Aberdeen Schools

Keeping it Fun

When you're in preschool, like the little guy above, it goes like this:

"What? You want me to do homework? Wow. How fun!"

Also for fun, Principal Jamie Dunn-Stotler is doing a daily Read Aloud and posting to Facebook. You can find her on the Robert Gray or Aberdeen School District page. Enjoy!

Stay Home, Stay Healthy -- It's an order

By order of the Governor, schools remain closed through Friday, April 24 -- and maybe longer -- as part of a massive effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in our state. On Tuesday, the governor issued a "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order that you can read about here.

Find the Proclamation

Our teaching staff is working and checking email from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the closure. Please plan to stay in touch and encourage your student to access the learning resources that are available here.

Special note to Parents

Please access your Skyward account and make sure your contact information is up-to-date so that we can stay in touch with you. Schools especially need updated cell phone numbers and email addresses.

Our district will continue to publish this newsletter weekly during the closure.

Also In this issue:

• Graduation / News for Seniors
  
• News for all High School students
• Food Service Updates
  
• Childcare
  
• Links to Important Resources and Information

Again this year, Aberdeen HIgh School students made a strong showing in the region's annual art show sponsored by ESD 113. We hope to share their work with you at a future date when it becomes available digitally, but for now, let’s congratulate these three winning artists:

• Joshua Farrar, winner in the Colored Pencil/Marker category for Autumn Season. He is a student of Molly Houk at AHS.
  
• Lauren King for her photograph Lightbulb Sunset. She is a student of Tracy Ecklund.
  
• Kari Turner for her photograph Framed Beach Sunset. She also is a student of Tracy Ecklund.

The Aberdeen School District is committed to working with our senior students at Aberdeen and Harbor High Schools to ensure completion of graduation requirements in time for a June 2020 graduation ceremony. We do plan to have some sort of graduation ceremony. In case our planned ceremonies at Stewart Field and Harbor High School are not options come June, we are working on an alternative option to honor our 2020 graduates.

Students who were on track to graduate in June as of the school closure on March 17 will have the opportunity to complete any final requirements including credit requirements, pathways to graduation and Senior Boards. Other seniors will also continue to have opportunities to work on their credits and pursue graduation requirements. Staff will be reaching out to seniors on a regular basis.

These are the following measures that will be taken:

1. The high school staff has identified specific requirements needed for each individual student and will be working together to create a plan with each student.
2. Staff will reach out to seniors via email and/or Remind to communicate exactly what students need to complete in order to be eligible for graduation.
3. It is essential that students check their emails regularly, a minimum of once per day.
4. Students will be expected to communicate with teachers, submit assignments as requested, meet deadlines and request help as needed.
5. Progress will be monitored on a regular basis.
6. Grading will be represented with Pass or No Credit options only. These options will not impact any student GPA. Completion of Running Start and Edgenuity classes may be an exception to these grading options.
7. Senior Boards will be conducted remotely if a school closure continues beyond the expected April 27 return date. Students should be prepared to present a Senior Board PowerPoint according to district guidelines in order to meet graduation requirements.

Please continue to monitor district communications for additional updates as guidance from the State Board of Education and Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction are ongoing. We are committed to the Class of 2020 and its success.

Let’s do this Aberdeen!

Here's a link to the Washington State Board of Education's page regarding graduation requirements.

Our high school teachers are gearing up to teach remotely so that high school students can earn credit this spring -- even if the closure is extended.

All high school students are advised to check their email at least once daily and to stay in touch with their teachers because right after Spring Break, the high school will be ready with remote classes.

While not required, if your high school student wants to earn credit this spring and has not yet made contact with his/her teachers, please encourage them to do so without delay -- and definitely before next Friday, April 3, so they can hit the ground running after the break.

Spring Break

Spring Break is April 6-10. Students can still continue their work, but it is a week off for staff.

Again -- encourage your high school student to make contact with teachers before Spring Break so they can earn third trimester credit.

In addition to the five sites established last week for breakfast and lunch, the district has added meal service along four bus routes as pictured above and accessed via the button below.

These Grab’n’Go meals are available from 10 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday.

All children and youth under the age of 18, and enrolled students over 18, are eligible to receive meals at no charge. ID is not required and there are no forms to fill out.

Lunch and breakfast are being provided to each student. The meals are designed to be picked up and eaten at a different location to encourage social distancing. Adults may pick up the meals, but they must be accompanied by their students.

The program is being enhanced as we learn student needs and whether allowed under the federal guidelines.

Instructional Resources

In addition to the information above for high school students who want to graduate or earn credit this spring, there are opportunities for all students to stay in touch with their teachers.

The district has created a page on the website where parents and students can access Instructional Resources for their grade level. These resources have been carefully chosen by our teachers based on what students have been learning during their school years.

These are not assignments, but opportunities to continue grade-level learning and remain remotely in contact with your teacher(s).

A suggested schedule is posted and is flexible to meet the needs of your family.

Need a device?

Most of these resources require a device and internet access. If you were not able to check out a device before the closure, please fill out the Device Check-out sheet and submit it via email to your student's principal. Please allow two to three days for arrangements to be made.

Need internet access?

Please check the internet access resources link on our website to obtain these services for reduced or free. If you know of someone with little or no internet access, please share this information with them.

Passwords to school resources

In order to access your child’s passwords, user names and badges, please contact your child’s teacher through their district email. A reply should be expected within two school days.

Teachers and staff are working

Teachers were back at work on Monday, March 23, and are keeping virtual office hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

In addition to being available to students, teachers are involved in a number of other work-related, professional development activities.

Please encourage your student to use their district-issued email to communicate with their teacher(s). Social media is not an acceptable form of instructional communication between students and teachers.

Superintendent Alicia Henderson, our program directors and our principals also are working during this time. Please communicate with them via email.

• Superintendent Alicia Henderson, ahenderson@asd5.org

• Business Office, Elyssa Louderback, elouderback@asd5.org
• Human Resources, David Glasier, dglasier@asd5.org
• Special Education, Rick Bates, rbates@asd5.org
• Career & Technical Education, Lynn Green, lgreen@asd5.org
• Teaching, Learning & Technology, Traci Sandstrom, tsandstrom@asd5.org

• A.J. West Elementary School, John Meers, jmeers@asd5.org
• Central Park Elementary School, John Crabb, jcrabb@asd5.org
• McDermoth Elementary School, Bryan McKinney, bmckinney@asd5.org
• Robert Gray Elementary School, Jamie Dunn-Stotler, jdunn@asd5.org
• Stevens Elementary School, Traci Sandstrom, tsandstrom@asd5.org
• Miller Junior High School, Lisa Griebel, lgriebel@asd5.org
• Aberdeen High School, Sherri Northington, snorthington@asd5.org
• Harbor High School, Derek Cook, dcook@asd5.org
• Twin Harbors Skills Center, Lynn Green, lgreen@asd5.org

Don't forget to check the Instructional Resources page often for updates that may come about from OSPI, especially for high school students.

On Monday, our school district began offering child care to students in the district whose parents are first responders and health care workers.

Parents who are first responders or who work in health care are eligible to access this free service by contacting Superintendent Alicia Henderson at ahenderson@asd5.org. The program operates at the Rotary Log Pavilion during regular school hours.

Our district will continue to publish this newsletter weekly during the closure. We hope this newsletter is becoming a place where you can find reliable information, important links, news and notices impacting our school community during the emergency.

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The Aberdeen 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: David Glasier, Title IX Coordinator and Civil rights Compliance Coordinator, 216 North G St., Aberdeen, WA 98520; (360) 538-2222; dglasier@asd5.org; Dr. Richard Bates, Section 504/ADA Coordinator, 216 North G St., Aberdeen, WA 98520; (360) 538-2017; rbates@asd5.org.