The Kennewick School Board met this evening and choosing a name for the district’s new elementary school was on the agenda. The choice, as you can see from the district’s Twitter announcement, is Cottonwood Elementary.
The Kennewick School District is looking for some help in coming up with a name for the new elementary school that will open next year near Badger Canyon. There’s a committee of parents and district staff that’s gathering ideas and will choose three finalists.
Submit your idea via email to Lorraine Cooper at lorraine.cooper@ksd.org, and be sure to explain in a short paragraph or two why you’re recommending the name. You’ve got until December 4 to share your idea(s), and the top three will be announced around December 8th for voting.
Now, I know you’re tempted to suggest Matt McGee Elementary (as am I), but that’s probably not gonna fly. If you read KSD’s school naming policy (PDF), you’ll discover this:
“New district buildings shall be named after persons who have attained national or local prominence in the fields of education, arts and sciences, politics, military achievements and statesmanship, or other notable accomplishments; after past U.S. Presidents or Washington national senators or representatives; after the geographical characteristics of the area in which the facility is located, or after other important events or achievements.”
See? I’ve actually attained national prominence in my field, and international prominence in my hobby, but not in the “fields” listed above. So, I’m out. (sigh) Just go with your second choice and email it by December 4th.
This is pretty cool. The entire Kennewick School District is on Twitter. And by “entire,” I mean the district itself and every one of its schools. It’s cool because Twitter is a great, great way to get news and information from sources you want to “follow.”
Now, some of the schools are slow in starting to use Twitter appropriately, but here’s a screenshot of the Washington Elementary account — they’re using it exactly as it should be used:
How great is that? The school is sending out quick updates to parents and other interested persons. Hopefully all the schools will follow Washington’s lead and turn their Twitter accounts into something beneficial for the parents and community.
If you’re interested in following the Kennewick school(s) that your kids attend, or the ones that are in your neighborhood, here’s the full list of KSD Twitter accounts.
District
http://twitter.com/ksddistrict
Elementary Schools
http://twitter.com/ksdamistad
http://twitter.com/ksdcanyonview
http://twitter.com/ksdcascade
http://twitter.com/ksdeastgate
http://twitter.com/ksdedison
http://twitter.com/ksdhawthorne
http://twitter.com/ksdlincoln
http://twitter.com/ksdridgeview
http://twitter.com/ksdsouthgate
http://twitter.com/ksdsunsetview
http://twitter.com/ksdvista
http://twitter.com/ksdwashington
http://twitter.com/ksdwestgate
http://twitter.com/ksdmcpp (Mid-Columbia Parent Partnership)
Middle Schools
http://twitter.com/ksddeserthills
http://twitter.com/ksdhighlands
http://twitter.com/ksdhorseheaven
http://twitter.com/ksdpark
High Schools
http://twitter.com/ksdkamiakin
http://twitter.com/ksdkennewick
http://school.ksd.org/phoenix
http://twitter.com/ksdsouthridge
http://twitter.com/ksdtritech
Kennewick School District is inviting any interested community members to join their first KSD Bus Tour, which is scheduled for October 29:
The first KSD Bus Tour visits Kennewick High School and Westgate Elementary on Thursday, October 29. This is a great opportunity to see education as it happens in our classrooms. The tour is free and includes transportation to the schools, a light breakfast, and lunch. Register by calling 222-5001 by October 27. Anyone interested in learning more about the district and our schools is welcome to attend!
Way to go Braves! For three straight years now, Newsweek magazine has put Kamiakin High School on its list of the top 1,500 high schools in the U.S. The Braves are ranked #998 this year — very cool!
Here’s how Newsweek describes the ranking system:
Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 6 percent of public schools measured this way.
[where: Kamiakin High School, 600 N. Arthur, Kennewick, WA 99336]