MIHS News – March 28, 2021

3/28/2021 9:09 am

What’s New This Week!

KCLS Presents – College Application Series in Mandarin

King County Library is hosting three programs for Mandarin-speaking families to help prepare for the college application process. The first event is for students in 7^th-10^th grade and their parents; the second two programs are directed at students in 10^th and 11^th grade and their parents.  The programs will be presented in Mandarin with slides in English. 

 

All three parts of the series, March 31, April 21, and May 26 – College Application Series in Mandarin  (click into each event for more info and registration) 

 

You can click into any of the events and find out more about the presenter. Please register to get a Zoom link.

• Wednesday, March 31, 7:30pm – Introduction to American Higher Education and College Applications  (for students grades 7-10 with parents) 
• Wednesday, April 21, 7:30pm – Introduction to College Applications and Financial Aid  (for students grades 10-11 with parents) 
• Wednesday, May 26, 7:30pm – Grades, Test Scores, Essays, Activities – What Really Matters in a College Application  (for students grades 10-11 with parents 

MIHS Cheer – Tryouts and 8th Grade Clinic

Calling all C-H-E-E-R candidates! FREE 8th grade clinic!
MIHS Cheer is getting ready for tryouts and offering a FREE cheer clinic to 8th graders on  Thursday, April 1st from 5:00-7:00 pm at Northwood!

Don’t miss out on this fun chance to learn what MIHS Cheer is all about. Please e-mail Julie Ogata Ciobanu these completed registration and medical authorization forms.

For ALL cheer candidates, here are important dates to get on your calendar:

• Monday, March 29th at 6:30 pm Mandatory Cheer Candidate & Parent Meeting via Zoom
• Thursday, April 1st from 5:00-7:00 pm 8th grade FREE cheer clinic at Northwood Elementary covered area
• April 12th-16th Cheer Tryouts Week! (location TBD)
  • 9th-11th graders will have morning practice sessions
  • 8th graders will have evening practice sessions

To get Zoom link and be on distribution list for all updated MIHS Cheer tryout information, please e-mail Coach Elizabeth Bobadilla.

PTA Council Awards

It’s Time to Recognize Those Amazing Individuals and Organizations That Have Served the Students and Families of MISD!

MI PTA Council Awards Nominations due: Monday, May 3rd

Each year, the Mercer Island PTA Council recognizes outstanding volunteers and educators (including committees, departments, or programs) whose creativity, innovation, dedication, and hard work make a difference for Mercer Island Schools and our students. These awards are meant to reward those individuals or groups who stand out among all of the great volunteers at the local and district level. Awards may be given for outstanding work during this school year or for a person’s continuing dedication and service throughout his or her tenure with the Mercer Island Schools.

 

To nominate an individual or group for a MI PTA Council Award, visit the MI PTA Council Awards webpage. The Awards presented are:

 

1. MI PTA Council Golden Acorn Award: Presented to a volunteer in recognition of his/her dedication and service to children and youth. It is to recognize volunteer service “above and beyond” a particular job description.

2. MI PTA Council Outstanding Service Award: Presented to a volunteer who works for children and youth beyond the bounds of a job, PTA, or a specific school community. This honor goes to a person who has shown concern for all children and who has volunteered his/her time to help them achieve their potential.

3. MI PTA Council Outstanding Educator Award: Recognizes an educator who goes beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial and challenging.

4. MI PTA Council Outstanding Advocate Award: Recognizes and honors an individual for their advocacy work on behalf of children and youth.

5. MI PTA Council Honorary Life Membership: Recognizes an individual who has contributed significantly to a PTA at the local unit, council, or state level.

6. MI PTA Council Community Partner: Recognizes a local Mercer Island business or organization that goes above and beyond standard expectations to help and facilitate local units — as well as helps build a cooperative relationship between students, schools, and community.

7. MI PTA Council Children’s Advocate Award: Recognizes individuals or programs that go above and beyond the scope of their job or expectations to serve Mercer Island students.

8. MI PTA Council Outstanding Program: Honors a program designed and implemented to serve the school community or community at large.

MI PTA Council Award nominations are due by Monday, May 3rd.

PTSA News and Announcements

Parent Edge

Parent Edge Needs You!
Do you enjoy Parent Edge programs? Are you curious about trends in parenting, education and supporting our youth? Do you want to share your ideas & talents? WE NEED YOU!

Join us for an Information Session to learn about opportunities to get involved with the MI Parent Edge board!

 

MI Parent Edge Information Sessions
Tuesday, March 30 – 7pm
Wednesday, March 31 – 10:30am

We are looking for Mercer Island parents to join the Parent Edge Content and Marketing Teams.  Join us for one of the virtual information sessions to learn more and ask questions. Visit the Parent Edge website for details on the board roles and responsibilities.
Register for Info Session

Community Service Awards

The MIHS Community Service Awards Program is organized by the MIHS Counseling Center in partnership with the MIHS PTSA. This is an award that any Senior or Junior may apply for and it’s based on community service hours performed throughout the student’s high school career beginning the first day of 9th grade.  Community service hours are voluntary and NOT a requirement to graduate from MIHS. Seniors who submit volunteer hours and are eligible for an award will be recognized with a Community Service pin.  Juniors eligible for an award will be placed on a list for recognition next year when those students are Seniors.

 

Freshmen and Sophomores can accumulate and keep records of their volunteer hours but should not submit until their Junior or Senior year. 

 

Please note: due to the impact of the pandemic, adjustments are being made to the award levels to account for the fact that volunteer opportunities have been limited.

• Gold level – 195 hours
• Silver level – 135 hours
• Bronze level – 90 hours

More information is available on the MIHS PTSA website.  Detailed instructions and the timesheet used to submit hours can be found on the Counseling Department webpage here.  Seniors are encouraged to submit their volunteer hours by April 30.

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.

 

Note: the final Mock test for the current school year is an ACT on Saturday, April 3.

Register and/or learn more about the PTSA sponsored Mock SAT/ACT tests. Registration for the April 3 mock test closes Tuesday, March 30.

Presidents Letter

Dear MIHS Families,

 

We hope you all enjoyed your weekend and are looking forward to spring break next week! MIHS has officially made it through the first week of in-person hybrid school with 9th and 12th graders. The drill team, cheer team, band drumline, and ASB student leadership showed up early on Monday and Thursday to show their spirit by creating a “maroon wave” to welcome students back into the building! 

The Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) met this past Thursday, and Principal Kelly shared that the first week back in person went well. A majority of the health attestations are being completed before students arrive at school. Lunch is being monitored and has gone very well with most students distancing appropriately with gentle reminders helping those that need a nudge. 

 

Concerns from parents regarding the first week of hybrid included some streaming students being unable to hear teachers and see white boards, and some teachers not seeing/addressing all the messages that were coming in on the chat. The administration and teachers are working hard to make sure they are involving students streaming in to class and will continue to adjust teaching and best practices using tech to improve effectiveness. Other issues that are being addressed are: consistency in due date times and late assignments, consistency on use of time on Wednesdays and teachers’ abilities to meet student needs on this day, and better academic support and improved use of Islander Hour.

 

Another area of discussion was substitute teachers. The school is working with short term absences regarding appointments and recovery for teachers receiving the Covid-19 vaccination. MIHS thanks you for your understanding and patience with this important process. Principal Kelly reported that of about 80 faculty members, just 3 will be gone through the end of the year and 3-4 more are off currently but will be returning after spring break. 

 

On the athletics front Kyle McKenna & Nick Wold have been doing a tremendous job since November to get our students practicing and back to competitive games. We were the first school in KingCo to have students in the stadium! It is important that our spectators and students are wearing proper masks, wearing them correctly, and to make sure they are keeping their distance. For contact tracing they follow a flow chart from King County and are using their wellness screenings (health attestations). While they cannot track who sits next to whom, attendance is taken. There is a link on the Athletics webpage with the full spectator policy here. 

 

MIHS has five Destination Imagination teams who qualify for the state tournament! Congratulations Hark Medlee, 7-Bit, A Toast to Bread, Mystery High and Dark Mark! Another congratulations to the Mercer Island High School speech and debate team for their participation at the 3A State Speech Tournament! Coach Weber commented that “all of the students that qualified for the state speech tournament this year exceeded my expectations.” 

 

Don’t forget to sign up for the MI Schools Foundation’s first annual “Spring For Schools” showcase and auction on Sunday, April 25 at 7:00pm!  Enjoy this fun-filled family event in the comfort of your own home and learn about the amazing things happening in our schools this year.  More information and registration can be found HERE.

 

Go Islanders!

Debbie Burke & Stacy Nakata
MIHS PTSA Co-Presidents
president@mihsptsa.org 

MIHS News

Schedule this Week

This week is the NEW Hybrid Learning Schedule.

 

Mercer Trade Group Inc – Back on Campus Videos

Following Coronavirus Guidelines at MIHS to Keep Everyone Safe

 

 

A Day in the Life of an MIHS Hybrid Learning Student

 

 

 

Counseling Department Newsletter

The MIHS Counseling Department’s March newsletter is now available on the Counseling website. (Newsletters are posted on the left-hand side of the page.) This month’s newsletter covers information about important dates and deadlines, WANIC courses, Running Start, SAT/ACT information, testing accommodations, scholarship information, summer school information, the district’s language proficiency assessment, upcoming events and programs, and student wellness resources. Please visit the counseling website each month for the newest edition of our newsletter or to view previous editions.

From the Student Group On Race Relations and Black Student Union

Hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans and their communities have soared due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Between March and September of 2020, there were 2,500 official reports. Click here for a document with:

• links to articles about incidents of hate crimes against Asian-Americans;
• resources if you need to report a hate crime/discrimination; and
• articles about the complex history of and discrimination against Asian-Americans.

Information for Seniors and Senior Families

Pictures needed for Senior Slideshow

Attention fabulous Parents of Seniors!

 

The season of preparations for Senior Graduation Festivities has officially begun.

As they start putting together the traditional Senior SlideShow, the ASB Senior Officers need your help gathering pictures of your children. 

 

What is the Senior SlideShow?

The Senior SlideShow is an ambitious visual production that is traditionally shown to Seniors during the final assembly. It emcompasses highlights of the students’ experience during their years at MIHS. It also aims to offer snapshots of our kids through their younger years, when they navigated -often together- elementary and middle school. The goal is to include every single one of our 375 Seniors.

 

What do I need to do?

Please submit 1 to 7 photos (high-resolution as much as possible) to the email below. Photos should ideally include:

• One or two individual photos of your kid during their K-5 years and/or high school.
• The others should be group photos picturing wonderful moments through their Mercer Island school years. Examples include sporting events, plays, dance, clubs, music performances, class parties or simply casual hang outs. 
• Group photos should be candid, fun, sweet and appropriate please!  
• Not all the pics submitted will be used. 
• If possible, in the body of the email please include the names of all the kids appearing in the photos you are submitting.

Where do I send my pics?

Please submit your fabulous photos to: MIHS2021seniors@hotmail.com

 

When is this due?

As soon as you can please! Deadline is April 10th. 

 

On behalf of the ASB Senior Officers, a heartfelt thank-you in advance for your contribution to the Senior SlideShow. 

 

“The tassel is worth the hassle.”

Seeking Student Speakers for Baccalaureate

What is a Baccalaureate service?  Baccalaureate is an interfaith service that many consider the most moving and emotional aspect of all the senior activities.  Both a service of gratitude – for relationships, for learning, and for transformation – and a service of reflection, Baccalaureate is, at its heart, an expression of love and community among students and families, and an opportunity to bless seniors on their way.

 

When is Baccalaureate?  June 6 at 2:00 pm.

 

Who hosts the Baccalaureate service?  The Mercer Island Clergy Association hosts the service.  This year it will be held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 8501 SE 40th St.

 

How can students get involved?

• Speakers:  we want to give voice to the faith lives of our community and want to hear from students of every faith practiced in our senior class!  We encourage anyone interested in speaking to submit a self-nomination by ​March 31​.  Include your name and a short statement reflecting on your religion’s shared values, i.e. the Golden Rule.  
• Musicians & performers:  we encourage anyone interested in performing to also email details.  Ensembles, soloists, wind, brass, vocals, spoken word are all welcome.
• Artists:  please submit art for the program cover.  The theme is “The Hill We Climb”.
• MC:  we are also looking for students interested in introducing speakers and performers.  The service is student led.  If interested in this role, please send an email.

All nominations should be emailed to julieduffie@msn.com by ​March 31.

 

Grab and Go Meals

Grab and Go Meal pick up sites are back outside. 

 

Islander Middle School pick-up site is located outside of the main office entrance. This is a walk up site. Mercer Island High School pick-up site is located at the west driveway entrance of the school, between the grass field and the building. This is a drive-through location but walk ups are also welcome!

 

Grab & Go Meals, provided by the MISD Food Services department, offer lunch for all children 1-18 and breakfast for the next day. Two locations are available for pick-up between 11:30am-1:00pm Monday through Friday. Meals are provided at no cost, thanks to a USDA nationwide waiver. 

 

Please complete this form to pre-order meals for your student(s). This form needs to be submitted by 9 a.m. the day of pick up.

Pick Up Times and Locations:

 

Mercer Island High School
9100 SE 42nd St.
Pick Up: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

 

Islander Middle School
7447 84th Ave S.E.
Pick Up: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

 

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

 

 

Community Opportunities*

$5,000 Stanley Ann Dunham Scholarship 

The Stanley Ann Dunham Scholarship honors the life and work of Dr. Dunham, a 1960 graduate of Mercer Island High School and the mother of President Barack Obama. Scholarships will be awarded this spring to female-identifying seniors from Mercer Island High School and Rainier Beach High School. If you’re in good academic standing and have demonstrated leadership in social justice and community issues please apply! Financial need will also be considered. Application deadline is April 18^th, 2021. To apply for the scholarship, please click here.

 

If you have questions or need help with the application, please contact Edna Bravo Sawyer at ESawyer@starbucks.com. Don’t miss this opportunity!

Ergon Student Exchange

Host an Italian exchange student and give your child a friend to share life with

 

“I am grateful that our family had Giacomo here during this pandemic. He has brought us joy, fun, and laughter.” (Fawn, former host mother)

 

Hosting an exchange student can be an enriching experience for your family, even during remote learning. And now there are reasons for hope, with mass vaccination speeding up in the United States. Beatrice, Cecilia, Sofia, Marco, Ludovica, Matteo, Jacopo… share this hope and look forward to their dream coming true of their exchange in the United States and experience living with an American family for a semester or full year. They are strongly motivated, responsible, respectful students, and carry a $2 million insurance covering Covid-related expenses. They are all tested for Covid before departure. 

 

Ergon devotes great care to selecting students and matching them with host families. Many of our MI families share lasting friendships with their students. Click here to read a testimonial from Mercer Island mom Jayme Witman.

 

In the summer of 2022, the Italian family will offer your child a direct exposure to Italian culture through an all-expenses paid vacation. Ergon sponsors the flight! 

 

To learn more, visit www.ergon-se.org and e-mail  info@ergon-se.org. Thank you!

MIYFS Newsletter Relaunched

MIYFS has relaunched its newsletter; it will continue as the MIYFS Monthlyin 2021. You can find great community information and resources in this newsletter. Click here for the initial newsletter and to sign up for the monthly email.

 

 

*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.