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Dear Mill Creek Families,

May is here and we are busy, busy, busy! It’s an exciting time of year as we work to ‘finish strong’ in the current school year while planning for the next. Please be sure to read this newsletter in its entirety so you are informed about all that is going on now.

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week is Coming!

Next week we will formally honor and recognize all of our teachers and staff, for their tireless work, in the classroom and out, during the school day and beyond, to expand students’ opportunities, expose students to a world beyond our community and inspire students to reach for the stars. Our staff members dedicate themselves every day to helping our students grow, to feeling valued, and to instilling a lifelong love of learning. We observe them investing tirelessly of themselves to this noble work every single day and we feel incredibly grateful to be able to do this work alongside them. Our PTA has big plans to recognize our entire staff, with PTA funds collected by all our families. Thank you for making this possible! It will be a fun-filled and celebratory week!

Art Walk Is A Success!

Hopefully you were able to attend our Art Walk last Thursday. It was the first of its kind and a smashing success, due to the spectacular artwork our students have produced this year and the tremendous commitment our PTA volunteers and Art Teacher, Cristina Ripley, put forth to organize and promote the event. What a wonderful evening! It’s remarkable what a strong community like ours can do when we come together to make something happen. Thank you to all who helped with this and to all who attended.

And the Award Goes To:

Big congratulation and thanks go out to our 2024 Golden Acorn, Outstanding Educator and Outstanding Advocate Award Winners. Thank you for your outstanding service to our students and our entire school community:

• Outstanding Educators: Chris Hulteng: 3rd grade teacher, Cristina Ripley: Art Teacher, and Shelby Morrill: Para-Educator
  
  
• Outstanding Advocates: Mary Donnelly: Counselor, Nakena Egeler: Kitchen Manager
  
  
• Outstanding Volunteers: Lindsey Bell, Amanda Briles, Renee Oh
  
  

Spring Testing for 3rd, 4th and 5th Graders

Testing season is HERE. Our 3-5th graders will be tested in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math through the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). Additionally, all 5th graders take a Science test called the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS). More information on these (and other) assessments can be found on our district website here: https://www.everettsd.org/Page/29112

If you haven’t already, please mark your calendars for the dates that our 3rd-5th graders will be testing and please make every possible effort to have your healthy child at school on these dates. If you must excuse your child for medical appointments or any other reason, please try to do this outside of our testing schedule:

• May 1: 5th Grade WCA
• May 7: ELA (Computer Adaptive Test or CAT)
• May 14: ELA Part 1of SBA (Performance Task or PT)
• May 15: ELA Part 2 of SBA (Performance Task or PT)
• May 21: MATH Part 1 of SBA (Computer Adaptive Test or CAT)
• May 23: Math Part 2 of SBA (Performance Test or PT)
• Make up testing will take place from May 27th -June 7th.
  

Parking Lot Guidelines and Safety: We Must All Do Our Part

Once again, we ask that all families who drop off and pick up students each day ensure that they are familiar with our parking lot guidelines, as our parking lot gets very congested during arrival and dismissal, and we must all work together to keep it safe. Our website contains clear guidelines to maximize safety and minimize congestion, including a map that diagrams traffic flow, a list of arrival and dismissal procedures, and a short video created by the Mill Creek Police Department that outlines 3 main points:

1. No left turn off 148th Street to Kiss and Go (Drop off/Pick Up) lane

2. No student drop off or pick up in parking lot

3. Right turn only when exiting parking lot

Please visit our website here: https://www.everettsd.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=27&ModuleInstanceID=191593&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=171179&PageID=47

to make sure that you know and adhere to what is expected. When everyone knows and adheres to these guidelines, our parking lot is a safe and efficient place for all.

We love celebrating students meeting our behavior expectations. Below are photos of our Cougar Pride Winners in April. Not pictured is Tenor Hawes-Scholtz. Congratulations!

Have a wonderful May!

Warmly,

Cindy Foster, Principal

Kristin Dickert, Assistant Principal

Greyson Van DIest, Julia Dobrea, Isla Lee, Marcelino Dumpit, Nivaan Anand and Vetri Mahendran

Isaiah Armenta, Miles Engel-Adam, Austin Amoroso, Riana Mahdenko, Klara Lanoliu-Urda and Jalen Brice.

Mannat Sehgal, Wendy Liu, Isaac Dodge and Freya Jarvis

Amelia Fiongos

Parker Ritter, Mark Saroukan Mora, Brielle Lumsden, Olivia Cox and Mason Polich

May 3 - LIF Day - 2:15 Release

May 6 - PTA Healthy Minds at Cedarwood Elementary (see PTA information below)

May 9 - 1st, 3rd and 5th Grades Spring Concert (see information below)

May 10 - LIF Day - 2:15 Release

May 13 - McTeacher Night 4-8 pm at Thomas Lake McDonalds

May 17 - LIF Day - 2:15 Release

May 22 - Kindergarten Orientation - 6 -7pm

May 23 - Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th Spring Concert (see Information below)

May 24 - LIF Day - 2:15 Release

May 27 - Memorial Day - No School

May 29 - Breakfast with Buddies K-2nd grade - 8:30 - 9:00am - Cafeteria

May 30 - Breakfast with Buddies 3rd - 5th grade - 8:30 - 9:00 am Cafeteria

May 31- LIF Day - 2:15 Release

May 31 - PTA Spirit Day - Dress to Impress

Dear Families,

In the next few weeks, all MCE students will learn how to use the RULER Blueprint to solve problems and resolve conflicts. The RULER Blueprint is a restorative practice that will help children and adults learn to resolve conflicts, solve problems, and restore relationships. A Blueprint conference is a tool that can be used at home, school, or in the workplace. You can access a copy of the RULER Blueprint for home use from my website under the Social Emotional Learning Resources tab or at this link:

Yale RULER Blueprint

Save the date: Monday, May 6, at 6:30 PM

This year, the PTA’s from MCE and Cedarwood Elementary have teamed up to sponsor three Healthy Minds events. At the next Healthy Minds event, on May 6th, Mrs. Foster and I will continue sharing information about the RULER tools and how to use the RULER Blueprint at home. I hope that you will be able to join us. This final Health Minds event will be at Cedarwood Elementary and parents from both MCE and Cedarwood are encouraged to attend.

What is RULER:

RULER is an approach to social and emotional learning that focuses on emotional intelligence. RULER helps students and the adults in their lives to learn about and manage their emotions. The Everett School District has adopted this Framework to support the SEL lessons provided through Second Step instruction. This is important for success in nearly every aspect of our lives—for attention, memory, and learning, for making and keeping friends, for healthy decision-making, and for our overall well-being.

Adult learning is a core component of the RULER approach, and we will spend this year building our own skills of emotional intelligence, introducing the four RULER strategies to students, and creating opportunities for you to learn too.

In adopting RULER, we hope to strengthen our skills of emotional intelligence, to build a stronger community, and prepare our students in their transition to kindergarten and beyond. We would love for you to be part of a conversation with families and staff to learn more about this work. You can learn more about RULER by going to the RULER Family Resource page at:

https://www.rulerapproach.org/how-it-works/family-engagement/

We are excited to work together to build our emotional intelligence skills.

Sincerely,

Mary Donnelly

School Counselor

Mill Creek Elementary

https://www.everettsd.org/domain/1911

https://www.everettsd.org/domain/1911

THANK YOU! Thank you for all your support during the book fair! We raised over $13000 and our school gets to buy $7000 worth of books and classrooms benefited from most of this money!

End of Year Checkout: The last week of check out is the week of May 28th - May 31st with the exception of Monday classes as Monday May 27th is Memorial Day. Monday Classes last day will be the week before, Monday May 20th.

All Books will be due on or before June 7th, 2024. Notices will be emailed daily after that and paper notices will be weekly. Any lost books will need to be paid for or replaced. If neither of these is an option for you, please reach out. hwilliams@everettsd.org

Library Books during school holidays and closures: If your child has library books out and you receive a library email notification, please know that the due dates are automatically one week from the date they check out their books. If you have sent the book to school there is a chance it is in their book bin and sitting there to be checked back in. All books will be checked on their next library day, so if your child is not in library due to a holiday or school closure, please be patient and wait one week after that school closure to ensure the books are checked back in. If you continue to receive the notice after that, please email me.

Next Holiday/Closure: Memorial Day Monday May 27th, 2024

Friday Library Emails: Each Friday you will receive an email that indicates books your child checked out. This does not mean they are late. Due dates are on the notice. Please make sure they get renewed or returned on their next library day.

No Library hours outside of school this year due to meetings and events.

Library Wishes Club: This is a great way to support the library to honor your child by ordering a book from the Amazon list to donate to the library. Mrs. Williams will put a sticker in the book with your child’s name on it and let them check it out first!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/TG8RJKQKGT35/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex?

Kindly,

Holli Williams

Teacher Librarian

Mill Creek Elementary

(425) 385-6808

Important Information for Upcoming Concerts!

Get ready to tune into the harmonious melodies of our upcoming concerts! Here are some important details to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience:

• Concert Time: Please note the concert time for your child's performance. Students should arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled time and find their spot on stage.

• Dress Code: Encourage students to dress nicely for the occasion. A polished appearance adds to the magic of the performance!

• Respectful Departure: Once the concert concludes, we kindly ask families to exit promptly, allowing the next group of families to enjoy their student's performance without interruption.
  
  

May 9 - 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade Spring Concerts

1st grade at 5:45 pm

3rd grade at 6:30 pm with Roach’s 2nd graders

5th grade at 7:15 pm with Brunswick-Nelson’s 4th graders

May 23 - Kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th grade Spring Concerts

Kindergarten at 5:45 pm

2nd grade at 6:30 pm

4th grade at 7:15 pm with Murphy’s 3rd graders

Keep watch for an email from jhafner@everettsd.org containing grade level specific details about the concert. Emails occasionally stray into spam folders, so be sure to give yours a thorough check to avoid missing any crucial updates. Thank you for your cooperation, and we look forward to sharing this musical celebration with you!

Best regards,

Joni Hafner

Music Teacher

Mill Creek Elementary

Mill Creek Art Walk

To all who attended the Art Walk, thank you for coming!

Thank you to the PTA for creating a very special Art Walk. I appreciate the collaboration of volunteers, teachers, students and families to celebrate the visual arts. A special thank you to Tina Ramaiya for her hard work coordinating the art displays and art submissions.

I hope this will be a tradition for many years to come!

Garden Club

Happy spring! The weather is perfect for gardening.

We are planting dill, flowers to attract bees, and much more! Students and parent volunteers, please join us Tuesday mornings, 8:30 -9:00.

Go to PTA events for more information and to sign up.

(K-2 and 3-5 meet every other Tuesday).

All students who plant get to take home packages of free seeds!

Please email me if you would like to volunteer to help put together new shelving for the greenhouses. Cripley@everettsd.org

Thank you!

Artfully yours,

Cristina Ripley, MCE Art Specialist/Garden PTA Co-Chair

Cripley@everettsd.org

Our school Field Day is only about 2 months away! I really want to encourage you to come and be a volunteer on this FUN day! To be able to volunteer, you need to be an approved volunteer in the Everett School District. If you haven’t applied or your clearance has expired, please click on the link below to submit your application so you can join us for the Field Day FUN! Applications take at least two weeks to be cleared so please consider submitting your application soon! Volunteer Application For more info, please reach out to the Volunteer Coordinator at 425-385-4100 or email Volunteer@everettsd.org.

Is your student anxious about SBA testing? Are you? We can help! MCE PTA is excited for our ongoing collaboration with Cedar Wood Elementary PTA to present the National PTA Healthy Minds program. Join us Monday, May 6 at 6:30pm in the Cedar Wood Elementary library for our final Healthy Minds Session - focusing on Resilience. We will talk about test taking tips and strategies and talk about anxiety and ways to help our kids with a growth mindset to increase their resilience. This session is for adults.

McTeacher Night is back on May 13 at the Thomas Lake McDonald's. Come out and support the MCE staff as they take your orders and help us raise funds for next year's Staff Appreciation budget. McDonald's will donate 20% of all proceeds from 5-8pm.

Breakfast with Buddies is back! Please save the date Wednesday May 29 for grades K-2 and Thursday May 30 for grades 3-5. This is a time for adult family members to have breakfast with your student from 8:30-9am. More information will be shared soon.

5th Grade families - please send in 3 photos of your student to be included in the 5th grade celebration slideshow. 5th Grade Celebration will be Tuesday, June 18th. Please send photos to 5thcelebration@mcepta.org and let us know if you have questions.

Each month, our Everett Public Schools sends a newsletter to all of our families with information pertaining to all of our schools/programs. The May version of our newsletter is attached below for your consideration.