• Four students were named 2010 National Merit Semifinalists. Nicole Rhodes, Vancouver School of Arts and Academics; Matthew Heid, Skyview High School; Aniran Chandravongsri, Columbia River High School; and Lauren M. Shull, Columbia River, are among the highest scoring entrants in the state.
Several students acheived Commended Student status in the National Merit Schalarship Program. Commended Students place in the top five percent of students who enter the National Merit Scholarship competition. From Columbia River are Jenna Carr, Nathan Drapela, Tarrin Neal, and Eric Sundberg. From Hudson's Bay, Jackson Wiley was named a Commended Student. From Skyview, Lauren Barth, Zachary Byrd, Patrick Keane, Vikram Kudva, Kyle Parent, and Laura Tuck were named Commended Students. Two students from Columbia River High School were named Outstanding Participants in the National Achievement Scholarship Program, which honors Black American seniors who place in the top three percent of that competition. Therone Bridges and Mikhail Woodburn received Outstanding Participant awards.
• Nicole (Nikki) Rhodes, a senior at VSAA, was named a 2009 Davidson Fellow Laureate and awarded a $50,000 scholarship. Nikki submitted a 70-page portfolio of original literary work, "The Dictionary of Distance." Through poetry and other writing styles, she explored the topic of distance, both literally and figuratively, based on her experiences and studies.
• Three students from Skyview High School placed among the top 10 in their respective grades in the Washington State High School Chess Association's 2009-10 standings. Vikram Kudva, senior, placed 5th among seniors. Jamy Southafeng, junior, placed 10th in the junior category. Priya Kudva, freshman, placed 7th among freshman.
Athletics and activities
• The Skyview marching band and color guard took the first-place Sweepstakes award at the 13th Annual McKenzie Classic in Vancouver on Oct. 24. Skyview also won the High Auxilary, High Percussion and General Affect awards. Eight bands from the Pacific Northwest competed in the McKenzie classic.
• Skyview's boys golf team won the 4A Greater St. Helens League title. Andy Long finished second overall. All five team members will go to state competition in the spring—four in the field and one as an alternate. Team members are Long, Garrett Kooistra, Blake Bowen, Mario Alongi, and Tim Johansson.
• The Skyview Storm Marching Band placed third in the Spectacle of Sound competition at Hillsboro Stadium on Oct. 17. They competed among 11 Northwest high schools.
Staff
• King Elementary teacher Charyl Erickson received a package of classroom supplies valued at more than $1,000 from OfficeMax's A Day Made Better campaign. Charyl received a printer, digital camera, a teacher's chair, a magnetic board, and many other classroom supplies. The OfficeMax campaign awards supplies to more than 1,100 teachers across the country each year.
• Nine schools received 2009 Energy Star awards for superior energy performance: Sarah J. Anderson, Chinook, Felida, Hazel Dell, Lincoln, Minnehaha, and Washington elementary schools, Alki Middle School, and the GATE House. The award is given by the United State Environmental Protection Agency. Employess Gary Morrison, Tim North and Bob Riches were recognized by Vancouver Public Schools' Board of Directors for their leadership in increasing energy efficiency.
Academics
