TAF e-news

Five out of eight members of TAF Academy’s speech team have qualified for the state tournament, and one—Cameron Sharpe—got first place in the original oratory category last weekend! Team members practice multiple times each week and face off in day-long tournaments; in February they’ll compete every week, giving our three final students a chance to qualify before state in March. Check TAF’s Facebook page for updates on the speech team's schedule.

Students in TAF Academy’s computer art class are gearing up for a unique opportunity: presenting their work at one of Seattle’s downtown galleries. Students studied art and design and combined their knowledge of current social issues with their computer savvy to create digital pieces meant to evoke social change. “Now, with the recession, the middle class is deteriorating. Now you either have (people who belong to) the even lower class or the even higher class, instead of having a middle class,” said Anders, a student artist, explaining his piece. The show is this Friday, Feb 10th, at the Belltown Lofts Art Gallery in Seattle.

We’ve had enormous success with TechStart School Day—an in-school version of our popular after-school program—since it started in 2010. Last fall we expanded to 5th grade classes at Highlands Elementary in Renton. We had an opportunity to see what students at Highlands have accomplished at our recent parents’ night, which well over 100 students and family members attended (record attendance for a one-grade event, we’re told!).