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** Calendar information current as of 5/14/16. Always check the District calendar for updates.
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Have a Question about Student Life at MIHS? Maybe the Answer is in the MIHS Student Handbook:
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MIHS Student Handbook
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PTSA 2015-2016 Executive Committee
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Parent Advisory Committee
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Freshman Class of 2019
Sophomore Class of 2018
Junior Class of 2017
Senior Class of 2016
MISD Advisory Council Rep
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MISD Board of Directors
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Click name to link to email
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Submit an Article
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To submit an article for review for our next issue:
mihsnewsletter@hotmail.com
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| From Our PTSA President | |
Islander families,
With just 7 short weeks before school is out for the year, our school calendar is full, full, full. Please check the school website regularly to keep up with all of the activities.
SBAC and ELA testing takes place this week for Juniors and Sophomores. Testing begins on Tuesday for Juniors and Wednesday for Sophomores. It's a complicated schedule week. Be sure to check the schedule here.
Students will be returning text books over the next month. There will be many opportunities to return books so students should not return text books until AFTER their finals in each class. We need LOTS of parent volunteers to work in the library to collect text books and get them properly shelves for inventory. Take a look at this sign up and see where you can help in the library! Sign up is here.
Current juniors will soon have the opportunity to sign up for student parking for next year! Like last year, the process will all be handled on-line. ALL fines must be paid before a student will be granted parking. Fines owed can be found by logging in to your students Skyward account. Discrepancies or questions need to be cleared up through the ASB office BEFORE a student will be allowed to register for parking.
Our class of 2016 is winding down for the year, but the activities are revving up. Don't miss any deadlines or activities. Check the home page and click on the News and Events tab. All the graduation information can be found there!
Go Islanders!
Jayme Witman
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From Our Principal
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Hello Parents:
Wow, what wonderful spring weather. Our students are amazingly staying focused in this hot weather.
Athletes for Kids: One of our students has been working on recruiting students to help with this program. Alex Shanks started this chapter for Mercer Island. Athletes for Kids is now accepting applications at Mercer Island High School through Alex! We're looking for caring and enthusiastic Sophomore and Junior athletes who want to make a difference in the lives of a younger child with special needs. Please email : Alex Shanks (student) if you are interested in learning more .
MIHS Summer School Program 2016: Summer school will run from June 28 to August 4. Classes offered on contract are Health, PE, WA State History, Moral Choices (Philosophy), various other Social Studies, English and Math classes, plus some "on-line" classes. Students taking English, Algebra and Geometry as focus or credit retrieval will have class daily i.e. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays. Tuition is $300. Students must attend class/appointments. The catalog and registration materials will be on the website very soon. Questions should be sent to the Director Vicki White Miltun at summerschool@mercerislandschools.org.
AP Examinations: May is a busy month. Please watch for details in the bulletin about library closure due to AP examinations. Space is tight around the building to do these examinations at the same time of running school.
MIHS Counseling Services Review: Mercer Island High School is strongly committed to preparing graduates for college, career, and beyond. We could use your help to provide feedback regarding the counseling services at MIHS in order to identify the current strengths of the counseling program as well as opportunities to better prepare students for post-graduation planning. Please click on the link below to complete the confidential survey. It will take about 5-10 minutes to complete. Please complete prior to Monday, May 9th. Thank you for your time and feedback! If you have any questions, feel free to contact Dr. Cher Edwards who can be contacted at edwards@spu.edu.
Survey link:
Seniors This Time of Year: This is a challenging time of year for Seniors. They are trying "flock the nest" so to speak but they are scared and don't want to admit it sometimes. They tend to be very emotional for the littlest issues. They either check out or they shed emotional behaviors (crying, anger, passive resistance) that sometimes create more challenges. Best advice is listen, listen, listen and patience, patience, patience. Sheryl Ehrlichman, Counseling Secretary, is keeping up the Counseling Website with details about graduation activities.
Go Islanders!
Vicki Puckett
Principal
To see previous letters from Principal Vicki Puckett, click here
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| From Our Superintendent | |  Click here to see Superintendent Gary Plano's monthly message.
Visit the District Facebook page here.
Twitter: @mercerislandsd
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Parent Volunteers Needed!
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Class of 2016 Senior Party
Parent Chaperones Needed
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PTSA News and Announcements | |
A Spring Tradition on MI: Graduate Grams
Every spring, the Mercer Island PTA Council produces and mails thousands of Graduate Gram greetings to the homes of Mercer Island students. Whether graduating from Preschool, Kindergarten, 5th grade, 8th grade, High School or College, all students love receiving these personalized certificates in the mail. Each hand prepared "Grad Gram" congratulates the recipient and acknowledges the sender.
Order Graduate Grams for your graduating seniors, neighbors, babysitters, children and their friends! All funds raised through the purchase of Graduate Grams go directly into the MI PTA Council Community Scholarship Fund which honors graduating seniors for their achievement, hard work, and attitude.
Please click here to order. Thank you for supporting this wonderful MI tradition!
Need Graduation Gifts?
We are in the final quarter of the 2015-16 school year and graduation is right around the corner. Your PTSA and various booster clubs have great gift ideas for your favorite Class of 2016 grad! Senior yard signs,
personalized bricks, graduation leis and more are all available. Click here for order forms.
 Nancy Schapps Memorial Grant
The Nancy Schapps Memorial Grant was established to support Mercer Island children who are currently facing the terminal illness of a parent, the recent death of a parent, or have a parent on active duty in the military.
Please nominate MISD students from your school community. Children may be nominated by a counselor, teacher, MISD staff member, parent, neighbor, etc. Applications and information are available on the Mercer Island PTA Council website under Programs. The grant application period is open until May 27th.
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MIHS News
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Check the MIHS website for the latest announcements and calendar information
Class of 2017 Senior Party Parent Chairs Needed:
Parent volunteers are needed to be in charge of organizing the Class of 2017 post-graduation party. This party is a long-standing MIHS tradition, and is a very special opportunity for Seniors to celebrate together after graduation in a safe and supervised situation. Planning for 2017 should begin now, in order to participate and learn from the current Senior class, and book the best party venues. This position can be shared by 2-3 Co-Chairs. Any parents of current Juniors who would like to be considered for this leadership position, or would like more info, should contact Betsy O'Connell at tboconnell@msn.com.
More help needed from Class of 2017 Parents
The Baccalaureate planning committee is recruiting 2 volunteers to help coordinate the reception following the 2016 Baccalaureate Service. This event is an inter-denominational celebration that honors our graduating senior class.
This year the event will be hosted by the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, on Wednesday, June 15th at 7 p.m. The service lasts about an hour and will feature speeches and musical performances by students who have been selected by their fellow seniors.
This is followed by a very low key reception. The evening is meant to be a time for family, friends, and community leaders to gather together to celebrate and honor the senior class prior to graduation ceremonies the following night.
Generally as the coordinator for this job you will work with our senior parent Shelley Taylor to execute the reception piece. This would include:
~prepare/decorate the reception area (table cloths, flowers etc.) very low key
~organize the set up/clean up (you will have 3 junior volunteers for each shift: 6-7 and 7:45-8:45)
There may also be some time spent prior purchasing paper products, and working with the church to confirm what they have available for use.
We have senior parents available to help prior to the event as well but in an effort to allow them to enjoy the evening we reach out to the Junior Class to oversee the reception.
Thank you in advance for your help. Please contact Petra Varney at petravarney@comcast.net if you are able to help in this way.
Writing For College Workshop
Curtis Johnston and David Willecke are offering the 7th annual Writing for College workshop at Mercer Island High School, beginning June 27th! Lower your stress and get a jump start on senior year college admissions insanity. Craft your admissions essay in a relaxed workshop atmosphere with on demand one-on-one guidance from people who have spent years mastering the personal essay. We will help you write to your audience, maintain authentic voice, avoid the many common pitfalls that can lead to automatic denial, and more. For more information, including how to register, click here.
Parents of the Class of 2019
We are looking for parents to volunteer as "Class of 2019 - Parents." This role supports students and staff as we plan annual events, such as Homecoming and Prom. If you might be interested in learning more, contact Alexandra Baker or Susan Rindlaub by May 20th. Thank you.
School Wide Supplies Drive May 6th-May 24th
Mercer Trade Inc., a student-run company based out of the MIHS International Entrepreneurship course, has partnered with Starbucks executive Asha Farah to assist her in establishing the Burao Academy: a co-education, science and technology-focused school in Somalia. As an entirely new facility will be built, the Burao Academy requires donations of the following supplies for students:
Pencils, Spiral Notebooks (1/2/3 subjects), Loose leaf paper, 1"/1.5"/2" binders, Graph Paper, metric rulers, dividers, various colored pens, fine tip dry erase markers, dry board erasers, pencil sharpeners, four function calculators, colored pencils, crayons, highlighters, sticky notes, glue sticks, accordion folders, hard pencil boxes, pencil pouches, fine point and ultra fine point permanent markers, and backpacks.
Mercer Trade Inc. will be facilitating a school-wide supplies drive beginning Friday May 6th and running through Tuesday May 24th. Bins will be located by the main office.
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| Class of 2016 Senior Announcements | |
- Graduation Links are live: Click here for up to date information and FAQs from our Counseling Department about dates, tickets, venue details, check out procedures, etc.
- Class of 2016 Senior Party. Sign up now to guarantee your spot! Click here for more info and to sign up.
- Senior Wills and Graduation Map submissions are due May 10th. Visit MIHSislanders.org to submit information.
Important dates:
- Wednesday, June 15, 7:00 pm: Baccalaureate - Emmanuel Episcopal Church.
- Thursday, June 16, 7:00 am: Senior Breakfast, MIHS Gym
- Thursday, June 16, 7:00 pm: Graduation, Key Arena
- Thursday, June 16, 10:00 pm - 6:00 am: Senior Party (location TOP SECRET)
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| Parent Edge | |
As this school year winds down, Parent Edge would like to thank everyone who has attended and supported our events. Parent Edge is collaborating with lots of local groups to bring you information about other important community events and, on occasion, make discounted tickets available to MIPTA members. Go to the "In The Community" section of this newsletter for information about such events. Also check "Local Events and Lectures" on http://www.miparentedge.org and like our Facebook page, Mercer Island Parent Education, for lots more information on events happening in our area. We hope to see you at some of these other outstanding events and look forward to seeing you all back for another inspiring series of speakers on Mercer Island next year.
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Legislation and Advocacy
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Thank you to everyone who emailed City Council in support of the improvements to the intersection at Northwood Elementary (http://www.miptacouncil.org/advocacy/tip-letter/). Every email was important and City Council clearly heard our parent body's view on this issue. Public comment regarding this project is invited at the June 6 City Council meeting. Please contact the MI PTA Advocacy Team (advocacy@miptacouncil.org) if you would like to be part of the final push to get this project moving.
The MI PTA Council Advocacy Website (http://www.miptacouncil.org/advocacy/) has the latest information on our efforts to advocate for the well-being and education of all children. If you are interested in joining the MI PTA Advocacy Team please email us at (advocacy@miptacouncil.org).
To become even more informed, see our webpage link above.
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MIHS Counselors Are In Touch! | |
Our MIHS Academic Counselors will be providing parents with a monthly Counseling Center Update Letter. It will be posted on the Counseling Center webpage, and we will link to the letter in our weekly newsletter. See below for this month's information.
UPDATED MAY/JUNE LETTER: End of a fabulous year! Looking forward to another.
More information from the Counseling Center can be found here.
Questions can be directed to MJ Hillstrom, College Counselor
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In the Community
Mercer Island High School PTSA (MIHS PTSA) and the Mercer Island School District have neither reviewed nor approved the programs, personnel, activities or organizations announced in these flyers or websites. The participants agree to protect, indemnify, and hold harmless the district and MIHS PTSA, including elected and appointed officials, employees, agents, staff and volunteers, from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, expenses, or rights of action, directly or indirectly attributed to the activities. Permission to distribute this information and or flyers should not be considered a recommendation of the programs by the school district or by the MIHS PTSA. These are neither school district nor MIHS PTSA sponsored activities.
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Get Updated On What's Going On Around Mercer Island
Want to know more about City of Mercer Island events, hot topics and seasonal programming? Curious about Parks and Recreation activities or Youth & Family Services volunteer opportunities? Click here for the City's website and explore the various tabs to learn the most up-to-date information about these topics and more: http://www.mercergov.org/Index.asp
Programs in our Community -
The MIHS PTSA has not reviewed or endorsed these programs. See above.
"Screenagers" Film and Discussion
Wednesday
May 18, 2016 at 7PM
(Film and Panel)
Stroum Jewish Community Center - Mercer Island, WA
The Stroum Jewish Community Center and IndieFlix are proud to present a public film screening of SCREENAGERS, a documentary that sheds light on the impact of screen time on families Screenagers explores how learning, playing and socializing online affect teens' developing attention span, fragile self-esteem and moral instincts. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with school, healthcare, technology advisors, and moderated by IndieFlix CEO Scilla Andreen, the film's producer/executive producer. Appropriate for middle school and up. Mercer Island PTA members are being offered a discounted ticket price of $12.00. Purchase tickets at www.SJCC.org.
2016 SUMMER PROGRAM: BIOINFORMATICS-CODING FOR MEDICINE
ORGANIZED with the Washington Student Science Association (WSSA)
SESSION CHOICE: July 5-18 OR July 20- Aug 2 (10 working days)
10am-2pm
Bellevue College location
Course Fee $750 (10% discount with a friend)
BIOINFORMATICS is the hottest emerging area of STEM with all major universities and colleges including Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, U Washington and others developing cutting-edge programs. This is a major focus of investment for technology companies such as GOOGLE etc and many job opportunities are being created in this field. Skills are much in demand in this high STEM job growth area. Our STEM summer program 2016 will open the doors of this exciting field to students thinking of future careers in biology, computer science and medicine. The course is led by Dr M Samanta who has extensive experience in BIOINFORMATICS and is an International Maths Olympian and ex-NASA scientist.
Get a Jump Start on Summer! Grab your friends, lace up your shoes and come run or walk the YoungLife 5K at Luther Burbank. It's one of the only events around where the finish line is in Lake Washington! All finishers earn a MI Young Life beach towel. Prizes for best team costumes, fastest 5K for >15 years and fastest <14 years. June 11 at 9:30AM. For more information and to register visit: mercerisland.younglife.org.
Who Are We? - a panel and discussion about stereotypes
Saturday, May 21, 11 a.m.
Held at the Congregational Church on Mercer Island (UCC), 4545 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island
Join a diverse panel of Mercer Island teens and adults for a discussion about the impact of stereotypes in everyday life. Maya Soetoro-Ng (President Obama's sister) will welcome participants, followed by the panel and audience discussion. Lunch will be provided.
Panel and discussion moderated by Naomi Moore and Jackie De La Cruz.
Doors open at 10:30am.
The day continues at the church with the Stanley Ann Dunham Scholarship awards at 2pm.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Mercer Island Library and the Stanley Ann Dunham Fund.
For more information, contact Carrie Bowman at the Mercer Island Library, 206.236.3537 or clbowman@kcls.org. See below for Scholarship Ceremony information.
President Obama's sister to speak at the
Stanley Ann Dunham Scholarship Award Ceremony
Please join us at this free event to welcome Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, the daughter of Mercer Island 1960 graduate Stanley Ann Dunham and sister of President Obama, our guest speaker at the 7th Annual Scholarship Award Ceremony on May 21 from 2 - 4 pm at the Congregational Church on Mercer Island. This year, we will award $5,000 college scholarships to two MIHS senior women whose strong academic records and volunteer service in the wider community demonstrate the values that Stanley Ann Dunham, a 1960 graduate of MIHS, practiced in her life and passed on to her children, Maya and Barack. There will also be a private fundraiser following the ceremony to raise money for our scholarships and to meet Dr. Soetoro-Ng ($150 minimum donation - please rsvp to dunhamscholarship@gmail.com). For more information, please visit our website here. You can also email us at dunhamscholarship@gmail.com.
Be a Part of Island History!
In less than five months, the beautiful Northwood Elementary will open its doors to a parliament of owls. A new school hasn't opened on Mercer Island since 1963, when JFK was President, Martin Luther King had a dream, and Beatlemania began!
To commemorate this milestone moment, the Northwood PTA is offering all families, friends, staff, and supporters of Northwood Elementary the opportunity to leave a permanent, personalized mark on a brick in Northwood's unique outdoor play area. For further information and to view all the possible options, please check our website at here. This opportunity will only be open until June 30, 2016. If you have any questions, please contact jsytman@mac.com.
The Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL) Scholarships:
is now accepting applications from Mercer Island High School seniors for 3 scholarship grants of $700 each. Applicants must be entering a university, community college or art institution, with the intention of pursuing an art major or continuing in the visual arts field. Applications are available from Ms. Totten, Mr. Wick or Ms. Mintz or directly from MIVAL at president@MIVAL.org.
Founded in 1961, MIVAL is a member run, non-profit, visual arts organization located on Mercer Island. MIVAL hosts three annual shows (Treasures in Miniature (April), Summer Celebration/Junior Art Show (July) and Holiday Show (November/December)) and operates the MIVAL Gallery located next to the Baskin-Robbins in downtown Mercer Island. MIVAL's scholarships support emerging, committed and deserving high school visual artists who will to continue their art education after high school. MIVAL works closely with the Mercer Island Arts Council. For MIVAL membership and other information see www.MIVAL.org.
Camp Biomed Presented by the Northwest Association of Biomedical Research
Our goal is to inspire students entering grades 9-12 to consider a career in biomedicine, biotechnology or bioengineering through immersion in the biomedical research community. Camp subjects include Cancer Laboratory and Do-It-Yourself Biology, Next Gen Science-Origami of Life with Bioinformatics, and Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)-Solving a Murder Mystery. For more information click here.
Mercer Island Youth and Family Services - VOICE Program Registration
VOICE (Volunteer Outreach in Communities Everywhere):
Current 8th-11th graders.
This summer, MIYFS is offering two summer volunteer opportunities for youth. The middle school SVP program is open to current 6th and 7th grade students, and VOICE is open to current 8th - 11th grade students who would like to participate in volunteer projects throughout the summer. These programs give Mercer Island students the opportunity to raise their social awareness by working directly with populations in need around the greater Seattle area while volunteering alongside their peers. SVP and VOICE projects are plentiful and diverse- by participating with the program one might cook a meal at a homeless shelter, tutor a child in need, participate in recreational activities with people with disabilities, build a hiking trail in Snoqualmie, and much more. We are excited to announce we have increased our nonprofit partnerships, and will work with over SIXTY nonprofits this summer!
Registration will open at 10:00am on Wednesday, March 16th and will close at 5:00pm on Wednesday, April 27th. See our website www.mercergov.org/voice for more information and to register.
The 2016 VOICE/SVP programs will run from June 27 - August 19.
For more information contact Tambi Cork, Youth Development Program Coordinator at Mercer Island Youth and Family Services, at 206.275.7755 or tambi.cork@mercergov.org.
2016 International Summer Spanish Programs & Youth Sport Camps
with Homestay in Barcelona, Spain
SpainBcn- Summer Camps are designed for boys and girls, junior and teens, who want to practice their favorite sport and/or improve their Spanish, enjoy a complete cultural program in a fun, safe and nurturing environment with youth participants from all over the world.
To learn more about SpainBcn-Summer Camps please visit:
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Question of the Week
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Q: What happens at the end of the year? My kid still has lunch money in their ASB card, how does he return his school books, how do we get our yearbook? How do I know if my student owes any fines?
A: Great questions! Class's text books and library books should be returned AFTER your student completed their final exam in each class. Any outstanding monies on their lunch account will be carried over to next year. Yearbooks will be available to pick up during lunch several weeks before school is out. Your student should listen to the daily bulletin to learn about pick up opportunities. Fines owed are listed on your students SKYWARD account. These fines must be paid before the end of the year in order to check out text books next fall OR reserve a student parking spot.
Calendar information for future reference:
This event calendar is different than the student calendar which is bargained in advance with school start and end dates, vacations and service days. Those calendars have been set for 16-17, 17-18, and 18-19 and are located on the District Website under News and Events on the Student Calendar page.
P.S.
We are leaving the schedule links here in the event you have not bookmarked them:
and the
If you bookmark this page you will be able to check schedules on your computer or smartphone. Seven period weeks take place during "short weeks", testing weeks, and Showcase weeks. Schedules are also adjusted during finals.
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