SBLSD News
May 12, 2022
Omar Montoya has always had an interest in aerospace, so when he went to his school counselor to talk about class selections, a brand new course offering immediately stuck out to him.
“They told me that they had this class called Core Plus Aerospace. Once I heard the word aerospace, I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, I've been wanting to do aerospace for a really long time,’” said Omar, a junior at Sumner High School.
This year, Omar and 60 other students had the opportunity to learn more about the field of aerospace and potential job opportunities through Sumner High School’s new Core Plus Aerospace class.
Core Plus Aerospace is a two-year high school advanced manufacturing curriculum that prepares students for high-demand jobs through hands-on learning. Students gain real-world skills that open doors to good-paying manufacturing jobs and give them an advantage when applying for apprenticeships, post-high school certificates, and college degrees.
The courses were developed by industry leaders, such as Boeing, in partnership with the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and has been implemented at schools across the state.
The 2021-22 school year is the first year of the Core Plus Aerospace Manufacturing I course at SHS. The course is taught by CTE teacher Trisha Fry, who also has previous experience working at Boeing.
In the course, students learn basic skills, including:
- Introduction to Material Sciences
- Precision Measurement
- Fastening
- Drilling
- Cutting and Grinding
- Riveting
- Blueprint reading
- Pneumatics and Hydraulics
- Basic Electrical
- Soldering
- Introduction to Welding (via virtual welders)
Aaron Tomyn, Director of Career and College Readiness for the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, said that the program gives students a leg up in getting hired while also addressing the need for people in the aerospace field.
“We often hear from our business partners, ‘If you can teach them to use basic tools, precision measurement, and how to read a blueprint, we can train them to use our specialized tools,’” Aaron said.
Omar, who is the president of Skills USA for Aerospace at SHS, participated in the Skills USA competition at Boeing along with other members of the SHS team in March. The competition included interviews and hands-on activity.
Omar said he’s interested in continuing to explore the aerospace field and possibly an apprenticeship or internship.
“I enjoyed it this year - I’ll definitely want to do it next year,” he said.
The Bonney Lake High School culinary arts team were cooking to win at the National ProStart Invitational in Washington D.C. last weekend.
The Panther chefs prepared a three-course meal for two in one hour using only two butane burners. Each member had their task:
- Luke M. made the seared halibut appetizer
- Alika A. made the entree, including the perfect prime tenderloin steak
- Mallory M. made the dessert, including chocolate raspberry mousse and passionfruit panna cotta
- Grace F. kept everyone working together as the sous chef
- Lucy M. was the glue to the team, calling out times, checking for precision and managing the production schedule as team manager
In the end, the Panthers landed an impressive 8th place at the national competition out of 42 schools! Congratulations to the five members of the team and advisor Kahale Ahina.
The National ProStart Invitational is the country’s premier secondary school competition focused on restaurant management and culinary arts. Annually, nearly 400 student competitors put their skills to the test to earn scholarships from the nation's best culinary and restaurant management programs. The competition was canceled the past two years because of COVID-19.
Content warning: This story discusses depression and suicidal ideation.
Emily Jensen remembers when she first started as a sophomore in the Elhi Hill High School Program in the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District.
“I started excelling. I was like flying through courses and they were surprised at how fast I was getting stuff done,” she said.
But it wasn’t always like that.
Throughout most of her life, Emily struggled with her mental health, due to factors both inside and outside of the classroom.
“I did not have any friends. I did not have set social friends. I really just kind of struggled,” said Emily, who is now 19.
From an early age, Emily loved to learn, but around sixth grade, she felt she wasn’t being challenged.
“I was just not doing well and I just didn't care. I felt like I just didn't want to do this. I was already dealing with depression and suicidal ideation,” she said.
In seventh grade, Emily had her first suicide attempt and survived. She went to a long-term treatment center, changing schools in the process, and later returned to SBLSD for her sophomore year. Emily then survived an overdose and went to another treatment center.
“These stays can be anywhere from like one month to, for some people, years. So I’m missing like two to three months of school each time. I'm missing so much school and then when I arrive back or if I even switched schools, I'm lost,” Emily said.
Emily applied to be in the District’s Elhi Hill High School Program, and actually found out she was accepted while in the hospital recovering from her overdose. After treatment, she started there.
“They were so accommodating, like literally I could cry, I love them so much,” she said.
Sumner Middle School
New Bobcat Night: May 25 or 26
All 5th graders scheduled to attend Sumner Middle School next year will be personally invited to SMS on May 25 or May 26. Students will be given an opportunity to tour the school and make elective (Encore) requests for next year.
Families will be invited to a Parent Night on May 26 from 6 to 7 p.m. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information from Sumner Middle School.
More information: Call Sumner Middle School, (253) 891-5000.
Start times for the races will be staggered:
- 8:15 a.m.
- 9:15 a.m.
- 10:15 a.m.
Kids Fun Runs:
- 9 a.m.
- 10 a.m.
Also enjoy face painting and refreshments. All proceeds from the event will go to support the BLHS ASB for student clubs and activities. To register, click this link.
