* reprinting  from 8/11 because there is so much great information.

 

Hello Islander Parents:

 

Welcome back to the 2014-15 school year!

 

Renovation Update:

Our school year is already gearing up with a renovation going on currently on our site adding 10 new classrooms and changing our parking lot to improve the flow of traffic at drop off and pick up. Our goal is to complete the parking lot improvements no later than end of August. The classroom addition will be completed by September of the following school year, 2015-16. We will have some challenges throughout the year working with our site being under construction but I am confident we will all live through this process and in the end we will have new classrooms to accommodate classes for our students.

 

Temporary Visitor Parking: If you come to the high school this summer, parking is available in the "B" lot on the north side of campus. Turn into the main entrance, but rather than turning right towards the front of the school, drive along the west side of the gymnasiums and around the north side of the school. To enter the school use the north Commons entrance. There will be signs to the Main Office. There is also parking in the Stadium Lot. (*update - the walkway and south entrance to the commons are now open). Do not enter the fenced in area - it is obviously a construction zone. We hope to have the main parking lot (by the main entrance of the school) completed by mid August. STAY TUNED for future updates and parking instructions for Fee and Photo Days.

 

Administrative Changes

There have been some changes in staffing that occurred through the summer. Jeff D'Ambrosio, Associate Principal resigned in mid July to accept a middle school Associate Principal position in his previous school district (Snoqualmie SD) before coming to Mercer Island HS. This allowed Jeff to meet his family needs better. We will miss him. I am pleased to announce that his replacement, Henterson Carlisle, has been hired. You'll learn more about Henterson in upcoming editions of the PTSA newsletter. 

 

MIHS Welcomes New Staff

This year we have 14 new/returning staff members join us at MIHS. Please welcome:

 

Marie Coffren-Barton - French

Clay Laughary - Business Tech & Math

Tracy Mintz - Art

Brook Bowers - Chemistry

Lori Kelton - Health

Andrea Cusak - Resource/Special Education

Kelsay Cohran - Spanish

Jen McLellan - Business Marketing (returning)

Guari Shirali-Deo - Special Education

Melanie Vandenberg - (returning from Leave of Absence)

Annika Nicholas - Administrative Assistant

Mark Zmuda - Associate Principal

Henterson Carlisle - Associate Principal

NEW Special Ed. Teacher - TBD

 

Administration

At MIHS we essentially have 4 principals. We all have different roles. Each Associate Principal has unique duties and primary responsibilities: For specific student needs here is the breakdown:

 

Henterson Carlisle - Students' last names that start with A - Le

Jamie Prescott - Students' last names that start with Lf- Z

Mark Zmuda - All students' Needs w/ Athletic Needs/ Concerns

 

Fees & Photos Islander Day:

More details will come soon on the school website here.

 

Monday August 25, 2014

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Seniors

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Freshmen

 

Friday, August 29, 2014

8:00 AM - 11:00 AM, Juniors

12:00 PM - 2:30 PM, Sophomores

 

View Calendar Updates of Events

To help with your planning in August and for the school year, please go to our MIHS website, and on the right hand side of the front page is a link to click on our calendar of events.  Link to Calendar

 

I look forward to a new start and seeing our students again. Thank you for helping your Islander students get prepared for the opening of school.

 

Go Islanders!

Vicki Puckett

Principal

 

To see Vicki's previous Principal's letter, click here.