ICS PTSA NEWSLETTER

April 17, 2022

See the ICS Calendar for more upcoming event dates.

FROM THE REGISTRAR

3Q Report Cards

Third quarter grades will be finalized on Friday, 4/15, and report cards will be available in Skyward Parent or Student Access/Portfolio/Attachments on Monday, 4/18. Hard copy report cards will not be mailed, but students may request a print-out from the Registrar, Kristina Summers, after April 18th.

FROM THE PTSA

Board Seek Nominations for ICS PTSA Awards

The ICS PTSA Board is accepting nominations for the following awards to be presented at our May parent meeting.

OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR: This award is given in recognition of an individual who goes beyond the normal expectations of their job to make the learning environment fun, beneficial, and challenging.

PHOENIX AWARD: This award is given in recognition of an individual who has done an exceptional job on a task or committee.

GOLDEN ACORN: This award is given in recognition of an individual who has given outstanding service to the school community. It is to recognize volunteer service "above and beyond" a particular job description.

The Washington State PTA offers the Outstanding Educator and Golden Acorn awards. A contribution in the recipients' name is made to the Washington State PTA Scholarship Foundation. The Phoenix award is unique to ICS. 

Please nominate as many parents or staff members who you believe deserve recognition for their service. Kindly include some reasons why this person should receive the award. Note that a parent or staff member can only receive a specific award once, so please consult the ICS PTSA website to view prior years’ recipients.

Complete and return this form or simply email the PTSA co-presidents at president@icsptsa.org with your nominating information.

REPEATED ARTICLES

Save Thousands on the Cost of College – Free Webinar Event

Date: April 20, 2022

Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm

Microsoft Teams Meeting: Link

Join College Financial Planning Advisor Peg Keough as she demystifies the college funding process. Having put two kids through college herself, Peg works with families just like yours to help them realize significant discounts on the cost of college, regardless of income level. Come learn how to navigate the financial aid process without confusion and stress successfully. This webinar is recommended for parents of 9th through 12th graders.

Click HERE for more details on the event and the speaker bio.

Scholarship Opportunity

The ICS PTSA is awarding 6 scholarships worth $1,500 each to graduating seniors who show exceptional dedication to community work, volunteer efforts, extracurricular activities, and determination for self-improvement. The applicant must be a graduating ICS senior and plan on continuing their education at an institution of higher learning (4-year College or University, Community College, or Vocational Technical Institute) in fall 2022. To apply students will need to answer essay questions and provide a letter of recommendation. Scholarship applications will be accepted from March 7^th until April 24th. See link for the form.

ICS International Cookbook

"Food may not be the answer to world peace, but it's a start." -Anthony Bourdain

We are launching our first ever ICS International Cookbook, and we need your recipes! Everyone knows a foodie in their house and/or someone who cooks amazing food and loves to share it. In many cultures, food is more than just sustenance for the body. Food is seen as something that ties people together through fellowship, love/care, and good times. With COVID being something that has shaken up everyone’s lives, we have not been able to share meals with our loved ones, friends, and/or coworkers. However, through sharing recipes we can have a little of that feeling back, even if it is by making the recipe ourselves. 

We are fortunate to have families from around the world, so we would like to give everyone an opportunity to contribute. Please fill out the ICS International Cookbook form, and be a part of this initiative. Deadline is May 1. Buon Appetito! Questions? Email Mireille Baumoel at mbaumoel@icsptsa.org. 

FROM THE ART DAY COMMITTEE

2022 Art Day - April Update

Thanks to all the signups from the parents, we now have all of our planned classes confirmed. A survey form will be sent to the students soon from the school; if required, please help your child fill out the survey.

We have a change in the class lineup. Mexican Cooking will replace the Indian Cooking session. We will provide more details in the survey form. Please help your child to adjust their choice if needed. Also, we would like to issue a minor correction to a class name - We will have Dutch Oven Cooking (not Dutch Cooking).

Help Needed!

The Art Day committee is planning a Phoenix Time event, and we need your help to lead the event. We will share the volunteer openings and if you are interested, reach out to artday@ptsa.org.

Schedule

2022 Art Day is coming up on Monday, 5/23. Following is the the Art Day schedule:

1. Session 1: 7:40 am – 9:10 am 
2. Session 2: 9:20 am – 10:50 am 
3. Lunch Time: 11:00am -- 11:55am
4. Phoenix Time:  11:55am -- 12:45pm
5. Session 3: 12:55pm – 2:25 pm

FROM THE DEI COMMITTEE

This month the DEI Committee would like to highlight Ramadan. Ramadan is the holiest month of the year for Muslims. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, which begins with the sighting of the new moon. It’s the period in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was visited by the archangel Gabriel and began to receive the Qur’an—the final scripture revealed by God. Believers commemorate this revelation through prayer, charity, and building a closer relationship with God.  

Fasting is the hallmark of Ramadan. Participants do not eat, drink, smoke, or engage in intimacy from sunrise to sunset. Each day of the month begins with a pre-dawn meal, Suhoor, and ends with Iftar, the fast-breaking meal. It’s also very common to perform Taraweeh, communal prayers with family or at the mosque, at the close of each day, and spend extra time in personal supplication throughout each night. Fasting folks go about their usual routines at work, school, and home during daylight hours. Be gentle; Your Muslim coworkers and students are probably a bit tired!

In Islam, fasting is one of the significant acts of worship and a means of attaining God-consciousness. Along with the physical aspects of fasting, its spiritual dimensions purify the soul, instill self-reflection and inspire virtuous living. With the goal of God-consciousness in mind, many use the month to reconnect with the Divine - through a focus on spiritual self-improvement. Spiritual self-improvement activities include extra recitation of the Qur’an, more time spent in prayer, the abandonment of bad habits, or a renewed focus on volunteering to assist those in need.  

Ramadan is also a time to bond with family, friends, and community. Muslims are encouraged to spend more time at the mosque, host and attend communal dinners (with their ever-present danger of eating too many samosas), visit extended family and friends, and celebrate together at the end of the month.  

This year in the US, Ramadan will start on April 2, 2022, and end on May 1, 2022. The end of Ramadan is marked by the sighting of the new moon, followed by a day of celebration known as Eid-ul-Fitr. Families wake up early in the morning, put on their best clothes, and go to the mosque for a brief Eid sermon and congregational prayer. They thank God for giving them the opportunity to experience the holy month of Ramadan. The day is filled with celebration, socializing, festive meals, and modest gift-giving, especially to children.  

Recipes for Ramadan: 30 Ramadan recipes to nourish the body between fasting (today.com) 

Want to Learn More? What Is Ramadan? Fasting, Dates, History, and More (learnreligions.com) 

Volunteers Needed for Tutoring/Homework Help

As the enlightened say, knowledge is a treasure, perhaps the only one, that spreads and grows bigger with sharing. Here is a unique opportunity for parents to share and spread their knowledge/skill/expertise with ICS students. We are seeking parent volunteers to help our students with core ICS curriculum (e.g. Math, Science, Humanities, etc.) as well as other subject areas (e.g. music, art, etc.).

If you are interested, please fill out this form with

• SUBJECT AREA you are interested in teaching with preferred grade levels, if any,
• DAYS of the WEEK and TIMES you are available,
• YOUR NAME, and
• YOUR EMAIL to use to set up a Teams meeting for the class.

If you would like to teach multiple subjects, please submit a different form for each subject area.

If you have any questions, reach out to Scholarship@icsptsa.org.

Parent Meetings Second Tuesday of the Month

All PTSA parent meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month. This link will take you to the recurring meeting on Teams; you can use it for all parent meetings this school year.