Focus

    Senior Wills 2010


    By Class of 2010

    Seniors from the class of 2010 bequeath their favorite high school memories to Garfield underclassmen.

  • The Never Ending Story


    The rebuilding of Garfield stretches into its fourth year


    By Sam Dunnington

    The beginning of the next school year will mark Garfield’s second anniversary in the new building, yet construction is not yet complete. Random holes in the walls are still apparent, and the water fountains still run warm on occasion. Contractors can still be seen flitting around the school on a regular basis, and the list of teacher complaints with the building spans nine pages and hundreds of entries.

  • Classroom Reinvented


    By Skylar Lindsay

    PSCS, as it’s called by those familiar with it, is a Seattle private school based around the idea that academics shouldn’t be the main focus of school. There are no rows of desks, no lockers, no pink attendance slips. The school places the creation of an environment where students learn without the conventional goals of increased test scores, more AP classes, and higher GPAs. While these may be important to individuals, they aren’t part of the school’s general expectations for students. In fact, these general expectations include very little at all.

  • Another Brick in the Wall


    By Cally Shine

    On 12th and Alder, just 10 blocks west of Garfield, sits a 16-year-old boy named Jake* confined by four concrete walls. He wears a white tee beneath a blue jumpsuit. On his wrist hangs a red bracelet plastered with his name and picture. Resting his forehead on balled fists, he begins to think of all the things he will no longer be able to do—graduate high school, join the Coast Guard, say he is proud of his actions.

  • An Open Door For All


    GSA brings tolerance and understanding to Garfield


    By Andy Boelter

    GSAs, or Gay-Straight Alliances, are a network of nationwide organizations based on the promotion of safety, tolerance and understanding among members of the community of all sexual orientations and gender identities. It offers a safe environment - members have no qualms about attending and offering their ideas.

  • March Madness


    By Frankie Pavia

    The Garfield Messenger is proud to present the March Madness Tournament. Where destinies are fulfilled, and dreams are shattered. Enjoy the excitement and heartbreak that the sport of basketball offers to Garfield.

  • Cutting Back


    By Michael Proulx

    "It’s very difficult, as the bar keeps getting raised, for you to not hang yourself on it, literally,” says Newport’s chairman of the health department Barbara Velategui. According to Velategui, cutting behavior at Newport is becoming increasingly common. “Cutting has become almost normative behavior,” she says. “If you ask a classroom full of students how many know of a student involved in cutting, half of them will raise their hands.”

  • Big Changes, Big Questions


    By Hannah Rusk

    In a November 20, 2009 School Board meeting, Seattle Schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson stated, “we all want a district where every school is an excellent school.” These significant changes include the district’s “New Student Assignment Plan." The new systems are designed to overhaul public education in Seattle for years to come.

  • Shroomin’


    By Anna Milioutina

    The new up-and-coming high school drug, psilocybin-containing mushrooms, called “shrooms” for short, have recently popped onto the Garfield radar.