Alki Weekly Update
08/25/23
Greetings Alki Families!
Just a few short days until we start school for the 2023-24 school year. The staff is trained up and eager to meet your children. For those of you who are new to Alki, I try to send out Friday updates pretty regularly to communicate key pieces of information to you throughout the year. I try to keep them fairly simple and brief so you don't have to wade through pages of information, but it is my way of trying to keep you informed. If I don't send one on a Friday, it is because there is not enough new info to make it worth your while. We are here to serve you, so please reach out with questions when you need to. I am excited we have a great school year to look forward to! Here are some hopefully helpful pieces of information as we get started (you can also find helpful resources on our Alki Website) :
BREAKFAST AFTER THE BELL
The change in our start time, and the juggling of transportation schedules has led to a change in how we serve breakfast.
If students arrive in time to get their breakfast and eat it in the cafeteria (around 9:15 or earlier), they will still do that.
If they get here after 9:15, they can “grab and go”. Meaning, they can grab their breakfast from the cafeteria, and take it with them to 1st period to eat.
VPS has again obtained a grant this year that will provide students breakfast and lunch at no additional charge.
6th GRADE KICK START
6th grade families only: reminder, Tuesday, 8/29- 6th grade students are invited to come to school for a full day to "kick start" the school year. Students will find their classes, meet their teachers, and go through a normal school day from 9:20-3:50. Normal transportation and breakfast/lunch will be provided. Students should pick up a new schedule in the gym, and then report to their 1st period class to start their day And, they will have the school to themselves! I hope your child will be able to join us.
TRANSPORTATION
- Bus routes are available at this link on the district website
SCHEDULES
As I am sure you can imagine, the transition from Skyward to Synergy has led to a lot of glitches in accessing and processing student information.
Counselors have been hard at work both LEARNING how to navigate the new system, as well as getting everything accurately entered. We know that has led to challenges.
Hard copies of schedules were handed out on Back to School Night. We will have hard copies available the first day of school as well.
6th grade students can pick up their schedule in the gym on the morning of Kick Start- 8/29. 7/8th grade students can pick up their schedule on Wednesday, 8/30. There may or may not be changes to each student’s schedule, as we are still balancing classes and enrolling new students.
Counselors will not be available to discuss schedule change questions on the first day of school. They will be busy ensuring we have every student in a class.
Here is a link to the schedule change request process. Please use this as a guide to determine if a schedule change request is consistent with our process. It is not possible to honor every child’s request to have an ideal schedule, so please limit requests as much as you can.
Thank you for your patience and understanding during this transition.
PARENT TECH NIGHTS
We realize navigating the world of educational technology can be very challenging for parents.
We also recognize the changing systems we use, make these challenges even harder.
To assist with this, we are going to offer two parent night opportunities for you to join us to be taught how to log in, navigate and support your students with the use of technology at home.
If this is of interest to you, please calendar Thursday, Sept. 7th at 6:00 pm, and Thursday, Oct. 5th at 6:00 pm in our library.
The Sept. date will focus on Synergy Parent Vue, Parent Square, and Canvas. The Oct. date will be planned after we solicit feedback from parents about what you need.
UPCOMING DATES
- Aug. 29th - 6th Grade Kick-Off
- Aug. 30th - First day of school
- Sept 1st - Last day to register for Fall sports
- Sept. 4th - Labor Day- No School
- Sept 6th - Band Instrument Rental Night 6pm
- Sept 7th - Parent Tech Night 6pm
- Sept 11th - One hour early release - 2:50pm
- Sept. 14th- Picture Day
- Sept 18th - One hour early release - 2:50p
- Sept. 21st - Curriculum Night - 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Alki Middle School
Email: alkioffice2@vansd.org
Website: alki.vansd.org
Location: 1800 Northwest Bliss Road, Vancouver, WA, USA
Phone: 360-313-3200
Twitter: @alkimiddleschool