Kang Crier

Feb. 5, 2014

Issue No. 10

Dear Parents,

 

Second semester has begun! Second semester is always a very busy time. We have state testing to complete, seniors graduation requirements to check off, and underclassmen to register for next year.

 

Students will receive registration material the second week in February. They will be given current transcripts so they can determine areas of need. Students will then register online during homeroom. Our course offerings are dependent on students making wise selections especially when it comes to elective offerings. This is a good time to talk with your students about their future plans and determine classes that would best align to those plans.

 

Seniors will need to ensure that they have met all the graduation requirements, including their culminating project and level 5 papers, as well as the formal lab report and problem solving requirement. If your student hasn't completed these, there will be one more opportunity this semester to finish these. Seniors will be submitting their second 40 hours of their culminating project logs on February 11th. Many seniors are significantly behind on this requirement. Please work with your senior in getting back on track.

 

Finally, if you have questions regarding the upcoming bond and levy, information can be found on the LWSD website.  

  

If you have questions and /or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly.

 

Sincerely,

Christina Thomas

Principal, LWHS  

 

 

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PTSA News

 

Please vote YES and support your student!

Why should you vote YES? Here are just a few reasons:

• Stay current on technology (maintain 21,000 laptops for every student, keep up district infrastructure)
• Pay for 30% of all teaching costs. If the EPO levy fails, the district's budget would drop by $49 million.
• If the Bond fails, then LWHS could have a split schedule or add portables to the high school (we're already over capacity). The boundaries for Lake Washington High School would likely change.

Let's maintain the high quality education our District provides by supporting all three of these measures.

 

Ballots must be mailed by Tuesday, February 11th. Make sure you check both sides of ballot! 

 

 

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Three LW students received awards and were chosen by Lake Washington PTA Council competition to represent our district in the State competition. There is only one entry per category in the High School Division. Congratulations to these students!

"A Spirited Soul" by Zoe Guckenheimer

 

• Emma Shipman, "The Girl in the Mirror", received the Outstanding Interpretation Award in Literature
• Karen Lee, "Freedom" received the Outstanding Interpretation Award in Photography
• Zoe Guckenheimer, "A Spirited Soul" received the Outstanding Interpretation Award in Visual Arts

  

Our LWHS competition received fantastic entries and our judges selected several to represent our school in the District level of competition at the Lake Washington PTA Council. These students are among those whose works were exhibited at the district center and in our library exhibition:

 

LITERATURE:  Emma Shipman

 

PHOTOGRAPHY:  Karen Lee

 

VISUAL ARTS:  Emily Brown, Nicole McKinney, Hannah Linsky, Zoe Guckenheimer, Emma Calvert, Zhane Claus, Siri Hedreen, Regan Colburn, Amanda Levine, Bhavya Jain, Cori Meyers, Tony Nguyen, Ban Ruo Yang.

Reflections art on display in the LWHS Library.

 

 

Thank you to additional students who also entered the competition:  Blake Smith Patterson, Ploy Hemrathiran, Ari Cooper, Melinda Grover, Ivy Zeiler, Hannah Simmermon.

 

The LWHS PTSA would also like to thank Mili Nelson and Prato Barone for help with promoting the program and the LW library staff for hosting our exhibition.

     

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It's never too late to join the PTSA! Please lend your support. The year is only half over and we still have much to accomplish. We currently have 459 members. Help us reach our goal of 600 members! We encourage all LWHS families, individuals, staff and students to join. The benefits to the school and students will only increase with more members. Remember that you can join online this year for as little as $26 for families (up to 2 adults), $16 for individuals, and $10 for staff or student members. It is quick and easy. Again, thank you! 

 

To join online, simply go to the LWHS PTSA website and click on the "Join PTSA/Pass the Pouch" icon on the left side of the screen. Thank you for joining the PTSA.

 

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LWHS News & Activities

• Clearance will only be issued during student lunches and after school.
• Clearance will not be issued if there is missing information, such as signatures, insurance info, forms, or physicals not valid for the season.
• Physicals are valid for 24 months and need to be current for the ENTIRE SEASON. An athlete that has a physical expiring mid-season will not be eligible to participate/tryout until a new physical is submitted.
• The Sports Physical Examination/Clearance form is required to be filled out, even if a current physical is on file at LWHS. Leave the physical box blank, but fill out the top and bottom sections.
• Running Start, Choice Schools or Home School students need to submit a copy of their previous semester grades.

For more information about how to apply for clearance, go to the school webpage for instructions and payment options, plus specific forms for:  girl's badminton, baseball, girl's golf, boy's soccer, fastpitch, girl's tennis, and track & field.  

Spring Sports Parent Night & Athlete's Meeting

LW's Student Newspaper

Disappointed you didn't get a copy of LW's new newspaper The Pouch? Subscribe for the free  online version by sending the words "sign me up" to s-shedreen@lwsd.org. A PDF will arrive every month on your "doorstep!"
The Pouch is always in need of printing funds. To donate to the worthy cause, please send a check to the LWHS cashier made out to Lake Washington High School with "School Newspaper Donation" on the memo line. Then, please send an email to s-shedreen@lwsd.org so we can publish your name in the next issue.

This is just a quick reminder that counselors will be providing registration information in early February. The Powerpoint that we'll use will be available on Haiku and on LWHS's website.

 

     February 3rd -- Junior registration during US History classes

     February 4th -- Freshman and Sophomore registration during science classes

     February 11th -- All students register online during Tutorial

 

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For those students who currently attend one of LWSD's choice schools (i.e. Northstar, Renaissance, Stella Schola, and Environmental Schools) and live in our feeder pattern, they can register on February 5th at 1 pm. Please contact Teresa Muro (or 425-936-1702) in our Counseling Center to make your appointment. Registration request forms are due on February 12th for students who attend a choice school.

 

ACT and SAT I: They sound more like alphabet soup than acronyms for pre-college tests. Colleges usually require one of these tests, and testing is normally done during the spring of the junior year and in the fall of the senior year.

 

The American College Test (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT I) is required by in-state and out-of-state 4 year schools. Most colleges accept either one. The SAT I or ACT is also required of those planning to participate in NCAA Division 1 athletics, for those applying to military academies, and for those applying for most scholarships. SAT II subject tests are required for some of the more selective colleges; usually these colleges require two or three SAT II's. It's a good idea to take one of these at the end of the junior year.  

 

Students are strongly encouraged to prepare for these tests by reviewing directions, reading sample questions, and taking a sample test. All of these, including helpful tips, are available online at www.collegeboard.com and www.actstudent.org. Test dates and registration deadlines are listed below.  

 

Because so many students take these tests in the spring, students need to sign up early! Registering close to the registration deadline may mean testing as far away as Tacoma.

 

SAT Prep at LWHS

The SAT Prep Course provides classroom-based practice testing and instruction in preparation for the SAT test. Areas covered include essay writing, grammar, geometry and algebra topics. Practice tests provide immediate feedback -- after the test students leave with a marked essay, a better understanding of SAT scoring, and their score from the practice test.  

 

An upcoming course will be offered at LWHS on Mondays from 5:00 - 7:45 p.m., March 17th through April 28th. Register by March 12th. Practice tests are scheduled at other area high schools.   

 

To register for the upcoming classes, and for more information and additional locations, visit www.SATPrep.org.  

Last Semester for Seniors

If your senior failed a first semester class, or is unsure if she/he has completed the three Advanced Literacies papers and the QSR/Formal Lab Report and Math Data Analysis, your senior needs to contact his/her counselor as soon as possible. Second semester will fly by and this is the last opportunity for seniors to complete all graduation requirements.

Senior Culminating Projects - Logs with 40 hours Due Feb. 11

Seniors are required to turn in a reflection log showing a minimum of 40 hours on Tuesday, February 11. Students see their homeroom teachers (who also serve as their project advisors) every week; therefore, if seniors have any questions at all, they are encouraged to work with their homeroom teachers. Ms. Christiansen is also available to help answer questions. All CP information is updated regularly on the CP Haiku page, and students can also find resources and samples there. Please check Standard Score to see your student's progress on the project components. 

 

Senior Countdown

Washington Network for Innovative Careers (WaNIC)

For a listing of courses offered, click here. For detailed information about WaNIC's programs, please visit their website.

  

Registration begins February 3, 2014.

 

Recently, the Lake Washington PTSA Council joined many other groups in supporting a lecture entitled Hurt 2.0:  A Toolbox for Parents with Dr. Chap Clark. The lecture was recorded and will be available for viewing until February 28, 2014 at the following link. View again, view for the first time or share with friends near and far. (It was recorded at Eastlake High School Theatre in Sammamish, WA, January 23, 2014.)

 

We know today's young people are hurting. In a seminar last June titled "Hurt", Dr. Clark  provided a deep and penetrating look into the contemporary adolescent experience. Now, "Hurt 2.0" will explore specific ways parents and other community members can go about responding to the issue of hurting teenagers. 

• How to build in our kids:
• a strong voice and sense of self
• an identity that is strong, capable, passionate, and gifted
• How to use parenting as a testing ground so students can explore and identify who they are while they are still at home
• How to create boundaries and consequences
• How to practically incorporate technology into family life in a way that is healthy for all

Dr. Clark is a well-known speaker and writer, cultural and media analyst, and adolescent and family advocate. Due to his landmark books, Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers and Hurt 2.0, he is viewed as a scholar on parenting adolescence and adolescent culture. This lecture is appropriate for anyone who has contact with adolescents.

 

Did you miss an issue of the Kang Crier?  Past issues are now archived on the PTSA website.


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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.