January PTSA Newsletter - Monthly Update

National Charity League is a mother/daughter organization focused on leadership, cultural opportunities and philanthropic work. The Membership Drive begins in January and only applications from mothers whose daughters are entering 7th grade (class of 2021) will be accepted. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please join us at our information night on January 6th (mothers only). For questions, please contact Allison Pettit at agpettit@comcast.net or Susan Empey at susanempey@yahoo.com.

Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament
to Benefit Band Boosters

$50 buys you an entry at our no-limit Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament to be held at the Aljoya (Mercer Island) on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 starting at 7:00PM. The tournament will be over before 10:30PM. Capped at 60 players. Tournament rules will be provided at the start of the tournament. Please note there will be special rules to determine 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. Cash prizes will be based upon the number of entrants and the number of $50 rebuys (allowed only during the first four rounds of play). First drink included.

Experienced and novice players are welcome. The Tournament Direction will hold an optional, introductory Texas Hold'em poker training class 6:00 to 6:30. To further assist first-time and novice tournament players, the first two 15-minute rounds will be "limit" poker to allow everyone to have some real experience before the more intense "no-limit" action starts!

Tournament schedule:

6:00-6:30 Optional introductory Texas Hold'em poker training class

7:00-7:15 Introduction of tournament rules to tournament players

7:15: Tournament play starts 8:15: Last opportunity for rebuys 8:45-9:00 Tournament break

9:00-10:15 Winners will be crowned

Please contact Erinann Childress with any questions: Home 206 232-9662

Cell 206-290-7232

WELCOME NEW FAMILIES SOCIAL

January 12th

New families are invited to attend an adults-only Welcome Open House on Monday, January 12, 2015 from 6:30-8:30 at the home of Ellen Baker - 8421 SE 72nd Place. If you are interested in attending or would like more information about IMS or our Mercer Island Community, please send an email to our Welcome New Families Committee at welcomenewfamilies@imsptsa.org.

TechSmartKids Winter Enrollment
Starting January 12, 2015

TechSmartKids winter enrollment offers C301 - Coding in Python I and C302 - Coding in Python II for grades 6-9 (C301 is a prequisite for C302). Tuition for each is $425, and the duration of each class is 10 weeks - once a week for 90 minutes. The first session runs January12 - April 3, 2015; the second session runs February 24, 2015 - May 3, 2015.

For more information and to enroll your child, click on the TechSmartKids' website.

Get Involved!
Message from PTSA President, Greta Stednick

Welcome Back! Hope you all had a relaxing and refreshing Winter Break. If you resolved to get more involved at IMS in 2015 you will be glad to know that there are many opportunities ranging from the 6th Grade Art Project to 7th Grade Vision/Hearing Screening and 8th Grade Celebration and Promotion events. If you are interested in volunteering at any level with the IMS PTSA this year, please contact me at president@imsptsa.org.

Please mark your calendars for the upcoming Parent Advisory Committee Meeting at 3:15 on Monday, January 12th and our first General Membership PTSA meeting this calendar year on Thursday February 26th at 1:20.

Looking forward to a great start to the New Year - with thanks to our amazing IMS administration and staff! Thank you for all you do for our kiddos and our community.

Greta Stednick, IMS PTSA President

REMINDER!
PTSA MEETING

There will be a general PTSA meeting in the IMS library on February 26 at 1:20pm.

Mercer Island Chapter of the National League of Young Men
(NLYM)

We are excited to introduce the Mercer Island Chapter of the National League of Young Men (NLYM). The NLYM is an organization for mothers and their sons (grades 9th - 12th) whose mission is to promote the development of young men into community leaders through leadership involvement; charitable and community service; cultural experiences and protocol education. Examples of upcoming community events include food packing at Northwest Harvest, feeeding the homeless at a local shelter and helping at the Seattle Humane Society.

The class of 2019 ((8th grade students) is starting up and accepting applications from interested young men and their mothers. If you are a current 8th grade student looking for an opportunity to serve your community while gaining valuable leadership skills, along with protocol knowledge and cultural experiences, please contact Donna Platou (platou1@comcast.net) for NLYM membership information as soon as possible. You can visit our website at www.nlymmercerisland.org. The deadline to have your application in is mid-February.

Questions? Please contact Kathy Gersch at 425-269-9089

Mercer Island Community Events!

Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club Winter Schedule!

Be GREAT! The Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club Athletics Winter Schedule and Registration is available! From Basketball leagues to Parkour, from Yoga to Winter Fustal - there is a sport for you during the Winter Season. FIND YOURS!

Check out the entire winter schedule and click here!

Mercer Island FC Winter Sharpness Sessions
Friday Night Sessions in January and February

The Mercer Island FC Technical Director's (TD) Winter Sharpness Sessionswill continue to build on MIFC's dedication and investment in player development. The TD Winter Sharpness Sessions will be led by MIFC's own Technical Director, Darren Sawatzky, and MIHS Head Coach Colin Rigby.

TD Winter Sharpness Sessions

The Winter Sharpness Sessions will be a fast-paced, fun filled training environment providing players with activities and games that are purposefully fun while simultaneously developing their fundamental skill base. Your child will learn the way, and dribbling moves, of Messi, Renaldo, Dempsey, Yedlin and the like!

Parents are included FREE and will learn with their own trainer

It's not too late for you to play better soccer with your young players! Come out and learn the same fundamentals MIFC teaches U8 boys and girls. We'll teach you how to Dribble, Juggle, Pass and Possess the ball! The only rules are - Have Fun & No BOOTING!

Your last session will include scrimmaging with your players!

Who Can Participate?

The Winter Sharpness Sessions will be broken into 2 age groups running simultaneously with their own trainers - U7-U12 and U13+

When and Where are the Winter Sharpness Sessions?

The Winter Sharpness Sessions offers 7 training sessions on Friday Nights

January 9,16,23,30

February 6,13 & 27

6:00pm - 7:30pm

On the MIHS

stadium turf

What Is the Cost?

The 7 weeks of fun and learning provided by the Winter Sharpness Sessions can be had for $105 - this includes FREE parent sessions!

Mercer Island Mountain Bike Team - NEW!
Ready for something new and exciting?

Be an inaugural member of the Mercer Island Mountain Bike Team. Registration is open to middle school students of all ability levels from beginner to expert. The season will run from January 5th until the end of May. Practices will be held twice a week. The weekday skill building ride will be Wednesdays at 2:00pm on Mercer Island. Weekend team rides will be Sunday mornings with an optional Saturday ride January-February at locations such as Duthie Hill Bike Park. All team members have the opportunity to race in four Washington Student League races against over twelve other Washington state middle school teams.

For more information contact Heather Libman at heatherlibman@gmail.com or check us out on Facebook at Mercer Island Mountain Bike.

Reserve your space by registering on the Washington Student League website at http://washingtonleague.org.