MONDAY MESSENGER

September 2, 2019

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THIS WEEK:

NEXT WEEK:

LOOKING AHEAD:

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

PLEASE HELP YOUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY!

IS and the ISPTSA are currently seeking the following volunteers:

Click  here to learn more and sign up.

PTSA NEWS

BRACE YOURSELVES:

THE 2019-20 SCHOOL YEAR IS ON!

Starting with the retreats this week and next, the upcoming few weeks will be super exciting! The first days of school are jam-packed with activities; the thrill of meeting new friends and getting re-acquainted with old ones; and information overload. As crazy as it always is, you can rest assured that you will quickly get into the flow—it will all become second nature before you know it.

The ISPTSA is alway here to help, and we thought we'd send along some useful resources to help you cope with the next few weeks. Enjoy the chaos, and don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions as the school year gets underway.

ISPTSA Calendar— Contains all the important dates and events for the PTSA and IS—bookmark it!

International School Calendar— Contains school and district events.

Daily Schedule— Contains the school's daily schedule, including even/odd period information.

ParentVue— Contains student attendance and grades. You can set up weekly updates and alerts.

ApParent— Use this to monitor how your student's school laptop is being used.

Student Handbook— Useful information about IS from the ASB.

Titan Times —The school's daily announcements written up and posted each school day.

All the very best throughout the new school year!

PLEASE JOIN US! VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME AT INTERNATIONAL

International School has a strong tradition of volunteerism. We are an awesome community, because we commit our time and energy to make IS and our community better. Volunteering in the office, assisting with school activities, investing time on the PTSA board, becoming a judge for senior project, running with the students during PE, etc. are only a few of these opportunities. 

What you get back in return is a direct connection and insight into your child(ren)'s school and the pride and satisfaction that you helped to make IS the #1 school in the state. 

Check out the Volunteer Opportunities section above for a current list, and you can sign up here .

Please join us.

OUR GOAL: FULL SCHOOL MEMBERSHIP

Our goal this year is to provide every student at IS with the support of a PTSA member. Now that is Community! We are calling it  Full School Membership , and it means we will need 586 PTSA members to support our 586 students .  

Keep in mind that a dual membership of $35 supports two students, and a single membership of $20 supports one student.

ISPTSA now has the amazing support of over 255 parents and guardians who have either joined the PTSA or renewed their memberships. THANK YOU to all of them!

 

It is quick and easy to become a PTSA member and part of our supportive community. Click here for membership . Please contact Meribeth at  [email protected] with questions .

GRADE-LEVEL "TAILGATE" MEET & GREETS

All Middle School Grades: Monday, September 9, 8:15–9:30 AM, Kelsey Creek Park parking lot, 410 130th Pl SE, Bellevue, WA 98005

All High School Grades: Wednesday, September 11, 8:15–9:30 AM, Kelsey Creek Park parking lot, 410 130th Pl SE, Bellevue, WA 98005

Visit with other parents and caregivers of IS middle schoolers and high schoolers while enjoying free coffee and other refreshments. These tailgates are a great opportunity to get to know the IS families in your student's community.

Please contact   [email protected] with questions.

ON-CALL VOLUNTEERS

ISPTSA is routinely asked by our school—sometimes last minute—for volunteers to help out at events. To facilitate our response, we have created a volunteer category called  On-call Volunteer. It is not a fixed commitment; we will reach out to you when we have an urgent need to fill, and you can respond to let us know whether or not you can help. Having your name on this list does not obligate you to volunteer at any time.

Please consider adding your name to our on-call volunteer list! You can find our sign-up  here.

WHAT COULD YOU EXPECT TO DO AS A BELLEVUE SCHOOLS FOUNDATION AMBASSADOR?

Enable the Bellevue Schools Foundation to establish and maintain two-way conversations between your unique school community and the Foundation.

 

Help your school's parents & teachers access BSF programming by:

 

Help BSF educate parents about donation opportunities by:

This open communication ensures that the Foundation is working to fulfill the needs of your school through its funding priorities, and that your school is aware of the programs and initiatives the Foundation funds. The more that the Foundation is aware of what is happening in your school, the better job it can do of supporting you. The more your parents know about the Foundation, the more likely they are to donate. 

 

The Bellevue Schools Foundation is in need of an IS ambassador. This is a great opportunity to be involved in our school and community. If interested or just want to learn more, please contact  [email protected].

ISPTSA CURRENTLY SEEKING ADVOCACY CHAIR

If you like to keep a finger on the pulse of our community, this is the position for you! The ISPTSA Advocacy Chair does the following:

If you are interested in t he position, or you just have questions, please contact   [email protected] .

BECOME A GRADE-LEVEL REPRESENTATIVE!

If you are interested in getting to know other parents from your child(ren)'s grade, this is a perfect volunteer opportunity! Grade-Level Representatives plan grade-level parent/guardian social events, organize parents to support staff appreciation, and act as another channel of information in support of ISPTSA.

A detailed list of the responsibilities for each grade level can be found here.

Please sign up here , or contact  [email protected]  to apply!

HIGH SCHOOL RETREAT IS THIS WEEK: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

 

The High School Retreat is right around the corner! Please see the info below, and click the link at the bottom for more.

Where:

Warm Beach Camp near Stanwood—bus transportation provided.

What to Bring:

Retreat Itinerary (tentative):

Thursday, September 5

8:15 AM—Depart IS

10:00 AM— Arrive @ Camp

10:30 AM— Welcome, Sessions, Lunch & Break

5:30 PM— Dinner

6:30 PM— Free Time

8:00 PM— Dance, Movie, & Bonfire 11:00 Curfew

Friday, September 6

8:00 AM— Breakfast

9:00 AM— Clean & Pack

10:00 AM— Club Presentations

11:00 AM— Class Meetings

12:00 PM— Lunch

1:00 PM— Depart

2:30 PM— Arrive @ IS

Please click here to see flyer with full info , and contact Lee Holt,  [email protected] , or Tamara Truax,  [email protected] with questions .

HIGH SCHOOL RETREAT FORMS ARE  PAST DUE!

 

Students cannot attend without them! Don't let that happen to your student!

For more information and link to forms, click here .

FIRST-DAY SCHEDULE

On the first day of school, instead of following the typical Wednesday schedule, students will have the opportunity to go to all seven of their classes.

The schedule is as follows:

FALL ACTIVE-THREAT MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES

This fall, we are partnering with the Bellevue School District Safety Team to host an Active Threat Training. 

Our middle school assembly will be held on Thursday, September 5, from 9:20–10:20 AM in the International School gym.  This assembly is open to families of all grades , and we hope you will join us to learn more about how we are preparing our community to respond should a threat occur. Following the assembly—from 10:30–11:00 AM in the library—administrators, counselors, and district safety personnel will hold a discussion for parents and guardians. We hope you will join us!   

We will host a high school version of this assembly on Friday, September 6, during High School Retreat. 

ATHLETICS & ACTIVITIES

FinalForms Registration Platform

August 2019

 

FinalForms was introduced during the 2018-19 school year by the Athletics and Activities Department in order to move to online registration for all after-school and extracurricular activities. Athletics and Activities is working to complete a full rollout of the FinalForms platform for the 2019-20 school year.

Phase 1 Fall 2019—Registration:  All high school and middle school students have a profile in the system.  As students come back to school, it will be essential that administration work to have all students complete the forms associated with their profile.  If forms remain incomplete, students will remain ineligible to participate in after-school extracurricular activities. When completing the forms in their profile, students will have an opportunity to choose  all  the activities they are interested in at the beginning of the year. Rosters will be built for all sports teams and activities based on these student choices. 

Phase 2 for Clubs and Activities:  It will be expected that club advisors will use FinalForms to track attendance for those participating in their program.

Phase 3—Field Trip Student Forms:  This year, we will transition to utilizing FinalForms for field-trip paperwork, whether a day trip or an optional/overnight trip. The Athletics and Activities Department will work with school teams to train sponsors of field trips to use the platform to collect all paperwork required from students and parents.

 

Why is it necessary to change platforms?

After-school programs continue to grow in number and complexity and students across the district continue to benefit from opportunities to attend optional/overnight field trips during each school year. Each of these programs (athletic, club or field trip) require paperwork: registration, permission slips, clearance documents, and more. After a long search for a platform that will streamline these registrations, the Athletics and Activities Department decided to transition to FinalForms. The integrated platform is a system in which you will never need to enter the same information twice. Once information is in the system, it is attached to any athletic, club, activity, or field trip in which a student participates. With this new platform, rather than filling out and returning new forms each year for each program, you will need to sign your forms once per year, or when you make an update.

 

Is the information I submit to FinalForms safe?

Yes, FinalForms and the district worked together to ensure that student information is secure and always managed following student privacy best practices. A signed data privacy agreement is in place and FinalForms personnel will continue to work closely with the district's Technology Department to safeguard all data. Emails from FinalForms are secure and data and contact information are not shared.

 

Where is my account information?

Parents of middle and high school students should have received an account confirmation email from FinalForms.

 

Please follow the link in the email to ensure student registration is complete by following these steps:

If your student is due to submit an updated sports physical, please complete the student medical information and print the "PPE" pre-populated medical form from FinalForms to take to the doctor's office.

 

Key information for MS Athletic Registration

To  register  for athletics and activities offered through  Jubilee Reach  or your  Middle School , visit the  FinalForms   webpage. Jubilee Reach or your Middle School staff will contact you via email before the sports season begins with details about practice times and event schedules. Please note the following before registering online:

Thank you for your assistance in streamlining processes, boosting compliance, and increasing the safety of students. If you have further questions, please email the Athletics and Activities Department at  [email protected] , x4050, or  [email protected],  and we will work to provide answers as soon as possible. ​

ADVANCED LEARNING IDENTIFICATION

The BSD Advanced Learning Department is accepting testing applications to determine students in need of advanced learning opportunities. Applications for advanced learning testing for students in grades 1–11 will be available online beginning Tuesday, September 3. District families interested in applying for testing should submit an application before the Thursday, October 31 deadline. The application will be available on the Advanced Learning webpage . Parents of BSD Kindergarten students do not need to apply, as these students will be considered for advanced learning services through the Kindergarten evaluation process.

Services provided for students in need include the following: 

To learn more about Advanced Learning Services, click here . 

Please contact  Lorena McHugh with questions.

STUDENT SPORTS & OPPORTUNITIES

BELLEVUE BOYS LACROSSE CLUB

Check out the fastest-growing sport in the country!

Bellevue Boys Lacrosse Club serves boys in grades K–12 who reside and/or attend feeder schools within the Bellevue High School boundary area . The Bellevue Lacrosse program is dedicated to developing players at every age and any skill level. We are committed to providing first-class experiences to players and families in our community.

Fall Ball is our off-season program and runs on Sundays ONLY, so it won’t interfere with other sports. Teams will alternate with practices and games each week. It is a great time to give lacrosse a try if your son is curious about the game! 

In the last 10 years the BHS Varsity team has played in the state championship nine times and won the state title seven times.  Visit our alumni page  to see where our athletes are playing in college.  For more information about our programs click here.

Visit our website to register for Fall Ball now. Registration closes Saturday, September 7, and practices start Sunday, September 8.