Principal’s Message
We ended last week with The Grammy Awards, Aviation High School’s 7th Annual Talent Show, sponsored by Culture Club. It was a spectacular evening, with acts ranging from food catching to piano, guitar, drum, band, dance, and singing performances with a variety of interpretations. Congratulations to all of the performers. You were magnificent! I applaud your confidence as well as your talents! Special thanks to Culture Club Advisor Mrs. Wombold and Leadership Student Elizabeth Ong for their work to ensure a successful event; and a big round of applause for Miranda Sita and Jose Aguilar for serving as masters of ceremony and being just as entertaining as the many acts! Thanks, too, to judges Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Joshi, and Mr. Ward.
Last Friday also included another Mentor Breakfast & Networking Meeting, which was a perfect way to start College & Career Day. As I made my may from table to table in the gymnasium, it was both validating and heartwarming to hear conversations about college options, career pathways and the future of the work world, and to feel the camaraderie and mutual respect that has developed through this program. Our mentors are truly a vital part of our learning community as they constantly network on our behalf and share their own experiences. For example, it was Mr. Karl Rein-Weston who invited Dr. George Bibel, Professor at University of North Dakota and author of a new book titled Beyond the Black Box, to be our speaker last Friday. Our mentoring and internship programs have grown exponentially with the stellar leadership of Ms. Pappas and Ms. Burr. Thanks to their efforts, we now have more than 150 mentors! Internships are also being developed at a variety of aviation/aerospace-related sites. Our goal is that all AHS students will be connected with a mentor and experience an internship as part of your high school years. It’s all part of informing your thinking about college and career options in STEM-related fields. We’re on track!
While most of us were still sleeping Saturday morning, our Science Olympiad team traveled to Camas, Washington for an invitational event. A very long day on the road and competing in various events was worth the extraordinary effort, though, with strong performances by many of our students and great learning by all. Congratulations to all our Olympians and special thanks to Coaches Durrant, Dyer, and McComb.
First semester of the school year ends this Thursday, with no school scheduled for Friday. My best to you on exams and final projects!
NOTE:
- Eastside Carpool: Eastside AHS families are organizing after-school carpools for students living in Mercer Island, Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Woodinville, and Bothell. If interested, please contact Therese Beale (therese.beale@gmail.com). Families whose students participate will be asked to drive one afternoon per week to pick up students at the end of the school day.
- Continue to check school calendar on our website and school’s desktops.
Quote of the Week:
“And the result of their (Skunkworks team) labor was a beauty of a plane, in both form and function. Not one SR-71 Blackbird was ever lost to enemy nor friendly fire. Every one of the thirty-two built performed admirably, helping America both in peering behind the Iron Curtain and into Soviet Russia, and later in their lives providing reconnaissance for attacks against Qadaffi’s Libyan army. And now, more than fifty years after her conception, the dark lady still holds the speed and altitude records for a manned, air-breathing aircraft. She represents the pinnacle design of the aircraft of the Cold War, and the full, wonderful result of what the drive of the ‘can-do-spirit’ can accomplish.”
~Morgen Sellier, concluding paragraph of Can-Do Spirit essay,
Aviation & the American Character class, 2010
Note: One of the 32 Blackbirds produced is on display in the Great Gallery at the Museum of Flight. It is magnificent!
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