May 17, 2020
COVID-19 Information
Latest Guidance on Face Coverings
King County leaders announced a new Health Officer Directive strongly urging face coverings over their nose and mouth in all indoor public places including grocery stores and other businesses, as well as outside settings where maintaining six feet of social distancing is difficult. This directive will go into effect tomorrow, Monday, May 18.

 Because face masks such as N95 respirators continue to be reserved for health care workers, residents should use fabric coverings such as cloth masks, scarves or bandanas. The full Health Officer Directive and summary, FAQ, posters and visual materials are posted on the King County website regarding masks .
Contact Tracing Initiative
On Tuesday, May 12, Gov. Jay Inslee announced the launch of a statewide contact tracing plan that will allow more businesses to open and more people to be active in public while helping to slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Read the rest of the story on the Governor's Medium page .
School & LWSD
Reminders for May 22, 25 (Repeat)
•  This Friday, May 22 was previously scheduled to be a non-student LEAP Day for staff. Because of the changes to remote learning, LWSD will now have a regular remote-learning day on May 22.

•  There is no school / remote learning on Monday, May 25 in observance of Memorial Day.
RMS PTSA
PTSA Needs You!
Become the next PTSA President or Secretary ! The RMS PTSA needs your help to complete its 2020-2021 Board of Directors. No experience necessary! The other incoming Board Members are experienced, so if you haven’t been on a PTSA board before, you will have people who can help you learn!

President or Co-President : Run board and membership meetings, coordinate PTSA activities and meet with the RMS principal monthly. This role has a direct impact on allocation of funds and implementation of activities. Spend 3-5 hours per month (or more if you choose). This role can be shared by two people!

Secretary : Record meeting minutes, and collect and publish agenda items. Commit 2-5 hours per month which includes monthly board meetings. It's a perfect role if you want to learn more about and/or get involved with PTSA leadership!

If you are interested in being either of these roles or know someone else who might be a good fit, or if you have any questions, please send an email to our current Co-President, Ashley Epstein at president@rmsptsa.org .
Week 3 of May SchoolPool
The Redmond SchoolPool is in Week 3 and continues all through this month! If your student played outside, took breaks from technology, or did school work this week, they can earn digitial rewards and also help earn RMS $5 per student ! Fill out the form every week until the end of May!


The above online form is owned by City of Redmond. By filling out the online form, you are consenting to send name, contact and school information to the City of Redmond SchoolPool program.
​Award Nominations are Open
​To recognize the individual(s) who have achieved golden level accomplishments, we ask each of you to participate in the selection of the award recipient(s). Each year Redmond Middle School PTSA identifies a person or people, who demonstrates exemplary volunteer service to children and youth in our school community with the Golden Acorn Award. This prestigious award is recognized nationwide and acknowledges dedicated service. Past recipients have been parents, teachers, administrators and community members. Please visit the RMS PTSA Golden Acorn Award Nomination Form to submit your nomination.
Community
Hopelink Programs Are Still Up and Running!
While Hopelink's centers are temporarily closed, all of our services are still up and running . We have boxes of food for pick-up, virtual financial coaching and emergency financial assistance, job coaching services, and more!

For more information on these services, such as websites, email addresses, and phone numbers, please view or print the Hopelink Programs Flyers . This flyer set has English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian translations.
City of Redmond Internships
Students, earn service hours while learning how to develop marketing plans, design promotional posts and use social media as a virtual community engagement tool. Interns will work with our Program Coordinator to create and execute short-term creative and fun virtual events and social media campaigns using Instagram to tell our story. All intern applications are by Saturday, June 13. For more information and to apply, visit the online form . Not sure if our internship fits your needs or you just want to find out more about it? Join us on Wednesday, May 27 at 4:00 PM for a Internship Virtual Open House/Q&A Zoom meeting .
LWPTSA Message: Maslow's Hierarchy to Help Students
Many are grappling with the teaching and learning of children, including their lack of attention spans. Children may also be struggling with how to process the massive amount of change in their lives. Please refer to the rest of LWPTSA's message about how to use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to best support your children.
Special Education Group May Meeting (Repeat)
The LWPTSA Council Special Education Group is pleased to host the monthly gathering online for May on Tuesday, May 19, 12:00-1:00 PM. Our topic will be "Inclusionary Practices in LWSD", presented by Assoc. Superintendent Mike Van Orden. Email special.education@lwptsa.net with questions.

Phone: United States: +1 (872) 240-3412 Access Code: 432-621-117
Educational Events
LGBTQ Panel Hosted by LWTech May 26, 12:00 PM LWSD parents, caregivers and teens are invited to listen in. Sign up by May 21 for a Zoom link.

Balance in Mind's Teen Real Talk Tuesdays, 4:00 PM on Instagram. New topic every week. Learning with other students and a Youth Eastside Services counselor. To join, follow @bimteens on Instagram. (Repeat)

Balance in Mind's Parent Chat  Wednesdays, 7:30-8:15 PM Zoom Meeting. Discuss challenges with Remote Learning with other parents and a Youth Eastside Services counselor. Register at tinyurl.com/BIMParentChat (Repeat)
Bear Tracks weekly is produced by RMS PTSA as a benefit to the Redmond Middle School Community. Bear Tracks is edited by Neeta Check and Rose Mayeda. Please review the communication priorities and submit articles via the online submission form . Articles are due on Thursdays, by 5:00 PM for publication the following Sunday.