Check out these great highlights from the Vancouver Public Schools Unified Basketball League. Great work everyone!
For more information on ways to UNIFY your WHOLE school click HERE.
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| Mitchell Meade MERCER ISLAND HIGH SCHOOL |
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This May, the recipient of the WIAA Student Spotlight is Mitchell Meade, a student with a wide array of interests fueled by passion and enthusiasm. This Mercer Island Senior has an extensive resume that will make your jaw drop, from his 3.98 cumulative GPA and ample list of AP courses to his involvement with the Special Olympics Washington State Youth Activation Committee.
Meade is a soccer devotee through and through. He splits his time between Mercer Island Boys Varsity Soccer, Eastside Football Club Premier Soccer, and he even coaches a Girls U-9 Rec Soccer Team. Though the senior has received various accolades for his achievements in the sport, his love for the game comes from the relationships he builds.
“There is an incredible bond in the sport,” Meade said. “I just love the team aspect of it.”
Meade believes that the Mercer Island Soccer program places a high value on team chemistry and works to ensure that all players have the same end goal. Soccer is a team sport, and the overall trust that teammates have in one another, on and off the field, is vital to a successful season. The most memorable moment in his soccer career thus far occurred at the 2016 State quarterfinals, when he caromed a shot off a defender from the left side of the field in the 74th minute of the game, advancing the Islanders to the semifinals. That year, Mercer Island was the state runner-up, and with an 13-1 record this year, Meade has confidence in another State appearance.
Outside of soccer, Meade has numerous commitments that he works to balance. He is a member of the National League of Young Men, a MIHS link crew leader, a member of both the National Honor Society and MIHS Spanish Honor Society, and a DECA State competitor. During Mitchell’s high school career, he took the initiative to launch and establish the Mercer Island Special Olympics Unified Club/Sports Program. The idea to form the Unified program at Mercer Island High School stems from an experience he had in middle school, when he began a school wide campaign to eliminate the use of derogatory terms in reference to students with special needs within his school community.
His involvement didn’t stop after the campaign, as he has become an advocate for equality through his continuous involvement with the Special Olympics of Washington. Meade is the President of Unified Club at MIHS, and he attends weekly practices and games with the other 35 club members. Currently, he is assisting in the redesigning of the Special Olympics of Washington website where he is working with the CEO and VP of Communications to integrate new Unified information and resources.
Needless to say, Meade’s extracurricular accomplishments are deliberate and selfless, and there is no dispute that his contributions to the Mercer Island community have been nothing but positive and productive.
"Mitchell has a great heart for making the world a better place and we are glad to have him using his interests and talents with Special Olympics,” said Morgan Larche, Special Olympics Washington Director of Unified Schools. “It's high school students like Mitchell that are leading our mission towards inclusion for the next generation."
Meade is passionate about renewable energy and climate change and hopes to be on the forefront of creating new ideas and inventions that make items we use everyday more energy efficient. Meade looks up to the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, because the automaker and sustainable-energy company founder is using his money and talents to do something noble by working to pave the way to a carbon-emissions-free world. This Fall, Mitchell will be moving to Hanover, New Hampshire where he will be studying mechanical engineering at Dartmouth so that he too can strive to make a positive impact on the environment.
There are many reasons as to why we chose Mr. Meade to be our Student Spotlight, but above all else it was because he strives to contribute to the success of others. |
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT ARCHIVE |
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| WIAA student leadership committee. Sophomores: applications accepted in the spring. | |
| $5,000 scholarship opportunity for graduating seniors. Apply November 1-April 1, 2017. | |
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| T-Strong at Kent Meridian |
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While sports are a natural arena for rivalries and competition, the Kent Meridian Football and Cheer programs have used this season as a chance to promote unity and sportsmanship throughout the North South Puget Sound League (NSPSL).
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The Royals cheer squad and football team brought attention to Childhood Cancer Awareness month this September by implementing a "#TaylorStrong" awareness campaign.
A member of the KM coaching staff has a family friend whose son Taylor was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The “T-Strong” campaign was started to support his fight. Taylor loves to watch student-athletes in uniform under the Friday Night Lights. These student-athletes have become heroes to Taylor, and the KM Royals have chosen to show Taylor how many “heroes” he has here in Washington State.
Cheer coaches Erica Wolfskill and Gerald Spalti explained the campaign further, “As a way to spread awareness and show this little boy that we have his back, KMHS Cheer and Football teams have been meeting their opponents’ mid-field, prior to kick off, to take one massive photo for Taylor.”
Amidst the fiery emotions that come along with competition, Kent Meridian and its opponents have created space for cross-team camaraderie and uniting for an altruistic movement.
“While yes, we are bringing awareness, we are also showing that all schools in this league can unite for a cause. We are always looking for ways to promote and encourage sportsmanship…what better way to do so than to unite for a cause.”
Throughout the season, visiting coaches and players from schools such as Auburn Riverside, Hazen, Kentlake and Mt. Rainier have participated in the campaign by joining the Royals at the 50-yard line for a pre-game photo.
“This campaign has made so much of an impact that the new slogan for every game is to be “T-Strong," said Wolfskill and Spalti.
The KM Royals hope to use “#Taylorstrong” as a symbol of awareness for all students, regardless of their challenges, and to show that no matter what happens on the field, it's what you do off the field that can really make a difference.
ACTIVITIES MATTER BLOG ARCHIVE |
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