Free meals for the 2021-22 school year 

Lake Washington School District will continue to provide meals free of charge at all school sites for the 2021-22 school year due to a USDA-issued waiver. This nationwide waiver allows for free meals for the 2021-22 school year only.  

Apply for free or reduced-price meals for additional benefits 
Families that previously qualified for free or reduced-price meal benefits will need to reapply to continue receiving district supported fee reductions and benefits. Depending on your family income and size, your student may qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Families that are eligible for free and reduced meals may also qualify to have fees for ASB cards, sports participation and other extracurricular activities waived by providing your consent to share eligibility information on the application. If you have already completed an application or are directly certified, you can also provide your consent to share eligibility information in Family Access by following these instructions|instrucciones. 

To apply for free or reduced-price meals:

Preferred method – Complete an online application

Or:

1. Please print the application and information | aplicación y información*
2. Fill it out completely submit application one of these ways:
   • Scan and mail it to F-RMealapp@lwsd.org, or
   • Return it to your child’s school office, or
   • Drop it off at the Resource Center, 16250 NE 74th St., Redmond, WA, or
   • Mail it to: Business Services, PO Box 97039, Redmond, WA 98052

*For applications in other languages, please go to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service website.

Note: Children of parents who qualify for Basic Food, formerly known as food stamps, are automatically enrolled in the free lunch program. For more information, go to www.foodhelp.wa.gov.

Questions?

Call the Nutrition Services office at 425-936-1393 or email NutritionServ@lwsd.org.

 

View the 2021-22 school year calendar  

The 2021-22 LWSD school calendar is available on the district website. Here is a direct link to the PDF of the calendar from the site (Spanish).   

 

Student health plans and immunization records

Lake Washington School District is committed to the health and wellness of our students. Each school has a registered nurse available to provide a range of services. At the beginning of each school year, nurses collect student health information to plan for needs during the school day. As we plan for the 2021-22 school year, we want to remind everyone of a couple important health-related items.

1. Immunizations: The State Board of Health (SBOH) has approved changes to Chapter 246-105 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) concerning school and child care immunization policy. These rules apply to all public and private schools and licensed child care centers in Washington State. The update to Chapter 246-105 WAC has three major focuses:

• It now requires medically verified immunization records for school and child care entry.
• It clarifies conditional status in regards to school and child care immunization requirements and implementation.
• It changes the Tdap immunization requirement to seventh through 12th grades.
• It states that immunization information must be provided to schools prior to the student attending classes, and the conditional status no longer applies.

Medically Verified Records
The revised rule requires medically verified immunization records for school and child care entry. Medically verified records include one or more of the following:

• A Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) printed from the Immunization Information System (IIS)
• A physical copy of the CIS form with a healthcare provider signature
• A physical copy of the CIS with accompanying medical immunization records from a healthcare provider verified and signed by school staff
• A CIS printed from MyIR
• Download a copy of the CIS

LWSD is transitioning to School Module in Washington Immunization Information System (WAIIS) which requires parent consent for nurses to upload immunization records. Please sign the WAIIS consent form in Skyward Family Access to allow the building nurse to manage your child’s immunization records.

Learn more: https://www.lwsd.org/programs-and-services/health-services/immunizations

Questions about immunizations? Please contact your school nurse or Dr. Keandra Thompson, Health Services Manager.

 

Kindergarten Family Connections help students, families have a successful year

The first day of school for grades 1-12 is on Wednesday, September 1. Kindergarten students will have Family Connection Meetings on September 1, 2 or 3, followed by a staggered first day of school on September 7, 8 or 9. Kindergarten families should expect to receive additional information from their school about their specific schedules by the end of August.

Need to know your school’s start and end time? Visit our school hours page.

 

LWSD back to school countdown on Facebook 

We are excited to welcome back our students for the 2021-22 school year! As we all prepare for the first day of school, visit the LWSD Facebook page for a list of resources that will help prepare your student for in-person learning. Follow us over the next week as we count down to the first day of school! 

 

District tip line 

Safety is one of our district’s top priorities and to help safeguard our school community, we’ve taken an important step that we want to share with you. Our district is now using Vector Alert, a tip reporting service that allows students, staff and parents to submit safety concerns to our administration five different ways: 

1. App: Search for “Vector Alert” in the App Store to download for free   
2. Phone: 425.529.5763   
3. Text: Text your tip to 425.529.5763   
4. Email: 1342@alert1.us   
5. Web: http://1342.alert1.us

If an administrator is not nearby or available to take your tip, you and your child can easily report tips on bullying, harassment, drugs, vandalism, threats of violence or any safety issue you're concerned about through Vector Alert. When you submit a tip, be sure to use our district’s identification code: 1342 in your communication. 

Every tip Vector Alert receives about our district is immediately logged in the system and our administration is notified so that they can investigate and take appropriate action. And, tips may also be submitted anonymously if you prefer. 

Together, using Vector Alert, we can make our district a safer place to work and learn! Thanks in advance for your support. 

 

Getting to/from school:  

Riding the bus: As part of the Student Information Verification process, families who qualify for transportation can request transportation services. The district provides transportation only to those students living outside a one-mile radius, unless the district has reviewed walk routes and determined no safe walk routes are available. Within that boundary, our practice allows for elementary students to walk up to one and a half miles to school and middle and high school students to walk up to two miles. Students with walk distances that exceed these limits are eligible for bus service. These guidelines are used to establish all walk boundaries for Lake Washington School District. It is important that you sign up for transportation services through the Student Information Verification process. 

Bus route information should have been communicated to parents no later than August 25 for the 2021-22 school year. 

Questions about buses? Contact the Transportation Department at 425-936-1120 or visit the transportation page.  

Walking or bicycling: Walking and bicycling are healthy ways for students to get to school. Suggested Walk Route Maps for elementary schools are available on the district website. A subcommittee of the district’s Safety Advisory Committee, along with traffic and pedestrian safety experts, worked with a consultant to develop these safe walking/biking routes.  

 

Peachjar to deliver community electronic flyers  

LWSD will continue using the Peachjar eflyer service this school year. Peachjar distributes eflyers from nonprofit organizations as well as from schools and school-related organizations directly to parent email inboxes. If you are new to LWSD, you will receive a welcome email from Peachjar that gives instructions on how to manage flyer delivery preferences. Learn more about Peachjar. 

 

Teen Startup event application deadline  

The LWSD Teen Startup Challenge is designed to promote student startup ideas and venture creation. The challenge provides the opportunity for high school students to win prizes and learn from local business leaders. Finalists will present their ideas and business plans and receive invaluable feedback from successful professionals. The application for this event is midnight on September 27, 2021. Visit www.lwsd.org/teen-startup to learn more about this event. 

 

Building on Success is Lake Washington School District's long-term plan to reduce overcrowding, accommodate growing enrollment, and continue to provide quality learning environments and experiences for our students.

Juanita High student helping women in need receive important supplies they require

Ria Mohan, junior at Juanita High School, has been busy. As part of project for her work with Future Health Professionals (also known as HOSA), Ria interviewed people at 17 homeless shelters to gather data on available feminine products. Overall, she found that these shelters only have enough to supply women with these items one or two times a month, or even just once a year. Read more about this on the district website.

 

Go Baby Go project helps kids with Cerebral Palsy

A group of freshman from Nikola Tesla STEM High School is helping kids with Cerebral Palsy move around a little easier. As part of their end of year project, this team partnered with a program by the name of Go Baby Go. It is a program that provides modified, ride-on cars to young children with disabilities so they can move around independently. Smaller wheelchairs for toddlers are very expensive and they grow out of them quickly. Read more about this project on the district website. 

 

Share a picture with us! #LWSDFirstDay

Welcome back! The first day of school is coming up for LWSD students. Please send us a message through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram of your photos and videos of your students returning to school for a chance to be featured on our social media channels! Let's celebrate learning together! 

We're hiring!

LWSD is always seeking great talent for positions throughout our district. Check out the LWSD website for job descriptions and postings. Current positions include: bus drivers, instructional assistants, paraeducators and more.

 

This newsletter is just one way to stay in touch with what is happening in the district. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for up-to-date news and information.