Did you know that the yearbook is limited to the first half of the year for their stories? To be able to print such a large book, it has to be submitted quite early- which doesn’t let clubs whose events are in second semester much of a chance to shine. We wanted to remedy that by allowing our clubs (competition or recreational) to share what they’ve been able to achieve far more recently- and allow the seniors to leave a last message. We’ve also expanded this to some of our other groups, including performance groups!
TSA
This past semester, our school’s TSA (Technological Student Association) has competed in both the State and National levels of competitions, with an impressive number of wins at the state level alone. Wish them luck as they compete in June, and please be sure to join if you have any want to compete and learn! Two Shorecrest TSA members also became State Officers, with Jenabel Towillis and Keegan Ellis, who respectively became Vice President and Sergeant-at-Arms. Of those going to Nationals, we have the Drones team of Tom Dinell, Alex Lee, Gavin Leptich, Brooks Murray and Vyr Sterkowicz, the Forensic Science duo of Micah Fergerson and Yarrow Kyaw, Structural Design with both 2nd Place and 3rd Place winners being from Shorecrest, respectively the teams of Ian Ha/Carrot Yuen and Linzhi Chan/Ming Chan, STEM Mass Media with Keegan Ellis, Yuuma Jensen and Jenabel Towillis, the Silent Film category with Lewis Stotler, Thora Fish, Yarrow Kyaw, and Zack Meyer, the Robotics Challenge with Isaac Lee, Vyr Sterkowicz, and Jacob Ellis, and Linzhi Chan riding solo with First Place in Infographic. Overall, TSA had 28 teams place in the top 12, with 13 of those teams placing in the top 5.
A prominent TSA senior would like to say that “our underclassmen should never give up. If you fail, use that as a learning opportunity to jump back and succeed next time. Move on from your mistakes but don’t forget them, use them to improve yourself.
DECA
Since February, our school’s DECA (a competitive business club), have massively increased their interest- both monetarily and popularly. With membership skyrocketing to near 140 from an already-impressive 80, DECA has run fundraising through a Parent’s Night Out and the DECA Mariner’s game. Competitively, the club has also done well- with Lucia Shaddock placing at the state competition in [BLAAAANK EVENT] , and our very own Scot Shoppe managers, Albert Gunkel & Asher H.R., recertified in School Based Enterprises. At the area competition, DECA had 6 1st-place winners and 17 placements in the top 12 of various events.
A DECA senior wishes all the future club members and current underclassmen ‘all the best’, and hopes that they were able to deliver a good platform for you to “shoot for the stars” from.
HOSA: Future Health Professionals
In March, Shorecrest’s HOSA club participated in their State Leadership Conference, and also competed in Spokane. Nina Vermilion won 2nd in State for Researched Persuasive Writing and Speaking, and like all top three, will be heading to the International Conference. Millie Wang, who won 2nd and 3rd in Medical Reading and World Health and Disparities respectively has also qualified. Summer Suleiman won 6th in Physics College and 7th in Respiratory Therapy, and Sydney Belli placed 8th in Math for Health Professionals. If any other students are interested in healthcare, but may not know where to start, HOSA is the perfect club to both teach and compete. You can learn basic skills, such as taking vitals, or learn more specifics based on what you want to compete in or specializations you want to learn. There’s a lot of opportunities, and the club competes well- with 6 top ten wins at the state competition.
A HOSA senior reiterates that “please push yourself and step outside of your comfort zone, and don’t be afraid to have high aspirations as long as you’re willing to work hard and be persistent . You are an amazing group of people and I’m so excited to see where your interests lead you. Good luck!
MUN
Shorecrest’s very own Model United Nations club has attended four competitions this year, taking varying delegation sizes to all of them, including an impressive 14-person delegation to EDUMUN, and staying overnight in hotels such as the Sheraton Grand Seattle, and attending conferences across the PNW area, and planning to attend more conferences- including an international one- within the next year.
A MUN senior would like to congratulate all their members, and be sure they understand that it’s okay to fail and step out of your comfort zone, as long as you’re ready to improve from those experiences. Best of luck with future conferences!
InterACT
Our school’s primary volunteering club, InterACT, has smashed it out of the park this year, with over 700 hours from InterACT sponsored events and members alone. In March, InterACT set up a Blood Drive with Bloodworks Northwest, and collected 4% of the needed blood for the entire PNW area for a day in a few hours, signing up over 70 donors and working with many members of Bloodworks NW to pull this off. Over the years, InterACT has also supported the North Helpline Food Bank, and has planted many local gardens and forests, as well as supported local outdoor events and parks- including Miyawaki Urban Forest, Animal Acres Pollination Garden, Five Acre Woods, and Stream Keepers. InterACT has supported many volunteer and charity efforts all across Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, and Seattle, and cannot wait to continue doing so.
An InterACT senior states that “volunteering pays off. It’s worth it, even if you don’t think you get anything back from it. All your work has helped so many people, and will continue to do so. I wish you all the best!”
Highland Dance
Our school’s very own Highland Dance team has held multiple competitions this past year, and has thrown the Medieval Banquet- a dance with food and fun for all, and an exhibition into Scottish culture- the start of many of our schools traditions, including the Highland Dancers. They have also participated in the school marching band, where they dance alongside them at the Victoria Day parade in Vancouver, canada. The Medieval Banquet was brought back after many years, and had over 100 people attend, and the team has performed at the Unity Festival, multiple assemblies, the Medieval Banquet, and Kellogg Middle School.
A Highland Dance Senior leaves this message for their underclassmen- “I am very proud of how far y’all have improved since y’all have joined! Everyday I am in awe of your guy’s dedication to the team and to your growth as dancers. I have no worries about the direction this team is heading in next year.”
If you are interested in look at the Shorecrest List of Clubs, you can find that here: https://shorecrest.ssd412.org/activities/clubs-and-student-groups
Shorecrest Band
The Shorecrest Band is made up of the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Marching Band. They have attended the Newport Jazz Festival, the East Side Band Festival and multiple concerts, including the Winter Concert, and the most recent being combined with the Shorewood Jazz Band. They just went to Canada to march in the Victoria Day Parade, and hosted the Eastside Band Fest. Senior Tulip Murata also started the Trombone Fanfares at our school, which was a lot of invested effort that paid off. Keegan Sass won State Solo Ensemble with his euphonium, and was also Principal Euphonium in the All-NW Wind Ensemble, which Nate Shambaugh and Alex Senn also made with their Clarinet Solos. Shorecrest also placed Mia Blocker as 1st Alternate for Trombone Solo. The Victoria Day Parade in Victoria, British Columbia, also ended with Shorecrest Winning 1st Place out of all attending United States Marching Bands.
A band senior would like to state that “our band program is about to double in size, and this is going to create some wonderful opportunities. In addition to just being able to participate in more events, it will also create more opportunities for leadership. Even if you’re not explicitly in a leadership position, you can still be a leader and help others!
Shorecrest Orchestra
The Shorecrest Orchestra is made up of the Freshman Concert Orchestra, and the Symphonic Orchestra. Many orchestra students participated in the SnoKing regional Solo and Ensemble contest, with Zane Weber placing third in Viola Ensemble Solo. Both orchestra also played concerts during March, and in late April, both traveled to California, recording soundtracks from several movies and performed in Disneyland’s California Adventure Hollywood Backlot.
An orchestra senior- specifically a cellist, is incredibly proud of how far their section has come, and how they stepped up to fill a gap of how many cellists they lost last year. He states that “underclassmen keep going and keep the orchestra program strong so other students can have the chance to thrive in a good music program”.
