SBLSD News

Congratulations to Bonney Lake and Sumner high school DECA students for competing at the 2023 State Career Development DECA Conference in Bellevue earlier this month. Students competed among 4,310 other Washington DECA high school students.

DECA is a career and technical student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs who are interested in careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.

At competitions, DECA members create business ideas to present to judges, develop on-the-spot marketing strategies with their teams, and more.

At the state competition, Sumner High School DECA member Athena W. competed in the Restaurant and Food Service Management Series where she earned 2nd Place in the State and will now be advancing to Nationals in Orlando, Florida in April. Athena was also awarded DECA Area 7 member of the year!

Jorja M., Hailey G. and Athena W. also competed in the School-Based Enterprise Event for The Spart Mart, a school-based enterprise at Sumner High School. The Spart Mart was among 461 school-based enterprises achieving Gold for the 2022-2023 school year and will be recognized at Nationals in April.

As a chapter, Bonney Lake High School did an amazing job and qualified for the leadership component at nationals.

One last shout out to all the students who competed at the state event!

Join us in celebrating Education Support Professionals Week! It takes a team to fulfill our promise to know, value and support every student here at the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District. We are so grateful for the many groups of Education Support Professionals who make a positive impact on our students every day, including: paraeducators, substitutes, health services, maintenance, office professionals, child nutrition, transportation, security, grounds, technology, custodial and other services!

Our paraeducators play a huge role in our promise to know, value and support every student at SBLSD. Here are a couple of their stories. We’re also hiring for paraeducators. To learn more, visit sumnersd.org/jobs.

Debi Ouimet never knew her purpose until she became a special education behavior paraeducator, working with students at Maple Lawn Elementary.

"They are my why. They are why I get up in the morning. They are why I do what I do," Debi said.

Each day is different, but Debi spends her day communicating and connecting with her students, often through sign language, and celebrating every little accomplishment.

"It's exciting, because I'm never bored," Debi said. "I wake up just looking forward to coming here every single day. It's a true gift to me because I'm always getting something from these children."

Lisa Lamoureaux is a friendly face for students at Donald Eismann Elementary, where she works closely with groups of students who might need some extra support in a particular subject.

Lisa worked for years as a fourth and fifth grade teacher before becoming a paraeducator.

"I just fell in love with being able to work with small groups of kids and apply what I loved best about teaching to the paraprofessional world," Lisa said.

She starts her day greeting students when they get off the bus, then leads smaller academic groups throughout the day in areas of reading, writing, math and social-emotional learning.

Her favorite moments on the job are when "a lightbulb goes off" for students in a subject.

"Seeing them reach their goals is really what does it for me. And it's so neat to see their energy and their excitement," she said.

Bus drivers are also essential Education Support Professionals and play an instrumental role in knowing, valuing, and supporting every child in the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District.

“We’re the first contact for students, so we set the mood of the day,” said one of our bus drivers, Bob.

Hear more about what bus driving is all about from our very own drivers in the video below. For more information, visit sumnersd.org/busdrivers.

Music in our School Month continues as we recognize students who auditioned and made it into this year's state, national and international honor bands and choirs. Congratulations to these students who were honored at the March 15 school board meeting.

• Landon Fuller (7th grade, Mountain View MS): Tenor Saxophone, Washington Music Educators Association Junior All-State Honor Band

• Cole Sage (11th grade, Bonney Lake HS): Bassoon, Western International Band Clinic

• Andrew Neumann (11th grade, Bonney Lake HS): Euphonium, Western International Band Clinic

• Lizzy Bolland (11th grade, Bonney Lake HS): Bass Clarinet, Western International Band Clinic

• Logan Hansen (11th grade, Bonney Lake HS): Tenor Saxophone, Western International Band Clinic

• Simon Swai (10th grade, Bonney Lake HS): Tenor, National American Choral Directors Association SATB High School Honor Choir

• Carlos Gil Amesty (9th grade, Bonney Lake HS): Baritone, National American Choral Directors Association SATB Junior High School Honor Choir

Pictured left to right: District Music Coordinator Amy Fuller, Landon Fuller, Simon Swai, Carlos Gil Amesty, Andrew Neumann, Cole Sage. Not pictured were Lizzy Bolland and Logan Hansen.

Congratulations to members of the Sumner High School Robotics Team who competed in a robotics competition last weekend with dozens of teams from across the state. They showcased their incredible talent, hard work and dedication. Keep up the great work!

Sumner High School’s Career and Technical Student Organization uses the VEX robotics kits to design, assemble and program their robots to compete. Check out some of their competition photos at a recent regional robotics event below.

Do you know someone who has made a powerful difference in the Sumner-Bonney Lake area? Someone who works "behind the scenes" to contribute to the health and well-being of our local youth and families? Nominate them for the 2023 Community Impact/Unsung Hero Award!

The Unsung Hero Award is an opportunity to recognize the dedication of any one person or organization who serves in support of our local community. To nominate a hero, fill out the form at this link: bit.ly/CFFUnsungHero23. Nominations are due Friday, March 24.

Awards will be given during the annual Sumner-Bonney Lake Community Summit on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at Calvary Community Church. The Community Summit is a free event for community members to gather to explore topics affecting the health and well-being of children and families in the Sumner and Bonney Lake communities. This event features breakout sessions, a free catered dinner, Unsung Hero awards and keynote speaker, Erin Jones.

To register to attend the Community Summit, fill out this form. For event updates, visit sumnersd.org/communitysummit.

Bonney Lake High School alum Brandon Kaylor (2018) will be wrestling for Oregon State University in the Division 1 NCAA Wrestling National Championships March 16-18. He is a four-time state champion, D1 All American and PAC-12 champion. Matches will be shown on ESPN networks.

Earlier this week, Sumner High School 2020 grad Amelia Day and the Cloves played the Triple Door in Seattle. SHS Choir Director Karlene Sandoval attended the event featuring her former student, remarking “I’m so proud of Amelia and her growth as a performer and singer/songwriter.” Check out her new song, “Make a Move,” which drops on March 17.

The pandemic pause of in-person events makes us even more thankful for their return. Enjoy this video highlighting moments from last month’s STEM Fair & Art Show.

We have an amazing number of winter season athletic accomplishments to share. This is just a summary of what our student-athletes and coaches have earned, so be sure to read the full article for detailed honors.

Boys Basketball

Placed 4th in the SPSL tournament. Played in the West Central District tournament and State tournament.

Honors:

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Outstanding Team Award, Team GPA 3.73.

• Head Coach Jarrett Mentink named SPSL Coach of the Year.

Girls Basketball

Won the SPSL tournament. Played in the West Central District tournament and competed in the State tournament.

Honors:

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Outstanding Team Award, Team GPA 3.62.

• Lainee Houillion: The News Tribune’s All Area Team. Tacoma Athletic Commission’s Athlete of the Year for girls basketball among all Pierce County high schools.

• Head Coach Katie Grad-Hyppa named SPSL Coach of the Year.

Gymnastics

SPSL 4A League Champions finishing with an undefeated record. Finished

in 2nd place at the District tournament and 3rd place at the State tournament.

Honors:

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Distinguished Team Award, Team GPA 3.40.

• Ava Alastra: Tacoma Athletic Commission’s Athlete of the Year for gymnastics among all Pierce County high schools.

• Madisen Sorensen: Earned state championship in the floor competition.

• Head Coach Kathryn Shimer Elliott named SPSL Coach of the Year.

• Assistant CoachMia Scardina named Gymnastic Coach’s Association Assistant Coach of the Year.

Boys Swim/Dive

Placed 4th in 200 medley relay at the West Central District meet. Advanced to the State meet.

Honors:

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Outstanding Team Award, Team GPA 3.57.

• Tanner Wilson: 100 fly District Champion and 100 breast District Champion. Finished 2nd in the 100 fly and 6th in the 100 breast at State. Tacoma Athletic Commission’s nominee in the Athlete of the Year competition.

Wrestling

Boys: Won the SPSL tournament. Twelve wrestlers qualified for the Regional tournament. Team earned 3rd place at the 4A State tournament, the best finish ever by a Sumner wrestling team.

Girls: Two wrestlers qualified for Regionals; one advanced to State.

Honors:

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Distinguished Team Award, Team GPA 3.23.

• Cody Miller (145) earned a State Championship and Tacoma Athletic Commission’s Athlete of the Year for wrestling.

• Elias Mcdonald (120) earned a State Championship and is Tacoma Athletic Commission’s State Champion from Pierce County.

• Head Coach Matt Harshman voted State 4A Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Boys Basketball

Team honors include the WIAA Scholastic Cup: Boys Varsity Distinguished Team Award, Team GPA 3.176.

Girls Basketball

Finished 2nd in the Pierce County League with a 10-2 league record. Won their first West Central District game and competed in the State competition.

Honors:

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Girls Varsity Outstanding Team Award, 3.649 Team GPA.

• Jazmyn Shipp was named Co-MVP for the Pierce County League and reached the 1,000 point mark for her career.

Dance/Drill

District Champions for Kick and Military. Placed 2nd in their Pom routine. On March 24, they will compete at the State meet in Yakima, where they will perform all three routines.

Gymnastics

The team finished 1st at the Sub-District and went on to the District meet. Four gymnasts qualified for State. Earned WIAA Scholastic Cup: Outstanding Team Award, 3.525 Team GPA.

Boys Swim/Dive

Three relay teams and six individuals competed at the West Central District meet.

Honors:

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Distinguished Team Award, Team GPA 3.282.

• Andrew Perdue named BLHS Boys Swim/Dive Tacoma Athletic Commission athlete for winter season.

Wrestling

Boys:

• Four individuals advanced to the 3A State tournament.

• Colby Ducatt named BLHS Boys Wrestling Tacoma Athletic Commission athlete for winter season.

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Distinguished Team Award, Team GPA 3.187.

Girls:

• Two individuals advanced to the 3A State tournament.

• Latham West named BLHS Girls Wrestling Tacoma Athletic Commission athlete for winter season.

• WIAA Scholastic Cup: Distinguished Team Award, Team GPA 3.182.

Adopted

• Policy 0100: Commitment to Planning

• Policy 0500: Elements of Strategic Plan

• Policy 2190: Highly Capable Services

• Policy 3225: School-Based Threat Assessment

• Instructional materials: Financial Algebra

• Instructional materials: Jr ROTC Year 1, and Jr ROTC Army Leadership and Drill & Performance

Presentations

• Maintenance & Operations Department

• Demographic Observations and Enrollment Forecast

Reports

• Budget Status: January 2023

• 2022-23 Asset Preservation Program

• Safety Taskforce Update

• March Change Orders

Recording

• Link (Passcode: $6H^2Ceh)

Upcoming meetings

• April 12: Study Session

• April 19: Board Meeting

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