Videos

In the fourth episode, Henry chatted with Nova Williams, one of two Directors of Learning Services with the District, about the Seattle Times front page story in April on how the District uses LETRS (Learning Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) to train teachers and what is was like to appear on the front page of the paper. 

In the first episode, Henry visits with Tony Kuhn, the District’s Director of Facilities and Operations, who, as part of his responsibilities, oversees the Mary Wayte Pool. Tony is a K-12 alumnus and has worked for the District for 33 years.

In episode 3, Henry talks with District Director of Transportation Patrick Rock about the two electric buses that will be arriving soon, how bus routes are determined, the typical bus driver schedule, and the awesomeness of long-serving bus driver Roy Ellingsen.

Learn how mindfulness is being used at Northwood Elementary to help students to Be the Three: Safe, Respectful and Responsible.

The Mercer Island School District has welcomed more than 50 new certificated staff this year, from seven countries and 15 states. Let us introduce you to three of them. 

KMIH, the Mercer Island High School student radio station, has rebranded as 88.9 The Bridge. The station offers students a unique lab environment for hands-on learning as they operate an FCC-licensed station, mentored by broadcast media instructor Joe Bryant.

Spotlight: Spring 2016 

8th-grade social studies classes at Islander Middle School held a Day of Service to help the community. Students assembled hygiene kits and tied blankets for local shelters and painted rocks to be displayed next to the Anne Frank tree planted in the Seattle Center Peace Garden.

Islander Middle School devoted extended lessons around understanding hate and bigotry and the extremes that can occur when these elements are fostered within a society. IMS engaged its 6th and 7th grade students in an important conversation that by understanding hate we will find ways to overcome it. 8th grade students had a culminating experience where they heard from a Holocaust survivor, George Elbaum.

In our spring Video Spotlight, learn more about the Adult Transition and Early Childhood programs and how Special Education is preparing students for life. Thanks to Walgreens and the Mercer Island Athletic Club for providing these work experiences for our students.

Sixth graders at Islander Middle School are learning character essentials in their Extended Core classes this year, building a culture of character and developing important social-emotional skills. This video shows students learning what respect means by writing letters and sending packages to service members through Operation Gratitude.

MIHS Students are using computer programming to cultivate and foster analytical and critical thinking. In this short spotlight video, the viewer will see how thinking, creativity, and problem-solving are all interconnected. The teaching of coding offers our students technology and digital literacy in ways that will help shape their thinking for future cross-discipline tasks.
 

Mercer Island School District's first electric bus arrived on Friday, April 21, 2023, which is very apropos as it was the day before Earth Day. The District will be receiving a second electric bus soon as well.

MISD alumnus Jordan Morris played for Team USA at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Jordan’s former teachers recorded messages of support and good luck for Jordan and his Team USA teammates prior to the World Cup. This video was very well received in the community and was shared by many news organizations and the Sounders. 

MIHS CTE Coordinator Jen McLellan flew with the Blue Angels on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. McLellan was selected by the Blue Angels after being nominated by MIHS teacher Joe Bryant, who is the general manager of MIHS radio station KMIH 88.9 The Bridge. KMIH is broadcasting Seafair events, including the hydro races, as part of Log Boom Radio. As of March 1, 2023, this video has over 13,000 views.

Prior to Kindergarten Information Night for the 2022-23 school year MISD Communications Coordinator Ian Henry talked to 2021-22 school year kindergarteners to give future kindergarten families an idea of what to expect in kindergarten. Three fun videos of Henry talking with kindergarteners were produced. 

New School Resource Officer Foster Barragan introduces himself to students at MIHS and IMS and explains a bit about his role in the Mercer Island community.

For National Police Week, which is May 16 to May 20, three Islander Middle School students interviewed Mercer Island Police Officers over Zoom to inform their classmates about the responsibilities of police officers and how those interviewed chose being a police officer as a profession. Students ShanShan Wang, Avani Josyula, and Elijah Glick talked with School Resource Officer Kristina Lum, Chief Ed Holmes, Sergeant Scott Schroeder, and Officer Art Munoz. This Q&A session was played during Gator Time at IMS during National Police Week.

The fourth and final part of our first PTA Q&A episode has Mercer Island PTA Council President-elect Amanda Stoffer and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Fred Rundle talking about the feedback system for parents to talk about their child’s curriculum, how the District adjust its learning model when confronted by outlier events like the pandemic, and what Rundle’s favorite subject to teach was when he was at the front of a classroom.

In the first episode, PTA Council President-Elect Amanda Stoffer chatted with Deputy Superintendent Dr. Fred Rundle about Curriculum. Their discussion was so wide ranging that we split the episode up into four parts. Part 1 of the episode focuses on District curriculum directives and the District Instructional Materials Committee. 

Part 3 of the first episode of our new video series “PTA Q&A” sees Mercer Island PTA Council President-elect Amanda Stoffer and Deputy Superintendent Fred Rundle talking about the notification process to families when sensitive curriculum is adopted, the family opt-out process for sensitive curriculum, and the District’s Flash Curriculum.