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UPCOMING DATES AND EVENTS
THIS WEEK:
  • Monday, 2/11 • NO SCHOOL—CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
  • Monday, 2/11, 6:00 PM8th Grade Parent Night: Transitioning to High School POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER-RELATED SAFETY CONCERNS
  • Tuesday, 2/12, 6:15-6:45 PM, Room 103, French Travel Passepartout Program Informational Meeting (more info below, please check for possible rescheduling due to weather)
  • Tuesday, 2/12, 7:00 PM PTSA General Membership Meeting CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER-RELATED SAFETY CONCERNS

NEXT WEEK:
  • Monday, 2/18–Friday, 2/22 • No School—Mid-Winter Break

LOOKING AHEAD:
  • Tuesday, 2/26 • 7th Grade Parent Night: Vaping and Other Common Substance Abuse in Middle School (parents of all grades welcome)
  • Friday, 3/1–Saturday, 3/2 • Into the Woods Performances (more info below)
  • Thursday, 3/7, 6:00 PM • 6th Grade Parent Night
  • Friday, 3/8–Saturday 3/9 • Into the Woods Performances (more info below)
  • Tuesday, 3/12, 7:00 PM • Middle School Band Concert
  • Wednesday, 3/13, 11:45 AM • Staff Appreciation Lunch
  • Wednesday, 3/13, 7:00 PM • Orchestra Concert
  • Thursday, 3/14 • Eastshore Band Festival
  • Thursday, 3/14, 7:00 PM • High School Band Concert
  • Friday, 3/13 • No School—Professional Development Day
  • Monday, 3/18 • No School—Professional Development Day
  • Tuesday, 3/19, 7:00 PM • Middle School Choir Concert
  • Wednesday, 3/20, 7:00 PM • High School Choir Concert
  • Saturday, 3/23, 7:00 PM • PTSA Spring Social (more info below)
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
FIND A VOLUNTEER SPOT THAT FITS YOUR SCHEDULE

IS and the ISPTSA are currently seeking the following volunteers:

  • Bellevue School Showcase Volunteers, Wed 2/13
  • Spring Social Volunteers, ongoing until 3/23
  • On-call Volunteers

Click here to learn more and sign up.
PTSA NEWS
SCHEDULE CHANGE!

The PTSA General Membership Meeting , originally scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12, has been  cancelled  due to safety concerns related to winter weather.
SPRING SOCIAL
                                                                 
The PTSA will host the annual Spring Social "Spring into Action" to celebrate our students, our school, and our community at Blakely Hall in Issaquah on  Saturday March 23, 2019, at 6:00 PM . Please mark your calendars now to ensure you can join us for this fun event. 

Registration will open soon!
We are now accepting procurement donations.

ISPTSA's biggest fundraising event of the year is rapidly approaching, and we need your help ! We are looking for donations from our parent community for the auction being held at our Spring Social. Not sure what to give? Here are some ideas: restaurant gift cards, tickets to any professional sporting event or theater production, gift certificates to your favorite spa or exercise venue, vacation-home stays, dinner parties, bottles of wine (value of at least $25 per bottle). Procuring items is easy, fun, and for a great cause—our students! Procurement forms are available to download  here .

We also accept cash donations or checks (payable to ISPTSA) to procure wine for our popular wine pull. Please drop off your envelope marked "wine pull" in our PTSA inbox (located in the school's main office).

If you have questions or would like to join the team that is organizing this fun event, please contact  [email protected].
JOIN FACEBOOK GROUPS TO STAY CONNECTED!

Connect with fellow International School parents! 



Bellevue International School - Class of 2022 * (current 9th grade families)

*Please Note: Individual Facebook groups are parent-organized and are not PTSA-sponsored pages.
CHINESE NEW YEAR STAFF APPRECIATION LUNCH A SUCCESS
The staff appreciation lunch was successfully held on February 6 for the Year of the Pig. Thanks to the help and contributions of so many parents, the luncheon happened on time—despite the snow. It was the 17th staff luncheon that the IS Chinese community has hosted!
SCHOOL NEWS
SCHEDULE CHANGE!

8 th  Grade Parent Night , originally scheduled for tonight, Monday, February 11, has been  postponed  due to safety concerns related to winter weather.
INTO THE WOODS
IS Spring Musical

Come support your Titan Players!

Friday, March 1
Saturday, March 2
Friday, March 8
Saturday, March 9

Click here to print a ticket preorder form, or pick one up in the IS office. $10 students, $12 adults

SIGN UP FOR THE NATIONAL FRENCH CONTEST

The National French Contest ( Le Grand Concours ) is an annual competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Students of French in grades 7-12 take a written test on their comprehension and language skills to compete against students with similar educational backgrounds for prizes.
 
The test costs $5.00 and students can pay at the cashier—cash or check. 
The deadline to register is Thursday, February 14.  
Please contact Tami Wietfeldt with any questions.
SCHOOL BOOK DRIVE FOR CHARITY THIS MONTH

International School's Writing Club is doing a book drive in the month of February. All donations go to the Treehouse organization, which supports youth in foster care. For this drive, there will be two donation boxes located in the commons. One will be for notebooks and stationary, and the other for books. All different types of books are welcome! These may include children's stories, novels, SAT/ACT preparation guides, old textbooks, and more.
We appreciate all the help we can get and we thank you for your donations.
SOME THANK YOUS!

Many thanks to IS parents Linda Lee , Carol Liu , Meribeth Nordloef-Pedersen , Annie Richardson-Lander , Sharon Sidoine , Lily Tan , Sudhakar Vemuri , and Ruby Zhang for providing food for the BSD College Conference presenters. These parents helped make the event a success!
A huge thank you to the Chinese families for providing a wonderful Chinese New Year luncheon. The food, gifts and hospitality were great! Thank you!
EXCITING STUDENT FRENCH TRAVEL AND HOSTING OPPORTUNITY IN 2019-20

The IS French Department is excited about a new hosting and travel opportunity that will begin in the 2019-20 school year. We are joining the Passepartout program in which three students from Nantes, France will spend the first three months with a host family from our school. Second semester, three of our students from those same host families will spend the last three months of the academic year with their corresponding families in Nantes.
 
Given our students’ course load, this program is particularly well suited for sophomores. This immersion experience promises to be culturally and linguistically enriching (and really stands out on a college resume). We are having an informational meeting for parents on  Tuesday, February 12, 6:15-6:45 PM, in classroom 103 (please check for possible rescheduling due to weather) , where we will provide details and answer questions. Additional information can be found here .

If you have any questions, contact Joe Kheriaty [email protected]  or Traci Sullivan  [email protected] . We look forward to hearing from you!
WINTER WEATHER IS STICKING AROUND

You may be getting pretty familiar with the school closure/delay drill, but here's the information one more time, just in case. Stay warm and safe!

In the event of an emergency closure or delay, families will be notified of changes to the school day via SchoolMessenger. Information regarding these changes will also be posted on the  school website district website Facebook Twitter FlashAlert , on the BSD Newsline by calling (425) 456-4111, and communicated via local TV and radio stations.
 
Please download a copy of the Emergency Closure flyer, which goes over each emergency closure or delay scenario and what to expect:
 
For additional details on school closures and delays please visit  www.bsd405.org/closure .
STUDENT NEWS & COMMUNITY EVENTS
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAMMING WORKSHOP
SUPPORT AN IS SENIOR PROJECT

Is your middle school student interested in learning some beginner Python and programming concepts? There will be a series of coding workshops taking place after school from 3:45-4:45 PM once or twice a week. No prior programming experience is required. Interested students or those with questions should contact David:  [email protected].
PROGRAMMING COMPETITION AT INTERLAKE HIGH SCHOOL

Who: Middle and High Schoolers with ANY programming experience are invited.
What: A fun Programming Competition aimed to provide a space for students to practice their skills in coding.
When: Saturday, March 2nd, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM
Where: Interlake High School

Competitors may compete in teams of 1-3 students. Most languages will be available (Java, C#, C++, Python). Food, Prizes, and Fun!

Check out the event flyer here.
Teams can register for the competition here (ONE FORM PER TEAM).
ACT/SAT TEST PREP COURSE

The ACT and SAT are standardized tests used by many colleges as part of their admissions determination. To help our high school students, the Sammamish High School PTSA is sponsoring an ACT/SAT Prep Course including sections in verbal, math, and science skills. Students may register for one, two, or all three sections that will meet once per week over 4 weeks. Classes include worksheets of sample questions, test-taking strategies, and practice exams.
 
Dates & Times:
​Spring Course:  March 5-8
​Tuesdays, 6:30-8:00 PM: Math Skills, Instructor: Lorinda Flikkema
Thursdays, 6:30-7:30 PM: Verbal Skills, Instructor: Anne Fillmore
Thursdays, 7:45-8:45 PM: Science Skills, Instructor: Jessica Youmans
​​
Cost:
$50 for one section; $90 for any two sections; or $120 for all three sections.
The SHS PTSA is offering partial scholarships to students with financial need. The scholarship rate is a flat fee of $30, regardless of the number of sections selected. Your counselor’s signature on the paper registration form is necessary to qualify for the scholarship rate.
 
For more information and to register, please go to  www.sammamishtotems.org .
STUDENT SPORTS & OPPORTUNITIES
BELLEVUE HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL TRYOUTS START SOON

  • Tryouts start Monday, February 25 (first day back after break).
  • Register prior to mid-winter break—the details are all on our BHS Baseball website.
  • There is a pre-season booster club/info meeting on Wednesday, February 13, 7:00 PM in the BHS library to run through the schedule of activities and give you an opportunity to meet and ask questions of the head coach, Tate Seefried.
  • Contact Carl Hellings at 425-418-6761 with comments and questions.
BENNETT ELEMENTARY PTSA SCHOLARSHIP
  
One $1,000 scholarship is awarded each year to a  former Bennett Elementary student who is currently a senior at one of the five Bellevue public high schools. The student who is most likely to receive this award will have the following attributes: a minimum of a 3.0 GPA, challenging course load, and involvement in a variety of school activities. 

Click here for application. Applications are due on Friday, April 26, 2019.

Please mail your application to: 
Bennett Elementary School
Attn: PTSA Scholarship Chair
17900 NE 16th Street 
Bellevue, WA 98008

Contact  Sarah Cawthra with questions.
MASTHEAD / DIRECTORY / LINKS
President
Ching Guo  
Secretary
Zena Heywood
Treasurer 1
Beverly Ni
Treasurer 2
Nancy Chung
VP of Communications
Li Wu
VPs of Community
Liying Tan & Qiong Chen
VP of Fundraising
Dori Kelleran
VP of Outreach
Meribeth Nordloef-Pedersen
Membership
Sharon Chen
Advocacy
OPEN
Monday Messenger
Julie Molinari
Website
Sylvia Abrahamsson
IS Staff Liaison
Taylor Tillotson
PTSA
Website: www.isptsa.org
Newsletter Submissions: [email protected]
SHOP FOR THE BELLEVUE SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
Enter Amazon.com through this link and Amazon will donate 8% of every purchase you make to support Bellevue students, including those at IS! Share the link and spread the word to family and friends anywhere.
CONFUSED ABOUT SOMETHING?
The ISPTSA is always here to help answer your IS questions.

Email us here , and we'll help you find the answers you need.
SCHOOL DIRECTORY & LINKS
Attendance 425-456-6545
Main Office 425-456-6500 
MS Counseling 425-456-6546
HS Counseling 425-456-6542 
Registrar 425-456-6535 

SUPPORT YOUR PTSA
Donate Anytime

Write your check to the International School PTSA and send it to:
ISPTSA
445 128th Ave. SE
Bellevue, WA 98005
Or, even easier, donate
via PayPal .
ISPTSA TUMBLER
Support your school community and the environment by buying an ISPTSA Tumbler

 These great-looking 14-oz dual-wall insulated stainless-steel tumblers have a swivel lid with drink-thru opening and a plastic-ring seal to stave off spills. With the ISPTSA logo, it will keep your drink hot or cold while you look cool handling the morning commute or afternoon pickup, and your purchase will benefit the International School PTSA!

Visit the International School PTSA Store . Proceeds benefit the International School PTSA.

MONDAY MESSENGER
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • Please submit articles by FRIDAY at 12:00 PM (noon) to [email protected].
  • We encourage submissions that align with our mission.
  • Submissions are subject to review by the ISPTSA and may be accepted, rejected, or edited.
  • Please use a separate email for each article submitted.
  • Documents in plain text are preferred, however, you are welcome to include an image or icon as a separate attachment—please do not include them in the body of your email or document.
  • If you need to link to a registration form or document, send us either the address of the link or a pdf copy of the document.
  • If you would like your article to repeat in successive Monday Messenger editions, please resubmit it for each edition in which you would like it to appear. If you do not resubmit it, it will not be republished.
  • Note: you will receive an automatic confirmation email response once you submit material to the Monday Messenger.