"We're grateful the levy passed and we thank the community for its support," Superintendent Rob Morrow said. "This will provide some financial stability for the district over the next two years. The new state model is still a long-term funding problem for Tahoma that we need to address with our legislators."

When the three proposed levy measures failed in February, the district halted nonessential hiring for open positions, reduced spending districtwide and canceled or put on hold noncurricular field trips and nonessential travel. The Human Resources department is now working to fill open positions left by employees who have resigned, and budgeted spending has resumed.

Now that the levy has passed, the district Finance Department is beginning its regular budget process, Lori Cloud, assistant superintendent and finance director, said.

Cloud and her staff will work with other department heads to assess and predict enrollment numbers, class sizes and staffing needs. She will also meet with administrators to examine their proposed budgets and verify that the requests are necessary. Another part of the regular process involves setting fees for the coming year for Nutrition Services, the Extended Enrichment Program, Facility Use and more. The budget process culminates in July, when the School Board hosts a public hearing on the budget prior to its adoption.

Maple View Middle School students last week traveled to Ravensdale for a field trip that connects lessons they have been studying in science and history, and also offered the chance for them to perform community service. Groups of students removed blackberry bushes and debris from around a stream near the Gracie Hanson Community Center, and also placed mulch around recently planted trees and shrubs.

Tina Miller, who is volunteer and restoration coordinator for King County Parks, said "To me it is so wonderful to have a parks restoration project that is being supported by the Tahoma school community. This area along Rock Creek has been weed infested for years, and because of this relationship, we are accomplishing so much habitat enhancement and student education at the same time. None of this would have happened without this partnership."

Miller also shared that the high school students worked very hard and had positive interactions with the seventh-graders.

The Tahoma High School Bear Metal robotics team recently returned from the FIRST World Championships in Houston, a massive event that brings together many thousands of students from countries around the world.

Bear Metal was randomly assigned to the Turing Division, which happens to be the same division the team won last year.

"Overall, Bear Metal's 2018 Robot 'Ursa Origin' has been one of the most dominant robots ever built by the team," adviser Darren Collins said. "The robot performed exceptionally well, but unfortunately their alliance partners struggled in the end."

As the first-round pick of the #4 alliance, the Tahoma students won the first match in the quarterfinals, but were beat slightly in the following two.

"With a tough match schedule, our team ended the qualifying matches with a record of 6-4 and a rank of 41 out of the 67 teams on our field," Bear Metal Communications Secretary Ryleigh Weston said. "We were the first pick for the fourth alliance captain - Team Paradox (2102) from California."

"Our drive team, Zoey Oshiro, Shane Beres, Catherine Kirschbaum, Ashley Faucher, and Andy DeBolt put up their best performance yet on the field in Houston after spending all of break practicing at another team's field in Tacoma," Weston said. "However, factors outside of our control and competing against many other high level teams led to the end of our season."

Next up for the team is the decision about whether to attend some off-season competitions, and preparing for the summer camps they are offering.

Some match video and can be found at thebluealliance.com and (search for team #2046).

Prior to Houston, the team competed in three district level events and the PNW district championship in Portland. Those results included:

• Clackamas Academy, Oregon City; 37 teams from the Northwest. Bear Metal won with a record of 18-0-0, and also won the Excellence in Engineering award sponsored by Delphi.
• Auburn High School; 38 teams from the PNW. Bear Metal were finalists, but a few hand controller issues prevented the team from winning in the final match. They also Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors.
• Auburn Mountainview High School; 38 teams from the PNW. Bear Metal won the competition, and also received the Chairman's Award. 
• PNW District Championships in Portland; 64 teams from the Northwest. Tahoma was a finalist, and also won the Innovation in Control award sponsored by Rockwell Automation.

Eleven Tahoma High School students are being honored with the School Board's Exemplary Performance Award in Future Ready Skills, for demonstrating "exceptional evidence of achievement or accomplishment in a particular skill." The board created the award to recognize students who have grown and developed their ability in the skill over time, showcasing the student's current achievement, as well as the importance of the skill in the student's life.

"Presenting the school board's exemplary performance award to students really feels like they are understanding the importance of our Future Ready skills that have been shared with them for the past several years," School Board member Tami Henkel said. "It's exciting to see the students wearing the special cords at graduation. It signifies that they have demonstrated their exceptional ability in one of our future ready skills."

Recipients of the 2018 award include:

• Jaclyn Allen, senior, Conscientious Worker. Volunteers with Corner of Love in Nicaragua; participates in dog agility; works diligently at producing work she is proud of and time management; strives to be responsible and accountable. Allen said it feels rewarding to be recognized for her hard work during the past four years. "I am most proud of my grades from my years at THS. I set a goal freshman year of achieving the best grades and GPA I could, and I am proud that I have kept this goal all throughout high school. I put a lot of hard work and dedication into each of my classes such as AP History and AP Calculus. I have come before school and stayed after school countless times throughout high school in order to achieve the grades I have."

• Tyler Bocock, senior, Collaborative Teammate. Assistant director for the community production of "Miracle on 34th Street;" participant in numerous plays; has worked as summer helper for TSD past three summers; feels he does his best work when collaborating with a group of people.

• Alyssa Burkhead, junior, Conscientious Worker. Participant in a number of theater productions; challenges herself to go beyond expectations in projects and performances; strives to have a strong work ethic and be dependable. "I've worked hard in school and outside of school my entire life and it makes me feel like my hard work has paid off," said Burkhead. Receiving the award is "really cool," she added.

• Kaylee Decker, senior, Conscientious Worker. Worked on own time to gain additional skills to help her in advanced classes; learned adaptability while working with mom to teach sewing classes for children; has gone above and beyond on assignments; described as enthusiastic and self-directed. Decker said that she sometimes feels she blends in because she tends to be more reserved than some of her classmates, and that the award makes her feel appreciated for her hard work. "I think one of the things that I have accomplished during my years at Tahoma High School that I am proud of is how I have learned how to manage and prioritize my time. It's a skill that required a lot of work and self-control to develop but I know it will continue to benefit me in the future."

• Megan Edwards, senior, Conscientious Worker. Met the tough challenge of succeeding in calculus; worked as a summer helper with TSD, learning new skills, attention to detail and doing work she didn't think she could do; strives to maintain a 4.0 GPA. Edwards recognized that Tahoma has high standards for its students, so being chosen to receive this award makes her feel honored. "Over my four years of high school, I am most proud of the hard work I have put in to maintain a 4.0 GPA. While there are still a few weeks left of school, I am hoping to maintain my 4.0 and graduate at the top of my class."

• Miguel McCoy, senior, Conscientious Worker. Participates in Special Olympics, which has taught him about patience, discipline, compassion, courage and confidence; volunteered at the Equine Project, where he learned to work hard for a purpose (helping animals and other people); volunteers in the library (Learning Commons) at the high school; described as a good role model who always has a smile on his face and a great attitude.

• Jessica Meyer, junior, Conscientious Worker. Being in a military family has taught her to adapt to different schools and social environments while maintaining "A"s in her classes; learning Taekwondo has taught her to persevere to overcome obstacles; working to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award; works independently outside of school to learn new subjects and skills.

• Laura Pierson, junior, Collaborative Teammate. Works in groups of leadership students frequently to plan events; plays with the THS soccer team and Washington State travel soccer team; sings with several Tahoma choirs. Described as a leader on and off the field.

• Joey Ribera, junior, Conscientious Worker. Serves as one of the captains of the Speech and Debate team; works as a tutor at the Maple Valley Library, where he has been able to help other students understand concepts by explaining them in different ways and using real life connections to the concepts; participates in the Activists for Change club and worked to help organize a question and answer panel after a movie premiere. Described as diligent, organized and committed to helping others.

• Carson Weisberg, senior, Conscientious Worker. Participates in video production and yearbook; strives to plan and manage his time; works to be accountable, dependable, truthful and impactful. Described as a phenomenal worker and planner who manages multiple projects and tasks efficiently and is a competent and diligent leader. Receiving the award feels surreal, Weisberg said. "I never thought three years of hard work and contribution to this school would end with me being recognized for this award," he said, crediting teachers Rick Haag and Cavin Eggleston for their leadership. "I made a promise to myself three years ago that I wanted to leave my mark here at this school so that thirty years from now, I can look back at Tahoma and know that the proud and successful career I am living today is because of the determination I accomplished yesterday my high school career along with Tahoma's leadership that shaped me into becoming something more than just a high school graduate, but a proud figure."

• Anika Wilson, junior, Conscientious Worker. Makes schoolwork a priority in order to maintain a high GPA despite taking challenging courses; nominated for student journalism award; runs on the track team and has worked to organize team bonding events as well as creating a program called "PR Buddies" to help teammates push one another to improve. Described as someone who has wide ranging talents yet remains humble and strives for continual improvement. Being recognized feels good, Wilson said, noting that she is very proud of her work with the track team. "I spend a lot of time working to make seasons special for everyone, such as writing handwritten letters to all of the seniors, giving encouraging notes to everyone before every meet, organizing team bonding and designing spirit wear. I am able to balance being a competitive track prospect/athlete as well as an involved leader."

To read more about the awards, click here: https://sites.google.com/tahomasd.us/future-ready-epa/home

Students in Amy Adams' class at Maple View Middle School had the chance to hear about singing and songwriting last week from Tiffany Wilson, a local soul singer who has released albums such as "Music therapy" and "#SEESHARP."

"Tiffany talked to the students about her writing. She compared the poetry she wrote as a young teen to the lyrics she writes for many other performers," said Adams, noting that Wilson has worked with artists such as Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Redman, Method Man, George Clinton and others. She has written songs for Jennifer Hudson, Whitney Houston and other artists. She has worked as a songwriter in the music industry since she was 19 years old, when she got her first publishing deal. After living and writing in Los Angeles, Wilson moved back to the Northwest and has worked as a professional musician since then, Adams said. "She's super talented if you like music. I see her fairly often around Seattle with Mycle Wastman, another great local soul singer who was on the Voice."

Wilson urged Adams' students to set aside some time after they finish their homework to write each day. She talked about the writing partnerships she has had, and how she gets together with her local writing partner, Wastman, each week to write. The two work together on ideas and then try to choose more colorful and interesting words. She told students about rhyming dictionaries and even using Google to try to find rhyming words.

In the past, Wilson worked in Japan and Hong Kong, where her full time job was to sing for one hour every night for a full salary and room and board. She said it allowed her to travel in Asia and that some of the influences of her time there can be heard in her music.

Wilson also told the students about participating in a weekly jam session where she sometimes makes up lyrics and songs based on people she sees in the audience. "She then made up a song where she sang about a boy's medallion, a girl's red sweatshirt, a scarf, and other things she noticed about the students in our classroom," Adams said. "It was clever and fun."

While visiting Adams' class, Wilson sang "Over the Rainbow," but a very different version. She told the students that she tried out for a part in a school play and she didn't get it because in her audition she sang the song exactly like the record and they were looking for someone to make it uniquely their own -- that was a good life lesson, she said.

To hear Wilson singing for Adams' class, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbDHEnrxOk4

Children ages 12 and younger can participate for free, thanks to sponsor Tab Wizard (there is a $2.50 handling fee per participant, however). All children ages 8 and younger must be accompanied by a registered adult or participant age 13 or older.

The Tahoma school with the most participants will earn the chance to display a large Bear Run stuffed bear throughout the school year (it's currently at Rock Creek, which won this challenge last year).

Anyone who registers by May 30 will receive a T-shirt.

The run starts at 9 a.m.; registration is from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. To register, click here: www.maplevalleybearrun.com

The Tahoma High School production of Disney's "Tarzan" opens tomorrow in the performing arts center at the high school. This visually stunning, family-friendly production makes full use of the capabilities of the new stage, and will feature actors swinging from "vines" while suspended from the fly system.

In addition to a main cast of THS students, the production also features younger students from Glacier Park Elementary, Rock Creek Elementary, Cedar River Elementary and Summit Trail Middle School.

Tickets are on sale now at tahomatarzan.brownpapertickets.com. Shows are at 7 p.m. May 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12, as well as at 2 p.m. on May 5 and 12. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors, and $5 for children 5 and younger.

Community members are invited to attend and donate blood; walk-ins are welcome around scheduled appointments. To book a time, email [email protected]