Issaquah School District E-news

For information on upcoming events, deadlines, and opportunities, please check the events calendar on the right side of the Issaquah School District webpage.

Please be advised that there will be no meal service provided on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25. Meal service will resume Tuesday, May 26. Visit our webpage for more information about meal service, as well as other support provided by the District.

• Cuentas de correo electrónico para todos los estudiantes (Kinder-12)
• 所有學生的電子郵件帳戶（K-12）
• 모든 학생의 이메일 계정(유치원~12학년)
• Tài khoản email cho tất cả học sinh (lớp K-12)
• Адреса электронной почты для всех учеников (K–12)
• 全学年対象Ｅメールアカウント（K-12）

Beginning this week, active email accounts for all students (K-12) will be available through the student's Office 365 account. While we do not expect our youngest students (grades K-2 or 3) to engage in using email with their teachers, the creation of email for our students will help facilitate and streamline other O365 functions. Click here to view a video overview for students on how to access, navigate and set up their email.

A security software that monitors many types of information in Office 365 will be used to help keep students safe in the digital space. In addition, students will only be able to send and receive email from other district email accounts.

Teachers may begin using the student email to communicate directly with students in the coming weeks. Teachers who choose to begin using the school issued email will inform parents and students in advance. At this time the student’s school email will not be added to Skyward; though we anticipate having this in place for next school year.

The Science Technology Magnet Program lottery will be conducted on Wednesday, May 13. While this year’s lottery will not be open to the public, it will be carried out by Elementary Education Special Programs staff and will be observed by a Science Technology Magnet Program principal and teacher. This year’s lottery will be documented to ensure accuracy. Results will be communicated to participating families by email the following week.

The structure of the lottery will be exactly the same as it has been in previous years. Students will be selected from all district elementary schools with an attempt to balance the enrollment between schools. Spaces will be assigned by the neighborhood school in the attendance area a student resides for each program location separately. A wait list will be formed, and students will be admitted as spaces occur until school starts.

This year most second grade students completed testing to determine eligibility for the Highly Capable Program (HCP). The test scores have now been returned to the District and are being processed. Within the next several weeks families will receive notification that a score report has been uploaded into Family Access. An accompanying email will inform families about how to access and interpret the scores, the eligibility criteria, the appeal process, and all next steps.

Once the Governor’s Stay Home Stay Safe order is lifted and the District has more information about gatherings and social distancing procedures, families whose students did not complete testing, including home school and private school students, will receive notification via email about the District’s plan for completing the testing process.

At the elementary level, in determining the process for assigning scores for trimester 3, the District referred to guidance from the state. In following OSPI guidance, for trimester 3, K-5 students will receive scores in all subject areas including PE and music. Trimester 3 scores on elementary report cards will reflect what the student earned for trimester 2 unless a higher score was earned based on assessed work completed in trimester 3.

The U.S. Census is hiring census takers in the King County area. Positions offer flexible hours and weekly pay at $23 to $25 per hour. Census takers help ensure a more accurate count for the Census, which happens only once every 10 years and is used to help determine how much federal funding comes to Washington.

For more information and to apply, visit 2020census.gov/jobs.

Are you looking to get your middle or high school students connected to something hopeful, inspiring and future-focused while they learn from home? Some incredible career exploration opportunities with Washington companies are available this May.

Every school day at 3:30 p.m., starting May 4, students can engage in 30 to 45 minute live sessions hosted via Zoom and live streamed on YouTube. Students will hear about Washington-based jobs that might align with their interests and goals, and engage in employer-created challenges. To learn more, visit www.careerconnectathome.org. To watch live sessions and see previous sessions, visit CareerConnectAtHome on YouTube.

Each week will feature a different theme, and different companies that will share information about their jobs and answer students’ questions.

• May 4-8: “Technology and Innovation Week” - Technology and Information
• May 11-15: “Building Washington Week” - Manufacturing, Construction, Energy
• May 18-22: “Be a Boss Week” - Entrepreneurship and Start-ups
• May 25-29: “Lead Your Community Week” - Education, Health Care, Government, Non-profits

(Note: No session will be held on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.)

Check our website for an update from May 5 about Special Services, including information about elementary and middle school progress reports, continuous learning plans, IEP and evaluation meetings, teacher office hours and access to technology.

The Issaquah School District is moving forward with plans to offer our long-standing K-5 Summer School program in July. We are planning an in-person program with social distancing measures in place at Clark Elementary School.

However, we will only be able to offer the program if the following conditions are met:

• The District receives clearance from OSPI and the Governor’s Office to offer summer opportunities.
• The District is able to hire enough staff to meet required student to teacher ratios.
• Enrollment numbers are sufficient to support the program.

Because we cannot guarantee that we will be able to offer the program, we understand that families may want to make alternative summer learning plans in the event we are unable to run the program. The District will make a final determination by May 22 and inform families by E-News.

K-5 Summer School registration is still open. The number of students served will be based on the number of staff we are able to hire to meet required staff-to-student ratios. If a student has already registered, there is no need to do anything further. The dates for Elementary Summer School are July 6-July 31, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at Clark Elementary School.

Each day at noon we will have speakers tell how the Issaquah Schools Foundation makes a

difference in the lives of our students. Visit mcause.us/Nourish2020 or watch on our Facebook page for 15 minutes each day to learn how we enrich the learning experience in our community.

Your support is crucial to our ability to continue our work. You generously fuel our ability

to remain agile, which allows us to be most effective in providing what is needed for our kids. (graphic attached) more information: isfdn.org/nourish-every-mind

These days we are looking for silver linings wherever we might find them. More time at home means more time to create! Each year the National PTSA sponsors an art competition for writers, composers, dancers, photographers and visual artists. Next year's Reflections Theme is "I Matter Because..." and with extra time at home, we want to encourage kids passionate in these areas to get to work on a fabulous piece of art to share at your school in the fall. Directions and guidelines can be found at https://www.wastatepta.org/events-programs/reflections/. Questions can be emailed to Kristen Allen-Bentsen at kallenbentsen@hotmail.com.