the lake & park school

From: Camille Hayward
Date: 7 December 2011
To:   DeAnna Martin - Director Route Planning - King County Metro Transit
Subject: Route change for #14 metro bus route


We are a small private school housed in the Mt Baker Park Presbyterian Church and serve a population of  approximately forty preschool through fourth grade children annually.  Next year will be our tenth year of operation.  We rely on the Number 14 bus for most of our transportation needs.  In the past, the bus stop
was very convenient, right across from the church, which allowed for safe boarding.  Currently, the bus stop is still easy for us to access as we board at Trudy Sanders Triangle Park.  We would be most adversely effected by having to walk our children across busy streets to reach the proposed new boarding point on 31st.  Please know that we are becoming more and more a school that goes “into the field” as we travel to parks and our own p-patch at Colman Park.  We are teaching our children to be responsible, ecologically aware citizens who contribute to the common good;  we see the effects of that beneficiary when we ourselves are welcomed on public transit.  Learning to ride the public buses and light rail early is, in my opinion, akin to learning to vote as a matter of civic course.  Please consider our unique needs and weigh those against any expressed detriments that were raised in considering making such a drastic route change away from the neighborhood the 14 seeks to serve, and away from its current and future constituencies.


Camille Hayward
Director/Founder
206 841 3541
The Lake and Park School
3201 Hunter Blvd South
Seattle, WA 98144

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3201 Hunter Boulevard South. Seattle, WA 98144 . 206.721.3480 . admin@lakeandpark.com . www.lakeandpark.com

Woodworking Wednesdays

The second group to do woodworking poses in front of Mike on November 23

 Upon first entering the room, our young ones may cover their ears and look up at us as if to say, “Are you sure this is the right room?” Their initial confusion over the loud noises, big machines, and older kids does not last long, however.  Mike Lawson quickly approaches with a smile and a reassuring sense of confidence, and welcomes everyone into his woodshop.  Mr. Lawson is the last Industrial Arts Teacher in the Seattle Public Schools, and we feel honored to be partnering with him and Franklin High School.

The first group in action

Students have been assigned into groups of eight or nine, and each group gets four sessions to really start, get into, and finish a project.  At the start of each session, Mr. Lawson dumps a large box of wood scraps on the table, and makes sure each child has a hammer, some nails, and safety glasses. Our students then select pieces from the table and begin hammering away! Mr. Lawson coaches them on technique, and encourages interactions with his own students and ours.  

Katie at work

The Lake and Park kids really look up to the high school students, and thoroughly enjoy having the opportunity to learn from them. They will, in fact, often turn down help from our own staff, and wait for a turn to be helped by a “highschooler.”

The students walk away from this encounter with a number of positive experiences: they have an even further understanding of the importance of community relationships, they have a new skill set, and they have a physical creation of their very own, not to mention a sense of pride and accomplishment that is so strong, I am sure it can be sensed by passers-by. We love woodworking Wednesdays!