Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, May 23rd at 7 pm in the school library. There will be a brief business portion followed by our Parent Ed topic which will be on the rise of vaping, new trends, health risks, school challenges and what parents need to understand and look out for. Don't know what juuling is? Come find out! Students look to their parents for guidance. Get informed and help them make smart choices! If you want to learn more, there is another parent ed event in the district coming up, see below for more information.
Three main items of business were taken up at the March 21st General Membership meeting:
Election of 2018/19 Board of Directors as presented by the Nomination Committee. Click here for the list of newly elected officers. Special thanks go to Dan Olson, Collette Ulloa and Christy Hentges for their work in putting together a strong team for next year!
A budget amendment to move $400.00 from Pass the Pouch (our fundraising line item) as follows: $320.00 into the College Application Workshop (CAW) and $80 into the PayPal line item. Thanks to additional fundraising, through the generous support of parents, we can cover a cost increase to CAW. We are in fact very pleased by the sharp rise in student interest this spring in our Wednesday college seminar offerings and are seeing on average 40 students every Wednesday, a big increase from prior years. The additional funds go primarily toward foods for the hungry students who attend Wednesdays at 12:40. Click here for a schedule of remaining classes.
A change to our organization's Standing Rules prompted by a new WA State PTA requirement. As part of the transition from one board to the next, PTA advises that local PTSAs take on the practice of changing passwords for all PTA internet applications and in particular for those that the Treasurer manages. This is a housekeeping item that came up during Budget Review earlier this spring. It's a good idea and with this approval it gets added to our Standing Rules so that it becomes permanent practice for future boards.
Also at its March 21st General Membership meeting, the LWHS PTSA was pleased to host a Parent Ed speaker on the topic of Anxiety and Teens. Here is a brief summary: Dr. Milani Smith is a clinical psychologist with Cadence Child & Adolescent Therapy. She is a supporter of progress monitoring and the application of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and Exposure therapy and talked about what those things meant. She told the group how to look for signs of anxiety, including: increase in clingy behavior, isolation, changes in behavior/friends. Dr. Smith then recommended different approaches for parents to use when they notice their child is experiencing anxiety: get clear about the emotion (a 1 to 10 scale useful), validate the child's emotions, generate hope (notably, don't tell them "everything will be alright"). She emphasized how parents can help students build the muscle of feeling uncomfortable, a skill they will need their entire lives. She suggested parents seek professional help immediately if the student's learning starts to become impaired or if they start to miss school.
Thursday, April 19th, 12pm-1pm (LWSD Resource Center - Sammamish Room)
Dr. Eric Murray from Cascadia College & Dr. Amy Morrison Goings from LW Institute of Technology will discuss how students can earn college credits while still in high school and discuss post-high school higher education options for students on the Eastside. All are welcome, but it will be most relevant for those with middle and high school students.This Brown Bag will be held in the Sammamish Room in the LWSD Resource Center building in Redmond Town Center. Bring your lunch! All are welcome.
No registration is required. A flyer with more info can be found here.
Date: Wednesday, May 2nd Time: 7:00 p.m. Location: Eastlake High School Theater Speaker: Dr. Kristy Ludwig, licensed psychologist
Dr. Ludwig's talk will follow a brief presentation about vaping and other self-medicating choices used by teens today. No RSVP is necessary. Sponsored by the LWSD, LWPTSA Council and the Eastlake High School PTSA.
Kids and Race
Another Parent Ed event to look out for on Kids and Race is coming up on Thursday, May 17th, 7 - 9 pm at the Redmond Community Center. Hosted by the LWPTSA Council, this is a timely and relevant topic for our community too and one you don't want to miss! Learn about how the stories we tell our children shape our kids' racial identities and attitudes toward race. The focus will be on changing the narrative! Click here for more information.
We are continuing our search for 2-3 parents to chair the 2019 Senior Party Planning Committee. Email VP Programs for more information.
The Senior Party is an annual tradition planned and sponsored by the LWHS PTSA. For many years, over 200 of our graduating seniors have boarded buses after the ceremony and taken off for a fun-filled all-nighter with friends, surprises, food and entertainment. As parents who send our students off, we know they are in a safe, chaperoned, drug- and alcohol-free environment to celebrate their graduation.
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement exams are scheduled for May 7 through May 18. Students will pick up their AP Packets later this month (April 27) during their lunch; they will need their photo ID and may not pick up a packet for another student. Inside the envelope, they'll find a letter that will list their exams and test location and their AP labels that they'll need for each exam they take. Students will need these AP labels (from the AP Packet) and photo ID in order to check in for each exam. Check in begins at 7 am (doors close at 7:30 am) for morning exams, and check in begins at 11:30 for afternoon exams. Students are reminded that they CANNOT leave any test early. The College Board has very strict rules regarding testing procedures, including no cell phones. Having a good night's sleep and nutritional breakfast and being aware of the time and location, what materials to bring, and the testing procedures will help reduce test anxiety. If students wish to bring a snack for break time, they need to put food & drink in a clear Ziploc bag labeled with their name; College Board does not allow food or drink in the testing area. Students should dress in layers because sometimes it's cold in the gym; students are not allowed to wear hoodies or bring in blankets. These students have worked hard all year to prepare for their exams. Good luck to each of them!
Lake Washington School District uses an annual strategic planning process to ensure its resources and efforts are used effectively toward reaching the district mission, vision and strategic goals. Each year, the district seeks input from parents to inform the planning process. We value our partnership with parents in ensuring our district, schools and students are successful. Your feedback and input is important. We invite and encourage you to participate in the annual survey. To see how input from last year's parent survey was used, visit the Communications section of the LWSD website: https://www.lwsd.org/programs-and-services/communications/parent-voice-influences-district-planning. This year's survey will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete, depending on whether your children are in elementary, middle, and/or high school.
To participate, you may: Click on this link or Copy-paste the entire following link between quote marks (NOT including the quote marks) in a web browser https://survey.k12insight.com/r/T18gH1 Please respond by April 30 so that we can include your answers.
Attendance Reminder
If your student is out 1-4 days for reasons other than being sick, they must fill out a pre-arranged absence form (page 1 only) at least a week in advance in order to ensure that the absences will be excused. If your student will be out 5 or more days for reasons other than being sick, they must fill out a pre-arranged absence form (pages 1 & 2) at least a week in advance, in order to ensure the absences will be excused.
When a student is out 5 or more days, the student needs to fill out also page 2 of the form, fill in the information as it pertains, list classes, parent needs to fill in how they plan to have their student stay on top of their studies while out, the student then will retrieve all the teacher's signatures and then retrieves the parent signature and then turns it into the attendance office for administrative approval. Page 2 also must need to be completed if the total number of days is 10 or more days. The process of filling out the pre-arranged absence form is also separate in that if your student had already informed teachers, they must also inform the attendance office. This line between Teachers and Attendance is 2 different areas.
We just got back from our student tour of Scotland and Ireland and what a success this was! The students were so enthusiastic that I thought it was a perfect time to use the momentum to plan our next trip!
This one is slightly different than the last two we have taken given I thought out students would be passionate about doing a service tour to Peru! This trip would focus on participating in meaningful service projects focused on eco-tourism, community development and cultural immersion.
This trip would take place over Spring Break 2019 for ten days! There are only going to be 7 slots available. If you are interested and would like to know more about the trip feel free to email me at edayef@hotmail.com.
Help LWHS earn a chance to win $$ for STEM programming.
"Our vision is every student future-ready... The KITE STEM Challenge is one of those enrichment opportunities which complements what's happening in the classroom."
- Dr. Traci Pierce, Superintendent Lake Washington School District
The KITE STEM Challenge is a 3-week competition open to all K-12 students within the LWSD. Cash prizes totaling $40,000 will be distributed to the winning schools! The competition promotes STEM education while simultaneously encouraging students to get outside and enjoy Kirkland Parks! Students or parents can sign up now at kitestem.org and start playing on April 23rd. Take a look at this 3 minute informational video produced by a LWHS student! Anything else you want to know you can find it in the Action Plan or on our website at www.kitestem.org.
Juniors and Sophomores are invited to join us in the library at 12:40pm, right after school.
On April 21, the Spring National College Fair takes place at Seattle University from 10am to 1pm, offering a wonderful opportunity for students and families to have their questions answered by admission reps, alums and sometimes, current students. We'll discuss the purpose of attending college fairs, questions to ask and how to make the most of your time. A list of participating colleges at the Spring College Fair will be available, as well as a link to the site for registration.
Upcoming Presentations:
April 25: Affordable Colleges - You Might be Surprised!
All presentations are held on Wednesdays after school at 12:40pm and last about 30 minutes. Presentations are open to all students at no cost. Registration is not required. Tell them to come hungry, because we provide pizza and snacks! We encourage parents to ask their kids what they learned at these are student-only presentations.
Do you any clothing or appliances lying around? Have you just finished spring cleaning?
Lake Washington High School's Loyalty club is hosting the Spring Cleaning Clothing Drive. The drive will be happening from April 16th to April 27th. Donations can be dropped off in the commons. For more information on what you can donate CLICK HERE.
The proceeds from the clothes drive will go to Educate Lanka. Educate Lanka is a non-profit focused on giving scholarships to students in need of it in Sri Lanka.
Savers, the company behind the clothes drive, focuses on selling the donated items purchased from our nonprofit partners in their stores, partnering with recyclers who re-purpose textiles as insulation and rags, selling metals found in clothing and electronics for their raw value, and working with waste management companies to responsibly dispose of non-recyclable items.
For more information about Loyalty's Spring Cleaning Clothing Drive, email s-sjebanathan@lwsd.org.
All 2018 LWHS seniors are invited to the annual all-night Senior Party. Scheduled for the night of graduation, Senior Party is a way for graduates to celebrate with their classmates in a fun, safe way: alcohol-free, tobacco-free, drug-free and well-chaperoned. This is an LWHS tradition, and it's a once-in-a-lifetime evening for our seniors. Tickets are selling fast get yours TODAY!
Tickets can be purchased anytime online. Tickets include transportation, food, activities and entertainment all night long. Ticket prices are $180 thru April 30th, price increases to $200 on Tuesday, May 1st. Bus signups will begin April 26th and run through June; a release form is needed before your students can get a bus assignment. If students have any life threatening allergies they must fill out the allergy release form. The online registration form has information about scholarship assistance.
Our fabulous Senior Party chairs are in need of a few more parents to chaperone the all night party, time commitment is 9pm-6am on June 18th, you don't need to be a parent of a Senior in order to volunteer. Email Debi Blaskovich for more information.
*All applicants applying for a PTSA Council scholarship and going to a 4-year college or university are automatically considered for the LWSF scholarships, no additional application materials required.
