Islander Middle School Night at Island Books Coming April 26

Island Books hosting special social event from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 26.

Have you been meaning to pick up a birthday gift, get an early start on graduation shopping or find an end of year gift for your favorite teachers? Would you like to add some books to the IMS library? How would you like to connect with Islander Middle School Parents over appetizers? Don't miss this opportunity to do all three. Come to Island Books anytime on Thursday, April 26 to shop, enhance our IMS library and earn money for our school. You are especially encouraged to shop between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. for a social event where you will enjoy delicious appetizers and beverages while you socialize with other Islander Middle School parents and friends (based on past feedback, the social event is for adults only). Island Books will generously …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: It's Time to Step Up and Pass the School Bond

New Mercer Island parent (and proud dog owner) David Hetzel writes in a letter to the editor that MISD school facilities are failing students, teachers and the school district and it's time the community finally did something about it.

Kendall, Recently moving to Mercer Island from the Midwest, I was shocked and somewhat perplexed to learn MI's schools, with such a solid national reputation, are actually in crisis — 34% overcrowding today, growing to 41% by 2015 — and old buildings that are failing teachers, kids and the administration. Who's ever heard of moving a piano into the hallway so the drama teacher can instruct kids one the upcoming musical, as others floated by. Really!!? And yes, I was saddened to hear that kids remark more about the crowds and the lines at the science fair, rather than discuss their excitement or amazement about the cool projects. This is not good. I asked myself, is this really the right community to raise my twin girls? Did I really want …

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MISD Moves to Add Portables at IMS, Elementary Schools

New portable classrooms must be placed on playground space at Island Park and Lakeridge due to an expected jump in elementary school enrollment by 2014.

The Mercer Island School District announced plans to install six more portable classrooms to handle expected increases in K-8 enrollment over the next two years, according to a press release. MISD Chief Financial Officer Dean Mack said growing enrollment and lack of classroom space require portables to be sited at at Lakeridge Elementary, Island Park Elementary and Islander Middle School, increasing the MISD's number of portable classrooms from 26 to 32. “Due to our current facility limitations, we must move to provide classroom space for students projected to arrive on our doorstep in September, 2012," Mack said. "This growth in student population was forecast in our long-range enrollment projections.” The "double-wide" portable classroom…

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Kendall Watson

4:48 pm on Saturday, April 14, 2012

Thanks Marty for this statement of errata, which I am sure is appreciated in all quarters. It is absolutely a fair point and reasonable to debate whether the use of the MISF's money in this way is a wise choice.   more ›

Mercer Island, Bellevue Host Lacrosse NW Invitational This Weekend

The March 23-25 Northwest Invitational, held on Mercer Island and at Bellevue High School, will feature 16 high school teams from the U.S. and Canada — the largest event of its kind on the U.S. West Coast.

Mercer Island High School will once again sponsor the 16-team invitational featuring some of the top high school boys' teams in the West. This years event will take place on Friday, March 23rd through Sunday, March 25th. All sixteen teams taking part are either state or provincial play-off participants, including three state champions. The event was started seven years ago by Mercer Island Lacrosse to promote inter-regional play and to draw teams from outside the region to the Northwest. Previous invitational participants have included Cape Elizabeth from Maine, Lakeland/Panas from New York, Arapahoe from Colorado, M.B.A. from Tennessee, Bonanza & Palo Verde from Nevada and Alta, Bountiful & Bingham from Utah. In its seventh year the …

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Kendall Watson

3:06 pm on Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Just in from a group of IMS students trying to fundraise for the Relay for Life race this May (see the story here: http://patch.com/A-rDT3): Hello! I am Leah Kahan the team Captain along with Maddie Coles for our team Counting which you wrote this report on! Our team would like to thank you so much this is so cool! Our team started in Jan. and now we have about 900 dollars from that event! It is …   more ›

Braving the Rain and Snow for Relay for Life

Islander Middle School 7th grade students Maddie Coles, Alex Graham and Ryan Barbee are just a few of hundreds trying to raise money to take part in the Mercer Island Relay for Life on May 12.

Mercer Island Patch caught up with Islander Middle School 7th grade students Maddie Coles, Alex Graham and Ryan Barbee as they tried to raise funds for the Relay for Life event at Islander Stadium at Mercer Island High School on May 12. The trio braved the snow and rain on the corner of SE 27th Street and 77th Avenue SE with placards advertising their most recent fundraising effort, "Donuts for Dreams" (Other members of their team, "Counting", tried to raise funds in front of Walgreens). It's a dollar per donut, $5 for half-a-dozen or $10 for a full dozen, and deliveries are available (see photos attached to this story for more details). According to the girls, they'll be at it until 4 p.m. today. The team has raised nearly $400 so far in …

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Kendall Watson

3:07 pm on Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Team Counting Captain Leah Kahan just sent me this note: "Hello! I am Leah Kahan the team Captain along with Maddie Coles for our team Counting which you wrote this report on! Our team would like to thank you so much this is so cool! Our team started in Jan. and now we have about 900 dollars from that event! It is true next week we are doing a babysitting Bash in order to reach our goal! Also …   more ›

GOP Presidential Straw Poll Vote to be Released Saturday Evening

Check back here later today for a story with the vote and an account of the Mercer Island GOP caucus at Islander Middle School.

Republicans from around Washington state met Saturday morning in precinct caucuses to elect local delegates and vote in a presidential straw poll, the results of which will be announced Saturday evening. Patch will update the straw poll in a story here as soon as the results are available, along with an account of the caucuses and comments from local participants. Patch live-blogged from more than a dozen caucus sites Saturday morning, including from Mercer Island's Islander Middle School, where organizers say somewhere between 225 to 300 people met in 44 precincts from Mercer Island, a turnout higher than in 2008. Participants elected delegates who pledged to vote for one of the four remaining candidates: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick …

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IMS Whiz Kid Invited to White House Science Fair

IMS eighth-grader Jasper Hugunin is an exhibitor at the second-annual White House Science Fair in Washington, D.C.

Islander Middle School eight-grader Jasper Hugunin is one of 100 middle and high school students invited to take part in the second annual White House Science Fair in Washington, D.C.—including a chance to present his project to President Obama—on Tuesday, Feb. 7. The White House Science Fair will present a variety of student winners from science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. Jasper, 13, was one of 12 winners honored last March at the National STEM Video Game Challenge for middle school students. He received awards in two categories: "Best Playable Game - Open Platform" and "Best Playable Game Incorporating STEM Themes." The invitation came as something of a surprise to Jasper's mother, …

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Police Blotter: Vandals Pop Car Tires at MIHS

The following information from Jan. 17 - Jan. 29 was supplied by the Mercer Island Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

Police are investigating reports of vandalized car tires at Mercer Island High School, flattened by road tacks. Mercer Island Police report three vehicles parked in the high school parking lot on Jan. 24 were deliberately targeted by unknown suspects during school hours. All three of the victims are teacher assistants and help the high school enforce parking restrictions there by issuing parking citations. One of the victims, a 16-year-old MIHS student, found a road tack stuck into the rear passenger-side tire of the Mercedes-Benz C300 he drove to school, causing it to go flat. The damage to the vehicle is estimated at $250. Plumbers Repair Pipes, Then Damage Neighbor's SUV Two employees of Southwest Plumbing attempted to leave a residence…

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IMS Girls Selected for Elite Girls Lacrosse Team

The Seattle-area team placed second at a prestigious tournament in Palm Springs, CA.

Four students from Islander Middle School were selected to play on the Seattle Starz Girls Clash Team this winter. Leah Paborsky, Shelby Brodman, Maile Moll and Ragen Plummer, are members of the first ever 7/8 Elite Winter Clash Girls Team. Throughout these winter months, the girls have been working hard at practices twice a week, no matter the weather. Looking for some sunny weather, this team competed in the Sandstorm Lacrosse Tournament in Palm Springs, CA on Jan. 14-15, competing in a field of 148 teams from all over the western United States and Canada. They went undefeated until the Championship game knocking out last year's tournament winner along the way, and outscored their opponents 45 to 11 with an average margin of victory of 9…

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Mercer Island School Board Puts $196M Bond on April Ballot

The measure will rebuild four larger schools, modernize Mary Wayte Pool and some MIHS faciliities, and set aside money for land intended for a 4th elementary school. The MISD also said it is abandoning plans to purchase land for a new school bus lot.

The Mercer Island School Board approved a draft plan to put a single $196,275,000 construction bond issue to a public vote on the April ballot at a Jan. 26 public hearing at the Mercer Island School District board room. The board passed the single bond measure on a 4-1 vote to rebuild larger elementary and middle schools, modernize Mary Wayte Pool and some MIHS faciliities, design a master plan for the North Mercer campus and set aside money for land intended for a fourth elementary school (more details of the plan can be found by clicking on the PDF image of plans to the right). The board must bring the plan back in the form of a resolution with accompanying language for the ballot and pass it in order to appear on the April 17, 2012 …

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