Olympic Hills Family Newsletter
12-10-2020
Below is this week's assembly video. Ms. Carrie shares about physical and neuro diversity to celebrate that last week was International Day of People with Disabilities. This video is also a precursor to the Diversity unit of the Social Justice Curriculum starting in January!
Upcoming Dates
12/15 6pm Spanish Family Council Session: Click here to join the meeting
12/16 Last day for Holiday Donations
12/18 One hour early dismissal
12/21-1/1 Winter Break
Holiday Donation Drive
Holiday Donations: Olympic Hills is partnering with Wedgwood Elementary to collect donated gift items to offer help for families in need this winter season. If you are able to contribute, please consider donating:
- gift cards to Target, QFC/Fred Meyer (Kroger), or Safeway, art kits/arts and craft supplies, science kits/Stem activities, family and kid games, legos, kid books, preschool toys
*You may drop off donation items at Olympic Hills M-F 9am-2pm until Wednesday 12/16. Please ring the bell and leave item(s) outside main door. Someone will come out and pick items up.
If these times do NOT work for you, please email Melissa Teuton, RN (meteuton@seattleschools.org) to make alternate arrangements.
If you would like holiday support for your family, contact Angeline Nguyen at aanguyen@seattleschools.org.
Scheduling Team Updates
We are excited to share our scheduling committee has revised our schedule to reflect the survey feedback from families and staff. We are still working out specifics, but our goal is to start the revised schedule January 4th.
The main change to our schedule is moving core subjects such as math, ELA, and science to the morning, and moving specialists and Otter Block small groups to after lunch (for almost all grade levels). This change reflects the staff and family survey feedback requesting more small groups in general and less whole class core instruction in the afternoon, and it prioritizes students furthest from educational justice by opening up space for more small groups and family connections in the afternoon, allowing staff who support English Language Learners to provide more support in core instruction in the morning, and maintaining Otter Block reading intervention.
I want to acknowledge that any change will be received differently among members of our community. Many of you will be pleased with these changes, while adjustments to schedules may be harder for others. I apologize for any negative impact these changes may have. Overall, we were able to keep much of our current schedule structures while shifting core subjects to before lunch.
I will share another update as we continue to work out the logistics next week. As always, please reach out to me with any questions, feedback, or concerns.
Winter Craft Kits!
Message from Lake City Librarian, Nancy Pew
I hope you are all well during this difficult time. I miss seeing your families at school, at the library, and out in the community.
- Check out the Seattle Public Library Kids Youtube Channel for a video of wintery rhymes and crafts, plus other videos of story times in Spanish and Mandarin.
- You can request books, dvds, etc from the library and pick them up at select branches. You can also pick up small stacks of preselected books without checking them out.
- Bookdrops are open 7 days a week 10-6 at the Lake City Library Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 12-6
- If kids got library card numbers using their student IDs through the Library Link program, these can now be used to request physical items, as well as digital items. Questions re: library link, email Erica Delavan at edelavan@spl.org.
Thank you all! I hope you have a wonderful Winter Break!
Arts Workshops Dec 16-19
The Creative Advantage has partnered with Seattle Parks and Rec to present Creative Advantage ALL ACCESS Arts Stream (CAAAS). December 16-19th, we will run four 90-min live streaming workshops, after school and on Saturday. Three are for elementary-aged students (poetry, movement, and paper magic). Class descriptions and links to sign up are here.
Information and Resources
Technology Resource Center at Nathan Hale: Mondays and Wednesdays 11:00am to 6:00pm, lunch from 1:30 to 2:30pm. Still first come, first served. No appointments can be made.
Family Works at Nathan Hale: Wednesdays 12:45pm-3:00pm. An organization called FamilyWorks is providing Family Support Services to help families navigate various services and resources. They will be staffed with individuals who speak Somali, Spanish and English.
Virtual Volunteering: Are you interested in becoming a virtual volunteer to help support in breakout sessions or tutor students? Please reach out to Danielle Vaillancourt at olympichills.volunteer@seattleschools.org or call (425) 616-2516.
Olympic Hills Elementary School
School Office Hours and Contact Information:
Monday-Friday 8:00am-3:00pm
- For attendance and technology support, contact Danielle Vaillancourt at (425) 616-2516 or drvaillancourt@seattleschools.org.
- For all other questions, call the main office at (206) 413-2200 or email Joyce Phitts at jophitts@seattleschools.org.
Email: ecdebell@seattleschools.org
Website: www.olympichillses.seattleschools.org
Location: 13018 20th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, WA, USA
Phone: 206-556-6296