Pine Lake Middle School is a public middle school in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle. A part of the Issaquah School District, it serves students in grades 6–8 and is a feeder school to Skyline High School. As of the 2012–13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 837 students and 36.2 classroom teachers, for a student-teacher ratio of 30.12. The school has an "exceedingly high participation in Junior National Honor Society," according to the Issaquah School District Web site. In 2005, almost half of all Pine Lake students qualified for the honor society. The principal is Michelle Caponigro, and the assistant principal is Mike Deletis. Pine Lake's mascot is Wally the Wolverine.
History
The school opened in 1974 on the Sammamish Plateau as Pine Lake Junior High School, a feeder school to Issaquah High School. When Skyline opened in 1997, Pine Lake sent its graduates to both Issaquah and Skyline, and for five years through the Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus. When the two high schools added freshmen back to their campuses in fall 2010, PCFC was converted to Pacific Cascade Middle School, a feeder school for Issaquah High, and Pine Lake became a feeder to Skyline only. In 1999, Pine Lake was completely renovated. In 2018,it opened its doors to a new three-story school building.
Academics
As of the 2005–06 school year, the school had 940 students and 39.9 classroom teachers, for a student-teacher ratio of 23.6. In recent years, the school adopted new math and science curricula. In the “All School Write” program in the spring of 2005, all students "were directed by a carefully selected prompt to write an expository essay". Specially trained teams of teachers then evaluated the essays and compiled data on areas of strength and weakness. For students needing more help with academics, the school offers reading classes for students not reading at grade level; study-skills classes for students with various organizational and academic problems; after-school homework help from teachers; an accelerated Reader program to increase reading comprehension; and "Safe-Net", a program that helps at-risk sixth graders. The science department installed a weather station in March 2000. Current conditions are available online using WeatherBug and through the KING-5 TV weather network. Science students can also use WeatherBug's specialized software for a more in-depth study of weather. Technology is integrated into the curriculum, with students and staff using tools such as Inspiration, Microsoft Office, interactive whiteboards, projectors, and document cameras. Computers with Internet access are available throughout the school. The school library contains a wide variety of reading materials personally selected for the students and provides access to a valuable collection of private research databases. Pine Lake offers a wide variety of after school activities, such as homework club, YMCA Earth Service Corps and Jazz Band. Pine Lake provides Impact, an after school club for Issaquah School district.
Pine Lake Middle School has a large student membership in the National Junior Honor Society. The Pine Lake chapter advisor is Kristin Little. Its executive board consists of 5 members, Eighth grade president, Seventh grade president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. In 2006, the executive board participated in a loose change fundraiser that raised over $10,000 for the International Justice Mission.
Student life
Since at least the 2002–03 school year, Pine Lake has banned soda from vending machines in the school. Students have a tradition of dressing up for Halloween at the school. In the 1990s, the Pine Lake Middle School outdoors club constructed a three-quarter-mile trail at the Lower Plateau to the Old State Road in the Tradition Plateau National Resources Conservation Area in the Issaquah Alps.
Sports, arts and extracurricular activities
The school has interscholastic sports programs for boys in basketball, wrestling, cross-country running, softball, and track; and for girls in basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, cross-country running, softball, and track. Their track team is # 1 in the Issaquah School District. Performing and fine arts programs at the school include: band, orchestra, choir, photography, drawing/painting, video production, and woodshop. The Choir/Chorus, Orchestra and Band travel to Disneyland every year, but only eighth graders go.
Geography bee winner
In spring 2005, Pine Lake Middle School seventh-grader Max Sugarman, 13, of Issaquah placed sixth in the National Geographic Bee finals in Washington, D.C. after winning the Washington state competition on April 1. "This page tips its hat to Max Sugarman," The Seattle Times editorialized, "the boy his friends call 'The Walking Atlas.'" Sugarman was continuing a community tradition. In recent years, a number of Eastside students have done unusually well in geography bee championships at the state and national level. In 1997, Kirkland seventh-grader, Alex Kerchner won the 1997 national title, and in 2001 it went to an eighth-grader from Bellevue, Kyle Haddad-Fonda.
Awards and recognition
During the 2006–07 school year, Pine Lake Middle School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon SchoolAward of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive. The school received a state academic improvement award in the 2004-2005 school year for reducing by 10% the number of students who missed seventh-grade reading, writing or math goals from one year to the next.
chose the middle school for its Nick News Adventure program. Six students were chosen from all across the country. Pine Lake nominated students Brady Begin, Blaire Brady, Molly Knutson and Chris Torres. These children were interviewed by the head of production and Chris Torres was chosen to be on the program. He, along with five others were sent to Thailand to become a mahout.
Green School
Pine Lake Middle School has put a lot of effort into making their school green, such as recycling and composting.
