Issaquah Valley Elementary E-news
November 27, 2019
Upcoming Dates
- November 28 - 29 - Thanksgiving Holiday, No School
- December 4 - 5 - Elementary Conferences - No School
- December 6 - PTA Movie Night, MPR - 6:00 p.m.
- December 12 - PTA Holiday Choir & Cougar Chorus Event, MPR - 6:30 p.m.
Thanksgiving Holiday – Preparing for Winter Weather
We hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday! We have been watching the weather predictions and want to remind everyone to take precautions for winter weather coming throughout the season. Please make sure your family and child care givers are signed up for snow day closure and delay texts or emails from our Transportation Department through FlashAlert. (Only families with verified mobile numbers in Family Access will receive texts from the District.) The District and school websites will post information by 6:30 a.m. Please take a moment to locate your Emergency Transportation Bulletin (ETB) that was mailed out in October or access the ETB online. Also take a moment to use SNOW E-Link to find your emergency snow route and make sure you check the chart below to become familiar with program changes due to delays and closures. For further information on school delays and closures, please click here.
Holiday Gift Barn
Holiday Gift Barn provides extra help during the holiday season with gifts, stocking stuffers and gift-wrapping for children up to 18 years living within the Issaquah School District. Registration opens November 4 and closes Nov. 29. Pre-registration is required – Register online here
El Holiday Gift Barn proporciona ayuda adicional durante la temporada navideña con regalos y envoltura de regalos para niños de hasta 18 años que viven dentro del Distrito Escolar de Issaquah. La inscripción comienza el 4 de noviembre y cierra el 29 de noviembre. Se requiere registración: Registrese en linea aqui!
FLASH PRESENTATIONS FOR 5TH GRADE PARENTS - DECEMBER 11 AND 14
The upcoming presentations for the Family Life and Sexual Health (FLASH) Curriculum for the parents of Apollo, Cascade Ridge, Challenger, Creekside, Discovery, and Issaquah Valley Elementary Schools will be held on Wednesday, December 11, from 6:00-7:30 p.m, and Saturday, December 14 from 9:00-10:30 a.m. This presentation will be held at the Issaquah School District Administration Center, 5150 220th AVE SE, Issaquah, WA 98029. Both presentations are the same, so parents can chose the date that works best for them.
Conference Scheduler Now Open
Parent/Teachers conferences are now available for you to sign up through your Family Access account. Conferences will be held on December 4th and 5th this year.
Once you have logged into Family Access you will need to click on the Teacher Conferences tab to sign up for available times you would like to have your conferences. Directions with step-by-step screen shots are here & here in Spanish.
The window for signing up for conferences will be Nov. 12th 8:00am until Dec. 2nd by 3:30pm. After December 2nd conference time slots will be closed and you will need to coordinate sign- ups or changes through your individual teachers.
Also, know that many teachers run their conferences back to back. Please do NOT schedule back/back conferences if you have more than one student as this does not allow time to get from one classroom to the next.
Elementary Phase 1 Curriculum Adoption – Foundational Reading Skills Parent Survey
The ISD Teaching and Learning Department will review instructional reading materials for teaching foundational reading skills beginning in December 2019. During this literacy adoption, a district committee will review evidence-based practices and instructional materials to make recommendations. As partners in your child’s education, we invite you to follow this link to complete a survey.
Highly Capable Testing for Second Grade
Highly Capable Testing for Second Grade
Highly capable testing for second grade students will occur at all elementary schools January 14 through January 17 and continue March 10 through March 13. Students who are identified as “most highly capable” will be invited to enter either SAGE or MERLIN in the 2020-21 school year. Second grade students attending private or home-based schools are invited to participate. Contact your neighborhood school for more information about how to participate. More information about the Issaquah School District Highly Capable Program and testing for second grade students is available on the Highly Capable Issaquah School District webpage.
Smarter Balanced Assessment
All 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will participate in the Smarter Balanced Assessment this spring. Ways to help include making sure your child is at school, has a good night’s rest and has a healthy, filling breakfast each morning. You can find information, resources and practice items by going to these websites: wa.portal.airast.org/users/students-and-families and smarterbalanced.org/parents/ .
Test dates:
Grade 5…April 27, 28, 30, May 11, 12
Grade 4…May 4, 5, 14, 16
Grade 3…May 7, 8, 18, 19
THE VOICE MENTOR PROGRAM NEEDS YOU!
Volunteers of Issaquah Changing Education (VOICE) is an in-school, volunteer mentoring program that pairs caring community members with Issaquah School District students. VOICE mentors work one-on-one with students throughout the school year. Some students may need academic help; others may need emotional support or a friend and role model. All benefit from a positive, supportive relationship with an adult role model.
VOICE currently has 200+ students on the wait list. We need mentors! Can you help? Here's what’s involved:
- Complete a screening process, including a mandatory, in-depth, pre-match training.
- Time commitment of once/week (30–60 minutes) throughout the school year. Schedule and choice of school is flexible to accommodate mentor availability.
- Optional supplemental trainings, plus support provided by your mentee’s school and the VOICE team.
- Most importantly, develop a meaningful relationship with a young person and help them thrive.
“I have come to learn that I only need to be a caring human being who enjoys spending time with kids. These are relationships that enrich my life as much or maybe more than my mentees’ lives” ~ Recent quote from a long-time VOICE Mentor with 3 mentees
If you would like to become a VOICE mentor, please APPLY HERE
To learn more: Email VOICE@issaquah.wednet.edu View our VOICE Website Call us @ 425.827.7222.
IVE School Nurse - Kristi Lincicome
Vision & Hearing Screening
A huge thank-you goes out to all the parent volunteers who made the 2019 Vision & Hearing Screening a huge success. We screened over 600 students!! A special thank you to our chairwoman, Colleen Daniel, who provided hospitality, support, and recruited all the wonderful volunteers! We truly could not have done it without the amazing volunteers!
In December, we will be in the process of re-screening anyone who did not pass the school hearing screen or may have been absent during the November screening days. After being re-screened, if your child does not pass either the vision or hearing portion of the test, you will receive a letter in the mail from me. If you receive a referral letter, please take it along with you to your provider for follow-up. As always, please feel free to reach out to me with concerns and I can give you resources.
Parents, as required by state law, students in the Issaquah School District have their vision and hearing screened annually in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade, excluding 4th grade, and 7th grade. This is a mass school screening using a PLUS OPTIX vision screening tool that screens for 6 eye conditions including near and distance vision. Just as you would bring your child to the dentist/doctor, I would encourage you to bring your child to an eye doctor. If you do not have vision insurance and feel this is a burden on your family, please feel free to contact me for possible resources.
Head Lice
Head lice is a common childhood nuisance. Early identification and treatment are essential to reducing the spread of head lice. Please check your child’s head every 7-10 days for the presence of lice. This is a great time of year to make this a routine part of your week. Checking weekly helps reduce the spread in our community.
Things to look for:
Observing your child for signs of itching
Inspecting your child’s scalp for lice (very small living insects which are often hard to see and range from gray to black in color)
Inspecting your child’s hair for nits. Nits are tiny, smooth, oval eggs which can vary in color from white to yellowish-white to dark brown. Nits resemble small flakes of dandruff, however, unlike dandruff; they are glued firmly at an angle to the side of a single hair shaft.
Nits are frequently seen at the nape of the neck and behind the ears, but can also be found anywhere on the head.
If you find nits or live lice, use will need to use an approved treatment. You can refer to the link below for district procedures and ideas for eradicating or call our school nurse and she can give you a booklet that details various methods that can be used. You can also visit my connect site by clicking on the link under my name.
https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/family/health/head-lice
Kristi Lincicome, MSN, RN
District Nurse
Issaquah Valley Elementary
Phone 425-837-6607/fax 425-837-6605
https://connect.issaquah.wednet.edu/elementary/ive/staff/ms_lincicomes_site/
News from IVE School Counselor, Anne Taylor
Hello IVE Families! I can’t believe November is upon us already! Below is information about the counseling classroom lessons this fall and community resources!
Class lessons this fall are focused on: Personal Space, Feelings, and Small vs. Big problems (Kindergarten), Personal Space, Feelings and, Fair vs. Equal (1st grade), Growth Mindset (2nd grade) and Bullying Prevention –how to Recognize, Report and Refuse (3rd, 4th and 5th grades).
Free Turkey and Groceries! Do you need or know someone who could use a helping hand this year to put a Thanksgiving meal on the table? No proof of need required.
Date and time: Nov. 23 – Begins at 9AM while supplies last.
Location: Eastridge Church 24205 SE Issaquah Fall City Rd., Issaquah.
Lunch for the Break: Winter Break, Mid-winter Break and Spring Break – Families can select a variety of options at different locations or pick up a prepackaged box of food containing breakfast, lunch and snack items for each school-age child in a family. To register go to: Issaquah Food Bank or call 425-837-3167
How to Keep your Teens Safe:
Presented in partnership by the Issaquah School District, Swedish Medical Center, and ParentWiser of Issaquah PTSA Council.
Developed by Forefront Suicide Prevention at the University of Washington, you will learn the five simple and effective LEARN® steps that empower individuals to help others move in the direction of hope, recovery, and survival.
When: 11/7/19
Where: Issaquah High School
Register here
ISD TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT WEATHER EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION BULLETIN - BE READY FOR WINTER WEATHER
Watch your mailbox starting October 2 for the ISD 2019-2020 school year Emergency Transportation Bulletin. This mailer includes information on snow routes and stops, as well as program cancellations and schedule changes due to inclement weather. The bulletin also includes information on how to find out about school delays or closure. For more information, including a link to the electronic version of the bulletin, please click here.
News from the City of Issaquah
ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS FOUNDATION FALL CAMPAIGN
Your partnership with the Issaquah Schools Foundation benefits every student at every school in the district. Donating to the Foundation give students opportunities for academic enrichment as well as support for students who need help with basics like food and school supplies. Thanks to our generous donors, we provide a budget to each building for food support and were able to provide over 1000 backpacks filled with school supplies to district students this year! Step Up for Kids and donate to our fall campaign at http://isfdn.org