advertised a food drive. After posting a call to action for donations on social media she acquired over 800 items including pet supplies, food, and more. These items were then delivered to the Federal Way Senior Center and a local food bank.

We’re so proud of your initiative to be a student leader who is a thriving, confident, responsible individual which is what our Goal 2 efforts are all about! Way to go, Ashley.

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5 FWPS students named Act Six Scholars

We have great news to share: 5 of our students have been named Act Six Scholars!

Selected through a rigorous three-month competition among more than 1,100 applicants, these diverse student leaders were selected for their commitment to serving their school, eagerness to foster intercultural relationships, and willingness to step out of their comfort zones.

From Todd Beamer High School:

• Immanuel Lee who will attend Saint Martin’s University
• Luis Carrera-Lara who will attend Whitworth University

From Decatur High School:

• Milagros Gonzalez who will attend Northwest University

From Federal Way High School:

• Cheryl Aguilar Henriquez who will attend Saint Martin’s University

From Thomas Jefferson High School:

• Alisha Saucedo who will attend Saint Martin’s University

 The colleges will provide full-tuition, full-need scholarships over four years.

These students have persisted to graduation, and beyond. We’re so proud of them!

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Decatur High School’s McKayla Harlan places at Puget Sound Educational Service District Regional High School Art Show

We’re so proud of McKayla Harlan from Decatur High School for being one of 10 winners at the Puget Sound Educational Service District Regional High School Art Show for her piece “Hopelessness”! She also received The Arts Impact GRIT Award.

Artwork is judged on creativity, composition, and technique and is open to students enrolled in grades 9–12.

The entries that received the highest scores will advance to the 48th Annual State High School Art Show through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

McKayla, we are proud of your dedication to the arts, which supports Strategic Plan Goal 4: Content Area Competence: Mastery of All Subjects. Way to go!

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Scholars achieve musical accomplishments

Our engaged, active scholars have had great musical achievements!

The following scholars auditioned and were selected for the All Northwest and Washington Music Educators Association honor ensembles:

• Carter Mitchell, Decatur High School
• Cassidy Stanhope, Decatur High School
• Kayla Koo, Decatur High School

The following scholars auditioned and were selected for the Western International Band Clinic honor ensembles:

• Cassidy Stanhope, Decatur High School
• Kayla Koo, Decatur High School

The following scholar was selected for the National Association for Music Education, Northwest Division honor group:

• Drake Hedrick, Thomas Jefferson High School, bass (voice)

The following scholar competed against thousands of students and placed at the prestigious Music Teachers National Association event:

• Cassidy Stanhope, Decatur High School, 3rd place for tuba 

Congratulations!

Speech and Debate National Qualifiers and Award Winners

Congratulations to our scholars and administrators who placed at the recent state championship and national qualifying events, and received awards! For the first time, this year’s events went live in a virtual way. 

These engaged, empowered, critical thinkers placed in the following categories and will advance to the national competition:

Thomas Jefferson

• Allen Benjamin Tugade: 2nd in Program Oral Interpretation, 3rd in Dramatic Interpretation at the state championship. Student of the Year, and 1^st in Dramatic Interpretation at the national qualifying event.
• Amy Ojeaburu: State champion in Oratory. 2^nd in Oratory at the national qualifying event.
• Zoe Wall: 1^st in World Teams at the national qualifying event.
• Margaret Steward: 1^st in World Teams at the national qualifying event.

Decatur High School

• Heba Qatrani: 1^st in World Teams at the national qualifying event.
• Kayla Koo: 1^st in World Teams at the national qualifying event.

Federal Way High School

• Graciela Knudsen: 2nd in Oratory at the state championship. 2^nd in Informative Speaking at the national qualifying event.
• Nick Oberst: 1^st in World Teams at the national qualifying event.

We would also like to commend Decatur’s Christine Pyle who was awarded Western Washington Coach of the Year, Thomas Jefferson Principal Adrienne Chacón who was awarded Western Washington Administrator of the Year, and Thomas Jefferson’s Meykia Smith who was awarded the WIAA Speech and Debate Coach of the Year.

Congratulations speech-scholars and administrators — we are proud of you!

 

 

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Thomas Jefferson High School Scholar Named Candidate for U.S. Presidential Scholars Program

Congratulations to Thomas Jefferson High School’s Alisha Saucedo who has been named one of the 4,500 candidates for the 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program!

Selected from nearly 3.6 million seniors in the United States, this program is one of the highest honors awarded to graduating seniors. Alisha was chosen for her strong involvement in academics, social and leadership clubs, and athletics.

Across the nation each year, up to 161 seniors are chosen as Presidential Scholars, representing “excellence in education and the promise of greatness in America’s youth,” according to the organization.

Alisha, we’re so proud of you for being an engaged, active learner and persisting to graduation and beyond!

 

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Washington State High School Adviser of the Year by Association of Washington Student Leaders

Congratulations to Thomas Jefferson High School’s Coley Veitenhans who has been named the Washington State High School Adviser of the Year by the Association of Washington Student Leaders!

The Association of Washington Student Leaders recognized Coley for his consistent focus on servant leadership, developing meaningful relationships with students and adults, and his unwavering commitment to helping students prepare for next steps in life. 

He will be formally honored at the annual Washington Activity Coordinators Association conference held virtually during March.

Coley, thank you for your dedication in supporting our scholars to be active learners, engaged, empowered critical thinkers - Goal 3 of our strategic plan. Way to go!

 

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Todd Beamer Seniors Receive Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Flight Academy Scholarship

Congratulations to Todd Beamer High School’s Alexis Lewis and Jack Garfield for receiving the prestigious Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Flight Academy Scholarship! 

Alexis and Jack are two of 230 scholar-cadets from around the world who were selected for the scholarship that will pay for 100% of tuition for an eight-week-long flight training school.

The scholarship is valued at $22,500, and covers transportation, room and board, and flight academy hours. Upon completion, scholars in the flight training school will earn their private pilot’s license. 

Alexis also received the J-100 Air Force Junior ROTC Character-in-Leadership Scholarship, which awards full-ride tuition and room and board for a full four-year ROTC program at select colleges. This scholarship allows Alexis to become a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force after college graduation.

We are so proud of Alexis and Jack for their persistence to graduation and beyond!