Dear Families:
Welcome back and here’s to 2021! Let’s hope it lives up to its anticipated promise of being closer to a regular year. We long for a typical time with calmness and no curve balls like 2020 had in store for us!
January is a very busy time around school as we complete the final recommendations for the 8th graders’ applications to high school and we prepare for our first ever virtual PreK and Kindergarten Information Night on January 21st. Especially during this time when communication with new families is difficult, if you know of anyone who is interested in enrolling their child/ren in our school next year, please encourage them to contact Jennifer Hazzard to make sure their names are on our waitlists so they will receive information about our registration process.
I am pleased to announce that we are moving our registration and re-enrollment process to an online format this year called SchoolAdmin. Information will be sent to you on how to complete the applications, but it should make it so much easier and save you (and the office) a great deal of time. Most information for re-enrollment will be pre-populated and it links directly to your FACTS account. Many thanks to Jennifer Hazzard who has spent countless hours training and setting up our account. We realize, as with any new process, there may be a few kinks that need to be worked out, but we are looking forward to the multiple features of the program that will eliminate the need for pen and paper forms.
On Monday, we welcomed Mrs. Lanouette back to second grade following the birth of son Alfred in July. In two weeks, Mrs. Dahlman will be returning to first grade following the birth of her son Ronan in September. We are so excited to have them back and we still have one birth to go! Mr. Talevich and wife Kristy, will welcome their first born at the end of January. Mr. Talevich will be spending the month of February at home with their baby and I am delighted to announce that former 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Pam Sturgeon, will be back with us as his long-term substitute. It will be so nice to have her back in the building after leaving us last June after 20 years!
As we start the process of bringing our 3rd -5th graders back into the building over the next few weeks, we will be working on a plan for the return of our 6th-8th graders immediately following. With the adjustments that Governor Inslee made to the Decision Tree just before Christmas, we can use a positive case number of 350 per 100,000 people as our new standard for return. Currently, the number is at 259 per 100,000. Hopefully, the holidays will not leave us with a huge spike that could impact our plans.
Live instruction will be cancelled for each grade on the Friday before their scheduled Monday return. Students can use the Friday as a catch-up day and a time to get organized for return to the building. Please see the chart below for dates:
Monday, January 4th | PreK to grade 2 returns | N/A |
---|---|---|
Monday, January 11th | Grade 3 returns | No live classes on Friday, January 8th |
Monday, January 19th | Grade 4 returns | No live classes on Friday, January 15th |
Monday, January 25th | Grade 5 returns | No live classes on Friday, January 22nd |
We have been so lucky to have escaped the virus in our school so far. It is truly due to our families and the commitment all of you have made to abide by all precautions and protocols. As more students return, please make sure that your child/ren have good fitting masks and are ready to abide by all of the safety protocols we have in place in the building. Here is a link to the health screening questions that need to be asked of your child EACH morning before they arrive for a temperature check at drop-off. We all need to work together to keep our students and staff healthy. We can do it if we all do our part!
Happy New Year!
Mary