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Dear Kang Families,
Welcome to the 2024-25 school year!
This year we focus on "Opening Doors." This means that in everything we do we will look to increase accessibility and open up new possibilities. You will see this theme, along with the pursuit of excellence, highlighted throughout the year.
Speaking of open doors, on Wednesday, September 18th we will host our annual Curriculum Night/Open House. Please watch for more details and add a "save the date" to your calendar for that evening. Curriculum Night is a chance to meet teachers, see the inside of our beautiful buildings, and pick up some awesome Kang gear.
When our students have their pictures taken, they will receive a student ID and lanyard. Once they pay for ASB, they can use their card to get into games and events. We ask that students have their identification at all times while at school.
Our campus is secure. There is only one accessible entrance and during the day our visitors have to be buzzed in. We have been working on training our students to not let their peers in through external exits. Please help reinforce the importance of this safety practice. In the mornings and at lunch we try to have personnel hold the door to the North Wing, and in the morning we hold the east gate open (near the tennis courts) for students who arrive to campus on foot.
School policies involving cell phones have been in the news lately. In the Lake Washington School District our expectation is that students have their phones off and away during learning time. At Lake Washington High School we provide teachers with cell phone "pouches" and other cell phone holders. Teachers will often require that students leave their phone in the holder during tests and during instruction. They may also need to leave it while they go to the bathroom. In most classrooms, our students can access their phones during "brain breaks" and they always have access during lunch and passing periods.
Our cell phone policy involves progressive measures to support students in positive cell phone use. First, they are issued a warning. Then, a teacher may ask to have the phone until the end of the period. Next, the phone is sent to the office and an administrator needs to connect with the student at the end of the day before returning the phone. This step is documented in the student's discipline file. If this doesn't work, the parent may be asked to pick up the phone and/or the student may be put on a cell phone plan, meaning that they have to turn their phone in when they arrive each morning. Our goal is to have students use their phones responsibly so that these measures do not need to be in place.
You will have received several messages from the district regarding changes to student logins. This summer, student emails and usernames were switched from the s-firstinitiallastname format to their student number. Students can access in-person tech support in the library during the school year.
Please be patient with our counseling team. This year we have eight counselors and four of them are brand new to us! Registering new students happens at the same time as our counseling team is working on schedule changes, graduation requirement audits and class balancing. This is careful, time-consuming work. We appreciate your support.
Safety is our first priority. As students make more frequent use of electric bicycles, I want to be sure that they are adhering to traffic rules, obeying the speed limit, wearing helmets and not riding them on district athletic fields. Poor bicycle behavior has become common, and it will continue to be a problem until we educate our teens and reinforce our expectations.
You are welcome at LW and I look forward to seeing you all soon. Thank you for your ongoing support of our learning community. Go Kangs!
Dr. Christine Bell
Principal, Lake Washington High School
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