The Sailor Signal
Cottage Lake Elementary - September 12, 2021
A Note from Principal Welch
This weekend has provided the opportunity for us all to reflect upon the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on our country. I vividly remember that early morning, feeling frozen in front of the television, wondering what my students would say or how they would feel, and realizing the personal impact this would have on my family.... knowing my brothers would be deployed to fight for our country. Over the past 20 years, I have never forgotten. The men and women who ran towards the destruction as their call to service, the victims of the hijacked planes, and those who fought back, I think of them all. If you have the opportunity to visit New York, I also encourage you to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Visiting this memorial and museum has had a profound impact on me and one I will never forget.
On the days following this horrific attack on our country, we came together like nothing I've ever experienced. Differences were put to the side (not silenced or eliminated) to unite for a greater reason; uniting as a country. This, too, will be something I never forget.
As I channel this commitment of unity, it is my commitment to continue to focus our work on our students, our children. Our CL students are the reason we are here today. Our students are the most amazing humans! I thank you for joining me along this journey to keep our students as our main focus. As we weather these sees together, the water won't always be calm or clear, but I believe in each of us. I am confident that as we come together, our students will benefit from our collective commitment.
Continuing to stay focused, below you will find information on a variety of topics that help keep our students and school safe, opportunities to apply to be a volunteer at school, Curriculum Night information where you will learn about your child's classroom this year, and our upcoming picture day, where we capture a moment in time. I do ask you to read through the section to stay up to date on events at school.
Lastly, as we ensure studnets have access to technology devices for school and home learning, I ask for all students, K-5, to have a technology agreement completed. This is updated from the original guidance shared. We have added K-1 to the agreement process in the event we need to send devices home for learning due to weather or other events.
I thank you for your commitment to your child(ren), our Cottage Lake school, and the greater community. We are better together!
Take Care,
~ Jen Welch, Principal
•• SCHOOL NEWS ••
COVID Batch testing is coming
Below is what Dr. Reid shared in her email,
"In about a week, we plan to begin our COVID-19 batch testing program for students in grades K-12. As the name “batch” suggests, everyone in a classroom or cohort puts their test samples together in a batch vial with no names or personally identifiable information. This will be very similar to the batch testing we did last spring. To minimize time away from the classroom, we are arranging for next-day confirmatory testing at Pop Keeney Stadium for any student whose classroom/cohort batch has a positive result. Quarantine and confirmatory testing decisions will be made in accordance with the current protocols. This is an important layer of protection to help keep COVID-19 cases low and school buildings open. More details to come as I expect they will be finalized in the coming days."
COVID safety updates
Families can find the most up-to-date COVID health and safety information by clicking the links below.
- King County Quarantine and Isolation Guidance
- Families can access the 2021-2022 NSD COVID-19 Safety Protocols by clicking here.
- Families can access our NSD COVID-19 Data Dashboard by clicking here.
Volunteer application & Vaccination documentation
We are excited to welcome volunteers back to campus this year in support of our staff and students. This includes volunteers in our library, part of PTA activities, or classroom-based volunteers. Classrooms are not required to use volunteers. Those classrooms wanting to include volunteers will be in contact with their families to share their specific need(s).
In accordance with state guidelines, volunteers will be asked to submit proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or a District approved exemption by October 18, 2021.
All volunteers in the Northshore School District are able to complete their volunteer application and background check online. Family members of students and community members who volunteer at more than one school will only need to complete the application once a year. Once approved, applications will be available for all school office staff to access districtwide. Volunteers can learn more and complete an online application here.
Before volunteers begin at Cottage Lake, all volunteers need to participate in a Cottage Lake volunteer training. Our volunteers only need to attend one training while they are at Cottage Lake, unless there is an Administrative change while your student attends CL. This training is between 30-40 minutes in length. This training reviews the privacy expectations, along with other expectations of our volunteers.
Below you will find dates for the Volunteer Trainings to start the year. For In-person training, masks must be worn at all times and adults need to remain socially distanced.
- September 27 @ 2:00 PM (in-person)
- September 29 @ 8:00 AM (via Zoom - https://nsd.zoom.us/j/89666872021?pwd=RExLSHV4cm5mVWFGOWVxN3ExQ0lrUT09&from=addon)
- September 29 @ 6:00 PM (via Zoom - https://nsd.zoom.us/j/82937530771?pwd=S0xqS3BKUXE4b2dRMFMvbTd5UHFUQT09&from=addon)
- October 1 @ 10:00 AM (in-person)
CROSS COUNTRY is coming for students in Grades 3-5
Mr. Darling is our X-country coach and our practices begin on Monday, September 20. Practices are every day at lunch recess.
Families can register their student either online or with a paper packet. The online registration portal will be open this week. To register online, use this link: https://www.nsd.org/schools/enrichment-activities/athletics/elementary-sports. This link to register will also be on the Cottage Lake Elementary homepage. In addition to the registration form, we need families to complete the emergency information card. If you register online, we ask that you print and fill out the card and return it to school as soon as possible. For those who want to complete the paper registration paperwork, those are available in the front office. Once your child's registration paperwork is complete, including the emergency card, students will receive their cross country shirt.
The registration cost is $35.00 per student. Reduced rates are available for qualifying students.
Cross Country meets are on Tuesdays at 4:45. Our home meet at Cottage Lake on October 19. We hope to have a fun and successful season.
For more information, please contact Mr. Darling at (425)-408-4215 or at cdarling@nsd.org. Go Sailors!
Curriculum Nights for in-person students
Below are dates and times for our presentations:
September 21
- 5:10 PM - Kindergarten (Morrison, Ninmol, Wright)
- 6:00 PM - 1st Grade (Baer, Quinn, Stookey)
- 6:40 PM - 2nd Grade (Mismas, Stief)
September 27
- 5:10 PM - Primary and Intermediate FSA combined parent meeting
September 28
- 5:10 PM - 3rd Grade (Castro, Kinney)
- 6:00 PM - 4th Grade (Cohen, Rendahl)
- 6:40 PM - 4/5 & 5th Grade (Dawson, Skinner)
PTA's Ice Cream Social event
More information will be shared soon from our PTA. Hope to see you there.
School Pictures for all students... Virtual and In-Person
School pictures will be Thursday, September 23, between 9:30-3:00 PM. Specific times will be scheduled for all in-person classrooms.
For those students attending school in person, we will be sending home picture packets one week before picture day. You may also go to https://www.dorianstudio.com/prepayment/ and place your picture order online.
•• REPEAT SCHOOL NEWS ••
District Technology Device Information
This year, all our students will have devices assigned to them.
- All Kindergarten through 1st-grade students will be using iPads, but they will stay at school.
- All 2nd through 5th-grade students will be assigned a Chromebook that should be taken home and returned each day.
Staff will be teaching students how to care for their devices and also be sure they bring their computers back each morning fully charged.
In order for students to receive their device, we need parents/guardians to complete a "Student Device Use agreement." This can be done by clicking HERE, using the QR code in this section, downloading the PDF attachment, or come by the office to complete a paper copy of the form. We are now asking for all families, Kindergarten through 5th grade, to complete the agreement. This is a change from the original communication.
Below are ways families can access the needed Agreement forms. EACH student will need a separate form completed. These forms are needed for students in 2nd grade through 5th grade.
Health Check Question to review daily
Health Check Questions:
1. In the past 24 hours has the student experienced any of the following symptoms:
- Fever of 100.4 or above
- Cough
- Shortness of Breath or Difficulty Breathing
- Chills
- Loss of Taste or Smell
- Fatigue
- Muscle Pain or Body Aches
- Headache
- Sore Throat
- Congestion or Runny Nose
- Nausea or Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Other signs of new illness that are unrelated to a preexisting condition (such as seasonal allergies)
2. Has the student had any of the symptoms of COVID-19 listed above within the past 3 days that lasted more than 24 hours?
3. Has the student been in close contact with anyone with confirmed COVID-19 within the last 14 days? Close contact means being within 6 feet (2 meters) of an infected person for 15 minutes or more.
4. Has the student had a positive COVID-19 test for active virus in the past 10 days?
5. Within the past 14 days, has a public health or medical professional told the student to self-monitor, self-isolate, or self-quarantine because of concerns about COVID-19?
Construction is coming!
We are still in the bidding process for this job, but Capital Projects believes this job should not exceed 30 days. We will be working in partnership with King County during this project. I don't believe our parking will be impacted much, as I believe construction vehicles should be outside our gate. As we finalize the bids for the job and we narrow down a more exact start date for the project, I will be sure to keep you all updated. In the meantime, we do have an anticipated start date for this project at the end of September.
More information will be shared as it is available.
•• REPEAT of DISTRICT NEWS ••
Required Yearly forms to be signed
"Dear Northshore Families,
Annually the District provides parents/guardians with notification of forms that must be acknowledged, including:
- WA State Attendance Letter
- Rights and Responsibilities Handbook
- Weapons Letter
- Student Housing Questionnaire
- Permission to Withhold Student Directory Information
We ask that you login to ParentVUE today to view these forms. If you have never logged into ParentVUE, you will find instructions on how to do so when you click the link above. Please know that when you next login to ParentVUE, you will be prompted to download, read, and take action for each of the forms listed above. Additionally, secondary students will be prompted to download, read and acknowledge the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook when they login to StudentVUE. Families with elementary students are encouraged to review the handbook together in ParentVUE with their students. These forms must be completed no later than Oct. 15.
The forms are available in English, Spanish, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Russian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Korean, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. If you would like to access a paper copy of these forms, please contact your school’s main office.
If you have any questions about these forms, please contact Student Services at (425) 408-7725 or by email at studentsvcs@nsd.org."
Bus Routes
How will students be receiving devices this year?
2021-2022 School Calendar
Important Dates:
- November 11 - No School for Veteran's Day
- November 18 through November 24 - Early Release for Parent-Teacher conferences. Dismissal time TBD
- November 25 & 26 - No School for extended Thanksgiving break
- December 20 through December 31- No School for Winter Break
- January 3 - Welcome back to school
Free and Reduced lunch application
Remember: families must reapply every year!
Submit a Free or Reduced-Price application.
You can also visit the Northshore Free and Reduced Priced meals website here: https://www.nsd.org/schools/get-started/food-services/free-and-reduced-price-breakfast-lunch
Cottage Lake Elementary
At Cottage Lake Elementary, it is our united mission to build a safe, engaging, and inclusive environment of resilient lifelong learners. In partnership with our vibrant community, we embrace our diversity and strive to foster trust and kindness.
Email: jwelch@nsd.org
Website: https://cottagelake.nsd.org/
Location: 15940 Avondale Road Northeast, Woodinville, WA, USA
Phone: 425-408-4200