MIHS News – August 29, 2021

8/29/2021 5:48 pm

What’s New This Week!

Safe Return to School Webinar

Monday, August 30th | 5pm
Join MISD administrators, school nurses, principals and maintenance and operations team leaders for a webinar on COVID-19 safety measures in place as we return to school. Please use this link to the webinar: https://mercerislandschools.zoom.us/j/86094537841

MIHS PTSA Welcome Back Coffee & General PTSA Meeting

Friday, September 10th | 9:00-10:45am, MIHS Lower Commons. 
The Coffee is a casual and fun way to learn about our programs while mingling with other parents.

Parent Edge

Supporting Re-Entry – Middle and High School | Monday, Sept. 27th | 7:00pm
This program is part of the MI Parent Edge & MIYFS “Parent Support Series” and is intended for parents of students in middle and high school.  MIYFS Counselors will share information and answer questions. Topics include:  

• Expected behaviors during the transition back to a (somewhat) normal school year.
• How to support your child in rekindling friendships and socializing.
• Helping your child build stamina to prepare for their return to school and activities.
• Bring your questions for our MIYFS counselors for the Q&A session!

Register and get more information on other Parent Edge events.

PTSA News and Announcements

PTSA Store & Directory

Visit the MIHS PTSA Store & Directory to see everything our PTSA has to offer this year. Returning parents and parents of IMS students: Your login and password from last year will carry over to this year. New to Mercer Island School District: Click here and follow the instructions to set up an account.

PTSA Membership Drive Has Launched!

Renew your PTSA Membership and get immediate access to our online MIHS PTSA School Directory.  Your PTSA Membership supports our advocacy work for students and teachers at the local, state and federal level.  Purchase your membership in your Membership Toolkit account – here. 

Contribute to MIHS PTSA Annual Giving campaign to help enrich the lives of students, staff and families every day.
Your contributions make a difference to the students and teachers at MIHS.  Your contributions to the Annual Giving Campaign, Friends of the Library and PTSA Membership are tax deductible.  Make your gift today!

This is what your MIHS PTSA Contribution supported during the School Year 2019-20:

• For 2020-21: $15,300 in classroom enrichment grants – ASB Leadership training, interview attire, drama workshops and a YTN playwriting project, equipment for Crest students, music artist in residence, Jazz symposium
• Here is more of what your dollars support.

Information for MIHS Seniors and Senior Families

Dear Seniors and Senior Families:

Welcome to an amazing year of your lives. We hope this is a year of celebration, joy, and rich memories of time spent together.  But it’s a busy year.  In order to help all our Seniors and their families navigate this year, we hope to share as much information, as early as possible, so planning can take place.

Remember you can also check the Seniors tab on the PTSA website for more information.

Mock SAT/ACT Tests

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.

Learn more about the Mock SAT/ACT tests offered by the PTSA.

President’s Letter

Dear MIHS Parents:

Welcome Back!  School begins this week on Wednesday, September 1^st.  There is a staggered start for students on the first day of school, and an assembly on Friday, so please make sure to check out the daily schedule for the first week HERE. MIHS Daily Schedules, including the Block Schedule, the No Blocks Schedule and weeks with special schedules can be found on the MIHS website HERE (or click on the Daily Schedule icon on the MIHS home page).

A special THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered during Fee & Photo Days this past week! It was fantastic to see many of you and/or your students at MIHS!  The PTSA was excited to partner with the school to help create a festive atmosphere by donating a 15 foot balloon arch at the school entrance, as well as a 10 foot inflatable “tube man” dancer.

Did your student miss Fee and Photo Day?

• Payment for school related items can be made online through the MISD Online Fee Payment site (NOTE: this is different than Skyward)
• MIHS Back to School Forms are online! Log into Skyward and fill out the online RSVP registration
• MIHS PTSA Membership enrollment is live! Please consider joining our PTSA. 
• Is your family new to MIHS?  Many of your questions can be answered HERE.
• Textbooks, Ipads, and parking passes:  Please arrive at school 30 minutes early on September 1^st, the first day of school to pick these items up.
• Photos will be taken for ID/ASB cards on the first two days of school.

We welcome you to our PTSA Welcome Back Coffee and PTSA General Meeting coming up on Friday, September 10th from 9:00-10:45am at MIHS in the Lower Commons. Don’t miss the chance to meet & mingle and learn about MIHS volunteer opportunities at this annual event! The administrative and counseling team will be introduced as well. Street parking will be open for this event!

You can learn more about our events, stay informed of MIHS news and even join our vibrant PTSA by clicking on our website: MIHSPTSA.org.  Please consider becoming a member and donating to our Annual Giving Campaign. Membership fees and donations support so many great programs at MIHS including before and after school tutoring, classroom enrichment grants, parent education (Parent Edge) lecture series, counseling department initiatives, staff and student appreciation, and more.  None of this would be possible without your support and generosity.  Thank you!

Want to know what’s going on at MIHS?  Beyond our weekly PTSA newsletters, you can always find up-to-date school news in these links: MIHS Website, MIHS PTSA Website, and the MIHS Daily Bulletin.

Best wishes for your final days of Summer, and we look forward to seeing you at the Welcome Back Coffee!

Maria Alberto and Debbie Burke
MIHS PTSA Co-Presidents
president@mihsptsa.org 

MIHS News

Fees and Photos Day Make-Up

If you didn’t attend Fees and Photos Day, please plan on coming to school early on September 1 to collect your textbooks, iPads, parking pass (if appropriate), etc. The office opens at 7:30am. Photo make-ups are Wednesday, September 8th from 7am – 12pm.

Schedule This Week

Click here for the First Week MIHS Daily Schedule.

Click here for the 1st Semester Lunch Schedule.

Principal’s Updates

Read Principal Walter Kelly’s August 20th letter which includes information about the upcoming school year, including bell schedules.

Click here for MIHS Back to School FAQs.

Fall Sports Parent Meeting

Monday, August 30th | 6-8pm, MIHS PAC
An important meeting for the parents of all students involved in all Fall sports will be be held tomorrow. The meeting will start in the Performing Arts Center with comment from the Administration and then have important separate sessions for each sport. Coaches will highlight what each family needs to know about the season and how to support participating students. It is especially important for those new to MIHS or teams with a new Head Coach. Please remember, anyone entering our school will need to wear a mask.  Please reach out to Nick Wold or Lindsey Blaine for additional questions.

Community Opportunities

Back to School Mental Health Series at the SJCC
Friday, September 10th | 9am – 3:30pm on Zoom, Free
In partnership with Mercer Island Youth and Family Services, Mercer Island Therapy, and Jewish Family Services, the JCC is offering a Mental Health workshop series to support families as they prepare their children for the new school year. Covid has taken a toll on students and many are stressed and worried about going back and wondering if they will have the same friends, if they will be behind academically or if they will get sick. With all this in mind, the SJCC has put together three virtual programs to help families navigate these challenges.
Youth Mental Health First Aid
For adult caregivers supporting teens, ages 13-18