Welcome to the Bobcat Blog! A place where faculty and students share their experiences in learning and building a community.

Before COVID-19, school closures occurred & the good that came…

By Mindy J. Watson | June 5, 2020

In the mid-2000s, a few of my colleagues and I thought it would be prudent to consider and then develop a process for extended school closure. Now, you native Pacific North-Westerners know darn well that it doesn’t “really” snow in Seattle and its surrounding cities, but occasionally two feet will indeed drop and shut the cities down. Moreover, in 2001 there was an earthquake that was at least a 6-point that did some damage. So, what if a school had to shut down for more than a day or two? Considering the swine flu or some other debilitating virus, my colleagues helped develop a strategy to maintain forward motion for classes and, most importantly, continue to engage students in their learning. In the early 2000s, video conferencing was in the development stages. Skype (2003), Zoom (2011), and Google Classroom (2014) have helped to advance how people around the globe can communicate efficiently and effectively. Spinning forward to 2018, the year in which WaPrep was established, I carried forward the hours of conversations and planning that had been done to prepare for an extended school closure with my colleagues from a former private school. In February of 2019, the Seattle area was hit with a significant snowstorm, and icy conditions prevailed. Our students took one snow day and then began school, from home, with their teachers on Zoom and email exchange. Students uploaded their work electronically, and teachers provided feedback effectively. It was a starting place for us as a school and gave us just enough data to make improvements for future events like a snowstorm. Unusually, in January 2020, we had another significant snow and ice event. WaPrep’s teaching team and students knew what to do, and more data was gathered for us to utilize for improvements… And then…on March…

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Grade 6 Summer Reading

By Web Master | June 1, 2023
Required Novel Graphic Novel 1 Literary Fiction 1 Memoir / Literary Nonfiction For your summer reading, you will do a “One Pager” for 2 different books: 1 book of your choice from the list below AND the novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. Esperanza Risingis requiredreading for all 6th grade students. We will do activities with the reading on the first day of school, so come ready! Continue reading...

Rising 9th Grade Summer Reading 23

By Web Master | May 25, 2023
Or 1 Memoir / Leterary Nonfiction Required Reading One of the most important -- and rewarding -- habits you can develop is to read for interest and leisure. Build frequent, daily reading into your summer plans. Take your time to really engage with and enjoy the novels! 1. Pick 1 novel/non-fiction book + 1 required reading (2 total) 1 Literary Fiction: Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho A Separate Peace by John Knowles OR 1 Memoir / Literary Nonfiction: Educated by Tara Westover The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Bryan Mealer and William Kamkwamba (not the Young Reader’s edition) An Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand *1 Required Reading The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas *We will begin the fall semester of English by exploring this book, so you may want to wait until mid-August to read it, so that it is fresh in your mind when school begins! 2. JOURNAL While You Read! While you read, you will be using a dialectical journal. A dialectical journal is a written “conversation” between you and the book, through questions and answers you will write down in a notebook. This should be the notebook you plan to use in English class in the fall. For each book you read (so you’ll do this twice): Explore 2 text examples (page # + text evidence for each) for each of the 5 literary elements listed below. Your journal will have 10 entries total per book read. Elements: 1. Style and structure (2 entries): Is it...

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SAT Prep Camp – Summer 2023

By Web Master | February 28, 2023

SAT Reading, Writing and Language The summer SAT test prep camp provides students with the tools needed to prepare for the SAT Reading and Writing and Language tests. This 48-hour classroom course includes extensive content review, test-taking skills and strategies for each section and by question type, and proctored practice exams. This course is for students seeking a comprehensive review of the Reading and Writing sections as well as those who want to focus on key areas for improvement. Camp Registration – Summer 23 Parent / Guardian Information Name(Required) First Last Email(Required) Phone(Required) Camper's Information Camper's Name(Required) First Last Camper's Date of Birth(Required) MM slash DD slash YYYY Camper's Grade Entering(Required)Gr. 5Gr. 6Gr. 7Gr. 8Gr. 9Gr. 10Camp(s) Attending Week #1: July 10th – July 14th AM – Elective ChoiceRobotics & EngineeringDigital Art & PhotographyS.A.T. Preparation – Reading, Writing, LanguageMusic Production & CompositionPM – Elective ChoiceFitness & SportsRobotics & CodingS.A.T. Preparation – Reading, Writing, Language Week #2: July 17th – July 21th AM – Elective ChoiceRobotics & EngineeringS.A.T. Preparation – Reading, Writing, LanguageDigital Art & PhotographyMusic Production & CompositionPM – Elective ChoiceFitness & SportsRobotics & CodingS.A.T. Preparation – Reading, Writing, Language Week #3: July 24th – July 28th AM – Elective ChoiceRobotics & EngineeringS.A.T. Preparation – Reading, Writing, LanguageDigital Art & PhotographyMusic Production & CompositionPM – Elective ChoiceFitness & SportsRobotics & CodingS.A.T. Preparation – Reading, Writing, Language Week #4: July 31th – August 4th AM – Elective ChoiceRobotics & EngineeringS.A.T. Preparation – Reading, Writing, LanguageDigital Art & PhotographyMusic Production & CompositionPM – Elective ChoiceFitness & SportsRobotics & CodingS.A.T. Preparation – Reading, Writing, Language Emergency Contact Information Name Relation Phone Does your child need to take a prescription or over-the-counter medication during camp hours?(Required) Yes No If yes, please list medications your child will be taking during camp hours. Will your child be…

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Learning Camp Summer 2023

By Web Master | February 28, 2023

All Camps run from 9:00am to 3:30pm. Upon selecting the week of your choice in the registration from you will be able to select your elective for the morning and the afternoon. You can customize your summer camp base on your child interest. See you at camp! Creative Coding with Python Learn computer science while making cool music, art, and games. Students will use several university-developed platforms to learn Python and foster their creativity. Tune Pad, EarSketch, and Processing are among the formats we will explore. Class will conclude with a fun student concert or art and game showing. Beginners welcome! Instrument Making: Creating Analog & Digital Instruments Explore hands-on and virtual environments creating analog and digital instruments. This class is a wonderful introduction to basic concepts of engineering, electronics, and audio synthesis. Students will conclude the camp by playing their instruments in an informal jam session/concert. Beginners welcome! Music Composition & Production Have fun learning how to create, record, mix, and release your own music. This class introduces music theory, keyboard, songwriting, and digital music basics using a DAW (digital audio workstation). Final compositions will be uploaded to the internet using SoundCloud. Robotics & Engineering Learning Targets: Build and test a robot collaboratively. Create a VEXcode EXP project to code the Clawbot to successfully grasp and score rings. Customize driver controls to be a more effective driver in the Ring Leader Competition. Test and iterate on coding and driver control strategies to score more rings in activities and the Ring Leader Competition. Skill Level: Level 2- Students have some experience with coding. Students who are curious about building, driving robots remotely, and coding robots to complete tasks. 5-Day Camp Overview: Build a VEX EXP Clawbot. Explore the difference between driver control and coded movements to collect and score rings…

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Our Core Values

By Web Master | January 13, 2023

R ESPECT I NTEGRITY C ITIZENSHIP E XCELLENCE

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Mission statement

By Web Master | January 13, 2023

Inspire students to achieve content mastery, equip them with the integrity, the skills, and the confidence they need to become tomorrow’s leaders, and to prepare them to thrive at universities and future careers where creativity, perseverance, and critical thinking are keys to success. In doing this, develop enlightened, ethical, and compassionate leaders to better each other and the world.

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Art Club

By Web Master | December 30, 2022

A place where students can practice the arts and hone their individual skills. From mixed medium to water color and traditional oil painting, high school students can find where their unique talents lie and explore new avenues of enrichment and expression. The art club curriculum is diverse and beneficial on many levels for art students. Teens can collaborate with other artists in the school, further develop their techniques and learn new ones, expand their portfolio and more. Students are often required to work in groups and learn to work together through projects for the school or community organizations.

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4-Square Club – Lunch

By Web Master | December 30, 2022

Four square is a team sport played among two teams with two players each on a square court divided into four quadrants: A, B, C, and D (usually numbers 3, 4, 2, and 1, respectively, depending on the court.) The square that a player gets to before anyone else immediately becomes their position in the game. The objective of four square is to eliminate players on the opposing team to achieve the highest rank on the court, and this is done by bouncing the ball back and forth between quadrants. A player on one team may bounce the ball to an opponent team’s player’s square, and tries to bounce the ball in a state that the player on the opposing team can not hit it to another square. The winning team will move up in the ranks, and the team that reaches the highest rank, A (usually number 3 on numbered courts depending on the court), first, wins, with all the losing team’s players being eliminated. A player is eliminated when a ball is bounced in a player’s quadrant and the player is unable to bounce the ball into another player’s quadrant. It is a popular game at elementary schools with little required equipment, almost no setup, and short rounds of play that can be ended at any time.

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Poetry Club – Lunch

By Web Master | December 30, 2022

Students come to share their thoughts, ideas and a few absurdities of life with other writers, observers, or just curious onlookers.  Students learn to express themselves through the many forms of poetry.  Like music, poetry allows us to express truth, passion, and honesty using special language and forms. Come read, write and celebrate the captivating world of poetry!

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Chess Club

By Web Master | December 30, 2022

The chess club combines educational and social activities. Members come to play, to learn, to teach, and to get together with old friends and make new ones. The players — no matter what their level of skill, experience, or age — speak a common language, and one that is often not understood in other areas of a person’s life. The rivalries are friendly; the friendships are competitive.

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