PTSA Funds over $6,000 in Teacher Grants

This article is the third in a series to explain what the LWHS PTSA does and where contributions to the PTSA go. The PTSA funds student programs, events, and grants to teachers for professional training and classroom supplies, all to benefit the educational experience. These programs are funded by parent contributions. Due to a decline in contributions, programs like these are at risk for future funding.

Over $6,000 has been granted to teachers for use in their classrooms. Below are a few examples of how those Teacher Grants (up to $200 per teacher) have been used:

• Claire Gajary: “I use the PTSA grants every year! One example is I purchased large whiteboards that I mounted to the walls of an old classroom. Putting these up allowed me to have students moving around the room, working on math problems with others on the boards. This was a dynamic way of practice that we used OFTEN.”
• Matthew Macomber: “With support from PTSA, I have purchased several collections of books previously not in our school nor offered to our students. These books have all come from Central America, Africa, and Asia, and they opened the cultural and historical variety and diversity of reading selections for students at LWHS.”
• Emily Wilcox: “I used the $200 grant this year to buy several enrichment games for my French classes and to buy French stickers to use as rewards for the winners of the games. Stickers are surprisingly incredible motivators for high schoolers!”

If you are able to make a contribution, please go to Lake Washington High School PTSA (lwhsptsa.org), select “Join PTSA and Donate” and follow the “Pass the Pouch” directions to contribute. Thank you for your support!

The LWHS PTSA would like to engage the community in supporting students in their vision for creating a comprehensive sustainability culture. As the school re-engages in conservation education and practices post-COVID, there will be multiple ways to participate in an all-school transformation in time for Earth Week (week of April 17-21). 

Visioning sessions are complete and available to see on the PTSA Sustainability webpage. 

The next phase involves a classic brainstorming session for waste reduction. We invite students, teachers, and families to participate by joining us tomorrow, Wednesday, March 8 from 1:00-1:45 pm in the school library, facilitated by LWHS PTSA President Tanya Knudsen and LWHS Sustainability Chair, Stephanie Lecovin. Participants can also join via teams: Click here to join.

For more information, check out this short video (passcode: yl4sM%M$)

Questions? Contact Stephanie Lecovin, LWHS PTSA Sustainability Chair

LWHS PTSA is partnering with Princeton Review to give students the opportunity to take ACT tests just “for practice” at no cost. Students can take these practice tests any number of times and the scores from these do not go on their record.

Students take the tests online at a date and time that is convenient within the time window below:

• ACT Practice: Online window March 12–17. Registration deadline March 11.

Note: If your student has taken an earlier practice test, they can take it again. However, please note that the set of questions will be the same.

Click here to register by March 11. Scroll down to “ACT Practice Tests”.

If you have any questions, please contact Janet Smith, LWHS PTSA SAT/ACT Practice Test Chair

LWPTSA Council's Lunch & Learn series consists of short presentations and discussions on topics relevant to your child's education. All community members are welcome—you bring your lunch, and we'll provide the speakers. We hope you will join us this month for an informative talk on community resources.

Speaker: Pablo Ortega, LWSD's Director of Equity & Family Engagement

When: Next Thursday, March 16 from noon to 1 pm

Where: LWSD Resource Center (16250 NE 74th Street, Redmond)

Bring your questions and your lunch, and learn with us! Please email Council's executive vice president, Brandi Comstock, with any questions.

Join LWPTSA Council's Special Education Group (SEG) for our March meeting! We will once again meet in person at the LWSD Resource Center. The meeting will kick off at 6:30 pm with family networking. The formal program begins at 7:00 pm and will focus on special education services in LWSD. Child care is available! Contact specialservices@lwsd.org with your student's name and age by March 14.

When: Tuesday, March 21 at 6:30 pm; formal program begins at 7:00 pm

Where: LWSD Resource Center (16250 NE 74th Street, Redmond)

Stay Connected: SEG Page | Facebook Group | SEG Newsletter

Please send questions to Council's Special Education Group co-chairs, Huma Zarif and Kaity Mason, at specialeducation@lwptsa.net.

Greetings Kang Families,

Welcome to March! It is light at the start of the school day, and I know that we are all eager for warmer weather. This is especially true for our spring athletes. 

One of our areas of focus this spring is sustainability. LWHS is partnering with PTSA and our Green Team to brainstorm and envision a school in which we educate our students on environmentally friendly practice and provide opportunities for implementation of these strategies. 

As parents you can support our efforts in the following ways: 

• Recycle as much as possible at home
• Provide reusable containers for students to use when they bring lunch and snacks to school
• Use less plastic overall
• Have your teen use a reusable water bottle (we have filling stations)
• Talk about sustainability as a family
• If possible, compost your household waste
• Check out the PTSA Sustainability Page at https://lwhsptsa.org/Page/Pta/Sustainability 

Our PTSA is working to gain input from students, family and building/district staff on how we can think big about sustainability at LWHS. Stay tuned for more information about our initiatives. 

If you want to learn more about LWSD and out district vision for the future of sustainability, please visit this website: https://www.lwsd.org/programs-and-services/sustainability

Thank you for your support, and Go Kangs!

Christine Bell  

LWHS Principal

College Fair

Save the Date! On Thursday April 20 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, LWHS will host a spring college fair. This is a great way to kick off the college search for our current junior class who will be our 2024 grads! All grades and parents are welcome to attend. Come and speak directly with college admissions advisors about admissions, housing, campus life and more. We have many great schools attending such as UW, Gonzaga, WSU, Arizona State, University of Arizona, UNLV, San Diego State, Oregon State, UMass and more!

Upcoming College Visits in the College & Career Center

For Junior and Senior students: There are several upcoming college admissions reps visits coming to LWHS in the College & Career Center. Have your student stop by or email Ms. Swanger at nswanger@lwsd.org if they need a pass.

Mar 14, A Lunch 11:07-11:37 am: Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)

Mar 16, B Lunch 12:44-1:14 pm: Texas A&M - College Station

WANIC Applications Open & WANIC Presentations

For rising Juniors and Seniors for the 2023-2024 school year, WANIC is currently accepting applications for FULL year programs. Students can participate in many different options such as Aviation Technology, Institute of Systems Biology-Systems Medicine, medical, dental, baking, CISCO, FITE (Fire & EMS program), and DigiPen combined with their classes at LWHS.



• WANIC open house: March 16 from 5pm to 7pm at LW Institute of Technology at 11605 132nd Avenue NE in Kirkland.
• For students interested in attending DigiPen through WANIC, register for a DigiPen session here: https://forms.digipen.edu/view.php?id=729215.

Upcoming Virtual Events and College Preview Days

We have several upcoming virtual events and college preview days. For more information on these topics and more, check out LWHS College & Career Center links: https://linktr.ee/lwhscollegecareercenter

Questions? Contact Nichole Swanger, LWHS College and Career Specialist

Time to start that spring cleaning! LWHS Theatre Boosters is hosting a clothing and textile drive fundraiser. Stop by LWHS on Saturday, March 18, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm in the north student parking lot to drop off your donations. Learn more about what we are collecting.

Questions? Contact Joy Jernigan, LWHS Theatre Boosters Fundraising Chair

Your senior is invited to a safe and fun-filled post-graduation all-night party presented by the LWHS PTSA. We provide transportation to two venues, entertainment, food and a memorable end-of-the year experience. 

When: Thursday, June 15, 2023

Start Time: 8:30-9:30pm

End Time: 5:00 am on Friday, June 16, at LWHS  

Ticket prices:

• $200 until April 30
• $210 between April 30 and June 4
• Ticket sales end June 4, 2023  
• All ticket purchases are non-refundable

Scholarships or installment plans are available. Contact Jodee Hull at jhull@lwsd.org for more information.

How do you sign up your Senior? Click here to purchase Senior Party Tickets. You can also click here for additional information. You do not need to be a PTSA member to purchase tickets.

Questions? Do you want to help chaperone or plan the event? Contact the Senior Party Co-Chairs at seniorparty@lwhsptsa.org 

The Peter Kirk PTSA is accepting applications for their annual scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to one graduating senior from LWSD who is a Peter Kirk Elementary Alum. The purpose of this scholarship is to provide recognition of overall achievement and community service by awarding monetary assistance toward further education. One $1000 scholarship is available. The scholarship is intended for the purchase of tuition, required textbooks, materials/tools or room and board for on-campus housing. Applications are due by April 10.

Click here for more information

Questions? Email alumnischolarship@peterkirkptsa.org

Lake Washington PTSA Council is pleased to roll out their 2023 Scholarship Program! Council offers several student scholarships and two $500 staff scholarships each spring. This year's Student Scholarship Program will include 15 scholarships of $1,250 each:

• 8 Merit scholarships
• 1 LWEA/Teeley scholarship (funded by the LWEA)
• 2 Perseverance scholarships
• 1 Turnaround scholarship
• 1 Two-year, technical or vocational scholarship
• 2 At-large scholarships

Applications for both staff and student scholarships are due by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, March 29. LWPTSA Council's Scholarship Program is funded by money raised at our annual scholarship fundraising auction, by annual donations from the 44 PTAs/PTSAs in the LWSD (including LWHS PTSA), the LWEA, and by donations from the greater community.

Download the Student Scholarship Application

Download the Staff Scholarship Application

Questions? Please contact LWPTSA Council's Scholarship Program chair, Brooke Gialopsos, at scholarships@LWPTSA.net.

Have Lunch With LWSF at Our Be the Bridge Spring Benefit

To all PTSA leaders, active volunteers and families in our community: We invite you to have lunch with us at our Spring Benefit on March 23 at the Marriott Hotel in Redmond! Join us to witness all of the work that we are doing to nurture, connect, and empower students and schools throughout the Lake Washington School District. Reserve your spot at lwsf.org/bethebridge.

Passionate about our students and schools? Support our fundraising efforts by registering as a Table Captain for the event! Email jamie@lwsf.org to learn more!

Find Your Fit Webinars

Our Find Your Fit Program is offering free events in March to support middle and high school families. For more details and to register, visit: lwsf.org/our-work/find-your-fit.

• March 7: Standardized Testing and the New Digital SAT
• March 16: What You Need to Know About High School and Beyond

Find Your Fit is a program of Lake Washington Schools Foundation.

Warning: Fentanyl awareness

Be on the lookout for rainbow fentanyl as it has been round recently in enormous quantities in the area. This is the first appearance of the all-colored pills (not a solid color) as well as cubes that look like gum or candy. Fentanyl is an opiod that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine and is being found in many substances including pain pills, vaping and marijuana cartridges. Photo examples are below. If you have concerns or questions about substance use, contact Youth Eastide Services' prevention intervention counselor for LWSD, Andrea Frost at andrea.frost@youtheastsideservices.org.