Liberty class schedules won’t be changing soon, superintendent says
January 31, 2012
NEW — 3:55 p.m. Jan. 31, 2012
No major changes, at least not immediately.
That was essentially the recommendation of Issaquah School Superintendent Steve Rasmussen regarding possible adjustments to the schedules at the district’s four high schools.
But at the same time he made that recommendation to what proved to be a somewhat dissatisfied school board, Rasmussen did lay down several action steps he expects high school principals to take in the coming months.
District officials have been studying common schedules at the high schools in part in order to make better use of resources, including teachers. A schedule committee failed to come up with any final recommendation for a unified schedule, though they shared numerous findings on the overall issue.
City Council meeting rescheduled for Jan. 24
January 23, 2012
NEW — 2:45 p.m. Jan. 24, 2011
After the Newcastle City Council’s Jan. 17 regular meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather, the meeting has been rescheduled to 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at Newcastle City Hall.
The council will discuss the Issaquah School District’s request for a surface water management fee waiver, Comprehensive Plan amendment, and resolutions for updating council rules and the city’s Legislative agenda for 2012, among other business.
The council’s Jan. 20 annual retreat at The Golf Club of Newcastle and the city’s Jan. 18 Planning Commission meeting will also be rescheduled to a future time and date.
Issaquah, Renton school districts cancel class for Jan. 18
January 17, 2012
NEW — 8:20 p.m. Jan. 17, 2012
Issaquah and Renton school district officials canceled classes Wednesday, as a snowstorm threatens to pound the region overnight.
The district announced the closure just after 8 p.m. Tuesday. Officials also canceled classes Tuesday, due to icy road conditions in the early morning hours. (Students did not attend classes Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.)
School closures impact all district-related meetings and activities, including Headstart, school-age care and preschool.
The cancellation also means the finals schedule for Issaquah high school students is delayed further. Officials told students and parents to expected eNews updates about high school schedules soon.
Renton officials encourage administrative staff to check for morning reports of administrative office closures.
Students prepare for ‘vocal boot camp’
January 6, 2012
Five Liberty vocalists set sights on all-state choir
Liberty High School selections to the WMEA All-State Choir, posing during a Liberty Singers practice with teacher Robin Wood, are (from left) Ashlynn Rowe, Pamela Edmonds, Jaylyn Andrus, Eric Spradling-Reim and Courtney Santos. By Greg Farrar
For Liberty High School senior Pamela Edmonds, the upcoming Washington Music Educators Association all-state choir workshop in Yakima isn’t just singing beautiful songs with some of the best high school singers in the state.
FLASH and HIV/AIDS information sessions held for parents
January 6, 2012
Parents of fifth-graders in the Issaquah School District, including those enrolled at Apollo and Newcastle elementary schools, will have the chance to examine the district’s adopted Family Life and Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS curriculum from 6-8 p.m. Jan. 12 and from 9-11 a.m. Jan. 14 at Issaquah Valley Elementary School’s multipurpose room.
The curriculum will be taught to students during this school year in February and March.
Staff and a teacher will be available for questions during an informal presentation that includes viewing the curriculum’s videos.
Parents have the right to exempt their child from sexual education instruction, and the public viewings provide a centralized opportunity to do so.
It is not necessary for parents to attend a public review session if they do not intend to exempt their children from HIV/AIDS instruction.
The Washington State Omnibus AIDS law requires a parent to attend a public viewing session and review the materials before such an exemption may be requested or granted.
State law requires local school districts to provide yearly instruction to students in grades five through 12 about the pathology and prevention of the HIV/AIDS virus.
Call Debbie Nye at 837-7618 for more information.
Bellevue resident Anne Moore readies to join school board
December 1, 2011
Long before the first ballot was mailed back to King County, Issaquah School District residents were guaranteed of seeing at least one new face on their school board of directors next year.
Bellevue resident Anne Moore ran unopposed for the District One seat being vacated by current board president Jan Colbrese.
“I will always be deeply invested in the Issaquah School District,” Colbrese said.
Anne Moore
But after what will be 12 years on the board, Colbrese said that following discussions with her husband, she decided it was time to move on. She further noted that all of her children have now graduated from district schools.
Colbrese announced her decision not to run in June, prior to the election filing deadline. Issaquah School District 1 covers an area of the district to the west of Issaquah and south to Coalfield and north to Lake Sammamish.
Gift-A-Book campaign collects 114 books for school library
December 1, 2011
Newcastle Elementary School student Claire Frederick, 10, and her brother Andrew Frederick, 7, hold books they’ve chosen to donate through the school’s 2011 Gift-A-Book campaign. By Christina Lords
Although Newcastle Elementary School librarian Laura Berry has come in contact with thousands of books over her lifetime, she distinctly remembers sitting down and reading “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel” as a small child.
Thanks to the school’s annual Gift-A-Book campaign, which allows children and parents to select books to donate to the school’s library, Newcastle will be able to add the 60-year-old story to its growing collection.
“It’s still a great story, and it’s nice to have a library-bound edition of it,” Berry said. “One of our first-graders chose that. He and his family donated three wonderful books.”
Officials encourage council to support $219 million school bond
December 1, 2011
Issaquah School Board President Jan Colbrese knows the district must maintain equitable resources, infrastructure and quality education throughout its 15 elementary, five middle and four high schools.
That’s one reason the district will ask voters to support its April 17 $219 million capital improvement bond, which includes money for upgrades to nearly every school in the district — even during a time during such economic uncertainty, she said.
“Our problem is that we have children in school right now,” Colbrese said. “You can’t tell those kids, ‘I’m sorry, you’re in this economic time. It’s a really hard time.”
Members of the school board met with the Newcastle City Council on Nov. 7 to discuss the bond and other issues facing the district, including possible improvements to traffic flow in the drop-off area at Newcastle Elementary School.
“We’ll be coming to you with reports for support on this measure because if the district is soundly managed, and if the district is a place where people know a quality education is being provided, then it helps your city as well,” Colbrese said.
Because the new bond package is expected to be about half as much as the district’s bond debt that is retiring in 2012, residents in the district should see a decrease in school-related taxes, even if the bond is approved, according to the district.
District sees increase in PSAT participation
December 1, 2011
In the past four years, the Issaquah School District has seen a dramatic increase in students preparing to take the PSAT, the most widely used college admission exam in the country.
Participation for students taking the PSAT in the past four years has gone from 30 percent of sophomores and juniors taking the test to 89 percent, or 2,290 students, taking the exam.
The main driver of the increase is that the district’s high schools now offer the PSAT during the school day once every October.
The PSAT helps students prepare for the SAT college-admission exam, gives feedback about academic strengths and weaknesses, and is a gatekeeper for National Merit Scholarships.
The Issaquah Schools Foundation provided financial assistance for students to take the test.
Committee sifts through criteria for uniform high school schedule
December 1, 2011
NEW — 2:50 p.m., Dec. 1, 2011
Patrick Murphy, executive director of secondary education for the Issaquah School District, said he believes a volunteer committee will meet a seemingly ambitious Dec. 14 deadline and come up with a uniform schedule to be implemented at all four of the district’s high schools — a goal that could have significant implications to Liberty High School’s class schedules.
Many parents, especially those from Liberty, haven’t been shy about expressing their thoughts regarding the current high school schedules. Liberty operates on a different pattern than the other district high schools and many parents and students alike are defensive of the flexibility they believe that unique schedule allows.
One figure thrown out had Liberty students spending 38 percent of their time in electives. The same figure was given as 27 percent at Issaquah and Skyline high schools. In some minds, added elective time is a big plus to be protected. For others, electives are seen as digging into time for core classes, such as math and language arts.
