·        The Boundary Review Committee last night completed its preliminary boundary recommendation. Now it’s your turn to look over the preliminary map, ask questions, and comment! The Committee will hold three public preview nights from 6 to 7:30 p.m.: Tuesday, May 20, at Liberty High; Wednesday, May 21, at Skyline; and Thursday, May 22, at Issaquah High. The preliminary boundary maps will be posted by tomorrow morning and comprehensive background information is already online, including notes from each meeting. The Committee will meet to consider and possibly incorporate the public’s comments into the preliminary boundary map after the preview nights. Then the Committee will reconvene next fall, ensure that new enrollment numbers still support the preliminary recommendation, and make a final boundary recommendation to the Superintendent.

 

·         Do you remember Discovery Elementary’s Earth Day attempt to break the Guinness World Record for recycling the most plastic bottles in an eight-hour period?  Not only did they succeed by recycling 657 pounds, they squashed the old record (88 pounds) held by McDonald’s! Thanks to very community member who brought by bottles and became part of this historic moment.

 

·        The Downtown Issaquah Art Walk season kicks off tomorrow, and our incredible middle- and high-school artists will be showcased at the “Students of Excellence Show” at Up Front Gallery. The show will run through May 30. Go support these emerging artists and be amazed by their talent! Hey, don’t you think Picasso’s school community members were kicking themselves for not snapping up his paintings in his formative years?

 

·        Good luck to Liberty High School’s NJROTC (Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) Dual Exhibition drill team, which will participate in the National High School Drill Team Championships this weekend in Daytona Beach, Florida.  NJROTC leaders report that this is the first time that a Navy team from the Pacific Northwest has competed at this level! Watch video of the team in action at 7 p.m. tomorrow, May 2, on channel 5’s “Evening Magazine.”

 

·        Calling every smarty-pants!  The 2007-08 Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) Talent Search is underway. The CTY Talent Search identifies, assesses, and recognizes students in second- through eighth-grade who are academically gifted. CTY provides these students with resources and guidance through their years of intellectual development.  Students can find more information and enroll online.

 

·        Second-grade parents: Find out about the District's gifted MERLIN program at two informational meetings in late May.

 

·        Whether or not you participated in the campaign, the Issaquah Schools Foundation would like your feedback about its Calling for Kids fund-raiser, which culminated in phone calls to every family in the Issaquah School District on April 1 and 2.

 

·        Cool school spotlight: Tiger Mountain Community High School students have two big events on the horizon. On Friday, May 9, students will have the chance to ask real-world professionals—such as a television news personality, photographer, FBI representative, realtor, mechanic, and welder—questions about their day-to-day jobs, qualifications, training, and education. On May 15, restored classic cars, hotrods, hydroplanes, bio-diesel autos, and a few “surprise” vehicles will amass on campus for an exhibition and barbecue. Before, members of a local car club will explain to students what it takes to restore a classic vehicle, how to set and follow goals (especially ones that take a large amount of financial planning), and the importance of taking pride in your work.

 

Family-centered messages from our partner municipalities:

• You are invited to participate in open meetings of the Passage Point Community 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 Advisory Group meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Evergreen Community Church in Renton.  The next meeting is May 27.  Contact Linda Rasmussen at rasmuss@ywcaworks.org if you have any questions or comments or are interested in receiving minutes from the Advisory Group meetings.

·        Finally, just for fun: This is how second-graders at Newcastle Elementary completed classic Native American proverbs (the children’s contributions are bolded):

 

• We will be known forever by our respect and peace.
• A lazy man is poor and lonely wherever he lives.
• Dreams are wiser than wishes.
• Talk to your children while they are happy and not mad.
• Never sit on an object you don’t know.
• Guard your tongue when something mean is about to pop out.
• You will be known forever by your heart and soul.
• Never sit on a broken chair.
• The more you give the more life is yours.
• Remember that your children are not going to eat broccoli.
• A lazy man is boring.
• If you see no reason for giving thanks then no one will like you.
• A lazy man is a crazy man.