Winter Break is Almost Here!

Winter break is almost upon us, so this will be the last PTSA newsletter of the calendar year. I wanted to take time to wish everyone a happy, safe, and relaxing break. Regardless of what, if any, holidays you celebrate during this time, I hope that you all take the opportunity to enjoy time with your families, friends, and loved ones. Also, this time of year can be stressful, so make sure you are taking care of yourself too! 

I also wanted to report that during our Board meeting on December 7, the Board approved three more grant requests, including funds to provide independent reading books to a 9th grade classroom, start-up costs for a vocational skills training project for the Special Education department, and overhead lighting for the Art department to enable them to create lesson videos for every class. Thanks to the generous donations from our RHS community, the PTSA is able to make a positive impact for students. 

We hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing winter break. We look forward to seeing you in the new year! 

Branda Andrade, RHS PTSA President 

president@redmondhsptsa.org

Washington State PTA Recognizes RHS PTSA with the Platinum Membership Growth Award

RHS PTSA has recently been recognized by Washington State PTA as a Platinum Membership Growth Award recipient!

PTAs are presented with this award for enrolling at least 20% more members this year than last year. That means our PTA growth has been truly exceptional!

Thank you to everyone who has become a member so far this year: YOU are the reason our PTA achieved this award! If you haven’t yet signed up for a 2022-2023 PTA membership, please consider joining today! By doing so, you are demonstrating your support for our PTA and all it does for Redmond High School.

JOIN NOW!

PTSA Membership Meeting January 11th, 2023

Our first General Membership meeting of 2023 will be held Wednesday, January 11th at 6pm via Teams. The link will be posted on our website closer to the date of the meeting.

We hope you will consider joining us to hear the latest from the school and PTSA and add your voice to decision-making process.

All are welcome to attend, PTSA members may participate in voting.

Spreading Joy to our RHS Staff

The weather outside may have been frightful last week, but your PTSA was able to warm the hearts of the RHS staff with winter-themed “jarcuterie” gifts. Vegan and gluten free options were provided as well so all could enjoy!

The PTSA Hospitality Committee is able to provide treats for our staff throughout the year thanks to your generous donations, so thank YOU for helping to spread the joy!

WSPTA Essay Contest

This statewide essay contest explores the important and varied influencers in the lives and education of children – from the children’s perspective.

Every day children are exposed to a variety of people and each one has an opportunity to influence the path a child decides to take. Whether it is someone that sparks an interest in a new topic, helps them work through a problem, shapes the kind of person they want to become by modeling behavior, simply listens to them, or any number of other actions, this is the platform for students to share their appreciation.

The student must personally know the influencer that they are writing about.

The application deadline is February 15, 2023. The submission process is new this year. We encourage you to read this blog to learn more.

Submissions must be submitted through the online form. Questions? Contact WSPTAEssay@wastatepta.org

WSPTA Scholarship Program

Washington State PTA (WSPTA) offers four $2,500 scholarships to graduating seniors from Washington state public high schools with an active PTA, who will be starting college (either two-year or four-year) in the fall.

Upon receiving proof of acceptance to college, WSPTA will issue a check to the school the recipient will be attending. The scholarship may be used to offset the cost of tuition, books, supplies, room and/or board.

Requirements:

• Current and verified GPA of at least 3.4 (on a scale of 4.0)
• The name and number of the PTA/PTSA at your school
• At least three volunteer activities
• Answer the essay question: “How has volunteering within my community helped me today and into the future?”

Students may submit a scholarship application through the online form. We encourage students to apply even if they have not decided on which specific college (either two-year or four-year) they will be attending. If the student is selected as a scholarship recipient, we will verify the enrollment status prior to distributing the funds.

The application deadline is February 15, 2023 and scholarships are awarded by April 30. The submission process is new this year. We encourage you to read this blog to learn more.

WSPTA Game Development Competition

The WSPTA Game Development Competition is a STEM-based program, introduced in 2016, to encourage and support student success. Students attending a middle or high school with a PTA/PTSA in good standing may participate and share their knowledge and creativity based on an assigned theme.

The purpose is to provide an opportunity for students, either individually or in teams of up to five members, to use their creative talents and express themselves by developing a game, either a physical board game or a computer game.

Students’ submissions are judged in the following areas:

• best board game
• best computer game
• arts and animation
• game design
• programming (code)
• audio design

To ensure all students have an equal opportunity to participate (regardless of access to computers and programming classes) a new category, best board game, was added in 2020. Students may now enter by creating a board game (this includes card games) so no prior knowledge of programming is required. All students will be able to showcase their creativity, determination, and game design skills.

The theme for the 2022-2023 competition is Curiosity.

The deadline date for submissions is February 15, 2023. The submission process is new this year. We encourage you to read this blog to learn more.

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