Collins Coyotes Howler Newsletter

Creating connected, capable, contributing learners who achieve their highest potential every day

Location: 1920 128th Street East, Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone: 253-298-3400
Facebook: facebook.com/collinscoyotes

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September 27 - 2:35 Dismissal

October 4 - 2:35 Dismissal

October 7 - Harlem Wizards Basketball Fundraiser

October 9 - No School, Teacher Training

October 10-13: 12:35 Dismissal (conference week, see more details below)*

October 10-13: Scholastic Book Fair (see details below)**

The school year is off and running! Now that students are starting to settle into the routine of the day, we are excited to bring back and introduce some student opportunities.

Students will have the opportunity to apply for a meaningful work job within our school. Some of the jobs include lunchroom helper, student council, peace maker, recess equipment manager and principal assistant. A description of all of the jobs and applications are available in the hallway next to the gym and music room. We are excited to give students the opportunity to contribute to our school community.

We are introducing a new way for students to express themselves with a poster challenge. The first theme for students to illustrate is “How do I belong at Collins?” Students can pick up a poster paper in the office and draw or write about how they feel they belong in our school. Once they have completed the poster, they can turn them into the office. When they turn in their poster, they will receive a raffle ticket. In a couple of weeks, we will have a raffle drawing for a lunch surprise. Students can create more than one poster! Principal assistants will hang the posters throughout the school.

Pick of the Pack has started! Take a look at the group photo of our first group of students who earned this recognition.

Also, check out some photos from fourth grade.

I hope you all have a wonderful start to the fall season.

Take care,

Ms. Kehoe

Conference week is October 10-14. Our fabulous teachers will be sending out links to sign up. You will have access to the links on September 28th.

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming during conference week! This is always my favorite event. It is such a joy to see students find books that they are excited about and see past students return with siblings. I'd love extra helpers if you would like to join me as an approved volunteer! Open hours will be as follows:

Tuesday 10/10: 1-5

Wednesday 10/11: 1-4

Thursday 10/12: 1-4

Friday 1/13: 1-3 (closed early for clean-up and fair end report)

I look forward to seeing you there!

~Mrs. Sanderson, Librarian

tsanderson@fpschools.org

Our school district office has a Family Resource Center. They can offer connections and resources for families who need support. The Family Resource Center is open to all community members.

The Farm at Franklin Pierce. Food at the farm is grown by and for the community! Everyone is invited to visit the farm on Thursdays from 4-6pm to receive “Fresh and Free Veggies”!

The Farm is located at 9516 Waller Rd E.

If you have any questions about either of these resources, please check out our school district’s website, fpschools.org; or call our school’s front office.

For safety and supervision reasons we also ask that kids remain in their cars in the morning until the 9:20 bell rings.

To make sure to keep traffic moving quickly during parent drop-off and pick-up we ask that families remain in their cars unless they are assisting their child getting in or out of the vehicle. We cannot have families park their cars on 18th Ave E due to safety concerns for our buses.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience.

When dropping off or picking up your student, please pull forward when there is room so other cars can enter our lot (rather than blocking the street).

Cars need to pull up to the curb before students exit them. Students may not cut through cars as this is a safety hazard.

Please review our district calendar. It can also be found on our district website.

Red = 90-minute early release days (dismissal at 2:35pm)

Orange and Green = 3.5-hour early release days (dismissal at 12:35pm)

Blue = no school

3.5 Hour Early Release (dismissed at 12:35pm)

• October 10th-October 13th
• November 22nd
• November 29th
• May 20th-May 23rd
• June 12th

90 Minute Early Release (dismissal at 2:35pm)

• Every Wednesday except for March 20th

DISTRICT CALENDAR:

We are thrilled to have our pups return to school! Attendance is key for students to thrive so please try to schedule appointments outside of the school day. Every absence, tardy and/or early dismissal needs to be reported to the office.

If you know your child will be absent or will be either leaving early or arriving late, please call our office. The number is 253.298.3406. If your child is sick and you cannot see a doctor you can bring your child in to see the nurse. ** Please note: our nurse will assess your child to determine if they are well enough to stay at school. She will not diagnose. If your child is too ill to be at school, the absence will be excused.

The number of days missed matters!

Whether excused or unexcused, the number of days your student misses can greatly impact their academic success. Families should strive for regular attendance. Regular attendance means having, on average, less than two absences per month. An absence is defined as missing 50% or more of their scheduled day.

Most children miss a few days of school each year without long-term consequences. However, when students miss too many days, the effects are almost always negative. We are continually working to make our school environment a place where everyone is safe, healthy, and ready to learn.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absences for any reason (both excused and unexcused absences). It can translate into students having a difficult time learning to read by the third grade, achieving in middle school, and graduating from high school. Every day a student is absent is a lost opportunity for learning.

What Can Families Do?

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves. Families can start building this habit in preschool, so they learn right away that students go to school on time, every day. Good attendance will help children do well in high school, college, and in their careers. Here are some suggestions:

• Set a regular bedtime and morning routine,

• Set out clothes and pack backpacks the night before,

• If they choose to pack lunches do so the night before,

• Schedule appointments and travel when school is not in session,

• Have a back-up plan in place with family members, neighbors, or other parents for getting your child to school in case something comes up,

• Keep track of your child’s attendance,

• Talk about the importance of regular attendance and about how your child feels about school. Regular attendance helps to make and build connections with friends and staff. It also supports learning!

• Reach out for support. If you need support and resources to address the barriers to school attendance, or a reason that they aren’t looking forward to school regularly please connect with your child’s teacher, counselor, or the front office staff so we can address it. We are here to help!

Immunizations

Students must be in compliance with their immunization status prior to their first day of school. If your child is missing immunizations, please make necessary arrangements to have their immunizations updated. Calls were made this week if your child is in "not complete" status. Contact me if you are uncertain or have any questions.

Medications

All emergency medications for life-threatening conditions (Epi-Pens, Inhalers for severe asthma, Insulin) must be brought into the office by an adult and accompanied with the prescribing physician's medication order before the first day of school. An Individual Health Plan (IHP) must also be in place prior to their first day of school.

All other medications (prescribed or over the counter, this includes cough drops) must be brought into the office by an adult and accompanied with the prescribing physician's medication order.

NO MEDICATION WILL BE ADMINISTERED AT SCHOOL WITHOUT AN ORDER AND STUDENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO TRANSPORT MEDICATIONS.

Health History

Need to make updates to your student's health history? Please let us know!

Illness

Please monitor your child for symptoms prior to sending them to school. If your child is sick, keep them at home and let the school know. If you have questions regarding your student's symptoms/illness, please don't hesitate to contact the health room.

You're invited to the 2nd Annual Fall Classic on Saturday, October 7th, 2023! This fun run includes a 1K for elementary-aged children as well as a 5K that is open to all. This event provides funds to purchase shoes and uniforms for local youth runners, as well as providing a college scholarship for a graduating senior.

Learn more and register online at: www.fpschools.org/fall-classic

Contact information:

Attendance office- 253.298.3406 or khallett@fpschools.org

Text office cell phone-253.341.1467

Mrs. Cruz, Nurse - 253.298.3408 or scruz@fpschools.org

SCHEDULE CHANGES - The end of the day at Collins is very hectic. If you forgot to send a note in the morning (which is preferred) and need to call the school with a change to your child’s schedule, please do so before 3:30 p.m. After 3:30 the office is busy assisting students and parents and will not be able to answer your call or get a message to a student before they leave for the day. All end-of-day schedule changes must be made through the office, not with the classroom teacher. Thank you!

EARLY PARENT PICK-UP If you need to pick your student up early, we ask that students be picked up no later than 3:45 due to our end of the day congestion. To preserve precious class time, we do not call students to the office until you have checked them out in person (remember your ID).

UPDATE CONTACT INFORMATION - If any of your information has changed (address, contact info., email address, etc.) please contact the office right away. This year more than ever, it will be important to have the most current information. Also, let us know what your preferred method of contact is - phone, email, text. You can reach the office at 253.298.3400.

Or next PTA meeting will be on Tuesday, October 10th at 4:30 in the library.

___________________________________________________________________________

PTA has decided to join Remind to increase our communications. This is the same app that the school uses and hopefully this will help keep everyone in the loop. Please make sure to join our "classroom" for the school year.

https://www.remind.com/join/coyotespta

Franklin Pierce Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Questions and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to James Hester, Compliance Coordinator for State and Civil Rights Laws; Wendy Malich, Title IX Officer; or John Sanders, 504/ADA Coordinator at 315 129th ST S, Tacoma, WA 98444-5099 or at (253)298-3000