Chimacum Elementary Newsletter
June 1, 2020
Our Staff Miss Our Chimacum Elementary Students and Families!
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Message From Principal Lynch
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we end this school year, I am thinking about the many "firsts" our school has had: moving from the 1948 old elementary location into the newly renovated former middle school, adding sixth grade to our school, having two of our three competitive robotics teams placing in the semi-finals in the First Lego League, all students receiving robotics instruction in the classroom, all students experiencing science & garden education lessons in our school garden, and of course, the massive shift to remote learning, and food and computer distribution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's been a year like no others for sure!
Most of our "firsts" this year have been the result of hard work and determination. I couldn't be more proud of our students, families, and staff in the bravery, responsibility, and respectfulness we've all shown during this past school year. Thank you to everyone for your patience and persistence during this time. Please know that whatever events continue to unfold, the Chimacum Elementary staff will be by your side. Our caring and dedicated staff will do whatever it takes to educate our students and support our families.
District staff are reviewing different school models, along with continued guidance from OSPI, about what school will be like next year. We will follow the state guidance provided and then customize the plan so that all students and staff are safe and able to continue working and learning. We will share the details of how the next school year will open when these plans and guidance from the state are finalized. Thank you for your continued patience in this very challenging time.
Jason
Student Pick Up & Return of School Materials
Last Day of School - Join Us at a Distance for the WAVE
Does Your Child Need a Bicycle?
The Chimacum School District supports bicycle and pedestrian safety within our community. Over the past few years, Chimacum Elementary and Middle School students were able to ride bicycles and learn road safety around our campus and our community. Through grant funding, the district purchased 30 Trek bicycles for this unique educational experience.
In light of our current circumstances, the Chimacum School District would like to loan these bikes out to students, focusing on grades 4th-8th, who may not have access to a bicycle over the summer. The availability of these bicycles will depend on the correct sizing of the bike to the student and proof of using a helmet to ride. If you are interested in checking out a bicycle for the summer, please fill out the "Bicycle Survey" Google Form linked below.
Staff Recognition
Janine Bolling has been teaching for 22 years. She came to Chimacum in 2005 and taught at Chimacum High School and Chimacum Creek Primary for a total of 9 years. At that time she moved to Lake Chelan and taught at Manson Elementary, but returned to Chimacum Elementary in 2018 to join our fourth-grade teaching team. She has purchased a home in Arizona and will be enjoying her retirement in the sun!
Joyce Coile has been teaching for the past 30 years. Her first two years were at Wolfe Elementary as a first grade teacher. Joyce came to Chimacum in 1992. In her 28 years with us, Joyce taught at the first and second grade level and later became a reading specialist and literacy coach. In addition to her teaching duties, Joyce was always serving on committees and often was the chairperson. She will be remembered for her calm demeanor and her passion for reading and literacy. Looking forward, she will enjoy her retirement with her husband and spending time with their five children and eight grandchildren. Rumor has it they will be having some wintertime fun on her husband's snowcat which he has rebuilt! Other plans include extended trips in their travel trailer and exploring the outdoors wherever their interests take them and a visit to Ireland and Scotland.
Tina Grewell has been a music educator for the past 33 years. Twenty-eight of those years were spent in the Snoqualmie Valley School District and Issaquah School District. She returned to her "roots" in Chimacum in 2015 as the District's Choral/Music Educator. This had her wearing many hats and teaching at many levels which included Chimacum Creek Primary, Chimacum Middle School, and Chimacum High School. She will be remembered for her high expectations, amazing concerts, and inspiring spirit! Tina and her husband are moving to Arizona to catch some year-round sunshine and enjoy all things physical. They will also be spending time with their five grandchildren. They are super excited about this next chapter in their lives!
Welcome Greg Reed
Greg Reed lives in Chimacum with his wife and two young kids. He loves to garden, mountain bike, hike, play guitar and make extravagant messes in the kitchen while cooking food for family and friends. Greg was introduced to education while running outdoor-ed programs for youth and adults at a wooden boat museum on Seattle's Lake Union, delving deeper into teaching while working with youth apprentices on Vashon Island -- where he and Caitlin ran a small-scale vegetable farm for five years. Greg earned a Masters in Teaching from Western Washington University in 2016 and has been working as a classroom educator since then. He is thrilled to be joining the team at Chimacum Elementary School this year, teaching 4th grade.
A Note From Our School Counselor and Occupational Therapist
Experiencing distance learning burnout? We thought it may be helpful to share a few behavior reinforcements you could use at home to get to this June’s finish line on a positive note.
At Chimacum Elementary we use a program called Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to create a school where all of our students can succeed. It helps keep our kids engaged, our teachers positive and points all of us towards a common goal of happier schools. Since our families are an even bigger partner in educational programming this spring, we thought we’d share some PBIS tools for home.
Consider the “magic ratio” of 5 to 1:
At school we advise our staff to use a 5 positive statements to every one re-direction. Some statements to use with your students could be;
- “Wow you are sticking with your work even when it’s tough, you’ll be done before you know it!”
- “I know this is overwhelming, we’re all learning this together.”·
- "Great job getting out of jammies and cleaning up after yourself, I really appreciate it.”
- “I appreciate you keeping to your schedule and showing me your work progress.”
- “Wow, you rock!”
- “Nice penmanship.”
- “I like the way you expressed that in your writing.”
- “I can tell that you went through every step, thank you for showing your work.”
- “Let’s go …for a walk, play ball, ride bikes, do special art project (etc) by 2:00 (whatever time frame works) when your work is done.”
- “You are welcome to game as soon as your daily school work is done.”
- “I appreciate you attending your class zoom meetings and watching the science video.”
- “Your teacher said in an e-mail that you had the most engaged time on (learning website)..awesome, that’s a lot of time!”
- “I can tell you're frustrated, tell me what’s going on so I can help you.” “I’m here to help you.” “We’ll get back on track together.”
- “You got started right away this morning!” You’ll have a lot of time to do what you want this afternoon.”
- “I bet you’ll be one of the first to complete this thoroughly.”
- “You are taking little breaks throughout your classwork, that keeps your focus sharp, nice job with self-care!”
- “I saw on your google classroom page you were recognized for your thoughtfulness on your paper, nice work.”
- “Thank you for taking care of yourself (brushing teeth, eating breakfast/lunch, exercising.)”
Linked below are some helpful resources. Please look over the 10 strategies from the Association for Positive Behavior Support and this fun behavior chart on yourself as a parent to keep things positive at home – you can even give yourself a sticker!
Sincerely,
Michele Kaster- Counselor
Sarah McNulty- Occupational Therapist
Class Placement for 2020-21
Depending on how we open school in the fall, we anticipate that our grade configurations for the 2020-21 school year will include three classes for grades 3, 4, and 6. Grade 5 will have two classrooms. All teachers' grade-level assignments have been made and a list of our staff is included in this newsletter.
If you or someone you know wants to enroll in Chimacum Elementary for the 2020-21 school year, or you know you will be moving from our district, please call our office at 360-302-5855 and leave a message. This will allow us to make more accurate classroom assignments.
Please know that we will be having school in the Fall of 2020, but don't yet know the format of how our school will open due to COVID19. Class placements may change to respond to various school formats. Therefore, we will be sending student placement at a later date this summer. Thank you for your understanding on this issue.
2020-21 Staffing for CES
Third Grade Team - Shari Glessing, Joni Langston, & Michelle Moseley
Fourth Grade Team - Kit Pennell & Karin Lowrie, Matt Orr, & Greg Reed
Fifth Grade Team - Kate Miller & John Morton
Sixth Grade Team - Gretchen Berg/ELA, Mitch Brennan/Math, Al Gonzalez/ Science
Reading Specialist - Josette Mendoza
Special Education - Jim Betteley
Band - Garth Gourley
Library - Michele Moriarity
Music -TBD
PE - Shawn Meacham
Counselor - Michele Kaster
Principal - Jason Lynch
Grades During the COVID-19 Closure
Families will be receiving a progress report that will provide feedback about your child’s progress toward meeting learning standards. We know that some families have circumstances that make full participation difficult.
New learning or work assigned during the school closure was not graded for calculation of a final grade. Staff provided specific feedback to students regarding their learning and/or assignments. This feedback is evidence of student learning.
There will be no grades/scores entered on the second semester report cards. All areas will be left “blank” and a district comment will be added about the COVID-19 school closure. The progress report will be attached to the second semester report card. Progress reports and the 2nd semester report card will be mailed home by Friday, June 19.
Please Remember to Return Your Student's Library Books
Dear Chimacum Students and Families,
We have set up a plan to help facilitate getting all our library and textbooks back in a safe and efficient way for everyone. The following schedule is a suggestion to keep our numbers down. If the date does not work for your family for any reason, please feel free to come by on a day that does works for you. We would like to support you in this process.
We will be carefully following social distancing guidelines to keep our staff, students and community safe.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Textbook and Library Book Return Schedule
Location: CJSHS Commons
Time: 9-2 pm
Elementary Dates: June 8-12 & June 15-19
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About Chimacum Elementary
Email: jason_lynch@csd49.org
Website: http://www.csd49.org/3/home
Location: 91 West Valley Road, Chimacum, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 302-5855
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chimacumelementary/
School Disclaimer
Chimacum School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employee has been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:
Civil Rights, Title IX, and Section 504 Coordinator
Holly Patton
PO Box 278, Chimacum, WA 98325
360-302-5886