Various honors for Bellingham School District folk

Written by Kira Cox | The Bellingham Herald | March 31, 2010

(I know I’m waaaaay late in posting some of these…)

• Columbia Elementary School Principal Missy Ferguson has been selected as one of 17 Washington State Regional Distinguished Principals by the Elementary School Principals Association of Washington. Candidates were selected based on their contributions to professional growth and development, educational excellence, community relations and humanitarian activities. Ferguson has been with the district for 17 years and in education for 35. She has been the principal of Columbia since 2004 and will be moving to Lowell Elementary in the fall.

• Whatcom Middle School Principal Jeff Coulter has been selected as one of 11 Washington State Regional Distinguished Principals by the Asosciation of Washington Middle Level Princpals. Principals were selected based on their contributions to their schools, students and community. Starting this fall, Coulter will be the interim principal at Columbia Elementary until Whatcom reopens.
• Acting Deputy Superintendent Karst Brandsma was recently inducted into the Washignton Secondary School Athletic Administrator’s Hall of Fame. Brandsma recently retired, with 32 years of experience, and is helping out the Bellingham School District this school year on an interim basis. In other districts, he was well regarded for athletics and has been a football coach.
• The following students have been accepted in Phase One of the Washington Aerospace Scholars Program: Bellingham High’s Caleb Bronstein, Devon Kaufman, David Kolodychuk, Olivia Lewis and Samuel Pramodh, and Squalicum High’s Sean Goertz, Morgan Parker and Hilary Stamback.
• Squalicum High School teacher and boys basketball coach Dave Dickson recently received 2009 NFHS Coaches Association State Coaches Award.
• Mike Anderson, district buildings and grounds manager, was recently honored at the Better Bricks  organization’s annual award ceremony. He was named a finalist in the Facility Manager/Operator category.
• Squalicum High senior Meredith Morrow-Okon was recently named a recipient of the 2010-11 Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship.
• Alderwood Elementary library specialist Scout Mithcell recently received a $1,000 donation from Whatcom Educational Credit Union to purchase high-interest nonfiction for the school library. She also received a mini-grant from the Whatcom Retired Teachers Association to purchase books for the Sasquatch Super Bowl districtwide competition for 4th and 5th graders. Alderwood teacher Paula McGrath also received a mini-grant to purchase classic picture books in English and Spanish.
• Sehome High School orchestra teacher Kirstin Doud recently received the Outstanding Music Educator award for the 2010-12 biennium from the San Juan Music Educators Association.
• The combined Bellingham and Sehome High math team recently competed in the Northwest Math Conference campionships and 16 students qualified for the state championships on April 17: Bellingham High’s Carly Butcher, Andrew Clarke, Katie Cooke, Michael Hobson, Devon Kaufman, Jordyn LeBlonde, Kevin Mitchell, Megan Mullarky, Nate Norton, Megan Ohms, Ryan Prescott, Jenna Roby and Walker Storrer and Sehome High’s Matt Junttila and Matt Nulle. Highlights were first place in Team Topical by the team of Matt Junttila, Nate Norton and Matt Nulle and first place by Matt Junttila and third place by Matt Nulle in The Math Knowdown.
• Sehome High students Louise B. Highleyman and Eric Schneider have been named candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and the U.S. Department of Education. The program honors distinguished graduating seniors.
• Sehome Thespians recently competed at the state Thespian Convention and some students received “excellent” or “superior” ratings in all their competitive rounds, and for the third year in a row, won in the category of musical theatre. Students in the winning musical theatre are: Kaeli Earle, Elysse Laskey, Erika Olson, Robin Schwindt and Taia Wu. Sehome students Erika Olson and Evan Ingalls received an “excellent” rating in their self-directed one act of “London Suite.” The following students received medals for placing in the top 10 percent at regionals, allowing them to compete at state with monologues and scenes: Kaeli Earle, Joan Harris, Nell Highleyman, Evan Ingalls, Elysse Laskey, Morgan Loftus, Erika Olson, Robin Schwindt and Elliot Sullivan.
• The Bellingham School District King Pins participated in the Regional Bowling Tournament for the Special Olympics during the fall and placed first through fourth in various divisions. First place: Jeremy Bolden, Isabelle Fields, Katelin Flannelly, Derek Griffith, Peter Hang and Ben Hilleary. Second place: Chris Beardslee, Cameron Carlson, Will Finch and Raenika Westburg. Third place: Evan Lyod, Kurt McCalla and Dani Parberry. Fourth place: Shawn Clymer and Robert Shusta.