Friday Family Message
Hello Families
Welcome back and Happy New Year!
Not only does January signal a new start and the opportunity for a fresh new year, it also signals the end of the first semester of the school year.
As we approach the end of the first semester, we encourage you to check in with your student’s teachers and administrators as needed. We are here to help and support you.
We have several exciting things ahead of us in the coming months and want to share a few with you:
Martin Luther King Jr. recognitions across the district
Winter Sports and postseason play at our secondary schools
Students in grades Kingergarten through 8th grade will continue using our newly adopted reading and writing materials
A third Transitional Kindergarten classroom will be opened at Cedarhome Elementary School
Multiple opportunities to learn about the importance of our EP&O Replacement Levy, critical to the financial health of our district
We look forward to an exciting start to the 2024 calendar year!
Watch our latest video about the levy!
It is vital for our community to have all the facts and information about the details of this replacement levy as ballots will reach mailboxes later this month.
Earlier this week, Superintendent Deborah Rumbaugh and Deputy Superintendent Ryan Ovenell led a community conversation about the levy and answered questions. Take a moment to watch the video below to learn more about the levy before you vote on Feb. 13!
Be sure to visit www.stanwood.wednet.edu/levy for even more information.
Our next community levy presentation is 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, January 11, at the Lincoln Hill Retirement Center (Social Room).
Be prepared for winter weather
Our extended forecast is looking particularly wintery. As a reminder, you can view the 2023-24 snow routes on our Transportation webpage — if they are needed.
It is important to view, print, or bookmark these routes because in the event that the Stanwood-Camano School District needs to operate its buses in snow and ice, student pick-up and drop-off locations may be different than normal.
As always, you can find your bus route information on our Transportation webpage. Please remember that during a two-hour late start, students need to add two hours to the time posted online. For drop-off times during inclement weather events, please be at student's bus stop 10 minutes earlier than the regular time.
How do we determine if school is delayed or canceled due to weather?
We encourage families to be thoughtful of road conditions when frost or fog exists but do not result in school delays or closures, particularly among our student drivers. For your information, here is a summary of how our decisions are made as to whether we delay or cancel school:
Safety first! We consider the safety of our children on buses, our student drivers, families driving and walking to school, and the safety of our staff, including our bus drivers.
Road inspections. When there is a concern about school starting on time, our staff drives the roads throughout the district as early as 3 a.m. We take photos, check road conditions, monitor traffic, look for hazards, etc. We typically drive the roads multiple times in the early morning hours to determine if conditions are improving, worsening, or staying the same.
Communicating. We strive to decide about the school day by 5 a.m. Once the decision is made, we begin communicating with families and staff.
For more emergency weather information, visit our Emergency & Weather webpage. And for more information about inclement weather procedures, visit our Transportation department webpage.
Country Living and Modern Homesteading Expo
The annual Country Living and Modern Homesteading Expo is returning to Stanwood High School on January 27.
The daylong gathering features people from all backgrounds coming together to learn about homesteading and nature from each other. Most of the presenters are volunteers — local farmers, veterinarians, stockmen, homesteaders, and folks that are passionate about food preservation, soil conservation, livestock management and production, gardening, fibers, and more.
The local FFA chapter volunteers, Washington State University Extension, and the nonprofit Livestock Master Foundation help organize the event that also offers food, local vendors, lots of learning, and a day of community.
We're proud of our students, staff, and community members who participate to help make this event a success!
To see schedules, find registration, and get more information, visit https://extension.wsu.edu/skagit/countrylivingexpo.
School Board update
The Stanwood-Camano School Board accepted more than $7,500 in donations during its regular board meeting on Jan. 2.
Thank you to our community for these generous gifts.
Donations included:
- $100 from Cindy Axthelm in support of the Stanwood High School Choir
- $200 from Scott and Lisa Brents in support of the Stanwood High School National Honor Society auction fund
- $300 from Providence General Foundation in support of the Stanwood High School Choir
- $806 from the Camano Yacht Club in support of the Stanwood High School Choir
- $1,226 from the Stanwood Elementary PTO to cover the transportation costs for field trips to the pumpkin patch at Skagit Acres and Camp Seymour
- $5,000 from the Stanwood Foursquare Church in support of the food services program
In other business at the meeting, Executive Director of Business Services Ruth Floyd provided an update on the November 2023 Financial Report.
The school board then adjourned to an executive session to review the performance of a district employee.
For more information about the meeting, see the agenda or watch a video recording of a meeting.
The next meeting is 6 p.m. Jan. 16.
Warm Coats for Kids
The Stanwood-Camano Food Bank has extended its Warm Coats for Kids program through the month of January.
The free program is for children ages 0-18 who live in the Stanwood-Camano area and/or attend school in the Stanwood-Camano School District.
Simply visit the Food Bank from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday to make an appointment.
HiCap nominations open
The nomination period is open for Stanwood-Camano School District’s Highly Capable Program. The class is for exceptionally advanced learners in reading and math for students in grades K-12.
Consider making a nomination if you believe your student is performing significantly above grade-level in reading and/or math and possesses the following learning characteristics:
Capacity to learn with unusual depth of understanding, to retain what has been learned, and to
transfer learning to new situations;
Capacity and willingness to deal with increasing levels of abstraction and complexity;
Capacity to make unusual connections among ideas and concepts;
Capacity for learning at an accelerated rate;
Capacity for intense concentration and/or focus.
Nomination packets are available from school building secretaries or on the district’s Teaching & Learning webpage. The nominations are due by January 26.
The District Selection Committee screens all nominations. Students meeting the screening criteria will complete further assessment to determine eligibility for program services. Assessment of nominated students is scheduled from March 4-22. Families are then notified between May 8-12
For more information please contact Rona Olson at rolson@stanwood.wednet.edu or 360-629-1200.
A few reminders
Get social with us!
Please remember to follow the Stanwood-Camano School District on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and Twitter, and follow my tweets @rumbaughsupt.