Remember, school resumes on Tuesday, January 3, 2006

 

·        Memorial service for Skyline High School sophomore Ryan Grasso is Saturday, December 17.   The family asks that memorials be made to the Ryan Grasso Memorial Fund through the Pine Lake branch of Washington Mutual Bank. 

 

·        Last weekend’s fire destroyed a Skyline family’s home.   Vinay Thakorlal is a junior at Skyline, and his brother Dillon is a 9^th grader at Pacific Cascade.  The school community is helping the family by donating grocery gift cards.  The cards will be collected in the main office of Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus and given to the family on Fridays.   Mrs. Thakorlal will also be registering on gift-registry places such as Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, and Best Buy.  Anyone interested in donating an item can log on to one or more of those websites, make a selection, and have it shipped directly to the family.

 

·        If you know a family with a student entering kindergarten next fall, be sure to let them know that information about next year’s kindergarten options is on the district website.

 

·        High school parents!  Watch for bright yellow postcards mailed to you this week.  They contain a vital Secure Student Identifier number (SSID) that 9^th, 11^th, and 12^th graders will need to register for optional WASL tests.  (WASL isn’t optional for 10^th graders.)   The yellow postcard and a letter every high school student brought home this week contain important WASL and graduation requirement information.  You’ll find these documents and much other graduation information in the Graduation Requirements section of the website.

 

·        10^th Grade Write. Liberty will be conducting a 10^th grade write on January 5^th and 6^th to help prepare LHS10^th graders for the WASL.  Parent volunteers are needed to read and grade the student papers. Grading will take place on January 10, 11 and 12.  Please contact Mr. Neal, at nealt@issaquah.wednet.edu if you are interested.  Morning and afternoon sessions are planned, with the possibility of an evening session if necessary.  Training will be provided; it's a lot of fun and a good way to learn about student writing in schools today.

 

·        At the January 11 board meeting, you’ll learn about possible names for ‘E-14.’  The name selection committee will present three names for the board to consider and then approve on January 15.  At that time, you’ll also meet the school core team. You’ll also get a chance to see the Issaquah Middle School Robotics Team demonstrate what they did two weeks ago to bring home a first place trophy! 

 

·        Building ‘green’ moves into the mainstream is the headline of December 11, 2005 King County Journal article showcasing the district’s history and plans for building environmentally friendly schools – places where students and adults learn and work best.  Although the most recent state legislation requiring green schools was not in effect during the planning and construction of Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, the school is highlighted as an example of doing ‘green’ right – as is the construction now underway at ‘E-14’ in the Issaquah Highlands community.

 

Pacific Cascade parents have said, “We love what you’ve done here at PCFC, and we can’t wait to see what you will do rebuilding Issaquah High School!”

 

·        “Safe Surfing” is the message behind an internet safety awareness program starting on December 16.  The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington State School Safety Center, in conjunction with the Washington State Patrol, and Washington State Department of Information Services have designed the program to help keep young people and adults safe.

 

“We too often hear in the news of children being groomed by adults online,” said Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, who secured $40,000 in the 2005 operating budget for the awareness campaign. “This campaign is one way we can be proactive in teaching our kids to be safe while using the Internet.”

 

Some middle school students are bringing brochures home this week.  Due to a late delivery of the material, other middle school students will get their “Safe Surfing” brochures after winter break.  Beginning Friday afternoon, December 16 OSPI will have the brochure available on their website at http://www.k12.wa.us/Safetycenter/.

 

·         What was once called “textbooks” is now “instructional materials” because today’s students use more than just books to expand their knowledge and apply their skills.  Selecting those instructional materials and planning the necessary teacher training is among the responsibilities of the Teaching and Learning Services Department.  Working with teams of teachers, the department’s most recent materials selection and field testing process involves K-12 social students, Physical Education, and Health. 

 

Families whose teachers will be field testing materials for Health and Social Studies will get letters explaining that field test process this month.  Because the PE field test involves so many classrooms and families, information about the classrooms field testing PE materials is on the web.

 

 

Please do not reply to this E-News message as it comes from an unattended email address used to distribute information to the community. To contact someone about topics in E-News, please call (425) 837-7000. Thank you.

To join or unsubscribe from this list, go to www.issaquah.wednet.edu/list.

Please share this information and E-News subscription link with others who might want regular District updates and messages.