Private schools
Information about private schools in Whatcom County, including: Assumption Catholic School, Bellingham Christian School, Lynden Christian Schools, Whatcom Day Academy, Fairhaven Girls’ School, Whatcom Hills Waldorf School, St. Paul’s Academy and Explorations Academy.
Explorations Academy is having an open house Monday night, Aug. 20, for families interested in learning more about the small, independent high school.
Parents and teens may tour the school, ask questions and talk with teachers to find out whether Explorations is right for them.
The event will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the school, 1701 Ellis St., Suite 215 in Bellingham.
Explorations Academy is enrolling for fall 2012. Applications are available by calling 360-671-8085 or by going online to explorationsacademy.org.
Lynden Christian, Lummi and Windward kicked off graduations in Whatcom County with their ceremonies on Thursday, June 7.
Lynden and Nooksack Valley high schools are up next, with their graduations beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, June 8.
Below is a round-up of high school and college graduation ceremonies this month. Ceremonies are open to the public, unless otherwise noted.
FRIDAY, JUNE 8
Lynden High School: 7 p.m. in the school gym.
Nooksack Valley High School: 7 p.m. at Sid Lambert Field or Kay LeMaster Gym, depending on the weather.
SATURDAY, JUNE 9
Ferndale High School: 11 a.m. at Civic Field.
Western Washington University:
- 9 a.m. College of Business and Economics, College of Fine and Performing Arts, Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Huxley College of the Environment.
- 12:30 p.m. College of Humanities and Social Sciences (Humanities Division) and Woodring College of Education.
- 4 p.m. College of Humanities and Social Sciences (Social Sciences Division) and the College of Sciences and Technology.
All three ceremonies are in Carver Gymnasium. Tickets are required for seating in the gym, but there will be overflow seating in the Science, Mathematics and Technology Education building with the ceremonies broadcast on a screen. The ceremonies also will be broadcast live on Comcast channel 26 and streamed live on www.ustream.tv/channel/wwu-live-events1.
MONDAY, JUNE 11
Blaine High School: 6 p.m. in the school gym.
Community Transitions (Bellingham School District): 7 p.m. Bellingham Cruise Terminal, Dome Room.
TUESDAY, JUNE 12
Mount Baker High School: 6:30 p.m. at the school’s Bob Tisdale Field.
THURSDAY, JUNE 14
Meridian High School: 7 p.m. in the school gym.
Explorations Academy: 7 p.m. at Squalicum Boathouse. Space is limited so people need to contact Explorations before June 13 if they wish to attend.
FRIDAY, JUNE 15
Bellingham High School: 7 p.m. in the school gym. Tickets required.
Northwest Indian College: 4 p.m. in Wex’liem community building.
Whatcom Community College: 6:30 p.m. in the Pavilion. Tickets are required to sit in the pavilion; however there will be overflow seating in Heiner Theatre with the ceremony broadcast on a screen.
SATURDAY, JUNE 16
Squalicum High School: 11 a.m. at the school. Tickets required.
MONDAY, JUNE 18
Sehome High School: 6 p.m. in Carver Gym at WWU.
TUESDAY, JUNE 19
Options High School: 7 p.m. in the theater at Bellingham High School.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20
Bellingham Technical College: 7 p.m. at Mount Baker Theatre. Tickets required.
Two sophomores at St. Paul’s Academy in Bellingham have won a video contest for their short about the effects of PCBs on the health of Puget Sound.
Ali Anders and Melanie Bazlan created the nearly two-minute video for the contest put on by Facing the Future in Seattle. Titled “A World Without Whales,” the video shows people around Bellingham holding handwritten signs that detail the threat, and some of the solutions to the problem.
Their entry was one of three selected to receive the contest’s top prize of $300 and an HD Flip video camera, said Karl Frank, their science teacher.
He goes on to say that the video is “one of the best efforts I’ve seen from students in my ten years of teaching.”
The proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal is causing a lot of stir in Whatcom County, with people weighing the environmental impacts of coal and trains with the possible increase in local jobs.
And now it’s time to hear from teenagers.
Explorations Academy is hosting an event, “100 Youth Voices,” to give teens ages 13 to 18 a place to discuss a wide array of topics related to the proposed development.
The independent high school will also be giving teens an opportunity voice their opinions, either for or against the terminal, on a video that will be shared with elected officials and community leaders.
The event will be from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at The Majestic, 1027 N. Forest St. Refreshments will be available from 5:30 to 6 p.m., and the band Endorfins will play from 8:45 to 9:30 p.m., a time during which teens can socialize.
Whatcom Day Academy will have an open house for prospective families on Thursday morning, Nov. 17.
Parents and community members will be able to tour the school, meet teachers and observe students in classrooms.
The independent school has students in preschool through middle school. The open house will be at the school, 5217 Northwest Drive, from 9 to 11 a.m.
For more information, contact the school at 360-312-1103. Families who can’t attend the open house can also contact the school to schedule appointments.
Adults interested in learning more about Waldorf education are invited to the “Walk Through the Grades” tour at Whatcom Hills Waldorf School on Thursday, Nov. 10.
Participants will be able to observe classes in progress, meet with teachers and ask questions.
The tour will be from 9:15 to 11 a.m. at the school, 941 Austin St. in the Geneva area.
To register, which is required, contact Holly Roger at enroll@whws.org or 360-733-3164.
The Feed the Need 2011 Community Food Drive is underway, and Bellingham Christian School families are making a large donation.
Bellingham Christian School Principal Bob Sampson is barricaded in his office by students and food drive donations
The school had gathered more than an estimated 1,000 pounds of food by Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 19. School Principal Bob Sampson sent out the following email to the school community, sharing his delight at being trapped in his office due to the amount of donated non-perishables.
The food drive continues through the end of the week, with food and cash donations accepted at any Whatcom County Haggen store or Industrial Credit Union branches.
Hello Everyone,
Wow! Instead of being trapped out of my office, I’ve been trapped in my office all day today because of food, food, food. It’s really a pain to get out of my office; that’s a good thing. Fortunately the 2nd grade brought me water, the 3rd grade brought me snacks, the 4th grade helped me get some things from the copy machine and the middle school were around to say hello and keep me company.Great job on the food drive over these last two days! It’s amazing what we can do with only one day notice and two days to work on it. In just two days we’ve easily brought in more than 1,000 pounds of food to give to the Community Food Drive.
Several students commented that they forgot their food at home on the kitchen counter or by the door. That’s okay, Haggen Grocery stores will be collecting food through Friday.
Well done everyone. The heart of Jesus is that we help the poor and needy. This was a good opportunity to show our students one way to choose Jesus. And we’ve taken part in blessing our community. Amen! That’s our mission–to be a positive impact on our community.
Mr. Sampson
Whatcom Hills Waldorf School is having an open house on Saturday, Oct. 15, as part of the community celebration Geneva Days.
During the open house, which will be from 12:30 to 2 p.m., families can tour classrooms and learn about Waldorf education.
After the open house, families are invited to participate in the Geneva Days Umbrella Parade through the neighborhood. The parade starts at 2 p.m. on the school’s playground.
Wheels of Life School, a small independent school in Bellingham, is offering a new program for Bellingham elementary families looking for something for their kids to do on the weekly early release Wednesdays.
The school is starting a Bellingham Youth Ambassadors program, in which students will discuss, design and implement service-learning and research projects. The program will be similar to Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Club.
The program will meet weekly on Wednesdays, from 1:15 to 5:30 p.m., starting Sept. 21. Tuition is $1,000 for the entire school year. Schools with four or more students registered will qualify for transportation provided by Wheels of Life School. All other students will need to find their own transportation.
Students in Bellingham Youth Ambassadors program are also welcome to attend Wheels of Life during spring break.
The program is designed to accomodate elementary-aged students, however middle and high school teens are also welcome.
For more information, contact the school at 360-393-1652.
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.