Madrona Monthly Newsletter
November 1st, 2023
Greetings Madrona Community,
Happy November 1st everyone!
This month we have a number of important events scheduled for our community.
For starters, this week our Spirit-Assembly-SEL (SAS) Committee uplifted our community with fun and engaging themed days to ignite our School Spirit. On Monday, we were encouraged to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness month by wearing pink. I think over half of our school community participated in this event 😀. On Tuesday, we dressed as our favorite storybook character or superhero. Today, our students were encouraged to dress like teachers and our teachers were encouraged to dress like our students. As you can imagine, our students wowed us with their creative costume choices and their impressions of us. This was definitely a day to remember, and I hope our SAS committee picks this themed day for us to engage in again. Tomorrow, we celebrate Throwback Thursday, which means students can wear throwback gear from the early 2000s, 90s, and 80s. Then, to close out our Spirit week, we will wear college gear or get fancy for Fancy Friday. Thank you to all the students who chose to participate in this Month's spirit week. These days are a great way to unite us and bring an abundance of joy to our community.
On November 9th, our students will participate in our annual Move-a-Thon sponsored by our wonderful PTSA. During this event, our students will participate in movement activities to raise money for our school. Thank you PTSA team for sponsoring this fabulous event. Last week, a permission slip was sent home with your student. Please complete and return back to school by Monday, November 6th. For more information, please review this link: https://mailchi.mp/f839d1a54184/move-a-thon.
November 13th through November 21st, we will host our first Scholastic Book Fair of the year. Our students will be able to visit the book fair before school, during their library time, and after school with a family member to purchase books. In preparation for this event, Mr. Kirk and I will send home additional information about this event on Tuesday, November 7th. If you have some time to spare, we would love your help with our book fair. Please reach out to Ms. Shai at sjwalker@seattleschools to share your availability.
Finally, this month we will engage in Parent Teacher Conferences! Again, this year, we will hold conferences on Saturday - November 18th, Monday - November 20th, and Tuesday - November 21st. Conferences are a great opportunity for families and staff to connect and learn more about our student's strengths, areas of growth, and needs. If you haven't done so already, please be sure to sign up for a conference with your child's teacher. Our goal is to have 100% of our families attend conferences this year. Please help us meet our goal!
Thank you for your partnership! Together we will build a stronger community for our children.
Sincerely,
Principal Carter
School Wide Information
Cellphone Expectations
- First, have a conversation with the student.
- Second, contact home.
- Third, create a check-in/check-out cell phone plan with the student. This process will be supported by our Youth Services Assistant.
- Fourth, follow-up meeting with family to communicate concerns/next steps.
The goal of this policy is to remove all distractions and barriers, so that all of our students are able to focus, learn, and enjoy their school experience. Please speak with your child about this policy.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Principal Carter
Attendance Matters
Thank you
Important Updates
Scholastic Book Fair
Thank you
Message from our Family Building Coordinator
Hello Madrona Families!
I look forward to supporting students and families as the Family Building Coordinator. This is my third year at Madrona Elementary School.
As the Building Family Coordinator, I am committed to helping children succeed academically, socially, and emotionally by reducing the barriers and connecting families with community resources.
I can provide families with a broad range of services, including:
- access to basic needs (such as food, clothing, housing, utilities, and medical care)
- McKinney Vento coordination for families experiencing homelessness
- language and translation support
- school transportation
- academic support and tutoring
- behavioral support, mental health counseling services, and mentoring
I am looking forward to working with you and supporting our community's needs.
Please contact me at 206-252-3118 or email at sjwalker@seattleschools.org if you would like to receive some support.
Thank you
Shai'Ree (Shai) Walker
WA BLOC at Madrona
Madrona has a goal of becoming a Restorative School Community. This goal requires Madrona to move away from exclusion and punishment as a means of discipline. Instead, we will invest in relationships and commit to working together to problem-solve and repair relationships when harm occurs.
We will be partnering with the community-based organization, WA-BLOC, to begin establishing school-wide restorative practices. Restorative practices aim to build relationships proactively by identifying shared values and agreements for how we want to treat ourselves, each other, the community, and the earth, By focusing on building and strengthening relationships, Madrona will be more equipped to address harm holistically when it occurs.
This school year, WA-BLOC will be supporting staff with creating a consistent routine for community building in their classrooms so students feel more connected to their school community and can experience a joyful and celebratory learning environment.
· For a definition of Restorative Justice, visit https://www.amplifyrj.com/what-is-restorative-justice
· To learn more about Restorative Practices in Seattle Public Schools, visit https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/restorative-practices-program/
· To learn more about WA-BLOC, visit https://www.wa-bloc.org/
Madrona Calendar
Upcoming Events
Nov 2 - Spirit Day - Throw Back Thursday
Nov 3 - Spirit Day - Fancy Friday
Nov 6 - Schoolwide Bully Prevention Campaign Begins
Nov 9 - Madrona Walk-A-Thon
Nov 10 - Veteran's Day - No School
Nov 13 - Picture Day - Retakes (Individual) Pictures
Nov 13 - Scholastic Book Fair Begins
Nov 17 - PBIS Assembly
Nov 18 - Parent Teacher Conferences - Saturday
Nov 20 - Parent Teacher Conferences, No School
Nov 21 - Parent Teacher Conferences, No School
Nov 22 - No School
Nov 23 - Holiday - Thanksgiving - No School
Nov 24 - Holiday - Thanksgiving - No School
Nov 30 - SAS Assembly: Hispanic Heritage Month
Madrona Elementary School
Email: recarter@seattleschools.org
Website: https://madronaes.seattleschools.org/
Location: 1121 33rd Avenue, Seattle, WA, USA
Phone: (206)252-3100