Wade King Elementary
January 2019 Newsletter
A Note from the Principal
Dear Wade King Families,
Collaboration is a very important part of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, and therefore a priority at Wade King. Across grade levels we intentionally teach our students the skills they need to be strong collaborators and give them many opportunities to put those skills into practice. Our staff also dedicates a significant amount of time to collaborating as they plan and reflect on units of inquiry, as well as analyze and plan for student growth in reading, writing, and math.
One way our teachers collaborate is to engage in Student Growth Collaboration meetings several times a year. During these meetings, teachers analyze academic data and plan strategies to maximize student growth. Math fact fluency was the focus of our most recent Student Growth Collaboration meetings. Developing math fact fluency in our students is important because it builds students’ understanding of math concepts, mathematical reasoning, and problem solving. Fact fluency is not just knowing the answers to math facts quickly and accurately. It is also having a repertoire of strategies to solve facts. We want students to have several strategies they can use when they encounter problems that are unknown. If students rely on one strategy, that strategy may not be the most efficient strategy to use in all situations. We also want students to be flexible so that they can use facts that they know to figure out facts that they do not know. If you are curious about the strategies that we teach Wade King students, check out the links below.
During our Student Growth Collaboration meetings about math fact fluency, teachers planned ways incorporate games and activities into their classroom routines for students who are in need of extra practice. Mrs. Herda, our Dean of Students, is also looking for parents who would be willing to do math fact fluency practice with individual students beyond the work they are doing in their classrooms. If you would are interested in learning more about this volunteer activity, contact Mrs. Herda!
Lots of great things are happening at Wade King!
Stephanie Johnson
Principal, Wade King Elementary
Important Dates in January and February
1/4 Whatcom Symphony to visit 1st grades 1:30pm in cafeteria
1/9 Field Trip: 5th Gr to Seattle - Gates Foundation
1/10 PTA Meeting - Dr. Baker will be guest speaker 6-8pm in library
1/21 NO SCHOOL: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1/22 Field Trip: Zoba to Spark Museum 9:30am - noon
1/23 Field Trip: Livezey to Spark Museum 9:30am - noon
1/23 2nd Grade Toy Museum in cafeteria 1:20-1:50pm
1/25 Field Trip: Gutierrez to Spark Museum 9:30am-noon
1/29 NO SCHOOL: End of Semester
2/1 PTA Spirit Wear Sale through the end of February
2/2 Saturday Chess Tournament at King
2/7 Family Game Night and Dessert Auction 6-8pm
2/14 Chinese New Year Celebration 8:10am in cafeteria/gym
2/14 PTA meeting 6-8pm in library
2/21 Parent Technology Information Night 6-7:30pm in cafeteria
Please Take Our Quick Transportation Survey
Our district wide Routes to School Advisory Group is examining the routes our students take getting to school. As part of this process, the Advisory Group has created a family survey for input on routes and ways families are transporting kids. Please take time to take this quick survey to share your feedback with them. Thank You!
Playground Fun
January is Gymnastics Month in PE
Is Your Child's Clothing Labeled?
Snack Drive NEXT WEEK: January 14th -18th
King's Chess Tournament: Saturday, February 2nd
Our annual Wade King Elementary Chess Tournament will be held at Wade King on Saturday, February 2nd. The tournament is open to players of all abilities in grades kindergarten to 8th grade. Players must pre-register to play. The Early Bird discount is $17 but will go up to $20 the week of the event. To register, go to bellinghamyouthchess.com All registrations must be made on-line. Check-in is from 8:00-8:40am. The tournament ends between 3:00 and 3:30pm.
Food concessions will be available and the El Tapatio Food Truck will be on site if you wish to purchase lunch. NOTE: If your child has dietary restrictions, please be aware that a variety of foods may not be available at this event.
For more information, please contact Robin Stimac at 808-652-9380 or email
Family Game Night and Dessert Auction: February 7th from 6-8 pm in Cafeteria/Gym
Chinese New Year Celebration: Thursday, February 14th at 8:10am
Next PTA Meeting - Thursday, February 14th from 6-8pm in the Wade King Library
At our January PTA meeting, we were talking about ways to increase the number of parents who attend our meetings. If you have come before, we hope you will come again... and bring a friend! If you haven't ever come, we hope you'll be a risk-taker and put our next meeting on your calendar. PTA meetings are a way to connect with other families and learn about things that are happening in our school. There are always delicious treats and there is never pressure to take on responsibility.
Parent Connect Technology Night: Thursday, February 21st from 6-7:30pm
Are you wondering how technology is being used at school or how to establish healthy technology use at home? Join us for our Parent Technology Night! We will answer these questions and more!
After School Change of Plans
Winter Weather Information
Emergency and Weather Procedures
It’s that time of year to think about snow and our procedures and impact of weather-related school cancellations. Depending on conditions (which could include snow, flooding, power outages, etc.), school could:
- close for the day
- open two hours late with regular bus routes or snow bus routes
- open on time with snow bus routes.
How can I get weather/emergency information?
Changes to the school schedule are usually announced by 6 a.m., and we use a variety of methods to keep families informed:
- Sign up for alerts: To receive email, phone, and/or text alerts, set your communication preferences on the Skylert tab within Skyward Family Access. (Need help? go here for step-by-step directions or contact 360-676-6520.)
Please note: You may select a phone call “early a.m.” option, but we do not plan to use the call feature for this school year to increase the speed of our communications.
· Tune to local media: 790 AM, 96.5 FM, 104.1 FM or Seattle media.
· Check bellinghamschools.org
· Check social media: @BhamSD on Twitter or @bellinghamschools on Facebook.
· Call 360-676-6400 for a recorded message.
· Call 360-647-6815 for a message translated in Español, русский, tính từ and Punjabi.
Please familiarize yourself with our weather procedures at bellinghamschools.org/weather.
Snow routes for buses
Last school year we modified our snow bus routes to run on main roads with flatter and more accessible loading areas. These new routes increase the chances that we can hold school and help reduce the number of make-up snow days. If we can safely keep our schools open, it means less impact for students, less disruption for families, more consistent access to services/meals for students in need and fewer make-up days in June.
You can find our snow routes here: www.bellinghamschools.org/snow-routes
Box Tops - An Easy Way To Earn Money For Wade King PTA
Do you want to help out the school, but don’t have the time?
Did you know you earn $.10 per BoxTop and can easily earn 2-5 times more just by using the BoxTop app? Yes, there’s an app for that too, and it’s EASY! Check it out:
https://www.boxtops4education.com/bonusapp/how-it-works
Here’s the quick run down on how it works!
Check out all the products you get Box Tops for.
Buy the products you want.
Take a picture of your receipt.
Earn extra money for the school!
Seriously, it’s that easy!
Then, turn in the BoxTop to school and our PTA can collect even more!
Here's another tip... Trim your box tops well! BoxTops have to be trimmed before mailing them in so they can be bundled and to save on shipping costs.
Link Your Fred Meyers Rewards Card & Use Amazon Smile - Easy Ways To Support Wade King PTA
If you link your Fred Meyer Reward Card to Wade King PTA, every time you shop a portion of your purchase will be rewarded back to our school. It’s simple, takes only a moment, and has a positive impact on our fundraising efforts.
If you linked your card last year, you will need to re-link it again this year!
To link your Fred Meyer Reward card...
- Go to Fred Meyer Community Rewards: www.fredmeyer.com
- Follow the links to COMMUNITY REWARDS and link your card to Wade King
If you shop Amazon.com, you can also earn money for our PTA.
- Go to Amazon Smile: www.smile.amazon.com
- Search for Wade King PTA
- Start shopping... and 0.5% of your purchase will come back to the PTA!
Don’t forget to tell your friends and family about these programs.
They can link their cards to Wade King too!
Wade King Elementary School
Email: Stephanie.Johnson@bellinghamschools.org
Website: http://wadeking.bellinghamschools.org/
Location: 2155 Yew Street Road, Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 647-6840
Facebook: facebook.com/WadeKingElementary
Twitter: @WadeKingElem