·        Issaquah School Board members are feeling lighter and greener this week.  They have gone paperless! The move to all-electronic agendas for their business meetings will save trees and hours of logistical work printing and assembling the hefty Board packets. Now you have more access, too: The agenda with all supplemental documents for each regular business meeting will be posted online the preceding Monday.  Checkout the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting (click on 4-25-2007 under “Meeting agendas). The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Administration Building and will include a presentation of grants by the Issaquah Schools Foundation and an update (and possible action) on the new superintendent’s contract.

 

·        Did you know you can now pay for your student’s school lunches online? “You can set up an automatic payment when your children are in kindergarten and never have to worry about them coming to school without lunch money until they graduate,” according to Eric Stover, the District’s Director of Food Services. Some of the benefits: Younger students do not need to bring a large check or cash to school to replenish their lunch-money accounts; lines in secondary schools will move much quicker if students do not pay in cash; parents can monitor what their children are eating each day through their online account; and—best of all—students will not have to worry about forgetting lunch money. To enroll, go to www.MyLunchMoney.com, click on “enroll now” and create an account. You will initially need your student’s District ID number, which is available through your school’s registrar or secretary. If you have any questions or difficulty enrolling, call 425-837-5060.

 

·        Columbia University professor Suniya Luthar has collected data from Mercer Island middle and high schools and has come to a surprising conclusion: students in a culture of affluence and ambition might actually be more at-risk than other students. She will present “Overdrive: How Too Much Ambition Can Harm Kids” at 7 p.m. tonight, April 24, at Lincoln Square Cinema, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue. Tickets are $20 at the door.

 

·        The Special Education Advisory Board presents an “Evening on Social Skills Development” for parents, staff, and caregivers of students with special needs from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, at the Administration Building. A panel will present typical issues facing special-needs children based on development at major milestones. They will suggest ways to talk to children and how to support them during potentially difficult times of their lives. Call Diane Roth at 425-837-7185 for more information.