ICS PTSA NEWSLETTER

September 24, 2023

See the ICS Calendar for more upcoming event dates.

FROM THE PTSA

CONGRATULATIONS TO ICS'S NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS

The National Merit Scholarship Program has announced this year's semifinalists and 2 ICS seniors have been named. Congratulations to Selin Filiz and Kunal Duggal!!

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists are determined through scores on the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) taken in the students’ junior year. ICS will administer this year’s PSAT to juniors and sophomores on Wednesday, October 11. Only 11th graders are eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program. LWSD will be covering the cost of the test for all 10th graders, and the ICS PTSA will be covering the cost for the 11th graders this year.

To learn more about the National Merit Scholarship Program, visit nationalmerit.org. To see a full list of Washington state finalists, see this Seattle Times article.

Good luck to our students!!

ICS SKI BUS 2024 INFORMATION MEETING

Join us for the online information meeting on Tuesday, September 26 at 7PM PST. Join using Teams.

We are planning to run ICS Ski Bus 2024 similar to how it was run last year. To read about the last year program, please see the description here. If you are interested in participating this year, please fill out the interest form by September 30. If you have further questions, join the WhatsApp group. For the program to run we need at least 40 students signing up.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: STAFF APPRECIAION CHAIR

The Staff Appreciation Committee is looking for a chairperson to help the PTSA show our gratitude for ICS's incredible staff. Parent volunteers put on a staff lunch once a month. We need a chair to guide and organize. Please reach out to vpcommunity@icsptsa.org if you are interested in the position.

2024 ART DAY PREPARATIONS 

Art Day is on 1/19/2024!  Correction – Please note, we have yet to receive final confirmation from the board on the date for Art Day. We will update this forum as soon as we get details.

There are many ways to contribute to Art Day this year! First of all, you can join the Art Day Committee, we have the following chair openings:

Movement and Dance Chair: Coordinate movement and dance classes and help class instructors.

You can also run a class! Art Day classes are learning sessions that offer art experiences from different cultures. Each Art Day class runs for three 90-minute sessions, with about 20 students per session. Parents can submit Art Day ideas at Art Day 2024.

Please don’t forget to leave your email address along with your idea to help us contact you. Please contact artday@icsptsa.org or Albert Li (ali@icsptsa.org) if you are interested in volunteering opportunities or have any questions.

REFLECTIONS ART COMPETITION 2023-24

What is Reflections? Reflections is a National PTA arts recognition program that helps students explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence, and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful not only in school, but in life.

2022-23 Theme: “I am Hopeful Because”

Categories and Rules:

Dance Choreography — Originally choreographed dance composition presented in a video entry



Film Production — Original works, with or without sound, of animation, narrative, documentary, experimental or multimedia

Literature — Original works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, prose, drama, reflective essay, narrative or short story. Entries must be a single literary work; collections are not accepted

Music Composition — Original musical composition, with or without words, presented in an audio recording

Photography — Color or black and white. Included techniques: Photogram, panorama, photomontage (one print of multiple original photos), single or multiple exposure, negative sandwich

Visual Arts — Drawing; painting in tempera, oil, acrylic, watercolor or T-shirt paints; computer-generated art; two-dimensional collage; printmaking; needlework; leather tooling (see link for all accepted visual art forms)

NOTE: LWPTSA Council is accepting ONLY 2D visual art.

How to get started: Choose your category, go over the rules. Prepare your art. Reflect on the theme. Should be the student's original work. We DO NOT accept 3D art.

Submission Process? Students will be taking photos or scanning, uploading their finished work and submitting it online. Details on the format and the uploading location will be communicated soon. You will be requested for the physical artwork to be displayed at the LWSD Reflection celebrations Open House which takes place in January. Do not lose your artwork. Entry form will be pre-populated with the PTA information and made available to students in the upcoming week. 

Due Date: Wednesday, Nov 1, 2023, by 10pm

Additional Theme Search Contest: Complete the online form to enter the contest by 12 PM Nov 1, 2023.

The student who submits the winning entry will receive $100 and the theme will be presented at the annual National PTA Convention in 2024. Repeat themes will not be considered. 

Questions: Email reflections@icsptsa.org

REPEATED ARTICLES

ICS MATH CLUB

The registration for Math competitions throughout the academy year 2023-2024 is now open. This year ICS PTSA Math Club is going to continuously help ICS Mathletes to participate in school-based competition events such as MATHCOUNTS (MC) and MATH IS COOL (MIC).

1. MATHCOUNTS provides engaging math programs to US middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving.
2. Math Is Cool is a fun and popular mathematics competitions in Washington State emphasizing mental math, problem solving with speed and accuracy, and team work collaborations. 

This year, ICS PTSA Math Club won't be able to host AMC (American Mathematics Competitions) competitions (AMC 8/10/12 and AIME). The students who are interested in the competitions, can find alternative locations at MAA website.

Math Club will host an information session at 7:00 PM, September 30, via Teams Meeting, about the registration and the competition. Please stay tuned with Math Club.