·        Important: All schools will operate on a modified bell schedule tomorrow, Wednesday, March12, to accommodate WASL testing in high schools. Please check online to make sure you know when your student goes to and leaves school.

 

·        This is Classified Employee Week! Please thank and celebrate every employee who contributes to the education of our children. Classified employees make sure students have a way to get to school, a clean and safe environment to learn in, and nutrition to feed their minds as well as their bodies. They support teachers, counselors, and librarians through classroom help, student supervision, technology assistance, curriculum development, record keeping, payroll and benefits management, and much, much more!

 

·        The Issaquah School Board will hold a regular business meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, March 12, at the Administration Building. Board members will hear updates on high school construction, the boundary review process, school continuous improvement plans, middle school math, and the legislative session. They will hold a work-study session at 6 p.m. to review governance policies. The complete agenda is online.

 

·        Keep up with the boundary review process online. Committee members will continue to evaluate possible school boundaries in terms of their charter’s parameters at the next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at Issaquah Valley Elementary.

 

·        Highly capable fifth-graders: apply now through April 16 for Humanities Plus. This is a middle-school block class combining social studies and language arts for students who excel in an environment with added rigor, high expectations, and some acceleration of learning. Humanities Plus is the District’s extension of elementary classes for highly capable students.

 

·        Go students! Go teachers! The Issaquah School Foundation’s annual Calling for Kids Campaign is underway, and all proceeds will provide strategic training opportunities for teachers—one of the most important ways to increase student achievement. The Foundation’s website has specific information about GLAD, the training program the campaign is supporting, including a video with teachers and parents showing how GLAD has positively impacted their students. Community members can donate now or when students call on April 1 and 2.

 

·        The March FOCUS community newsletter should have arrived in your mailbox recently—but why stop there? Check out the expanded features online, including a behind-the-scenes peek at what our Special Services Compliance Secretaries do and the incredible day-to-day student projects and accomplishments at our high schools.

 

·        If it’s too good to stay on your refrigerator—share it with the world: Submit student art for the ISF/District calendar now through April 18.

 

·        Are you a practically perfect parent in every way? Then ignore the rest of this message! If not, please take a few seconds to scan our online listing of upcoming parent seminars. One significant workshop coming up is “Safe Surfing: Protecting Your Kids Online,” presented by Youth Eastside Services, at 7 p.m. on March 18 at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland. Community experts will discuss the risks of the Internet, talk about the real-life impact cyber threats have on the lives of young people, and give advice about how to regulate children’s online time.

 

·        Parents of preschool-aged children are invited to apply for an exciting opportunity: The Issaquah School District would like typically developing youngsters to be a part of Early Childhood Education classrooms that serve children with special needs at Apollo, Discovery, and Sunset elementary schools. Each Early Childhood Education classrooms will have up to 12 children with special needs and at least three typically developing peers—who will pay no cost to participate in the preschool program. Research shows that such combined learning opportunities benefit both special-needs children and typically developing children. Students must be at least 3 years old by June 1, 2008, to participate.  Any parent interested can pick up an application and get more information at the main office of Apollo, Discovery, or Sunset Elementary. Applications are due March 26. For more information, call Diane Roth, 425-837-7185.

 

Youth news from our municipal partners:

• Issaquah Parks and Recreation is holding a District-wide middle school dance from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 14, at the Issaquah Community Center, 301 Rainier Blvd. S. All sixth- through eighth-graders are welcome and must come with a photo ID. The cost is $5 at the door. Parent volunteers are always needed. Call 425-837-3300.
• All community members are invited to the open meetings of the newly formed Passage Point Advisory Group. Passage Point is a project to convert a vacant rehabilitation facility near Maple Valley into supportive housing for single parents who are reuniting with their children after a period of incarceration or treatment. The Issaquah School District will educate the children living at Passage Point. The next two meetings of the Advisory Group are 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, at the King County Library System Service Center, 960 Newport Way NW in Issaquah; and 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, at the Issaquah Community Center, 301 Rainier Blvd. S. in Issaquah. The Advisory Group will discuss the project’s progress, outline its operating rules and scope of responsibility, introduce a timeline for its work, and talk about how to communicate with the community. Contact YWCA’s Linda Rasmussen at rasmuss@ywcaworks.org for more information.