Pathfinder News

Julie Harris, Principal

Melissa Walker, Dean

Allyson Coleman, Administrative Assistant

Ruth Carton, Registrar

Connie Holmerud, Attendance

Email: ColemanAK@mukilteo.wednet.edu
Website: https://www.mukilteoschools.org
Location: 11401 Beverly Park Rd., Bldg B, Everett, WA 98204
Phone: (425) 366-3800

Thank you for helping make our Connecting with the Curriculum event a successful, engaging, and positive experience for our community. Our staff worked hard to plan an event that was different than a typical curriculum night in order to support fun and powerful connections with learning outside of school. We hope you found the event meaningful and supportive to your needs as a family and welcome any feedback to help us plan future events. We look forward to having you join us for the rest of the family events scheduled this year, starting with our Books Before Bedtime event on March 14. We appreciate your partnership and support in creating these special experiences for our preschool and kindergarten students.

Warm Regards,

Julie Harris

We want to hear from you! You are invited to a family listening tour hosted by Mukilteo School District on February 8 from 5:45 - 7:45 pm at Mariner High School. The intent is to gather input about communication and engagement with families, especially from families for whom English is not their first language. The in-person listening sessions will be followed by an online survey to all families about the same topics. The results will be used to guide the continued development of the Language Access Plan and the district’s Strategic Plan. School principals and family engagement liaisons are participating as well.

In addition to sharing your thoughts and questions, you can also get assistance with Schoology, ParentSquare, and language services. For more information and to register, please click the link below.

Please keep your child home for 24 hours following fever, vomiting, or antibiotic treatment. In addition, if your child is sent home from school with a fever or vomiting, please wait a full 24 hours before returning to school, even if your child is feeling better. Practicing this will help to keep our school from spreading illness. Thank you!

Please visit the Mukilteo School District health information site at the link below for more detailed information on when to send your child to school after illness.

Students occasionally need a change of clothes at school. Please send a change of clothes in their backpack in case this is needed. The health room is running low on their supply of clothes. If your child has borrowed clothes from the health room, please return them. We are in need of sweatpants (or leggings) in sizes 5, 6, 7, or 8. If you have gently used sweatpants or leggings in those sizes that you are able to donate, it would be greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions, or need more information, please contact the Pathfinder health room at (425) 366-3809.

To help set students up for success, we ask that toys from home are not sent to school in pockets, backpacks, or in precious little hands. By keeping toys at home, we aim to minimize distractions in the classroom, ensure a focused learning environment, and reduce the risk of loss or damage to personal belongings. Recently, Pokémon cards have made an appearance in classrooms and on the playground. While the cards might bring smiles to faces, they can be distracting and cause hurt feelings. We kindly request your cooperation in enforcing this policy with your child. Thank you for your understanding and support in this matter. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher.

KIDS Photography is preparing a full color book of memories of your child's year at Pathfinder. The cost for each yearbook is $17 and will be distributed to students in June. Orders can be made through KIDS Photography at the link below OR by returning the paper order form with your payment to school. Paper order forms will come home in your student's backpack.

Yearbooks are only guaranteed if pre-ordered. We will have only a small number of yearbooks for sale in June on a first come, first served basis.

The deadline to pre-order a yearbook is February 28. If you have any questions, you may contact KIDS Photography at hello@kidsschoolphotos.com

Automated library messages are sent every week by the district via ParentSquare to remind families to return overdue library books. We want to teach our students to be responsible with their library books and to return them each week on their library day. Please help students keep track of their book at home and return it each week. If your student has an overdue book that you are unable to locate, or if you do not know your student's library day, please contact your child's teacher. Thank you for partnering with us to help our students learn to be responsible and to preserve our library.

💜 Helpfulness - Monday, February 12

Being helpful is a way to show kindness!

DAILY CHALLENGE: Help out a teacher, staff member, or classmate today.

💜 Positivity - Tuesday, February 13

Being positive makes the heart grow!

DAILY CHALLENGE: Do something positive for someone else by making a special note for a student in another classroom. Students will be given a pink heart to write or draw a positive note or picture on for another student. Teachers will trade notes with their buddy classroom and students will get one in return.

💜 Friendship - Wednesday, February 14

Being a friend is being kind!

DAILY CHALLENGE: Wear red, white, pink, and purple to celebrate Friendship Day today!

💜 Encouragement - Thursday, February 15

A little encouragement goes a long way!

DAILY CHALLENGE: Encourage another student by giving someone a compliment today. Tell them "You are awesome!", "You brighten my day!", "You look great!", or "You did a great job!"

💜 Gratitude - Friday, February 16

Have an attitude of gratitude!

DAILY CHALLENGE: Catch someone showing kindness, being responsible, respectful, or safe and give them a special "pink" bug brag to show your gratitude. Make sure to tell the person why they are receiving the special "pink" bug brag.

Black History Month is an opportunity for parents to introduce children to age- appropriate discussions about race and culture beyond the classroom. This February make it a point to discuss African American trailblazers and culture around the dinner table. Black History Month is an opportunity to celebrate the endeavors and contributions of Black people throughout history, but also the challenges and struggles they had to overcome in the past and today. It is part of American history and history isn’t always pretty.

Some Do’s and Don’ts for Black History Month

Do’s

1. Discuss Black liberation, empowerment, and joy.
2. Take trips to museums to see Black History Month exhibits.
3. Check out a relevant book from the library, watch documentaries, and do research together online.
4. Discuss Black history with children by introducing them to role models across a variety of fields. This instills African American students with a sense of empowerment and pride.
5. Highlight contemporary Black leaders and icons.
6. Continue the conversation in March, April, May, June, etc.

Don’ts

1. Don't skip Black History Month! Everyone benefits from the celebrating and centering of Blackness.
2. Don't pit historical figures against each other (e.g. Malcolm X vs. MLK).
3. Don't hyperfocus on trauma. Black joy, liberation, and resistance are vital to understanding who we are and how we continue to thrive.

Credit to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Britt Hawthorne

Parents and guardians of young children may mistakenly believe that kindergarten students can miss a day of school (or two or three) and it won't make much of a difference. However, it’s very important for students to be in school every day – from kindergarten through high school.

Did you know that every day in kindergarten your child is:

• learning a new sound or word?
• learning and practicing a new math skill, like recognizing shapes or counting numbers?
• gaining social skills that will help him/her develop healthy friendships?

Here are 3 simple tips to help you and your child get ready for school every day:

1. Set an alarm, leaving extra time for unexpected delays.
2. Lay out clothing and supplies for the next day in the evening.
3. Make sure your transportation plan is in order.

If your child misses nine days throughout the school year, he or she may:

• have a harder time reading as well as his/her classmates who come to school every day.
• have a higher chance of being held back in school because he/she is struggling with reading and/or math.
• develop poor attendance habits that lead to academic struggles or dropping out of school.

Coming to school every day gives students the chance to stay on track in school.

If a child finds pleasure in reading, it will be­come a lifelong habit.

Let Your Children See You Reading

If your children see you reading regularly, there is a good chance that they will follow your lead and sit down with a book themselves. Set aside some time to talk with them about what each of you is reading. If you have been regularly reading aloud to your children, by school age they'll probably want to read aloud to you, too!

Talk About Your Day

Find time to talk with your children about your respective days—in­cluding what they did at school. Even on a night when you are particularly busy, you should still be able to find a time and place to talk. This gives your children a chance to re-teach you what they learned that day.

Encourage Art & Writing

It is great for children to write and/or draw without any ed­ucational purpose in mind other than to express themselves. For example, you can encourage your children to write original stories, cards, letters, and invitations to friends and relatives. Keep paper, pencils, crayons, markers, and tape in a convenient lo­cation so your children can sit down and use them easily. Research has shown that writing improves a child's reading skills—and vice versa.

Plan One-on-One Time

Plan some activities that you can do with your child—such as an art project. Keep phone call interruptions and media use to a minimum during this special time. Make it a time you are spending with each other. Some children say they wish they could call their parents on the phone, because a phone call or mobile device always gets first priority.

Use Caution with "Educational" Apps

Even though tablets, computer games, and apps are advertised as "educational," the truth is most of them have not been tested to show that children actually learn from them. They teach very basic skills, so don't assume an "interactive" game will be a good learning experience. Children learn better through creative playtime—where their brain takes the lead, not the app or computer game.

More Suggestions for Parents

• Put a map on the wall in your child's bedroom and refer to it frequently. You might ask, "Where does Aunt Maria live?" or "Can you find the city where we used to live?" You can also use the map to talk about history, especially around a historical holiday.
• Have a family calendar where you can teach your child to plan ahead and stay organized.
• Take your children to your local library and get each of them a library card. Because they use the school li­brary frequently, most children almost instinctively feel at home when they go to the local library.
• Find community activities that are pure fun. Despite their recre­ational nature, these activities can still be viewed as providing support for what is being taught in school. They will broaden your children's experiences and give them something new to write about.
• Try reinforcing your child's health education at school by making healthy food choices when you shop. No mat­ter what is taught in the classroom and served in the school cafeteria, your children will be influenced more by watching your own food selections. Actively involving your children in the cooking process—reading recipes and measuring ingredients—can reinforce nutrition education.
• Schedule some weekend or after-school activities that are appropriate for the entire family. Going on walks, playing outside and bicycle riding are some of the sports that children can participate in for their entire lives—long after they have left school. Do not overlook walking as a perfect way for the family to enjoy physical activity together. Studies now show that the more children exercise, the better they focus!

Source: Healthychildren.org

Mukilteo 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 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 and Title IX Coordinator Simone Neal (425-356-1319), nealsr@mukilteo.wednet.edu, Section 504 Coordinator Becca Anderson (425-356-1277), andersonra@mukilteo.wednet.edu, and the ADA/Access Coordinator Karen Mooseker (425-356-1330), moosekerkw@mukilteo.wednet.edu. Address: 9401 Sharon Drive in Everett, WA. Inquiries regarding ADA/Access issues at Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center should be directed to Wes Allen, Director (425-348-2220) allenwr@mukilteo.wednet.edu. Address: 9001 Airport Road in Everett, WA 98204.