• How should we alleviate middle school crowding? The District this week signed a letter of intent—which locks in the price if the School Board chooses to move forward—for a middle school site in the Issaquah Highlands. The letter of intent kicked off a 60-day feasibility study on the $15.6-million piece of land while the School Board continues to explore options. Because of changed conditions in operating costs, construction and land costs, and enrollment projections, the Board is deciding whether it would be best to alleviate middle school crowding through a different option than buying land and building a new school. The Board is holding a public hearing to take input on Tuesday, Feb. 13. More information is online.

 

 

• Meet one of the District’s heroic counselors! Learn what dangers lurk on the Internet for children! See how our schools brightened the entire community during the holidays! District residents should look for the latest edition of the District’s FOCUS newsletter in their mailbox. An expanded version of the newsletter with more content and features is available online.

 

Please note: The print edition features a non-functioning link to the state Attorney General’s child Internet safety site (the website was remodeled while FOCUS was being printed). The correct web address: www.atg.wa.gov/InternetSafety/Kids.aspx.

 

• Is your fifth-grade student interested in Humanities Plus next year? This is an accelerated class that combines social studies and language arts into an integrated curriculum for sixth-graders with strong academic skills. Students must apply for the program. Applications are available only during informational meetings in March and April at each District middle school.

 

• Help the environment! Volunteer opportunity: A “Wild Places in City Spaces” grant from the King County Department of Natural Resources is making it possible to clear out English ivy, a noxious weed, and replace it with native vegetation around the Cougar Ridge Elementary campus, 4630 167^th Ave. S.E., Bellevue. Student and community volunteers are needed to join EarthCorps crews in this important environmental endeavor from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19, and/or Saturday, March 3. Volunteers should bring a sack lunch and wear sturdy shoes, long-sleeved shirts, and pants. All youth must also bring a waiver form. RSVP online at www.earthcorps.org. Call Debbie Roberts, 425-378-3853, for more information.

 

• A Liberty freshman recently won an Arab-American youth leadership award for creating and leading a non-profit organization that allows Americans and Moroccans to explore each other’s culture through exchange trips.  Families are needed to host Moroccan teens for this summer’s exchange program. More information is online.

 

• Helping students avoid becoming couch potatoes while they’re still small fries: check out the new tennis education programs available to elementary students.

 

• Superintendent search: The School Board this week received information from search firm Ray & Associates about the 38 candidates who applied for the superintendent position (a podcast of the meeting is online). School Board members will meet at 6 p.m. next Thursday, Feb. 15, to receive expanded information from Ray & Associates about a dozen or so of those candidates who best meet the Board’s qualification criteria. The Board will narrow that pool down to about five semi-finalists who will be interviewed on Saturday, Feb. 24.