21 March 2011
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE:
“Crazed Regional for Teens, Robots” was the headline for a story featured in yesterday’s edition of The Seattle Times. Our Skunkworks Robotics team was part of the FIRST organization’s version of March Madness this past weekend, rebounding from a tough first match on Friday in which their robot stalled due to some programming challenges. True to their style, though, they were back on the field for their second match, leading their alliance to victory with a 21-0 score. The rest was history as the Skunks continued to use their engineering acumen, coupled with gracious professionalism, to finish the three-day event in style. As 5,000 people cheered from the sidelines and bleachers, the Skunks were awarded the Engineering Inspiration Award, which now qualifies them to compete at the World Championships in St. Louis April 27-30. Out of 100 competing teams this past weekend, only 11 teams qualified for this honor!
Other awards included:
- Seattle Regional Excellence in Engineering.
- FIRSTWA Volunteer of the Year Award to Coach Steele for his visionary contribution to all FIRST teams. Coach was introduced as the “Skunkfather”, a title that honors his role in starting the team and leading the Skunk family to such amazing accomplishments.
- Coach Steele was also recognized as a Seattle Cascade Regional Woody Flowers Finalist. He was nominated for this award by the team and selected from hundreds of nominees. He now will be considered for the national award, the highest honor for volunteers in the FIRST organization.
- And, Lydia Johnston was recognized as a Seattle Cascade Regional Dean’s List Finalist, selected by national judges and from hundreds of nominations submitted by mentors. Lydia now qualifies for the national Dean’s List award.
Congratulations, Skunks! You have worked hard to earn all of these prestigious awards and recognition as “the powerhouse team from Aviation High School…the Duke of local robotics…for its high-scoring pneumatic arm.” (Seattle Times 3/20/11)
The Skunks are on the road again this week to compete in the Portland, Oregon regionals. Then...it’s on to St. Louis. While most of us won’t get the chance to travel to Portland to cheer you on, know that we will be with you in spirit, watching the webcasts. Go Skunks!
Over the past two weeks our Speech & Debate team has been competing in the state tournament held at the University of Puget Sound. Last week in speech, Hayk Saakian was a finalist in Foreign Extemporaneous, and Albert Ta just barely missed qualifying for the final round. This past Friday and Saturday was the state debate tournament. Albert and Hayk competed in Public Forum Debate where they won first place out of a field of 32 teams obtaining the title of state champions. Wow! We are proud of you, Albert and Hayk, as well as the entire team! You are making history and leaving a legacy as you continue to develop Aviation High School’s first Speech & Debate team!
Our very first athletic team is also on a roll. On Saturday, our Ultimate Frisbee team had their first meet of the season, competing against Nova High School in Seattle. The score: AHS 11, Nova 7! This team will also be competing again next weekend, so you may want to watch the action. They play two games on Saturday, first against Cleveland at 2:30, then Chief Sealth at 5:15 p.m. Both games will be played at Delridge Field. Yea, Ultimate!! We’re very proud of you!
We’re also very proud of our AHS students who participate on the MRHS Swim Team! They just finished State competition with Troy Neklason placing 2nd in diving. Jason Lemley and the Rams took 4th in the 200 Medley Relay, and Jason qualified for finals in the 100 free, taking 8th place; 10th in the 100 backstroke. Jason’s relay team also made it to finals. The Rams placed 10th in the 4A Divison. Other AHS students who participated on the MRSH team were Nathan Rencher, Sam McClean, and Quinn Walters. Congratulations, swimmers!
Congratulations, too, to our freshman class for sponsoring a successful dance this past Saturday evening! The music was great (thanks, Austin McHenry & co.!), the decorations were ghoulish (thanks, Leadership), and the costumes were, in some cases, over the top. Thanks, Royce Le, Francis Britschgi, and the rest of the ASB and leadership for organizing the dance. We appreciate the help of our chaperones too: Ms. Lee, Ms. Fitz, Mr. Ward, Ms. Lefevre, Mr. and Mrs. Hiranaka, and Mr. McComb.
Interviews are now being conducted for the Class of 2015. Mr. Carey, Mr. McComb and I led interview teams this past Saturday accompanied by AHS students Katie McConville, Jacob Wagner, Lauren Crom, Natalie Carmichael, Beemnet Workeneh, Austin Turnidge, Amanuail Ambaye, Sureetha McCain, and Jenny Gao. It’s inspiring to meet such enthusiastic and engaging students who want to be part of our learning community! Our goal is to complete first ‘round interviews by March 31 and issue letters of invitation on April 1. Stay tuned for an announcement of the Class of 2015.
That’s it for this week. My best to all for a great week of learning! Honored to be your principal—Reba
P.S. Last week, I reported that one of our Science Olympiad teams placed 4th place at Regionals. In fact, they placed 3rd! We’re even prouder of your accomplishments.
Quote of the Week:
“Please accept me to Aviation High School…I will be the best investment you have ever made.”
~Student Applicant, Class of 2015
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