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Lake Washington School District Parent E-Newsletter
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Connections to change look, frequency
In response to feedback from district parents, we have redesigned this publication to better meet your needs. Some changes have been made here, but you will see a completely new look for our next edition. We will also be sending Connections out every two weeks instead of once per month in an effort to get you information in a timely manner. In addition, if there is breaking news that parents will want to know, we will send out special issues. |
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LWSD is now on Facebook and Twitter
Lake Washington School District now has Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can find us on Facebook. On Twitter, look for @LakeWashSchools. Both of these sites will be monitored by Kathryn Reith, communications director, and Shannon Parthemer, community relations and communications coordinator. These sites will include news, announcements and links to the district website.
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Ready Start Preschool Program now accepting applications
Lake Washington School District's Ready Start Preschool Program is now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 school year. The Ready Start program offers a comprehensive early childhood learning experience for four year olds who live within the district boundary. The goal of the Ready Start program is to provide students with a quality, general education preschool experience that prepares them for Kindergarten. This program also serves students who are eligible to receive special education services.
Children with birthdays between September 1, 2007, and August 31, 2008, are eligible to participate in this program. Each class has three teachers (one special education teacher, one general education lead teacher and one para educator), and there is space for up to 20 students per class.
Preschool classes are offered at seven district schools four days per week. Currently, classes are offered on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The morning class is offered from 8:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. and the afternoon class is from 12 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. The current program locations are:
- Kirkland: Bell Elementary, Juanita Elementary, Sandburg Elementary
- Redmond: Dickinson Elementary, Rockwell Elementary, Rush Elementary
- Sammamish: Blackwell Elementary
Fees have not yet been determined for 2012-2013. The cost of the program for the 2011-2012 school year was $3000 ($300 per month). For more information about Preschool Programs in LWSD and how to register, visit the district website. |
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BEST High School, Family Learning Center to change names
Several schools on the same campus in Kirkland, Wash., will change their names effective fall of 2012. BEST High School, an alternative School, and Family Learning Center (FLC), a parent partnership program, currently share a building. These two schools will be joined on the same campus by Northstar Middle School and the district's Online Academy in the fall of 2012. After a process involving students, staff and parents, the campus itself and all of the schools except Northstar will be named after Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American essayist, lecturer and poet. Students cited Emerson's championing of individualism as well as his ability to influence and inspire others as their reason for adopting his name. Read more. |
School Board Highlights
At the January 30 meeting of the district's Board of Directors, Jackie Pendergrass was reelected president of the board. Nancy Bernard was elected vice president. Principal Cindy Duenas provided a report on planning for the new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) high school that will open next fall. She explained that the first two years in the school will be foundational, as ninth and tenth graders take a block of engineering combined with physics and humanities. In grades 11 and 12, students will spend part of the day in a STEM lab concentration. She is working with Dr. Pierce and the other high school principals on what labs will be offered in the STEM school and what may be offered in other high schools around the district, as part of a district-wide initiative. The school will open with 150 ninth and 150 tenth grade students. The next year (2013-14), those students will move up one year and an additional 150 ninth grade students will enter the school. In 2014-15, 150 more students will be added in ninth grade and the school will be at capacity. As the school begins to offer 11th and 12th grade, students from other high schools will have the option to attend the school part of the day for the STEM lab concentrations.
Jackie Pendergrass listed the rescheduled dates and times of the opportunities for the public to meet the preferred superintendent candidate, Dr. Traci Pierce. She noted that the deadline for community feedback has been changed to February 22. |
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Awards & Achievements
February Staff Stars: All National Board Certified Teachers
Lake Washington School District learned in December that 36 teachers met the challenge of achieving National Board Certificationthrough the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). In addition, one teacher renewed her status. Read more.
Fourteen schools recognized with Washington Achievement Awards
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the State Board of Education (SBE) have announced that 186 schools across the state will be honored with 2011 Washington Achievement Awards. The list of schools includes 14 schools in Lake Washington School District. All award-winning schools will be honored during a ceremony on April 25 at Mariner High School in Everett. Read more.
LWSD awarded $400,000 Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Grant
Lake Washington School District (LWSD) has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. This grant will support the development of curriculum for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School that is scheduled to open in fall 2012. This school will draw students from throughout the district, as one of its Choice schools. Read more.
RHS student wins 2011 Siemens Foundation Advanced Placement Award
 Jihoon Lee, a senior at Redmond High School has been selected as one of the two Washington winners of the 2011 Siemens Foundation's Advanced Placement Awards for earning the highest math and science AP exam scores in the state. Each year, the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement awards $2,000 to one male and one female student from each state. The awards were created to inspire the next generation of leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This year, 101 high school students in 50 states were recognized. Read more.
Have an award or achievement to share? Send all of the information to Shannon Parthemer, or contact her at (425) 936-1300. |
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2/16-2/17 - No School:
Mid-Winter Break
2/20 - No School: President's Day (Mid-Winter Break)
2/27 - School Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
2/28 - PTSA Special Needs Meeting, 7 p.m.
3/1 - PTSA Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
3/7 - GEAC Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
A full list of events is available on the Tandem Online Calendar. This calendar can be filtered by school and is searchable. More details about the Tandem Online Calendar are available here.
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Lake Washington School District | (425) 936-1200 | www.lwsd.org
The Lake Washington School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, gender, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veteran, military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability, in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. |
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