JUNE NEWSLETTER
2020
IMPORTANT DATES
6/10 Wednesday: 10 am-12-noon Library Book Drop Off
6/10 Wednesday: 3pm Harbor Heights Community Zoom - Hear from Admin about staff retiring, new staff, and general HH updates
6/19 5th Grade Putting on the Ritz 10:30 am (Car Parade)
6/19 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL6/25 Report Cards Sent Home
July: Hand out Yearbooks, Read & Lead Medals, and Run/Roll a Mile Wristbands
9/8 First Day of 2020-2021 School Year, 1st-5th Grade
9/14 First Day of KINDERGARTEN
CLASS OF 2033! KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION IS OPEN
The Peninsula School District offers full-day Kindergarten, 5 days a week at all elementary schools!
Registering your child early offers the best opportunity to receive communication about summertime school events and to receive Kindergarten specific information.
Visit https://www.psd401.net/about-us/registration for information and to register online.
Please let the office know if your child WILL NOT be attending Harbor Heights 2020/2021 school year. This will help us with sending the new school your students information. Please indicate student name and next school or online learning institution in an email to our office desotok@psd401.net and forellim@psd401.net.
Library Update
If you have any checked out books, you will receive an email from our Library system.
We will have a big Book Drop off this Wednesday, 10 - 12, in front of the school, swing by and drop off those books...Don't wait til the due date of June 18th, we always have the drop off box in front of the school :)
PE CORNER
It is June in this crazy time in our lives. The end of the school year is upon us and there are a few things to remind you about.
Run and Roll a Mile Day is the first 10 days in June. If you need extra time, that is fine. The specialists have a Flipgrid invitation to all of you to show us finishing your mile. Just have a finish line with chalk on the ground or tape between some trees or being held by family members. Then post it on our Flipgrid.
We will be giving out Run and Roll wristbands when you get the yearbooks. Every student will get the wristband but you cannot wear it until you finish your mile. Remember we talk about “Integrity”! We do the right thing, even when no one is looking!
Keep looking on the specialist page for our “At Home Field Day” coming soon!!!!
I miss all of you so much!
Be safe and have an incredible summer!
Mr. Rucci
Run/Roll a Mile!
RUN AND ROLL A MILE FLIPGRID
OK Orca’s!!!! We want to see your Run and Roll a mile FlipGrid. Use the link to see our Harbor heights orca’s showing their triumphant run to the finish line. We want to see your finish as well! Go ORCA’S!!!!!!
FALL 2020 RE-OPENING INFORMATION - ALL PSD
-The state released some scenarios last week which noted that opening fully and normally in the fall is, at this time, “not a viable option without dramatic changes to community transmission or a vaccine.”
-The state has a workgroup working on guidance for districts as they build plans for reopening in the fall. They are scheduled to give guidance and/or directives to districts the week of June 8-12. The district felt that was too late to begin building our district plan.
-The district will be giving a recommendation to the Board at their June 11 Study Session of a broad model for reopening. The state guidance may include directives which require the district to revise our model.
-There is a committee of about 60 people acting as an Advisory committee to the district as they consider a plan for reopening in the fall. This committee includes administrators, certificated staff (teachers and ESAs), classified staff, students, parents, and community leaders.
-If you have heard that a decision has been made regarding a modified opening plan, such as who will attend in-person and who would be required to learn remotely, what classes might not be offered, etc., those are false. No decisions have been made yet.
-The district will keep all stakeholders up-to-date on the work at the district level and about any guidance or direction we get from the state. The district will be adding a Reopening page to the website on Tuesday to help keep everyone informed.
Report Cards
Family Communication on Temporary Changes to Elementary Report Cards
The physical closure of schools this spring due to COVID-19 has made it difficult to accurately assess student learning the last 12 weeks of the school year. As a result, the Peninsula School District will be making several temporary changes to the elementary report card for the end of this school year.
The Work Habits & Citizenship section of the report card will not be reported
A new mark of CL has been added to the Academic Scoring Key to represent those standards where teachers provided Continuous Learning opportunities during the physical closure
These marks of CL do not reflect your student's progress or work for the 3rd trimester - they are intended only to indicate which standards were taught during this period.
No standards should be marked with a 1, 2, 3, 4, or M in 3rd trimester - these marks will remain on the key to apply only to 1st and 2nd trimester
These report card changes are not intended to apply during the 2020-2021 school year.
We know that learning and school-related activities this spring have been challenging and are thankful for all of the ongoing support from families. Students will still move on to the next grade in the fall, unless there is a mutual agreement between families and the school. We look forward to having students back in the fall. Teachers will be able to support students with learning missed and help all students grow and succeed.
Library news - From Mrs. Watson
June 8, 2020
Dear Parents and Students,
All library books are due by Thursday June 18th, 2020. The following library books are still checked out to your student(s). The notice may also include if you are in possession of a Chromebook and charger. Chromebooks & chargers are NOT due and will be kept over the summer till school starts back up and you are given direction of when to bring it.
A dropbox for Library Books is located at the front door of the school.
*If you are moving out of our district this summer, please return the Chromebook and Charger and any library books by June 18th. Please contact our office to make arrangements to drop off the items. 253-530-1800 or bentlerd@psd401.net
Thanks, Mrs. Watson
watsond@psd401.net or 253-530-1822
Class Placement
Class Placements: As a collective staff, we have been working so hard on setting up current students success next year. We are unable to communicate and confirm your child’s teacher for the 2020-2021 school year until the week prior to the beginning of the new school year. We will continue to monitor our enrollment and work through the summer to finalize staffing and student placements. In making class assignments, our goal is to place each child in a class in which he or she can be most successful while maintaining a balance among classes in terms of gender, race, academic ability, disciplinary and social needs, learning styles, and individual needs of the students. Thank you for your input already received, looking forward to the fall!
Thank you VPO, Now Announcing the 20-21 Board
Presidents- Kate Cunha & Bonnie Larsen
Vice-Presidents- Roseann Adams & Daphne Clarkson
Treasurers- Carrie Tennison & Christie Bates
Secretaries- Courtney Kirkpatrick & Jessica Morgan
Communications- Ashley Paulson
HARBOR HEIGHTS MESSAGE FOR 2020 RE-OPENING
HARBOR HEIGHTS YEARBOOK AND AWARDS
RUN/ROLL A MILE IN JUNE
Start Slow & Know Your Goal
So, you want to Run/Roll a mile!
To get started you should have an idea as to how long a mile is.
Here are some examples of a mile:
* 2000 steps.
* One mile is 5,280 feet.
* One direction over the Narrows Bridge.
* 4 laps around a middle or high school track.
* 80 Pacer laps in a gym.
* 17 laps, goal post to goal post on a football field.
* Downtown Tides Tavern to Donkey Creek Park.
Or Ask for help: Take a drive with an adult and track out a route using the odometer on the car. Watch the odometer go up every .10 of a mile. (Ten .10’s = 1 mile).
With a parent go to: https://onthegomap.com/#/create and you can map out a running route right in your own neighborhood! Most importantly,
A message from the Principal...
This is a challenging time. I wanted to share a bit of my heart, some resources, and remind you of the message sent last week from Dr. Art Jarvis.
This current time of traumatic and violent events of racism, social injustice, COVID-19, unemployment, potential extra stress at home with working/childcare at home, civil unrest and more that are taking place currently. Our community is hurting, and we all need to work together to make change happen and create a better future for our children.
I do not pretend to have all the answers. As an educator, my responsibility is to be compassionate and to be ready to facilitate these conversations. We must listen to those hurting with an open mind; taking time to understand their perspective, and seeking out resources to educate ourselves. We must love one another with unconditional hearts; casting aside prejudices. There is far more that connects us than divides us, and we must embrace our differences together. Hate has no place in our schools and community. I speak on this as an Administrator, Teacher/Coach, and Parent.
Linked below is a beginning list of resources, eventually more resources will be available on the PSD website, currently some resources are here
As requested, a growing list of resources to communicate Tolerance, Empathy, and other virtues that essential to who we are at HH
21-day Anti Racist Challenge WebsiteIndividual or Group activity - Includes link to a reflection/journal
Dear White People: This is what we want you to do Blog
5 Racist Anti-Racism Responses “Good” White Women Give to Viral Posts BlogAdvice; examples; more links to other topics; a bit of swearing
Teaching Tolerance WebsiteClassroom resources
Washington Hate Groups Map WebsiteFrom SPL - a list of Hategroups in Washington State
Implicit Bias Assessment Online AssessmentThe Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report.
How to be an Anti-Racists - CNN Article
Tools to Grow as an Ally Document- PDF
Anti-Racist Resources Google Doc Includes student literature suggestions
Anti- Racist Reading list website Anti-racist reading list from Ibram X.
A Message from the Superintendent
To our Peninsula School District Community and Staff:
To begin, we join the rest of our nation in sad recognition that many children and families are in pain right now, but especially our black children and black parents. We in the Peninsula School District cannot live our lives in isolation or be immune to the protests. Our work must include a look at our own policies and practices to ensure we are part of the solution and not contributing to the pain. When we meet, we must talk about our own organizations and look inward.
As a school district serving nine thousand young people, and the largest employer in the area, we acknowledge that clashes in the streets have vividly exposed the daily hurt and trauma that some of our students, families, and our staff suffer because of the color of their skin. The murder of George Floyd and the deaths of other unarmed black people over time has ignited protests from coast to coast in America. To all, I first offer my heart in sympathy. Unfortunately, as a school system, we are unable to gather with our students to have educational conversations. Instead, we offer ourselves, our teachers, and our counselors as resources to families. For our black students and black families, we know you are deeply affected by this, and we offer our assistance and our commitment to helping find solutions. I urge others to do the same. What can you do? There are no bystanders in this question and I urge all to look for ways to move us from violence to solutions.
A major charge looms for us in the school business. Like one of those old enough to remember the 1960’s with anti-war protests, civil rights movement, Watts riots, and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, this 2020 violence feels even stronger. I reflect on words echoed over the last century, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” As educators, our responsibility is here now. The answer may not be as complex as it might sound – In our business, we must teach! In today’s world of immediate access to information, it has become evident that one of the most important things we do is to help students learn to think and evaluate what they see, hear and read. Learning standards are clear that students must be discerning if they are to become contributing citizens. Similarly, to be good citizens, students must know how to contribute to their own well-being and that of others.
For all persons, we are working to have our website access the wealth of the pertinent writings that are emerging for students and others interested in the huge questions surrounding racial violence. At a minimum, we urge you to keep checking our website for these excellent materials as we continue to grow our library.
Our schools are places for young people to grow and learn, including how to address questions of decency and justice. This every-night happening of violence, anger, death, and crime is not a passing incident with little consequence, it is an element of our society that will undoubtedly affect our young people for the rest of their lives. As we close this school year, and as we anticipate the next, the world of civic awareness and responsibility must be a major focus. To all, we dedicate ourselves to offer a safe place called school. To those for whom school is not yet a safe place, we dedicate ourselves to that aspiration. Our children deserve it.
In solidarity,
Dr. Art Jarvis
Superintendent