MIHS News – December 13, 2020

12/13/2020 3:05 pm

What’s New This Week!

Counseling Department Newsletter

The MIHS Counseling Department’s December newsletter is available on the Counseling website. The newsletter has important information for all grade levels and covers information about the post-secondary application process and planning, upcoming events, scholarship updates, Advanced Placement (AP) test registration, PSAT information, Financial Aid information, and so much more! Please visit the website each month for important updates and information.

MISD Community Webinar

MISD Families and community members, here are the links to the presentation slides and video recording from the Dec. 9 Community Connection webinar.

 

Presentation slides:
https://www.mercerislandschools.org/cms/lib/WA01001855/Centricity/Domain/2357/20.12.09 Community Webinar on Opening School.pdf

 

YouTube Video:
https://youtu.be/aqVvvy0Wvwg

PTSA News and Announcements

Advocacy Alert

TAKE ACTION: Schools need resources now!

Congress needs to act now to make funding available for our schools and the National PTA is calling on communities to help.

 

For the next round of Covid relief funding, the National PTA is asking Congress to address five key areas for our students.

 

These areas include:

1) Funding to reopen schools safely
2) Increased support for Title I and IDEA
3) Dedicated funding for remote learning 
4) More resources for family engagement in education
5) Increased funding for child nutrition programs.

 

How you can help:

To ensure members of Congress understand this funding is a priority, they need to hear from you! The National PTA has created an easy form for parents and community members to fill out. There is a pre-written message, but you are free to edit and make your own. 

Information for MIHS Seniors and Senior Families

Senior Party Survey Closes Wednesday, December 16

Senior parents, if you haven’t yet done so, please take the PTSA’s Senior Graduation Party Survey. The survey will close on Wednesday.

 

Yearbook Grad Ads Due Monday, January 4, 2021

Senior grad ads are optional. They are personal pictures and reflections by you or other family members regarding graduating seniors. Ads can include a student, a team, a club, or any collection of students to celebrate graduation from MIHS. Instructions for submitting your Grad Ad request are located here.  Contact mihsyearbook2021@gmail.com with questions.

Mock SAT/ACT Tests

Over the course of the school year, MIHS PTSA provides 6 testing opportunities as a chance to practice a real test, become familiar with a testing environment, and help identify which testing platform is best for each individual student. All this in a ‘Mock’ situation where tests are not recorded or submitted to any high school or college organization. This is a perfect chance to ‘try out’ these tests.

Register and/or learn more about the PTSA sponsored Mock SAT/ACT tests.

Presidents Letter

Dear MIHS Families,

 

Happy December!  With the Winter Holidays just around the corner, it’s an exciting and busy time of the year.

 

With everything online right now for school, we have been receiving feedback from parents that they are feeling disconnected regarding their students’ attendance and grades, including missed assignments, etc….  We want to be able to do all we can to support and help our kids navigate online school at home.  One way that parents can improve our connection is through Schoology.  Did you know that all parents have a Schoology account already set up?  And you can set up your account notifications to be sent updates for your student(s)!   You can pick how often you receive updates, and it will let you know about any absences, missing assignments, etc… This seems like a really useful tool for us all right now, and it is much more efficient than logging into Skyward!  Justin Talmadge, the head of the technology department at MIHS has created a UTube video and a step by step tutorial for accessing your parent Schoology account, and includes how to set up email and text notifications!  It can be found HERE.

 

We want to emphasize that one of the points that the MIHS counselors made in the parent support program sponsored by Parent Edge earlier this week is that some students are feeling an increase in pressure from their parents regarding their academic performance.  They said it is because academics are the singular focus for the student, and normally extracurricular activities (sports, band, etc.) help diffuse some of this academic pressure. So PLEASE use compassion and grace with this tool, and in a way that is supportive of your student(s)! 

 

In addition to our students struggling, our Island’s families and businesses are hurting.  Mercer Island Youth & Family Services is our Island’s sole, full-service social and human services provider, and they have faced many financial challenges as a result of Covid-19, while working harder than ever to support the emotional/social/mental well-being of our community.  The MIYFS safety net assists those experiencing a crisis, as well as cultivates strength and resilience in our community. 

 

MIHS PTSA has agreed to host a table for the MIYFS Foundation Virtual Annual Breakfast this year, and we would be delighted for you to join us in support of MIYFS!  Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, February 10th, 2021 at 7:30am to celebrate Mercer Island Youth and Family Services!  We know many of you attend this wonderful community event with other organizations, but if you are available, we welcome you at our MIHS PTSA table!  Please email us at president@mihsptsa.org.

 

Thank you to Irene Geisner & Jennifer Selby for organizing all the staff appreciation gift bags & personalized notes this year. Thank you to all the outstanding volunteers who donated items and their time to put these together for our staff.  The last gift bags for 2020 will be delivered this week.  The staff will be receiving an assortment of holiday treats to enjoy. 

 

We wish everyone a healthy & happy holiday season!!

 

Sincerely,

Debbie Burke & Stacy Nakata

MIHS PTSA Co-Presidents
president@mihsptsa.org 

MIHS News

MIHS Schedule This Week:

This week’s schedule is the standard Red Learning Day Schedule.

Grab and Go Meals

Check out the school district’s Food Services webpage for more information.

Community Opportunities*

Winter Virtual Enrichment Classes

Mercer Island School District has partnered with 6crickets to curate specialized virtual classes from quality providers throughout the nation on a variety of topics including engineering, robotics, debate, math, fitness, dance, music, entrepreneurship, science, theatre, and world languages.  We are excited to share virtual enrichment opportunities.  

 

Registration is open now for winter virtual enrichment classes, including some being held during winter break. A 6crickets flyer is linked below.

 

Mercer Island School District virtual enrichment classes 

You can create one login for your family and simply add the desired classes to your cart for a quick checkout! You can easily share your child’s schedule with friends to take classes together.

 

For any questions, please use the help button and online chat at the portal or reach out to support@6crickets.com. 

MI Holiday Lights with MIPA

The Mercer Island Preschool Association (MIPA) is creating a Mercer Island map of holiday lights to benefit Mercer Island Youth and Family Services. MIYFS provides services to islanders of all ages in the form of counselors, a food bank, and financial assistance to families in need. For a comprehensive overview of how MIYFS impacts Mercer Island families, please visit: https://www.mercerisland.gov/yfs. With all of the extra stresses of 2020, the need for services from MIYFS are more in demand than ever. If you are interested in purchasing and downloading a digital map, please visit MIHolidayLightsMap.com. Included with the digital download of the driving routes are musical suggestions to create a festive holiday mood and a scavenger hunt for the little ones! All proceeds go to MIYFS. Those interested in having their festively decorated home included on the map, please email us at MIHolidayLights@gmail.com. We can’t do this without you and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping to make a difference for families in our community.

Mercer Trade Inc’s Holiday Auction

Happy Holidays from all of Mercer Trade Inc!

Mercer Trade Inc. is a student-run business operated by MIHS’ International Entrepreneurship class. Our mission this year is to explore today’s business world through communication, innovation, and purpose. To learn more about who we are and what we do, check out the link here!

 

Join us as we celebrate the holidays and support the Mercer Island community. MTI hopes to foster a stronger community and this auction is just the beginning!

 

To support our local community, 25% of all proceeds will be donated to Mercer Island Youth and Family Services. For more information about what they are all about, check out the link here!

Aside from the auction itself, there is also a tab to donate directly to the cause. Check out the “Donate” tab for more information! Click here for access to the auction.

 

Happy Holidays and Much Love,
The team at Mercer Trade Inc. 

 

*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.

 

For additional news, please click on What’s New on our website, where you can scroll through all of our news posts.