Enjoy the wide variety of experiences, awards, recognition, and outreach that reflect the skills and diligence of Mercer Island students as well as the support of staff, parents, and our community. To give you a sense of the school year, the highlights are organized by months.
FOX 13 Seattle spotlighted the MIHS Marching Band during halftime of their Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns broadcast on the first week of the NFL season on September 8. Spotlighting marching bands was a new endeavor for FOX and the MIHS marching band was honored to be the first marching band selected.
MISD welcomed back Class of 2017 graduate Olivia Phan as our MIPD School Resource Officer. Olivia supported students and families all during the school year and she was a constant presence visiting with students at our schools.
MIHS junior Lucy Dorer was sworn in as the new Student Representative to the Board on September 11. Lucy was excellent this past school year broadcasting student voice at Board Meetings and in Olympia with state legislators.
In September MIHS Marine Science students took a voyage on the Schooner Adventuress, the second tallest sailing ship on the west coast. Students participated in plankton tows, marine debris and micro plastic collection, and saw how marine life in the Salish Sea is impacted by climate change and ocean acidification.
The MIHS football team was featured on the KING 5 Big Game of the Week at the end of September. They beat Hazen 21-7.
On October 2 Seattle Mariners play-by-play voice Rick Rizzs presented a $5,000 scholarship to MIHS senior Le’Asia Lane from Toys For Kids. The scholarship was established to honor the legacy of former Mariner Dave Henderson, who believed in upholding high standards and a commitment to the community.
The Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) announced on October 16 that Mercer Island High School junior James Young was named a Student Representative to the PSESD Board of Directors.
Island Park Elementary celebrated Dia de Los Muertos on November 1 by decorating the main school hallway display case with celebrations family members, loved ones, and pets who have passed.
The MIHS girls soccer team was named the 3A Academic State Champions with a combined a grade point average of 3.94.
Mercer Island High School cross country runners Sophia Rodriguez, Victoria Rodriguez and Owen Powell were featured on the KING 5 Prep Zone by Sports Reporter Chris Egan on November 6.
MISD hosted a Kindergarten Information Night on November 7 at Northwood for Mercer Island Preschool Association Families. This second annual information night provided families with information on kindergarten schedules, curriculum, enrollment, and took questions from parents.
The MIHS Student Senate coordinated a Blood Drive at the school with the American Red Cross. It’s great to see our students stepping up and helping our community.
Our PTAs do such a great job supporting our students and staff. First graders at Island Park and Lakeridge explored the universe through the Pacific Science Center’s inflatable planetarium, whose visited were funded by each school’s PTA. The PTAs Holly Jolly Treat Trolley visited both IMS and West Mercer to thank teachers and staff for all they do for students.
The District and City of Mercer Island partnered on a communications initiative to inform our families about the different classifications of e-bikes and the legal requirements to operate electric motorcycles.
Renowned storyteller, educator, and artist Roger Fernandes of the Lower Eiwha S’Klallum tribe visited third graders at Lakeridge in early December and spoke to students about Coast Salish legends and taught them parts the Lushootseed language.
Our friends at MIPD visited second graders at Island Park to help with a unit on Community Helpers. And our friends at the City of Mercer Island visited fourth graders at West Mercer as part of a unit where students were answering the question “How can the government influence the way we live?” Deana Waitr’s French 3 class at MIHS held a cake baking competition on the last day of school before Winter Break. The cakes look SO good!
MIHS students go on some great field trips over the course of the school year. This past year both MIHS Materials Sciences classes went to Lawless Forge to put into practical use many of the concepts they had learned in a Metals/Metallurgy unit. It’s so great to see our teachers providing real world examples of classroom units.
“Accepting Imperfection” was the theme of this past school year’s National PTA Reflections program. Numerous MISD students were recognized for their artwork that explored their thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
Lindsay Oliveira’s fourth grade class at Northwood helped raise funds for students and teachers in the Pasadena Unified School District that were impacted by wildfires during January. Ms. Oliveira told KING 5 news, who did a story on the fundraising, "I hope they can look back on this day and can say, hey we made a change and made a difference because we cared and asked how we can help."
The partnerships MISD has with the MIPD and Mercer Island Youth and Family Services (MIYFS) are so valuable, as evidenced when SRO Olivia Phan and MIYFS Counselor Chris Harnish visited IMS on February 28 to present educational lessons on nicotine and vaping to students.
Islander Middle School intermediate robotics students visited Ash Grove Cement Plant on March 7. Teacher Sarah Olson provided the students with a terrific opportunity to see what industries use the technology students were learning. Student also were able to “drive” Spot, a robotic dog, built by Boston Dynamics, that is used at the plant to check for air quality, temperature, and other measurements.
On March 12 KMIH 88.9 The Bridge and MIHS.tv received numerous accolades at the 2025 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Awards, including KMIH receiving the Golden Microphone for being America’s top high school radio station. Teachers Joe Bryant, Natalie Woods, and Michale Ketchum were honored as best the Best Radio and Video Faculty Advisors.
Robotics classes and groups are strong at MIHS. MIHS Robotics Team 5937 took second place at the PNW Bonney Lake Event and the MIHS VEX Robotics team took third place at the State competition to earn a trip to the World Championship in Dallas in May.
One of the special things about MISD is how MIHS students will regularly visit our elementary schools to give presentations or provide mentoring opportunities. On March 19 members of the MIHS Black Student Union (BSU) visited the newly formed West Mercer BSU to speak to elementary students about their high school experience and discuss things they have in common.
The Mercer Island Schools Foundation (MISF) is such a great partner, supporting new programs and annual programs in our schools. A program they have supported since 2013, is the Novel Writing project for fifth graders at West Mercer with local author Roz Ray. Each of the three fifth grade classes at the school come up with the characters and plot for their class novel and Ray breaks the plot up into chapters, and each student writes one chapter of the novel. MISF was also instrumental in implementing two new curricula across our elementary schools, which after implementation, students’ standardized test scores improved significantly. The annual novel writing unit and curricula adoption would not be possible without your support of MISF.
The Mercer Island High School HOSA-Future Health Professionals group had an incredible few days in Spokane from March 11-13 competing in events, attending workshops, and visiting colleges at the HOSA Spring Conference. The chapter saw remarkable performances in preliminary testing, with 10 members advancing to the second round and 16 members attending the State Leadership Conference.
West Mercer 4th graders completed two “Skills For Theatre…Skills For Life” workshops with the Village Theatre Kids Stage. The workshops focused on the physical connection between drama and life skills and the on the written aspects of drama and connections to life skills.
The MIHS Coding Club competed at the Technical Student Association (TSA) Washington State Competition April 2 to April 5 at the Spokane Convention Center, participating in four events, making it to the semifinal round in three of the events, Coding, Video Game Production, and Webmaster–Web Design. On April 8 Island Park alumnus and MIHS Class of 2018 graduate Arwa Mokdad returned to Island Park for a Middle East Culture Lesson presentation for third, fourth and fifth graders at the school. Arwa is a Middle East analyst who is working on her doctorate at Oxford. It’s so great to see a former student giving back to current students.
MISD held its first Where Are They Now? How Were They Prepared? College Transition webinar on April 9. Seven recent MIHS graduates took part in the webinar and spoke about how MISD prepared them for college and university and their post MIHS life. The webinar is a great resource for students and families as they prepare for their post-secondary journey.
26 MIHS track and field athletes competed at the Oregon Relays at Hayward Fieldin Euguene, Oregon the first weekend in April. Islanders delivered impressive performances, setting personal records and season bests in hurdles, throws, high jump, pole vault, sprints, and distance events.
Cindi Pacecca’s first grade class at Island Park formed “music bands” as a part of their physical science unit on Light and Sound. In this unit, students explored light and sound by discovering how light helps us see, how light travels, how sound is made, and how sound travels. Students then combined both light and sound to find out about the ways people use light and sound to send messages and communicate.
MISD was pleased to present its 10th annual Pathfinder Award to 1999 MIHS graduate Katie-Jay Scott Stauring whose achievements, strength of character, and citizenship inspire and challenge today’s youth to make significant contributions to humankind. Sadly, this was a posthumous presentation of the award as Katie-Jay passed away in a tragic car accident in November 2021. Wendy Dubrow, who nominated Katie-Jay for the award, spoke to the School Board on April 24 with classmate Amelia Winslow about Katie-Jay and why she is so deserving of the Pathfinder recognition.
The Lakeridge PTA held their annual Science Fair on April 10 the school. The Science Fair is a non-competitive event designed to encourage students to experience the fun true nature of science: to ask questions and find the answers yourself! We really appreciate the support of all our PTAs.
The MIHS orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall in New York on April 19. The opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall came about as a part of the National Band and Orchestra Festival and was the result of a competitive application process. Recordings of the MIHS Orchestras were submitted, and after thorough review the MIHS ensembles were selected to perform alongside other high-achieving programs from around the country. This was quite the honor and the performance was excellent.
MIHS Class of 2020 alumnus Zitong Wang invited MIHS science teacher Shannon Sue to join her at a luncheon at the end of April at Stanford University for the top 5% of graduating students in the School of Engineering. This is a neat award where these high achieving students get to pick one secondary teacher they felt was most influential on their development and invite them to speak on their behalf at an intimate luncheon. There were about 25 Stanford students in total, and they paid for their teachers to fly in from all over the world.
On May 1 teachers and paraeducators from Island Park and Lakeridge visited West Mercer for a cross school collaboration to learn more about Wolfpack Block, West Mercer’s small group instruction initiative, which we highlighted in a story in January. It’s great to see how our teachers and paraeducators are so dedicated and always looking to improve their practice and instruction. It’s one of the things that makes MISD so great!
At the start of May third graders at West Mercer were examining Burke Boxes. The boxes, provided by the Burke Museum, have information and items on mammals and fossils and students had a unit culminating activity examining historical artifacts in the boxes.
All four elementary schools were recognized on May 6 by the Washington School Recognition Program for supporting students' growth and academic achievement as measured by the schools Washington School Improvement Framework (WSIF) performance during the 2023-2024 school year. We are very proud of this honor and all the hard work of our teachers, paraeducators, staff, and administrators undertook for this recognition.
For Staff Appreciation Week at Northwood, the PTA did a great job with their “Wicked” theme, delivering specially ordered snacks for Northwood staff. It was a pleasure for our staff to have PTA members light up Northwood hallways with treats and snacks. Thank you, Northwood PTA, for appreciating the hardworking team at Northwood!
It was an awesome evening at Lakeridge’s Culture Night put on by their PTA on May 7. The evening brings together all Lakeridge families to share and celebrate the many cultures at the school. The event celebrates all the different food we eat, the games we play, the languages we speak, the music we listen to, and so much more.
City of Mercer Island Capital Parks Manager Shelby Perrault visited Lakeridge on May 12 to get student feedback about what updates they would like to see at Deane’s Children’s Park, also known as Dragon Park. Shelby visited all four elementary schools to get student feedback on the park.
MIHS ninth graders Calla Youssefieh and Lila Peters and MIHS broadcast media teacher Natalie Woods were guests on Studio 13 Live on May 20. Calla and Lila are the hosts of Passion For Fashion, which airs on KMIH 88.9 The Bridge on Tuesdays at 3pm and can be found on Spotify. Studio 13 Live hosts Carly Henderson and Mireya Garcia spoke to Calla and Lila about what inspired them to create the podcast, who their dream guests for the podcast are, recent topics the podcast has covered, and what they want listeners to take away from listening to the podcast.
MIHS senior girls’ lacrosse player Chelsea Cho was featured on the Prep Zone on KING 5 Sports by Sports Reporter Chris Egan on May 20. Earlier in the year Chelsea played for Team Korea at a international lacrosse competition.
The MIHS Choir attended the World Strides Heritage Choral Festival in Vancouver, BC, the weekend of May 24-25. The Choir had a great weekend of music enrichment, sightseeing, and the celebration of earning a Silver rating!
Three MIHS Media Technology and Filmmaking students works were named Best Student Works in the 46th Annual Telly Awards. Seniors Hannah Moeller, Minh Luu, and Hadley Holtzclaw were honored for their excellence in video storytelling.
On May 28 we celebrated and recognized our Certificated and Classified Employees of the Year in the Northwood Commons. It was a fun celebration and so great to hear why these six staff members were named Employees of the Year.
First graders in Beth Christofferson's class at Northwood turned into entrepreneurs on May 30 by wrapping up a hands-on Goods & Services Market Day unit where they all shined like mini CEOs! Through this project, students learned: The difference between goods & services; How supply & demand works — what happens when everyone wants the same item; How to create, design & market their product or service; Used their best communication skills to advertise and persuade; Practiced real-life math by buying, selling & making change. From handmade books to paper airplanes, these little learners showed big creativity and confidence!
The MI Community Scholarship, administered by the PTA Council, presented scholarships to 29 MIHS seniors on May 30 at the Community Scholarship Awards Night. Awarded since 1976, the scholarships demonstrate our community’s appreciation of, and support for, island students. Each scholarship recognizes outstanding attitude, effort, and a student’s positive contribution to classroom and community. Mercer Island Community Scholarship Areas: College and Career Readiness (CCR), Crest Learning Center, English, Math, Multi Language Learner, Performing Arts, Science, Social Studies, Visual Arts, World Language, and Principal Award. Thank you PTA Council and congratulations to all 29 recipients!
The MIHS boys soccer team won the 3A State Championship on May 31 with a 3-2 win over Shorewood at Sparks Stadium. Let’s Go Islanders! 26 MIHS student athletes signed National Letters of Intent on June 4 in the MIHS gym to play collegiate and university sports in 2025-26. The 26 students have a combined GPA of 3.73 are attending 24 different colleges or universities.
On June 3, the 95 Percent Group, started in 2005 with a vision to help schools and districts provide every child with the literacy instruction they deserve, highlighted the tools used by MISD, and the educators that implemented the tools, in our Access For All pilot reading program. The pilot reading program came about through a partnership between the PTA Special Services and Learning Differences (SSALD) Group and MISD.
Some of our Community Preschoolers took an exciting first bus ride to Northwood on June 10 for a special visit to Mrs. Sundholm’s kindergarten class! As part of our kindergarten readiness, students enjoyed a morning message, a fun Pigeon-directed drawing activity, and everyone’s favorite—Choice Time! Another great step in helping our rising kindergarteners feel confident and excited for what’s ahead.
The School Board recognized Senior Student Representative to the Board Ava Zhang on June 11 for her dedication as a Student Representative to the Board for the 2023-2025 term. Thank you, Ava, for your service to our community representing student voice. We wish you the best of success as you start your college journey in the fall.
We were notified in late June that six KMIH broadcasting students had received honors in the 8th annual New York Times Student Podcast Contest. The story we published on July 7 linked to each of the podcasts, which after listening to them, you will know why our broadcast media students and teachers continue to win awards and recognition.