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Connections
Lake Washington School District's community newsletter
December 5, 2014
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In This Issue:

 

PierceA message from Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent

"Future Ready" is a term we often use here in the Lake Washington School District. In fact, our district vision is "Every Student Future Ready." That is why I was intrigued when I received an invitation from the U .S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, to sign the "Future Ready District Pledge."

 

The U.S. Department of Education's "Future Ready Initiative" centers on technology, education, and student achievement. By signing The Future Ready Pledge, our district is committing to empower school and teacher leaders to effectively use technology to impact student learning. The Pledge specifies seven areas, or "pillars," and the work "Future Ready Districts" should be doing. Read more.

 

BoundaryBoundary process update

The first two of four public meetings on the district's boundary change process took place on December 1 and 2. These meetings covered the scenarios under consideration for the Redmond Learning Community and Lake Washington Learning Community respectively. Parents and community members who attended reviewed the different options and provided feedback through written forms. The same feedback forms are available online on the district website's Boundary Process page. The input forms will be available through December 15.

 

Input forms for the scenarios under consideration for the Eastlake and Juanita Learning Communities will be available online from December 5-19. The public meetings for those areas will take place for Eastlake on December 11 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Eastlake High School and on December 15 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Juanita High School.

 

For more information and to sign up to receive updates on the process, go to the boundary process page on the district website.

FacilityLong-Term Facility Planning Task Force begins work

Lake Washington School District's new Long-Term Facilities Planning Task Force held their first meeting on Wednesday, December 3. This group consists of 63 parent, community, business, senior citizen, staff and student representatives. They will study, analyze, and make recommendations concerning the district's long-term facilities needs.

 

"We appreciate the interest and willingness of so many individuals to serve on the task force," noted Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent. "We had about 280 applications from a broad, diverse representation of our communities." Read more.

OptionsReminder: Middle school and high school options booklets available

Parents of students in grades five or eight should watch their mailboxes and may already have received the Middle School Options booklet and High School Options booklet. These booklets were mailed last month. They outline the opportunities in these respective levels, including information about neighborhood schools and choice schools. Parents of students in grades five will receive a middle school options booklet. Parents of students in grades eight will receive a high school options booklet in the mail. The booklets are also available on the district website.

 

Change: The International Community School parent night has been changed, from December 16 to January 15. It will still take place at ICS from 7-9 p.m.

GradingMiddle School Grading Survey Coming Soon

Middle school parents can expect to receive an email in mid-December inviting them to take a survey concerning middle school report card grading options. This feedback will be provided to the Middle School Grading Advisory Committee that is developing a balanced, research-based report card that provides middle school students with a transition from elementary school to high school. This report card should help students understand their current performance on the learning standards needed to succeed in high school. Please take a few minutes to take this short survey when you receive it.

AwardsAwards& Achievements

Fifty-two LWSD high school music students named to WMEA All-Northwest or All-State Ensembles

Fifty-two LWSD high school music students have been accepted to the 2015 National Association for Music Education's (NAfME) High School All-Northwest Honor Groups and the 2015 Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) High School All-State Honor Groups.  After three days of rehearsals, under the direction of outstanding national level music educators and internationally renowned conductors, the students will perform at the conclusion of the 2015 NAfME's Northwest Division Conference in Spokane, Wash., on February 15, 2015.  Besides Washington state, the Northwest Division of NAfME includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Wyoming. Each of these musicians had to submit required audition recordings to be considered. Read more.

 

Have an award or achievement to share?

 

Send all of the information to Shannon Parthemer, or contact her at (425) 936-1300.

EventsUpcoming Events 
  • 12/8 - School Board Meeting, 7 p.m., Resource Center
  • 12/11 - Eastlake Learning Community Boundary Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Eastlake H.S. Commons
  • 12/15 - Juanita Learning Community Boundary Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Juanita H.S. Commons
  • 12/21 - First Day of Winter
  • 12/22-1/2 - No School: Winter Break

A full list of events is available on the Tandem Online Calendar. This calendar can be filtered by school and is searchable. More details on the Tandem Online Calendar are available here.

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Quick Links: www.lwsd.orgCommunity Bulletin Board | Tandem Online Calendar

  

Director of Communications: Kathryn Reith, APR

Communications Manager: Shannon Parthemer, APR

 

Lake Washington School District

Superintendent | Dr. Traci Pierce

  

Board of Directors:

Nancy Bernard

Siri Bliesner

Christopher Carlson

Jackie Pendergrass

Mark Stuart

 

Back issues of Connections are available on the district website.

 

Lake Washington School District | (425) 936-1200  

 

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. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Director of Human Resources, 16250 NE 74th Street, Redmond, Washington 98052, (425) 936-1266.