Family Letter from the Principal
Hello Shorewood Families,
Hope your November has started off well. November is Native American Heritage Month and plans are in place in many of our classrooms to celebrate the rich history and contributions our Native people have had on the Pacific Northwest's culture. Along with this month long celebration, it will be a very busy month at Shorewood. Several school events are coming your way!!
- On Tuesday, November 7, Shorewood's PTA is bringing back Grandparent's Day. The event will be from 10:30-12:00 and will include a welcome in the cafeteria, a visit to classrooms, and an opportunity to have lunch with their grandperson. Please note that purchasing school lunches for adults is no longer an option.
- There is no school November 9 (Teacher Collaboration Day) and November 10 (Veterans' Day observed)
· On Thursday, November 16, from 5:30-6:30 pm, Mr. Hutchinson and I will be offering a parent night to support ALL families in using ParentVue to be able to view their child's progress in our online gradebook. We hope to set up all families to be able to use this feature starting second trimester. We will also have the support of one of our district's technology experts at this event, Jenny Voss. If needed, you can bring your child to the event, although there is no daycare for the event.
· On November 20-22, all students and their families are expected to participate in a student-led conference. Teachers have been working hard over the last couple weeks to schedule these important family meetings. If you haven't yet signed up for a 30 minute slot during these three days, please contact your child's teacher. We hope for 100% attendance at these meetings.
· There is no school November 20-24.
In other important news:
- Our dismissal time has become very dangerous, especially on the neighboring streets. Families have reported the following VERY UNSAFE behaviors during this time: (1) driving at speeds well above the 20 MPH speed limit that is the law during school dismissals, (2) driving on the wrong side of the road, (3) parking IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET and leaving the car to retrieve their student, and (4) families calling across the road to have students cross the street alone without a crosswalk to get in the car. We can all agree that these are reckless and illegal actions, and that they must stop in order to avoid something tragic happening. Please do your part to support a safe, orderly, patient dismissal for all Shorewood students.
· Our work at Shorewood has historically included communicating attendance concerns with families of students who either miss lots of school or do not follow the process to excuse their child's absence. As mentioned in an early Family Letter, students are considered "chronically absent" when they miss 10% of school, which is 18 days. This equates to an average of 2 absences a month. We have lots of students who are on a trajectory to miss more than 10% of the school year. Please send your child to school when they are healthy, and please try to take vacations during school vacation time. ALL absences must be excused. You can do this by calling the school during business hours to excuse the absence or by sending an email to sarah.lay@highlineschools.org or vicki.treakle@highlineschools.org. You do not need a doctor's note to excuse absences. Those students with 5, 10, and 15 unexcused absences will, by law, receive letters from the school asking families to meet with me to discuss ways for your student to attend school more regularly. Shorewood has an Attendance Committee that meets regularly to discuss students whose attendance we are concerned about. The team consists of our nurse, counselors, administrators, family liaison, and office attendance lead.
· Our School Behavior Team is looking for a few parents to review selected sections of our Behavior Handbook to make sure we are considering family concerns, and including resources that could be helpful to families. If you are interested in volunteering in this way, please contact me at 206-631-4900.
· Our new playground equipment is starting to trickle in. Facilities received the matting for the new structure this week and they hope the equipment will soon follow. Keep your fingers crossed that we will have a newly installed playground structure in the near future!!
· Highline families can visit the Seattle Art Museum and Seattle Asian Art Museum for free with Highline Family Passes! Families can bring their passes to the museum ticketing desk when they visit in exchange for up to 10 tickets through December 29, 2024. Earlier this week, every student received a pass that gets them and their family into SAM and SAAM.
· From our school teacher-librarian: Volunteer Opportunity: Please consider signing up for a slot at our Scholastic Book Fair. This is a popular event at Shorewood, but it is also an important fundraiser for our school library. It allows us to add many new books to our wonderful collection each year. You will also receive a $10 voucher for each slot that you volunteer! Thank you! When: November 20-23 and November 27 – 30. Sign up here: https://signup.com/go/WySwbmd
(We're using SignUp to organize our volunteers. You will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.
SignUp does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.
Please look for more information about the upcoming book fair in your child’s Take Home Tuesday folder and other classroom communications!
· Thanksgiving is a time for celebration, but it can also be difficult for many families. Maverick Cares is offering Thanksgiving meals: If you would like to access a Thanksgiving Meal, please use this link: https://events.eventgroove.com/event/Maverick-Cares-Harvest-Holiday-79462#
Thanks for your continuing support of your child and your child's teacher.
Mike Fosberg
Principal
Shorewood Elementary School
206-631-4900
michael.fosberg@highlineschools.org