Port Susan Middle School
Student & Family Update 12.11.22
Communication is Key!
This week brought powerful conversations between staff members and with our students. The video linked below that was shown in both advisory this week as well as in our staff meeting, is a good reminder of how important our work is. However, we cannot do this work without the support of our families and greater community.
I ask that you take time over break and talk with your student about being their "best self" and what that means to them. In addition to putting effort in when the work is challenging, talking with them about their experiences online is also encouraged. Throughout middle school, the challenge that goes along with having technology at their fingertips can be stressful. Making positive choices as they navigate online platforms in important. We appreciate your support!
Student Calendar
Firefighters Visit
Mix It Up
Hot Cocoa Fundraiser
Festive Friday *Spirit Day*
Volleyball Games Begin
Practice schedule HERE and this link should change/update if practices are changed.
Week of 12/12 through 12/16
Monday:
Regular Schedule
Advisory SEL lesson
Tuesday:
Regular Schedule
Advisory Academic Support
Volleyball @ Mt. Baker
Band Concert @ SHS
Wednesday:
Red Wednesday
Hot Cocoa Fundraiser
Thursday:
Regular Schedule
Advisory Academic Support
Volleyball w/Anacortes
Friday:
Regular Schedule
Advisory Academic Support
*Spirit Day* Festive Friday
**Winter Break** We will return to school on Tuesday, January 3rd
Linked below are previous communications. Please continue to reach out with any questions you have. You can email me directly (calmanza@stanwood.wednet.edu) or call our office at 360.629.1360
District Information
New elementary school boundaries
Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) will host two community forums to gather public feedback and input on their work so far on recommending adjustments to our current elementary school boundaries.
The first community forum will be 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, at Utsalady Elementary. The second public meeting will be 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Twin City Elementary.
Please visit our CFAC website to learn more about the process. You can also review the district's Facility Master Plan and enrollment data from a recent demographic study. The webpage also has an FAQ section to answer common questions from our community thus far. The district expects new boundaries to be in place at the start of the 23-24 school year.
Community Resources
For families in need of support or connection to resources/services, please feel free to reach out to our Student Support Advocate, Amy Hart. Amy can help answer questions, connect families to community resources, and share needed information on programs and services that may be helpful. Amy is here to help however possible, and can be reached via phone (call or text) or email: 360-965-8249 or ahart@stanwood.wednet.edu.
Inclement Weather Reminder
As the weather forecasts indicate, we may see cold weather this winter. I wanted to share with you how we make the determination to delay or close schools due to ice, snow, flooding, etc.
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, especially our bus drivers.
We monitor weather patterns using multiple methods 24/7. In particular, we use a tool called Accuweather that is specifically designed to support school districts in looking ahead at weather patterns.
When there is a concern about school starting on time, our staff begins driving the roads throughout the district as early as 2 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 to determine if conditions are improving, worsening, or staying the same.
We strive to decide about the school day by 5 a.m. Once the decision is made, we begin communicating with families and staff. We communicate through:
Autodialer (via School Messenger)
Email (via School Messenger)
Website
Flash Alert
Predicting the weather is a challenge, and our primary goal is to ensure that the roads are safe, our campuses are easy to navigate, and the weather does not impede a safe school day. Find the 2022-23 snow routes HERE.
Have a question? Please reach out...
Cherae Almanza, Principal calmanza@stanwood.wednet.edu
Crysty Auckland, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director cauckland@stanwood.wednet.edu
Teacher Emails
Dave Austin (6-8 Fitness & 6 Leadership) daustin@stanwood.wednet.edu
Jonathan Bletscher (6-8 Band) jbletscher@stanwood.wednet.edu
Joan Campbell (6-7 Math) jcampbell@stanwood.wednet.edu
Tamara Pedersen (6-7 Math) tpedersen@stanwood.wednet.edu
Lori Stunz (7 ELA & 6-8 Art) lstunz@stanwood.wednet.edu
Grace Gale (6 Science & 6-8 STEM/Robotics) GGale@stanwood.wednet.edu
Sub for Grace Gale is Jeffrey Trammell jtrammell2@stanwood.wednet.edu
Chelsea Hanson (6-8 ELA/Humanities) CHanson@stanwood.wednet.edu
Nate Hanson (6-8 Computers/Digital Effects) nhanson@stanwood.wednet.edu
Audrie Harrington (6/7 ELA & 7/8 Leadership) aharrington@stanwood.wednet.edu
Joshua Keaton (7/8 History) jkeaton@stanwood.wednet.edu
Seth Hills (6 Social Studies) shills@stanwood.wednet.edu
Lori Johnson (6-8 Assist) ljohnson@stanwood.wednet.edu
Wade Johnson (7/8 Science) wjohnson@stanwood.wednet.edu
Rebecca Klein (6/7 Science) rklein@stanwood.wednet.edu
Meghan Lawrence (6-8 PBS) mlawrence@stanwood.wednet.edu
Ellianna Martin (6-8 Math) emartin@stanwood.wednet.edu>,
Daniel Mccrumb (6 Math/Science & 7/8 Outdoor Ed) DMccrumb@stanwood.wednet.edu
Sarah Oldow (6 ELA/Social Studies) soldow@stanwood.wednet.edu
Catherine Perry (6-8 EL) cperry@stanwood.wednet.edu
Tracy Riley (6-8 ELA) TRiley@stanwood.wednet.edu
Kelcie Rocha (7/8 Math) krocha@stanwood.wednet.edu
Brad Rochon (7/8 Science) brochon@stanwood.wednet.edu
Connie Schmidt (6-8 Health) cschmidt@stanwood.wednet.edu
Sheri Schroeder (8 History & ELA) sleeschroeder@stanwood.wednet.edu
Kym Shoemaker (7/8 Math) kshoemaker@stanwood.wednet.edu
Crystal Titus (6-8 Fitness) ctitus@stanwood.wednet.edu
Kayte White (8 ELA & 6 Cultures) kwhite@stanwood.wednet.edu
Julia Zurcher (7 History & 7/8 Home Ec) jzurcher@stanwood.wednet.edu
Office Support
Jayde Piggot (6 Counselor) jpiggott@stanwood.wednet.edu
Keli Niegemann (7/8 Counselor) kniegemann@stanwood.wednet.edu
Emily Bowne (School Psychologist) ebowne@stanwood.wednet.edu
Kandyce Hansen (Speech Language Pathologist) khansen@stanwood.wednet.edu
Sara Harlan (Librarian) sharlan@stanwood.wednet.edu
Amy Hart (Student Support Advocate) ahart@stanwood.wednet.edu
Taylor Little (Mental Health Therapist) tlittle@stanwood.wednet.edu
The Stanwood-Camano School District does not discriminate in employment, 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. Inquiries regarding compliance and/or grievance procedures may be directed to the District's Title IX/Affirmative Action Officer and Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator, Maurene Stanton (mstanton@stanwood.wednet.edu), or the Section 504/American Disabilities Act Coordinator, Robert Hascall (rhascall@stanwood.wednet.edu) Stanwood-Camano School District, 26920 Pioneer Hwy, Stanwood, WA 98292. Telephone: (360) 629-1200.