Olympic Hills Family Newsletter
12-3-2020
I hope you all enjoyed some time off over Thanksgiving break. At the PTA meeting tonight, I'm sharing about value of practicing gratitude with our children during this especially difficult holiday season. Gratitude has many benefits, including helping us feel happier and healthier, and reducing anxiety and stress. One way to practice expressing gratitude with your children is to make it a routine at dinner or bedtime, daily or weekly. Each family member shares one thing or person you are grateful for today/this week/in your life. I'll be trying this on with my own children this month as well.
Below is the assembly video featuring some of our students sharing about why it's important to keep our cameras on during class. Enjoy!
Upcoming Dates
12/3 PTA Night 6:30pm-7:30pm
12/18 One hour early dismissal
12/21-1/1 Winter Break
December Beep and Greet Cancelled
Library curbside checkout is continuing on Wednesdays, and there will also be whiteboard markers and pencils available for families to pick up during that time.
Cloth Face Masks and Holiday Donations
In Partnership with Wedgwood Elementary
Cloth Face Masks: We offer a warm thank you to Roshni Houselt, a parent from Wedgwood Elementary, for sewing and donating cloth face masks to the Olympic Hills community. Please contact Angeline Nguyen (aanguyen@seattleschools.org ) if you need a cloth mask (while supplies last).
Holiday Donations: Olympic Hills is partnering with Wedgwood Elementary to collect donated gift items to offer help for families in need this winter season. If you are able to contribute, please consider donating:
-gift cards to Target, QFC/Fred Meyer (Kroger), or Safeway
-art kits/arts and craft supplies
-science kits/Stem activities
-family and kid games
-legos
-kid books
-preschool toys
All donations received at Olympic Hills will go directly to Olympic Hills families.
*You may drop off donation items at Olympic Hills M-F 9am-2pm starting today through Wednesday 12/16. For health and safety, please ring the bell, let front office know you are dropping off, and leave item(s) outside main door. Someone will come out and pick items up.
If these times do NOT work for you, please email Melissa Teuton, RN (meteuton@seattleschools.org) to make alternate arrangements.
If you would like holiday support for your family, contact Angeline Nguyen at aanguyen@seattleschools.org.
Advanced Learning Referrals Due 12/7
If you are interested in referring your child for advanced learning, go to the Advanced Learning website and click "Refer Your Student Here." You can also email advlearn@seattleschools.org.
Scheduling Team Updates
Thank you for your feedback about asynchronous days. Our goal for regular asynchronous days is to add more 1:1 and small group time with students, and for teachers to have time to do 1:1 reading assessments with your children. Overall, we had 106 families respond. 95 out of 106 families said they support asynchronous days. The 95 were split in thirds between the Wednesday, Friday, or either options. We will make a final decision once we have revised our full schedule and communicate this with you.
In our scheduling committee this week, we looked at schedules from 25 other schools, and we highlighted some components we are interested in incorporating into our schedule. The top ones were reducing screen time in the afternoon, doing more small groups, and minimizing SeeSaw assignments. I will update you again next week as we continue this process.
As always, reach out to me with any questions or feedback.
Information and Resources
Technology Resource Center at Nathan Hale: Mondays and Wednesdays 11:00am to 6:00pm, lunch from 1:30 to 2:30pm. Still first come, first served. No appointments can be made.
Family Works at Nathan Hale: Wednesdays 12:45pm-3:00pm. An organization called FamilyWorks is providing Family Support Services to help families navigate various services and resources. They will be staffed with individuals who speak Somali, Spanish and English.
Virtual Volunteering: Are you interested in becoming a virtual volunteer to help support in breakout sessions or tutor students? Please reach out to Danielle Vaillancourt at olympichills.volunteer@seattleschools.org or call (425) 616-2516.
Olympic Hills Elementary School
School Office Hours and Contact Information:
Monday-Friday 8:00am-3:00pm
- For attendance and technology support, contact Danielle Vaillancourt at (425) 616-2516 or drvaillancourt@seattleschools.org.
- For all other questions, call the main office at (206) 413-2200 or email Joyce Phitts at jophitts@seattleschools.org.
Email: ecdebell@seattleschools.org
Website: www.olympichillses.seattleschools.org
Location: 13018 20th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, WA, USA
Phone: 206-556-6296