Connections - June 7, 2024 - Lake Washington School District (2024)

Lake Washington School District offers Head Start Preschool for income-eligible families at Bell Elementary and Old Redmond Schoolhouse. Head Start preschool is a federally funded service for children ages 3 to 5 from low-income families that supports early learning, health, nutrition and family well-being. Head Start Preschool includes a 3.5-hour developmentally appropriate preschool with trained staff, two nutritional meals, health and developmental screenings, wrap-around family support services and transportation at no cost to eligible families.

Head Start preschool hours (2024-25)
AM class: 8:40 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. or
PM class: 12:10 - 3:40 p.m.
Head Start locations: A.G. Bell (for Kirkland residents) and Old Redmond Schoolhouse (for Redmond residents)

To apply for Head Start Preschool, parents/guardians must:

Lake Washington School District is committed to the health and wellness of our students. Each school has a registered nurse available to provide a range of services. At the beginning of each school year, nurses collect student health information to plan for needs during the school day. As we plan for the 2024-25 school year, we want to remind everyone of a few important health-related items.

Individual Health Plans & Medication Authorizations

If your student has a life-threatening health condition, the following requirements must be met before your student can attend school. You must supply:

These documents should be submitted directly to the School Nurse and NOT through FinalForms. Until these requirements are met, your student will not be able to attend school.

For more information, visit:https://www.lwsd.org/programs-and-services/health-services.

Immunizations
Immunization records must be turned in to the school on or before the first day of attendance. Your student cannot attend school until you provide these records.

Tdap:For the 2024-25 school year, all students attending grades 7 through 12 must have had one booster dose of Tdap vaccine. All seventh through eleventh-grade students must have received their Tdap vaccine dose on or after age 10 to be accepted for school entry. Students in twelfth grade must have received their Tdap dose on or after age seven to be accepted for school entry.

Medically Verified Records
Medically verified records include one or more of the following:

For more information, visit:https://www.lwsd.org/programs-and-services/health-services/immunizations.

Questions about immunizations?Please contact your school nurse.

Sports Physicals Required for Middle School/High School Sports Participation
As a reminder, sports physicals are required to participate in middle and high school sports. High School sports seasons start in August, so it is important to have your paperwork on file in the school office before the start of the sports season. Health Care Provider offices in our area expect more appointment requests for physicals in August, so scheduling your appointment early is a good idea. For middle school students, sports begin in September. Families will receive messages fromFinalFormswith reminders about completing the required forms.

For more information, visit:https://www.lwsd.org/programs-and-services/athletics.

The federal government has authorized funding to provide eligible students with a new Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program called SUN Bucks. Starting this summer, the Department of Social and Health Services has partnered with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to distribute these benefits. Eligible families will receive a one-time payment of $120 per student in each household onto a new SUN Bucks card that will be mailed at the beginning of June.

This program continues a pandemic-era program that has distributed funds to eligible families since COVID. It received federal approval in April 2024. Students may be automatically eligible for SUN Bucks if they already participate in certain food-related programs like the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP) and more. Families who are not already participating in these types of programs can apply for funding by submitting a Summer EBT application. Once the process opens, applications will be available in English and Spanish until August 31.

Learn more:Washington SUN Bucks Summer EBT Program | DSHS.

Attention rising seniors! Don't miss this opportunity to prepare for college application season with expert guidance from independent college counselor Mary Pat O’Neil. Join LWSF for three informative in-person sessions on creating a balanced college list, completing the Common Application and writing a college essay.

Sessions will take place on the mornings of June 24, 26 and 28 at the LWSD Resource Center.

Details and registration:www.lwsf.org/our-work/find-your-fit.

This levy will focus on aging facilities that are not fully meeting the needs of our students. The plan includes rebuilding and enlarging the four remaining schools that have not received upgrades or rebuilds since the start of the 1998 modernization program. This levy would provide funding for secure facilities with single entry points, up-to-date building systems and infrastructure, and other features to ensure students continue to learn in a safe environment that supports modern learning standards.

Community Investment
Collection on this levy will begin in 2026, generating an average of $112.8 million per year for six years. As past bonds and levies expire, the combined tax rate is projected to stay stable.

The board considered recommendations, received information and provided feedback in five study sessions between March 2023 and March 2024. The Facility Advisory Committee provided feedback on recommendations for future facility planning to accommodate our changing enrollment landscape and continue to provide learning environments that promote excellence for students. These projects have been developed with efficiency and effectiveness at the forefront.

You can view the School Board presentation here.

Watch a brief video from Dr. Holmen here:https://youtu.be/CzAswdtVsSo

Mahee Chandrasekhar, a ninth grader atRedmond High School, has been named the Washington state winner in the 16th annual “Doodle for Google” contest. Her artwork is titled "Small but Mighty," and expresses her wish for the next 25 years - "to honor the smallest but mightiest of us all, the pollinators, who help make the world brighter."

The “Doodle for Google” contest is an annual competition that invites K-12 students across the United States to create their own version of the Google logo based on a theme. This year's theme was "My wish for the next 25 years," celebrating Google's 25th anniversary. The contest received tens of thousands of submissions from students who expressed their hopes and dreams for the future.

Read more about this on the LWSD website.

Lake Washington School District (LWSD) teams performed very well at the Washington Science Olympiad State Tournament. It was hosted at Central Washington University on Saturday, April 13.

LWSD teams made up three of the top five spots in the middle school competition (Division B). Two teams fromEvergreen Middle Schoolfinished in first and fifth place, while aTimberline Middle Schoolteam placed second.

In the high school division (Division C), the “Nikola” team fromTesla STEM High Schooltook home first place. The “Curie” team from Tesla STEM placed fifth.

Read more about this on the LWSD website.