MIHS PTSA News - March 3, 2024

2/27/2024 5:32 pm

PTSA NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PTA Art Reflections Contest Winners and Awards Ceremony

Please join us on Monday March 4th, 5-7pm, in the IMS Commons to celebrate our MIHS artists! The evening will take the form of an art exhibition, and students will receive their respective awards. All friends and family are welcome. See the winners here.

MI Healthy Youth Forum 2024 Recap

This year’s forum focused on hearing from students about their experiences. The discussions supported the MI Healthy Youth Initiative’s goal of successfully launching every Mercer Island youth into adulthood with a foundation of physical and mental health, well-prepared to cope with the academic, social, and emotional challenges of adulthood. Checkout "In Their Words": video that KMIH and MIHS.tv produced for the recent MI Healthy Youth Forum. Listen to Mercer Island students sharing their perspective on what it is like to be a teen today. Students shared the pressures, challenges and what they are hopeful about. More recap here.

2024 MISF Spring for Schools Art Contest

There are only two more weeks left to submit your art work for this year's Spring for Schools Art Contest. This year's theme is "Your favorite thing about school". All art work must be submitted to the Mercer Island Schools Foundation office (in the Admin Building) no later than March 15.

Help Stock the Staff Mini Kitchen

As we start a new year, please help the PTSA stock the mini kitchen in the high school staff lounge. The mini kitchen is a place where teachers can grab a quick snack for a little extra energy boost. It's one way we keep them encouraged and show our appreciation. Items purchased off of this wishlist will ship directly to the school. Your support is greatly appreciated! Purchase items here.

Mock SAT/ACT Tests

MIHS PTSA provides 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 to 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.

Information for MIHS Seniors and Senior Families

2024 Grad Yard Sign On Sale Now

Celebrate your MIHS class of 2024 senior in style with a grad yard sign for just $35. All orders due by March 15 with delivery to your yard in April. Click here for order info.

MIHS News

Update 2024-25 Course Selection Deadline Now March 6

The deadline for MIHS students to submit course selections has been moved to 4:00pm on Wednesday, March 6. Student cannot make requests after this time. Reach out to your administrator or school counselor for support if this updated due date creates a hardship.

Administrators:

Erica Hill (A-I) erica.hill@mercerislandschools.org

Nick Wold (J-R) nick.wold@mercerislandschools.org

Lisa Deen (S-Z) lisa.deen@mercerislandschools.org

Counselors:

Susie Brown (A-D) susie.brown@mercerislandschools.org

Anam Schlueter (E-J) anam.schlueter@mercerislandschools.org

Laura Karson (K-M) laura.karson@mercerislandschools.org

Molly Smith (N-Si) molly.smith@mercerislandschools.org

Katy Johnson (Sj-Z) katy.johnsons@mercerislandschools.org

Washington State High School and Beyond Plans (HSBP) Survey – Closes March 8th

High School and Beyond Plans (HSBP) are a state graduation requirement designed to support students’ career and college exploration throughout their secondary education experience. During the 2023 legislative session, Engrossed Second Substitute Bill (ESSB) 5243 concerning High School and Beyond Planning was passed and signed into law. This bill requires OSPI to facilitate a transition to a statewide universal online HSBP platform.

The initial review process is now complete and seven HSBP online platforms have been identified for school district adoption. Naviance (our current online HSBP) was not selected for this final list. Mercer Island SD WILL be adopting one of these 7 selected platforms. Your input is vital for this next step of the selection process by our state educational agency. Click here for survey. To learn more about HSBP, click here.

MIHS 2024-2025 Cheer Team Tryouts

If you are interested in trying out for the 2024-2025 MIHS Cheer Team, please attend our information meeting on March 13th at 6:30-7:30pm via Zoom! We will go over all the required paperwork, deadlines, the tryout process, and we can answer any questions you may have.

Cheer tryouts will be held April 1-5 and they are open to current 8th-11th grade students. Click here for more information.

Mercer Island School District College and Career Readiness Parent survey

The MISD CCR Department is always evolving and recognizes the importance of soliciting thoughts and opinions from our island families regarding College and Career Readiness. We’d like to understand what you know and how you feel about our CCR programs. Please take a moment to complete this brief survey. Your answers will inform our next steps as we work to provide the very best educational experience for our students, preparing them for life beyond high school. This survey is anonymous. Your input is invaluable.

MIHS Leadership Cultural Fair

Cultural Fair will be on March 16th from 6:00-8:00 pm to celebrate the diversity on Mercer Island! Booths will be hosted to represent different cultures, with some performances by students throughout the night. We will be requiring one interactive and one informative aspect to each cultural booth, and food was a popular choice for interactive aspects last year. Parents and students can sign up through the google form.

MIHS Career Hub Upcoming Events

March 27 from 9am-2pm, we are hosting a Skilled Trades and Technical College Fair. This is a great opportunity for students to check out paths in construction, iron work, cement masonry, and more! We have at least 3 tech colleges confirmed who offer a wealth of programming for students interested in learning more about pathways to professional certifications in many trade areas. It will be an awesome opportunity for our students to get first hand information from the industry experts. They will be able to visit the tables during off periods, lunches and Islander Hour. Click here for more upcoming events.

MI Orchestra Boosters Presents Candlelight Soiree

Saturday, March 16 | 6:30-8:30pm | Yuan Ru Art Center

Mercer Island Orchestra Boosters presents Candlelight Soiree, a MIOB fundraiser for adults only, with special performances by high school chamber music students, IMS Coach Caitlin Olive, and Orchestra Directors Bryan Kolk and Sarah Hart. Music, art, appetizers, drinks, cocktail attire. There is no cost to attend. However, a minimum donation of $125 per person at the event is suggested. Registration is required. Please RSVP here.

Want to Lear More About College and Career Readiness at MIHS?

Take a look at what our Mercer Island High School College and Career Readiness (CCR) offers for your student. These courses are a chance for your child to explore, try out, learn, and collect marketable skills for careers they might be interested in pursuing (without paying a college tuition). The MISD CCR department stretches across all career clusters and gives both a taste of and, if your student wishes, a deep dive for your student into career experiences with developed course pathways.

Explore! Discover! Finding an interest, passion, aptitude NOW in high school sets up our students for success in college. . . . and beyond! Take a peek at a quick video sharing what some of our CCR courses offer at MIHS. For more detailed information, take a peek at our course catalog and sizzle reels.

Daily Schedules

Get the 2023/24 Daily Block Schedule here.

Principal's Updates

Read the Principal Newsletters here.

MIHS Counseling

Get the MIHS Counseling Newsletters here.

Community News

PEPS for Parents of Adolescents and Teens

Join a 4-week online “Art and Science of Parenting” program for Mercer Island parents and caregivers of high school students The PEPS for Parents of Adolescents and Teens sessions will help adults gain the confidence they need to support their adolescent’s healthy development. Click here to register & more info.

Summer J Camp Now Hiring

J Camp counselors work in teams to create meaningful, fun, and safe experiences for kids. Together with dozens of your peers, you will develop leadership and problem-solving skills; learn how to empower, motivate, and coach others; and have a fabulous summer! Click here for more info.

UW Unique Afterschool Enrichment Opportunities Online

The University of Washington’s Youth & Teen Programs offers enrichment opportunities during the school year. Limited financial aid available. To learn more visit UW Youth & Teen Programs.

NAMI Eastside 2024 Youth Mental Health Conference

March 22, 2024 - Annual youth-led mental health conference featuring panel discussion, a resource fair and more. Click here for more info.

Rotary Youth Exchange Program is a short term summer exchange between families, facilitated by Rotary Clubs at each end of the exchange. Click here for more info.

AI + X: Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence Fall Program by Stanford/MIT Alumni
Inspirit AI Scholars equips middle and high school students with an AI toolkit to build a capstone project, AI + X, that draws on students' unique interests, from sustainability improvements to cancer diagnosis to criminal justice reform and more. No coding experience required, and advanced cohorts are available. For more information please read more here. Fall applications are now open and due September 15. Contact program coordinator Jared at jared.greene@post.harvard.edu with any questions.

BridgeWhiz is a FREE online course designed to teach students in grades 4 through 12 the mind-building challenge, great fun, and competitive excitement of contract bridge, which will nurture your child’s team and individual competitive spirit. Build social skills. And enhance deductive reasoning and math abilities.