May 17, 2021
MONDAY MESSENGER
UPCOMING DATES AND EVENTS
THIS WEEK
  • Wednesday, 5/19 • IS PE Experience for 6th Graders - TBD

NEXT WEEK:
  • Wednesday, 5/26 • IS PE Experience for 6th Graders - TBD

LOOKING AHEAD:
  • Monday, 5/31 • NO SCHOOL—Memorial Day
  • Thursday, 6/3, 7 PM • PTSA General Membership Meeting
  • Thursday, 6/17 • International Senior Celebration
  • Friday, 6/18 • Class of 2021 Graduation
  • Tuesday, 6/22 • Last Day of 2020–21 School Year

* More information included in message below
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
THESE POSITIONS NEED YOU!

  • ISPTSA VP Fundraising, current school year
  • ISPTSA VP Communications, current school year
  • Grade-Level Representatives, current school year

Please email board@isptsa.org to learn more and sign up. Thank you!
CAN YOU HELP?

The Graduation Committee needs Outdoor Movie Equipment!

One of our graduation festivities is Senior Celebration on June 17th, 2021. Unlike past years, we need to hold the event outdoors at the Sammamish High School stadium. The stadium does not have any equipment (outdoor screen/projector) to show visual parts of the ceremony. Renting is very expensive. Therefore, we are reaching out to our IS community.
  • Does anybody have outdoor cinema/backyard theater equipment with a large screen (at least 9ft wide) that works for daylight projections that we could borrow?
  • Does anybody have connections to a place that would let us borrow outdoor cinema equipment or would rent it to us at a discount?

Please email sylvia.abrahamsson@hotmail.com if you can help. Thank you!
DO YOU WANT TO GIVE BACK TO THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL COMMUNITY?

Have you been thinking of stepping up into an ISPTSA role? This is the time to make the move! The nominations committee is now accepting inquiries for ISPTSA board positions for 2021-2022—and don't worry, an inquiry is just an opportunity to explore what positions are available without a firm commitment. No matter how much time you have to give, how much volunteering you've done in the past, or what grade level your students are in, your involvement in the ISPTSA will make a difference in the International School community for years to come.
 
Thank you to Angelika Koch-Leibmann, Beverly Ni and Meribeth Nordloef-Pedersen for volunteering at the General Membership Meeting to steer the nominations committee for ISPTSA.

Please direct your interest to nominations@isptsa.org. 
PTSA NEWS
THANK YOU TO OUR TEACHERS!

THANK YOU to our wonderful teachers and staff at International School! We appreciate their huge contribution to our students and school community.

Last week, the ISPTSA celebrated teachers and staff by treating them to a special surprise each day:
Monday—We DONUT know what we'd do without them (Krispy Kreme donuts, hot Starbucks coffee).
Tuesday—We were BURSTING with thanks! They are the HIGHLIGHT of our school, and we thanked them for their ROLL in creating our SMARTIES (flowers, highlighters, Tootsie Rolls, Smarties, and Starburst candy)!
Wednesday—Thank you a BUNCH! They truly set the BAR high (variety of fruit including a bunch of bananas and breakfast bars).
Thursday—Thank you for QUENCHING our students' THIRST for knowledge (basket of fun beverages)!
Friday—LETTUCE thank everyone who SANDWICHES in a lot for our kids each day (personalized boxed lunch from Panera—yum!).

The teachers and staff enjoyed their treats and had a good chuckle. Thank you to our ISPTSA members for making this possible. The official Teacher Appreciation week may be over, but we continue to appreciate our teachers and staff all year. Thank you for being a huge part of our community!
DISTRICT NEWS
BSD SCHOOL BOARD LISTENING SESSION

Wednesday, May 26

The BSD School Board is hosting community listening forums. This event is designed to help Board members better understand how the experience of families this past year has impacted their students, the lessons learned and key take-aways as we move forward. The sessions will be conducted over Teams and families need to register in advance. Once a family has registered, they will be sent a link to the session.

More information about the sessions, times and how to register will be posted to our website. Check for the latest updates. https://bsd405.org/event/school-board-community-listening-session/

Still have questions? Please contact pubinfo@bsd405.org.
COVID-19 VACCINE POP-UP CLINIC FOR BSD STUDENTS 16+

Saturday, June 5, 9 AM–4:30 PM
Sammamish High School

In partnership with Safeway/Albertsons, BSD will be hosting a COVID-19 vaccine clinic June 5. The clinics are open to BSD students ages 16 and up, and appointments may be scheduled online. Detailed information has been sent out via SchoolMessenger. 

Do you have questions, or are you having trouble signing up? Please email BSD Health Services at vaccine@bsd405.org.
SCHOOL NEWS
AP EXAMS

  • Test schedule for International School students includes the time to report/check-in. Next up:
  • THIS Tuesday, May 18, 8:30 AM: Lit (12th grade), digital at-home
  • IMPORTANT INFO FOR DIGITAL EXAMS: Install Digital AP Exam app version 0.9.4 from Software Center if you installed the app prior to 5/11. All students taking tests with Digital AP Exams need to install this new version because the application will not auto update in our environment for students. If students don't install this latest version, they will get an update error when they launch Digital AP Exams.
  • Learn more about AP updates here.

Please contact Jill at follettj@bsd405.org with questions.
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL YEARBOOK TEAM

Application Due TODAY, May 17, 11:59 PM

At International, our yearbook is created entirely by a team of dedicated students working together outside school hours. The keepsake book is a labor of love! Are you a rising 7th-12th grader? Organized? Responsible? Creative? We would love for you to apply to be on next year's yearbook team!  Please complete this application to be considered. 

If you have questions, please send a Teams Chat to Jill Follett.
STUDENT NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES
HELP US KEEP OUR RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST
 
The position of Research Technology Specialist (RTS) has been cut district-wide. This position at IS is held by Tara Jones. The district decided to cut the secondary librarian which is the RTS position as a response to the budget shortfall. Please help convince the district to reverse this cut by signing this petition. http://chng.it/trzgQGBp.
 
For questions, please contact Nate at nate.l.bloch@gmail.com.
COMMUNITY NEWS
CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN SPEECH AND DEBATE ONLINE SUMMER CAMP

Early Registration Ends TODAY, May 17

Climb the Mountain Summer Camps are available online for middle and high school students this summer. In this online one week camp, students interact with other students their age while learning how to debate issues that are important to them. Learn more about the camp's objectives, dates and cost at https://www.climbthemountain.us/camp-home-page.

If you have questions, please contact Jim at jim@climbthemountain.us.
BELLEVUE JR. FOOTBALL

Open to ages 7 (at least 60 pounds) to 14 as of July 31 and living in the enrollment areas for either Interlake, Newport, or Sammamish HS (generally, East & South Bellevue)
 
Send questions to info@bellevuejrfootball.org.
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SPIRIT WEAR
WEAR YOUR SPIRIT WEAR WITH PRIDE!

Made in Seattle, U.S.A. using 18 ounce canvas, our quality International School duffel bag will last, and each can be personalized for free. It even includes an optional shoulder strap and an interior mesh pocket for valuables!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP—more than pictured here!

All International School Spirit Wear are available online for delivery or for pickup from Winner's Sportswear in Bellevue.

Contact Melissa at sam_mel@yahoo.com with questions.
MASTHEAD / DIRECTORY / LINKS
President
Secretary
Treasurer 1
Treasurer 2
VP of Communications
OPEN
VP of Community
VP of Fundraising
OPEN
VPs of Outreach
Membership
Grants
Advocacy
Monday Messenger
Website
IS Staff Liaison
Marrene Franich & Wesley Hung
PTSA
Website: www.isptsa.org
Newsletter Submissions: news@isptsa.org
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.
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, PO Box 221, Bellevue WA 98009
Or, even easier, donate
via PayPal.
Visit the International School PTSA Store. Proceeds benefit the ISPTSA.
If you were forwarded this ISPTSA Monday Messenger email and you would like to receive it regularly, subscribe here!
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.
MONDAY MESSENGER
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • Please submit articles by THURSDAY at 5:00 PM to news@isptsa.org.
  • Please include contact information for questions from readers.
  • 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.