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FEATURES
Candidates for the School Board Maya Virdell online editor
The candidates running for School Board of Mercer Island positions have been narrowed down after a recent primary in early August. Those selected will be on the ballet for the general election in November 2017. According to the school district website, “The duties of a School Board member involve an average minimum commitment of 18-20 hours per month for preparation, participation, and attendance at meetings and other functions such as community meetings and graduation exercises.”
Mercer Island School District No. 400 Director Position No.4 Deborah Schneider Lurie • Grew up in the Mercer Island School District • Married to husband Brian, and has a daughter named
Joey who currently attends Island Park. • Involved in the PTSA. • Decided to attend law school and become an attorney to advocate for children. • According to her website, deb4kids.com, Lurie believes that our kids deserve a fully funded public education with the most qualified teachers. She believes that she is the best candidate for school board director to make that happen.
• Wants to represent everybody if elected, and hopes to create an atmosphere that prioritizes students, and is surrounded with the celebration of diversity and impartiality, while also advocating for teachers. Also encouraging Mercer Island residents to speak up about issues they see within the school district.
Diana Lein
Brian Giannini Upton
• Lein has resided on Mercer Island for 12 years and has an 11 year old child who will attend IMS. • Has previously been a voting delegate at annual conventions and participates in the Mercer Island PTA Advocacy Committee and Lakeridge PTA Board. • Frequently volunteers in the school district despite having a full time job as a neuroscientist. • Recently awarded the PTA Special Recognition Award.
School Board Director Position #3 • He and his family currently live on the island. • Moved here because of the strong schools. • According to briangianniniupton.com, he wants to protect and grow our district for the benefit of all students, families, and educators.
Caifeng Wu
• Resides on Mercer Island with wife and family. • Holds a governing position on the Mercer Island Chinese Association.
Superintendent (cont.)
“A community is only as strong as the people in it,” Colosky said. “My learning curve in the next few months is going to be straight up as I learn about all of you.” Her goal is to evaluate and make adjustments to fit the needs of students and teachers as time progresses. The 2020 Vision, which outlines the goals and ideals of the MISD, is subject to change. “Change is inevitable,” Colosky said. “Any strategic plan shouldn’t just be a book on the shelf. It should be something we are constantly reviewing and adjusting.” Colosky is happy to report her family has already tracked on Google Maps how long it will take to reach her home from British Columbia. “I moved to California 32 years ago,” Colosky said. “Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, even though it was on the other side of the border, coming here feels like coming home.”
mihsislander.org
Get to know your Superintendent! iPhone or Android? iPhone
Last Book You Read?
“Visible Learning” by John Hattie
Favorite Superhero? Wonderwoman
Pepsi or Coke? Neither, she doesn’t drink soda
Favorite Drink? Green tea
Favorite Musical Artist? Adele, Celine Dion
Favorite Movie? The Wizard of Oz
Favorite Ice Cream? Salted Caramel
Student steps into local politics MIHS senior lands internship at UW laboratories
Isabel Funk
features editor
Most students spend their summer breaks swimming in the lake, hanging out with friends, attending camp, and emptying their brains of everything they learned during the school year. However, senior Julia Graham spent her summer volunteering for Jenny Durkan’s mayoral campaign. After working as a senate page earlier in the year, Graham discovered a passion for politics. “Working in the senate has allowed me to witness the making of history with a front row seat on the senate floor. My duties were mostly to deliver bills around the Capitol, set up senators who were speaking then collect their speeches afterwards,” Graham said. “Working so close to our
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Working in the senate has allowed me to witness the making of history with a front row seat on the Senate floor.” Julia Graham
nation’s leaders and their staff taught me how to compose myself in a very professional setting.” This opportunity at the senate left Graham wanting to
Isabel Funk
features editor
Photo courtesy Jenny Durkan’s campaign Jenny Durkan and Julia Graham (far right) at the primary night party on August 1.
make an impact in her community and get involved in local politics. Graham decided to become involved in the local mayoral elections. After researching Seattle’s mayoral candidates, Graham decided to volunteer for Durkan’s campaign because she believed that Durkan was the most likely candidate to have a lasting, positive impact on Seattle. “Other candidates can speak about what he or she will do once in office, but Jenny can speak about all that she already has done for the region,” Graham said. Previously the U.S. attorney for Western Washington, Durkan helped draft the settlement to reform the Seattle Police Department by bringing in new techniques and a greater attention to mental illnesses.
Graham spends roughly twenty hours a week volunteering for Durkan’s campaign. She volunteers from home, at the office, or at various events. This involves staffing legislative district meetings, parade marching, and phone banking. Graham hopes that by volunteering for Durkan’s campaign, she can motivate Seattle’s voters become well informed and motivated to choose whoever they believe to be the best candidate. “Seattle is one of fastest growing cities in America. What the city represents affects surrounding cities as well as the whole nation,” Graham said. “It is important to me that voters in Seattle – and its surroundings – know who they are electing and what these people represent.”
Paige Robertson, a senior at Mercer Island High School, spent much of her summer working in a lab at the University of Washington, aiding three graduate students with their research. Robertson was busy at work this summer, and said that her experiences this summer have helped her make decisions about her career and future beyond high school. “I decided to work in the lab because I knew that I really liked science in school, but wanted to experience working in basic science research,” Robertson said to explain her decision to work in the lab. She spent roughly five hours in the lab Monday through Thursday, spending her time assisting the graduate students however they need her help, most often with pipetting, completing cell imaging, and analyzing data. Robertson enjoyed cell imaging the most because she could view parts of the cell that would usually be difficult to see. “We first
stained the cells for different organelles and proteins, and then we imaged them. I really liked being able to see what the effects of the different treatments was because usually, everything is on such a microscopic scale, it can be difficult to interpret,” Robertson said. Her primary job in the lab was to help the three graduate students complete their research, mostly with cell imaging. Robertson was working in a pharmacology lab, a branch of biology that is involved with the study of medicine and the effects of drugs as used in pharmaceuticals. The graduate students she helped were all studying various types of cancer cells. Robertson enjoys her science classes during school, and she hoped that by working in the lab, she would gain a better understanding of what it would mean to have a job working in the field of science. “In terms of a career path, [working in the lab] will definitely help me in the sense that I will have some connections in the world of science research,” Robertson said.