STAR GAZER GAZETTE
May 2022 Star Lake Newsletter
Greetings Star Lake Families,
As I am writing this it is pouring rain and we are making the call for “rainy day recess.” What a wet spring we have had. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for some sunshine! Amazingly, we are coming around the bend toward the end of our school year, with only 27 school days left! We have a busy month of May ahead, here are some exciting events we are looking forward to.
Next Tuesday, May 10th at 6:00pm. Star Lake is hosting the May School Board meeting at our NEW building!
- We will be meeting in the Evergreen commons area, so you’ll probably want to park in the Evergreen parking lot and look for staff outside who will be directing you to enter the Evergreen side of the building. (The Star Lake side is having furniture delivered next week, so it is not quite yet set up)
- PLEASE, everyone, come and join us for the beginning of the school board meeting. I will be sharing a PowerPoint highlighting the great things going on at Star Lake. And, Mr. Garcia has been working with all of our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to perform the song “One Love.”
- 3rd-5th grade students will come with their families to Evergreen at 5:45, parents will have a seat in the commons, students will line up with Mr. Garcia and then perform around 6:10. We should be all finished by 6:15 and you can choose to leave or stay for the rest of the board meeting.
- ALL 3RD-5TH GRADE STUDENTS WHO COME AND SING WILL EARN 10 STAR LAKE WAY TICKETS!
On Wednesday, May 11th our staff is excited to go tour the new school and check out their classrooms, and then we have kindergarten jumpstart. And, on Thursday, May 12th we have our area 4 School Board recognition night at Thomas Jefferson. Students and staff who were nominated for recognition received an invitation this week.
3rd-5th graders are currently working hard on the state Smarter Balanced Assessments and all of our students are digging into final math and ELA lessons for the year, getting ready to take iReady assessments and celebrate the growth they have made!
As always we appreciate your support and partnership. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions and feedback.
Best to you,
Kris Rennie, Principal
Mark Your Calendars
MAY
10 - School Board Meeting, 6:00 @ NEW Star Lake building
11 - Early Release - School ends at 1:45
11 - Kindergarten Jump Start, 5:30-7 @ NEW Star Lake building
12 - School Board Recognition Night, 6:00 @ TJHS
14 - Track Meet at FW Memorial Stadium @ 12:45 & 2:45
19 - District BOB Competition, 6:00 @ Todd Beamer HS
20 - Hero Spirit Day
25 - Early Release - School ends at 1:45
27 - NO SCHOOL - Snow Make Up Day
30 - NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day
31 - ALL Library books are due
JUNE
7 - Book Up Summer Reading Celebration on zoom @ 6:00
8 - Early Release - School ends at 1:45
10 - Tropical Spirit Day
14 - Kindergarten & 5th Grade Celebrations
15 - Field Day - during recess
15 - Yearbooks going home
16 - Last day of school, Early Release Time TBD
Register For Kindergarten
Our Kindergarten Jump Start event is coming up for all incoming kindergarten students and parents. It will be held in our new building, at 26812-B 40th Ave. S, Kent, WA 98032 on Wednesday, May 11th at 5:30-7:00 PM. This is your chance to register your student as well as meet the teachers and see where your student will be attending school in the Fall. See below for more information.
If your child will be age 5 by Aug 31st, you can begin the registration process by visiting: http://www.fwps.org/kiosk
If this is your first student attending Federal Way Schools, then please click on Student Registration and Create a New Account.
If you currently have or have in the past had a student registered in any Federal Way Public School , this includes Preschool & ECEAP, then you already have a ParentVue account. Just click on “ParentVue” to access your family's information. If you forgot your password you can click the “More Info” button. DO NOT make a new account for each student. If you need help recovering a forgotten User ID, please contact Kathy Miller at 253-945-4002 or kamiller@fwps.org. If you need additional information please go to: https://www.fwps.org/Page/7199
Enroll In Preschool
Federal Way Public Schools offers high quality and affordable preschool programs for children ages 3 and 4. There are both tuition programs and free programs for income-eligible children.
For additional information go to: https://www.fwps.org/preschool
IMPORTANT REMINDER!
All students need to keep important toys, Pokemon cards, money and trinkets at home.
It is not OK for students to trade or sell any of these items at school and this has become a bit of a distraction for some students. Some students have been getting out of their seats on the bus to trade Pokemon cards, which is unsafe. If students bring home items to school they assume the risk for these items being lost or stolen. And if teachers find student items out in class, they will take them and have parents come and pick them up. Thank you for your help with keeping our students focused on learning!
Volunteer Apps Available
Volunteer Application Process:
- Pick up or print and complete a paper copy.
- Bring it into the office with a picture ID.
- Office staff will copy your ID and attach it to the form.
- Application process through the WA State Patrol can take 2-3 weeks.
- When your application has been approved and returned to our school, you will be put on our approved list of volunteers. You will be contacted by our Family Liaison soon after to have a short Volunteer Training regarding safety measures at Star Lake.
Track
Track Practice for K-2nd Mondays 3:15-4:15,
3rd-5th Tuesdays 3:15-4:15
All students must be picked up at 4:15!
Our first track meet will be on Saturday, May 14th, @ Federal Way Memorial Field, 1300 S. 308th St. Federal Way, WA 98003
K-2nd 12:45
3rd-5th 2:45
See below for more information.
Summer Reading Celebration
Library Learning
Star Lake Battle of the Books 2022
Fun was had by all at our annual Battle of the Books competition on April 27th. The winning team, The Moon Readers, will advance to the district battle competition on Thursday, May 19th at Todd Beamer HS at 6pm. When the results were announced in the gym, there was yelling and screaming coming from The Moon Readers: Brielle, Harlow, Maty and Aisha, all 5th graders in Mrs. Blair’s class. They were ecstatic! Second place team were The Obama Ducks: Eli, Romero, Nyomi, Anna and third place team were Cosmic Boom: Sean and Charlie.
Two staff teams participated to see who read the best. The Reading Divas won again! Mrs. Rennie, Mrs. Rieger, Mrs. Hinkle and Mrs. Hilderbrand made up the Reading Divas team with their sparkly tiaras and will share a wacky bowling trophy until next year’s competition.
The 2023 Battle of the Books book list will be announced in the June newsletter.
Happy Reading!
Ms. Nelson
253-945-4010
Counselor's Corner
This month, our schoolwide theme is problem solving. We’ll be reminding students to use the Second Step Problem-Solving Steps:
· S: Say the problem
· T: Think of solutions
· E: Explore consequences
· P: Pick the best solution
As you can see, the first letter of each step spells the word ”step.” Remembering “step” helps students solve problems with each other in safe and respectful ways.
Second Step lessons specifically teach students to use each step and reinforce the message that solutions need to be safe and respectful. You will be receiving Home Links about the steps that describe why solving problems is important and including fun activities to do with your child to help him or her learn and practice the steps. We hope the steps will be helpful for you and your child when there are problems at home.
Please tell your child’s teacher if you would like more suggestions about how to use the Problem-Solving Steps at home.
Tiffany Williams, School Counselor
(253) 945-4005
PBIS: SAFE, KIND AND PRODUCTIVE!
Happy May from the PBIS team! This month we discussed the transition into our NEW building. How exciting! We reviewed the PBIS matrix we currently have in place, discussed what is working well, what we want to continue to do, and what changes need to get made for common area expectations at Star Lake next year. The work that we are doing now is going to help our scholars make a smooth transition into the new building and set them up for success in being safe, kind, and productive in all areas around the new school.
Speaking of being safe, kind, and productive, have I mentioned that Star Lake students are the BEST? Our primary team partnered up with the intermediate team and created posters, signs, videos, and sent pictures wishing scholar’s luck and reminding them to do their best on their SBA tests! I love seeing our scholars having fun and being creative while supporting each other. Let’s continue the hard work that we have all been putting in to finish the year STRONG!
The picture on the left is Mrs. Baisch's kindergarten class wishing our testing students well.
Nurses News:
If your child received a vision referral from our nurses, please take your child in to see an eye doctor so they get their vision needs addressed.
Covid19 cases are increasing in WA. Please remember that if your child has cold symptoms, please keep them home. If your child has known allergies, work with your doctor to give them non-drowsy allergy medication before school. (experiment at home to see if it stops symptoms).
The QR code to the right, can be used when Covid testing is done here at our school and parents need to give permission.
Also, if your scholar has been vaccinated, please contact our nurses here at Star Lake to provide the date of vaccination at 253-945-4009.
For Free Covid Vaccine Clinic options, go to: https://www.fwps.org/Page/8337
ATTENDANCE: IT'S NOT SUMMER YET!
Problems with Tardiness
The most crucial learning hours of a school day are the morning hours, because that is when students are most attentive. Students who are tardy miss the beginning of their morning classes, and they also cause a distraction when they arrive late to class.
Academics and Achievement
Students who are frequently tardy have lower GPAs, lower scores on standardized assessments, and lower graduation rates. Chronic tardiness in elementary and middle school is also linked to failure in high school.
It’s not summer yet, so let's finish strong as we have important testing in the month of May. Please remind scholars to go to bed early! It’s important that students are in class on time for testing, otherwise they miss out on class time later when making up those tests.
Every Day Counts and Every Day Matters!
PTA Updates
Shout out to all the wonderful staff at Star Lake Elementary! Thank you for all that you do.
Mark your Calendars- June 2, 5:30-7pm for Family Night at West Fenwick Park with Sugar and Spoon Food Truck
Our no-fuss fundraiser is still running. We are asking for donations to continue enriching the students and staff at Star Lake. Please continue to send in donations made out to Star Lake PTA in an envelope. Thank you!
Next PTA meeting will be on Wednesday, May 25th at 6 pm on Zoom. Zoom link will be sent out closer to the date.
Star Lake PTA needs a new Executive Board for next year! If you are interested please email us at starlakepta@gmail.com
PTA SPIRIT DAYS:
May 20- Hero Day
June 10- Tropical Day
Join our Facebook page to keep up with the Star Lake PTA: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StarLakeElementary
* Remember that a successful PTA needs your participation. We appreciate your support! If you have any questions, please email us at: starlakepta@gmail.com
Bus Rider Expectations
With so many of our scholars riding the bus this year to our temporary location, our bus drivers are asking we share the common expectations we are using to teach our scholars about the expectations for riding the bus.
Please take a couple of minutes to review with your scholar the importance of a safe bus ride. These expectations are right out of our PBIS common expectations matrix. If you want to know more about our PBIS structures at school please email Mrs. Robinson tbiles@fwps.org or Mr. Geving tgeving@fwps.org
Nominate an Educator for the Because of You Award!
Any scholar in grades 3-12 has a chance to nominate any Federal Way Public Schools staff member in the district you believe has positively impacted you, your school, and/or your community with the “Because of You” award.
Nominations will be reviewed and selected by the Superintendent’s Scholar Advisory team and each month educators will be honored. Nomination forms can be completed online at: https://www.fwps.org/Page/5018 or you can access it below. Forms should be submitted by the end of the month. Stay tuned as we highlight these extraordinary staff members who make a difference each day in our schools!
Available Scholar Resources
Federal Way Public Schools now offers two new services to support our scholars – Tutor.com and Talkspace.
Tutor.com
Free academic tutoring available for scholars, grades 4-12. These scholars can access Tutor.com through Launchpad to Learning. This free supportive resource provides one-on-one tutoring 24 hours per day, seven days per week through a digital platform. Scholars can use text or voice-to-text to work with their tutor.
Watch this video to learn more about Tutor.com and how it can support your scholar: https://youtu.be/tVe1ZR8LTuU
Talkspace
To support social-emotional health of our scholars, they can take advantage of virtual therapy through Talkspace. The service is completely confidential and allows registered users unlimited therapy support through text, voice, video messages, along with two live video sessions per month. Eligible scholars can access Talkspace through Launchpad to Learning, by speaking with their school counselor, or visiting: http://www.talkspace.com/fwps
Staff List:
Star Lake Elementary
Email: comments@fwps.org
Website: https://www.fwps.org/starlake
Location: 3600 South 344th Way, Federal Way, WA, USA
Phone: 253-945-4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarLakeFWPS