Otter News

Do you have a student that you would like to be evaluated for our Highly Capable Program? Complete our online referral form REFERRAL FORM LINK. Students from all grade levels can be referred for testing now. If the student qualifies, they can begin receiving Highly Capable services in the 2025-26 school year. The referral window is Now-January 10th.

You can refer to Peninsula School District's website for further information. Please email highlycapable@psd401.net with any questions.

When bringing your child to school, please remain in the drop-off line until a staff member approaches to assist by opening your car door. For safety reasons, please do not drop off your child in the parking lot.

If you prefer not to wait in the drop-off line, you may park your car and escort your child to the crosswalk. However, we strongly encourage all families to stay in their vehicles and use the drop-off line. Having pedestrians at the crosswalk disrupts the flow of traffic, causing delays and backups.

Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring the safety and efficiency of our morning drop-off process!

Every day students are able to earn a splash ticket by demonstrating our school wide expectations of show respect, solve problems, and make good decisions. Teachers collect the splash tickets in their classrooms and then once a week we put them in our grade level buckets.

Student winners from each grade level:

K - Sasha, Zoe, Pierce

1st - Greyson, Charlotte, Mileva

2nd - Audrey, Atticus, Dani

3rd - Emrie, Kaylee, Alden

4th - Brock, Emma

5th - Mia, Abram, Willow

This week's classroom winner is Mrs. Pratz' s class!

Our aquarium has welcomed over 200 salmon eggs, generously provided by Minter Creek Hatchery! These little pink orbs mark the beginning of an incredible journey of life. Over the next few weeks, we'll be carefully monitoring their development as they transition into fry and eventually young salmon. This is a wonderful opportunity to observe the early stages of salmon life and learn more about their fascinating lifecycle. The salmon will be released in early April, continuing their amazing journey in the wild. Stay tuned for updates as we share their progress!

This month we are focusing on growth mindset. Other words that mean growth mindset are perseverance, grit, and positive thinking. Our definition is - growth mindset is when we know with practice, we will get better at something. Classes are having discussions in their classrooms about how to have a growth mindset and reviewing their goals that they set in October.

Next month's theme: Inclusive

• Tuesday, January 14th - Intermediate (3rd/4th/5th) Music Concert, 5:30pm
• Tuesday, January 14th - Carpool to School Day
• Monday, January 20th - No School, MLK Day
• Friday, January 31st - No School, Semester Break
• February 17th through 21st - Mid Winter Break, No School

Email: rosendahlj@psd401.net
Website: https://psd401.net/artondale-elementary-school/
Location: Artondale Elementary School, 40th Street Northwest, Gig Harbor, WA, USA
Phone: 253-530-1100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtondaleOtters

The Peninsula School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. If you have questions or complaints regarding alleged discrimination, please call the Peninsula School District Educational Service Center at (253) 530-1000 or visit our office located at 14015 62nd Ave NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98332, and ask for one of the following coordinators: Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator, compliance@psd401.net; Title IX Compliance Coordinator, titleix@psd401.net; 504 Compliance Coordinator, 504@psd401.net; ADA Compliance Coordinator, ada@psd401.net.