Spotlight on Success: October 2, 2020

Can you help?

Thank you to everyone in the district that has stepped up to help us meet our Step Up for Kids Campaign goal. We are so close to meeting our goal - allowing us to provide benefits in the areas of Academic Support, Basic Needs, Technology and Digital Resources, and Behavior, Social, and Emotional Support.

For the past 33 years, the Issaquah Schools Foundation has been driving resources to help students reach the promise of their potential. While circumstances look much different today, we remain committed to our mission and our students. Your child deserves the best education possible. The Issaquah Schools Foundation is adapting to meet the emerging needs of our students and teachers in response to the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you are in a position to make a gift, please visit isfdn.org/donate to Step Up for Kids. Help us stay agile to make an impact in our community!

Fall Fitness Challenge in Full Swing

Great job, Fall Fitness Challengers - it’s great to see you staying active! Shirt designs are being finalized this week, and we anticipate FFC swag to be available for pickup at the Foundation the week of October 26^th. Mailing of orders placed during registration is also anticipated to be sent out during this week. Since we are limited by available shirt space for printing, youth sized shirts will list only youth participants. Adult sized shirts will list all FFC participants. Special category awards will also be distributed during this time.

If you’ve fallen behind on logging minutes or miles, no worries… It’s not too late! Refresh how to log, and get yourself caught up. At the end of the month, you’ll be able to look back at your numbers, feel proud of what you’ve accomplished, and hopefully stay motivated to continue your healthy habits as we move into winter.

Alicia Spinner Named Cultural Bridges Program Manager

We are pleased to share that Alicia Spinner will be joining the Foundation as the Cultural Bridges Program Manager. We are thrilled to have her expertise and her long history in working with our diverse community for the past decade.

Alicia has worked alongside with Marisol Visser as the Chief Editor for the Cultural Bridges magazine for the past three years and has actively supported the Issaquah School District Family Engagement team with events, community outreach programs and volunteer recruitment. Please join us in welcoming Alicia to this new role - to learn more about Alicia, click here.

Also, please join us in wishing Marisol Visser best of luck in her future endeavors! We are all so very grateful for all her contributions over the years to the Foundation, however more importantly, her kind heart, compassion, and willingness to help anyone and everyone in our community!

Marisol began Cultural Bridges seven years ago with the goal of helping our diverse community navigate the school system. Her work was vital to bringing to together community to ensure students had equitable access to education and community resources to live fulfilling lives.

Making an Impact

The Foundation is consistently working to provide resources that effectively support our community and online school has us focused on what is most needed to help students during remote learning.

Headsets for students in need

School from home means students participating in class via a computer, a scenario that can be extra challenging with multiple students and/or family members in a small space. Headsets can help reduce the noise, but are not something everyone can afford. As such, the Foundation has made them available for students in need in our district, helping with their school time at home. If you need a headset with a microphone, please talk to your school counselor.

Canvas & Clever help

Online school also means learning new ways of logging into class, and a district of over 20,000 students equates to a lot of questions about the new online resources. The Foundation was able to support the district by offering two email aliases families could contact to get support with logging into Canvas & Clever. We were happy to help with the large volume of questions posed as families learned how to access these systems.

Issaquah Chamber’s “Labor of Love”

Special thanks to the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce for its role in supporting local service organizations this fall. Noting the loss of in-person fundraising opportunities at the Salmon Days festival for many organizations this year, the Chamber created a charitable donation pool to be distributed to 18 local organizations, including the Issaquah Schools Foundation. Last week, the “Labor of Love” Golf Tournament teed off this effort, and this coming weekend, look for the Chamber QR code on Streatery table tents and Issaquah Farmer’s Market signs to join the Chamber in supporting our non-profit community during Salmon Days weekend! For more information about the Chamber, click here.

Upcoming Parent Education Events

Make Issaquah Schools Foundation

Your Charity on AmazonSmile

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Issaquah Schools Foundation every time you shop Amazon, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same prices, selection and shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price the Foundation!

Just go to smile.amazon.com and search "Issaquah Schools Foundation" and select the Foundation as your charity of choice.

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