Welcome Back, Falcon Families!

Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful winter break filled with relaxation, fun, and time with loved ones. We are excited to welcome our students back and dive into a fantastic second half of the school year.

As we return, our focus will be on resetting and getting back into our routines. This month, we will spend time reteaching our building expectations, with ASB playing a key role in helping make this process engaging and impactful. These refreshers ensure that all students feel supported and understand how to SOAR: demonstrating Safety, Ownership, Achievement, and Respect throughout the building.

January also marks the beginning of our winter assessment block. This important time allows us to gather valuable data to support your child’s growth and learning. We use this information to tailor instruction and interventions that best meet their needs. We will be sharing the results of these assessments at conference time.

Don’t forget to check out the dates section of the newsletter! There are many exciting events and opportunities this month, so mark your calendars and stay tuned.

We are thrilled to jump into January with our amazing Falcons. Let’s make it a great start to 2025!

Go Falcons!

Josh Van Cleef

Principal

We are thrilled to announce that our 4th-grade team will be organizing a special Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. This student-led event will highlight the values of kindness, and perseverance that Dr. King championed.

Our 4th graders are hard at work preparing meaningful presentations and performances to share with the school community. We look forward to celebrating this important day together and showcasing their creativity and hard work.

Get ready to show your school spirit! This Friday, January 24th, we’re celebrating Tie-Dye Spirit Day.

Encourage your child to wear their favorite tie-dye clothing and join us in spreading colorful energy and school pride throughout the day. Let’s make the halls vibrant with creativity and fun!

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a special place to learn and grow.

A quick reminder about the importance of attendance:

If your child will not be at school, please remember to call the office to report their absence. Regular attendance is essential for their academic success and helps them stay connected with their learning community.

We appreciate your partnership in ensuring your child’s success!

As the weather continues to change, please ensure your child comes to school dressed appropriately for the conditions. With rain and snow in the mix, it’s important they have warm clothing, a winter coat, and suitable footwear to stay comfortable and safe throughout the day.

Thank you for helping us ensure all our students are ready for whatever the weather brings!

Falcon Families, mark your calendars! In your hands are the School Spirit Events for the year, and they are going to be fantastic! While the schedule is subject to change, you can count on a year filled with fun and excitement. A huge thank you to our incredible Farwell ASB for their creativity and dedication in coming up with these amazing events! We can’t wait to see all of our Falcons showing off their school spirit and making memories together. Get ready for an unforgettable year

During the winter months it can be hard to remember hydration, so here I am encouraging you all to remember to keep filling those water bottles and make sure that you are sending water bottles with your child. If your child does not have a water bottle, we do have water fountains available. Good hydration is helpful when battling illness and keeping the body functioning well.

Illnesses are still floating around in the community, including our school community. Take a couple minutes to review hand washing with our child - warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Find out what your child knows about handwashing (when to wash, how to wash, and why to wash) and watch them when they wash their hands - these can be good education opportunities! Information was already shared from the district about keeping sick kids home and thank you all for keeping our school community healthier!

Clean Hands and Best Wishes,

Nurse Allison

Although school meals are free, students who bring a cold lunch and want milk must have funds in their meal accounts. Milk costs $0.65, and it's essential that students have money in their accounts if they wish to purchase it.

Holiday Recap and THANK YOU:

This year we provided Christmas support for 44 Farwell families, (215 individuals)!! This is only possible because of the generosity of our Farwell community! We are fortunate to have the support of our staff, (current and past), Farwell families, Mead High School ASB / Cheer students, Northwest Aurora Rotary Club, St. Luke Lutheran Church, Wandermere Community Services, Holidays and Heroes, Christmas on Fire, Apex Physical Therapy and Spokane Community College PACE and Leadership. Our families received gifts, gift certificates, clothing, food for their holiday meals and food to help feed children over the break.

I am in a unique position to see this project come together and also get to witness the gratitude that our families express for the support that they receive from everyone involved. It is truly amazing to see this miracle of giving! I am including a few pictures of the highlights. Our ASB also made some thank you posters for Spokane Community College and Mead High School:)

Prior to the break, teachers of grades Kindergarten through 4th grade, sent home letters re: the Child Protection Unit. The Child Protection Unit has been taught for many years at Mead and the process has not changed. I am attaching the letter so that you have it for easy access - you will need to create an account to see the information provided by Second Step. As the letter states, you can contact me or Mr. Van Cleef if you have any questions or concerns.

FARWELL PTO is a great group of parent volunteers that help support our Farwell Community! The support of your student makes you a member of PTO. Join in and help support our school and the amazing things they are doing for our Farwell community!

Want to know more? Check out the link here: https://www.facebook.com/Farwell.Elementary.PTO

We wanted to share an update about our PTO meeting schedule. Starting this month, PTO meetings will now be held on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 PM for the remainder of the school year.

We hope this consistent schedule makes it easier for everyone to join us and stay involved in supporting our school community.

Thank you for your continued partnership, and we look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!

Please see the link below to assure bus transportation come Day 1. Should you have any questions, you can call the school district at 509-465-6000.

Find the info you need using this link button below

The office at Farwell will be open starting on August 20th from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Please note that on our non school days, the office will be closed.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Email: josh.vancleef@mead354.org

Address: 13005 N Crestline

Spokane, WA

99208

Phone Number: 1(509)465 - 6500