The Lake Washington School District (LWSD) is made up of students and families from many different cultures. In celebration of this, Lake Washington PTSA Council (LWPTSA Council), in partnership with LWSD, hosts a Welcome Event for New and International Families each year.
Fall 2025 Welcome Event
Lake Washington PTSA Council, in coordination with Lake Washington School District, is looking forward to co-hosting our 9th annual Welcome Event for New and International Families on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2024, from 4 to 7 pm at the LWSD Resource Center (16250 NE 74th Street, Redmond WA 98052).
Our welcome events are a great opportunity for families to learn about the school district and LWSD community, ask questions, and meet other LWSD families. Whether you’ve moved from a different county or from a different country, this event is for you!
Translation & Child Care Available
To request a translator for the welcome event, please email Shannon Parthemer at sparthemer@LWSD.org.
On-site child care will be available during the speakers’ presentations. Children must be toilet-trained. A parent or guardian must remain in the building. This is not a drop-off service.
2025 Event Agenda
4 to 5 pm: Community resource fair (Lobby)
5 to 6:30 pm: LWSD, PTSA and LWSF speakers (Board room)
- 5:00-5:10 Dr. Jon Holmen, Superintendent – Welcome to LWSD
- 5:10-5:15 Katy Philips, Lake Washington Schools Foundation (LWSF) Executive Director – LWSF Introduction
- 5:15-5:25 Johnny Phu, Director of Student & Family Engagement Family support services and engagement opportunities
- 5:25-5:35 Jennifer Quillin, Interim Director of Multilingual Learning Sharing insights on multilingual programs and resources
- 5:35-5:55 BREAK – Opportunity to network with other families or visit vendor booths
- 5:55-6:10 Colleen McCloskey and Brooke Gialopsos, Lake Washington PTSA Council Co-Presidents – The role of PTSA and how families can get involved.
- 6:10-6:30 Question & Answer Session with Presenters – Your chance to ask questions to the presenters.
Videos and Resources
Previous Welcome Events
- View the slide presentation from our Oct. 14, 2023, Welcome Event.
- View the slide presentation from our Sept. 30, 2022, Welcome Event.
On Sept. 29, 2021, the Lake Washington School District and Lake Washington PTSA Council hosted an online event for New and International Families via Microsoft Teams. Live captions were available in Chinese (simplified), Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
This event focused on “Social, Emotional & Community Support for Students & Families” and provided valuable information about “Navigating the School System: Academics in LWSD.” (view the recording)
- Welcome in Many Languages Poster — Additional “welcome” photos in multiple languages
- Welcome Event Videos — YouTube playlist of videos from welcome events and related activities
In 2019, the district teamed up with the LWPTSA Council to create an International Families Welcome – World Video so that we may learn from the unique perspectives of our parents in how they and their children view the school experience. This sharing of information helps to inform our school district as to needs of the growing international community. Finally, international families new to the district can learn from these parents about what to expect from LWSD schools and how to get involved.
Questions? Contact the Council VP of Family and Community Engagement (FACE) at FACE {at} LWPTSA.net.