Friday Family Message

Hello Families
While in our schools this week, I had the pleasure of sitting in on Mrs. Austin’s class. Her students were preparing for the day by checking their readiness for learning.
Mrs. Austin was using Stanwood Middle School’s schoolwide strategies to prepare students for a rigorous day in the classroom. Students at SMS use common strategies for learning, getting “unstuck” while learning, and helping others.
At Port Susan Middle School, students are also engaged in preparing themselves for success in the classroom. PSMS staff are focusing on the positive impact of staff-student relationships on learning. PSMS values the importance of every student having one key adult at school to rely on for support, help, and encouragement. Way to go, Knights!
Both of our middle schools are committed to providing a quality learning environment for all students and preparing them for the futures of their choice.
The Great Shakeout
Students and staff across the school district — and the state — will participate in the annual Great American ShakeOut drill at 10:19 a.m. Oct. 19 to practice earthquake safety and test our early warning system.
The district deployed an earthquake early warning system in 2019 at Stanwood Elementary — the first school in the state to connect to the USGS’s ShakeAlert system. We have since added sensors to all 13 of its buildings and connected them to a centralized intercom that is automatically activated by a seismic event.
The sensors are part of the automated earthquake early warning system, called ShakeAlert, that is now available to more than 50 million residents within the country's most earthquake-prone region. You can download the ShakeAlert app to be automatically notified of earthquakes.
ShakeAlert uses a network of more than 1,600 seismometers on the West Coast that constantly monitor for location, magnitude and intensity of an earthquake. When a quake does strike, seismic waves travel out in all directions. But primary waves (p-waves) — what the technology detects — travel faster than the slower secondary waves (s-waves), which can produce violent shaking.
The warning to seek shelter can come just seconds before shaking starts or up to a minute before the earth starts to move, depending on the location of the quake’s epicenter. The early warning allows time for students and staff to seek shelter as well as other vital automated systems such as utility pipelines shutdown before they are damaged.
The regionwide system was recently put to the test when a 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck Sunday, Oct. 8, near Port Townsend. By the time the shockwaves reached our monitoring station at Stanwood Elementary, the intensity was registering below 4.0 — the threshold to trigger our automated alerts.
School board candidate forum is next up
The League of Women Voters of Snohomish County (LWVSC) hosted Stanwood City Council candidates during an election forum Oct. 9.
The Stanwood-Camano School Board candidate forum will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16.
All of the events are available to view live or recorded via the LWVSC YouTube Channel.
The forums are designed to inform voters of each candidate’s key positions and experience. The forums are nonpartisan, and all candidates for each contested race are invited to participate.
The Snohomish County Voter Pamphlet will be mailed starting October 18. Ballots will be mailed starting October 19, and Election Day is November 7.
We have job openings
There are several open positions available within our school district. Open positions include:
- Substitute bus drivers
- Substitute food service workers
- Substitute custodians
- Paraeducators
- Coaches
- Athletic trainer
- Nurses
Many of these jobs offer flexible hours and shifts that are perfect for stay-at-home parents, retirees, or part-time college students.
Anyone interested can visit www.stanwood.wednet.edu/JOBS to learn more and to apply!
Drug Awareness and Prevention Forum
The Camano Law Enforcement Support Foundation (CLESF) is presenting a free forum on drug awareness from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, October 14, at the Camano Administration Building, 121 N East Camano Drive.
The forum will discuss the effect of drugs on the human body, identifying and reducing drug abuse in youths, and learning about the rise of fentanyl.
Island County Sheriff’s Deputy Luke Plambeck — a drug recognition expert and instructor — will lead the presentations. Luke is also a member of the Island County Opioid Outreach Team, connecting citizens who struggle with addiction with resources for recovery and removing barriers to treatment.
For more information about the forum, visit clesfoundation.org.
Concerns on social media
We were made aware this week of incorrect information circulating on social media about possible higher than normal CO2 levels in Stanwood High School.
Every classroom in the new Stanwood High building has a CO2 monitor reporting levels in real time. Data from this week has shown all levels were well within safe limits. If we detect rising CO2 levels, we can remotely redirect fresh air from elsewhere via our HVAC systems into targeted areas within the building.
Our maintenance staff inspected the systems this week and determined that all equipment is running as designed. We take all concerns about safety very seriously, and we are committed to providing a safe and healthy learning environment for our students and staff. If you have a question or concern, please email scsdinfo@stanwood.wednet.edu.
School Board update
A few reminders
Get social with us!
Please remember to follow the Stanwood-Camano School District on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and Twitter, and follow my tweets @rumbaughsupt.