The Lake Washington School District is considering later start times, task force formed

 ' Night Owls' May Face Special Challenges
Credit New York Times

A study published in Pediatrics this month evaluated sleep patterns of adolescents, further documenting why students suffer from early start times. All the recent literature recommends start times no earlier than 8:30 am. 

Presently Redmond, Eastlake, ICS and Tesla STEM all start at 7:30 a.m. Lake Washington High and Everson High start at 8 am. And, it can take well over 30 minutes to arrive at school requiring some students to wake as early as 5:45 a.m.

In 2015 the CDC reported that adolescents who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight (1); not engage in daily physical activity (2); suffer from depressive symptoms (2); engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drinking, smoking tobacco, and using illicit drugs (2); and perform poorly in school (3). However, insufficient sleep is common among high school students, with less than one third of U.S. high school students sleeping at least 8 hours on school nights (4). In a policy statement published in 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged middle and high schools to modify start times as a means to enable students to get adequate sleep and improve their health, safety, academic performance, and quality of life (5). AAP recommended that "middle and high schools should aim for a starting time of no earlier than 8:30 a.m."

Kathryn Reith, LWSD Communications Director, says a Task Force is underway to study the problem. The Seattle School District, Issaquah, Bellevue and North Shore districts raised their start times.  If you want to push for later start times, e-mail: krieth@lwsd.org or the school board at board@lwsd.org.  

Bob Yoder, opinion

Lake Washington School District evaluating course schedules and later start times

Weeks ago, Matt Manobianco, a Lake Washington School District superintendent e-mailed his "family" this video explaining a district task force's work to achieve 1) later start times and 2) increased flexibility in the high school course schedule. As you'll see in Mr. Manobianco's video the process is complicated, especially with the geographic challenges of our District.  So far, the District's been able to come up with three scheduling options all with 8:00 a.m. high school start times. 

Of interest, recent literature recommends "middle and high schools should aim for a start time no earlier than 8:30 a.m."

1)  In 2015 the CDC reported that adolescents who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight (1); not engage in daily physical activity (2); suffer from depressive symptoms (2); engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drinking, smoking tobacco, and using illicit drugs (2); and perform poorly in school (3). However, insufficient sleep is common among high school students, with less than one third of U.S. high school students sleeping at least 8 hours on school nights (4). In a policy statement published in 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged middle and high schools to modify start times as a means to enable students to get adequate sleep and improve their health, safety, academic performance, and quality of life (5). AAP recommended that "middle and high schools should aim for a starting time of no earlier than 8:30 a.m."

2)  A study published in Pediatrics about five months ago evaluated sleep patterns of adolescents, documenting why students may benefit from later start times. 

The Seattle School District, and I think Issaquah, Bellevue and North Shore districts have already implemented later start times.  If you didn't get Mr. Manobianco's e-mail and you or your neighbors want to give the District feedback, you can e-mail the school board at board@lwsd.org or message them at 425-936-1257. 

Bob Yoder

Note:  I'm not a member of the school district's "family" and stumbled upon Mr. Manobianco's e-mail on a Facebook post.  I personally think it would be best practice for the district to be all inclusive with their constituents on these matters.   

"Start Times" Under Review at Schools, LWSD Asks for Input

Research and recent history has proven Middle and High Schoolers learn better when start times are no earlier than 8 a.m. Mental health improves, as well. Universal time would really help?

The LWSD ThoughtExchange is an opportunity to share your ideas and feedback with the "Start Times" Committee.  Click here to join the exchange: https://tejoin.com/scroll/312692262  The Exchange closes October 26th at Noon.

The Start Times Committee will make a proposal to the superintendent for all high schools to start no earlier than 8:00 a.m. The committee will also recommend an earlier start and end time for preschool. No changes would happen before the start of the 2022-23 school year. The committee meets seven times between September and January. The committee includes parents and staff from across different high school feeder areas.

In November and December, the committee will ask for input from parents, staff and students on specific options.

What potential impacts of a change in school start times do you want to share with the committee to consider in this process?  The webpage is very well presented.

-- LWSD article and opinion by Bob Yoder, 10/14/2022

School district considers new start times

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later to give students the opportunity to get the amount of sleep they need, but most American adolescents start school too early.

This video was made last year when school start times changed. when a seven-period day was implemented for high school students. This change took effect starting on the first day of school, Tuesday, September 4, 2018. 

A School Start Time Advisory is meeting this year to study the impacts of potentially changing high school start times to later in future years. The Advisory includes staff and parents from elementary, middle and high school levels. They will make a recommendation for any potential further changes to school start and end times. Further changes in the 2019-2020 school year may or not occur, depending on their recommendation. There is still ample opportunity for families to provide input throughout the process. Any changes to the high school start and end times result in adjustments to middle and elementary start and end times due to transportation.

-- LWSD website
   edited excerpt

School Start Time Advisory Findings And Recommendations

"The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later to give students the opportunity to get the amount of sleep they need, but most American adolescents start school too early." 

The Advisory shared 3 recommendations for the district to consider in planning for any potential future changes in school start times:

1. Recommend that the district consider the range of Preschool programs and Elementary school start times to begin no later than 9:00 a.m.
2. Recommend that the district consider the range of middle school start and end times to remain similar to the 2018-19 ranges. (after 8 AM) 
3. Recommend that the district consider the range of High School start times to begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m. My wife suggested using Microsoft Connector buses.

The big hang-up for our district is geography. The LW High School principal gives their students Orca passes.  My wife recommended Microsoft Connector buses.  

Next Steps:
The Superintendent will examine the recommendations to determine next steps and feasibility for any changes. Any revisions to the existing schedule would not take effect until the start of the 2020-21 school year.

Additional materials, including survey data results, verbatim survey comment themes, and student listening session themes can be found at the Start Time Advisory webpage. 

Letter: Improvements needed for LWSD busing

Susan Wilkins said...

The Lake Washington School District will spend $7,500,000 this year busing 8,500 K-12 students and 500 special-needs students to school. This is an astounding amount of money to transport relatively few students. Many people assume that providing additional bus transportation to Redmond Middle School will cost taxpayers even more money. This would be true if the school district were already providing highly efficient bus service, but an unofficial audit of the LWSD Transportation Department in 2011 found significant inefficiencies in the department. Although the school district had 85 full-size buses, only 65 were regularly scheduled with the rest being reserved for break-downs, replacements and field trips. And although the schools had staggered start times (high schools - 7:30 AM, junior highs - 8:00 AM, elementary - 8:30 & 9:00 AM) only 7 of the full size buses were efficiently scheduled to provide service to 4 schools each day. Most buses were scheduled for 2 regular routes per day. Buses were frequently assigned to schools on opposite sides of the district so that a lot of time was spent traveling across the district without passengers. Sometimes buses sat idle for 20 minutes between routes. Currently, bus routes are so poorly planned that students have to be at their assigned bus stops an hour before school starts and then ride bizarrely long routes on their way to school. Many parents give up on bus transportation and simply drive their children to school. (Note: these students live too far to walk.) Far too often, buses end up being only partially full. If the district planned the schedule for each bus more efficiently, with each bus carrying a full load of students and servicing 4 schools per day, then capacity would be increased without adding more busses or drivers. More importantly, with more students riding buses, the school district would receive significantly more than the $4,000,000 that it receives from the state in transportation reimbursement funds annually.

The LWSD Transportation Department has a bloated bureaucracy with one director and two supervisors earning a combined $240,000 per year. They have an additional 6 support staff who earn another $300,000. With more than $500,000 spent on transportation routing staff, it’s hard to believe how poorly planned so many of the bus routes are. Does anyone in the school district have any formal education in transportation planning? I have asked about this multiple times but the school district will simply say that their supervisors “have years of experience and are highly qualified.” According to Glenn Gorton, program supervisor for student transportation at the OSPI, “The state of Washington does not have any specific qualifications for Transportation Directors” ... “The hiring practices and qualifications for the individual school districts are handled on the local level and the local districts have the latitude to hire as they feel meets their needs.”   

 

Bus routing and trip planning software is available, but it requires a technology background and specialized training in order to get maximum efficiency. Providing training for the existing staff or hiring a seasoned computer-based transportation planner would save the school district thousands, if not millions of dollars, and many more students would be bused to school each day. 

There is a bright spot for possible transportation improvements on Education Hill. Students can ride Metro buses to school and LWSD will pay for bus passes for eligible students. Metro Bus #221 serves the Education Hill area but the bus route is not well synchronized with school start and end times. (How often do we see the bus traveling up and down 166th Avenue NE nearly empty?) Metro annually takes input and requests for route/schedule changes. I have asked the City of Redmond to work on morning and afternoon route changes that will coincide with school start and end times with the primary focus on helping students utilize Metro buses as an alternate transportation choice for getting to and from RMS and RHS. (This change would not take effect this school year.)

 

By Susan Wilkins

Education Hill and PTSA member

Leah Choi Leading Cassandra Sage In LWSD School Board Race

 

Leah Choi (53.99%) leading Casandra Sage (45.45%) as of 8:15 p.m. 11/2.

 
Education: B.S. Chemistry/Molecular Biology, University of Denver; Ph.D. Candidate Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego

Occupation: Parent; Financial Planner, Nordstrom

Statement:

In a rapidly changing world, students deserve a public education that will adapt and prepare them for success. This requires leaders who are committed to doing the work and driving educational progress.

Our schools must lead in educating students and communities on the critical issue of Earth’s climate. We are living with the consequences of human driven climate change, and we need to better prepare future generations for the challenge it poses.

I support the work to provide technical training for students who may choose non-traditional secondary education and will work to enhance and grow these opportunities, because not everyone learns the same way and there are many paths to success.

Finally, we need to consider implementing science-based recommendations like changing our school start times. Overwhelming evidence supports delaying school start times for adolescents. It’s time that we join the thousands of schools nationwide that have made this change and are reaping the benefits. My diverse background in education, science and business gives me a unique perspective to work collaboratively and achieve goals. It would be an honor to work for our community and I am grateful for your vote. Endorsed by: NWPC-WA and Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion.

-- 2021 King County Voters Pamphlet

Redmond Boys Lacrosse

"the fastest game on two feet"     "little brother of war"  

REGISTRATION CLOSES FEBRUARY 15TH

Free Registration and Equipment for K-2

Redmond Lacrosse FAQ

• Who plays in the Redmond Lacrosse Program? 
• How much does it cost to play?
• When is the boys season?
• What is the time commitment?
• Can a new player be competitive?
• When are the practices and why do they change from week to week?
• When are the games?
• What equipment do I need?
• 3/4 Division runs on a different schedule, when does play begin?
• What are the 3/4 Division program details?
• Who are the coaches?
• What about Weather?
• How do I improve my lacrosse game?
• How do I get more playing time?
• What are the rules of lacrosse?

 Q: Who plays in the Redmond Lacrosse Program? 

It is open to all boys who attend any school feeding Redmond High School.

Players whose home address lies within these boundaries and who attend school that feeds multiple high schools, or players attending schools outside the boundary who don’t have lacrosse programs are also eligible.

Six Eastside "Mental Health and Wellness" Events

 Nami-Eastside presents an Educational Forum...

“RESILIENCE- A FORGOTTEN STRENGTH”

Guest: Greg Schell, M.Ed.,

Director of Washington State Fathers Network

Tuesday, January 17, 2012, 7 PM - 9 PM

*Evergreen Hospital, Suite Tan 100, 12303 NE 130th Lane, Kirkland, WA 98034

For over 30 years Washington State Father's Network Director Greg Schell, M.Ed has been a teacher, family trainer, researcher and principal, working with families and young people. After a review of the research on dads having children with disability, Greg will address “resilience”, one of the amazing strengths all humans possess to deal with the challenges of life. Certain behaviors can increase our ability to manage the difficulties we encounter more successfully. Too much stress and we forgot that we have this incredible attribute. Please come willing to discuss some of your own resilient successes, as most likely you have something everyone can learn from. Join us! This event is FREE and open to EVERYONE!   PHONE: 425-885-NAMI (6264) WEB: http://www.nami-eastside.org/   E-MAIL: INFO@NAMI-EASTSIDE.ORG

*Evergreen offers In-Home Mental Health Services.

*********************************************************************************

NAMI Advocacy Day in Olympia

Monday, January 16th, 2012 - All Day

Join concerned engaged citizens from across the state as we travel to Olympia to meet with our legislators. This is an all day event. NAMI Eastside will be traveling to Olympia to meet with several Senators and Representatives from the Eastside of King county that represent the many cities that we serve. We will be advocating for the rights of our citizens that have a mental illness and for funding of mental health services. Please join in!

Call 425 885 6264 or email info@nami-eastside.org  for more information.   

 Read More Events >>

LWSD Administrator Jane Todd holds Town Hall Meeting at Evergreen Junior High

RHS Principal Jane Todd at the podium w/ associates
 addressing the LWSD Board, 2009.  Her speech topic:
"Building culture at RHS" 

from the desk of  RHS District Principal Jane Todd to the Redmond High Community...

I had the pleasure of meeting with all the 8th and 9th graders at Evergreen Junior High School a couple
of weeks ago (don't worry, RJHS, your turn will come in early 2012.) Other administrators from both
EHS and RHS participated with me in a Town Meeting format. I have to first tell you I was absolutely
charmed by all their questions, but my favorite was: Student: "So, tell me about the parking lot
situation at Redmond High." Me: (after a significant pause in which I tried to determine the seriousness of the question) "Well, if you can drive - with a license to do so - you can get a parking pass." The student was in the 8th grade. Never let it be said these students do not plan ahead.

At the end of each session, we were asked by Jan Olson, Principal at EJHS, to give one piece of advice
that students could act on now. Mine was, "Reflect on who you are, what you have done to date to
meet the goals you have for yourself and what changes you may need to make for the future because
you will have a fresh start next fall." I went on to mention that there are only a few times in our lives
when we have the opportunity to start over with a fresh slate. Read More >>

Celebrating 40 years of Seahawk History

Celebrating 40 years of Seahawk History -- King County News

This weekend the Seattle Seahawks will battle the Green Bay Packers for a chance to return to the Super Bowl and defend their title. In many ways it is a fitting home finale, given their dominate performance over Green Bay to start the 2014 football season. This season also marks the 40th year since the NFL awarded Seattle a professional football team. In this newsletter let's take some time to reflect on how far the franchise has come since its inception 40 years ago.

Seattle Seahawks President Peter McLaughlin lets Pete von Reichbauer hold the Lombardi Trophy at the VMAC as part of a ceremony recognizing both the Hawks World Championship and Pete’s contribution to keeping the Seahawks in Seattle!

When the NFL and AFL merged in 1972, the newly formed league began making plans to expand from 26 to 28 teams. In December 1974, then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced the official signing of a Seattle franchise agreement with the Nordstrom family and other civic leaders.

Early in 1975, the fledgling franchise showed early signs of what would eventually become "The 12th Man," with over 20,000 fans participating in a contest to name the franchise. The team was originally going to be called the Seattle Kings, but the name Seahawk (meaning Osprey) was selected.

The "Hawks" played their first season in 1976, quarterbacked by Jim Zorn and coached by Jack Patera. In just a few seasons the Seahawks went from an expansion franchise to a 1983 playoff contender led by future Hall of Famer Steve Largent.

"In the early 1980's, Seattle was a much smaller town and the team didn't have the national buzz of today's reigning world champions," said original season ticket holder and current King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer. Read More >>

UPDATED 4/25/2024: EvergreenHealth Commissioners Hold Open Public Meetings

EvergreenHealth Public Hospital District No. 2

Open Government

"By enabling the public to observe the workings of government, Open Government helps them hold the government accountable. In addition, enhanced public participation can result in more informed and better government policies, practices and decisions, and in more responsive, innovative and effective governance and services."

EvergreenHealth's Board of Commissioners meet publicly two times each month in Tan 250 (Community Meeting Room Chambers) of the "Physicians and Surgeons Building." 

• The third Tuesday of the month at 5:30 pm the commissioners start their Business Meeting. Public comment is taken at 6:30 pm in the Community Meeting Room Chambers. (suggest you call 425-899-1000 to confirm the meeting time; times may change.)
• Educational Sessions are held the first Friday of every month in Tan Room 250, Community Meeting Room Chambers.  When the Agenda has an "Action" item, there's an opportunity for Public comment.  
  
• Budget Hearing:  Budget Hearings are held once a year, the first Friday of  November at 7 a.m. in the Tan 250 Community Meeting Room Chamber   Notice is give in the Seattle Times newspaper 2-weels before the Hearing. 
• The Study Session was eliminated in 2021.  

Chamber Location:  Go down the narrow, winding hallway (hung with awesome history photos) of Tan 250 "Public Meeting" Room located in the  Physicians & Surgeon Building.  

Photography and video-recording are forbidden in Board chambers unless the Board makes an exception.  Several of seven commissioners are appointed, not elected.  

-- Bob Yoder, Updated 4/25/2024

UPDATED: Our School Board selected an outstanding search firm for superintendent

 James Hager is seated left of Tony Apostle

OPINION:  Yesterday, seven of us (six parents and one community member) met with high level but down to earth search firm executives, James Hager, PhD and Dr. Tony Apostle. We gave them feedback on what we wanted in a new superintendent.  I was surprised so few showed up, however they are taking notes at over 15 other focus groups. 

I can't thank the school board enough for hiring this R&A firm to advise them.  Jim was a superintendent in four school districts and Tony got his bachelor's at University of Washington and PhD in education at Washington State.  He was an English teacher, principal and Superintendent in Pierce county and has been an executive at R&A for years.  In so many words Jim said there's no need for an overhaul.

R&A is open to traditional and non-traditional applicants.  LWSD is becoming a very diverse, global community and I commented our board should consider candidates from that perspective.  The first question Jim and Tony asked was what we liked about LWSD.  The parents in our group really liked how the district and community cared about our students.  They valued our strong PTSA.  An Asian parent stressed keeping the bar high and adjusting it according to the capabilities of the student.  We all talked about the overriding educational influence of technology in our district, STEM in particular.  I suggested more emphasis on art and music and Tony quipped, yes, STEMA.  I also asked for a superintendent who encourages innovation and community participation.  We worried  about young teachers long commutes from more affordable cities like Maple Valley and even Everett with concerns they would leave our district. Apparently, about 50% have to commute but they do because we have a top school district.  If we continue to allow overcrowding many good teachers may get dissatisfied and find work in districts closer to home.  Early start times make it hard on commuting teachers [and students] too.

8th Annual Cub Scout Derby at Redmond Town Center

Come have fun with us at the Sammamish Trails District Pinewood Derby!

Saturday May 5th, 2012

Racing starts at 11:00am

Northwest Scouters is pleased to sponsor the 8th Annual Sammamish Trails District Pinewood Derby races. Everyone had an outstanding time at last year's event and this year we are set to have very exciting and fun filled day for the Cub Scouts and their families. Come join us and watch the racing action!

Redmond Town Center will host this year's races. RTC is located in Redmond, WA, just east of intersection of 166th Ave. NE and Cleveland Street.  Read More >>

Slough Safari: Wildlife you never expected to see in Redmond

Contributed by John Reinke, 20 year Redmond resident. 

"Over the past 4 or 5 years, I have made it a practice to walk along the Sammamish Slough several times a week. I usually start out at the Redmond Senior Center. From there I either head north to the rust colored foot bridge where 105th Street would be (if it existed), or I head south and go to the point where Leary Way crosses the slough. Either leg is about a mile in length, so the total distance is about 2 miles."  (click photos to enlarge)

During that time, I have seen quite a variety of birds and animals in or near the slough, including some I never expected.. Some of them may surprise you, too. (Naturally, I have seen a fair number of salmon, too.)  I carry a small spiral notebook in which I record my observations, noting species, location and time of day. Sometimes I carry a point-and-shoot digital camera also. As I am generally a late riser, almost all of my observations have been recorded between 10am and dusk.

Below is an annotated list of animals I have seen, followed by a list of birds.  (If you'd like to add your observations to the list, please leave a comment!)

Animals seen along the slough  (photo of beaver-gnawed tree)

beaver Mostly seen in retention pond at NE corner of intersection where NE 90th Street crosses slough

deer  At dusk by woodcarver Dudley Carter’s cabin near Leary Way. Very handsome antlered buck.

river otter I have seen a pair of otters 3 or 4 times in the slough.  They are very playful said she saw a mother with 4 kits near the Luke McRedmond.  Bats Seen feeding on insects at dusk over the slough..

Coyote This nervy fellow was nonchalantly loping across the lawn close to the west side of City Hall

Mink Seen poking around in the grass and logs by the retention pond, quite oblivious to my presence 15 or 20 feet away. I think it was young.

Muskrat rarely seen in the slough. -rabbit - turtle Common.

Birds and Waterfowl  (photo of ring-necked ducks)

American widgeon Typically seen in flocks of males and females

Canada geese Common year round -Oregon junco

bufflehead  seen in retention pond at NE corner of intersection where NE 90th Street crosses slough.

cedar waxwing Seen in flocks -chipping sparrow

cormorants Seen in flocks that roost in trees along the slough in winter.

eagle Solitary eagles seen infrequently

gadwall Not common; seen in pairs Common Goldeneye, Not too common

grebe, pied-billed Seen frequently -grebe, western A single pair seen once

heron, great blue A solitary bird seen frequently; more than one spotted along the slough on same day

heron, green-backed Seen once in retention pond; have photo

killdeer - kingfisher Seen a few times

mallards Very common -merganser, common -  merganser, hooded Fairly common

osprey Seen rarely -pheasant Male pheasant seen only once

ring-necked duck, scaup - greater scaup, lesser - Not common; seen in retention pond

wood duck Single pair seen once; have photo

text and photos by John Reinke, Education Hill

UPDATED: LW School District Tightens the Spigot to Citizen Participation

UPDATED:  4/19
ATTN:   Since this story was published, the Administration edited this link to the Board meeting schedule and included an asterisk* to flag public comment opportunities.  


Six Regular Board Meeting now start a 5 or 5:30PM this year instead of 7PM. (On 4/19 Pres. Pendergrass called these meeting time changes "emergencies", for various reasons.  


Four of the 5:00 & 5:30PM Regular Meetings are now planned between April and June (Neighborhood meetings and Hearings for the STEM School and Rose Hill JH projects occur during these months. )

The remaining Public comment periods in 2011 are scheduled in following meetings: April 18, May 2, June 6, June 20. and August 8.  SUBJECT TO CHANGE!  (Chip Kimball sets the agenda and Pres. Pendergrass approves it)

Parents have three oppotunities left to speak
 to the School Board, Mr. Kimball and Staff this school year.
They are "waiting" to hear frrom you.

 UPDATED, 4/6 - The District changes some of their meeting times again.   A quick note to parents and community -- opportunities for public comment and participation with Lake Washington School District Board members and Sup. Chip Kimball is tightening up.  So, if you'd like to give some input to the folks who run our schools now's the time. 

Only three school board meetings are left for public comment this school year after Spring Break:  April 4, 5:30pm [scratch], April 18 (5:00)   May 2 (7:00pm) [time changed again], and May 16 (5:30pm), June 6th (5pm), June 20 (7pm) [meeting added] all are on a Monday.  The 5:00 pm time isn't convenient for most working parents with children, but that's what the Administration and Board scheduled.  For some reason, the meetings were originally set for 7PM but then rescheduled for the dinner hour. 

There's lots of stuff going on right now in the District:

• Modernization of Rose Hill Junior and others
• STEM School curriculum decisions
• STEM School site location, busing and traffic Public Hearing
• Redmond High and Eastlake High additions/remodeling
• Class reconfiguration to 9-12  / 6-8
• [Budget Public Hearing, August 8.] 

Probably, the best place to comment on all of these issues is the Monday, May 2 at 7PM.  Board Meeting (timed for right after Spring Break).  It's held at the Lake Washington District HQ in Redmond Town Center.  The Board wants you to sign-in 15 minutes early if you plan to speak (up to 3 minutes).  If you're late, Jackie Pendergrass  may have a grace period.  (Often times, the Administration plans a pre-business meeting event.)

On April 5 and 6th at 7pm, the Administration will hold a public meeting at Rose Hill Junior High cafeteria to address "remodernization" of Rose Hill JH.   Notice of the meeting was given to the bordering homes but if you have questions the meeting is open to the public.

If you're interested in commenting on the STEM School land use project, location, and traffic -  a good meeting for input is the April 5 Hearing (6-8pm) at Alcott  El.  Details and Directions.  If you have any questions or need directions for any of the meetings contact Kathryn Reith at kreith@lwsd.org .

Email is often a convenient way to communicate to the Board.  The Administration is creating an email address for writing to all Board members at once.  Chip Kimball emailed today:  "We are going to be putting that in place."

Reported by Bob Yoder

The Regular Meeting for the Annual Budget Hearing is scheduled for August 8, 7PM 

Click this link for the schedules of ALL Board Meetings:  http://www.lwsd.org/About/School-Board/Board-Meetings/Pages/School-Board-Calendar.aspx.  Meetings are subject to change!  Email Kathryn Reith if you have any questions about meeting times:  kreith@lwsd.org

"Falling Leaves & Restless Kids", by Kay Tarapolsi

The leaves have fallen, it's gotten colder and now we won't get to enjoy the great local Redmond parks within walking distance from our house.

So what is to become of my sanity? Being at home all day long with a young child is enough to send anyone online looking for things to do out of the rain. It's good that we live in a community that is one step ahead of moms that need a break from shopping and dads a break from getting the bills from shopping.

A place to start is the Redmond Community Center Open play. Children between the ages of 1-5 pay $3 to come on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Thursday between the hours of 10am and 12pm to play. The auditorium is big with lots of seating for moms and there are a ton of driving toys and other distractions for the little ones.

Another option, McDonald's a more expensive one, is to join the Great Play. I had a chance to visit during their open house and was quite impressed with the teachers and the facilities. They have classes set up for different aged kids at different times, so be sure to check their website for times and costs. When the kids are climbing the walls, why not take them someplace that they can do that safely? Try Vertical World's Fall Youth Climbing Programs. Be sure to let me know how it goes since mine is still a bit on the wee side! For those that would rather bounce than climb, be sure to check out the Arena Sports Inflatable Playground off of Willow's road. The times vary for their drop in programs, but buying an unlimited pass will sure help with keeping those finances down as the kids bounce up.

With so many people that work in Microsoft that live in the area, this next one might not come as a surprise, but I forget about it all the time. The Microsoft Museum is free every weekday. For the little ones that think dad lives at work sometimes, this might be a good way to show them what dad does while at work. Of course our fallback option is McDonald's on Redmond Way. Now that there are finally healthy choices on the menu, I don't feel as guilty taking the kids there when it's pouring out. Besides, the new gym area is much better then that play structure they had before. I was finally able to go in there and feel at ease with the food and play options.

Koloud 'Kay' Tarapolsi
Contributing author, Overlake Neighborhood

LWSD Return To School Update - Fully Remote Teaching

Dr. Jon Holmen, Superintendent

Dear Lake Washington Staff, Families, and Community, Over the last week I have been actively engaged with a number of entities as we evaluate our plans for school in the fall. As you know, we have been actively working through the details of developing remote learning and a hybrid model. We also asked families to indicate their preference for which model their child would learn in to start the year. I know the amount of time and considerations each family has gone through to evaluate which model is best for their child given the amount of information provided and questions that, at times, we were not able to answer. Today, I am announcing that Lake Washington students will be starting the 2020-21 school year learning in a fully remote setting.

LETTERS & COMMENTS: Post your opinions about Redmond light cameras here.

OPINIONS:  1900 red light camera violations have been reported between February 1 and March 1.  Redmond Police start writing $124 fines for red-light camera violations on March 3. 

You're invited to post your Letters and Opinions about Redmond's red light cameras here. All you have to do is write to redmondblog@gmail.com , or leave your name with a comment under any entry to post on this page.  Anonymous are posted as a Comment. 

LETTER:  I pass through the Union Hill/Avondale intersection three times a day/five days a week, and have nearly always seen the [red light camera] flash while I'm passing through. As with the previous two commenters, I have rarely seen any activity there that would have caught the attention of a police officer. It appears that 1,900 number is largely bloated by activity for which no police officer would have handed out a citation.

I'm deeply concerned by how this is going to play out starting Thursday.

Douglas Burchard
Rose Hill neighborhood
March 1, *Ref: 

Read More Letters and Comments >>

Peter Chee's thinkspace holds second annual thinkcamp

Peter Chee is owner of thinkspace in Redmond.  Thinkspace provides reasonably priced shared office space and services to help start-ups and entrepreneurs launch their business.  His phone is 425-629-6204.  Peter held a 2nd annual ThinkCamp seminar early this week.  I attended and was totally impressed by the quality of speakers, the topics, and energy of the audience.  Below, are introductions of ThinkCamp's speakers.   Email  Peter for more information, peter@thinkspace.com     

Twitter for Business
Steve Broback
The Parnassus Group (@sbroback)

Twitter is a great platform for engaging with your customers and generating new business. In this session Steve Broback will show some of his favorite tools, techniques, and sites that are helping organization of all sizes grow their revenues. steve@parnassusgroup.com

Protect Your Business Assets
Stacie McClure
Stacie McClure, CPA, PLLC (@staciecpa)

Join tax expert Stacie McClure, CPA, for her information-packed session on things you should do to protect your business assets. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn business tax do’s and don’ts from one of thinkspace’s resident CPA’s! stacie@staciecpa.com

Start-Up: The Non-Profit Way
Jeni Craswell
The Redmond Foundation (@RedFound)

We’ll explore the steps to forming a non-profit organization that are particularly effective in setting the stage for success and discuss how this approach differs from a traditional entrepreneurial project. jeni@theredmondfoundation.org

Building Brand Advocates through Influencer Engagement
Sean O’Driscoll
Ant’s Eye View (@seanodmvp)

This session explains how identifying and fostering deeper connections with a company’s most loyal and respected fans – influencers – can help to infuse the customer’s voice back into the business and empower customers to become advocates in speaking on behalf of the brand. sean@antseyeview.com

Getting Back to ‘Business as Usual’ After an Unusual Disaster
Sam Shmikler
Resilient & Tested (@resilienttested)

If a major disruption stopped your business in its tracks how would YOU quickly recover your: a) physical location b) computer systems c) staff (e.g. Pandemic) or d) business processes? This session will cover what should be planned, where to look for recovery options, and how to calculate the cost of impact of disasters. sam@resilientandtested.com

Psychology of Sales
Paul Anderson
Prolango (@prolango)

Utilizing his background in business psychology and communications, Paul will be teaching you how to learn how to close more sales and increase your chance of success during these tough economic times. paul@prolango.com

Local Search Optimization
Shannon Evans
Practical Local Search (@shannonevans)

Shannon will explain what Local Search Optimization is and how you can make it work as a web hub for your business. shannon@practicallocalsearch.com   http://www.practicallocalsearch.com/    Shannon is a boys lacrosse coach!