ORCA NEWS

October is here!

From the Principal

Hello Inlet View Families!

September was a busy month at Inlet View! All students participated in fall math and reading diagnostic assessment iReady. In addition, K-2 participated in the benchmark assessments FastBridge. Students in grades 3-6 will complete MAP benchmark assessments from October 11- 21. As teachers, we’ll use the data collected to guide our instruction, students’ groupings, and interventions.

I’m excited to see the growth students are making in all areas. But even more excited about what each class has worked on the first unit of inquiry, “Who we are.” Make sure you ask your child what things they’ve learned and what actions they’re taking to demonstrate the attributes of the learner profile “caring” at home, at school, and in the community.

October is going to be a busy and important month for our school. On Thursday and Friday the IB consultant team will be visiting the school virtually and meeting groups of teachers, interviewing district leaders, and talking to students. This is the official school visit before certification. Also, parent/teacher conferences are scheduled for October 20 &21. These will be half-days for students.

Regarding the conference format, I want to let you know we will be holding conferences via Zoom this time. Due to the high case rate (five times higher than the national average), I want to continue being proactive and on the safe side. I need you, your child, and Inlet View staff to stay healthy, so we continue to provide in-person education for ALL Orcas. You will be able to sign up for a Zoom conference with your child’s teacher during conference days or at a different time that is convenient for you. Stay tuned for more communication coming from your child’s teacher regarding sign-ups. There might be a few cases where an in-person conference is necessary, and for that, we will personally contact you to set up a time. Lastly, our annual Harvest Festival is around the corner, so get prepared for a day full of activities and opportunities to celebrate the season from the comfort of your home and/or virtually. Brilliant minds from the school PTA are putting together a virtual event like no other. I’ll send an update once we have the details. Mark your calendars! You don’t want to miss any event.

It is a pleasure being around your children and seeing all the fabulous things going on in the classrooms.

Best,

As always, if you need assistance with anything, please contact me via email ahrens_patricia@asdk12.org or phone (742-7630). We are here to help you.

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Update on School Replacement Project

I will be sending out more information on this project earlier this week. Please stay tuned. There will be a Zoom meeting this coming Saturday, October 9th at 10:00 am. ASD, NVision, and the school building design committee (BDC) will be sharing about the school replacement process. We want to make sure the school community is informed and participates in this important and exciting school project.

Thank you.

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IB Learner Profile of the month : COMMUNICATOR

Students who are Communicators are able to think and communicate in more than one language. They can express their ideas by speaking, drawing, and writing. They can also communicate using mathematical language and symbols.

How can parents help to develop students who are Communicators at home?

· Encourage your child to stay in touch with relatives and friends who live in other countries by writing letters, using the phone, or sending an email.

· When working on mathematics homework, encourage your child to explain his/her answer to you orally or by drawing a picture.

· Ask your child thought-provoking questions and encourage them to discuss them with you. For example:

· What would you do if you were scared of someone at school?

· Is there anything you cannot buy with money?

· Should you get an allowance? Why or why not?

Work with your child to improve his/her listening skills. Being a good listener is an important part of communicating with others.

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Winter is coming and snow too!

Winter is slowly approaching and I am anticipating the morning I wake up to see everything with a thick blanket of snow. All students are expected to go outside rain, sun, or snow. Please make sure your child has dressed appropriately for the weather. If you are having a hard time acquiring winter clothing for your student, please let their teacher or office know. We will do what we can to help your child. If the weather is such that we cannot be outside in the morning safely, we will bring children into the multipurpose room (MPR) to wait until the bell rings at 8:50. Please remember that children are to arrive at school as close to 8:50 as possible. We do NOT have supervision for students before that time.

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Traffic & Safety

We all have the same objective in the morning and at dismissal, to get our children to and from school safely. It is important that we all remember these few rules as we drive in the parking lot and around the school streets. Most of the time snow piles up on the sidewalks and it reduces the street space, making it difficult to identify traffic lanes. We do understand parking gets congested during peak drop-off and pick-up times. However, we all have to be patient and cordial to other drivers.

• Be patient ... racing along the left lane of the traffic line, dropping children off in the middle of the street, asking children to cross at other places besides designated crosswalks are all safety concerns.

• Pull as far forward as possible in the drop-off lane.

• Have children ready to exit the car on the right side only. Have the children ready to exit quickly.

• Never back up.

• Exit the area as soon as possible so others can drop off or pick up children.

• Cross ONLY at the designated crosswalks. We have a teacher outside to direct the traffic. If you cross at other locations, accidents can happen very easily.

• Respect those individuals outside that are trying to help keep traffic moving. We all have the same purpose to get children to and from school as quickly and safely as possible.

• Do not park and leave your car running. This is a safety hazard, contributes to problems with the traffic flow, and is illegal.

• Do not double park along the parking lot.

Thank you for your continued help and understanding of this situation.

Inlet View Mission Statement

Inlet View Elementary focuses on the development of the whole child as a knowledgeable inquirer, both in the classroom and abroad. We aim to develop caring, respectful, and mindful people who recognize their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet.

We will empower students to successfully solve real world problems and strengthen their enjoyment of working towards a goal. We will facilitate learning and support all students so they become compassionate, engaged life-long learners, who help to create a more caring and peaceful world.