Seattle Hill Families Welcome Back!

With this letter, I would like to officially begin our school year and welcome you to an exciting year of making a positive difference in many lives.

I am stepping into Snohomish School District, a district I have loved from afar, as a fifth-year administrator. I come from two other exceptional districts, Everett and Marysville. Being the principal at Seattle Hill Elementary makes me feel as though I have come full circle. My own two children went through this school, which set them on a positive path in life. Now, it is my turn to give back to you, our students, our teachers, and our community. There is no opportunity more important than this one in my mind.

While we all know that the classroom teacher’s role in the successfulness of a child is paramount, anyone who has worked in a public school knows that parents, volunteers, office support staff, counselors, para-educators, custodians, health professionals, lunchroom staff, and bus drivers play vitally important roles in creating a school environment that is safe, appealing, and conducive to learning. At Seattle Hill, we all will be contributing directly to the welfare of our students. And I am ecstatic that we will be able to get volunteers back into the building. This aligns with Snohomish School District’s value on relationships.

If you have any questions, thoughts, concerns please do not hesitate to reach out. I am here to support your journey and your student’s journey. Here’s to your continued success in Snohomish with an amazing community and our first year with one another. Let’s be awesome together!

Warmly,

Principal Mica Harasek

• Monday, August 29 - Transportation/bus routes and schedules will be available for students and families. Please watch for more information throughout the summer.
• Thursday, September 1 - Skyward/Family Access will open at noon (elementary) and 6 p.m. (middle and high school) for viewing teacher assignments, student schedules, food service information and other important information. Please note that individual teacher assignments and student schedules may be subject to change up to the first day of school.
• Thursday, September 1 from 2-3 p.m. - Meet the Teacher! Students will be able to meet their teachers, locate their classrooms and put away their school supplies. The Seattle Hill PTO will be on hand to answer questions, give information on how you can be involved at our school, and provide students a treat.
• Wednesday, September 7 - First day of school (first day of school for 1st – 7th and 9th graders).
• Thursday, September 8 and Friday, September 9 - All students except kindergartners attend school.
• Wednesday, September 7-9 - Parent Partnership Program will conduct student interviews. Classes will begin for Parent Partnership Program students the week of Monday, September 12.
• Monday, September 12 - First day of school for students in kindergarten.
• Wednesday, September 14 - First day of school for students in developmental preschool.

Our Partnership

We strive to ensure both safety and efficiency, so that students get into our school and home quickly and safely. Therefore, we need your help to ensure this process is upheld and flows as planned. During arrival and dismissal, we ask that parents stay off campus or in your cars in the pick-up/drop-off lane.

Seattle Hill Elementary is closed during arrival and dismissal to everyone except staff and students. Exceptions will be made if you have a prearranged appointment.

Arrival Procedures

All students will be allowed to enter campus at 8:24 a.m.

Please understand that we do not offer supervision on campus before 8:24 a.m.

Car Drop-off

• Please stay in your cars.

• Seattle Hill staff will direct traffic and open car doors for students.

• If your child will be getting school breakfast, please pull into the drop-off car line with the “B” showing on your family number card/placard (the school will provide this to you).

Walkers

• Parents, please stay across the street from the school if walking with your child.

• Students will cross with the assistance of our crossing guards.

• If your child will be getting school breakfast, please have them ready at the crosswalk at 8:15 a.m.
  

Bus Riders

• Bus riders who eat breakfast will be excused from the bus to get breakfast.
  

Dismissal Procedures

Important Note: Please make sure your child’s teacher knows how your child is going home (walking home, across the street, bus rider, parent pick up, or afterschool care van like YMCA or Boys and Girls Club). If you need to make same-day changes, please make sure to inform the office before 2:30 p.m

We open our driveway to cars at 3:00 p.m. and begin dismissing students by groups at 3:15 p.m.

During dismissal, we ask that parents stay off campus, or in your cars in the pick-up lane, so that we can ensure a safe and quick dismissal.

Students will be dismissed using a live call sheet by group/grade and method of going home (for example: family number 27, 3rd grade walkers, green bus, etc.). Students are expected to walk directly to their house, van, bus, or car. Kindergartners will join their older siblings to go to walk, van, bus, or go to the valet lane to get picked up by car.

Parent Pick-up

• Please stay in your cars.

• Please follow all traffic and safety directions given by our school traffic personnel.

• Place your family number (the school will provide a placard for you) in the curbside window. Students will come out and wait for you in the order you arrive.

• There are waiting lanes, but our dismissal moves quickly, so hang tight!

Walkers

• If you are meeting your child across the street from our school, your student will be considered a walker.

• Adults will need to wait across the street from the school and we will cross your child only. This helps us avoid multiple trips of crossing adults to school grounds and back. It also helps us know who is on campus so we can better monitor students' safety.

• Our crossing guards will direct traffic and walkers.

Thank you for your support in making this a safe and efficient process!

It is important to make sure your child goes to their regularly scheduled wellness appointments, which often include immunizations. Make sure to turn in your updated immunization paperwork to the school by Wednesday, September 7.

This reminder is especially important if your child is transitioning to preschool, kindergarten, or 7th grade, as each of these grades has additional immunization requirements.

Every student enrolled/registered in school or childcare in the state of Washington must have medically verified up-to-date immunization records on file with the school in which they are enrolled/registering before the first day of school 2022-2023. Medically verified immunization records include one or more of the following:

• A Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) printed from the Immunization Information System (IIS)

• A physical copy of the CIS form with a healthcare provider signature

• A physical copy of the CIS form with accompanying medical immunization records from a healthcare provider verified and signed by school staff

• A CIS printed from MyIR

• What to do if a person is symptomatic/exposed
• Snohomish School District COVID-19 Directory

Snohomish School District and its partner, Chartwells, work hard to provide students and staff with good-tasting, nutritious meals. All district schools serve hot lunch and breakfast. Free and reduced meals are available to all students who qualify.

Meal Prices & Online Payment

• Elementary breakfast - $1.75
  
• Elementary lunch - $3.25
  
• Elementary free and reduced breakfast and lunch - Free
  
• Milk - $0.50
  
• Milk for elementary free and reduced meals - Milk free with meal
  

Meal accounts
A meal account is automatically set up for every Snohomish student. Parents/guardians can add funds to meal accounts by sending cash or a check to school with their child or by paying online through our TouchBase online payment portal. Parents/guardians may pre-pay for meals so that students do not need to carry money to school each day. All schools use an electronic point-of-sale system that keeps a running balance. This can be used for breakfast, lunch and a la carte purchases.

Students will use their school ID card or a meal card to access their account. Students’ meal status is confidential. The system for paying for meals is designed to protect students’ confidentiality, so there is no difference between free, reduced or regular meal payment. Elementary students are issued a meal card. As students go through the meal line, their card is scanned, and the meal price is deducted from their account. Secondary students enter their ID number into a keypad to have the meal price deducted from their account.

Payment by check
If paying at your student's school, checks should be made payable to Snohomish School District. Be sure to put your child’s name in the “note” section at the bottom of the check; student numbers are also very helpful. Checks payable to Snohomish School District can also be sent to Snohomish School District, Attn: Chartwells K12/Food Service Dept., 14308 Broadway Avenue SE, Snohomish, WA 98296.

Free/Reduced Meals

• Total household income is the same or less than the amount on the chart.
• You receive Basic Food, take part in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for your children.
• You are applying for foster children that are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court.

Applications

Turn in the application to Snohomish School District, Attn: Meal Applications, 1601 Avenue D, Snohomish, WA 98290. Be sure to submit only one application per household. We will notify you if the application is approved or denied. If any child you are applying for is homeless (McKinney-Vento), or migrant, check the appropriate box.

You may also enter absences on Skyward/Family Access.

We are again utilizing volunteers in schools. At this time only vaccinated individuals will be permitted to volunteer in our schools/campuses. Unvaccinated individuals can attend outside events and/or field trips.

To volunteer in our schools/campuses, please complete the following online form. This form must be completed every two years. For the safety of our students, volunteer applicants must undergo a Washington State Patrol background check before beginning service. Volunteers will also need to present a valid state vaccination card for COVID-19 to the school administrator and follow the school’s volunteer process. Schools may need to monitor and limit the number of volunteers in a building to meet the state COVID-19 guidelines for social distancing. Parent/guardians are welcome to volunteer from home by assisting teachers remotely.

Volunteers who have completed the background application and showed proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required to:

• Sign in at the school main office

• Present proper state ID

• Stay home if experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms

We are looking for substitute teachers, emergency substitute teachers, paraeducators, behavioral technicians, braillists, interpreters, custodians, bus drivers and other positions! Visit www.sno.wednet.edu/jobs or call 360-563-7233 today!

Snohomish School District positions

Please feel free to contact us in Human Resource Services at 360-563-7233 with any questions.

• COVID-19 Study Conducted by UW and the Center for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Northwest - You and your family are invited to join a research study to help understand more about COVID-19. You do not need to be vaccinated to participate. You will receive free weekly COVID-19 PCR tests delivered to and picked up from the convenience of your home. Learn more at cascadiastudy.org.
  
• Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Volunteers Needed
• Everett Rowing Fall Registration
  
• Let Me Run Registration - Boys
  
• Let Me Run Registration - Boys Seattle Hill Elementary
  
• STEMTree

Fliers are typically posted on Tuesdays during the months of August through June. For additional flier program details and/or to complete a request for distribution, please click here.

We'd like to introduce you to SafeSchools Alert - our district's tip reporting service. If you have information about a threat to our safety (threats, bullying, intimidation, harassment, weapons, drugs, and other safety concerns), do your part and report it! And remember, you can remain anonymous. You can report using any of the ways noted below. Links are also available on the district and school websites.

Easy ways to report

• Visit the website - https://snohomish-wa.safeschoolsalert.com/
  
• Email your tip to 1796@alert1.us
  
• Call to report your tip 360-217-0587
  
• Text your tip to 360-217-0587

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Suicide prevention links and resources are also available at www.sno.wednet.edu/suicideprevention.

All district families are asked to please confirm their student’s information in Skyward/Family Access. Student Information Verification will be open from August 15-26.

Skyward/Family Access available at www.sno.wednet.edu/skyward.

Skyward/Family Access support available at www.sno.wednet.edu/skywardsupport.

Each summer we ask families to confirm student information and emergency contacts through an online process called Student Information Verification. This process helps to ensure we have accurate information for emergencies and helps us confirm enrollments for class sizes and scheduling. This Student Information Verification process will be open through Friday, August 26.

Register online and learn more at www.sno.wednet.edu/kindergarten or stop by the office and pick up a registration packet.

• Listserv - If you would like to receive district and school newsletters, or if you have a high school student who wants to receive the school Daily Bulletin, please subscribe to our listserv subscription tool. For directions on how to subscribe or change your subscription preferences (for those already signed up), please click here.

• Facebook - Today, 10,000 Facebook fans receive regular district updates through our district's Facebook page - www.facebook.com/snohomishschooldistrict. This site is just one of many ways we communicate with our students, staff, families and community. Although we are aware of other Facebook pages, please note that this is the only verified Facebook page of the Snohomish School District and is where official information is posted.
• School Messenger - Our district uses the School Messenger automated system as a tool for communication with our parents, families and staff. School Messenger works with the district’s student-data system (Skyward/Family Access) to notify families and staff through phone and/or email of emergencies, critical school and district messages, school/district closures, inclement weather, attendance issues, underfunded student meal accounts and other events/activities. The overall goal of using this service is for parents and families to receive critical information about Snohomish schools - especially information that affects their children - in a timely manner. As long as we have accurate primary phone numbers and email addresses on record for our students in Skyward/Family Access, families should automatically receive these messages when they are sent out.

• Website - seattlehill.sno.wednet.edu/
  
• YouTube Channel - www.sno.wednet.edu/seattlehillyoutube
  
• Phone - 360-563-4675
  

Non-Discrimination Notice

The Snohomish School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Civil Rights Coordinator, Title IX Coordinator and ADA – Darryl Pernat, 1601 Avenue D, Snohomish, WA 98290, 360-563-7285, darryl.pernat@sno.wednet.edu; Section 504 Coordinator and Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying – Shawn Stevenson, 1601 Avenue D, Snohomish, WA 98290, 360-563-7282, shawn.stevenson@sno.wednet.edu.