It’s been a long journey for St. Luke School in Shoreline—after nearly six years of extensive preparations and staff training, it has officially become an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School for both the Primary Years Program (preschool - 5th grade) and the Middle Years Program (6th - 8th grade). But what exactly is IB and what made St. Luke aspire to become recognized as one? 

You may—or may not—know who Leah Rene Welch is, but if you are lucky enough to call Richmond Beach home, you most likely have enjoyed her delightful artwork in our community. Welch is the artist behind one of the 22 orcas that were created in 2016 as part of the RBCA Beach Orcas art project. Celeste the Cosmic Swimmer—as her orca is known as—is located at the Richmond Beach community sign at Richmond Beach Road and 8th Avenue NW. “That meant so much to me that my orca had been accepted,” Welch recalls. “The moment I heard about the project, I knew exactly what I would do; I knew I wanted to do the night sky.” 

Long before the pandemic started, higher education institutions have been offering programs to its students online. One would think that the switch to remote learning in 2020 would have been an easy transition for a lot of those schools. However, nothing could be further from the truth. 

“I was in panic and thought this was it,” says Tony Doupe, Program Lead for Film and Theater Arts at Shoreline Community College. “I had no idea how we were going to teach acting, filmmaking and theater classes online,” he recalls. Prior to the pandemic, all of Doupe’s classes were conducted in person and revolved around practicing scene work, monologues, having discussions and preparing his students to be on set. During the pandemic, everything has changed.

A local nonprofit—Wonderland Child & Family Services—serving families in King and Snohomish counties is committed to lessening the financial stress caused by the pandemic on its community. Through the end of March, the organization is offering the first therapy session at no cost to new families starting birth-to-three therapy services. Wonderland offers early-intervention services to children with developmental delays, disabilities and prenatal substance exposure from birth to 12 years of age.

Physical Education (PE) has been one of the most challenging subjects to teach online during the pandemic. Not to mention, it is the teaching job that has—arguably—also changed the most as a result of it. Prior to March 2020, playing, giggling and competing at sports, kids were a constant reality for PE teachers in Washington. Right now? Not so much anymore. 

Kindergarten teachers have a special power—they can shape a child’s relationship with education for a lifetime. If used wisely, the consequences for the child’s learning, self-esteem and outlook on life can be life changing. “I love that I can help kids see school as something positive—that they are good at—and help them feel successful,” says Caitlin McNulty, a kindergarten teacher at Syre Elementary School. McNulty found her way into teaching kindergarteners 11 years ago through Teach for America—an organization which encourages high-achieving recent graduates and professionals to teach, for at least two years, in low-income neighborhoods in the U.S. Although she also coached other teachers for a brief period of time, she eventually returned to teaching because “she just missed students too much.”

“I want my students to be intentional thinkers and to value learning above performance and grades,” says Nathan Lee, a math teacher at Shorewood High School. In a society that more commonly values achievements over efforts and is susceptible to “mindless” apps and activities, that’s quite an impressive endeavor. 

Colleen LaMotte has always been fascinated with science—she was a pre-med student on her way to become a doctor after all. Working as a bus driver in college, Colleen spent her summers as a tour guide in Alaska teaching her passengers about the history of the area. 

Although many of the travelers—impressed with Colleen’s enthusiasm—suggested she should consider teaching as a career path, she insisted on sticking to her original plan. It wasn’t until her trip to Southeast Asia after college, where she was teaching Cambodian men how to speak English, that she started to question her own career choice. 

“I was surrounded by the people who were so hungry to learn, and I felt so alive,” LaMotte recalls. “It was at that moment that I decided to do a master’s program when I got back, and I have been teaching ever since.”

If you’ve lived in King County for a while, chances are you’re already aware of the incredible work of Mary’s Place. If you haven’t, let me tell you a little bit about them. For over two decades now, this Seattle based nonprofit has been providing inclusive resources and shelter to women, children and families on their journey out of homelessness into more stable housing. Their belief that “no one’s child should sleep outside” has united the local community and brought an overwhelming support from many key businesses in the area, such as Starbucks or Amazon, to name a few. 

Just when you thought that Richmond Beach had it all, our neighborhood keeps getting better and better. This summer, Joe Montero (Shoreline native) is bringing a bit of nightlife to our community with his new beer bar and cocktail place–Vault 177 (former Gino’s Pizza).

Over two hundred free workout classes delivered in the community. That is how Gina Drake, together with her husband, Chris, decided to spread their love of fitness and give back to their beloved community. They are on a mission to redefine what success in fitness is and making exercise accessible to all. 

All students in the area are now home from school at least until late April leaving parents scrambling for ideas and looking for resources, and patience may be running thin. 

As part of this year’s RBCA Health & Wellness Series, which took place in February, RBCA held a discussion about positive discipline led by Julietta Skoog. Skoog is a highly recognized school psychologist, an early childhood expert and a co-founder of Sproutable, a company dedicated to providing effective parenting tools.