GROWTH & GRIT IN THE NEW YEAR
It's hard to believe that it's already winter break. With the New Year upon us, it is time to reflect and look forward. We have had many positive things to celebrate in our schools in 2018. The beginning of our high school construction project, the launch of our Kinder BRIDGE program, 2 schools recognized with prestigious Washington State School of Distinction Awards, many staff, athletic and extracurricular awards, more than 186 new EVHS alumni and countless lasting impressions with our students and community.
It seems that the new trend in resolutions is to pick one word and allow that word to guide you as you take on the challenges of the New Year. As we look forward to 2019, the word GROWTH comes to mind for East Valley. Growth for our East Valley Community, growth for our district and school programs and especially for the growth of all students in our schools.
The expectations of student performance have risen year after year to new heights, and along with that, the expectations of our staff to prepare our students for the academic rigor they are now facing. We want our students to overcome challenges and excel in these new learning opportunities. As educators, we understand that learning is not always easy and that if students can learn to fail forward and, apply lessons learned from their mistakes, they are more likely to succeed in later attempts. To truly lead our students to success, we need our families to embrace the learning process, teach kids how to learn from failure and emphasize the power of grit, the mindset and ability to show confidence, self-control and perseverance in new, tough situations. We are confident that with the support of our staff and families, our students will reach their highest potential.
It is my hope that we all enjoy winter break and spend much needed, precious time with our families and loved ones. We look forward to welcoming our students, staff and families back to school on January 2nd and hope that we all return with a mindset of continued growth in the new year.
Wishing you a Happy & Safe Holiday Season!
John Schieche
Superintendent of East Valley Schools
STUDENTS NEED SLEEP
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Terrace Heights Students - Learning to FAIL FORWARDThis year, 5th grade students at T.H.E., are taking real-life local problems and using the engineering process to find real-life solutions, in a series of design challenges that are part of the Educational Service District 105 Engineering Fellows Program. Recently, students have been working on a solution for protecting cars on the freeway in the event of the Rattlesnake Ridge Landslide - Some designs were successful and others were not. The most important lesson students are learning through this program is how to Fail Forward - to use failure as a guide for growth. Way to go Black Bears! | Who's the boss? On Friday, December 14th, East Valley Elementary students had a new boss for the day. Rey got to serve his term as Principal for the Day, making all-school announcements and judging the door decorating contest. I'm sure most students would agree this was a sweet treat for winning the Mother-Son Superhero Dance-Off competition! | Jingle Bell Geometry at Moxee Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle all the way...to math success! Students in Mrs. Sanders' class had a little holiday fun, incorporating festive bells to represent the vertices (corners) of shapes in their geometry lesson! |
Terrace Heights Students - Learning to FAIL FORWARD
This year, 5th grade students at T.H.E., are taking real-life local problems and using the engineering process to find real-life solutions, in a series of design challenges that are part of the Educational Service District 105 Engineering Fellows Program.
Recently, students have been working on a solution for protecting cars on the freeway in the event of the Rattlesnake Ridge Landslide - Some designs were successful and others were not. The most important lesson students are learning through this program is how to Fail Forward - to use failure as a guide for growth. Way to go Black Bears!
Who's the boss?
Jingle Bell Geometry at Moxee
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Ernie G. Visits EVC Ernie G., an empowerment comedian, known for "Latino edutainment", or educating and entertaining with a Latino Flavor, visited East Valley Central students, compliments of the University of Washington's GEAR UP program. He performed in 3 student comedy shows throughout the day and then held a special parent comedy show at night. His message was clear - if we empower our kids and teach them that with hard work, perseverance and a college degree they can achieve greatness, then they will be successful. Shine-on Bruins | Schools of Distinction Earlier this fall we received the great news that two of our schools received Washington State School of Distinction Awards. Both East Valley Central Middle School and East Valley Elementary were recognized for being in the top 5% of schools in our state for growth in math and English language arts. On our last day of school for the 2018 year, the superintendent of the ESD 105, Kevin Chase, joined Superintendent Schieche and building administrators, to present the official certificate and banner to the staff and students of both E.V.E. & E.V.C. Way to go Jaguars and Bruins! | Our Own SRO SantaOur own SRO Santa showed up to give the students of T.H.E. an early present during their Polar Express celebration - a new Black Bear mascot!! Thank you to the Terrace Heights Elementary PTA for this wonderful gift that is sure to keep giving smiles for years to come! |
Ernie G. Visits EVC
He performed in 3 student comedy shows throughout the day and then held a special parent comedy show at night. His message was clear - if we empower our kids and teach them that with hard work, perseverance and a college degree they can achieve greatness, then they will be successful. Shine-on Bruins
Schools of Distinction
On our last day of school for the 2018 year, the superintendent of the ESD 105, Kevin Chase, joined Superintendent Schieche and building administrators, to present the official certificate and banner to the staff and students of both E.V.E. & E.V.C. Way to go Jaguars and Bruins!
Our Own SRO Santa
Our own SRO Santa showed up to give the students of T.H.E. an early present during their Polar Express celebration - a new Black Bear mascot!!
Thank you to the Terrace Heights Elementary PTA for this wonderful gift that is sure to keep giving smiles for years to come!
CONGRATULATIONS MR. FORSTER!
This year, with the support of the East Valley Community Enhancement Association and generous community donors, we were able to launch a new award to recognize a classified employee for their dedication to our schools, students and their peers. The Champions in our Classrooms Award gifts the selected employee with two tickets to a home Seahawks game, Seahawks swag items and $250 to use toward travel and other game-day expenses.
The EVCEA sorted through and reviewed 36 nominations to determine this year's recipient and have identified Matt Forster, a custodian at East Valley Elementary School, as our first ever winner.
Forster has worked for East Valley Schools for nearly 25 years. Fellow employee, Janice Raney, says of Matt, "Matt is amazing! He does what he says he'll do in a timely manner. He's always cheerful with a smile on his face." This sentiment is echoed by Donelda Heilman who says that Matt is, "...always willing to help anyone and everyone. He has a great personality, is a very hard worker. He's personable with all of the staff and students."
We thank Matt for his service to our community and his hard work in ensuring that our schools are ready to serve our students every day.
We also thank the Layman Family for their generous donation of Seahawks tickets to our winner and the EVCEA for their contribution of $250 and ensuring this award was possible in our district.
LOCKDOWN/SECURE & TEACH EXPECTATIONS
Our second priority is communicating with our families. We will use our mass messaging service, SchoolMessenger, during emergency situations. This service will notify families using all modes of communication: text, automated phone message and email. We will also post our messages on our school and district websites and social media pages. It is important to check these sources for updates, as our school personnel will not always be available to answer phone calls during these instances.
We understand that, at times, this can be challenging and frustrating to our families. If a secure and teach or lockdown occurs at the end of the day, students will still be kept inside and bus service to our buildings may be temporarily interrupted.
How can you help us keep our students and staff safe?
- Refrain from calling the school and district during these instances. It is very difficult to communicate effectively with law enforcement and other first responders when our phone lines are tied up.
- Do not come to our school to pick up your kids. Law enforcement and first responders need the roads clear of traffic and other obstructions and we will not be opening our buildings.
- If you are at a school, waiting to pick your kids up in the parking lot when a lockdown or secure and teach is called, we ask that you leave the parking lot and wait in a safe location to allow room for first responders to access our school(s) easily.
- Talk to your kids about what to do in an emergency and allow them a chance to talk about the incident after it has happened.
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