Do Your Homework Before You Go To School

January 6, 2007 by Leave a Comment

In the December 2006 issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, the cover story was “Seattle’s Best J0408840 Schools, 591 Graded”.   Unfortunately, Seattle Metropolitan excluded an exceptional independent private school located in West Seattle, Explorer West, as well as other private schools, such as the Northwest School and University Child Development School.  I’m particularly disappointed in the magazine’s oversight as I am a proud parent of an EW student.

Here are a few of the reasons why I selected Explorer West for my son’s education.

  • Explorer West, just celebrating their 10 year anniversary, educates grades 6-8 with a student to teacher ratio of 9:1.   
  • PNAIS approved, Explorer West features the traditional academics, has a complete athletics program and an outdoor education program.
  • EW is community focused by having students volunteer at parks and various schools.
  • They offer a program where the 8th Grade Class will be traveling to Rome with their Latin Teacher in the Spring.

I have really enjoyed the parent, student, teacher conferences as the student conducts the assessment of their performance to their teachers and parents.    The school is very focused on developing the students into future leaders and preparing them for high school and college.

Seattle Metropolitan plans on having their “Seattle’s Best Schools” list on the internet soon.  Hopefully they will update their data to include all private and public schools so parents can have a more complete tool for selecting a school for their child. 

Filed Under: Seattle

On the 6th Day of Lights Out…

December 19, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Late this afternoon, we were finally graced with our electricity!  As cliche as this sounds, it is true, you never know how wonderful something is until it’s gone.   I must say that there were benefits to not having power.  Something I really enjoyed, that we usually do not do, since I also love to cook, was eating out at restaurants.   I am so amazed at what outstanding establishments we have in our neighborhood of West Seattle.   I just want to send a little kudos to the following restaurants we had the pleasure of dining at these past 6 days and nights.   

Angelina’s Trattoria at 2311 California Avenue SW, Seattle.  We enjoyed a hot breakfast out of our cold house.  My favorite is the Alki Scramble which includes smoked salmon and caramelized onions.  Angelina’s is a favorite breakfast spot for our family.  They do have great lunch and dinners, too.

The Blackbird Bistro at 2329 California Avenue SW, Seattle.  Probably one of the best Reuben Sandwiches I’ve ever had.  My step son loved the mac and cheese!

The Mission  at 2325 California Avenue SW, Seattle.  Tasty Latin food.  We only had the Nachos…I’m sure we’ll be back for more.  Great atmosphere.

Cactus Restaurants at 2820 Alki Avenue SW, Seattle.   Excellent service and the food was great too.  My husband had beef tacos that were so fresh and I had the Chicken Fried Chicken with Chorizo Gravy (I’ll be doing extra sit ups for that dinner).

I guess with the power out and cooking being inconvenient, I really appreciate how fine our meals were at these establishments.   How lucky are we to have such high quality restaurants in such a small neighborhood…these are just a few we happened to visit from lack of power.

Cheers!

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Seattle

Another Snowy Day in Seattle

November 29, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Capri_2 Well…it’s "kind of" a snowy day.   The roads in my neighborhood appear to be pretty dry with patches of ice to keep drivers on their toes.  We are expecting another blast of snow later today, so schools are closed and therefore, I am working from home.  The timing of our snow day works great for me as my 2007 calendars arrived last night.   My husband had to actually pick them up from FedEx Capricoastas they did not make deliveries yesterday (UPS did).   For the past 4-5 years, I use a photo that I have personally shot for the calendars.   The photo I selected for 2007, I must confess, I did not take.  My husband is the photographer!  It is from our Honeymoon in Italy from April earlier this year.  It was actually pretty tough to decide what photo to use for the calendar this time.  The photo that is featured on my 2007 calendar is of the Capri Arch.  Here are some of the "runner up" photos that didn’t make the cut.

Honeymoon_367_1If you’re considering traveling to Italy, I highly recommend www.initaly.com.    They are very accommodating and offer wonderful places to stay, including if you are traveling with children, or are looking for a wine country adventure, etc.   I am happy to recommend places that we stayed during our Honeymoon as well.

Honeymoon_111Would you like my 2007 Calender featuring the Capri Arch?   Simply send me an email, including your address, and I will mail one to you…while supplies last, of course!

Filed Under: Seattle, Travel
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