At the Dec. 3 Lake Washington School District board meeting, the board unanimously approved the name of the new middle school in Redmond Ridge. It has been named Timberline Middle School. This project is part of the 2016 bond measure approved by voters.

At the meeting, school planning principal Heidi Paul shared the naming process, which includes holding meetings with future students and seeking name nominees. A list of finalist names was submitted for initial board review. The incoming student body voted to select the name from the list of finalists. That selected name was then presented to the board for final approval.

“Timberline is a word that means, ‘the highest location where trees thrive and grow,’” Paul said. “This definition and name symbolically connects to our students. We believe this name honors the history of the land and natural environment. We also believe this name defines the purpose for our community as we diligently work to create an environment that helps students not just grow but to thrive in connection, integrity, kindness, empathy, resilience and service to others.”

In the late 1880s, the economy of the Redmond-area prospered because of the massive cedar, hemlock and fir trees that occupied the land. Specifically, near the location of our new school, the timber fallen on Novelty Hill fueled the growth of jobs, industry and residential homes as loggers relocated and the city grew to accommodate them. The Naming Committee considered this history as well as the intentional efforts made by architects and designers of the new building to honor the recently fallen timber on the property by repurposing cedar and Douglas fir trees into surfaces found in the building.