December 17, 2019 | Issue #9

PTSA

New Round of PTSA Sponsored Fear Free ACT Practice Tests Another Fear Free ACT Practice Test with the Princeton Review is coming up on January 11, 2020. The Fear Free Tests are a great way for your student to get comfortable with the format and style of the SAT or ACT in a stress free environment. A review session by Princeton Review provides more tips and tricks to prepare for the actual test. All tests are taken in the LWHS library from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm, and provide a complete testing simulation. Register before January 7th! Click here for additional information and registration instructions. Questions? Contact Martha Rames and Kavita Joshi LWHS PTSA Fear Free Testing Co-Chairs

Calm Café Update Great News! The Calm Café will be offered at BOTH Lunch A and B during second semester (same location, second floor, west pod, room 270B). Please talk to your teens about this alternative lunchtime option…”try it you just may like it, A LOT.”   Sad News! If we do not have approved volunteers to supervise the room, the Calm Café cannot continue to happen. Please email calmcafe@lwhsptsa.org if you would like to be added to the Signup Genius for Calm Café volunteering. The new Signup Genius will be sent out during the holiday break. You can volunteer for one or both lunches which only commits you to a maximum of 90 minutes.   Thank you so much for making the Calm Café possible for your teens! Jeannine Doughty LWHS PTSA Calm Café Chair

Sustainability at LWHS: Waste Reduction at Lunch & Holiday Tips The PTSA Sustainability Chair is working with the school to reduce the amount of trash at lunch time by increasing the amount of composting and recycling. Volunteers are needed to both educate students and monitor the waste disposal stations (recycle, compost, trash) placed around the Commons. To help reduce waste in the lunchroom, please consider Volunteering for Lunch A or Lunch B or both. Click here to sign-up  to for the month of January. For the upcoming holidays, please check out these Sustainable Gift-Giving Tips: Still looking for a few more gifts for the holidays? LWPTSA’s  Sustainability Committee  has  compiled tips  to help avoid unnecessary waste and promote sustainability during the holiday season and throughout the year.   Questions? Comments? Contact Pam Hay, LWHS PTSA Sustainability Chair

School

New at LWHS - ALWays Rising Recognition Program LWHS has started a brand new recognition program this winter. Staff are recognizing positivity within the school by writing notes to students who are “aLWays rising” in and outside of class. The notes say “thank you for rising up!” and leave space for staff to personalize the message. Students are then entered into a weekly drawing for a t-shirt giveaway courtesy of our PTSA, which has provided over 200 t-shirts to give to deserving students and staff who are spreading love and kindness in our school every day. This program is designed to encourage positivity and kindness and help build community among staff and students. Zach Grundl LWHS Leadership Mentor and Activities Coordinator

From the Counseling Center Registration for 2020-2021 Already! We will begin registration with our current LWHS students when we return from winter break. Counselors will cover both the requirements for graduation and specific needs of each student via a credit check form. Selecting classes needs to be a thoughtful process as course offerings and teacher assignments are based on these selections. Schedule changes are difficult and the process is often frustrating for students who sign up for classes without reading the course description in our course catalog (available on the LWHS website). Please help prepare your student for this process. Do you feel your student is being realistic in his/her choices? Is the homework likely to get completed on time? What about other activities/athletics? Do the courses support your student’s goals? Your student needs your input, and we need your support. We appreciate your involvement in this process. Counselors will visit classrooms on January 9 and 10. All students will register on line on January 16. In case your student missed information or registration, make-up will be January 22 in the Career Center. Semester 2 Schedules Students will be able to view their second semester schedule on January 24. If they would like to change a semester elective, they need to download the “Schedule Change Request Form” (available on the LWHS website at 3:30 pm on January 24), complete it, and turn it in to the Counseling Center anytime between January 27 and end of day on January 31 . If the counselor can make the change, students will be able to view their new schedule online. As always, schedule change requests based on teacher choice, teacher style, or lunch assignments will not be considered. PSAT Results On October 16, all sophomores and many juniors took the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. College Board just released scores, so students can now view their scores on line. PSAT booklets were returned to students last week. Students are encouraged to log on to the website given to review test questions and even try some challenge questions. Students can also go to their Math and English teachers with PSAT questions and/or read interpretation information for additional explanation on the variables that can affect scores. This is the first pre-college type of test for most of our sophomores and our goal is to have students look at their results with those variables in mind. They may be disappointed in their results, but they can take consolation in the fact that much learning can take place between now and the spring of their junior year when they will be taking the SAT I or the ACT.  Marilyn Hargraves LWHS Counseling Center

Study Packs Now Available for Purchase The end of the first semester is approaching, and with that comes finals! We're sure you know how stressful this time can be for your students, but the junior class is selling Study Packs to help with these troubles. These packs contain supplies to help assist your students in their studies and prepare them for finals. The pack this year sells for $8.05 ($10 total with tax) with plenty of supplies like pencils, erasers, highlighters, and more! Study Packs are being sold online from now until January 14. Click the button below to order. The packs will be delivered to your students on January 16 so they use the supplies to help prepare them for finals. If you would like to include a personalized message to be included in your student's pack, or have any other questions, please email Thomas Bowers . The junior class would love your support, and would love to support your students as well! Click here to purchase!

Seniors

College Application Workshop Enjoy your Winter Break!  We'll see students in February when we begin weekly presentations focused on helping your student with their college exploration process. Stay tuned for more details. Thank You! Judy Shedd   College Application Workshop Chair

Class of 2020 Senior Party Save with Early Purchase Consider a gift for your Senior that says: “Way to go, your applications are in” or Happy Holidays! Give a ticket to Senior Party, a safe and fun-filled post-graduation all-night party sponsored by the LWHS PTSA. Ticket price includes entertainment, transportation, food and a memorable end-of-the-year exeprience. Tickets are non-refundable. Ticket prices are: $165 through 12/31/19 **Best Price Ends Soon** $185 1/1/20 to 3/31/20 $200 4/1/20 to 6/8/20 Scholarships are available – contact JoDee Hull, LWHS Athletic Secretary   How do I sign-up my Senior?  For forms and details, see the information page .   When:  Monday, June 15, 2020 Start Time:  Check-in begins right after Graduation at Alaska Airlines Arena at UW End Time:  6:00 am on Tuesday, June 16, at LWHS   Questions? Contact Pam Hay and Christy Hentges LWHS Senior Party Co-Chairs

Community

LWSD December Brown Bag All are invited to our December Brown Bag on Equity Efforts in Lake Washington School District. Bring your lunch and learn! Topic : Lake Washington School District Equity Efforts When : Thursday, December 19 at 12:00 pm Where : LWSD Resource Center Board Room Download flyers in  Spanish ,  Russian  or  Chinese . Find the 2019-2020  Brown Bag schedule  on our website.

Parent Ed: Suicide Awareness Talk Save the date for a Parent Education talk on Suicide Awareness with Peter Loft from UW's Forefront Center . Download a flyer to share. When: Thursday, January 16, 7:00-9:00 pm Where: Redmond High School For more information contact Irene Neumann , Parent Education Chair, LWPTSA Council

LWSD Welcome Event January 18, 2020 All new and international families are invited to a free welcome event to learn about navigating LWSD, resources and support available from the district, what is PTA and how to be involved and more. Translation service is available on request, please email Danit Erlich at  FACE@lwptsa.net . When : Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 9AM - 12:30PM Where : Lake Washington Resource Center, 16250 NE 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 Free RSVP Questions? Contact  Danit Erlich

LWPTSA Special Needs Group Meeting January 21, 2020 The monthly PTSA SNG meeting is a great time to network with other parents, learn more about resources in our community and support for students with disabilities. Student care is offered during these meetings to assist you in being able to access this wonderful opportunity to meet with parents.  When: Tuesday, January 21 Time: 6:30-8:30 pm Where: LWSD Resource Center Board Room 16250 NE 74th St Redmond 98052 Topic: One out of Five material, disability pride, UDL and allyship. Presenter: Sarah Arvey, University of Washington If you need childcare, please RSVP to specialservices@lwsd.org by January 15. Please include your child’s name(s), age(s) and any significant behavior notes so we can ensure we have enough staff to cover all the students. Please use the email subject line: Childcare at PTSA meeting. We look forward to seeing you all there. Gwen Harbi LWHS PTSA Special Needs Awareness & Inclusion Chair

Events

December 19: LWSD Brown Bag Luncheon December 23-January 3: Winter Break (No School) January 10: LWPTSA Reflections Art Show January 16: Suicide Awareness Talk January 18: LWSD FACE Welcome Event January 20: MLK Jr. Day (No School) January 20: LWPTSA Focus Day, Olympia January 21: LWPTSA Special Needs Group Meeting

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