STANWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
FAMILY UPDATE FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 4, 2021
SHS VISION STATEMENT
Stanwood Spartans are united in cultivating character, modeling respect, teaching leadership and connecting to community.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!
As you know, social media can be a great communication tool. However, sometimes information that is posted on social media accounts can be destructive and/or harmful.
Recently people have posted school challenges on social media, such as on TikTok. These challenges have spiraled into very destructive "games". For the month of September, the challenge was to mess up a toilet and vandalize bathrooms in schools. Unfortunately, this challenge was carried out at our school. Daily we experienced toilets full of school food. Soap dispensers and toilet paper dispensers were ripped off walls and either left in toilets or even stolen. Soap was spilled all over bathrooms. This social media "challenge" was costly and left destruction in our brand new school.
We would like to keep our building looking brand new. Please talk with your children about the importance of respecting property and individuals by not participating in these social media challenges.
Here are other challenges we have become aware of:
October - Smack a staff member on the back side
November - Kiss your friend's girlfriend at school
December - Deck the halls and show your boobs or butt in school halls
January - Jab a breast
February - Mess up school signs
March - Make a mess in the courtyard or cafeteria
April - Grab some "eggs" - theft challenge
May - Ditch Day
June - Flip off the office staff
CONGRATS TO THIS YEAR'S HOMECOMING REPRESENTATIVES
NEW: NATIONAL CUSTODIAN DAY OCTOBER 2ND
A very BIG thank you to our custodians who work so hard to keep our building clean.
Thank you to Jackie, Steve, Todd, Elisa, Joe, and Joel. We appreciate all that you do!!
NEW: ADVISORY FOR OCTOBER 8TH
On Friday, October 8th, we will hold a shelter in place drill during advisory.
The advisory session is held in between 2nd and 3rd periods on Fridays 9:30 - 9:55 a.m.
NEW: FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION FOR SENIORS AND FAMILIES
NEW: UDPATE FROM THE DISTRICT NURSE
Families,
We are constantly analyzing how we are handling our COVID response, and our district has made a couple of changes lately that we hope will enable us to keep more students in class, and return those who are out a little sooner.
First, it can appear that students are being singled out for quarantine when the rest of their class is not, but this is intentional. We have learned from our experience already this year that if our students sit in class, eat lunch, and have their specialist seating near the same group of students we can be much more specific in determining close contacts for any potential quarantine. We hope to be able to do more precise quarantines with smaller groups going forward.
Secondly, as you heard from the family message on Monday, we have been given the go-ahead by the Health District to decrease our quarantine times from 14 days to 10 days. This will allow us to have an in-person "pause" for those students and staff who were determined to be close contacts, and get them back a little more quickly.
NEW: WARM COATS FOR KIDS
October 1, 2021
Hello Families,
It is hard to believe October is already here! This has been a challenging and rewarding start to the school year. We are hopeful that our schools may return to a more “normal” routine as we see COVID case rates slowly starting to decline in Snohomish County. Districts in our region meet weekly with the Department of Health to review current case rates, listen to medical experts and plan our next steps.
A recent outcome of these meetings was our ability to lower our standard quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days. This means, if your student(s) tests positive for COVID, or is a close contact to someone that tested positive for COVID, the quarantine period is now 10 days. Please connect with your school nurse if you have any questions about close contacts, tertiary contacts or have questions about your student(s) circumstances. Please see this infographic from the Department of Health that describes how we determine close contacts in schools.
Listening Sessions with the Superintendent
During Tuesday night’s virtual listening session, families had the opportunity to share celebrations and needs that they and their students are experiencing. 20 families joined in this one hour session; some of the topics that were discussed included:
- Ensuring schools provide adequate time for meals and snack
- Appreciation for school newsletters and Friday Family Messages
- Clarifying the amount of quarantine days and procedures
- Addressing class size and enrollment at Cedarhome Elementary School
Our team will use these topics as opportunities to improve our practices and procedures. We sincerely appreciate the time our families took in giving us feedback. Our next listening session will be on Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Please check the District Calendar for details.
Change in Days Required for Quarantine (additional detail)
At the guidance of both Snohomish and Island County health districts, we will be shortening our close contact quarantine period to 10 days. Beginning Monday, September 27, any student or staff member who is determined to be a close contact to someone who is COVID positive will need to be quarantined for 10 calendar days. As before, a quarantine restriction does not affect other family members who are not determined to be close contacts. Students and staff who are quarantined are expected to remain home, avoiding contact with anyone outside their household, during this 10-day period (e.g., extracurricular activities, etc.)
This decision was made, along with several other districts in our area, in order to return our staff and students back to school as quickly as possible without sacrificing safety. This move is being made with the guidance of our local health departments; it may be rescinded by local health departments, if circumstances dictate a change back to a more conservative timeline.
Finally, thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate another unusual school year. We strive daily to ensure your children receive the best possible education. We know that safety protocols can be stressful for students and families, but we are committed to keeping COVID cases low, students and staff in school and learning a priority!
Thank you for your partnership in this important work.
NEW: STATE TESTING THIS FALL
The spring testing from 2021 was postponed to this fall. Here is the testing information.
October 11/12 - Math SBA
Grade 9 (will take grade 8 test)
Grades 11 and 12 (will take grade 10 test)
October 18/19 - English SBA
Grade 9 (will take grade 8 test)
Grades 11 and 12 (will take grade 10 test)
October 25/26 - Science WCAS
Grade 9 (will take grade 8 test)
Grade 12 (will take grade 11 test)
**Students will take these tests in their Math, English, and Science tests.
Letters were mailed home this week with specific information regarding the tests.
UPDATE: HEALTHY YOUTH SURVEY
Our school is participating in the Washington State Healthy Youth Survey on October 21st. Students in grades 10 (English classes) and 12 (History classes) will participate in the survey.
The Healthy Youth survey includes questions related to physical activity and diet, unintentional and intentional injury, substance use, abuse, risk and protective factors, and access to school-based services. Survey results are used by schools, communities and state agencies to plan programs to support our youth and reduce their risks.
Participation is voluntary and the students' answers are anonymous.
We will be administering the survey online this year. No privacy issues were identified in the E-survey pilot conducted by the state in 2019. This year schools are being instructed to disable any recording, keystroke tracing, and video capture software on school-issued devices used to take the survey. We will also instruct students to do the same on personal devices used to take the survey before they begin. If you use any software to monitor the device your student will use to take the survey, please turn it off before they being to ensure their honest participation.
REMINDER: DETENTION CALENDAR FOR 21-22
On most Wednesdays and Fridays we hold lunch detention in room 251.
Download the schedule below.
REMINDER: PSAT SIGN UP
REMINDER: SAFE SCHOOLS NAME CHANGE
REMINDER: COVID UPDATES
You can find very helpful answers and information regarding Covid protocols and updates on the district website. In addition, the current count is on the district website and is updated weekly on Wednesdays. Here is the link:
REMINDER WEARING MASKS OUTSIDE FOR ATHLETIC EVENTS
REMINDER: STUDENT CHROME BOOK ISSUES
LIBRARY INFORMATION
The library hours will open from 7:10 a.m. - 2:40 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can visit the library website for more information or check out the Destiny Discover catalog for the latest books.
If you have not yet picked up your chrome books, stop by the library during regular hours. This week your teachers will be bringing you down to the library to get textbooks that you need for their class. If you need a textbook immediately, for example, for AP European History, you can stop by the library during regular hours to pick it up.
If your student needs any tutoring support, please check with Sno-Isle Library. Here is the link to their Brain Fuse site.
NEW: BELL SCHEDULES FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 4TH
Monday/Tuesday/Thursday - Regular Schedule
Wednesday - Wednesday Schedule
CLASS OF 2022 YEARBOOK DEADLINES
It is time for seniors to get their senior photos taken. As parents/guardians, you can submit baby ads for your child as well. Click on the link below for all of the information.
COUNSELOR/ADMINISTRATOR BREAKDOWN
Do you have questions and are not sure who to contact? Here is the breakdown by counselor and administrator based on student last name.
Counseling:
Paige Watson A – Em
Maren Holzinger En - K
Tricia Tayon L - Rh
Emily Elde Ri - Z
Administrators:
Carolyn Coombs A – I
Tom Wilfong J – R
Denise Eichler S - Z
SHS COVID SAFETY PLAN
We have a covid safety plan for our building. Please click on the link below to access it:
COVID INFORMATION ON DISTRICT WEBSITE
SCHOOL CALENDAR
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 8 - Advisory
October 11/12 - Math SBA (grades 9, 11, and 12)
October 13 - College and Career Readiness Night
October 15 - Curriculum Day/No School
October 16 - PSAT test
October 18/19 - English SBA (grades 9, 11, and 12)
October 19 - Student retake photo day
October 21 - State Earthquake Drill
October 22 - Advisory
October 25/26 - Science WCAS test (grades 9, 12)
October 27-29 - Fall Conferences/Early Release
November 5 - End of First Quarter
November 23 - ASVAB test in the morning
STANWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
Email: cdelpozo@stanwood.wednet.edu
Website: https://shs.stanwood.wednet.edu/
Location: 7400 272nd Street Northwest, Stanwood, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 629-1300