Newsletter

The future of WSVSD’s facilities is in motion—our first Facilities Advisory Committee meeting set the stage for exciting changes to come. This week, we held our first Facilities Advisory Committee meeting with nearly 20 members, including parents, staff, and community representatives. The committee’s mission is to develop a long-term plan for improving WSVSD facilities, with a recommendation to the board expected in late spring.

This work directly supports our strategic plan goal: “Ensure safe and sustainable WSVSD facilities now and in the future.” High-quality, well-maintained spaces are essential to fostering student success and ensuring our schools meet the needs of the community for years to come.

At our first meeting, the Construction Services Group (CSG) introduced the roadmap for the next 18 months, laying out the important steps ahead. While there is an urgency to this work, past experience has taught me that careful planning is key to ensuring we develop a thorough and thoughtful plan that will guide our decision making process for years to come. Patience and trust in the process will be essential.

At our next meeting, we’ll start sharing ideas and building a list of possible projects that align with our strategic plan goal. At various points in the next several months, there will be opportunities for input and feedback from staff, students and community members about the direction the committee is headed. Be on the lookout for surveys and community events—your voice will shape the future of our schools.

We’re excited about this work and grateful for the input you provided during last year’s strategic planning. Your continued support and feedback are essential as we build safe, sustainable schools for the future. Thank you for being a part of this important journey with us.

UNDERWOOD- MILL A

Underwood Community Center

8871 Cook- Underwood Rd ( County Road Shop Lot)

Once we establish the pick-up and drop off times, we’ll post those to our webpage and send them home via email.

Notification of when we will be using snow routes will be made in the same manner as our inclement weather notifications; which is outlined in this newsletter.

We appreciate your flexibility and understanding as we prioritize the safety of students and staff while adapting to winter conditions​

Student safety and our ability to safely operate school buses to and/or from school is our top consideration when making weather related closures or delays. There are two ways WSVSD sends messages to staff and families about delays, closures, and other weather-related decisions: emails and text messages.

WSVSD will communicate with families in their preferred language. If a family is not receiving information from their student’s school or, if family contact information has changed, please notify their student's school office.

If staff and/or families “opted out” of receiving information from WSVSD via text messages, you can choose to opt back in by texting the word “start” to 98900.

WSVSD also posts updates online:

• Facebook: Connect with WSVSD at www.facebook.com/whitesalmonschools

• WSVSD website: Go to www.wsvsd.org and look at the “live feed.”

• Inclement weather protocols can be found on www.wsvsd.org/o/wsvsd/page/snow-closures

• FlashAlert: Download the FlashAlert app for updates about closures and delays.

Our Emergency Operations Planning group continues to meet to strengthen our school safety efforts. We’re grateful for the collaboration of local agencies, including Klickitat County Fire District 3, Bingen White Salmon PD, the Sheriff’s Office, the County Department of Emergency Management, and ESD 112.

This year, we’re focusing on creating a Reunification Plan to safely reconnect students with their families after emergencies. We’re working with the I Love You Guys Foundation, using their Standard Reunification Method as a model. This process takes time, but we’re committed to getting it right.

Our local law enforcement will also participate in two lockdown drills at each school this year. These joint drills allow officers to practice efficiently moving through the school to open classrooms as well as get familiar with school layouts, preparing them to respond more effectively in a real emergency.

Finally, we’ve scheduled a tabletop exercise for March. This training session will bring together our partner agencies to walk through a simulated emergency scenario. It’s a great opportunity to improve coordination and communication. We’ll share more details as the date approaches.

Reminder - Next week is conference week October 28 - November 1. All schools will have early release at the following times:

Whitson Elementary School: 12:05pm

WPSIS/Henkle Middle School: 12:20pm

Columbia High School: 12:20pm

Conference schedules are specific to each school. More information can be found by going to the school website.

Mark your calendars! Join us for Skate Night every Thursday from November 7, through the end of February for Skate Night - sponsored by the White Salmon Valley K-8 PTO (WSVK8PTO)

It’s a fantastic way to stay active and have fun with friends! From 6:00-7:00 PM, the event is exclusive to Whitson Elementary School students, followed by a session for K-8 students from 7:00-8:00 PM. We hope to see you in the Whitson Elementary School gym, lacing up your skates and enjoying the fun on wheels!

See you on the rink!

The Whitson Elementary mural was a project in collaboration with the White Salmon Arts Council and Molly Holmlund. All 3rd and 4th graders participated in painting the mural. The theme of the mural is "Our Community". Students painted images that represent what makes our community in the Gorge unique.