Winning Honors at the State Science Fair:

Fifth Grade:

Brianna Soulier, 3rd Place

Winning Honors at the South Sound Regional Science Fair:

Seventh Grade:

Hannah Russ – 1st Place

Sixth Grade:

Carter Chiu – 3rd Place

Fifth Grade:

Brianna Soulier – 1st Place

Fourth Grade:

Jack Husarik – 1st Place

Winning Honors at the Puyallup District Science Fair:

Seventh Grade:

Hannah Russ – 1st Place

Nicholas Stewart – 2nd Place

Sixth Grade:

Carter Chiu – Best In Show, Journal Award

John Slevin – 1st Place, Sigma Xi Award

Fifth Grade:

Katriel Looney – Best in Show

Maddie Joy – 1st place, WSU Award

Anna Arntsen – 1st place

Allison Bjornstad – 2nd place

Kayla McLaughlin – Honorable mention

Fourth Grade:

Collin Chiu – 1st Place, WSU Physical Science Award

Amanda Hefton – 1st Place

Brady Berg – 3rd Place

Brady Antush – Honorable Mention

Grady Thompson – Honorable Mention

Third Grade:

Matthew Slevin – Best in Show, Journal Award

Resse Anselmi – 1st Place, Sigma Xi Award, Journal Award

Allysen Arntsen – 2nd Place, WSU Physical Science Award, Journal Award

Marshall Lee – 3rd Place

Second Grade:

Alden Davison, 2nd Place

Grace Burchett, 3rd Place

Alison Witwer, Honorable Mention

First Grade:

Logan Oyama – Honorable Mention

Ethan Berg – People’s Choice Award

Congratulations to all of our QUEST Scientists!  If I missed anyone, I apologize.  Tracking our pull-out students presents us with quite a challenge, and we rely on you to help us.  Please let me know who I missed and how they did and I’ll gladly update this list.

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Cue the Fireworks!
Break Out the Banners!

ESHB 2261 passed the House Monday night and the Governor has committed to signing it. 2261 is not a perfect bill – it is a work in progress – but for gifted advocates it is what we have long sought.

Beginning September 2011, Highly Capable programs will be mandated as an integral part of basic education. The bill states, “The legislature finds that, for highly capable students, access to accelerated learning and enhanced instruction is access to a basic education.” As we have been telling them all along. Details on what the bill states in full for gifted to follow after the Governor signs it.

If your legislator(s) in either house voted Yes, please send them a thank you message.  In Puyallup, thanks should go to Rep. Morrell, Rep. Dammeier, and Sen. Kastama for their important yes votes.

House roll call on the bill was:

ESHB 2261
State’s education system
House vote on Final Passage as Amended by the Senate
4/20/2009

Yeas: 67   Nays: 31   Absent: 0   Excused: 0

Voting Yea: Representatives Anderson, Angel, Armstrong, Blake, Carlyle, Clibborn, Cody, Condotta, Dammeier, Darneille, Dickerson, Driscoll, Eddy, Ericks, Ericksen, Finn, Flannigan, Goodman, Grant-Herriot, Haigh, Haler, Herrera, Hinkle, Hudgins, Hunter, Hurst, Jacks, Kagi, Kelley, Kenney, Kessler, Kirby, Liias, Linville, Maxwell, McCoy, Miloscia, Moeller, Morrell, Morris, Nelson, O’Brien, Ormsby, Orwall, Parker, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Priest, Probst, Quall, Roach, Roberts, Rodne, Rolfes, Santos, Simpson, Smith, Springer, Sullivan, Takko, Upthegrove, Wallace, Walsh, Warnick, White, Wood, and Mr. Speaker

Voting Nay: Representatives Alexander, Appleton, Bailey, Campbell, Chandler, Chase, Conway, Cox, Crouse, DeBolt, Dunshee, Green, Hasegawa, Hope, Hunt, Johnson, Klippert, Kretz, Kristiansen, McCune, Orcutt, Pearson, Ross, Schmick, Seaquist, Sells, Shea, Short, Taylor, Van De Wege, and Williams

Senate roll call on the bill was:

State’s education system
Senate vote on Final Passage as Amended by the Senate
4/16/2009

Yeas: 26   Nays: 23   Absent: 0   Excused: 0

Voting Yea: Senators Berkey, Brown, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hobbs, Jarrett, Kastama, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, McAuliffe, McDermott, Murray, Oemig, Prentice, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Shin, and Tom

Voting Nay: Senators Becker, Benton, Brandland, Carrell, Delvin, Hewitt, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Kauffman, Kilmer, King, Marr, McCaslin, Morton, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Schoesler, Sheldon, Stevens, Swecker, and Zarelli

During this long enterprise, the Coalition has depended on many, many correspondents and web sites for information and discussion. They are too many to mention by name so a general Thank You and Well Done from us will have to suffice.

Sound the Trumpets For One Last Charge!

Not to rain on our parade BUT we still need to get a 2009-2011 budget allocation for Highly Capable programs. So we ask for one last BIG effort. Please contact your Legislators to support the funding for Highly Capable Programs as set out in Section 511 of the budget proposals.   Both houses had included Highly Capable Programs in their proposed budgets, but we need to ensure they’re included in the final versions.

In addition, we need to ask Representatives in the House to amend their proposal to add $170,000 per year for Centrum as provided for in the Senate and Governor’s budget proposals and ask Senators to hold the line for gifted funding. This message should go to all Legislators, not just those we are thanking for the passage of 2261.

Please excuse the triumphalist nature of this message but we couldn’t resist.

A 21 gun salute to you all!