Year after year, BSD students show their strengths, abilities, accomplishments, and the many other ways they are becoming creators of their future world. Read on for a few highlights from this fall.
High Schoolers Establish Day for Driving Safety Awareness with City of Bellevue
Two students from the Bellevue area — Ishika Binu and Anya Vaish — helped establish September 17 as Driving Safety Awareness Day, after presenting to the Bellevue City Council. Ishika Binu, a senior at Interlake High School, worked with many organizations, like Huntington Learning Center and 9-1-1 Driving School to promote her online DriveSafe Pledge.
Through this pledge, Binu has gotten hundreds of people pledging to commit to safer driving habits as they move forward and learn, while also spreading awareness for this important subject. As of 2019, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death for teens aged 16-19. Many organizations have recognized Binu’s efforts to improve the safety of teen drivers. The Girl Scouts of America, of which Binu has been a member since third grade, recognized her work by presenting her with the Gold Award and the National Gold Award Scholarship, which she plans to use to continue progress made by her Safe Drive Club. With the help of the hundreds of people in her community, Binu hopes that her efforts will reach as many people as possible as she continues to make her community a better place.
BSD Students Accept Proclamation from the Bellevue Mayor
On October 10, BSD students attended the Bellevue City Council meeting to accept a proclamation from Bellevue Mayor, Lynne Robinson. Finley Smith, 5th grader from Phantom Lake Elementary, Greyson Kwan, 6th grader at Chinook Middle School, and Curtis Kwan, 5th grader at Medina Elementary, were on hand to receive the proclamation for the 2022 Walk & Roll to School Day on behalf of BSD.
The district hopes that students at all 21 schools who took part in last month’s Walk & Roll to School Day found fun and safe ways to get to school!
Newport High Students Selected to Join Prestigious Orchestra
Two students from Newport High School were selected to participate in the All National Honor Society Orchestra at the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Conference. What makes this incredible is that only two orchestra students from each state in the country are selected, making this an incredibly special honor. Daniel Choi (grade 11) and Claire Doh (grade 11) both play cello for the Newport High School Orchestra. They performed with the orchestra in National Harbor, Maryland November 3-6.
Evergreen Transition Program Hosts Transition Treasures Glass Art Sale
Young adults in the Evergreen Transition Program showcased and sold their art at BSD’s district office, ESC East on November 4, as part of their Transition Treasures sale. The profits will go back into the program, which helps support individuals with disabilities, ages 18-21 years old. The art consisted of fused glass items, designed by the young adults.
Table set up at ESC East with lots of glass art. Members of the Transition Program worked hard to create these beautiful pieces.
Interlake High School Student Selected as National “Poetry Ambassador”
This year, five out of around 22,000 students were selected to be National Student Poets by the National Student Poets Program, one from each region of the United States. Diane Sun, a senior at Interlake High School, was one of the five, representing the West region. She was selected to recite her poem “a recipe for steaming almost-dragon.”
Sun was formally appointed as a Poetry Ambassador on September 27, 2022, by Crosby Kemper, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.