From Ms. Cleaves

• Shout out to our SBA testing team (Dr. Mehlberg, Mrs. Larson, Ms. Lee, Mrs. Doughty, and Mrs. Eason) for organizing a successful spring testing season!
• Thank you to the PTSA for providing snacks for spring testing!
• Shout out to Mrs. Jackson for her outstanding presentation to the school board on the social studies curriculum adoption!
• Kudos to Ms. Christensen and her leadership students for making wishes come true during Care Week

From Ms. Delman

• Shout out to all our students for finishing their second round of SBA testing this year. I’m so proud of all of you for the hard work you put in this week and the entire year 😊

From Mrs. Jackson

• Shout-out to Ms. Christensen and Ms. Garrels for joining me on the social studies curriculum adoption committee! The work has required countless hours and flexibility, and while it isn’t finished for 8th grade, we got Board approval for 7th grade this week.

• Thank you to Ms. Christensen for her amazing work to care for students during SBA week! So many students had wishes granted for small treats, notes, and words of encouragement. It was amazing to see their faces light up when a wish was granted!

Congratulations to FHMS 22-23 ASB officers!

Cabinet: Wyatt Schlosser, Sophia Tanke

Secretary: Charlotte Gonzales-Meza

Treasurer: Xander McMichael

Vice President: Bennett Kvam

President: Ryan Mertel

• May 13, SBA Make Up Testing Begins
• Week of May 16, Make Up Testing Continues
• May 16, WCAS Testing, 8th Grade

Positive COVID-19 Cases

We have had 21 confirmed positive COVID-19 case(s) at our school this week. Families of close contacts have already been, or will be, contacted regarding these positive cases. For privacy concerns, please do not email or call the school or district asking about which classes are impacted because we cannot give out that information. Thank you for your understanding on this.

Please continue to follow all safety precautions and requirements for coming on site.

COVID testing onsite hours have changed a bit at Finn Hill. Testing is available on Fridays from 8:30 AM-9:30 AM.

In the past year, we’ve made great strides in making our library book collection more reflect our student population. Please help the library continue to expand their selection. If you’d like to buy a book (or books!) for the Finn Hill library, go to our gift registry at: https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/2FVS1GUX6EIZJ/guest-view

Books can be purchased and sent directly to Finn Hill. If you have any questions, please contact Peter Strong at pestrong@lwsd.org.

• May. 24, Algebra Information Night, 6:00 PM-6:30 PM, Teams
• May 24, FHMS PTSA Community Meeting and volunteer appreciation & new member welcome event, in person @ FHMS, 7:00 PM-9:00 PM

• June 2-Future Falcon Visit (fifth graders visit FHMS), 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
• June 10, Eighth Grade Family Fun Center Field Trip
• June 14-Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony, 6:30 PM-8:00 PM, Gym
• June 15-Eighth Grade Clap Out, 2:45 PM-3:05 PM
• June 16-Field Day, 1:00 PM-2:30 PM
• June 17-Last Day of School (Half Day)

The City of Kirkland placed traffic count equipment (in this case, video cameras) to record vehicle movements which are commonly used by traffic count companies. The cameras are at the school's parking lot entrances and at the intersections along the school's boundaries. It sounds like they are only temporary and will not be up for long. If you have questions, please contact Sheila Kembel, LWSD School Safety and Crisis Manager, at skembel@lwsd.org.

SEEK Outdoor Adventures for Teens is a new program being offered by the City of Kirkland designed to bring pre-teens and teens into nature for guided hiking trips and other outdoor experiences. The program supports all levels of interest and experience, with a focus on youth who have not had the opportunity to participate in outdoor recreation activities. The goal is to improve youth access with outdoor experiences that fosters sense of belonging, empowerment, and confidence in outdoor spaces. Outcomes include appreciation for the outdoors, building community, and learning about the benefits of being outside.

The outings are free of charge and include free equipment (i.e. backpacks and shoes) for those interested. Staff have put together a pre-registration form for any teen that might be interested in participating.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions/concerns.

Regi Schubiger (she/her)

City of Kirkland

Youth Services Coordinator

Office: 425.587.3323

Cell: 206.295.4707

Fax: 425.587.3300

END OF SCHOOL YEAR COUNTDOWN: Our last day of school is a half day on June 17th.

PTSA MEETING: May 24th at 7pm, in the FHMS library. In person! With refreshments!! We will be welcoming incoming 6th grade families, saying goodbye to graduating 8th grade families, recognizing our volunteers, and electing our 2022-2023 PTSA Board. You can see the PTSA Board nominees here. Notably absent are nominees for PRESIDENT, VP SCHOOL SERVICES, and VP F.A.C.E. It is not too late to help though! Please contact kdorwin@gmail.com or sfrikken@gmail.comif you can serve on the board next year.

8th GRADE GRADUATION SIGNS: Please keep an eye out in your email for information regarding 8th grade graduation signs. Details to come soon!

Education/Enrichment:

AWARDS: FHMS PTSA is accepting nominations for their annual awards. (Golden Acorn, Outstanding Educator, and Falcon PRIDE) Please send in your nominations here.

SCHOLARSHIPS: FHMS PTSA offers scholarships to graduating seniors. Click here for details and to apply.

Dear LWSD Staff/Families:

Over the past several weeks, I am sure you have noticed an increase in positive case reporting from our schools. Cases are rising in our community and in our schools. King County moved into the “Medium COVID-19 Community Level” as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): over 200 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period. The ”medium” risk category tells us that the risk of contracting COVID-19 is increasing across our community.

We continue to monitor health and safety conditions while partnering with our public health agencies in order to preserve learning opportunities for our students.

We want to take this opportunity to remind our families of several precautions we can all take to keep each other healthy:

• Keep your child home when sick and notify the school. You can visit our “Too Sick for School” webpage if you have any questions about when to keep your child home.
• Testing – The District is providing access to testing for students and staff in response to increased cases. You can get information about testing on our “COVID-19 Testing” webpage. Please only use the on-site testing if you received an Exposure Notification Letter from your student’s school. If it is your first time requesting a test, ensure you have completed the consent form before signing up for testing. You will only need to do the consent form one time for the year. Please remember to keep students home if they are showing symptoms.
• Hand Hygiene – Schools will continue to remind students about the importance of frequent hand washing and sanitizing. Please remember to wash your hands often.

• Masking – Masks are required for all people entering health or isolation rooms. LWSD will continue to maintain a supply of masks for students or staff. LWSD respects student and staff choices for masking in other areas. Additionally, there may be times when we will strongly encourage masking in a classroom or school in the event of an outbreak of cases.
• Vaccination – Governor Inslee has not modified the vaccination requirement for LWSD employees, contractors, and volunteers. Given this, the district continues to implement this order as written. Vaccination resources are available on the Seattle | King County Public Health website: Getting vaccinated in King County - King County.

LWSD will continue to provide notifications of potential COVID-19 exposure as required by the State Department of Health (DOH). Exposure is assumed if a student shares a class, bus, or participates in a sport or activity with someone that has tested positive. This notice is provided to all students/staff if they share any of the spaces listed above regardless of whether they were in close contact.

We recognize that in trying to comply with the DOH guidelines on notification that many of you are receiving more communications than in the past. We are currently reviewing our options to see if there is a better way in which we can provide meaningful information about cases and comply with the DOH guidelines while also reducing the amount of communication.

Our goal is to keep healthy students and staff in school to the greatest extent possible. Should an outbreak occur in a school building, we may need to close specific classrooms or recommend families take additional precautions such as masking, after consultation with the Department of Health.

I want to thank all our students, families, and staff who have continually been willing to take the steps necessary and adapt to changes in dealing with COVID-19.

Sincerely,

Jon

Dr. Jon Holmen, Superintendent
Lake Washington School District

It has come to our attention that there is some confusion surrounding the schedule for Wednesday, June 15. June 15 will follow the regular Wednesday schedule (dismissed at 1:35 pm).

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the USDA has funded free meals to all students, The USDA free meal waiver is set to expire on June 30, 2022. As a result, the district will start charging fees again for lunch and breakfast starting in the 2022-23 school year. The district will continue to provide student meals free of charge at all school sites through June 30, 2022.

Free and Reduced Meal Applications

Even though meals are free through June 30 of this school year, we strongly encourage all families who might be eligible for benefits to submit an application now. Filling out an application now may qualify families to receive seamless meal benefits through October 15 to start the new school year. Completing an application online through Myschoolapps takes less than 10 minutes, and parents only need to complete one application per family.

For more information, you can also visit our website: www.lwsd.org/pathway-forward/grab-go-student-meals.

Additional Benefits for Free and Reduced

Students that are eligible for Free and Reduced meals are also eligible to receive fee waivers for athletics, extracurricular activities, and ASB cards. In order for the district to waive these fees, you must provide consent to share your Free and Reduced eligibility status for this purpose. You can provide consent on the Free and Reduced application. If you are already qualified for free and reduced meals or you are directly certified through the State, you can provide your consent to share eligibility information in Family Access by following these instructions|instrucciones.

For more information about fee waivers, please visit our website: How to Waive Extra-Curricular Fees - Lake Washington School District (lwsd.org)

School Counselors can also help connect you with benefits that you may be eligible for if you qualify for free and reduced meals.

We will be doing SBA make-ups tests all next week and into the following as well. Our current make-up schedule is below. If your child is healthy and you know they missed a test, please send them to school with a fully charged laptop. Snacks will not be provided, but students can bring their own if they choose. Gum will NOT be allowed, as school policy.

Dear 8th Grade Families:

Here are some important updates to the end of the year activities for your students:

1. Family Fun Center: See the attached letter below for information about the field trip to the Family Fun Center.

2. Honor Wall Reminder: We would like to celebrate your student’s promotion to high school by displaying two pictures of them on a bulletin board: one from when they started elementary school (K) and one of them as an 8th grader as part of an honor wall to be displayed during the month of June. Please provide us with two digital pictures of your child (labeled with their name) by uploading them to the folder linked here. We hope to have this display up by June 1st, so we ask that you turn your pictures in by Monday, May 29.

3. Promotion Ceremony Invitation: See the attached invitation below for details on our evening promotion ceremony. The link to RSVP is included as well.

These are a few of the exciting events we have planned to mark the end of the school year at Finn Hill Middle School. Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

Mission

Each student will graduate prepared to lead a rewarding, responsible life as a contributing member of our community and greater society.

Vision

Every student future ready: Prepared for college, Prepared for the global workplace, Prepared for personal success

Website: https://fhms.lwsd.org/
Location: 8040 NE 132nd St, Kirkland, WA, USA
Phone: (425) 936-2340
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FinnHillMiddleSchool
Twitter: @FinnHillMS