Aberdeen Schools
Helping you stay informed about our district.
Aberdeen School District No. 5 -- April 16, 2021
A great week for the big comeback
All schools returned Monday from Spring Break to a four-day-a-week schedule, and what a great week it was -- blue skies, temperatures in the 70s and 80s, and school spirit soaring even higher. More than 70 percent of our students are back in person.
Here's to hoping that all of us -- students, staff, families -- are able to settle comfortably into the new groove and finish the year on a note as high and cheerful as this week's weather.
Planning for 2021-2022 well under way
Attention Distance Learners: The goal for fall is to bring students back to a full week and an all-day schedule. In order to ensure adequate staffing, our schools will be reaching out next week to all of our Distance Learning families to see how many of our Distance students will be returning to In-person Instruction in the fall.
Also in this Issue:
- Kindergarten Enrollment Opens Monday (April 19)
- School Board agenda for Tuesday, April 20
- The Hair Affair
- State suspends testing
- End-of-Year & Graduation Planning
Aberdeen School District Board of Directors
Next Meeting of the Board is Tuesday, April 20
Agenda for April 20 meeting (pdf)
Attend the meeting (Zoom link)
The next regular meeting of the School Board is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, via webinar. You can find agenda materials and a link to join the meeting by following the links above.
Written public comment is accepted until 3:30 p.m. the day of the meeting. Public comment should be submitted to schoolboard@asd5.org. Comments are shared with the board and become part of the online meeting record.
Hair Affair
When schools were abruptly closed last spring due to the pandemic, McDermoth Principal Bryan McKinney recorded a post to tell his students to remain Bulldog strong, and to keep attending remotely. He announced that he was not going to cut his hair until they could all be back together again later in the year – and that the class with the best online (remote) attendance could choose his next hair style.
Spring turned to summer, summer turned to fall, fall to winter, and then finally this week, more than a year later, all students were invited back to McDermoth Elementary School.
It was Ivy Lyles’ kindergarten class with the best attendance last spring. They’re 1st graders now, but they remember the promise! They were on hand, along with the current crop of McDermoth kindergartners, to help direct as Ms. Lyles’ went to work with a sharpened pair of scissors.
We heard there was some Elmer’s Glue involved in achieving some bang twirls. A quick Google search revealed Elmer’s is washable. Whew!
Thank you, Mr. McKinney, for being a good sport – and for showing your students to rock.
State testing postponed
Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced this week that the state will not be administering the Smarter Balanced Assessments or the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science this spring. Instead, the testing window is moved to fall 2021.
In announcing the decision, Reykdal said, “This was a complicated decision, and we appreciate all of the feedback we received. We do not believe testing as usual this spring would provide reliable or meaningful results; nor does it support the mental health of our students. Moving the testing window to the fall allows our educators to focus on engaging their students and families over the last couple months of school and preparing for a comprehensive opening of schools this fall.”
News for the Class of 2021
Your patience and understanding is appreciated as schools navigate what end-of-year ceremonies will look like. Here is what we can share so far for the Class of 2021:
- Prom cannot be a district event, but senior parents are holding a junior/senior prom event on May 22 with details being sent by that group soon.
- Silver and Gold Banquet will be a virtual event, date TBD in collaboration with Hoquiam High School.
- AVID Senior Night will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 25, in the AHS Commons. Each AVID senior will be provided two (2) guest tickets.
- Senior Awards Night is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, at Sam Benn Gym. Details on attendance are still being worked out, as well as how families can access streaming of the event.
- Moving Up Assembly/Senior Signing Assembly will be a virtual event via webinar at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 10.
- Graduation is Friday, June 11.
Graduation Parade: starting from Shoppes at Riverside parking lot at 4:30 p.m.
Graduation will take place at 7 p.m. at Stewart Field. Based on current guidelines, each graduate will have four tickets to share.
This newsletter and the AHS website will share additional information as it becomes available.
Staying in touch with Leadership
- Superintendent Alicia Henderson, ahenderson@asd5.org
- Business Office, Elyssa Louderback, elouderback@asd5.org
- Human Resources, Christi Sayres, csayres@asd5.org
- Special Education, Rick Bates, rbates@asd5.org
- Career & Technical Education, Lynn Green, lgreen@asd5.org
- Teaching, Learning & Technology, Traci Sandstrom, tsandstrom@asd5.org
- Food Services, Jaime Matisons, jmatisons@asd5.org
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The Aberdeen 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 employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Christi Sayres, Title IX Coordinator and Civil rights Compliance Coordinator, 216 North G St., Aberdeen, WA 98520; (360) 538-2222; csayres@asd5.org; Dr. Richard Bates, Section 504/ADA Coordinator, 216 North G St., Aberdeen, WA 98520; (360) 538-2017; rbates@asd5.org.