Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 10, October 2003
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Seattle Sun Education Briefs
Sienna Parish School teacher wins Fulbright
Spanish teacher Maureen Ryan of St. Catherine of Sienna Parish School in the Maple Leaf neighborhood has been awarded a Fulbright Teachers Exchange Scholarship.
She will travel this fall to Pachuaca Hidalgo, Mexico, where she will teach English to 14 and 15-year-old students at Jaime Torres Bodet, a public secondary school. During the same period, a scholarship recipient from Mexico is taking her place at St. Catherine.
Ryan is an honors graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and Spanish, and a master's degree in education. She taught Spanish to students in Mississippi after college as an Americorps volunteer.
Following a one-week orientation program in Washington, D.C., Ryan traveled to Mexico on Aug. 8 and will remain in the country until Dec. 19. She is keeping in touch with St. Catherine students through messages posted on the private school's website. Ryan says she hopes to improve both her Spanish language skills and her knowledge of Mexican culture and history during her stay. She is especially interested in learning to cook authentic Mexican dishes.
A two-year member of the teaching staff at St. Catherine, Ryan also coordinates the multi-arts program.
Blanchet to host Don James
Bishop Blanchet High School will hold a fund-raiser spaghetti dinner on Thursday, Oct. 2, that will be cooked by Paul Pioli and the Sons of Italy and served by members of the school's football, soccer and track teams. The evening's special guest will be legendary Husky football coach Don James, also known as "The Dawgfather." There is no charge for the dinner, but the event's guests will be asked to make a donation to help the school pay for the costs of improving its athletic fields. The dinner will be held at 6 p.m., at the school, located at 8200 Wallingford Ave. N. To make reservations to attend, call 527-7735 or 527-7710 or send e-mail to jpins@blanchet.k12.wa.us.
NSCC director wins Fulbright
Peter Omar Manuelian, director of North Seattle Community College's Institute of English, has been named a Fulbright Scholar.
He is one of just two community college scholars selection nationwide. Manuelian will travel to Mexico for a six-week exchange during the 2003-04 school year, with his place at NSCC taken by a Mexican administrator.
Fulbright Awards are given to some 250 US educators annually. Manuelian is one of 14 Washington state scholars.
Japan invites Whitman teacher to visit
Cynthia Towers, a seventh grade teacher at Whitman Middle School in Crown Hill, has been selected to be one of 200 U.S. secondary school educators to visit Japan for three weeks in November as part of the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. Upon arriving in Tokyo, Towers and the other U.S. teachers will receive a practical orientation on Japanese life and culture and meet with Japanese government officials and educators. They will then travel in groups of 20 to prefectures (states) outside of Tokyo where they will have direct contact with Japanese teachers and students during visits to primary and secondary schools as well as a teachers college.
Wallingford Boys & Girls Club to hold auction, Oct. 25
The Wallingford Boys & Girls Club will hold its annual fund-raising auction on Oct. 25 at the downtown Sheraton hotel. Proceeds from the event will benefit the club's many programs for youths. For details, call the club at 547-7261 or e-mail club director Jamie Flaxman at jflaxman@positiveplace.org.