As this edition of the Howler hits the website, we are close to starting Spring Break. Spring seems to have arrived early yet another year! Time is certainly flying this year and once we return our kids will be starting the last 1/3 of their school year. I know from past experience that those last few months fly by, but the great news is that we still have a lot planned at the school and our PTSA will continue to avidly support the school and our children’s experiences through the school year.

We have a new and exciting event this month that is sure to get our kids involved and to have a good time showing off all their various talents. For the first time, Cascade Ridge will be holding a Talent Show and it will be a great time for all!! This stimulating event will be April 26-27th, so check out the information online at http://cascaderidgeptsa.org/Packet/TalentShow (and of course here in the Howler), and you’ll find a very easy sign-up process. We really hope to have a great showing of our kids!

As you have heard throughout the year, we owe our ongoing success to the many volunteers who provide their time, energy, and passion to ensuring great programs and opportunities for our kids and community. Every year we recognize volunteers who go above and beyond and who eagerly and tirelessly say “yes” for the benefit of others through the PTSA Golden Acorn awards. Many congratulations and thanks to our recent winners: Ann Brooks, Pam Gross, Krystl McCandlish, and Mary Jo Webb! If you see any of our winners around, please give them a hearty “congratulations” and “thank you”!

Speaking of great volunteers, what an amazing Science Fair we had in March!! We are so fortunate to have a wonderful and long-standing Science Fair program, and to have our amazing “Science Pete” Wengert to drive such a successful event that brought kids and parents alike! Science Pete put many hours of planning and preparation for this event, and all his passion and hard work resulted in a great night of education and entertainment for all who attended and participated. Everyone who had the enjoyment of creating a science experiment, volunteering, or simply attending the event to view and join in the excitement of the evening can certainly attest to the quality of the Fair. As usual, this event came together because of Pete’s leadership and the dedication of many volunteers, so thank you to Pete and everyone involved!

Also this month, we will have the third of our four planned General Membership meetings on April 19th right after drop-off. This is another important meeting to have a great turnout as we will be electing our Board members for the next school year and voting on changes to our standing rules. We have a strong slate of nominees who will continue to lead our PTSA in the next school year and it is important to recognize them and show our support through attendance at the meeting. We hope to see you there!

Finally, don’t forget that the annual ISF Nourish Every Mind luncheon us coming up on May 10th. We would love to have a great turnout from the Cascade Ridge Community to show all of Issaquah how much we really care about our kids. More information for this can be found on our PTSA site and also at http://isfdn.org/. To reserve a table with our Cascade Ridge parents, please contact Cathia Geller at cathia@cathiageller.com.

Here’s hoping for a great spring for everyone!

Deanne King, PTSA President
deannewking@live.com