Lakeside Parents and Guardians Association Upper School News
May 26, 2017
Warm thanks to our 2016-17 PGA volunteers!
With the end of the school year only two weeks away, there's a palpable sense of excitement everywhere. Seniors and their families are celebrating, while other students and families are happily anticipating summer break. I hope you'll join me in thanking our 2016-17 PGA leaders, class reps, committee chairs, volunteers, and staff for their year of service as an extraordinary variety of events and opportunities were made possible due to their effort and commitment. Also, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all parents and guardians; your passion for our school, the generosity of your time and resources, and your authenticity in building relationships with one another strengthened our community!
The end of the school year is also a time to reflect upon how well the PGA served your needs as well as how we can better reach out and connect with you. We welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Wishing you a beautiful summer with your family!
Best,
Julia Cho
PGA Upper School Vice President, 2016-17
Parents and guardians in attendance at PGA events throughout the year.
PGA news for Upper School grades
Click here for the complete Lakeside School calendar.
Click here for the PGA home page and PGA events.
9th-grade news
Big thanks to the freshman parents and guardians who contributed this year to the many wonderful PGA events. Many of you volunteered in a variety of ways such as organizing events, helping out with Rummage sorting and the Rummage sale, supporting APPLE faculty and staff appreciation events, hosting and participating in the potlucks, and by facilitating and attending peer group meetings. Thanks for your terrific support of the Lakeside community! Best regards from your class reps: Lauren Lazar, Ying Lu, Susan Mayfield, and Carrie Simchuk.
- Our fantastic 2017-18 class reps: Jharna Jain, Kristin Leffler, Ying Lu, and Rosanna Palomino.
- Our last Rummage sorting for this school year is on Thursday, June 1, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Rummage Depot. Drop-in as your schedule allows.
10th-grade news
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you, as partners in the education of your children, for the support you have given to our Lakeside community. From potlucks to ROAR, Rummage sortings to athletic and arts events, peer group meetings to tailgates, parent lectures to PGA meetings, and much, much more, you were there! Parents and guardians help to make the Lakeside experience richer and more fun and fulfilling for all of our students. Thanks also to the fantastic parents and guardians who stepped up to volunteer for PGA roles next year. Wishing you a great summer from your 10th-grade class reps: Lisa Crisera, Rhea Coler, Kate Jack, and Hejin Yim.
- Our fantastic 2017-18 class reps: Bharathi Jagadeesh, Hui Hong Kao, Sujatha Khangaonkar, and Hejin Yim.
- Last chance to catch up with fellow parents and guardians while sorting at the Rummage Depot on Tuesday, May 30, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
- Visiting any colleges over the summer? Check out the guide to campus visits. Interested in learning more about next year's college counseling process? Check out the junior year college events list; it will be updated soon to reflect new dates for the class of 2019. Have questions and want a parent's perspective on the college process? Contact Julie Weed, outgoing PGA College Counseling Liaison.
11th-grade news
Our time as parents and guardians of juniors has flown by this year. We have held our last social, a well-attended coffee at General Porpoise Doughnuts. Our volunteer work for Rummage has finished for the year. Our last class responsibilities are the baccalaureate and commencement receptions, which already have full slates of volunteers. We would like to send a special thank you to all the volunteers who have powered the PGA this year. There was such great support at all levels: the leadership roles like committee chairs, the folks who signed up for specific events, and those who informally helped out at the last minute. We look forward to a busy summer as our students begin the college process in earnest. Have a wonderful and safe break! Your 11th-grade class reps: Catherine Allchin, Erica Jorgensen, Yazmin Mehdi, and Brian O'Fallon.
- Our fantastic 2017-18 class reps: Christine Craig, Sally Frankenberg, Julia Lee, and Erica Moon.
- Visiting any college over the summer? Check out the guide to campus visits. Thinking about next year's standardized testing for SAT, ACT, or subject tests? Read this primer from the college counseling office. Have questions and want a parent's perspective on the college process? Contact Julie Weed, outgoing PGA College Counseling Liaison.
12th-grade news
The conclusion of the high school years is upon us. It feels like a magic trick, pre-school to graduation in the blink of an eye. The students are exuberant and ready to launch with plans for college and gap years in place. We are sad to say goodbye, but excited about the future! We would like to thank this year's volunteers for Book Depot, APPLE, FOLA, potlucks, ROAR, logowear, Arts of Lakeside, peer group, GradGrams, prom, senior photo wall, and the other graduation-related events and activities. So many parents and guardians in our class have been longstanding school and PGA volunteers; we offer a heartfelt thank you for all you have contributed to our community through the years! For some, this is your last child graduating from Lakeside. We encourage you to come back for a lecture, tailgate, or play and say hello. Your Lakeside community will miss you! Wishing all the best from your class reps: Anne Marie Krivens, Linda Myhrvold, Katie Simmons, and Jann Vhugen.
- This weekend is prom for our seniors! Following the red carpet photos, we look forward to seeing parents and guardians of seniors at our dinner on Sunday, May 28, 6:30-9 p.m. at the WCC.
- Seniors, grab your yearbook and head to the WCC for your farewell dinner on June 6, 7:30-10 p.m. We'll provide a casual dinner, a sundae bar, and enough markers to sign all the yearbooks. There is no cost to attend and no need to RSVP. Just come for fun with friends and the best beach party this side of Hawaii. Questions? Contact Louisa Malatos, Jane Stonecipher, or Nancy Outcalt.
End-of-year schedule of events for seniors
- Senior surprise day: Friday, May 26
- Prom: starts with red carpet Sunday, May 28, 5:30 p.m., Red Square
- Senior parent and guardian dinner: Sunday, May 28, 6:30-9 p.m., WCC
- Senior drama showcase: Wednesday, May 31, 7-9 p.m., St. Nicholas Auditorium
- Baccalaureate rehearsals: Tuesday, June 6, 1-4 p.m. and Wednesday, June 7, 2:30-7 p.m., St. Nicholas Auditorium
- Senior farewell dinner (students only): Tuesday, June 6, 7:30-10 p.m., WCC
- Commencement rehearsal: Wednesday, June 7, 12-1:30 p.m., US Quad
- Baccalaureate: Wednesday, June 7, 7-9 p.m., St. Nicholas Auditorium; Reception, 9-10 p.m., WCC
- Commencement: Thursday, June 8, 2 p.m., US Quad; Reception, 4-5 p.m., WCC. Seniors need to arrive by 12:30 p.m. for class photo. Remember to order flowers for commencement, if you are interested.
- First day as alumni: Friday, June 9. Congratulations, graduates!
PGA news for all grades
TJ Vassar diversity and community committee meeting and farewell dinner
Thursday, June 1, 6-8 p.m., US Wright Community Center, Fireplace Room
All Lakeside parents and guardians are welcome to attend the final JTVDCC meeting and help plan for next year's speaker events. Following the meeting at 7 p.m., we're hosting a send-off and thank you dinner for Christel McGuigan who will be moving to Hawaii to assume her new duties as Mid-Pacific's Assistant Principal of Academics. Please RSVP to Susan Takemoto by Monday, May 29.
Summer Rummage Depot happenings
You can help build community at summer sorting work parties in the Rummage Depot. Please click here for the complete schedule. All families are welcome to volunteer in the Depot on any of these dates. Work with your grade, in a favorite department, or merely on a date that fits your schedule. No need to RSVP. You can also help raise funds by donating your gently-used, high-quality items for next year's Rummage Sale on March 17-18., 2018. Click here for donation guidelines. Items that sell well are "best of show quality," outerwear, home items, sports gear, tools, clothing, and shoes. Please note that the Depot will be closed July 3-7 and July 15-Aug. 13; we will not accept donations during these times. If you have any questions about the Rummage program, please contact PGA staff Vonnie Breidenstein.
Summer events and back-to-school dates
Parents and guardians will receive an email newsletter in June from their PGA class representatives announcing summer socials, Rummage summer sorting dates, volunteer opportunities, and key dates for back-to-school. Please mark your calendar for the Back-to-School Picnic on Tuesday evening, Sept. 5. The picnic is an all-school potluck that is a fun way to reconnect with old friends, interact with faculty, and meet new families.
Save the date for the ROAR auction
Bring your lion pride to Meydenbauer Center on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 for "Where the Lions ROAR!" This is the PGA's largest fundraiser, full of rip-roaring fun. You will want to be there!
Message from Bernie: Summer reading suggestions!
Happy coming of summer, everyone! I hope you will have a relaxing, joy-filled time with family and friends. In case you have some spare time, I have a few summer reading suggestions for you. And, please send me your summer reading picks!
- I loved the beautifully written, Pulitzer Prize winning The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. It is a story about the end of the Vietnam War and the resettlement in America of many South Vietnamese people.
- Michael Lewis's new book, The Undoing Project, is about the many different ways we perceive reality. It is an account of the relationship between two psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman and their work to reframe how people perceive different events.
- Earlier this spring, I read Sarah Bakewell's, How to Live: A Life of Montaigne, which is a beautiful book about Montaigne, a man that has always intrigued me. He retired to his family's estate at age 38 and just pondered life and what it means. A perfect book if you are in a philosophical mood or just looking for answers about what really matters.
- A favorite from my sabbatical is When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, the story of a Lakeside-type student who is diagnosed with cancer while in medical school. It is such a poignant book about life, ambition, setting goals, and relationships.
- Another favorite is Krista Tippet's Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. Tippet is an NPR reporter who interviews people from around the world about their lives and motivations. I also just finished a second book by her, written earlier, entitled Speaking of Religion which was a helpful commentary on religion in American life.
- I am just finishing Todd Rose's The End of Average which is a great book about how there is no such thing as average and all that means for the world.
- One more very old book you might have missed, An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum,1941-1943. This is a wonderful book by a young Dutch Jewish woman in Nazi occupied Holland. It is not an adventure book, but rather one woman's struggle to make sense of life at a crazy time.
And, that's a wrap!
This is the final Pawprint of the school year! Thanks to our wonderful Pawprint communications team for coordinating these newsletters all year: Bonnie Lau for the All-School editions, Pey-Lin Carroll for the Upper School Pawprints, Joanna Black for the Middle School editions, and Lani Carpenter for her work behind the scenes. We hope the Pawprints helped you stay informed and connected throughout the year.
The Parents and Guardians Association places a high priority on ensuring that every family can participate in the events it hosts. Confidential financial assistance is available for Parents and Guardians Association events regardless of financial aid status. If your family needs an interpreter, transportation support, or other important accommodations, for confidential assistance, please contact Jamie Asaka, director of family and student support services, at (206) 440-2901 or Latasia Lanier, family support liaison at (206) 440-2887.
Lakeside School Parents and Guardians Association 14050 1st Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98125
email: LakesidePGA@lakesideschool.org 206-440-2740 LS PGA webpage
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