14 March 2011
Principal’s Message
I have great news to share with you about our journey to have a permanent home at the Museum of Flight! Last week, the Boeing Company pledged $4,000,000 towards construction of our new school, along with Esterline Corporation at $1,000,000, Scott and Linda Carson also at $1,000,000 (Scott is the former CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and has visited our school many times), TECT Aerospace $250,000, and the Charles Simonyi Fund for the Arts & Sciences $300,000. Additionally, Alaska Airlines increased their donation from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 and Peter and Sarah Anderson raised theirs from $250,000 to $300,000. Added to donations that have already been made by James and Sherry Raisbeck and others, we are now within $1.5M of reaching our target of $15,000,000 in private donations. We have also made another request to the WA State Legislature, which we hope will add to our public donations and push us over the finish line. Our campaign to build a new school is truly a collaborative effort with support from the State and Federal governments, the Highline School District, the Port of Seattle, private industry, nonprofit organizations and many individual donors. We believe that we are the only public school in the country that has undertaken such an initiative!
We have reached these major milestones because of YOU—students, staff, parents, AHS board members and everyone associated with our learning community! Students, I will be forever grateful for all the times that you showcased your learning and shared your goals for college and career. You inspired our visitors to believe in the vision and mission of the school.
Boeing CEO Jim Albaugh characterized our effort to construct a new school as an opportunity to build a legacy for future generations. Stressing the importance of students preparing for STEM fields, Mr. Albaugh stated, “The United States is at a crossroads—I call it the intellectual disarmament of our nation. One-half of the engineering employees at Boeing will retire in the next five years. I worry about how we’re going to keep the aviation industry and our country strong. Aviation High School is key to filling the pipeline of new engineers for the Puget Sound area.”
Thank you, one and all, for your amazing support! Students…you ARE the future, and the sky is NOT the limit! We all believe in YOU!
Mike Borfitz was honored this past Friday evening at the PTSA-sponsored Dan Hartley dinner and auction. Mike received the Break of Day Award for his outstanding support of AHS. And…our amazing PTSA again made this annual event fun and inspiring…and hopefully, profitable in supporting student scholarships. A big thank you goes to Stephanie Hoag and Mary Zaches for organizing the event and doing such a stellar job of keeping everyone well fed and well entertained!
A reminder to all: This Friday is our all-school field trip to Qwest Field to watch the FIRST Robotics competition and cheer for our Skunks. Your permission forms MUST be turned in no later than end of day Tuesday! Everyone will appreciate your cooperation in meeting this deadline, but no one will appreciate it more than Mrs. Hiranaka in the main office! Please help make her job a little easier! We like it when she is happy! J
Congratulations, Science Olympians! This last Saturday our Science Olympians competed at our Regional Event. They all worked very hard and had some impressive performances! We are proud to say our Phoenix team came in 4th place and is headed to state.
Forensics: Jenny Gao and Libby Redda, 1st place
Towers: Jacob Sotl, 1st place; Wendy Au and Daryl Phuong 3rd place
Remote Sensing: Matt Petroske and Salina Abraham, 1st place
Experimental Design: Michael Phuong, Daryl Phuong and Conor Marsten, 2nd place
Ecology: Sarah DeWeese and Michael Phuong, 4th place
Mission Possible: Wendy Au, Tony Truong, and Conor Marsten, 2nd Place
Sumo Bots: David Hartranft and Andrew Johnson, 4th place
Chem Lab: Daryl Phuong and Jenny Gao, 3rd place
Congratulations to our entire Science Olympiad team for such a successful weekend
Kudos to Jonathan Adams who just received notice that he passed the Level III Japanese Proficiency Exam! According to Mr. Kumakura, this accomplishment is equivalent to completion of the second year college program! Jonathan…we are very proud of you!
The Solo & Ensemble is held by the WMEA every year, each league competes and one winner in each category goes on to state. Four Aviation students qualified for the State Solo & Ensemble Contest:
Corey Ndifon & Kirk Ciszkiewicz, Brass Quintet
Robyn Zaches, Brass Quartet
Betsy Smith, Cello & Euphonium solos
Another astonishing set of accomplishments!
Okay, Scholars…my best to you for another inspiring week of learning! I am honored to be your principal. ~Reba
NOTE:
o Continue checking the AHS website or logging on to school computers to get updated information on events and meetings.
Quote of the Week:
I refused to take “no” for an answer.
~ Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman to become an airplane pilot, 1921
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