Dear Kang Families,

Last week we hosted Parent and Community Learning Walks. We had a great group of parents, one community member and three administrators participating. Feedback from parents was great. The overwhelming message was that classrooms were places of collaboration.

One parent commented that he felt like he had landed on Mars. He said that it was completely different than his high school experience. 

Our learning environments are dynamic and engaging. I encourage you all to join in the next round.

Spring is here! This means that testing is fast approaching. Sign-ups for AP testing is wrapping up. We are preparing for Smarter Balanced and Washington State Comprehensive Assessment testing. It is important to encourage your students to take this seriously. Their state testing scores cannot hurt them, and these scores are not reported to colleges or on their transcripts. They can, however, help a student meet graduation requirements. They also provide a measurement of how well our school is doing overall.

Lake Washington High School is proud of our gymnastics team for the way they represented our school this season. They took first place in State. We are also encouraged by the number of student athletes who turned out for spring sports. This year we have 495 spring athletes. There are 200 students on the track team alone! Thank you to our families for encouraging participation in activities.

I recently heard a parent ask when the best time is to start talking to a teen about college. The answer is that it is never too early. We want our students to look ahead and see a successful future. This means college, career or other pathways, such as the military. Our College and Career Center is well-resourced and equipped to help with these choices. I would encourage all students to consider a college visit. Our school offers many opportunities to travel to visit colleges tech programs and universities.

Thank you to our parents for staff appreciation, for PTSA grants to support classrooms, and for the positive feedback you send to our staff. These things matter to me. 

On behalf of our learning community, 

Go Kangs!

Christine Bell

Principal, Lake Washington High School

Connect with Mrs. Bell at cbell@lwsd.org

Upcoming College and Career Events:

3/6     Full Day           The Evergreen State College Field Trip

3/7     4:30pm            College Fair @ LWHS

3/15   10:15am          CWU Application Workshop @ College and Career Center

3/21    5:00pm           WANIC Open House at LWTech

3/26    8:30am            ASVAB Test

Kirkland Rotary Scholarships

The Kirkland Rotary Club Scholarship applications are now open! Apply to scholarships in a variety of categories. All applications are due April 19th. Find out how to apply on the Kirkland Rotary Club website.

For More Scholarship Opportunities. . .

The College and Career Center has a live calendar of upcoming scholarship deadlines. Check it out and click each scholarship listed for a drop down menu of more information. Click here to see the calendar!

WANIC 2024-2025 Registration Now Open; Open House: March 21st

The Washington Network for Innovative Careers (WANIC) registration for the 2024/25 school year is now open. WANIC offers preparatory college and careers programs for 11th and 12th graders in a variety of CTE fields. From Fire and EMS to Music and Sound Design, to Medical Careers or Automotive Tech, as well as many others, WANIC is a great option for students to get a head start in the career field of their choice. Find out more here.

Furthermore, WANIC will be hosting an Open House on Thursday, March 21st from 5:00-7:00pm at Lake Washington Institute of Technology, 11605 132nd AVE NE Kirkland 98034.

Presentación en Espanol 5:30-6:00pm.

College Night 2024 - March 7th, 4:30pm – 7:20pm @ LWHS

Get ready for an informative and exciting College Night hosted by Lake Washington HS and Eastlake HS/Tesla STEM HS. This is your chance to explore college options and gain valuable insights into the college admissions process. Choose the night and location that suits you best! This is a great night for rising seniors and their families to investigate colleges and attend information sessions; however, all grades are welcome!

Agenda:

College Fair: 4:30 to 6:00pm - Main Gym

Breakout Session A: 6:05 – 6:40pm

Breakout Session B: 6:45 – 7:20pm

Breakout Options:

Applying to Selective College; Exploring 2-Year & Certificate Programs; Connecting with Admissions; Finding Your Best Fit; Applying to UW; Financial Aid Basics; Writing College Essays; Why Go Out of State & WUE; Applying to International Colleges; Military Careers & ROTC

For a list of colleges attending and breakout session updates, click here.

ASVAB Testing

The ASVAB will be offered March 26th for any interested students. This is a career exploration tool as well as a graduation pathway option. Students sign up using this form; for more information visit www.asvabprogram.com or reach out to Nichole Swanger or stop by the College and Career Center.

College and Career Center info:

• Room 180
• College and Career Specialists:
• Nichole Swanger: nswanger@lwsd.org
• Alex Clark-McGlenn: aclarkmcglenn@lwsd.org

Let’s Celebrate the "Luck ‘O the Kangs” on Wednesday, March 13th with a Soup and Salad Luncheon for our Staff and Teachers! We would greatly appreciate donations of food to help show our staff how lucky we are to have them!

SignUp here. Questions? Contact Beatrice Joe.

Show pride for your graduating senior by purchasing a personalized yard sign and/or decal for your car! Order now through April 30th.

• Custom Yard Signs for Class of 2024: Signs are 18" x 24" in size with an H-stake and cost $20. Please enter the name of the student as you wish it to appear on the sign. Sign can only accommodate a FIRST name or a nickname.
• Car Decal: Decals are 8" round and cost $15. There is no name on the car decal.
• Combined purchase of sign and decal will be $30.

Please go lwhsptsa.org -> Seniors -> Senior Signs to order, or click here. All proceeds fund the Senior Party!

Interested in Traveling in 2025??!!

So are we!

Come join us for an informational meeting about the travel opportunities LW Teachers will be offering to students in 2025 (*please note, these are not sponsored by LWHS or PTSA).

Where are we going?

Spring 2025

Join us “Down Under” in New Zealand!

Explore LOTS of Biology, beautiful sceneries (including parts of the filming for location for LOTR!), fjords, and end in Sydney, Australia!

Contact: PalmerScienceTravel@gmail.com

Spring 2025

Want to take your Spanish fluency to the next level? Come join us as we encounter the wildlife, culture and beautiful vistas of Costa Rica, all while practicing Spanish.

This Spanish immersion trip is open to students enrolled in Spanish 4 or AP for 2024-2025!

Contact: spanishviajes@gmail.com

Summer 2025

For history buffs, follow the path of major WWII sites! See battlegrounds, learn about the history of WWII, and learn about the impacts of the War on the local cultures.

Contact: KandGEduTravel@gmail.com

Meeting Date: Monday, March 4th

Time: 6:00pm

Location: LWHS, 1West Pod

Time to start that spring cleaning! LWHS Theatre Boosters is hosting a clothing, textile and book drive fundraiser on two upcoming Saturdays:

Dates: March 9th and March 16th

Time: 11:00am to 3:00pm

Location: In the LWHS student parking lot

Learn more about what we are collecting.

Questions? Contact fundraising@theatre.lwhsboosters.org.