MONDAY MESSENGER
April 27, 2020
Please Note: This newsletter may be truncated by your email program. Please click VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE at the bottom to read the full newsletter.
DISTRICT NEWS
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

The Bellevue School District is committed to keeping our learning community informed. The health and well-being of our students, staff, and community are a top concern.
All updates from the Bellevue School District on COVID-19 can be found here: https://bsd405.org/corona-virus-covid-19/
PTSA NEWS
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING—JUNE 11, 7:00 PM

PTSA business must go on...even virtually. At our virtual General Membership meeting on Thursday, June 11, at 7:00 PM, we will
  • Vote in the new ISPTSA board for the 2020-2021 school year
  • Vote on the Interim Budget for the 2020-2021 school year
  • Announce the Golden Acorn recipient for 2020
  • Vote on ISPTSA Standing Rules change
 
Details about the platform for the virtual meeting will be provided closer to the date. We will need a quorum of PTSA members to make sure the voting counts. Please mark your calendars for a "front-row" seat, and contact  [email protected] with questions.
GOLDEN ACORN NOMINATIONS

The Golden Acorn Award is a very prestigious Washington State PTA award that is given out by local PTAs & PTSAs for exemplary and outstanding volunteerism and service to PTA. Honorees who receive this award have volunteer experience at the local PTA level, in the community, and at the school and/or school-district level.  Click here for the nomination form. Please cut and paste the questions and your answers into an email, then send it to [email protected] .
Past Golden Acorn Honorees
2018-2019 Sylvia Abrahamsson
2017-2018 Sue Bentsen & Sally Fouche
2015-2016 Betsy Johnson
2014-2015 Marian McDermott
2013-2014 Elizabeth Badart
2012-2013 Gail Nelson
2011-2012 Linda Reichenbach
2010-2011 Liz Gasper & Tom Stafford
2009-2010 Alison & Glen Mangiantini
2008-2009 Marie Davidson
2007-2008 Sure Sturtevant
2006-2007 Eric & Bonne Matson
2005-2006 Liz Vanderberghe
2004-2005 Rhonda Dafforn
2003-2004 Pat Berry
2002-2003 Gary & Jane Beard
2001-2002 Marybeth Gunson & Barbara Davidoff
2000-2001 Teresa Hunt
1999-2000 Judie Graham
1998-1999 Joyce Olsen
1997-1998 Linda Runion
1996-1997 John Kirschenbaum
1995-1996 Patty Johnson
1994-1995 Luane Rosenfled
1993-1994 Julie Keeney
TAXES ARE A PART OF PTSA

The ISPTSA is a Washington nonprofit corporation, which requires us to submit forms to the IRS and the state. These forms are the 990; tax return for Organization Exempt from Income Tax, and the State Charitable Registration. The ISPTSA is looking for a company that can perform the duty of completing these forms each year in November and May. If you know of a company that would be interested in working with the ISPTSA, please contact Meribeth, [email protected].
2020 SPRING SOCIAL FUNDRAISER HAS BEEN CANCELED

It is with great disappointment that we are announcing the cancellation of the Spring Social Fundraiser. Despite our efforts to reschedule this event for May or pivot to an online auction, it is no longer feasible to move forward in either format given the situation surrounding the COVID-19 health crisis and school closure. If at all possible, items donated to the auction will be held for fundraising for the next school year. If you donated an item to the auction and prefer to have it returned to you, please contact  [email protected]

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for all the generous support given to this fundraiser in the form of donated items, cash donations, volunteer time, and registrations. We had an extremely enthusiastic response to our event overall and know it would have been a success both as a fundraiser and a celebration of our International community. If your circumstances allow, please consider a donation to the ISPTSA to help raise funds that benefit students through grants to support and enrich our classrooms, student activities, and community. 

If you registered for this event, you should have received a separate email from Dori Kelleran on 4/16/20 with further details about your registration. Please look in your spam folder or contact  [email protected] if you cannot find this email.

Thank you again to the entire IS community for your support! We regret to have to cancel this event, but we look forward to returning to IS in the future and reconnecting as a community. In the meantime, please take care of yourselves and your families.

With gratitude, 
Your ISPTSA Spring Social Committee
Dori Kelleran, Chair
Sylvia Abrahamsson
Emilie Castle
Joannie Chang
Qiong Chen
Renuka Getchell
June Han
Fenghua Shen
Li Wu

Questions? Please contact Dori Kelleran at  [email protected] .
APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR 2020 BELLEVUE PTSA COUNCIL SCHOLARSHIPS!

Each year, Bellevue PTSA Council offers twelve $1,000 scholarships to seniors representing each high school in BSD.
  • The Alice Hurd Memorial Scholarship recognizes outstanding community service and rewards a $1,000 scholarship to one student from each high school.
  • The Dr. Michael Riley Memorial Scholarship, funded by Bellevue PTSA Council, rewards academic excellence to one graduating senior from each high school. 

Applicants will be evaluated by the Bellevue PTSA Council Scholarship Committee consisting of representatives from each high school. Click here for more details.
SCHOLARSHIP JUDGES NEEDED

The Bellevue PTSA Council needs judges from each high school for their 2020 Scholarship Program. Judges will evaluate applications from other high schools. If interested, please email  [email protected] with the subject: 2020 Scholarship Program Judge. THANK YOU!
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL COMMUNITY—FACEBOOK INVITATION

Stay connected! It's more important than ever to stay connected with fellow International School parents. Don't feel left in the dark! Family and community engagement is online. Share information and learning opportunities, ask questions, receive communication, and stay connected with your IS family! Join International School Community—Bellevue, WA on  Facebook . It is a private group.
SCHOOL NEWS
iJAZZ VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE

For the first two weeks of April, IS's iJazz members compiled a song called "Speak to Me of Love" in a virtual choir format. It was their first attempt at a virtual choir video, so they did work through a few trials and errors, but it all worked out in the end. 

Many thanks to all iJazz members for recording themselves numerous times, and to tech students Isaac Anderson and Hansen Wang for producing the final presentation.

CLASS OF 2021:

Spring Junior Parent Night will now be a virtual meeting at 3:00 PM THIS Thursday, April 30

Topics include: senior portraits, senior project, college applications, and parent grad committ ee. Watch for an invitation from Kerince Bowen.
GET HELP WITH MICROSOFT TEAMS

  • Microsoft has a video tutorial on attending a live event and more on their website.
  • Translations are available using Microsoft Translator—change your language in Teams in the settings. Change settings in Teams
  • Supported operating systems:
  • Windows 7 and later (32-bit and 64-bit), macOS X 10.10 and later
  • Supported mobile operating systems: Android 4.4 and later, iOS 10 and later
  • Supported web browsers: Chrome (last 3 versions, Edge RS2 and later, Firefox (last 3 versions), Internet Explorer 11, Safari
RESOURCES
HELP DISTRESSED FAMILIES IN NEED

One of our BSD students is partnering with Bellevue LifeSpring to raise money for displaced families who have lost jobs due to COVID-19. Bellevue LifeSpring is providing emergency nutrition services and rent assistance and has helped provide services to 2,300 children and families while schools are closed.

Please click here to make a donation to this student's drive.  The goal is to raise $1,000 by May 10. 

Thank you!
IS STUDENT CREATES WEBSITE TO INFORM AND HELP DURING COVID-19

I’m Lokesh Vuchhuru and I’m a Junior at IS. I’ve created a website that talks about the current COVID-19 situation and what we can do to help. The website contains information on the history and virology of the COVID-19 virus (from sources like the CDC and WHO), a page dedicated to good news during this time, and also a donation page. The donations go straight to the CDC relief fund dedicated to helping healthcare workers on the front line. I hope this website might help some people out. Thank you!
 
FREE/LOW-FEE MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS

Coronavirus Online Therapy was created to match essential workers (listed below) with licensed therapists. The therapists are offering a minimum of 4 teletherapy sessions either free or low-fee (up to $50/session). Since many of our students, families, and loved ones work in these fields, please share this information.
 
Essential workers served by Coronavirus Online Therapy: 
  • Nurses
  • Doctors
  • Hospital & urgent care staff (medical & administrative)
  • Birth doulas
  • Providers of home health services
  • Hospital clergy, whether paid or not
  • Staff members of shelters (homeless, DV, etc.)
  • Truck drivers
  • Employees of grocery stores
  • USPS, UPS, FedEx, and other parcel delivery employees
  • Garbage collection employees
  • News & media employees
  • Employees of grocery stores
  • Gas station attendants
  • Mass transit & airline employees
  • EMTs
  • Firefighters
  • Paramedics
  • Law enforcement
  • Military
  • Social workers and therapists in residential treatment centers or hospitals
  • Workers in child welfare agencies
  • Pharmacy employees
  • Utilities and telecommunications workers
MASTHEAD / DIRECTORY / LINKS
President
Azfar Moazzam 
Secretary
Zena Heywood
Treasurer 1
Tony Wang
Treasurer 2
Nancy Chung
VP of Communications
Li Wu
VPs of Community
Qiong Chen & Rachel An
VP of Fundraising
Dori Kelleran
VPs of Outreach
Meribeth Nordloef-Pedersen
& Beverly Ni
Membership
OPEN
Advocacy
Krista Hammer
Monday Messenger
Julie Molinari
Website
Li Zhang
IS Staff Liaison
Marrene Franich & Wesley Hung
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.