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March, 2023
Principal's Message
Dear Woodside Families,
If you've ever heard an adult - or anyone else - say that bullying is "just a fact of life" or "no big deal," you're not alone! Too often, people just don't take bullying seriously - or until the sad and sometimes scary stories are revealed.
Bullying can be pushing, shoving, hitting, and spitting, as well as name calling, picking on, making fun of, laughing at, and excluding someone. "Cyber bullying" is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones. Advances in computer and communication technology have allowed our children to reach out to new sources of knowledge and cultural experiences like never before. Bullying and cyber bullying causes pain and stress to victims and is never justified or excusable as "kids being kids," "just teasing" or any other rationalization. The victim is never responsible for being a target of bullying or cyber bullying.
It has come to my attention some students are using their district assigned devices inappropriately. District Chromebooks are not to be used for e-mailing, sending personal messages in Canvas, etc. Also, students are not allowed to text, call, or use their cell phones during the school day. Please keep in touch with your child’s teacher if you have concerns. I want to continue to foster this partnership to ensure the continued success of our students. Communication is a vital key and always brings understanding. Please refer to Everett Public Schools’ Technology Use Agreement, Student Technology Use Agreement Form
and Students and Parents Technology Handbook, Technology Handbook. Your child’s learning experiences at Woodside Elementary School are greatly impacted by your support, enthusiasm, and involvement.
Our schools must always be havens in which we learn, and work together, and never places of refuge for those who bully or intimidate. Students should be encouraged to report an act of bullying to their teacher, our school counselor, Mrs. Stacy Story, the assistant principal, Mrs. Christine Vo, or to me personally. The primary reason that students do not report being bullied is the fear of retaliation. Failure to report an incident of bullying will only assure that it will continue and will likely begin to negatively affect additional students. We must remember to be watchful for signs of bullying, harassment, or mistreatment of our students.
At Woodside we believe that everybody should enjoy our school equally and enjoy a peaceful life at home while on the Internet and feel safe, secure, and accepted regardless of color, race, gender, popularity, athletic ability, intelligence, religion, and nationality.
On another note, as we head, unbelievably, into the final trimester of the school year, I want to remind you Conference week is around the corner, March 27 – March 31. Parent teacher conferences are a very valuable opportunity for you to discuss academic and social growth. The Woodside staff looks forward to seeing each of you during this week. Woodside will be on early dismissal schedule beginning Friday March 24th – March 31st. Woodside’s dismissal time will be 12:20 PM.
In addition, Everett Public Schools will provide our annual School Stakeholder Survey this month. We are asking families to complete this anonymous, multiple-choice, online survey by March 31. The survey is an ongoing effort to understand our specific strengths and challenges that impact school quality. The School Stakeholder Annual Survey is only one of many pieces of data analyzed by school leaders and staff. In addition to survey data, student achievement, attendance, discipline, and program data is evaluated to create School Improvement Plan goals. The survey is available in six different languages and the survey link is provided here: https://surveys.panoramaed.com/everett/family23
As always, please feel free to contact me at any time. Happy March!
We SOAR at Woodside!
· Stay safe
· Own your Actions
· Always being a leader
· Respect yourself and others
Sincerely,
Dr. Betty J. Cobbs, Principal
(425) 385-7800 or bcobbs@everettsd.org
Save The Dates
○ April 3-7 Spring Break
○ May 4, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Multi-Cultural Night
○ May 19, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Woodside Family Fitness Night
Something New Coming to Our School
Woodside is planning a new after-school program (Tai Chi) for students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. The Tai Chi Club will meet once a week, for 5-weeks from 3:00-4:00 pm in the school gym.
Tai Chi develops excellent physical activities for children. We all know that exercise is good for all ages and these activities will help children improve muscle tone, strength, flexibility, agility, reflexes, and stamina. Tai Chi works on the inside of the body and helps us feel peaceful and focused. Our PE teacher, Mr. Craig Langley, will work with Dr. Xia Che (tai chi) instructor to make the club experience a great one for students. Watch for more information coming!
Assistant Principal's Message
Dear Woodside Families,
Welcome to the month of March. The first day of this month marks “Share a Smile” day to encourage the simple act of smiling at others to spread joy. A smile transcends languages, cultures and can connect people from all around the world. Greeting students with a smile and friendly hello when students arrive at school each day is a practice that continues at Woodside. The next time you pick up, drop off, or are visiting our school campus, please join us in sharing a friendly smile.
Around this time of year with the Spring season right around the corner, preparations are underway for grades 3-5 SBA testing and 5th grade graduation. We are seeing academic growth, as we continue encouraging students to follow the school routines and S.O.A.R. expectations.
While school has been in session for six months, the i-Ready diagnostic assessment has been administered to students in both the fall and winter. The results from these assessments provide an understanding of students’ growth in specific skill areas for math and reading, from the start of the year to when the i-Ready winter diagnostic was completed. Please check your student’s i-Ready to also view progress towards your student’s typical and stretch growth goals.
Warmly,
Christine Vo
Assistant Principal, Woodside Elementary
cvo@everettsd.org, 425-385-7891
What is happening in music?
The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Graders have been reading music from the staff using absolute pitch names A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The letters that go with the lines on the staff are E, G, B, D, and F (Elephants Go Bouncing Down Freeways). The letters that go with the spaces are F, A, C, and E (FACE). Reading music from the staff is an important musical skill that we have been practicing as we play recorders.
2nd Grade will start a unit on the musical story, Peter and the Wolf, this month. We will be studying individual instruments of the orchestra and instrument families (woodwind, brass, strings, and percussion). Ask your child what different characters were in the book and what instrument they played.
1st Graders did an AMAZING job on their Snowmen at Night Concert! I am so proud of their hard work! 1st Grade will now start learning how to read sol-mi notes on the music staff. These are the first 2 notes that students read and sing. Ask your child what the music staff is and where sol and mi live on the staff.
Kindergarteners will start learning about rhythm this month. We have been practicing how to read and perform rhythm (the way the words go) to various songs. See if your child can tell you how rhythm is different from the beat in music!
The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at Woodside have started their recorder unit!
Now it’s time for some…
To encourage students to practice the recorder, we do recorder karate in music class. The students have the opportunity to earn belts: white, yellow, green, purple, blue, red, and black with each belt corresponding to a specific song. As the students work through the belts, the songs get more difficult and correspond to their music grade. In addition, students can earn extra credit by getting rainbow belts with beads for filling out practice bugs. The grading is as follows:
5 belts= 4 (Advanced)
4 belts= 3 (Proficient)
2-3 belts=2 (Partially Proficient)
1 belt=1 (Unsatisfactory)
Music and practice sheets were sent home with recorders and are available in the music room. Please encourage your child to practice at home and show you all the belts they have earned.
Upcoming Music Events
4th and 5th Grade Choir Concert
Thursday, March 23rd
2:00PM and 6:30PM in the Woodside Cafeteria
Honor Choir Concert
Monday, April 24th
7:00PM at the Everett Civic Auditorium (only for select/auditioned choir members)
3rd Grade Recorder Concert
Thursday, May 25th
6:30PM in the Woodside Cafeteria
If you have any questions or concerns, please email Mrs. Hill at: thill@everettsd.org
PTA News
Family Survey
Greetings Woodside families,
To guide the Everett Public Schools’ continuous improvement process, each year schools survey students, families, and staff. This information helps us to understand our specific strengths and challenges that impact school quality. The School Stakeholder Annual Survey is only one of many pieces of data analyzed by school leaders and staff. In addition to survey data, student achievement, attendance, discipline, and program data is evaluated to create School Improvement Plan goals.
Below is the link to our anonymous, multiple-choice family survey. We ask that you please complete and submit the survey by March 31. If you have more than one student in Everett Public Schools, please complete a survey for each school your student attends so that they can benefit from your feedback.
Thank you for partnering with us,
Dr. Betty J. Cobbs
Saludos Woodside familias:
Para darle guía al proceso de mejora continua de las Escuelas Públicas de Everett, cada año las escuelas encuestan a sus estudiantes, familias y personal escolar en un esfuerzo continuo de entender nuestras fortalezas y retos que impactan la calidad escolar. La encuesta anual dirigida a las partes interesadas en el bienestar y éxito de las escuelas (conocida en inglés como “The School Stakeholder Annual Survey”) es solamente uno de los muchos componentes de los datos que son analizados por los líderes y el personal escolar. Además de los datos de esta encuesta, se evalúa el aprovechamiento del estudiante, su asistencia, disciplina y datos del programa para crear las metas del plan de mejora escolar.
A continuación, está la liga de enlace a nuestra encuesta anónima de opción múltiple para la familia. Le pedimos que por favor llene la encuesta y la envíe antes del 1 de abril. Si tiene más de un estudiante en las Escuelas Públicas de Everett, por favor llene una encuesta por cada escuela a la que sus estudiantes asisten para que se puedan beneficiar de sus comentarios y opiniones.
Gracias por trabajar en asociación con nosotros,
Dr. Betty J. Cobbs