FREE HEART SCREENING EVENT! Cardiac Arrest leading cause of death in exercising athletes

from the desk of John Stockman, Redmond Fire Captain and Executive Board member of WSCFF 

FREE YOUTH HEART SCREENING!  This is an amazing FREE opportunity for Eastside area residents.

"Nick of Time Foundation"

 Free Youth Heart Screening Event

Wednesday October 5th, 2011~ 9am-5pm

**pre-screening orientation 8:30am sharp!

Redmond High School Gymnasium

17272 NE 104th Street

Redmond, WA 98052

"1 high school aged athlete suffers a sudden cardiac arrest every 3 days."
"Sudden Cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in exercising youth athletes"

As of today there are only 27 students signed up and we have room for 500.

Nick of Time Foundation will be offering free heart screens for students and athletes (ages 12-24) between 9am-4pm on Wednesday October 5th, 2011. Although this event will be hosted at Redmond High School in the Gymnasium, it is open to ALL youth regardless of enrollment. Please tell your teammates, coaches, and parents and teachers.  It is imperative for us to have coaches, teachers and parents on board to help promote and get the word out about the importance of this event. For more information or to register please email: appt@nickoftimefoundation.org  

To find additional heart screening events in Puget Sound this year visit http://www.nickoftimefoundation.org/

-- quotations from "Nick of Time Foundation" website. 

Our changing Climate: Resources for students, By Seth Preston

Our changing Climate: Resources for students
By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality Program
from the EPA website;   A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change

Depending on where you live, the K-12 school year either is under way or preparing to start. So it makes sense to offer some kid-friendly climate change resources.

First, check out Ecology’s climate resource web page for students and teachers. (Redmond High School's "Cool Schools" is here!)

Read the entire article >>

LW District students outperform ten largest state school districts in "improvement status" rating

Superintendent Kimball

“Our high schools continue to do very well compared to other schools across the state.  Science is a particular strength here, as it is in our junior highs and elementary schools.”
     -- Chip Kimball, LWSD Superintendent

Of the ten largest school districts in the state, Lake Washington is the only one that has not entered Average Yearly Progress (AYP) “improvement status.” 

Redmond, Wash. – With high average state test scores, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) met the standard for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 51 of 57 areas under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), according to information released by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. District students continue to score significantly above state averages on the state tests, the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) and High School Proficiency Exams (HSPE) as well as the new End of Course exams for math in secondary schools.  Read More >>

Cyber-bullying: Abuse takes its toll on a new generation of American youth.

Northwest Asian Weekly Cyber-bullying: Abuse takes its toll on a new generation of American youth :

"The state of Washington presumes that children from age 8 to 11 cannot commit crimes.

Think again. On April 23, two sixth grade girls in the Issaquah School District were charged by King County Juvenile Court for cyber-stalking. They hacked into the Facebook account of Leslie Cote, a classmate and former friend. The girls posted sexually explicit pictures and, using Cote’s name, solicited boys for sex".

Read More >>

Reported By Sarah Yee
Northwest Asian Weekly, 5/19
Photo By Johnny Bui, NWAW

Republished: Lots of News from LW District Schools

Lots of news from LW district schools

*World Affairs Council Essay Contest
*"We Can Change the World Challenge"
*Ensemble Championships
* National History Championships in Maryland
*Robotics World Championships
*State Crime Scene Investigation Championships
*Wilder Reading

Kamiakin, Wilder, Juanita High, Lake Washington High, Redmond High, Redmond JH, International 
Click the blue link to "Read More" about all these activities >>

LETTER: Rep. Ross Hunter updates: Education, Medical Marijuana, the Budget, and 520 Issues

Rep. Ross Hunter
48th District

 May 15, 2011

LETTER FROM REP. ROSS HUNTER, Ways and Means Committee, Chair

I have not written too often this year – I’ve never been busier in my life. As you may have seen in the press, the caucus tricked me into volunteering to be the budget chairman and I’ve been trying to pull together a responsible budget that does the best job I can do protecting the investments in education, healthcare and the safety net that are important to building a state we all want to live in.

The Budget

We’re in the middle of the budget negotiations now – offers go back and forth between us and the Senate and we’re getting closer. One great break last week was the ending of a tax program we started in December that turned out much, much better than expected. We offered an amnesty to taxpayers: if they’d pay their back taxes we would waive any penalties and interest. We expected to bring in about $25 million and would up collecting over $280 million. Wow. We had already counted some of this in revenue forecasts, but about $200 million is new money that we need badly. 

Click the blue link to "Read More" of Ross's Letter on the State Budget, Education, Medical Marijuana, and 520 issues >>

Washington State Ecology invites additional comments on Children's Safe Product Act

Ecology invites additional comments on children product safety.

What about building materials used in constructing modular schools e.g. STEM?

OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is inviting additional public comment on the rule to carry out Washington state's groundbreaking Children's Safe Product Act.  Comment:  Email: jowi461@ecy.wa.gov

Ecology made a number of changes to the rule in response to comments received during the first public comment period  The public now has an additional opportunity to comment on these changes.

The Children's Safe Product Act (CSPA) required Ecology, in consultation with Department of Health, to develop a list of chemicals of high concern for children. Under the law, after Ecology issues the final rule to implement CSPA, manufacturers of children's products must notify Ecology if their products contain any of these chemicals.  Click blue "Read More" link >>

Retired NASA Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar Speaks at School Fundraiser Luncheon Today, April 20

The Foundation raised ~ $145,500 at this luncheon fundraiser.

Read the announcement by clicking the blue Read More link >>

UPDATED: State school accountability findings and ratings released

CC:  Chip Kimball and School Board of Directors

In April 2010 the State Board of Education published its Public Schools Accountability Index. The Index grades Washington public schools on a scale of one to seven, measured by four indicators and five outcomes (1). The four indicators are:

•Achievement by non-low income students;
•Achievement by low-income students;
•Achievement compared to other schools with similar demographics;
•Improvement in student achievement.

Washington Policy Center’s Public School Accountability Index rates the quality of more than 2,000 public schools across the state including those in Lake Washington School District. The Index is based on data compiled by the State Board of Education’s 2010 Achievement Index.

Here are the findings, According to an intern from the Washington Policy Center of Educaiton:

• 597,000, or nearly 60%, of Washington children attend Fair or Struggling public schools.
• Only 93,000, less than 10%, of students attend a Very Good or Exemplary public school.
• The great majority of schools, 1,208, rank as only Fair or Struggling,
• Only 212 schools, barely 10%, rank as either Very Good or Exemplary.
• The poor academic performance is not due to lack of support from taxpayers – funding for Washington public education is at record highs.
• Public schools receive just over $10 billion a year, or $10,200 per student, in operating funds, plus an additional $1.3 billion for school construction.
• Since 1980 education spending, adjusted for inflation, has more than doubled, while the number of students, due to smaller families, has increased by only a third.
• There are fewer students today in relation to the total population than in the past, and spending per student is the highest ever.

What do you think of this?   Write your comment below the post!  Read more for school rankings!

Updated: Redmond's new (Red Light) Safety Camera Pilot Program begins Tuesday, February 1.

The City of Redmond’s new Safety Camera Pilot Program begins on February 1, 2011 with three red-light cameras and one school-zone camera. Redmond Police will issue warning tickets through February. Citations with fines will begin on March 1. The fine for a safety camera violation is $124.

The program will run for one year after which the City will evaluate its effectiveness and determine whether to make it permanent.

The locations of the three intersection cameras are eastbound at 148th Avenue NE and Redmond Way, eastbound and westbound at 156th Avenue NE and NE 40th Street and westbound and northbound at Union Hill Road and Avondale Road. A study performed in 2009 showed these intersections averaged over 600 vehicles running a red-light per month.

The school zone safety camera is installed eastbound and westbound in front of Einstein Elementary on NE 116th Street in north Redmond. Here the speeding violations (at least 26 mph in a 20 mph school zone) averaged almost 1000 per month.

Kamiakin Junior High selected one of the top five schools of the year.

Kamiakin Junior High, Kirkland - Home of the Cougars!

Kamiakin Junior High was selected by the National Assoc. of Middle School Principals as one of the top five schools of the year.

The winner will be announced at an awards celebration in Colorado on February 17. This award is sponsored by Lifetouch Studios.

In addition to the hard work of staff within the educational program, the following reasons were cited as reasons why Kamiakin is one of the five schools eligible to receive this award:  Read More >>

LETTER: Redmond Red-Light Camera "Pilot Program" Allows "Decision Points" For Council Review

LETTER TO RNB
By Councilmember Hank Myers, 9/19

Regarding the KING5 TV video feature on red-light cameras in Lynnwood. 

I went onto the KING5 website and viewed the *report (about the red-light installation in Lynnwood). I think the report was balanced, and represented the various opinions. As you may recall, both Richard Cole and I voted against the fine structure because we did not want to be accused of having the program for revenue. The Mayor and Police Department were also sensitive to the charge, and our version uses excess revenue to fund traffic safety programs and does not go into the general fund. I still do not like the fine structure, and that may be changed by the legislature. Our red light cameras are only going in at the few lights with the most violations, and we authorized only one school zone speed camera because only one school has flashing lights to notify drivers. John Stilin was particularly effective in raising the issue of clarity about when the school zones are active.

The report presented evidence that in Lynnwood the accident rate went up after the red light cameras were put in, largely due to rear end accidents, and then came down to below the original level. This did happen with some early adopters, but a portion of the problem appears to be related to having the warning signs too close to the lights. Once effective warning is provided further in advance, the accident rates dropped. We have a pilot program that allows us some decision points. Both the Public Safety Committee and the Council will be reviewing the program and data carefully.

Best wishes-
Hank Myers, 9/19/2010

Councillor Hank Myers is Chair of the Council Safety Committee
Read all RNB posts on Hank Myers
*http://www.king5.com/news/up-front/Red-light-cameras-good-idea-or-bad-111347179.html

Redmond's Chanel Cogan hospitalized for months from 100-foot fall returns home

 by ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News

KING5.com story:   Redmond Teen Hospitalized for Months by 100-foot fall returns home.
Posted by King 5.com on December 29, 2010 at 6:11 PM

REDMOND, Wash. -- Doctors still don't know if Chanel Cogan will ever lead a normal life.

"They used the word 'if' she wakes up from the coma," says her mother Mimi. "That was a very solemn day." Chanel's is a life that's been filled with "ifs" lately.

Chanel had just graduated from Redmond High School and was camping with friends at Lake Kachess when she slipped on a trail and fell off a 100-foot cliff. Her friend Tanner Aaron watched in horror as she waved to him, and then plummeted out of sight.

"That's the main question is why Chanel? Why did this have to happen to Chanel?" says Tanner.

Chanel suffered a traumatic brain injury, complicated by a stroke that came at the same time. Injuries from tree limbs nearly forced the amputation of her arm, but they ultimately broke her fall and saved her life -- barely. She sat in a coma for six agonizing weeks. Her family and friends never left her side, sometimes defying doctors' orders.  Read More >>

Youth Eastside Services (YES) Counselor Describes Drug Trends

On Saturday, November 20, some 45 people gathered at YES for a workshop on Drug Awareness and Prevention. "The best prevention is being involved with your kid and educated about what drugs they may come across," said Noble Erickson, a substance abuse counselor at YES and the workshop leader. "It's equally important to let your kids know you won't tolerate alcohol or substance abuse of any kind and set clear consequences," she added.

Following are some drug trends Noble shared at the class:  Read more...

Read More >>

Community Digest of October Events

COMMUNITY DIGEST  (scroll down to "Read More")

SWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER ART CONTEST - submissions due October 15
EASTLAKE VS. REDMOND BAND RIVALRY SHOW - October 15
TEEN TOATMASTERS. Tuesdays Oct 12 - Oct 26 from 5-6 PM
OPEN MIC NIGHT! - October 16 @ 7 PM
SAMMAMISH PLATEAU PARENT NETWORKING GROUP - Family Problems? - October 18
SKI & SPORT SWAP - SATURDAY, October 23, 9-2 PM
VOLUNTEER CLEANUP AT IDYLWOOD PARK - October 30 from 9 - 12 PM.
Read More >>

-- Mustang Weekly, October, 2011

DOCUMENTARY FILM, "A Chemical Reaction" followed by discussion and refreshements hosted by Sustainable Redmond.  Thursday, October 28, 7-9 PM  Redmond Library.
READ MORE >>

LETTER: Give parents incentives to bus their kids rather than drive

As a regular Metro bus commuter, I can't help but notice the daily commuters entering Redmond Junior High School. There is another traffic "hot spot" just around the corner at Horace Mann Elementary... I am a regular participant of Redmond R-Trip.  R-Trip gives incentives for using alternate forms of commuting.

Thinking "out side the box", what if a similar program could be launched for rewarding parents to put their kids on the school bus?

Here is how it could work. Using Redmond R-Trip as a model, parents would record the daily use of the school bus for their child. After completing 60 round trips, the parent would be rewarded. In my case, I received a $50.00 gift card for Amazon.com

It is ironic that we expect our schools to teach something about "going green." Then, we parents drive our kids over to the school house and completely cancel out any kind of "green" commuting by dismissing the school bus.

By Richard Morris

Education Hill neighbor

18 Lake Washington District Schools not up to Federal "AYP" standard - Data is confusing.

According to the LWSD, the 2010 Federal Adequate Yearly Progress ("AYP") data confuses the achievement picture because the label is an all or nothing designation.

For example, the District says by most measures, Inglewood Junior High is a high-performing school. Over 83 percent of students meet or exceed the state standard in reading and over 84 percent in math at the seventh grade level.

Yet according to the federal government’s AYP benchmark, Inglewood Junior High is not a success. In fact, Lake Washington School District (LWSD), Inglewood Junior High and 18 other LWSD schools out of 50 schools total are not up to the AYP standard.  The list of schools with categories not up to AYP standard are, as follows: 

· Dickinson Elementary, Step 1, special education math
· Eastlake High School, Step 1, special education math
· Einstein Elementary, Step 2, special education reading; special education, Hispanic and low income math
· Evergreen Junior High, Step 2, Hispanic math
· Family Learning Center, Step 2, All students and white students math
· Inglewood Junior High, Step 2, special education math
· Kamiakin Junior High, Step 3, special education reading; special education, Hispanic and low income math
· Kirkland Junior High, Step 3, special education reading and math
· Lake Washington High School, special education reading; special education and low income math
- Muir Elementary, Step 1, special education reading; special education and low income math
· Redmond High School, Step 2, Hispanic, special education and low income math
· Redmond Junior High, Step 1, Hispanic, special education and low income math
· Rose Hill Junior High, Step 2, special education and low income math
· Twain Elementary, Step 2, special education reading and math

Read entire LWSD Press Release on LWSD schools "in improvement", what it means and why it's confusing.

Posted by Bob Yoder
Source:  LWSD website.

Over-prescribing and inadequate disposal of pharmaceuticals hurts our kids

Growing numbers of neighbors, schools, and local governments have serious concerns about the dangers of keeping unused pharmaceuticals in our medicine cabinets and  later flushing them down the toilet.   For one, drugs like estrogen, anti-depressants, ibuprofen, and antibiotics, when flushed, enter our water supply.  They have been found to change the sex of small fish and some can never be removed from our water supply.

An overriding concern is the ready availability of controlled substances like hydrocodone, oxycontine, and demerol -- getting into the hands of children, students, contractors, and even house guests.  According to USA Today "prescription drugs are more accessible to teens than beer". 

My experience shows doctors tend to over-prescribe pain-killers - out of habit, convenience and/or favor to their patients.   Over-prescribing contributes to substance abuse and disposal issues.    Example 1:  An oral surgeon pulled my daughter's four wisdom teeth and  prescribed 20 tabs of Hydrocodone 500M ("Vicodin") and 25 tabs of Ibufrofen 600mg.  But, she only used 10 tabs of the Hydrocodone.  (Some mothers refuse to give their kids any Hydrocodone, but the doctors still prescribe it in advance).  When I called the office nurse about it, she told me "larger adults can take more."  What does that mean? The doctor wouldn't return my call.  

Example 2:  I found 11 tabs remaining of a 20 tab prescription of Vicodin prescribed by an Urgent Care physician for a shoulder pain.  Example 3:  28 of 40 expired Demeral tablets were found.  I lock controlled substances in a safe.  The examples in my house show our doctors prescribed twice as much controlled pain medication as my family needed.

So where do we dispose of these unused pharmaceuticals?   I spent half a day figuring it out.  Not one pharmacy I visited would take back the controlled substances.   Most pharmacies refer you to Bartell Drug at Bridle Trail Village (425-881-5544).  They have excellent service and advice.  Bartell's take your non-addictive pharmaceuticals and incinerate them.  Both Bartell and Group Health (425-882-6150) recommend you to throw controlled substances in the trash, ground up with water and coffee grounds.  Group Health will dispose your non-addictive drugs in a locked container per their "take back program".   I called Evergreen Hospital.  They are looking into it.  

The QFC pharmacist recommended flushing controlled substances like Vicodin and OxyContin down the toilet, per FDA advisory.  She referred me to Redmond's Group Health "take-back" program.    She also recommended pouring both non-addictive and controlled medications into a sealable plastic bag, crushing it and adding water and then add coffee grounds.  I think the best website to visit for advice is http://www.safedrugdisposalnw.org/ .  They don't recommend flushing any pharmaceuticals. 

Redmond Councilman Hank Margeson has a keen interest in this problem and is working on it.  Redmond Councilman Hank Myers is interested.  Perhaps we can help Hank and encourage our State Representatives,  candidates, and health care providers to take action?

Report and Opinion by Bob Yoder

Lake Washington Schools Foundation funds academic summer school

A grant of $63,000 from the Lake Washington Schools Foundation will enable 115 elementary students who are academically at risk and in financial need to attend Core Academic Summer School at no charge.

Read More.

By Kathryn Reith
LWSD Website

Lake Washington School District parents plan to rally against boundary changes - Kirkland Reporter

Lake Washington School District parents plan to rally against boundary changes - Kirkland Reporter:

"A group of Lake Washington School District parents concerned about the district's recent decision to change school feeder patterns plan to rally against the redistricting during a public meeting May 20 at Bell Elementary." Read More

Kirkland Reporter
Carrie Wood, Editor
5/17/10
Superintendent Kimball
Photo courtesy of LWSD