• The wind is blowing and several schools have already lost power. So what should you do if you think your school might be affected tomorrow morning? If you have power, check your e-mail inbox for an ENews message from your school or tune in to your local television and radio station. (Please make sure you are signed up to receive messages from both the District and your school’s ENews this winter season.) If you do not have power, try calling your school’s main phone number to see whether there is an updated weather-related message. All schools will also post a notice on their front doors if they have a schedule change. 

 

District personnel will be assessing the power situation several hours before the earliest start time tomorrow; but because Puget Sound Energy is often unable to give an exact timeframe for fixing power outages, we might have to wait until closer to each school’s start time to make a decision about schedule changes. Thank you for your flexibility as we try to do what’s best for student safety during an unpredictable situation!

 

• Have you heard about the antibiotic-resistant form of staph infection that has impacted students and schools on the east coast? Our local health agencies and school nurses are aware and on the lookout here, and they would like parents to be, too.  Prevention is the key to warding off the infection. The best things kids can do is wash their hands, shower after sports, promptly and properly clean and dress wounds, cover cuts with bandages, seek medical treatment for infections, and never share towels or razors. More state and national information is online.

 

• Innovative thought of the week: Boycott the boutonniere! Everyone at the Issaquah High homecoming dance on Saturday will be noticeably flower-free thanks to a creative fund-raiser that has students donating the money they would otherwise have spent on boutonnieres and corsages to World Vision for AIDS relief in Africa. So far, the school has raised $450. After all, why spend money on flowers—and who knows how to pin those things on right without sticking someone, anyway?—when those dollars could be put to a better use?

 

• Are your calendars marked? The School Board is meeting with college admissions officers to talk about what makes students competitive at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Administration Building, 565 N.W. Holly St. All community members are invited to attend; you can also send in questions for the Board to ask the admissions officers ahead of time by emailing schoolboard@issaquah.wednet.edu.

 

• There’s still time: The Greater Issaquah Youth and Family Network has extended its grant application deadline to 5 p.m. Monday November 12. The Network is funding $100 to $3,000 grants that will make our community a healthier place for children by improving parenting skills, increasing opportunities for youth involvement in positive activities, or providing youth suicide prevention services. If you have a grant idea, contact Trish McNabb at 425-869-0238 or issaquahyouth@yahoo.com for an application.