ICS PTSA NEWSLETTER
May 21st, 2017
Upcoming Important Dates

Date
Event/Activity
Time
Location
May 22 nd - 26 th
Focus Week All Week Various
May 30th
Deadline for Reporting Volunteer Hours Midnight ICSPTSA Website
June 2nd
All School Dance 6 - 9pm ICS Campus
June 3 rd
ICS Clean-Up 9am - 12pm ICS Campus
June 7 th
Taste 2.0 Spring International Night and Concert 5:30 - 7pm ICS Lyceum
FROM THE ASB
Chaperones Needed for ASB All School Summer Dance - Friday June 2nd
Approximately 10 parents are needed for the dance, held at ICS on Friday, June 2nd. Parents will report in at approximately 5:30pm to help set up, and stay until approximately 10pm to help clean up. The dance hours are 6-9pm. If you can help, please email Mrs. Nelson. The first 10 to respond get the job!
FROM THE PTSA
ICS Ski Bus 2018
Before we head into summer vacation, we wanted to give you a heads up that the ICS Ski and Snowboard Club will be doing a ski bus again next school year! It will occur in January and February, taking a week off for finals week, similar to this year. We had a great experience changing to Stevens Pass, so we will go back to Stevens again next year. Exact dates are TBD. If you have any questions, please contact us.
VOLUNTEERING
Volunteer Videographer Needed for ICS Graduation - Monday June 19th, 5-7pm
Do you need volunteer hours? Do you have the skills and video equipment to make a two-hour video? The graduation committee is seeking a videographer for ICS graduation on Monday, June 19th, 2017 at Overlake Christian Church, from 5-7pm. No zooming required; the videographer will just film a steady picture of the stage. If you are interested, please email Julie Kotler or Kathy Thompson, Volunteer Coordinators.

Volunteers Needed: ICS End of Year Barbeque - Thursday June 22nd
Time to get ready for the ICS End-Of-Year Barbeque!   It's a great opportunity to wrap up the year with a smile and get those missing volunteer hours at the same time.
BBQ day will take place on Thursday June 22nd at ICS.   There are a number of volunteering opportunities throughout the day in different positions and time slots.
Please use the signupgenius form to sign up for the available volunteer positions. Questions? Please e-mail Julie Kotler or Kathy Thompson, Volunteer Coordinators.

Final ICS Clean-Up Day for the Year - June 3rd, 9am-12pm 
As part of the community and volunteer commitment at ICS, we offer you the opportunity to join us for a site clean-up work party,  three times a year. Our final site clean-up date is now scheduled. Participation is open for all family members who are middle-school aged and older. All hours worked count towards the 30-hour annual minimum family goal (this is one of the only ways that student hours count towards the goal, if the student attends with their parent). 
Additional details:
  • The work party takes place rain or shine, please dress weather-appropriately
  • Work gloves/garden gloves are highly recommended
  • No tools are provided, so you must bring your own
  • Duties will primarily be focused on weeding and laying mulch, recommended tools include: 
o Hand weeding tools (hand shovels, digging tools, hula hoe, etc...)
o Shovels and/or mulch forks
o Rakes
o Wheelbarrows
o Large plastic tubs
o Pick-up trucks (1 - 2 to help collect yard waste bags and distribute mulch)
  • Refreshments will be provided

Here is the link to the sign-up page:
ICS Site Clean-Up Work Party  
And if anyone has questions, please contact either Allyson Danas or Tracy Botsford .
 
Volunteers Needed for Taste 2.0 Spring International Night - June 7th
It's that time of year again! The International Committee is working on the third and final Taste 2.0 event of the year: The Spring International Night. With even more food and fun, The Spring International Night on Wednesday June 7th will be showcasing the cultures of Latin American and Africa. Come ready to eat from 5:30-7pm!  As an added bonus, this event will happen concurrently with the ICS Spring Music Concert.  
 
We are now asking for volunteers to help us provide dishes related to Latin America and Africa. Volunteers can also sign up to serve food that evening or can simply make and deliver a dish to be eaten.  Dishes must arrive at ICS no later than 5:15pm.
We greatly appreciate your effort, and if you're interested in volunteering, please send an email Julie Kotler or Kathy Thompson, Volunteer Coordinators. In your email, let us know if you would like to:
1) prepare a dish;
2) serve at Spring International Night; or
3) both cook and serve. 

Deadline For Reporting Volunteer Hours - Midnight May 30th 
Have you entered your ICS Volunteer hours for this school year? 
The deadline for reporting volunteer hours is fast approaching. Here is a complete summary of what you need to know about submitting your hours and checking past submissions. As a reminder, each family has a 30 hour commitment to fulfill and the deadline for submitting your hours is midnight on May 30th. If you are going to volunteer at an event that occurs after this date (i.e. graduation, BBQ, etc.), please estimate your hours and submit them now.

In order to record your volunteer hours, first log into the ICS PTSA website using the log in form on the right side of the homepage, and then click on Input Volunteer Hours under the Volunteering menu item on the left side of the screen. Complete all of the required information and click on the Submit button. If you've already entered volunteer hours in the past, your last entry will be pre-populated on the screen. Simply edit the 'Category', 'Hours', and 'Comments' (if necessary) and click on the Submit button once. If you do not click on the Submit button, your hours will not be recorded.

Note: If you haven't already created an account on the website, do that now! Once you've registered and 'confirmed' your registration, please allow 24 hours for your account to be approved. You will need an active account to enable you to post your volunteer hours. If you have questions about reporting your hours on the website or have trouble with logging on, please contact the ICS PTSA Webmasters for assistance.

If you find yourself coming up short a couple of hours and can't find a volunteer opportunity at this late date, you will be asked to pay ICS $30 per hour for unfulfilled volunteer hours. Checks should be made payable to ICS and delivered to the office no later than Thursday, June 22nd.

Note: Seniors have an earlier deadline which is communicated to them separately.

Checking and Printing Volunteer Hours  
Not sure you have met your volunteer hours commitment? Here's how to check:
  • Log into the ICS PTSA website. Enter your login credentials under PTSA Member Login. 
  • Click on the Volunteering menu item under Main Menu on the left side.
  • Click on the View Submitted Hours sub menu item under Volunteering.
  • All of your entered hours will be displayed.
Please note: If two or more members of your family have separate accounts and each of you logs your hours separately, they will not all show up together when you log in. But they will be combined when reports are compiled. We compile reports based on your oldest child's (at ICS) first and last name. Please ensure that all account holders entering volunteer hours enter the first and last name of the oldest child consistently. This will ensure that all hours for the parents or guardian of that child will be combined for reporting purposes.

How do I create a printout of my volunteer hours? (Needed for year-end check out if you miss the deadline of May 30th)
  1. Follow the instructions above to view the volunteer hours you've entered into the ICS PTSA website.
  2. On the top right of the Volunteer Hours List page, you will see a small Excel icon.
  3. Click on the Excel icon. Depending on your web browser settings, you will be able to either Open or Save your hours in Microsoft Excel format (*.xls) and then print from there.
If you have any questions, please contact Julie Kotler or Kathy Thompson, Volunteer Coordinators.
CELBRATING ICS
Winning Awards in Contest "Escribo en Espa ñol" 
For the third year in a row, ICS students participated in the Contest "Escribo en Español" sponsored by the Center for Spanish Studies at the UW, the consulates of Mexico and Spain, and the Instituto Cervantes. We are very proud to announce that amongst 751 participants from 46 different schools, the following students received awards for their outstanding work:
Elizabeth Fu - second place Middle School
Fatimah Shabbir - third place Middle School
Cheryl Li - Honorable Mention High School Poetry

We will celebrate with them on May 27th at the University of Washington. Congratulations!