Gause First Graders Catch the Learning Bug

First graders in Marvina Bugajski’s class at Gause Elementary became “bug experts” on a wide variety of insects and then shared their knowledge with other students, parents and the community at an Insect Showcase, February 12.

“The students completed their research for this informational writing lesson about insects using books and the internet,” said Bugajski.  “This year we did a lot more research online.  They used what they found for writing the poster information at school and then created a diorama as a family project at home.”

Parent Kristie Williams was impressed with how much daughter, Sawyer, knew about bugs and took leadership in the family project to create her diorama.  “I took her to the store but she knew what she needed like trees and grass because that is where the insect lives,” she said.  “Her dad helped cut the dowels used for trees and hung the butterflies and sister even donated the box.  It was fun to work together on.”

“The students get so excited about the insects and love to share it with their family,” Bugajski said.  “They really take ownership of the project and then love to tell people what they learned.”

Standout student: WHS junior balances academics, work experience and career exploration

WHS junior Riley Coffman is an expert at time management. Not only does he currently have a 4.0 GPA, he also holds down a part-time job at Lutz Hardware in Camas, working approximately 16 hours per week. Riley is also a participant in the rigorous and highly competitive Washington Aerospace Scholars (WAS) program.  WAS is a two-part program for high school juniors focused on topics in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

After successfully completing phase one of the WAS program (a five-month distance learning course designed in partnership with NASA and the University of Washington), Riley will attain five college credits through U.W. As one of the program’s top scorers with an overall grade of 88%, he has been invited to attend the summer phase two portion of this program, a six-day summer residency in Seattle working with Boeing and NASA engineers.

“Riley is a very self-driven individual that continues to amaze his father and myself every day,” said his mother, Jessica Coffman. “We are so proud of him, we are bursting at the seams.”

Riley says that good time management helps him juggle his busy schedule. “I just set priorities for myself and try to take everything in bite-sized chunks,” he said. “I do homework every night but I alternate the nights I work with nights I participate in WAS. I just take it one step at a time.”

Participating in WAS has sparked in interest in engineering for Riley, who thinks he may pursue a career in electrical or computer engineering. “I knew I wanted to do something with science and math,” he said. “But I now know that I love engineering.”

Riley says parental support was key to his success. “My parents played a big part in helping motivate me during stressful times,” he said. “It’s as much their success as it is mine. They’ve always been there to support me and to tell me it’s ok to have fun too.”

Riley currently has Mr. Bennett as a Physics teacher and Mr. Anderson for Pre-Calculus.

Hathaway science fair inspires young scientists

Hathaway fifth graders from Mr. Schlauch’s and Ms. Kurtz's classes participated in a Science Fair April 22. Students were required to choose a project, follow the scientific process, make a slide presentation on their iPad, and create a display board. The 49 young scientists shared their hard work and creativity with parents and other Hathaway students who attended the fair.

Students tested freezing temperatures, tested sounds with homemade “telephones”, created slime, and generated reactions with baking soda, vinegar, Mentos and soda pop.

Lauren Widmer: Flowers of the Rainbow. Lauren added food coloring to the water of white daisies over a six-day period to see how the daisies absorbed the color and how the various colors behaved differently.

Retired WHS science teacher Bruce Stanton was on hand to see what students had created and offer his scientific observations as well.

Marinah Vargo: The Soap Experiment. Marinah tested Charles’ Law, “As the temperature of a gas increases, so does its volume.”  Marinah microwaved Dial and Ivory soaps and found that their volume expanded greatly as they were heated.

“I was very impressed with the overall professionalism that these Hathaway fifth graders were able to maintain throughout the entire fair,” said teacher Andrew Schlauch. “I especially enjoyed watching them take on the role of the expert and teach their newly mastered concept to their peers, family members, teachers, and community members. I had multiple parents express their excitement and appreciation about the enthusiasm towards science they saw in their students for the first time. One parent told me that this fair has sparked a life long interest in science that may have never been. I am definitely looking forward to doing this again next year.”

Gabriel Hoffman: The Lucky Number 6. Gabriel invited fair participants to attempt to draw a number 6 while rotating their leg clockwise. His research supported the conclusion that as humans have evolved, we have not developed same side anti-coordination.

Brian Choi Earns Opportunity to Study Space at the Washington Aerospace Summer Residence Program

Washougal High School junior, Brian Choi, is one of just 160 students from across the state to earn a spot in the Washington Aerospace Scholars (WAS) Summer Residency Program.  Choi’s high academic performance on the WAS Phase One curriculum qualified him to attend.

The six-day summer residency experience will be held at The Museum of Flight in Seattle during June and July.  Choi will join a
team of 11-12 students to work cooperatively to plan a human mission to Mars with support from professional engineers/scientists, university students, and certificated educators.  “The biggest challenge to supporting life on Mars is really the distance,” he said.  “If they run into a problem or something needs to be fixed, there is no way to communicate with Earth quickly.  They have to solve problems and manage everything themselves.”


WHS Math teacher Jason Blaesing was Choi’s faculty advisor. Blaesing is also a WAS online evaluator and a counselor during the summer program.  “The amount of work these kids have to do to qualify is incredible,” he said.  “And this is added on to their regular high school course work which often includes Advanced Placement classes.  It is just wonderful when you see all that hard work pay off for them.”

WHS students to participate in competitive STEM program

Brian Choi and Adam Thomas have been selected for the Washington Aerospace Scholars Program.  (pictured with WHS teacher Jason Blaesing)

Washougal High School students Brian Choi and Adam Thomas (pictured with WHS teacher Jason Blaesing) have been selected to participate in Phase One of the Washington Aerospace Scholars Program. This free, competitive, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education program for Washington state high school juniors is affiliated with NASA and the University of Washington. Congratulations students!

WHS Junior David Choi advances in Washington Aerospace Scholars program

WHS Junior David Choi has advanced into phase 2 of the Washington Aerospace Scholars program. Phase 2 consists of a six day summer residency experience at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. David and other WAS participants will have hands-on engineering experiences involving model rockets, robotic rovers, and will work on a "Mission to Mars" team project.

To read more, please see the Columbian's article about David's selection.

To read more about the Washington Aerospace Scholars program, please visit their website: http://www.museumofflight.org/was