Bellingham School District “Newsmakers” for September

Written by Kira Cox | The Bellingham Herald | October 4, 2010

From the Bellingham School District:

Roosevelt Receives Additional Contribution t o Support Arts Program
Roosevelt Elementary School received a $7,500 donation from the Laird Norton Family Foundation through a grant to support the school’s Arts Impact Program. The family-owned company hopes to continue partnering with Roosevelt after the two years of the Arts Impact Program. In addition, Roosevelt received a donation from Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) for $4,250 through a grant. Funds will be used to support Arts Impact training for Roosevelt teachers. Each teacher receives 36 hours of training to learn how to infuse the arts into the core curriculum. Each teacher will also work individually with a professional artist mentor for 10 hours in theater, dance or visual arts.

Squalicum Student Selected to Attend Prestigious Nursing Camp
Squalicum student Kelli Morones was selected to attend the University of Washington Nurse Camp 2010, July 12-16 at the University of Washington campus in Seattle. The camp was sponsored by the University of Washington School of Nursing and the University of Washington Medical Center. Students from throughout the state were invited to apply. Morones was the only Whatcom County student attending. The selection criteria included three written essays, interest in nursing and minority health issues.

Bellingham High Teacher Honored as Special Olympics ‘Coach of the Year, NW Region’
Bellingham High School teacher Dominique Lantagne was honored Sept. 11 as the Special Olympics “Coach of the Year, NW Region” at the Annual Coaches Conference. Her colleagues say she has been the driving force in the district for the success of the program.

For more information about Special Olympics and the program’s partnership with the Bellingham School District, contact Joe Hampson (Special Olympics WA) at 206-362-4949 x 209 or e-mail JHampson@sowa.org.  For information about 2010’s Law Enforcement Torch Run Campaign for Special Olympics, a program that has raised more than $35 million for Special Olympics Programs around the world, visit http://www.sowa.org/

Larrabee Elementary Receives ‘Run for Something Better’ Grant
Larrabee Elementary School has been selected as a 2010 recipient of the ING Run for Something Better School Awards Program. The school received a $2,000 grant to support the school-based running program. The ING Run for Something Better program received more than 350 applications, and Larrabee was selected for one of only 60 available awards. ING Run For Something Better, in partnership with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, seeks to increase physical activity in students and help fight childhood obesity nationwide through the creation of school-based running programs. Research shows that physical activity improves self esteem, school performance and overall well being. To learn more about the grant, visit www.naspeinfo.org/run.

Gear Up Students Participate in University of Washington’s Summer Immersion Experience
Thirteen Squalicum High School students participated in the University of Washington State Gear Up Project’s Summer Institute, a summer immersion experience. Gear Up fosters college awareness and readiness for low-income middle and high school students by providing a variety of programs targeted to students, administrators and teachers. While living on campus, students attended seminars and learning-labs taught by UW faculty, participated in college and career-planning activities and visited area colleges. The Summer Institutes, designed to encourage students from high-needs schools to succeed in high school and support them in preparing for college, have served thousands of Washington State students since its inception in 1999.