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ICS PTSA NEWSLETTER
March 13, 2022
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| March 16 | Battle of the Books, 1 pm | Lyceum | | March 19 | Spring Work Part. 9 am | ICS | | March 29 | Battle of the Books Challenge | Kirkland Middle School | | March 31 | PTSA Board Meeting, 7 pm | Online | | April 4-8 | No School - Spring Break | -- | | April 12 | PTSA Parent Meeting, 7 pm | Online (link below) | | |
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VOLUNTEERING
Grab your work gloves and join us in our first work party of 2022!
This event will be held on Saturday, March 19th from 9:00am – noon. Participation is open for all family members that are middle-school aged and older. All hours worked count towards the 30 hour annual minimum family goal, including up to 10 hours annually by the students (this is one of the only ways that student hours count towards the goal, if the student attends with their parent). For more details and to sign-up: Work Party Sign-Up
For any questions, please check with Stephanie Chavet or Gia Parsons.
External Site Committee Co-Chair
The Exterior Site Team hosts 4 school-wide work parties each year, providing families the opportunity to beautify the exterior of the school and gain valuable volunteer hours. Responsibilities include coordinating and scheduling with the district, administration, PTSA, and Community School representatives; Preparing for and managing the events; Purchasing and caring for the exterior flags; and Care of the exterior planters.
If you are interested, please reach out to awang@icstsa.org.
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FROM PTSA
Parent's Event
Parents, finally we’ll meet, chat and hang out together in person. Let’s meet on Wednesday, March 30th from 5 to 7.30 pm at Waverly Beach Park 633 Waverly Way Kirkland. We’ll have trivia, food, and drinks. Of course you are welcome to bring your foods/ drinks to share. See you there !! - Olga - Rose - Maya. RSVP msuklan@icsptsa.org
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FROM ICS LIBRARIAN, MRS. PETERSON
Hello from the ICS Library!
It’s almost time for our annual Battle of the Books building challenge! We have a record 13 teams participating in the Battle of the Books this year. If you have a student participating, please be aware that the challenge will be on Wednesday, March 16 in the Lyceum from 1:00 to around 2:00. Thanks so much to PTSA members who volunteered to help judge this year. Unfortunately, we will not be set up for spectators this year. Parents, please be prepared to meet your student outside when the challenge concludes.
We just received a Read-Across-America grant from the Washington Education Association to purchase books for our March Mystery Madness reading promotion next month. We have new mysteries for our middle school and high school readers, including some strange-but-true science and history mysteries. Mystery is our most popular genre this year. I’ll post a list of mysterious book suggestions on the Library webpage in the parent resource section in March.
If you are interested in weekly book recommendations for your student, please check out my Bookstagram posts on Instagram: mrs.peterson_librarian or Twitter @MrsPetersonLib or feel free to email me with questions.
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Nominations Committee Seeks New Board Members
The Nominations Committee has begun the process of finding new ICS PTSA Board members to replace those who are leaving their positions at the end of this school year.
For the 2022-2023 school year, the following 5 positions are open and need to be filled by May 2022:
- Co-President
- VP Activity Support
- VP Community and Facility Support
- VP Curriculum Support
- Treasurer
All ICS PTSA members who would like to take a more active role in supporting our school and students are welcome to apply. Serving on the ICS PTSA Board is a great opportunity to be more engaged in school life and to quickly earn volunteer hours.
To nominate yourself or another parent, send an email to Nominations@icsptsa.org with the following information:
- First and Last Name,
- Mobile Phone Number,
- Email Address, and
- Board Position of Interest.
More information about the roles and key responsibilities can be found on the ICS PTSA web page. Board positions require a 2-year commitment and participation at all PTSA Board and parent meetings.
All nominations should be sent to the Nominations Committee by March 31. The Committee will then interview all nominated candidates.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us (Supraja Dusi, Himani Gupta, and Roberto Baselli) at Nominations@icsptsa.org.
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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 7th until April 24th. See link for the form.
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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 April 30. Buon Appetito! Questions? Email Mireille Baumoel at mbaumoel@icsptsa.org.
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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.
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Holi
This month the DEI Committee would like to focus on Holi, a Hindu festival of colors celebrated this year on March 17th. The excitement of having vibrant colors scattered in the air is delightful. The two-day festival is a pleasant way of welcoming spring. All people, regardless of their age, take part in this event with enthusiasm and vigor. So let’s just grab our ‘gulal’ (colored powder thrown at each other as a symbol of joy and love) and celebrate the victory of good over evil.
How to celebrate Holi?
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Light up a fire- Have a Holika bonfire set up and gather people around to perform religious rituals. Most of them include praying to God to demolish evil and asking for forgiveness from God.
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Spreading colors- Let your inner child come out by playing with wet and dry colors. Strengthen your bond with others and engage in a cheerful fight with them by throwing colors and water balloons at them.
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Festive meals- Arrange a feast that comprises different meals including sweets, drinks, etc. One of the most popular drinks of this festival is 'bhang,' which is made from cannabis leaves and largely consumed during the festival.
Why is Holi so special?
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It welcomes spring- The Festival of Holi is celebrated to pay a tribute to the arrival of spring. The vibrancy of the festival indicates the transition from dry, gloomy winter to bright, vivid spring.
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It commemorates love, passion, and unity- People of all castes, colors, and ages gather together for the celebration of good over evil. Their bonding with each other strengthens them, thus bringing about love and oneness.
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It includes yummy food- Celebrations of Holi include delicious foods to tempt your taste buds. 'Gujiya,' a delicate sweet made with milk solids, nuts, and a pinch of love (which increases sweetness) is a popular food of Holi, along with the traditional drink ‘bhang.’
Find the recipe of Gujiya here- Homemade Gujiya Recipe.
Why eat Gijiya during Holi? Read more about it here Why you must eat the gujiya this Holi! Want to learn more? Read more about Holi here! India's Hindu Festival of Colors 2022.
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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.
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