The annual ‘Aloha `O Na Kupuna Music & Dance Festival’ will be held from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. this Saturday, July 16th at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien.

The theme this year is ‘Christmas in July,’ and doors open at 9 a.m. with continuous entertainment until 9 p.m.

Tickets are $7 each, with Seniors 65 years and older, as well as Children under the age of 10 Yrs are FREE!

A portion of Proceeds will go to the `Heal My Heart Fund`for Kealoha Cabunoc’s Catastrophic Medical Needs.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Annual ‘Aloha `O Na Kupuna Music & Dance Festival’

WHEN: Saturday, July 16, 2011

WHERE: Kennedy High School, located at 140 South 140th Street
Burien, WA 98168-3496.

COST: $7.00 (Seniors 65 yrs. + and Children under the age of 10 Yrs are FREE). Tickets can be purchased from Kupuna Music And Dance Festival Event Co-ordinator/Vendor Chairperson Leilani Vaughn at 206-459-0956, or Pat Wong at 206-772-4443 or via email: wps1wong@msn.com.

INFO: Open at 9:00 a.m. with continuous Entertainment until 9 p.m. Theme for 2011 – Christmas in July!

A portion of Proceeds will go to `HEAL MY HEART FUND` For Kealoha Cabunoc Catastrophic Medical Needs.

Also, there will be a “Kaua`I In My Heart” Concert Featuring Nathan Alberato Kahikolu Kahapea Kalama, Living Treasure Of Kaua`I on Thursday, July 14th at 5:00 p.m. at the Carco theater, located at 1717 Maple Valley Highway in Renton.

Tickets:

• Mokihana Vip Circle – $35
• General Admission -$20
• Seniors ( 65 + ) -$15

CONTACT: Kupuna Music And Dance Festival Event Co-ordinator/Vendor Chairperson Leilani Vaughn at 206-459-0956, or Pat Wong at 206-772-4443 or via email: wps1wong@msn.com.

Burien’s John F. Kennedy Catholic High School has announced it will rebate back to students’ parents portions of the tuition the parents have paid to have their kids attend Kennedy.

And it’s because the students have done so well there.

“In an era when many public schools in the Puget Sound area are receiving massive public grants because the failure and dropout rates of its students have been so abysmal, it’s the other way around here at Kennedy,” the private school said in a prepared statement.

“On average, our students’ grades, graduation rates and community service and involvement is at least 50% higher than equivalent age students in Western Washington,” the Kennedy statement said. “And we run things efficiently around here, with motivated teachers and staff. And so, we are giving back.”

Parents of eligible students will be contacted in writing by the school, the statement said.

The rebate offer is retroactive to tuition paid to Kennedy as far back as April Fools Day, 2004.

The rebate program is similar to one recently announced by Slooflir Catholic High School, located in the township of Slooflir, PA.

Slooflir, PA, is Burien’s Sister City.

John F. Kennedy Catholic High School’s Mother/Daughter Brunch will be this Saturday, March 19th, starting at 10am.

This is an annual event at Kennedy where mothers and daughters gather in the morning to attend mass before heading downstairs to the cafeteria to dine on brunch.

For the first time ever, attendees will enjoy a fashion show produced by the hard-working, talented minds of six young women, in their senior year at Kennedy, with the guidance of Carol Brummond, Mother Daughter Brunch Coordinator, and Krista Hallam, Fashion Show Coordinator.

Kennedy Catholic High School is located at 140 S. 140th St. in Burien; phone: (206) 246-0500.

According to an email:

“Clothed in strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come.” Proverbs 31:25

Get ready for a lovely morning brought to you by the Parent Club of Kennedy Catholic High School. The Mother Daughter Brunch is an annual event at Kennedy where mothers and daughters gather in the morning to attend mass before heading downstairs to the cafeteria to dine on brunch. This year the event will be held on Saturday, March 19th at 10 am. For the first time, attendees will enjoy a fashion show produced by the hard-working, talented minds of six young women, in their senior year at Kennedy, with the guidance of Carol Brummond, Mother Daughter Brunch Coordinator, and Krista Hallam, Fashion Show Coordinator.

Our theme this year was chosen from Proverbs 31:25: “Clothed in strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come.” It embraces our mission here at Kennedy Catholic to build positive self-esteem in our female students. Models from our student body will grace the runway in fashions from Delia’s, Jujube’s, Caché, and Aerie. We would like to thank these retailers for their support in making this a memorable event for the mothers and daughters of our Kennedy family.

As we reported last week, the John F. Kennedy Catholic High School Girl’s Varsity Volleyball team played in the State Tournament Finals on Friday (Nov. 12th), and here’s a recap of their progress:

The JFK girls volleyball team had a good tournament. They finished 7th in state for 2010. They beat Holy Names 3-0 then lost 3-1 to the #1 ranked West Valley of Yakima.

In the consolation bracket they beat #8 ranked Auburn Mt. View 3-1, but lost in the final 3-1 to #2 ranked Mt Spokane.

They ended the season with a sparkling 32-3 record and their coach Joanne Uhl was induced into the WA state volleyball Hall of Fame.

The team awards banquet is tonight (Tuesday, Nov. 16th) at 7pm at JFK.

Three cheers for these great girls!

James Vert and Jimmy Stark, graduates of Burien’s John F. Kennedy High School (2000), will be at The Mark Restaurant this Friday (June 11), starting at 7pm, promoting their limoncello-based liqueur, Finamore Spirits.

The liqueur, made with extracted lemons from Italy’s Amalfi Coast and distilled in southern Italy, is a local invention, as Vert and Stark created it while attending Seattle University with Nicole Finamore five or so years ago.

Originally started with a recipe from Vert’s Italian mother, the concoction was first shared with classmates in college. After graduating, Finamore became a legitimate brand, with a Dec. 2008 launch. The two will be on hand Friday to discuss and share in their success.

You can find Finamore at the following area establishments (as well as dozens of others throughout the Northwest):

• The Mark
• Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub
• Tin Room
• Azteca Mexican Restaurant
• Burien Liquor Store

According to their website:

Finamoré is a line of spirits imported from Italy. This unique spirit is made of the finest lemons from the Amalfi coast and derives from a distinctive family recipe. Finamoré is handcrafted by a boutique distillery that aims at keeping their product natural and organic. Finamoré spirits truly captures La Dolce Vita of Italy!

Finamoré is the brainchild of three Seattle Natives James Vert, James Stark, and Nicole Finamore. Their love for Italian culture and food has manifested into a product that reflects the passions and traditions of Italy. Thanks to the creators of Finamoré Spirits the modern world is being introduced to the Premium Shot!

Finamoré can be enjoyed as a chilled shot, a premium mixer for A-list cocktails and martinis, or as an after dinner digestive.

The Mark Restaurant and Bar is located at 918 SW 152nd in Olde Burien.

Burien’s John F. Kennedy Catholic High School’s latest production is “Fiddler on the Roof – The Spring Musical” which will play at Seattle’s King Cat Theatre beginning Thursday night, March 25 at 7:30pm, with performances continuing through Sunday March 28th (with a 2pm curtain).

Tickets are on sale in the JFK cafeteria during both lunches or can be purchased through the main office.

For opening night, Thursday (3/25), and also on Friday (3/26), JFK will provide a rooter bus for $2.00 that will leave at 6:30 and will return in the evening.

Ticket prices:

• Students with ASB $12.00
• Adults $14.00
• Seniors and children (under 12) $10.00.

The musical is at the King Cat Theatre in downtown Seattle at 2130 6th Avenue, Seattle.

More info available at the school’s website here.

Story and Photos by Michael Brunk

Something a little different happened this past Friday (Feb. 26th) at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien. As the end of the school day approached, students and faculty gathered in the gymnasium.

That part isn’t so unusual for a high school.

It’s not often though, that they assemble to see a teacher get tattooed. At school. During the assembly!

The event was an outgrowth of the school’s recent “Every Lancer Against Cancer” awareness week. Part of the activities included raising money for several cancer-related funds. To spur the students on, American Government teacher Walt Kostecka issued a challenge (as we first reported here):

Raise $10,000 and he’d get inked.

The students threw themselves into the fundraising effort and Walt put himself in the hands of tattoo artist Bryan Kachel from Emerald City Tattoo & Supply – here’s a Photo Slideshow I shot at the event:

Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

That the students met their goal shouldn’t surprise anyone. As Principal Michael Prato noted, it’s difficult to find a family that hasn’t been touched by cancer in one way or another. Their enthusiasm for learning about cancer and its affects, and collecting donations, carried over into the assembly. As Walt sat onstage with Bryan and his buzzing tattoo needle, the students conducted a pep rally around him. Complete with the school’s band, shouting cheerleaders and plenty of spirited applause.

Asked afterward how it felt getting his first tattoo, Walt replied:

“It felt like being stuck in a blackberry bush… for an hour!”

Walt shared that the real experience was watching his students get involved and raise the $10,000. He’s already thinking about next year and kicking around the idea of sky diving. Based on the response of his family members in attendance, Walt may have a challenge himself meeting that goal!

The “Governor Albert D. Rosellini Scholarship” benefits deserving students at Kennedy Catholic, where two of his great-grandchildren are students, and which all four of his grandchildren attended, according to Joe Faccone of the school’s Advancement Department.

Sponsored by the school and Sons of Italy Lodge 1390, the event starts at 3 p.m. with a reception in the cafeteria of the school, which is located at 140 South 140th Street. A dinner featuring traditional Italian fare will be served at 4 p.m., with a program celebrating the former governor’s centennial at 5 p.m.

Tickets are $50, and can be purchased at the door.

An invocation will be given by Oratorian Father Clarence Jones, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish in Seattle, the Rosellini family’s native parish.

Gov. Rosellini, who served two terms from 1957 to 1965, noted in a 2008 letter to the Kennedy Catholic community that he has strong ties with the school in addition to the fact that his offspring went there. He met President John F. Kennedy, the school’s namesake, on several occasions and in 1962 was selected chair of the U.S. governors to represent their collective concerns to the president.

“Then in 1964, shortly after his tragic passing, I was pleased to learn that the first high school in the nation to bear his name was going to be the new Catholic high school in Seattle,” the governor wrote.

For more information, or to donate to the scholarship fund, call 206-246-0500.

Burien’s John F. Kennedy Catholic High School is holding a one-week “Every Lancer Against Cancer” fundraising drive from Jan. 25th through the 29th, and if their goal of $10,000 is met, veteran teacher Walt Kostecka (see his website here) has vowed that he’ll get a tattoo.

Kostecka is a Social Studies teacher who’s been at JFK for 34 years, and if the $10K goal is met, he’ll get a tattoo, chosen by an online poll (you can see and vote on it here).

Here’s the info from JFK’s website:

Every Lancer Against Cancer is a one week effort by the Kennedy family to raise money and educate ourselves about cancer. If our financial goal of $10,000 is met, Mr. Kostecka will get a tattoo.

Cancer awareness week is January 25-29.

If people want to donate they can send a check made out to Kennedy Catholic Cancer Awareness and mail to:

Kennedy High School c/o Walt Kostecka
140 S. 140th Street
Burien, WA. 98168

(Individuals are also encouraged to donate straight to the cause of your choice if you choose not to donate at Kennedy. )

Money raised at Kennedy will go to the following:

• Leukemia Society in honor of Brian McClusky and Courtney Caldwell
• Prostate Cancer Foundation in honor of Dave Danforth and Fr. Batterberry
• Fred Hutchinson Center in honor of Shane Cambronero, Gloria Strauss, Jennica McPherson, Steve Mclender and Richard Larkken?
• Candlelighters – an organization that helps families that have kids with cancer
• Terri Crosswhite who is fighting breast cancer

Throughout the week we will have various activities:

• In the front lobby of the school there will be boards placed where families can put pictures of family members who have lost the fight with cancer, pictures of family members who are presently fighting cancer, and family members who are cancer survivors.
• There will be an all school mass on Thursday, January 28th for the family members who have deceased, for family members fighting cancer and cancer survivors. All of the Kennedy family is welcomed to attend. The pictures of family members posted on the lobby will be brought to the Mass.
• The daily bulletin will have facts for the students about the fight against cancer.

Students are being asked to wear specific colors on the following days in support of various cancers:

• Monday Pink / breast cancer
• Tuesday Orange / Leukemia
• Wednesday Black / Melanoma
• Thursday Gold / Childhood cancer
• Friday Dark blue / Colon cancer

On Friday, January 29th, Mr. Kostecka will have a tattoo at the assembly if $10,000 is raised!

Here are the four tattoo candidates for Mr. Kostecka – which do YOU think he should get if the goal is met?:

You can help choose Mr. Kostecka’s New Tattoo by voting here.

Beginning Saturday (Sept. 19th), Burien’s John F. Kennedy High School’s football games will be broadcast on the internet for the second season, thanks to Ronnie Wald of Waldcast.net.

If you can’t make it to Highline Stadium, you can listen to Saturday’s game against Evergreen (start time is 1:30pm), by clicking here.

Here’s a re-published Q&A with Ronnie Wald (originally posted Sept. 7, 2008), Founder/Broadcaster of Waldcast.net:

Q: Has anyone ever broadcast football games for JFK High before?

A: We’re entering a new realm here…MOST high schools have not attempted this. Thanks to the internet, we’re now introducing a new way of thinking–yes, now local high schools can have play by play of their games on a regular basis. When, I started packaging broadcasts for california high schools in the 80′s, the only available avenue was contracting with a (not always agreeable) local radio station. We have now eliminated the middle man in that “terrestial” radio outlet–as waldcast.net becomes, in effect, the radio station…internet radio, that is.

Q: Will you be doing the play-by-play from the stadium or will someone else?

A: I handle the play by play duties which dovetails nicely with the moniker of the network.

Q: How long has Waldcast been doing high school sports?

A: After 27 years in sports play by play and hundreds of lifetime broadcasts under my belt–it all seems like one big blue mist to me. Let me say that for the last five years, the significant moment in my career was breaking away from local radio stations by creating my own network with waldcast.net. I now work wherever and whenever I choose and cut my own deals with teams. Ad rates fall significantly with a “waldcast” since we obviously don’t have the radio overhead. Also, we offer so much more in that any computer “around the world” can now listen to a Kennedy Football game–that includes you in burien or a grandma in denver–there’s just no limit. Additionally, we have a free archive where players and coaches’ who missed the broadcast the first time can come back and relive the memories over and over again. Plus, at midnight after the webcast, I have numbers that show how many were listening and where. That adds real value to my marketing push with local sponsors. In fact, thanks to the research, waldcast.net has now been heard in 49 states and over 20 foreign countries..not bad for a humble, little one-man network!

Q: Are you expanding into the Northwest with JFK games?

A: I’ve come to the Northwest to gauge the interest and partner with one of the finest prep programs in Washington at Kennedy. Thanks to the mobility of the internet..I can travel to wherever i’m needed to get the job done..right now I am needed in Burien. I literally carry this network “on my back”.

Q: How does internet broadcasting work? Is it a big operation?

A: It can be an overextended, major operation if you try to follow an example of a major network. What I’ve perfected is the one-man network where play by play, engineering and commercials are all merged in into a somewhat chaotic whole. People compliment me on how I work at such a high level while juggling all the jobs that joe buck and bob costas never have to concern themselves with.

Q: What does it take for an internet user to listen to games live?

A: Not much…just download the QuickTime Audio Player (Windows Media won’t work). There’s also a link for the free download on our game menu.

Q: What does the future hold for internet broadcasting?

A: I feel like Columbus who is first to make a claim in this brave “new world”. It won’t be too long before everybody will get on the bandwagon and offer “live streaming” of any game, anywhere. Once the “genie is out of the bottle” it will become an accepted fact that if–you have a stadium and a game and fans…you will naturally offer a broadcast component..which will be as omnipresent as hot dogs or the marching band. The only trump card with all this perpetual streaming: what will be the quality of the given broadcast product? Your choice..quantity or quality? Its a great thing if you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other..and easier on the listeners’ ears..if you have both.

Q: What other work have you done?

A: My Northwest connections include broadcasts from Gongaza, Seattle Pacific, University of Portland, Portland State, and from University of Idaho and Boise State. In 2006, Seattle University hired me to provide webcasts of their softball team in the NCAA regional in California. Another example of the power of the web…the redhawks didn’t want to fly a broadcaster down to Stanislaus state..so, there I was..ready to broadcast on a moment’s notice.

Sure, the internet sometimes has you flying off the seat of your pants..but, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Most of all we try to have fun on the these games and really highlight the student athlete. I know the emails I get from appreciative parents makes it all worth it.

Kennedy’s football schedule:

More info on Kennedy’s football team can be found here.

More info on the webcasts can be found at Waldcast.net.