Lakewood's Going Places

Greetings,

I hope that this newsletter finds you well and that you have been enjoying a wonderful fall. I am excited to share some of our work and celebrations. At the beginning of the month, we completed this year’s Citizen’s Guide to the Budget. We hope this provides you with helpful information about our school budget, including district sources of revenue and areas of expenditure. As we prepare for the upcoming legislative session, our school board and members of district staff have continued to advocate for increased school expenditure at the state level – most notably to fully fund special education. Our school board has adopted three legislative priorities and will continue to connect with legislators before and during the upcoming legislative session in support of public education across our state.

As a district, we continue to engage students, staff, families and community members as we work together to support continued growth and excellence across the district. Our Cougar Cabinet program, now in its third year, kicked off in late October and includes around 70 student leaders, in grades 4-12, from across the district working alongside building administrators from each of our schools to grow in their skills as belonging ambassadors and identify areas of growth and plans for addressing these issues in each of our schools. This opportunity for collaboration and student leadership and advocacy is something that we are proud of in Lakewood. In addition, we have launched our district strategic direction committee, and we are grateful to the almost 80 committee members (students, staff, family and community members) who are serving on this committee as we work to create definitions, goals and indicators for our three foundational pillars: (1) Service, Leadership, and a Community of Caring, (2) Equitable Access to Powerful Learning, and (3) Collaborative Family and Community Engagement. Please visit our website to learn more about this important work.

As part of our Veterans Day activities, we were honored to recognize the service and sacrifice of veterans who have served in the United States military. Each of our schools hosted an assembly to recognize veterans with musical performances by our students, speakers, flag exercises, and most importantly the opportunity to show our gratitude for all they have done to ensure the freedom of our great nation. As we look towards the coming month, work is underway to launch our annual Holiday Helpers program. This program provides support to students in our community whose families are experiencing financial hardship, with warm weather clothing and a small gift for the holidays. Each school is helping to coordinate gifts. If you are interested learning more, contact your school or our Department of Teaching and Learning.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season and thank you for your support of Lakewood School District.

All my best,

Erin

Congratulations to Lakewood High School on renewing its accreditation! Lakewood High School was awarded a certificate of accreditation from Association of Educational Service Districts during the Nov. 13 board meeting.

This peer-review process helps schools discover their strengths and promotes ongoing school improvement. During the six-phase process, LHS families and students met together with the school and accreditation teams to analyze progress toward meeting schoolwide goals.

Thank you to our Lakewood school community for supporting this important work and long-term vision.

Lakewood High School has received the Culture Kickoff Award, recognizing schools that create and sustain a positive school culture, effectively setting the tone for a successful academic year. This recognition from the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL) and the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) highlights the school's commitment to fostering a sense of community among students, staff and families.

Lakewood High School proudly commenced the new academic year with an inspiring Opening Day Assembly, organized by ASB officers and centered around the theme of authenticity. Throughout the summer, ASB officers collaborated to establish group values and set clear goals for the year ahead. They introduced a punch card program aimed at increasing attendance at school events, ensuring that all students-from athletes to performers-feel recognized and supported.

The assembly featured interactive games, a lively presentation from the cougar mascot, and heartfelt messages focused on community-building, setting an enthusiastic tone for the school year. The school community looks forward to a year filled with opportunities for connection, growth, and collaboration. Read the full article.

Our schools regularly send emails and text messages to families. Automatic calls go out for attendance and other important notifications. If you are not receiving messages, first check Skyward Family Access to confirm your information is accurate and up-to-date.

If everything looks accurate, or if you have other questions, please reach out to your school's office. It's possible that our mass notification system (Finalsite) has flagged or blocked an email address or SMS/text number. With your permission, we can unflag that number or email address for you.

The Child Nutrition Eligibility and Education Benefit (CNEEB) form is now available online in Family Access! Each year, families are encouraged to share their income information with schools to help students qualify for free meals and other benefits.

For LMS and LHS families, this form qualifies students for free and reduced-price meals as well as other benefits such as reduced fees for sports and other school programs. For elementary families, who already receive free meals, this form ensures that your school receives important state and federal funding that supports student learning. This form also qualifies families for Summer EBT benefits.

Watch this tutorial video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeRpzw1wrtc

Families who are facing temporary financial hardships may also apply to see if their current income situation qualifies for benefits.

By filling out the simple and confidential CNEEB Application, families not only support their child but also help schools access extra resources to provide better programs and services for all students.

PLEASE NOTE: Those who qualify for free/reduced meals may also be eligible for other benefits or reduced school district fees. If you qualify, it is recommended that you complete the “Consent to Share” form as well to receive benefits such as waived ASB and other extracurricular participation fees, and reduced admission fees for families to school events: https://www.lwsd.wednet.edu/.../free-and-reduced-meals

Thank you for partnering with us for good school attendance!

As we prepare to take time off from school beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving break, we are grateful for everyone who has helped students maintain routines for showing up to school. Daily routines are essential for reducing stress and creating a sense of security for both students and adults.

Please take steps to keep your child healthy and send them to school unless they are sick. Every day of school is an important opportunity for students to learn as well as to connect with peers and their teachers.

Thank you to:

• Our students and their families who do their best to show up to class every day even when it isn’t easy.
• Our teachers who have gone above and beyond to help make school a welcoming learning environment where students can thrive.
• Our nurses, counselors, psychologists, administrators and other staff who work together to ensure we are healthy and safe, feel a sense of community and experience the excitement of an engaging learning environment.
• Our support staff and community volunteers who provide the extra hands and attention our children need.

We hope the upcoming holiday breaks are restful and healing.

• If your family or your child needs support, please reach out to your Student Support Advocate or someone else at your school for help.

Looking ahead: Check out the school calendar at a glance. The one-page calendar is also available at the bottom of each school's Calendar page and the district calendar page.

Full funding for special education and an increase in funding for Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs were among the shared priorities discussed during a special joint meeting at Lakewood High School.

The Washington State Legislature begins its regular session in January. The School Boards of Lakewood School District and Arlington Public Schools met on Oct. 21 to discuss their Legislative Priorities for the 2025 session.

In addition to the shared priorities of special education and MSOC funding, Arlington Public Schools is asking the legislature to fix the formula to more accurately represent the costs of making sure students are safely transported to and from school.

Lakewood School District lists as its final priority, modification of the regionalization factor and experience factor assigned to districts since the McCleary decision.

Read the Board’s full Legislative Priorities.

Lakewood's Citizen’s Guide to the Budget is released annually alongside the district’s board approved budget (F-195), and is financial information in a condensed format that helps build understanding of how schools are funded and how we in the Lakewood School District choose to allocate district revenues. Thanks for taking the time to review the information in this guide.

Would you rather: (1) Never have homework or (2) Never have pizza? Not surprisingly, only a few chose the second option. The third year of Cougar Cabinet started with some fun games designed to help students feel comfortable in their groups and practice protocols for sharing and coming back together.

Students then met in their school groups to review last year's priorities and brainstorm ideas for the year ahead. Students heard the cowbell ring and knew it was time to come back to the large group. When the high school facilitators asked students for a thumbs up or thumbs down, there was a resounding thumbs up around the room. Hear more from our Cougar Cabinet student facilitators in this episode of Cougar Cabinet Recap.

Look at that mountain of socks! Thanks to your generosity, Socktoberfest brought in 2,145 pairs of socks and 97 packs of underwear for LINC NW and Marysville Cold Weather Shelter. Thank you, Lakewood!

The cold couldn't stop Lakewood School District Transportation staff and other volunteers from hosting “stuff the bus” to support our local food banks for those in need. In total, "Stuff the Bus" collected 3,696 pounds of food and $123 for Arlington and Marysville food banks.

Each year our school district hosts Holiday Helpers to provide small gifts to families in need. Our schools are collecting games, puzzles, books, coats, hats, gloves, pajamas and socks for identified students.

If you are interested in being a "Holiday Helper," please:

1. Stop by your school office or give them a call and say you would like to be a Holiday Helper
2. Purchase the gift for the appropriate age and item requested
3. Return your UNWRAPPED gift to your school

If your family is in need of assistance for the holidays, our community has a number of resources.

Lakewood High School's food drive has brought in more than 1,300 food items so far. Students have come up with fun ideas to promote the event, such as "Fill the Squad Car," the chicken dance, and more. The drive ends on Dec. 20 and the school is hoping to reach 5,000 food items.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey asking about our community's three strategic priorities outlined in the Lakewood Compact. Of the 315 responses, most were supportive of the priorities. A change of wording was requested for the third priority, "Collaborative Community and Programmatic Partnerships." The priorities now read:

• Service, Leadership and a Community of Caring
• Equitable Access to Powerful Learning
• Collaborative Family and Community Engagement

The Strategic Planning Committee met on October 29 and Nov. 19 to discuss each priority and brainstorm what each priority might look like for Lakewood.

The committee will request additional feedback from families and our community in March. Learn more about the committee.

You may have heard our state is experiencing a significant increase in reported cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough. As of November 2, nearly 1,200 cases have been reported across our state. This is more than 23 times the number of cases that were reported last year at this time.

Pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial infection that may begin with common cold symptoms such as runny nose but can lead to severe coughing fits that can last for weeks or even months.

“The surge in pertussis cases is a stark reminder of how critical vaccinations are in protecting our most vulnerable, especially infants for whom it can be life threatening,” said Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, M.D., pediatrician and Chief Science Officer at DOH. “To protect babies from whooping cough, people of all ages should get up to date on pertussis vaccination, and anyone with symptoms should see a health care provider to see if testing and antibiotic treatment are needed.”

Vaccination is the best protection against whooping cough. If you have questions about your student’s or your immunization status, please contact your healthcare provider or sign in to https://myirmobile.com/.

Please remember to stay home when sick and cover coughs and sneezes. This can help prevent the spread of whooping cough and other respiratory diseases. To learn more about pertussis prevention, symptoms and treatment please see: Whooping Cough Fact Sheet.

Parenting is a challenging yet rewarding journey. Parenting Wisely offers parents a structured and interactive approach to navigate difficult situations and foster positive family relationships. Developed by experts in family and social science, this course from United Lakewood Community Coalition provides practical tools and strategies to address behavioral issues, resolve conflicts, and enhance communication.

December 2 and 9, 5:30 - 8 PM

Linc NW, 1424 172nd St NE, Marysville, WA

Register online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parenting-wisely-tickets-1042108674097?aff=oddtdtcreator

Children who will start kindergarten in the 2025-26 school year can apply for Lakewood’s free, full-day Inclusive Transitional Kindergarten program, which is scheduled to begin January 31, 2025. This program will provide a strong educational foundation for kindergarten. Students must be 5 by August 31, 2025. The priority deadline to apply is December 20, 2024.

The class is open to all students living in the Lakewood School District attendance area. The class will have approximately 17 openings. Apply online.

• November 22: Substitute Educators Day
• November 22: Early Release Friday
• Nov. 22-23: LHS presents Cyrano de Bergerac
• November 27: No School
• November 28: Thanksgiving (No School)
• November 29: Native American Heritage Day (No School)
• December 4: Study Session, 5 p.m., and Regular Board Meeting, 6 p.m., LHS library
• December 6: Early Release Friday
• December 10: LMS Winter Concert
• December 12: LHS Winter Wonder Concert
• December 13: Early Release Friday
• December 18: Regular Board Meeting, 6 p.m., LHS library
• December 20: Early Release Friday
• December 23-January 3: Winter Break
• January 10: Early Release Friday
• January 17: Early Release Friday
• January 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (No School)
• January 24: Early Release Friday
• January 30: Semester Ends
• January 31: Semester Break (No School)
• February 14: Midwinter Break (No School)
• February 17: Presidents Day (No School)

View our calendars page

During elementary assemblies, students sang songs and played various instruments such as recorders and xylophones.

At Lakewood High School, the Swingbeat jazz choir sang “Some Gave All,” by teacher and music director Katy Trapp.

When the Lakewood Middle School yearbook class shared suggestions for items they’d like to see at lunch, our Food Services manager took notice. This week, cafeterias introduced soft pretzels with cheese to the school lunch menu — inspired by students' input. Thank you to the yearbook class for your ideas!

Three Lakewood High School students will perform in the Northwest High School Honor Band with about 325 of the finest high school musicians in the Pacific Northwest. Congratulations to Alec Clark, junior, on tenor saxophone; Lukas Gibb, junior, on tuba; and Elliot Burelo, sophomore, on alto sax.

The concert, in Lagerquist Concert Hall at Pacific Lutheran University, is a culmination of two days of intense rehearsals with nationally recognized guest clinicians.

Lakewood High School has two more performances of Cyrano de Bergerac Nov. 22-23.

Congratulations to senior Meg Omlid, who signed her official letter of intent to play volleyball at Seattle Pacific University during a ceremony on Nov. 20. She was joined by her family, coaches, teammates and friends.

Interested in becoming a substitute? Lakewood has openings for certificated substitute teachers, emergency substitute teachers, and classified substitutes. Learn more about our substitute positions on our Jobs page or apply online.

Apply online for the following open positions:

• Teacher Librarian-LOA (CCE)
• Teacher K-3
• Teacher CTE-LOA (LHS)
• Bus Driver (Multiple positions)
• Custodian (LHS)
• Mechanic
• Paraeducator (Multiple positions)
• Student Supervision (CCE)
• Assistant Coach (Baseball, Girls Golf, Softball)
• Athletic Trainer (LHS)
• Strength Coach (LHS)