MARINER MEMO
01/17-01/21/2022
PRINCIPAL'S NOTE
Dear Sehome Students and Families,
Just a reminder that if you are not feeling well, please stay home! If you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, we ask that you stay at home. Please do not come to school just to test. It puts everyone at risk of exposure.
If you have been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19, please follow the guidance below:
- If you are fully vaccinated and received a booster, you do not need to quarantine and can return to school if you are not experiencing any symptoms.
- If you are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, you have the option to participate in Test to Stay. For Test to Stay, you will need to complete one to two rapid antigen tests. Testing is best on days three and five after exposure. You may continue to come to school as long as you test negative. You must wear a mask at all times for 10 days.
- If not participating in Test to Stay, quarantine at home for five days. Do a rapid test on day five and return to school the next day if negative. Wear a mask at all times for 10 days.
- If you choose not to test, quarantine for 10 days from the last exposure.
*For household exposures this would be the last day the person with COVID-19 is considered infectious.
If you have tested positive for COVID-19 with a Rapid Antigen test or a PCR, please email Alyssa Johnson our school nurse at Alyssa.Johnson@bellinghamschools.org and follow the guidance below.
If you test positive for COVID regardless of your vaccination status, you need to isolate at home for five days. You may return to school when:
- Five days have passed since symptom onset, or since positive test specimen collection date if no symptoms are present; AND
- No symptoms are present, or symptoms are resolving; AND
- No fever within the past 24 hours
An antigen test is recommended at day five. You can come to the Sehome Main office to test. If the test result is positive, you must continue to isolate until day 10. If the test result is negative, you may return to work and should continue to wear a mask around others until day 10.
We know that students and families are anxious about missing school for illness, especially this time of the year as we approach the end of the semester. Please know that we prioritize the health of our community and our teachers will work with students to complete the semester in a way that is fair and supports students. I want to reiterate, please keep students home if they are sick!
At this point, we do not have a hybrid option for students who need to be home. Many teachers are posting assignments in Teams or OneNote so that students can access the learning at home. Please reach out to teachers with any questions about what to do when you are out of class.
Thanks for helping to keep our community healthy. We are working hard to keep school open for learning and it takes all of us working together.
Please reach out with questions, comments, or feedback.
Sonia Cole
Principal
SEHOME ROBOTICS TEAMS
Sehome Robotics Teams brought home the title at the Robo-Bash Robotics Tournament on Saturday at Bellingham High School!
46 robotics teams from around the region gathered to compete for the championship. Winners of the tournament qualify for the State Championship in March.
Sehome’s team of Isaac Parsons, Addi Getz, and Nathan Eisses were the tournament champions!
Matthew MacGregor and Luke Bryngelson finished 3rd , Jake Champagne and Jacob Sargent finished 5th
Congratulate these students for a job well done!
VISITOR PARKING
THE PROMISE TOMORROW INITIATIVE
The Promise Tomorrow Initiative is back! This is project–based learning at its best. Students will work in teams on projects that envision creative solutions to transition to a better world. Their projects will take multi-disciplinary approaches to innovate technologies, designs, or plans that forge connections in their communities to create positive change. Student collaborative groups will work across grades, meet weekly, and be supported by a volunteer and supervised by the coordinator.
Program registration is January 3-19. To learn more or to register please go to https://bellinghamschools.org/program/promise-tomorrow/
TUTORING/LEARNING CENTER
The tutoring center offers help with most subjects taught at SHS…Contact the Learning Center and we will try to find you the help you need.
About the tutors:
They work with students 1:1 or in small groups in their content areas of expertise
· Answer questions on course content
· Aid in comprehension of course material, review, and test preparation
· Patient, dependable, and responsible when working with students
· Friendly, flexible, and sensitive to demands of high school students
Schedule a tutoring appointment
https://sehome.bellinghamschools.org/schedule-tutoring-appointment/
Visit the learning center website
https://sehome.bellinghamschools.org/students/learning-center/
Questions?
theresa.wines@bellinghamschools.org
EMERGENCY AND WEATHER PROCEDURES
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 (in the case of widespread power outages),
- 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.)
- Tune to local media: 790 AM, 96.5 FM, 104.1 FM or Seattle media.
- Check bellinghamschools.org
- Check @BhamSD on Twitter, @bellinghamschools on Facebook and @bellinghamschools on Instagram
- 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.
How to find your snow bus route: www.bellinghamschools.org/snow-routes
SCHOLARSHIPS = FREE COLLEGE CASH!
Local scholarships are rolling in! The Scholarship Bulletin is updated weekly. A link to the bulletin can be found on Sehome’s main web page, then click Families and then Scholarships. Scholarship deadlines are concrete! Check to see if the deadline is a postage date or when they expect to receive the scholarship. Not all scholarships are merit based and require a stellar GPA…some are based on academic interests, activities, or community service.
Bellingham Dollars for Scholars, our largest local scholarship is expected to go live later this month or early February.
Keep an eye on the bulletin where we will post when the website is ready to go. A representative from the scholarship will be available during lunch one day (DTBD) to help students with questions regarding the application.
A sampling of scholarships in the bulletin:
American Chemical Society- Senior (African American Hispanic, Latino or American Indian) intending to major in a chemistry related field. Up to $5,00 a year 3/1
Todd Curran Memorial Scholarship-Senior, 3.0 GPA, with sports activity and community service. Award value: $8,000 3/4
Ewing C. Kelly Scholarship award worth $2500 is based on academic achievement , community service and financial need 3/10
Professional Firefighters Memorial Scholarship- Senior, planning to enter Fire Fighting , Fire Science/Tech, Medical Sciences, Health or Emergency Medical fields. Tech college or 4 year . Up to $5,000 3/16
YOUTH PHILANTRHOPY PROJECT
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CAREERS ZOOM
Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty at Washington State University are hosting a virtual event via Zoom to reach out to prospective students at Western Washington High Schools. The goals of the event are to introduce your students, or their parents to:
- What Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) careers look like in 2021!
- What Civil and Environmental Education looks like at WSU (we are both faculty in the department).
- Additional opportunities to engage with Civil and Environmental Engineering at WSU
- Student Clubs
- Undergraduate Research
- Internships
- National Competitions & More!
- Opportunity for prospective students and parents to engage with WSU CEE current students in our program.
Event Details:
When: January 13th, 2021, at 6:00 PM Pacific Time
Where: Zoom
email courtney.gardner@wsu.edu for zoom ID and Password
AP EXAMINATION INFORMATION
AP Exams 2022 – Payment Information
Payments can either be made at the ASB Office with Cash/Check or Credit Card or online.
Payment for AP exams must be made between Oct. 12 – Apr. 2, 2022 online here.
- Full payment fee = $43.50 per exam
- Qualify to receive free/reduced lunch? If so, your fee = $0 per exam. You must submit a Low-Income Student Verification Form. (also available at the ASB Office)
- Late registration fee (after 11/15/20) will incur an additional $40 charge.
- Cancellation/Unused exam fee is $40.
For questions/assistance with payments please contact the ASB Office at (360) 676-4971 or e-mail Catherine.Moran@bellinghamschools.org
AFTER SCHOOL DINNER PROGRAM
After-school dinner program free for all children 18 and under
Bellingham Public Schools serves hot dinner at no cost to all children 18 and under. These meals are offered from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday to Thursday through June 16, 2022. Dinner is served in the Shuksan Middle School cafeteria, located at 2717 Alderwood Avenue (at the corner of Northwest and Alderwood). It does not matter what school you attend in the district.
Accompanying adults are charged $4.75 per meal — please bring cash or check. Please plan to eat onsite in the Shuksan cafeteria.
The daily Monday through Thursday dinner menu is listed on the school menu webpage by day after the lunch listing.
Please note: Dinner will not be served on school holidays or on the following all school early dismissal days: Nov. 4, Nov. 24, Dec. 9, Feb. 10, March 10 and April 28.
Programa gratuito de cenas después de la escuela para todos los niños de 18 años o menos
Las Escuelas Públicas de Bellingham sirven cenas calientes sin costo alguno a todos los niños de 18 años o menos. Las cenas se ofrecen de las 5 a las 6 de la tarde de lunes a jueves hasta el 16 de junio de 2022. La cena se sirve en la cafetería de la Escuela Secundaria Shuksan, ubicada en el 2717 de Alderwood Avenue (en la esquina de Northwest y Alderwood). No importa a qué escuela asista en el distrito.
A los adultos acompañantes se les cobrará $4.75 dólares por comida - sólo en efectivo o con cheque. Todas las comidas deben ser consumidas en la cafetería de Shuksan.
El menú diario de la cena se encuentra por día en la página de internet de los menús escolares después del listado del lonche o almuerzo.
Por favor, tenga en cuenta: La cena no se servirá en los días festivos de la escuela o en los siguientes días de salida temprana de la escuela: 4 de noviembre, 24 de noviembre, 9 de diciembre, 10 de febrero, 10 de marzo y 28 de abril.
MEDICATIONS AT SCHOOL
When a student requires medication at school, either prescription or over the counter (OTC), parents/guardians must return a completed medication authorization form with directions from a licensed health care provider (LHCP) to Sehome. One exception is that certain OTC medications that are self-administered do not require LHCP instructions, but they do require a parent/guardian to complete the medication authorization form. There is no situation that a student taking medications at school does not need a medication authorization on file.
The privilege of students self-caring their medications, whether prescription or OTC, requires students to take their medication as instructed on the authorization and being aware that they may not share their medications with anyone. Medications brought to school must be in the original prescription container or manufacturers labelled OTC container. Medication authorizations expire at the end of the current school year, or sooner as per LHCP instructions.
Link to Medication Authorization Form can be found here
PTSA INFORMATION
PTSA SNACK DRIVE FOR SEHOME'S LEARNING CENTER
The Learning Center needs your help!
It’s a great sight to see the tables and chairs full of learners! However, it means we’re running low on snacks. We have enough snacks to get us through to Thanksgiving break, but after that it looks grim.
Here is a wishlist on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/BTN3YUG5WQNZ?ref_=wl_share that shares what snacks the students enjoy the most, but anything is great!
Thank you so much for your support!
COVID-19 UPDATES
SEHOME POINTS OF CONTACT
Sonia Cole, Principal: sonia.cole@bellinghamschools.org
Mike Couto, Assistant Principal: A - K mike.couto@bellinghamschools.org
Bethany Barrett, Assistant Principal: L - Z bethany.barrett@bellinghamschools.org
Colin Cushman, Athletics & Activities: colin.cushman@bellinghamschools.org
Amy Hjelt, Counselor A - D: amy.hjelt@bellinghamschools.org
Jeff Smith, Counselor E-K: jeffrey.smith@bellinghamschools.org
Hana Schutz, Counselor L-Re: hana.schutz@bellinghamschools.org
John Vandermolen, Counselor Rh - Z: john.vandermolen@bellinghamschools.org