What's in a name? In this case, a shirt

There's a tale behind the shirts worn at Mercer Island High School on Wednesday. Students and an assistant band director showed up wearing maroon T-shirts that read, "I wish my name was Parker Bixby."

Bixby is the director of the Mercer Island High School Marching Band.

When the group marched in the Rose Bowl Parade on Jan. 2, one of the national television commentators announced the band and read that it was under the direction of Bixby.

The commentator went on and on about Bixby's name, saying what a great name it was. She finally added, "I wish I was named Parker Bixby."

The line lived on in taped copies of the show that have been passed around school.

The T-shirts are the latest episode in a couple weeks' worth of teasing Bixby has good-naturedly endured.

Room to dance

Evergreen City Ballet, one of the top dance companies in the region, moved from Auburn to Renton last week. The group's new home is the former McLendon Hardware store in downtown Renton. The move gives Evergreen City Ballet about four times as much studio space for classes.

"We're the third-best company in the state, but people never see us because they don't know where Auburn is," said board member Maurice Cooper. "By moving to Renton, we're moving back into the known world."

Although Cooper expects the move to raise awareness of the group, to see performances fans will still have to find out where Auburn is. The group's home stage is at the Auburn Performing Arts Center.

By the way, McLendon Hardware did not leave Renton. It moved a few blocks away to bigger digs on Rainier Avenue South. The 80-year-old family-owned business also has stores in Woodinville, Kent, Puyallup, White Center and Sumner.

Mais, oui!

If you understand "Mais, oui," join the 125 or so students at Bellevue's Chinook Middle School at 2:30 p.m. today for a fun assembly with Johan Petro.

Petro, the 19-year-old basketball player drafted last year by the Sonics, will judge student-created cheers and sports posters.

The entire assembly, cheers and poster introductions will be done in French, said Lisa Evanoff, the Chinook teacher who organized the event.

And mais, oui? It means "but, yes."

Memorable moments

Reading is a big hit at Sunset Elementary in Bellevue.

As of two weeks ago, 381 of the students had read for 1,028,275 minutes. They're keeping track of their reading time for the school's Eager Reader program.

The goal is 1.8 million minutes by the end of March.

The students should make it. More than 200 students had not turned in their tally sheets when the million mark was reached.

By the way, there are two Sunset Elementary Schools in Bellevue. One is in the Bellevue School District; the other is in the Issaquah School District. The Eager Readers are at the Issaquah Sunset School.

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com