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Cleveland HS girls win state 3A basketball championship

March 3rd, 2013 at 7:17 pm | No Comments | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

Congratulations to the Cleveland High School girls’ basketball team, who won the Washington State 3A basketball championship last night by 45-43 in a nail-biting finish after losing an 18-point lead earlier in the game. Read more in the Seattle Times.

South Seattle boys also found victory in a close game last night as Rainier Beach High School won the 3A championship over Lakeside in overtime, 62-59. It was the Vikings’ second title in a row and their fifth title since 2002. Coach Mike Bethea has now won a record six state championships, putting him ahead of Phil Lumpkin (O’Dea), Al Hairston (Garfield), and Ray Ricks (NW Christian-Colbert), each of whom guided their teams to the top spot five times. More here.

The Franklin High School boys fell to Rainier Beach 59-73 in Friday night’s 3A semi-final, and ended up in fifth place after losing to Lincoln 69-77. More here.


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Cleveland HS STEM program hosts tours, open house

February 14th, 2013 at 4:01 am | No Comments | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

Here on Beacon Hill we have the only STEM high school in the region: Cleveland High School, an option school open to all students in Seattle Schools. Cleveland STEM will host school tours later this month and in early March, as well as hosting an open house on February 27 for prospective students and parents.

The school tours are on Thursday, February 21 and Wednesday, February 27 from 8:15 to 10:15 a.m. The open house is Wednesday, February 27, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Space is limited, so please RSVP with your phone number and preferred dates to registrar Kelly Tagupa at katagupa@seattleschools.org or 206-252-7814.

STEM stands for “science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” and Cleveland’s STEM program focuses on those fields through two academies, the School of Life Sciences and the School of Engineering and Design. Students in the STEM program take four years of math and science, with the opportunity to take AP courses. Find out more about the program at the website.


This video, STEM Pays, is an introduction to Cleveland’s STEM program and the careers STEM students prepare for.


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Building Credit presentation at Cleveland HS, 10/30

October 24th, 2012 at 3:37 am | 1 Comment | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

The Cleveland High School Eagles PTSA is sponsoring financial classes (open to anyone in South Seattle) and parent conversation groups (open to anyone with children). All classes are free.

The next class is Tuesday, October 30, from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Cleveland High School lunchroom, 5511 15th Ave. S. The presentation, “Building Credit,” is taught by staff from Boeing Employee Credit Union, and will help attendees understand credit reports and what can and can’t be done to correct errors on a credit report.

The PTSA is also looking for volunteers to lead groups of speakers of Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Somali. Volunteers should also be reasonably fluent in English. The first classes will be in English only, but in the future, the plan is to train translaters in the course material so they can lead classes in these languages.

If you would like to volunteer, or just have questions, please contact Angela Mealing at eaglesmama@ymail.com.


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Beacon Hill schools to benefit from STEM grants

August 17th, 2012 at 5:53 am | No Comments | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

Photo by dpham194 via Flickr/Creative Commons.

Two Beacon Hill schools will benefit from investment grants recently-awarded by Washington STEM, a non-profit group dedicated to improving education in the “STEM” fields: science, technology, engineering, and math. The grants are of two types: Entrepreneur Award grants, one-year investments to support “breakthrough ideas and promising approaches in STEM education”; and Portfolio Awards for multi-year projects. The Beacon Hill grants are both Entrepreneur Awards.

The Cleveland High School grant of $10,000 is for a project, “Who Has the Right to Clean Water?”:

“Through the lens of social justice, science, and social studies, teachers will design an engaging unit of study in which students will investigate the essential question ‘who has the right to clean water?’ Bolstering the global nature of this question, Cleveland students will use internet technology to partner with students in Taita, a poor, rural area of Kenya. Students on both continents will conduct similar investigations and share data for comparison and analysis. In science, students will test water chemistry, explore their personal water footprint, and investigate engineering designs for water purification. Concurrently, in social studies students will explore social, geographical, and historical causes of unequal access to clean water and the impact that our daily decisions have on our environment. Students will ultimately create a call to action, sharing their findings in a daylong water symposium.”

The second Beacon Hill grant of $20,000 went to the local non-profit group Powerful Schools, for their project, “Building a STEM Community” at Beacon Hill International School:

“Seattle-based nonprofit Powerful Schools is empowering traditionally underserved students to start a community-wide conversation around the power of STEM at Beacon Hill International School, a diverse public elementary school located in south Seattle. In this ‘Curiosity Club,’ fourth and fifth grade student leaders will launch a STEM campaign including development of a mobile ‘lab’ to share hands-on STEM experiments school-wide. Powerful Schools will also commission a local artist to work with students to create materials that summarize their findings and encourage non-English speaking families to discover STEM at home.”

A full list of Washington STEM investments may be found at their website.


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Cleveland High School “Beacon Hill’s best building”?

May 21st, 2012 at 1:42 pm | 3 Comments | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

The Stranger’s Charles Mudede suggests that Cleveland High School (the new portion) is “Beacon Hill’s best building.” The new addition, designed by Mahlum (see a slideshow of the building here), was an AIA Project of the Month in May, 2010*. It also won a Citation Award in 2008 from the American Association of School Administrators.

Do you agree? What do you think is the best building on Beacon Hill? What makes a “best building” anyway? Tell us in the comments.

*Mudede’s post says “Cleveland High School, which was designed by Mahlum Architects, won one of the AIA’s 2008 Honor Awards for Washington Architecture.” As far as we can tell, this is an error; the award they won in 2010 is for projects which were previously nominated for Honor Awards but did not win. The website design at the 2008 awards website is ambiguous so the error is understandable.


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Tai chi, soccer, fundraising, and more on this weekend’s events calendar

April 27th, 2012 at 3:57 am | 1 Comment | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

Tai chi practitioners in a Wisconsin park. On Saturday, local folks will do tai chi and qigong at Jefferson Park as part of World Tai Chi and Qigong Day. Photo by OnTask via Creative Commons/Flickr.

There are lots of activities on the Hill this weekend to keep you busy, from soccer and tai chi to urban redevelopment and high school fundraising. Here goes:

Today (Friday) from 1-2 p.m. is the unveiling ceremony for the new community tile mosaic mural at Beacon Hill International School. Details are here.

Saturday is a busy day, starting at 9 a.m. at Jefferson Park where neighbors are meeting for a pick-up soccer game. “Bring friends and play some soccer with a great view,” they say. Details are on Facebook.

An hour later at Jefferson Park is a local version of the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day event, from 10-noon and sponsored by Wise Orchid Martial Arts. There will be a free qigong and tai chi class and demonstration, followed by a group lunch. Information is on Facebook.

Also on Saturday from 10-noon, El Centro de la Raza is hosting a community open house to present the finalist design teams for the redevelopment of El Centro’s south lot. The south lot currently contains a parking lot, but is planned to contain a mixed-use transit-oriented project with housing. Details are here.

Then on Saturday night, head over to the South Seattle Community College campus in West Seattle for the Cleveland High School Red and White Night Soaring Eagles Auction from 5:30-9 p.m. and help the high school on the Hill raise $10,000. Information is here.


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Cleveland PTSA invites you to fundraising auction

April 5th, 2012 at 6:05 am | 2 Comments | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

Aerial photo of Cleveland High School in 2001, courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives.

The Cleveland High School PTSA invites everyone to help raise $10,000 by participating in the Cleveland High School Red and White Night Soaring Eagles Auction, Saturday, April 28, from 5:30-9 p.m. at Brockey Center on the South Seattle Community College Campus (6000 16th Ave. S.W.).

You can be part of this fundraising event in several ways: by buying a ticket to attend, by donating an item for the silent or live auction, or by donating cash directly. To buy tickets or donate, go to this website and follow the steps there.

Volunteers are also welcome. To volunteer, contact Heather Graves (hmchavez4@gmail.com).


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Cleveland High School showing academic improvement

December 16th, 2011 at 5:48 am | No Comments | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

Aerial photo of Cleveland High School in 2001, courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives.

Cleveland High School on Beacon Hill is one of the schools that showed strong academic growth during the 2010-2011 school year, according to a report by Seattle Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield.

Seattle schools are ranked according to absolute performance scores and year‐to‐year growth scores on a 1-5 scale, with Level 1 being low and Level 5 being the highest level. Cleveland, which began a new Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) academy program last year, moved up from Level 2 to Level 3, and achieved a 218 percent increase in students meeting the math standard. Additionally, the school showed a small increase in enrollment in Fall 2010.

Here are further details in the report sent out by the school district:

At Cleveland High School, which moved up from Level 2 to Level 3, students have shown impressive academic growth after their first year of participation in both the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program and the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program.

Their success is illustrated by their performance on the statewide reading and math exams taken by students in grades 9 and 10: In reading, the percentage of students meeting standard increased by 6 percent from spring 2010 to 2011, rising from 63 percent to 69 percent; and in math, the school saw a 218 percent increase, as the number of students meeting standard increased from 17 percent to 54 percent.

Since the state changed some parts of the state’s high school math test, it is impossible to fully compare Spring 2010 and Spring 2011 math results until Spring 2012, when the students will have taken the same test for a second year in a row. Even so, Cleveland students have made significant progress in just one year. Cleveland principal Princess Shareef said that faculty are working to increase the level of challenge in the coursework, as well as providing extra math instruction to students who are not yet meeting standards.

Two other measures of successful high schools are enrollment counts and graduation rates. Cleveland’s enrollment had been declining for years, so one of the school’s goals has been to attract more students. Those efforts are paying off: in Fall 2009, Cleveland had 738 students enrolled; by Fall 2010, enrollment had increased to 795 students.

Cleveland’s graduation rates are also showing progress: The school’s overall graduation rate jumped from 55 percent in Spring 2010 to 68% in Spring 2011. Shareef notes that staff focused on closing the gap in graduation rates between Anglo‐American students and students of color.


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Beacon Bits: Potholes, parents, and all-you-can-eat pancakes

January 5th, 2011 at 4:25 am | No Comments | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

Walking and driving have been treacherous during our recent cold snap, particularly in places like this 14th Avenue location where there seems to be some kind of water leak. Photo by Robert Kangas in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.

The Friends of Cheasty Greenspace at Mt. View, together with Cascade Land Conservancy and Washington Conservation Corps, are co-hosting a Martin Luther King Jr. service day on Monday, January 17 from 10:00 am to 12 noon. All are welcome to help, including families with children (it’s a school holiday). To participate, meet at 2809 South Alaska Place, one block west of Columbia City Station. Volunteers will work on forest restoration and invasive species removal. Gloves and tools will be provided.

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Mmmmm, pancakes. MMMMMMMMmmm, all-you-can-eat pancakes for $5! The Cleveland High School softball team is hosting a pancake fundraiser on Saturday, January 9 from 9:00 – 11:00 am. Breakfast is served at the Cleveland cafeteria, the same building where the gym is located. Questions? Email Kyrsten at klpratt@seattleschools.org.

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We previously mentioned that Gage Academy of Art is offering free drop-in art classes for teens aged 13-18 in the Rainier Valley. We have more information about the classes now. January’s classes are “Imaginative Plaster Forms” with Katrina Wolfe, February’s are “Cut It Out” (cut paper in two and three dimensions) with Celeste Cooning, and March features “Explorations in Paint” with Jeanne Dodds.

Classes are on Saturdays at The 2100 Building, 2100 24th Avenue South. Classes will be from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm. For more information, call 206-323-GAGE. Art materials and pizza will be provided.

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There is a new Yahoo group/listserv for Beacon Hill parents. Go here to join and chat with your fellow parents in the neighborhood.

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BHB contributor Joel Lee’s blog, BeHi Bonsai, was featured in The Seattle Times (BHB news partners) a few days ago:

“‘You can’t drive down a block on Beacon Hill without seeing them,’ says Joel Lee of the plant sculptures he refers to as bonsai on his popular neighborhood blog. Lee moved to the area a couple of years ago, drawn by the promise of light rail and the Jefferson Park expansion. But as soon as he started walking his dog around the neighborhood, he became fascinated by the display of sheared and shaped plants.”

Unfortunately, author Valerie Easton seemed a bit put off by the Hill’s topiary art.

The Times is also hosting a “map the potholes” project. There are a few Beacon Hill potholes already included, such as the “giant holes heading west on Holgate at approx 14th” (we hit that one a couple of weeks ago—ouch!), but if your most annoying tooth-rattler isn’t listed, please add it.

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There’s a yoga and EFT Workshop, “Rejuvenate your Energy in 2011,” this Saturday, January 8 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Jun Hong Kung Fu and Sports Association, 4878 Beacon Avenue South. Find out more and register for class on the event website.

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Neighbor Robert Kangas has noted some extreme water leakage along 14th Avenue South, west of Jefferson Park. The leaks caused some dangerous ice patches. He posted a series of photos here. In discussion on the Beacon Hill mailing list last week, some folks noted a history of artesian wells on the Hill, and suggested that these are the source of some of the leaks around the neighborhood. Others think it’s a leaky water main.

If you notice a potential water leak on public or private property, you can report it by calling 206-386-1800, and Seattle Public Utilities will then check it out.

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The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is hosting three free workshops to educate neighborhood groups and community organizations on the funding process and requirements for the Large Projects Fund, the matching fund that awards up to $100,000 for community projects. Next Tuesday, January 11, there’s a workshop in Southeast Seattle, at the Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Avenue South. The workshop is from 6:00-8:00 pm. More information about the Large Projects Fund and the three workshops may be found here.

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Sustainable South Seattle is hosting the third of a workshop series dedicated towards creating a climate co-op for South Seattle neighborhoods. The event is Wednesday, January 26 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Southside Commons, 3518 South Edmunds Street. Food, refreshments, and childcare will be provided. Please RSVP by emailing climate.coop@gmail.com.

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A new co-ed a cappella group is forming on Beacon Hill, with auditions this month according to a current post on craigslist.org:

We are looking for:
Men and women who are positive, fun and excited about performing and singing harmony. We will possibly be doing 1 to 2 gigs per month starting in the Spring.

We want to be:
16 in total. (We have 10 right now) Put together performances that are tight musically, visually and are funny and entertaining to most people. You don’t have to dance or want to make a fool of yourself, but it is a bonus. Diverse in anyway possible—age, race, musical background, sexuality…

See the ad for more info.

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A couple of changes to liquor licenses on the Hill occurred last month. The Station coffee house at 2533 16th Avenue South was approved for a license as a “direct shipment receiver – in WA only.” But every new beginning is some other beginning’s end: on the same day, the liquor license for the ill-fated Tasha’s Bistro Café was discontinued.


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Beacon Bits: Bazaar, barista, and a giant teepee

May 7th, 2010 at 5:10 pm | 1 Comment | Posted by Wendi Dunlap

Victrola is looking for a "Barista w/BeaHill love & skills." Is that you? Photo by Wendi.

Beacon Hill International School is hosting their annual Beacon Bazaar on Saturday, June 12 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, on the 14th Avenue South sidewalk in front of the school. If you would like to rent a table to sell items, you can find a registration form at the above link.

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Also in Beacon Hill International School news, two members of the school’s Chess Club competed in the 2010 Washington State Elementary Chess Championships on April 24 in Tacoma. Congratulations to first-grader Jay Zinschlag and fourth-grader Paul Wickward who each won two of five games in their tournament.

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Victrola recently posted a help wanted ad for a barista, and said “interests in coffee processing, roasting and cupping and the BeaHill/SouthSeattle area are important.” Know your way around an espresso machine and Beacon Hill? See the ad for more info.

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The Seattle school district has been awarded grants totaling $5.76 million over three years for three schools under the School Improvement Grant program, including Cleveland High School on Beacon Hill. The three-year grants, awarded by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) with funding from the federal stimulus package, will support school improvement plans at Cleveland as well as at Hawthorne and West Seattle elementary schools.

The additional resources will be used to support the transformation of Cleveland High School into a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) school.

Here is a fact sheet about Cleveland’s plan.

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Joaquin Uy writes, “A few of us were wondering what happened to the giant teepee that used to be seen driving down McClellan. I believe there were protest signs by the teepee too.” Anyone know?

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Franklin High School is taking it to the streets for the Franklin Arts Festival on Saturday, May 15 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm in front of Franklin High School, 3013 South Mount Baker Boulevard. There will be music by the Nyamuziwa Marimba Ensemble. Franklin’s Marching Band, Lion Dancers, and other talented student groups will be there too, and there will be displays of the visual arts and crafts including ceramics, drawing, woodworking and painting. The event is free.

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The City of Seattle Office of City Auditor is conducting a review of the City’s response to graffiti, and has set up a questionnaire to help gather information from individuals, businesses, and organizations about how graffiti affects them.

The questionnaire is here. The deadline to complete it is May 10.


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