Tukwila Welcomes Students Back to School

Last month, the small but mighty Tukwila School District welcomed students back to their classrooms.

Founded over 100 years ago, the historic district has about 3,000 students enrolled at its five schools: Cascade View Elementary, Thorndyke Elementary, Tukwila Elementary, Showalter Middle School, and Foster High School.

As one of the most diverse school districts in the county, Tukwila School District embraces the many languages spoken and different cultural backgrounds represented in their hallways and classrooms. Over 80 languages are spoken at their students’ homes and about half are enrolled in English language and cultural customs learning.

This year, students and the almost 400 district staff were greeted with some fresh amenities and upgrades that will improve student learning and campus life. Here are just a few:

  • Foster High School was built in 1992 and hasn’t had a renovation since. In 2021, the school completed a $30+ million renovation, including adding over over 15 classrooms, expanding the common spaces, overhauling the gym and weight room, and upgrading other critical building infrastructure.
  • Showalter Middle School was built in 1937, remodeled in 1996, and updated this past year with an expanded gym, cafeteria, and common spaces and upgraded building systems.
  • Cascade View Elementary, Thorndyke Elementary, and Tukwila Elementary expanded their footprints, remodeled existing spaces, and updated the building systems to be healthier and safer.

Learn more about the Tukwila School District’s diverse student body, qualified staff, and exciting new facilities here.

Outdoor Art on Display in Tukwila Parks

Over the summer, Tukwila Parks and Recreation partnered with Urban Artworks to support the local art scene and add visual vibrancy to the city with the “Arts-in-the-Parks” initiative. The program solicited local artists and provided them with stipends to bring their visions to life through painting murals in select locations throughout the park system.

Check out the murals for yourself with this self-guided map and keep an eye out for the upcoming Pop-up Banner Gallery bringing art to Tukwila neighborhoods near you!

Here are just a few of the fantastic creations these talented artists brought to our community:

A Day in the Garden, Angelina Villalobos

On the site visit at Riverton Park, Angelina noticed the beautiful Gully Gardens P-Patch in full bloom. Her goal was to create a design that represented the flowers of each season in the Pacific Northwest, along with the endangered native bird, Varied Thrush.

 

Pristine Pacific Northwest, Heather Sparkles

“The location I was given for this project was the cabin at Bicentennial Park, which gave me thought as to the concept of ‘home’. I wanted the window and door panels to feel like entrances to the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. My hope is that it will inspire people to treat the park and all of nature around us as we treat our own private home dwellings – with care, respect, love, and stewardship.”

 

Bird Friends of Tukwila, Annemieke Beemster Leverenz

This mural depicts a stylized vista of the Green River and Cascade Mountain Range as seen from Tukwila. The view is populated with native birds that frequent the area.

 

Starry Calamansi Night, Nikita Ares
“I was inspired by the location itself! The forms and colors were based on the energy of people constantly moving and passing by the park, and the colors of the green nature plus the playground.”

Ribbon Cutting & Grand Opening of Legacy Gaming Community

The Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the opening of Legacy Gaming Community in Tukwila.

Legacy Gaming Community is a new age arcade that trades the game cabinets and quarters for high-tech consoles. The result is an immersive gaming lounge fit for the modern gamer. They specialize in four forms of gaming: Virtual Reality, PC Gaming, Console Gaming, and Retro Gaming. Any gamer can rent a station and genre of their choice, with content appropriate for their age, in 30-minute intervals.

“As the mother of an 11-year-old gamer, I know how important it is to have access to top equipment for the ultimate gaming experience,” said Andrea H. Reay, President/CEO of Seattle Southside Chamber. “I’m grateful to Juanrean Cooper and Legacy Gaming for providing a place where our whole family can connect with friends and enjoy gameplay in a safe and clean environment. Creating opportunities for our community to gather in play is essential as we come out of this pandemic and we hope to see you soon at Legacy Gaming Community.”

The Chamber is hosting a small grand reopening for Legacy Gaming on Friday, April 16th that will strictly adhere to all CDC guidelines. Guests must RSVP to the Chamber no later than Monday, April 12th as well as wear masks and practice social distancing at the event.

The ribbon cutting will take place outside of Legacy Gaming, located in Tukwila at 654 Strander Boulevard, between 1:00pm and 1:30pm. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will commence around 1:15pm.

“Legacy Gaming Community is focused on getting back to being a Village for our Youth!” offered Juanrean Cooper, Owner of Legacy Gaming Community.

Event Details:

Grand Opening Celebration of Legacy Gaming Community
Date: Friday, April 16th, 2021
Time: 1:00pm to 1:30pm
Location: Legacy Gaming Community
Address: 654 Strander Blvd, Tukwila, WA 98188
Watch Live on Facebook Here

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, guests must RSVP to attend this event. Please RSVP no later than Monday, April 12th by emailing Andrea at the Chamber at [email protected] or by calling (206) 575-3016 to confirm your participation in person. All in-person guests must wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

For those that are not able to attend in person, learn more about attending virtually on their Facebook event webpage.