ARBOR DAY - EARTH DAY!

The National Honor Society (NHS) and National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) are the nation's premier organizations established to recognize outstanding high school and middle level students. More than just an honor roll, NHS and NJHS serve to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character (and Citizenship for NJHS). These characteristics have been associated with membership in the organization since their beginnings in 1921 and 1929.  As part of their education program, the National Junior Honor Society members at Chinook went to the Chapin Property in Bellevue on Saturday, April 20, 2013 from approximately 8:30 to 11:00 am.  They donated their time and energy in a clean-up and beautification project in recognition of Arbor Day-Earth Day.  Chinook ROCKs!

 

Chinook is a recipient of the 2012 Washington Achievement Award and is being honored for Overall Excellence and Science!  This is an extraordinary accomplishment and is a direct reflection of the hard work of our students, the dedication of our teachers, and the support and guidance of our parents. The Washington Achievement Awards are sponsored by the Washington State Board of Education and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. They celebrate the state’s top-performing schools and recognize achievement in many categories. This highly-selective award is based on our school’s performance on the Achievement Index and uses criteria set by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility waiver. Visit the OSPI Washington Achievement Awards site to learn more about the awards, the criteria for selection, and the Accountability Index. The Accountability Index look up tool, available at sbe.wa.gov, provides a searchable database where you can find out how schools in our district and across the state are doing. The selection process for the Washington Achievement Award is very rigorous, and all of us take great pride in this accomplishment.

Junior All State Band, Choir, and Orchestra Participants

  

Back row left to right:  Shota Shimizu (Band), Allison Du (Band), Sarah Kim (Band), Deborah Kim (Band), Sophia Sevier (Band), Keita Simizu (Band) Front row left to right:  Dianne Lee (Orchestra), Sarah Gleason (Orchestra), Natalie Andersen (Orchestra), Ana Tanaka (Choir), Eugene Chin (Orchestra) Not Pictured:  Jayda Cook (Choir), Athan Liu (Orchestra)

Outstanding fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade music students from across Washington have received top honors by being selected to participate in the annual Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) Junior All-State bands, choirs and orchestra.  The students pictured joined more than 570 other outstanding young performers in Vancouver for this gala event.  The WMEA Junior All-State groups met February 16, 2013.  These outstanding musicians rehearsed together under the direction of outstanding music educators and presented a final concert that afternoon.  These musicians were selected through auditions to participate in this prestigious event, which is sponsored by the Washington Music Educators Association.  Many professional musicians credit their All-State experience as crucial in their decision to choose music as a career.  Thousands of others whose career paths took them in other directions have great memories of participating in this inspiring and motivating musical experience, and claim that it was a life-changing experience for them.  Well-known Washingtonians who have participated in past years’ WMEA All-State groups include The Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and columnist, David Horsey, 2008 National Teacher of the Year Andrea Peterson and jazz saxophonist Kenney G.

Science Olympiad

 

Grif Hawblitzel and Bianca Tran prepare their rotor for the egg-drop event at Saturday’s regional Science Olympiad in Seattle. Their egg did not survive intact, but Bianca pointed out, “Hey, the yolk is still in there (the shell).” They’re from Chinook Middle School in Bellevue.

The New Chinook!

            

The Old Chinook!