Wade King Elementary
November 2018 Newsletter
A Note from the Principal
Dear Wade King Families,
It was great to see many of you during our student-involved conferences last week. One of the things I value most about these conferences is that students are actively involved in setting their social and academic goals and that they help share their goals with their family. When students have ownership of their goals, and have a growth mindset, they are much more likely to meet their goals and will make great social and academic gains.
At Wade King, we believe that developing social skills is just as important as developing academic skills. One of the ways we develop social skills is teaching students to have a growth mindset. The idea of a growth mindset was developed by psychologist, Carol Dweck. Individuals who have a growth mindset, believe that with hard work, they can accomplish things that they cannot do YET. Students with a growth mindset persevere when faced with challenging tasks. They try new strategies and seek support when needed.
Our staff encourages a growth mindset amongst students by saying things like,
· What strategy will you try next?
· What mistake did you make? What did you learn from it?
· What challenged you? How did you overcome that challenge?
· How will you solve that problem?
· What will you work on next?
· How will you improve your work?
In contrast, a student who has a fixed mindset will often give up when faced with a challenging task or finish a task quickly rather than taking time to do their very best work. A student with a fixed mindset might believe he/she is already good at reading or soccer and that there is nothing he/she needs to do to become stronger. When a student has a fixed mindset, the growth he/she makes is often slow.
If you are interested in learning more about growth mindset, you might want to check out…
· Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset, The New Psychology of Success. This is one of many books that families can check out from the Parent Resource Library in the Wade King Office.
· Carol Dweck’s YouTube video, Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck
· This article, Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset: What Characteristics Are Critical To Success?
If you would be interested in attending a parent evening focused on developing a growth mindset in your child(ren), let me know. If there is interest, I will set it up!
As always, if you ever have questions, concerns, or a great idea to make our school an even better place for students and families, please connect with me.
Stephanie Johnson
Principal, Wade King Elementary
Important Dates
- November 1st & 2nd - Student-Involved Conferences
- November 5th - Veteran's Day Celebration during School Morning Meeting at 8:10am
- November 6th - Picture Re-Takes
- November 7th - Village Books Night Fundraiser at Village Books from 3pm-8pm (Guest Readers from 5pm-8pm)
- November 9th - Mobile Dental Clinic at WK
- November 12th - NO SCHOOL for Veteran's Day
- November 14th - BAAY Drama Performance at 5pm in the WK Cafeteria
- November 15th - PTA Meeting to Approve the PTA Budget at 6pm
- November 15th - Family Inquiry Movie Night from 6:15-8pm in the WK Cafeteria (PTA sponsored)
- November 15th - Last day to order WK Spirit Wear
- November 21st - Wednesday Early Dismissal - Students Dismissed at 12:45pm
- November 22nd & 23rd - NO SCHOOL for Thanksgiving
- November 29th - Scholastic Book Fair Starts (PTA sponsored)
- December 6th - Kings Winter Night from 6-8pm in the WK Cafeteria (PTA sponsored)
- December 7th - King Consort Performs at WK from 5-5:30pm
- December 17th to January 1st - NO SCHOOL for Winter Break
Origami Week
2nd graders learned to make origami dogs with 5th grade helpers.
Skylert - Be Sure You Receive School Messages!
Skylert helps us send notifications concerning your child(ren), including messages from Bellingham Public Schools and your child’s school. You have control over which notifications to receive and how you would like to receive them. Skylert is accessed via Skyward Family Access.
Click this link for directions to update your Skylert information.
Stories and Stuffied at Village Books - Wednesday, November 7th from 3-8pm
Put on your jammies and bring your favorite stuffed animal for….
Wade King/Alderwood Night at Village Books
If your family chooses to purchase books from Village Books, either in person or online between 3-8pm on November 7th, 20% of pre-tax sales will be split between Alderwood & Wade King Libraries for NEW BOOKS! Partnering with Alderwood, which is a high-poverty elementary school, is one of the ways we are contributing to a One Schoolhouse approach to fundraising. Our ability to fundraise is much greater than Alderwood's so we want to share the funds we raise during this fun event.
Here’s How It Works:
& Show this form when you purchase books, gift cards, toys, games or anything from Village Books & Paper Dreams between 3-8pm on November 7th.
: You can also order online at villagebooks.com between 3-8pm on November 7th. Just type “Wade King/Alderwood” in the comments box and our schools will get the credit! Online orders MUST be made and PAID FOR during the Stories and Stuffies hours of 3:00-8:00 PM on November 7th in order to get credit
*Discounts may not be used on any of these purchases. This includes teacher discounts, birthday discounts, Smart Trips, or coupons.
* Purchases MAY be applied to Reader Reward accounts.
School Staff will be reading favorite books between 5-8pm in the Reading Gallery, downstairs at Village Books!
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Name ________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________
Email ________________________________________________________
☐ check here to be added to Village Book’s email list
Village Books Staff Use:
Purchase amount (pre-tax): _____________________
Staff initials: ____________
Short PTA Meeting to Approve Budget - November 15th at 6pm in the Wade King Cafeteria
The Wade King PTA will be meeting at 6pm on November 15th, right before our Family Inquiry Night. Our PTA Board will quickly share their budget for this school year, which is supported by the funds raised during our Globe Trot Fundraiser. This year, we raised $18,931.75. After sharing and approving the budget, King's Winter Night will begin!
Family Inquiry Night - November 15th at 6:15pm in the Wade King Cafeteria
As part of our school-wide inquiry into Japan, we invite your family to join us to watch My Neighbor Totoro. This is a Japanese animated film that will further our inquiry into our World Tour Country of Japan. Bring your family and a blanket! It will be lots of fun!
This is a PTA sponsored event!
King's Winter Night - December 6th from 6-8pm in the Wade King Cafeteria
Our PTA is a planning an evening of music, crafts, and family fun. There will even be a snow themed selfie photo booth, apple cider, and cookie decorating. Our Scholastic Book Fair will also be open during this event. We hope your family can come!
This is a PTA sponsored event!
Panorama Survey
Bus Passes
As part of the 2016 voter-approved school bus levy, we have enhanced our GPS location services on all school buses. This allows our staff to know the location of our buses. Now, all Wade King students who are eligible bus riders also have a bus pass attached to their backpack and students are learning to 'beep on' and 'beep off' the bus. Wade King is the first school to begin using bus passes and we are learning a lot as we pilot this implementation. Eventually, all Bellingham Public School students who are eligible bus riders will have a bus pass. Moving forward, having students 'beep on' and 'beep off' the bus will increase student safety because school staff will quickly be able to know which students are on board each bus.
Wade King Spirit Wear - Orders Due by November 15th
Free & Reduced Meals
This is a reminder that you can apply for free and reduced meals throughout the school year. The 2018-19 application is available online or can be found in the back of the Family Handbook and Calendar mailed to families in August. Printed applications are also available in your school office. Families only need to fill out one application for all children in a household.
Applying for free or reduced meals is not only important for providing meals for your children but it also helps support district funding. Eligibility is based on any one of these three factors:
- total household income and size
- a child’s individual status as foster, homeless, migrant or runaway
- participation in an assistance program by any member of your household
Note: If you have already submitted an application for free or reduced meals for the 2018-19 school year, you do not need to reapply unless your income status has changed. Citizenship or immigration status does not affect your eligibility for receiving benefits.
For questions about the free and reduced meals application, contact Food Services at (360) 676-6504. Esta es información sobre la educación de su hijo/a. Solicite traducción o interpretación gratis si necesita al 360-676-6456.
Promise Kindergarten is Coming
Promise K is a free, full-day early entrance kindergarten for children who are scheduled to enter kindergarten in the upcoming fall. The program focuses on basic academic and social skills to help qualifying students get a jump start towards success in school. In order to be eligible, students must demonstrate financial, academic and social/emotional needs and cannot be currently enrolled in another early learning program.
Recruiting students and selecting school sites occurs in November and December. Screening students for eligibility will occur in January and schools sites will be finalized based on enrollment.
The first day of Promise K generally falls on the first day of our second semester in early February and runs until the end of the school year. For the 2019 school year, the first day will be Monday, January 28 .
Applications will be accepted beginning November 1, 2018.
Click here to apply! Spanish Version!
Click this link to watch our Promise Kindergarten video!
For more information, contact Kris Newberry at 360-676-6488.
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