Welcome back from break! Hopefully you all had a great, restful break and you are ready for some busy months ahead at Cascade Ridge. We will be starting the month right off with our first ever Geography Bee! Many thanks to Raghu Allepally for stepping forward to bring this exciting new program to our kids and school, and we hope to have a big turnout of kids for this fun and educational event.

We also hope that many young Cascade Ridge scientists (not just our 4th and 5th graders) are preparing science projects to share with the community at our Science Fair on March 24. Science Pete has been working hard to ensure we have another great event and we expect it to be full of many interesting and educational experiments for all in the community to enjoy. This is a big event for kids and grown-ups and requires a lot of involvement from many people, so if you can find the time in your schedule to volunteer, this is a great (and rewarding) opportunity. Be sure to find more exciting details in this newsletter and on our website, and I hope to see you there!

Please do not forget that our Nominating Committee is working diligently to fill the slate for our 2011-12 Cascade Ridge PTSA Executive Committee. If you know of anyone (including yourself) that would be interested and excited to be a part of our Board for the next school year, please contact anyone on the Nominating Committee (Monica Futty, Ingrid Olsen, Bona Park, Peggy Rodman, or Nichole Wengert). The PTSA provides many services and activities to the Cascade Ridge community, we have a lot of fun in the process, and we need your help to continue the great tradition!

As you hopefully know through ongoing updates from Cathia Geller, our wonderful Issaquah Schools Foundation (ISF) Representative, the Foundation is critically important to the ongoing welfare of our district students. With the assistance of Ingrid Sellie, our very own PTSA grants writing volunteer, our school (via our fabulous teacher and parent Lynette Springborn) has recently submitted an application to receive a significant grant from the Foundation. We hope to get great news regarding this application and will bring updates as we get them. In the meantime, we would like you to know about the upcoming annual Nourish Every Mind Luncheon that is a bunch of fun to attend and it benefits the ISF’s ongoing work. Our PTSA will host a table at the luncheon and we would love to fill the table. If you are interested in attending the luncheon on April 28th at 11:00, we would love to have you join in the fun. Just contact me directly, and I’ll reserve you a seat!

Finally, be sure to read further in this newsletter for more information regarding our Festival of Cultures event that will be occurring on April 15. There are many ways to get involved, including hosting a country table and volunteering at the event, and we would love to make this the biggest and most-attended Festival of Cultures in our third year of holding this fun, interesting, educational, and community-bonding event. This is one you and your kids definitely should not miss!

See what I mean? Busy months are ahead and we hope to have everyone involved.

Have a great March and beginning to spring!

Tina Yerges
PTSA President
tinayerges@msn.com