SBLSD News

Superintendent Dr. Laurie Dent welcomes you to the 2023-24 school year! Watch her message in the video below.

“Thank you for knowing us. Thank you for valuing us. Thank you for supporting us. You truly are the superheroes.”

Those were the words of recent graduate Andrew Orellana at this year’s Convocation event at Sunset Stadium on Monday, when all SBLSD staff gathered to celebrate the beginning of a new school year. Andrew’s words are a great reminder to our teachers and staff about how we can make a difference in our students’ lives every day. For Andrew, he gave a special shoutout to the staff at the Elhi Hill High School Program for helping him succeed.

At Convocation, staff also celebrated with student performances, recognized staff for reaching 20-, 25- and 30-year milestones with the district, and cheered on our Promise in Action Parade. Thank you to the staff, students and community members for participating in the parade. It takes a team to fulfill our promise to know, value and support all students!

Check out the fun in the video below.

There will be special school start times for students in grades 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 on the first day of school, Sept. 5.

• Grades 7, 8, 10, 11, 12: School start time will be 12:25 p.m. School lunch will not be served. Bus transportation will be five hours later than the regular weekday bus schedule. (For example, if your regular morning bus pickup time is 7:10 a.m., your bus will pick you up at 12:10 p.m.)

• Grades 1-6 and 9: Follow the “Regular School Day” schedule. Breakfast and lunch will be served to students in these grades. Buses will operate on the regular weekday bus schedule.

The first day of kindergarten is Sept. 8. All schools operate on the regular school day schedule, which varies by school.

• Early Start Elementary Schools: 8:25 a.m.-3:10 p.m.

Crestwood, Daffodil Valley, Liberty Ridge, Maple Lawn, Victor Falls

• Late Start Elementary Schools: 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

Bonney Lake, Donald Eismann, Emerald Hills, Tehaleh Heights

• Sumner Early Learning Center: 8:35 a.m.-3:20 p.m.

Bell schedules vary by school. Elementary schools will continue to be defined by “early start” and “late start.” Here’s the 2023-24 bell schedule for each school.

We will continue our weekly late-start day on Mondays for the 2023-24 school year. Referred to as “Late Start Monday,” these are days when students will catch the bus and begin school about 90 minutes later than other days. This late start schedule one day a week allows teachers to participate in professional learning groups to collaboratively plan, learn and share instructional practices, which increases school performance and student achievement.

Did you know that children can suffer academically if they miss 10 percent of the school year?

That’s just 18 days or 2 to 3 days a month. And that can add up before you know it. This

September, the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District is celebrating Attendance Awareness

Month with a renewed push to get all kids to school – on time, every day.

Research shows us that absences add up. That’s as true for kindergartners as it is for 12th graders. It’s as true for excused absences as it is for skipping school. We know there will be days when your child will miss school, especially when they’re sick. But we know that nationwide, as many as 7.5 million students miss 10 percent of the school year. That’s 135 million days of missed school – and missed opportunities. It also marks the point when students start to fall behind academically because they have missed too many days.

So this September, for Attendance Awareness Month, let’s work together as a community –

school and business leaders, parents, students, teachers, doctors, neighbors – to get all kids to

school – on time, every day.

Back-to-school time can be overwhelming for many families. This is a period where we need to remain mentally flexible to help students transition.

The transition can test families’ coping skills in dealing with adjustments such as new teachers and new classrooms as well as managing safety protocols along with hectic school and work schedules. Often, it’s the fear of the unknown — new classmates, teachers, or the thought of having hard classes — that is most stressful for children around the beginning of school.

Fortunately, children are extremely capable of coping with change and parents can help them in the process by providing a setting that fosters resilience and encourages them to share and express their feelings about returning to school.

Read the American Psychological Association’s back-to-school tips. Find a variety of other mental health and wellness resources.

The district has a new tool that provides secure access to student bus stop locations, routes and schedules. In order to look up your child's bus information, you must first create an account in Traversa Ride 360. It's best to download and register through the app by following these steps:

1. Download “Traversa Ride 360” from the Google Play Store (Android) or the Apple App Store (iPhone).

2. Open the Traversa Ride 360 app.

3. When prompted to find your school district, search "Sumner Bonney Lake School Dist."

4. You will proceed to the login page. If you do not already have a registered email, click "Register."

5. To register, enter your email address, password and name.

6. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email. Click on the link in your email to confirm your registration through the Ride 360 website.

7. Log in, then find a student by going to "My Students" and choosing the + button. This will present the "Find a Student" screen.

8. Enter your student's ID number, student's first name and student's last name to find your student. Repeat this step to add additional students.

9. Once you have linked to a student, click on that student’s profile to see all relevant transportation information.

To register via the Traversa Ride 360 website instead of the app, view web instructions here. If you need assistance during any part of this process, please contact the Transportation Department at transportation@sumnersd.org or (253) 891-6400.

We’re quite certain you’ve heard about ParentSquare by now. But have you registered your account? If not, go to parentsquare.com/signin and follow the steps to register. By registering, you’ll be able to participate in optimal, two-way communication and engagement features. Read below for instructions on how to activate text messages and download the app.

Activate text feature
Do you want to communicate with your school and the district via text message? If yes, you need to manually turn on the text feature.* Do this in three simple steps:

Via desktop

1. Go to your name in the upper right corner and click “My Account”

2. On the left side of the screen under “SETTINGS,” click “Notification Settings”

3. Go to the middle of the screen under the “Text” column and select either “Instant” or “Digest”

Via app

1. Click on the three short horizontal lines on the top left (hamburger menu) and click “Account”

2. Click “Notifications”

3. Toggle the button to activate text notifications and select either “Instant” or “Digest”

*By enabling text messaging, you will receive alerts, codes and updates. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies.

Download the app
The majority of families use their cell phone to view school and district communications, such as emails, newsletters and social media posts. Make it even easier by downloading the ParentSquare app, where you’ll receive all communication in one place.

Download the app via the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (android).

Get ready for school by taking a look at the breakfast and lunch menus for September!

• Elementary Menu

• Middle School Menu

• High School Menu

We encourage families who may be eligible to apply for free meals. Applications can be found at sumnersd.org/meals.

Applications must be resubmitted each year. Qualified students receive free meals for the full school year. Please check your student account balances before school starts.

Note: The passage of House Bill 1238 provides meals at no cost for all students at Daffodil Valley (grades 1-5) and Liberty Ridge (grades K-5) elementary schools. Only these two schools met the threshold (above 40 percent students qualifying for free/reduced meals) to receive meals at no cost. HB 1238 only covers elementary schools; there are no provisions for middle or high schools.

Families who qualify for free or reduced lunch may be eligible for waived fees to participate in extracurricular school programs and reduced fees for curricular fees, such as sports/athletic fees, ASB cards, field trips, club fees and more. To qualify, fill out the Consent to Share Eligibility Form: English | Spanish | Russian | Ukrainian.

The Sumner-Bonney Lake School District stands committed to providing an excellent education for every student. Members of the Equity Advisory Council play a critical role in providing input that will help direct future actions and decisions of the district.

If you are interested in joining the Equity Advisory Council, please fill out the application form.

Application forms are due by 6 p.m. on Sept. 15. Applicants will be notified about the status of their role with the council by Sept. 29. The membership timeline will run from September 2023 - June 2026. If you have any questions, please reach out to Joshua Agpalza, Director of Equity at joshua_agpalza@sumnersd.org.

Watch your mailboxes for our annual calendar mailing, which includes important information to keep on hand and refer to all year long:

• Key dates

• Key contacts

• School contacts

• Free & reduced-price meals

• Emergency/safety

• Bus transportation

• Student and Family Information Guide

• Wellbeing resources

• Skyward Family Access

• ParentSquare

View the electronic version and 2023-24 key dates.

Calendar | Bus Schedules | District Website | Job Openings | Family Resource Center
Report a Safety Concern | Family Access | News | Mental Health Resources