The Husky Monthly

Dear Families and Students:

This coming Family Night is one of a few ways for parents/guardians/families to provide input and feedback to help guide the direction of our school district for the next several years. The strategic planning process is work that is completed only every 3-5 years and is critical in determining the goals, plan, direction, and priorities of the school district. We want and need YOUR input and feedback.

Please consider joining us and participating in a focus group on the evening of October 16th. If you are unable to join us or are not comfortable sharing in a group setting, we also will be offering a survey to all families as another avenue to collect your input and feedback. We know we have so many invested families and we want to connect with you in order to hear how we can best serve your student(s) in the years to come.

We want to hear your perspective and experience on what is going well, what you're proud of, what we can improve, and how we can better serve your student(s).

What is a focus group?

A focus group is a research method that involves a moderated discussion with a small group of people who share a common interest. The goal of a focus group is to gain insight into the group's perspectives and experiences on a topic or set of topics.

Purpose

• Focus groups can be used to explore a concept, identify issues, or understand perceptions.

• A facilitator guides the discussion based on a predetermined set of topics and questions. The facilitator aims to create an environment that encourages participants to share their views.

• Focus groups are a qualitative data collection method, meaning the data is descriptive and cannot be measured numerically.

Who will be leading the focus groups?

The focus groups will be led by some of the individuals from our steering committee which is made up of our staff leadership team, a parent representative, two community representatives, a board member, and two students.

We will be conducting focus groups not only with families on the 16th, but at later dates with all staff, and students in the upper grades. As part of the strategic planning process, we also will administer surveys to all staff and all students in the upper grades, as well as conduct perspective interviews with identified students and/or parents.

The identity work we completed was the launch to this work and we completed that work at our community engagement night, with staff, and with all students last spring.

On the 16th, we will serve a light dinner at 6pm in the cafeteria, followed by STEM stations for students, and focus groups for adults. Each adult who participates in a focus group will be entered into a raffle to win a 50" flat screen tv.

(see flier below)

• Attention students involved in extracurricular activities - Eligibility reminder--> if you are earning an F in any class, you are required to attend Husky Helping Hands (occurs on Thursdays from 3:30-5pm). Be sure to keep an eye on your grades, use TAT time wisely, and reach out to your teachers if you have any questions about your grades. This requirement applies to 5th grade student athletes as well, who will attend SKORE on Thursdays for homework help. See the student handbook for any questions.
• Families--> Please help us create an enjoyable and safe environment for after school events! We are grateful for family attendance during after hour events. As a reminder, elementary students should remain under the direct supervision of parents/caregivers during all school-sponsored after hours events. This means that young spectators sit with adults and practice good sportsmanship. For all programs and events, we ask that children remain in the eyesight of their caregivers at all times.

October 9 - NW College of Construction rep on campus

October 11 - No School, Professional Development Day

October 14 - University of Oregon rep on campus

October 14 - School board meeting

October 16 - Oregon State University rep on campus

October 16 - K-12 Family night

October 17 - Josten's cap & gown ordering day

October 21-25 - Homecoming week (see district calendar for events)

October 28-30 - Dental screenings

October 29 - Picture retakes

October 30 - COCC rep on campus

October 31 - End of 1st quarter

November 1 - No School, teacher planning day

November 6 - Family teacher conferences, 4pm-8pm

November 7 - No School, Conferences 8am-8pm

November 8 - No School

Have you ever thought about what a blessing it is to be a good thinker? Now I'm not necessarily talking about being a genius or intellectually gifted. I'm mostly referring to being able to use good problem-solving skills and good old-fashioned common sense.

As this world becomes ever more complex, it becomes more and more important that we teach our kids how to build their mental muscles. Listed below are some quick tips.

• When your kids ask you for help, encourage them to try a bit longer before you jump in to help them. The only way to really learn good thinking skills is by having to figure out some things on your own.

• Ask them as many questions as possible. Examples include, "What else might you try? What have you seen other people do to solve this problem? What would happen if you tried ______? Where might you learn how to do that? Is that something you could learn about in a book, by asking someone, or by looking on the internet?"

• Allow them to mess up. Too frequently, we step in and tell kids exactly what to do when we worry that they might make a mistake. When the consequences are small, allow them to blow it and learn.

(Love and Logic Institute www.loveandlogic.com)