Open Window School

Open Window School

Location

Bellevue , Washington United States
Information
Type	Independent
Established	1985
Locale	Suburban
Head of School	Elaine Christensen
Grades	K-8
Number of students	355
Color(s)	Cardinal and Black
Religious Affiliation	None
Website	www.openwindowschool.org

Open Window School is an independent K-8 school for students who have been formally identified as intellectually gifted. Open Window School is located in Bellevue, Washington on top of Cougar Mountain, which is on the outer edge of the city across Lake Washington. Open Window School is a member of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS), the National Association of Independent Schools, and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS)^[1]

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Achievements

Open Window School's use of technology extends from Innovation and Technology Labs to the school's use of social media. Innovation and Technology Director Adrienne Gifford was named Northwest Council for Computer Education (NCCE) Technology Leader of the Year in 2016. In early 2014, a group of five seventh graders won the highest honor, "Best in Nation", in the second Verizon Innovative App Challenge for the app they created. In January 2015, a project by a sixth grader won first prize in the Future Engineers 3D Printing Space Challenge. This pupil designed a Space Planter to be 3D printed on the International Space Station.^[2] A group of five middle school students won the 2016 Verizon App Challenge Best in Region Award, designing an app to serve patients with neurological diseases. ^[3]

During the 2015–16 school year, Open Window was one of 22 schools in the United States and Canada invited to participate in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. Working in collaborative teams, fourth through eighth-grade students designed microgravity experiments and an outside panel of researchers chose one of the seventh-grade experiments to be conducted on the International Space Station.^[4]

In the 2020–2021 school year, two fifth graders, Jacob Park and Julia Stewart won first place nationally in the ExploraVision competition, with their solar-powered "Coagulation Filtration System" which utilizes Ideonella sakaiensis microbes to break down microplastics for drinking water.

^[5] In 2023, three Fifth-Graders Julian Kotsis, Brody Cho, and Chase Carlson won the nationals in ExploraVision with their project, PetConnect, which allows users to understand what their pet is feeling through a camera it will mark feelings like; "Your dog is 70% hungry".^[6]

Athletics & extra-curricular programs

The school's athletic programs currently include cross country, golf, tennis, basketball, soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, track and field, parkour, and volleyball. The girls' volleyball team completed an undefeated season in 2014. The school mascot is Rufus the Bobcat, who eighth graders may portray in costume at various school events.^{[citation needed]} In addition to athletics, the school offers students the opportunity to compete in after-school activities including chess, debate, Model United Nations, and robotics.