ICS PTSA NEWSLETTER
February 6, 2022
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FROM THE PTSA
Parent Meeting Tuesday, February 8th, 7:00pm
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.
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STUDENT AWARDS
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Regional 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were announced recently. Several ICS students were recognized:
Ann Li (gr 11): Honorable Mention - Critical Essay
Jasmine Herri (gr 12): Silver Key - Personal Essay
Jasmine Zhen (gr 9): 3 Silver Keys - poetry
Margot Kleinpeter (gr 8): Honorable Mention - Flash Fiction
Sharon Oh (gr 12): Silver Key - Digital Art
Shivani Jayaprakasam (gr 11): Silver Key - Sculpture
Sia Gaind (gr 11): Silver Key - Critical Essay, Honorable Mention - Poem
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards were founded in 1923 and have been inspiring and recognizing creativity in teens since then. Jurors look for works that exemplify the Awards’ core values: originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. To learn about some of the famous recipients, you can check the history page of the awards site. The site also publishes past winners in their gallery.
Congressional App Challenge
Congratulations to ICS student Rishi Aniga, along with his partners from Eastlake High School, Aakarsh Agrawal and Rushil Arun, for winning the 8th District's 2021 Congressional App Challenge. Their app, GardenAid, is designed to help reduce water waste. You can view their video describing their project here.
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FROM THE DEI COMMITTEE
Chinese New Year
The DEI Committee would like to focus this month on the Chinese New Year. Like New Years around the world, Chinese New Year is a holiday celebrated yearly in China, as well as in other Asian countries. This holiday is also known as Lunar New Year. The Chinese New Year begins this year on Tuesday, February 1st and ends on February 15th, celebrated with a Lantern Festival. 2022 is Year of the Water Tiger. The exact origins of Chinese New Year aren't known. But what we do know is that it came from a legend about a monster called Nian (or "year" in Chinese).
At the start of every year, Nian would attack the villages. So, to scare it away, the villagers would put up bright colors (mainly red) and lights (lanterns), and also set off firecrackers and fireworks. Before Chinese New Year even arrives, most families will take some time to deep clean their houses, which is believed to sweep away bad luck. This also means it's bad to clean on New Year's Day, as good fortune will be swept away then. You'll also see people outside decorating their houses in red items, such as couplets, lanterns, and New Year's pictures. Red is considered a lucky color in China.
Chinese New Year is a time for families to get together and bond. You'll get to dine on many tasty traditional foods, which will bring good luck in the next year as well. For Chinese New Year, the Chinese like to eat fish, longevity noodles, spring rolls, and dumplings. Sweet foods include sweet rice balls (tangyuan), glutinous rice cake (niangao), and good fortune fruit. Find the recipe here for Sweet Rice Balls Tang Yuan (Sweet Rice Balls).
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Celebrate Your Senior in Their Yearbook!
This is your chance to celebrate your senior in a meaningful way. Go online today to purchase and create a special message for your senior that will appear in their 2022 yearbook! This is a gift that will not only celebrate their accomplishments but live on FOREVER.
DEADLINE: 2/10/22
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Send a Teacher a Valentine |
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Teachers and staff have been working incredibly hard. This Valentine's Day, let them know how much you appreciate them. For a limited time, when you make a donation to Lake Washington Schools Foundation in a teacher or staff member's honor, we'll put their name on our Virtual Wall of Love, send them an inspirational postcard, or even include a special-edition enamel pin. Your donation supports our work and brightens their day!
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Traffic Map
Parents, we are still getting complaints that many people are not following the recommended route. Please view the Traffic Map for student drop off and pick up.
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COVID Safety
Thank you for keeping your student home if they have any COVID-like symptoms. We know it’s difficult given the common cold and flu have similar symptoms. It seems our processes are constantly changing as we respond to evolving guidance. If you’ve been involved in a quarantine process you also know things can move slowly. Please trust that we’re doing everything we can to minimize any disruption to learning while also trying to keep everyone safe and healthy.
The district’s website is the best place to find current information. If you don’t find what you are looking for there, feel free to email Mr. O’Donnell with any questions.
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