Hazelwood Families,

I hope that you are doing well. We continue to be grateful for all that you are doing at home to support your student(s) with their learning. Thank you! During February, we celebrate Black History Month and you can expect that teachers will be highlighting this in their lessons throughout the month. Edmonds School District is also participating in Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. You can find out more information regarding planned events here. At Hazelwood, we value diversity and are working to understand inequities based on race. We strive to affirm that the lives of people of color matter. To this end, our work extends beyond the lessons and plans for this month into all of the work we do throughout the year to help our students overcome barriers so that all students can access learning.

Today is the last day of the first semester and teachers are working hard on report cards. You can expect access to the report cards on February 11th. If you have signed up for a paper copy, those will be sent in the mail from Edmonds School District offices on the 11th..

Thank you to those who were able to attend the Family Connection opportunity in January. I am offering this same connection opportunity on February 18th from 2:30-3:30. This is an informal meeting in which you can directly ask me questions and find out what is happening at Hazelwood. I look forward to also having Q and A sessions with families about the hybrid model as soon as our bargaining groups have concluded bargaining.

Thank you for sending us the most amazing students. We are so proud of the great work they show us daily.

In partnership,

Mrs. Lee

For Grades 3rd-6th, we are offering a virtual recess opportunity during the week. Our hope is to extend it to all grades soon! Students can get the Zoom link from their teacher. Please encourage your student to join this fun activity!

Now that we are moving into the winter months, we can anticipate that utility outages will occur and this may interfere with remote learning. Edmonds School District has prepared a power outage plan in the event of electricity outages or network interruptions. Check out the plan by clicking here.

Please keep in mind that Edmonds will not be cancelling school for snow this year. For families who have students who are attending in person, please watch the Edmonds School District website or listen to the local news for information regarding transportation to school.

Enrollment and Kindergarten for the 2021-2022 School Year

We will begin enrolling kindergarten students (or students new to the Edmonds School District) for the 2021-2022 school year on March 3, 2021. To enroll, you may pick up enrollment packets and drop them off in the designated drop box at your assigned school* with proof of residency from your home (lease/rental agreement, mortgage statement, or a recent utility bill), proof of birth, and your child’s immunization history. You will also now have the option for online enrollment on the District website.

If you are registering a kindergarten student to start in September, please join us at 6:00 pm on February 8th for Kick Off to Kindergarten on a Community Webinar Zoom event here:

Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

Please click this URL to join. https://edmondsschools.zoom.us/j/82344326781?pwd=TlpzRVhiQysreXFPMUZDeG5KTDhNZz09

Passcode: 154403

Or join by phone:

Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):US: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923

Webinar ID: 823 4432 6781

Passcode: 154403

International numbers available: https://edmondsschools.zoom.us/u/kuci8Jwgx

Following the Kick off to Kindergarten event, schools will be conducting Welcome Sessions on three different occasions. Dates for Welcome Sessions and the Live Video Tours will be posted on school websites or you may contact the school for more information. Sessions and video tours will be made available online for future access.

Your child must be 5 years old by August 31, 2021 to be eligible for Kindergarten. Students turning 5 between September 1 and December 31, 2021 may be evaluated for early entrance into Kindergarten by successfully passing a screening to determine readiness. Parents must submit an application by May 27, 2021 to schedule an evaluation for their child. Please contact Tara Taitano at taitanot742@edmonds.wednet.edu or call 425-431-7176 to request a parent packet which explains the process and associated costs.

*Each student in the Edmonds School District is assigned to a school by address. Please go to www.edmonds.wednet.edu to access Neighborhood School Finder to find out which school your child will attend, or call one of the numbers below.

Elementary (K-6): Tara Taitano, taitanot742@edmonds.wednet.edu, 425-431-7176

Secondary (Gr 7-12): Leslie Anderson, andersonl@edmonds.wednet.edu, 425-431-7094

If you are interested in the Madrona K-8 or Maplewood Parent Cooperative programs, please contact them for information about their lottery process.

Madrona 425-431-7979

Maplewood 425-431-7519

2021-2022 Calendar Call for Art

All Edmonds School District students are invited to submit a photo of one piece of artwork they created this school year for consideration. Our goal is to have one or more pieces from each school represented on the calendar. Artwork may also be selected for sharing in other ESD publications or on school district social media. Artwork may be entered through 5PM, April 22, 2021 using the online submission form.

What teachers need to know:

• Teachers are asked to promote this opportunity to their families, however, the submission should be done by the student/parent.

• Students K-12 are allowed to submit one piece of art for consideration.

• Students, with assistance and permission from their parent, will submit a photo of their artwork using the Google Form provided. Video instructions are provided explaining how to photograph and upload the photo to the form.

• Teachers may assist students needing help with the submission process, but parental permission is a required part of the form, therefore, they must be involved in the process and agree to have the teacher mark that box for them.

• A student email account or Gmail account must be used to upload the photo of student’s artwork. Families submitting for multiple students must use a separate address for each student.

What families need to know:

• Students K-12 are allowed to submit one piece of art for consideration.

• A student email account or Gmail account must be used to upload the photo of student’s artwork. Families submitting for multiple students must use a separate address for each student.

• A parental permission box will need to be checked during the process, parental permission is required.

• Video instructions on how to photograph artwork and upload to the form are provided.

• Artwork must have been created solely by the student (no parental help). School or personal projects are acceptable.

• Artwork must have been created during the 2020-2021 school year.

• Submission considerations: Artwork should be created on unlined paper. Misspelled words, trademarked characters and brand names will not be published. Photos need to include the entire piece of artwork.

• Deadline for entry is 5PM, April 22, 2021.

2021-22 Calendar Submission Form

If you have troubles using the direct link, copy and paste the address below in your browser:

https://forms.gle/cWCfBzaPeaovoy2o9

Questions may be directed to Barb Childs at ChildsBA@edmonds.wednet.edu

Clothes For Kids is still open and serving local students by appointment only. We will be open to student shoppers Monday-Friday until at least the end of April. We will also be open on Saturday, February 20th. Students who have already shopped with Clothes For Kids before the winter break can now schedule an appointment to shop for a second wardrobe.

Families need to schedule an appointment for each student shopper: https://clothesforkids.org/book-an-appointment/. If students/families are uncomfortable coming in to shop right now, our volunteers can choose the clothing for the students and set a time for the family to pick it up at the Clothes For Kids shop (take-out style) within one week.

In part due to the lack of Lost and Found clothing this year, our inventory is getting low in some areas and we are looking for donations of gently-used clothing. Please think of us if you are cleaning out your closets! Right now, Clothes For Kids’ most-needed items are:

Boys' Heavy coats - sizes 6-18

Teen Boy’s Heavy coats - men’s sizes S-XXL

Boys’ Pants - athletic pants preferred, sizes 5T-18

Teen Boy Pants - athletic pants preferred, men’s sizes S-XXL

Athletic shoes - Kids’ sizes 8-13 and 1-6

If you have any questions or concerns about the school wardrobe program, please contact me: office@clothesforkids.org or 425.741.6500.

Best regards,

Lisa K. George

Clothes For Kids

16725 52nd Ave W, Suite B

Lynnwood, WA 98037

425-741-6500

www.clothesforkids.org

Thank you to Ms. Whicker for creating a Spanish book collection available in our Hazelwood library! You can find the link to this collection here: Libros en Espanol

Dear Edmonds School District families,

We want you to know the district has the mental health of all of our students at the forefront of our minds. We are worried about our kids, all of them, and we want to make sure families have the resources available to support their students.

As we are just about into the eleventh month of the COVID-19 pandemic, typical issues that impact students have an even greater effect, as coping reserves are low. When we add the end of a semester and grades coming out in a few weeks, there is even more stress on our students.

The experiences of ongoing stress and trauma affecting our brain, body and functioning can result in the following symptoms:

• Anxiety and stress

• Depression, fatigue and lack of motivation

• Burnout and lack of purpose

• Memory problems: Difficulty concentrating, organizing, planning and recalling

• Heightened emotions and reactions

We encourage families to keep checking on your students and let them know to reach out when they are struggling. Please know our staff are doing the same, despite only seeing or hearing students on a computer screen.

The more we can build resilience in our students, the better they will be able to cope with daily struggles and the impacts of this long-term pandemic.

For contact information regarding your school’s support staff and additional information visit the district’s Mental Health Resources website.

Edmonds School District’s commitment to mental health
It’s important to understand what all the district has in place when it comes to supporting the mental health of our students. Every teacher has been trained to listen, protect, connect, model and teach their students. They also incorporate social and emotional learning into their teaching.

Here are some of the trainings and processes in place at the district to support student social emotional wellbeing and learning:

• Social Emotional Learning student screeners grades 3-12

• District-wide implementation of Psychological First Aid for Schools (This crisis training work is based on the following):

  • Listen: Share experiences, express feelings and concerns for safety

  • Protect: Reestablish feelings of physical and emotional safety

  • Connect: Reestablish social relationships, stay connected and provide social support

  • Model: Demonstrate a positive and optimistic approach that one can cope with

  • Teach: Teach common reactions and range of normal responses

• Continued social emotional learning focus and practices to give students problem solving skills to implement when dealing with their mental health

• Trained mental health staff: School psychologist, school counselors, and student support advocates

• Contracted mental health services in schools (Center for Human Services)

• District-wide suicide prevention, intervention and postvention policies with modifications done last spring for virtual setting

• Suicide prevention training for all staff with virtual modifications

• Signs of Suicide prevention program in all middle and high schools with virtual modifications coming soon

• Stress Happens lessons modified from elementary based Riding the Waves program

We want to make families aware of mental health risk factors and warning signs that may indicate a need for further support:

Risk factors:

• Feeling depressed, hopeless

• Deliberate self injury (“cutting”)

• Prior suicidal thinking and behavior

• Having family members or friends who have attempted or died by suicide

• Loss of an important relationship (e.g., breaking up)

• Being isolated or alone

• Having been traumatized or abused

• Drug and alcohol use

Warning signs:

• Suicidal threats, both direct (“I want to die”) and indirect (“I wish I could go to sleep and not wake up”)

• Suicide notes, plans, social media posts

• Making final plans; giving away favorite things

• Preoccupation with death or revenge

• Changes in behavior, sleeping, eating, appearance, thoughts and/or feelings

• Extreme mood swings, rage, withdrawal

• Sudden unexplained happiness

If you are concerned for your student or if you need support, please reach out to your student’s school counselor/psychologist or call the support services listed below right away.

Mental health resources

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

• Crisis Connections: 866-427-4747

• TeenLink: Call or text 866-833-6546 - Confidential and anonymous helpline for teens.

• Washington Warm Line: 877-500-9276 - Peer support helpline for people living with emotional and mental health challenges

• WA Listens: 1-833-681-0211 - Anonymous crisis line for stress related to COVID-19.

• WA Department of Health mental and emotional well-being page: Find support for my mental health and well-being

• KC Community Supports and Well-being webpage

• The Trevor Project

Thank you
We thank you for all you are doing for your students. We know this is hard. Please reach out to your school for further information and support.

Sincerely,

Dr. Gustavo Balderas
Superintendent

Mr. Owings has been teaching for two years primarily in the high school setting, leaving his previous career as a developer in several start-ups. He emphasizes culturally responsive and student-centered practices as a teacher as well as a SInC. A SInC supports students socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. Interesting fact: Mr. Owings has been a balloon artist for over 25 years.