HIDDEN RIVER HEADLINES 11/18/22
* Attitude * Integrity * Respect * Commitment * Service *
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PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Hidden River Community--
As we approach a season where our rhythms and schedules change quite a bit with school breaks and holidays, I wanted to take a moment to explain some of the work we are doing to increase and maintain structure and routine for our students at Hidden River. In particular, we have taught and are reinforcing some new school-wide expectations we wanted you to be aware of. For this message, I will do a short-version and long-version explanation.
Short Version (read this only if you don't have time for the longer explanation!):
*In-class Bathroom Breaks: All students are expected to ask permission of staff to use the bathroom, sign in and sign out of classrooms, and use the closest bathroom to them. Bathroom breaks are generally not permitted the first and last 10 minutes of a class period. Why: To maximize student learning time and to keep our bathroom spaces in clean, working order.
*School-wide Common Areas Expectations: All students are expected to follow school norms for respectful interactions with each other and respecting our school facilities in our cafeteria, hallways, library, and outdoor break space. We have asked students not to chew gum or candy outside our cafeteria. Some teachers permit gum in classrooms. Why: We have seen a significant increase in candy and gum littering this year, which has caused an increase in workload for our custodial staff. This also teaches and reinforces the value of being good stewards of our environment.
*Next week preview: 11:50 AM dismissal on Wednesday, and we will be doing school-wide survey on social / emotional needs as well as some lessons on dehumanizing language and how to commit to respectful interactions with each other.
Long Version (Read this if you want a fuller explanation of the above):
*In-Class Bathroom Breaks: We have seen an increase in property damage or significant messes in our bathroom spaces. Staff have also noted that there have been increased situations where student have gathered in bathrooms in groups, which often causes students to miss more class time than is necessary during a bathroom break. We have worked with our students throughout the fall on this issue. In the past, we have had mixed practices for accessing bathroom breaks between our classrooms: having a single process for each class increases predictability and consistency amongst all classrooms for our students. Our hope is that by asking students to verbally ask permission to use the restroom during class and signing-in and signing-out, it creates more visibility in our classrooms for who is coming and going, and limits the opportunities for students to miss out on learning time during class periods. This also reduces the risk and opportunity for any property damage or misuse in our bathrooms and allows us to better follow-up with students if there are continued instances of misuse. Finally, we are expecting that all students are in classrooms for the first 10 and last 10 minutes of every class period. This allows students to have a clear understanding of what the class is working on, and a clear opportunity for closure to the lesson so that teachers can assess what they have learned that class. Starting and ending the class period on the same page provides clarity about what students are learning and doing, and it is critical that all students are part of that process. How you can help: Talk to your student about being strategic about when they take their breaks, and talk to them about the importance of maximizing their class time.
*School-wide Common Areas Expectations: Our staff have taught and re-taught expectations for how to interact in our common areas this fall. We have asked students to contribute and create expectations for what it "looks like" and "sounds like" to walk through our halls, to eat and spend time in our cafeteria, and to be in our library and outdoor spaces. Students have also contributed to specific agreements for break activities such as four-square, football, soccer, and basketball. When you walk through our hallway and cafeteria, you will see visuals that students have created about how to treat each other and what the expectations are for those spaces. Recently, we added the expectation that students do not chew gum or eat candy in our hallways and outdoor spaces during break or passing periods. This is because students have been dropping chewed gum and candy / candy litter on the ground, on or under lunch tables, on plates in the cafeteria, and in other locations as well. When students are seen with gum or candy during a break time, they are asked to throw it away or return to our cafeteria. How you can help: Talk to students about the importance of treating our physical spaces with care, and about how in public spaces like a school or a park, we have to follow norms and expectations that focus on the common good above the individual good.
All this said, it is well within the range of what we as school staff expect to offer a bit more structure during this stretch of the year with our students. Again, structure and clarity help with consistency and routine for students and staff, during a time when schedules are changing and during a time when students might be experiencing a lot of stress and / or emotion related to the holiday season. Part of creating a school that meets the needs of all students is to put these structures in place. We appreciate your help and partnership in having follow-up conversations about these two specific structures.
As a brief preview to next week-- we will be dismissed Wednesday at 11:50AM for the Thanksgiving Break, and will be doing some concentrated work with students on understanding their social emotional needs through a brief survey on Monday, and then following up with some school-wide lessons on dehumanizing language and how to treat all people with honor and respect. We are excited to engage this work with our students next week.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend- Take care,
Jonathan Judy
Principal
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Nov. 7- Nomination process for the Highly Capable Program opens; closes on Dec. 9th
- Nov. 23rd - Early Dismissal @ 11:50 a.m.
- Nov. 24-25 - Thanksgiving Holiday, No School
- Dec. 15 - Principal Chat, 10:30-11:15 a.m. In person; 5:30-6:00 p.m. hybrid; PTO meeting 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. hybrid
- Dec. 20 - Early Dismissal @ 11:50 a.m.
- Dec. 21-Jan. 3 - Winter Break, No School
HAWK STORE OPENING!!!
LOST AND FOUND
All Lost and Found items will be donated over Christmas break!
PARENT HUB
Please join us for coffee and pastries every Wednesday (that school is in session) from 9:00-10:00 a.m. in the Parent HUB. This is a great place to get information and to make contact with other families in the Monroe School District.
Wagner Center, Room 13
639 W Main Street
Monroe, WA
11/23 - No Parent HUB (early release)
11/30 - Importance of keeping your student engaged, Tammy Amador
12/7 - Meet MHS principal, Brett Wille
We hope to see you there!
HIDDEN RIVER PURPOSE
Core Values: "Our Kids, Our Community"
- Have a Positive Attitude
- Act with Integrity
- Wholehearted Respect
- Keep our Commitments
- Serve our Community
About Us
Principal
Jonathan Judy
Counselor
Lily Chastain
Office Manager
Jill Skold
Attendance/Office Support
Debbie Schelfhout
ASB/Athletics/Office Support
Jenna Monson
Health Room
Nurse
Sherah Bustamante
Health Room Assistant
Heidi Brennan
Fax
(360) 804-4199
Attendance Hotline
(360) 804-4101
HIDDEN RIVER MIDDLE SCHOOL
9224 Paradise Lake Road
Snohomish, WA 98296
(360) 804-4100
DISTRICT NOTICE OF NON DISCRIMINATION
The Monroe School District 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. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:
Title IX Coordinator, Compliance Coordinator for 28A.640 and 28A.642 RCW
Dan Johnston
14692 - 179th Avenue SE, Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2530
Section 504/ADA Coordinator
David Paratore
14692 - 179th Avenue SE, Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2609
The Monroe School District will also take steps to assure that national origin persons who lack English language skills can participate in all education programs, services and activities. For information regarding translation services or transitional bilingual education programs, contact:
Chris Cronas
14692 - 179th Avenue SE, Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2558