Silver Lake Elementary

Wednesday, November 6

• PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m. - Library/Zoom

Friday, November 8

• Early Release Friday 1:00 p.m. Dismissal

Monday, November 11

• NO School - Veterans Day

Tuesday, November 12

• Natural Leaders meeting 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. - Library

Thursday, November 14

• Ruby Bridges Walk
• SLAM Night - 6:00 p.m. Dinner served at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, November 15

• LIF Friday 2:15 Dismissal

Wednesday, November 20

• Vision Screening

Friday, November 22

• Spirit Day - Pajama Day
• LIF Friday 2:15 Dismissal
• PTA Movie Night

Wednesday, November 27 - 29

• NO School - Thanksgiving Break

Monday, December 2

• SLE Music Program - Everett Civic Auditorium

a look ahead...

December

• 10-13 Mobile Dental Clinic
• 12 PTA Winterfest
• 20 Spirit Day - Ugly Sweater Day
• 20- January 3rd - No School Winter Break

Silver Lake Families!

November is the month of reflecting on what we are thankful for. As principal of Silver Lake, I am thankful for so many things:

• Our students- Silver Lake Mustangs from Pre-K through fifth grade are the reason we come to school every day. They are the heart of our school and we are thankful for our time with them.

• Our staff- At Silver Lake we have some of the most exceptional staff members I’ve ever worked with. Silver Lake staff make learning fun and one of their favorite events outside of the school is the PTA sponsored Trunk or Treat. Thank you staff members for your dedication to our students. (See photos below.)

• Our PTA- The Silver Lake PTA Board (Ashley Joy-Svenson, Kendra Bjorn, and Frances Hartwick) volunteered countless hours of their personal time in putting together the first ever fully school sponsored “Mustang Stampede” fundraiser, earning close to $30,000 for Silver Lake students. Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraiser and volunteered for the Fun Run. (See photos below.)

• Our families and community- Thank you for the unconditional love and support you show your children at home, so they come to us healthy and happy and ready to learn. Thank you for trusting us with your special gifts.

In closing, I hope you have a wonderful month and amazing Thanksgiving holiday celebrated with family and friends.

In Partnership,

Silver Lake Principal, Theresa Campbell

Maintaining good attendance is an important component of having a successful year in school. A part of attendance that sometimes gets overlooked is tardiness. Tardiness can be viewed as “just missing a few minutes of school”. However, tardiness can have a big impact as it can affect the overall day of both students and staff. Tardiness can make students feel disconnected from school as they may miss their morning meeting and lose out on learning how the day will be laid out. Students and teachers use the mornings to make meaningful connections about both the previous day and what the objectives will be for the current day. Tardiness can also disrupt the flow of a lesson, causing teachers to reteach material that’s already been covered and can make it difficult for students to learn. There are ways that we, as parents, can help with tardies and improve/maintain good on-time attendance.

• Establishing and maintaining a schedule
• Going to bed and waking up earlier
• Preparing for the morning ahead of time
• Using praise as a positive reinforcement in the morning

Let’s continue to support our students so that they can maximize all their time at school.

Dear SLE Families,

On Thursday, November 14th SLE will host it’s first annual SLAM Night (Science, Literacy, Art & Math), a combined family night extravaganza!

Pizza dinner will be served at 5:30PM. All the science, reading, art and math fun will begin at 6PM. Here’s what you can expect to see:

• Imagine Children’s Museum “Science Sensations” stations
• Math games for the whole family hosted by ZenoMath of EPS MathFest fame
• The Masked Reader show – guess who is the celebrity guest reader in the mask
• A collaborative SLE art project hosted by Ms. Bekris
• A robotics team demonstration
• Information on the new EPS Sno-Isle Library accounts for all students

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday the 14th. Bring the whole family!

Dear Families,

Building a safe and respectful learning environment is a top priority at Silver Lake! We're reaching out with an update on our school's ongoing efforts. Starting in December, Colin and I, your school counselors, will begin teaching the Second Step Bullying Prevention Unit (BPU) in fourth and fifth grade classrooms. This unit is designed to equip students with practical skills to recognize, report, and respond to bullying.

Here's what the students will be learning:

• How to identify bullying and seek help from a caring adult.
• Ways to support peers by safely standing up against bullying.
• Recognizing, reporting, and preventing cyberbullying.

After winter break, we'll also introduce these lessons to our 3rd graders. Along with these lessons, students will bring home brief activities called Home Links, which allow them to practice these skills with your support at home.

Our entire staff will be trained in recognizing, addressing, and preventing bullying as part of our commitment to building a positive school environment. We encourage you to talk with your child about the importance of kindness and inclusion and remind them that it's always okay to reach out if they or someone they know is experiencing bullying.

Thank you for being our partners in making our school a welcoming, respectful place for all. If you have any questions or would like further information, please feel free to reach out.

Sincerely,

Your School Counseling Team

Mr. Colin and Mrs. Seaward

School Counselor's

cwebb@everettsd.org kseaward@everettsd.org

To honor our veterans, Silver Lake will be holding a Veterans Day Assembly. Students are encouraged to invite a US Veteran to Silver Lake to join them at the assembly or email a photo and details to be included in the slideshow.

Hello Silver Lake Families from Family Support,

Don't wait until the last minute to get your child's gifts for the holidays- get signed up! Here are some local toy resources for the holidays if you are a qualified family:

• If you meet the requirements and need toys for your children in December, here is the link for Everett families to register to receive toys from Toys for Tots. Toys for Tots is an amazing organization, as I have used them for families in the past. You can register all children in your home (up to 18 years old) https://everett-wa.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/request-toys.aspx. It's best to sign up as soon as possible. You will need to complete the online form and then make an appointment to go pick them up.

• Here is another toy resource for families in Everett where you "shop" for your child's toys and also must meet requirements to qualify: https://christmas-house.org/shop/

Are you looking for Thanksgiving dinner resources in the area?

• You can take your family for a Thanksgiving meal and leave with a Thanksgiving food basket for your family. You must sign up and attend the dinner to receive the basket of food in Mill Creek: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-thanksgiving-dinner-thanksgiving-meal-basket-tickets-1030136304417?aff=ebdssbdestsearch.

• Sign up for a free turkey with sides for your family that you pick up nearby on November 23rd. This is sponsored by Maverick Cares. Please sign up via this link to the pick up closest to you. These go quickly, so please sign up early! https://events.eventgroove.com/event/Maverick-Cares-Harvest-Holiday-102770

• Be on the look out for when stores offer a free turkey up to 20+ lbs at your local grocery stores by spending grocery money. Last year Winco, Fred Meyer and other stores in our area will let you pick out a free turkey when spending $125 or $150 dollars on groceries. Keep a look out at your store while shopping or for ads (this usually starts mid-November) and look for the ad for the type/brand of turkey you can get. This is subject to change from year to year, so you will need to look into what and which stores offer this.

On Thursday, November 14, Silver Lake Elementary School in its 2nd Annual Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day started with a question from a group of AAA School Safety Patrollers from Martin Elementary in San Francisco, California. When these elementary students first heard the story of Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old girl who in 1960 integrated William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, they admired her courage and bravery. They thought there should be a day to commemorate the movement she started! These students took their idea to the State Legislature and today the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day will be recognized by the state of California on November 14 each year. Last year there were over 650,000 participants across the country.

Today, schools like Martin Elementary and Ruby Bridges Elementary in Alameda, California and Ruby Bridges Elementary in Woodinville, Washington continue to honor Ruby’s legacy in their own way. At Silver Lake Elementary, students will continue the conversation and take part in our own forms of activism to bring an end to racism and all forms of bullying. We are focusing on the importance of names; their origin and pronouncing them correctly. Ruby Bridges is a national icon for the civil rights movement, but she started out as just a regular first-grade student named Ruby. She didn't like her name when she was younger. Ruby thought it was the name of an old person, but her grandma picked it out, so she decided to try and like it. What about the names in your family? Talk to your children about why they were given the name they have. Is it a name from someone in your family? Does it have a special meaning? At Silver Lake, we are going to learn the story of some of our classmates' names, make some name art, and wearing purple on the morning of November 14, we will take a walk around our school campus, during school hours, in order to commemorate Ruby's historic steps.

Most of us are aware that providing praise to our students can build their self-esteem and reinforce the behaviors that we want to see more of. But did you know that there are different types of praise and that some are more effective than others? This month’s Behavior Intervention Strategy will focus on two specific kinds of praise that you can use at home to build efficacy in your students and move them along in their development.

For a lot of us “nice job” or “way to go” are natural kinds of praise that we might provide when a student does something we’re pleased with or want to acknowledge. This sort of commendation is called General Praise, and while positive in theory, doesn’t provide kids with a clear understanding of what they did well, or how to replicate it. Similarly, praising kids for things that are inherent about them, “You are such a fast runner” can backfire as it can lead to kids feeling like their abilities are outside of their control or impossible to improve upon. This is called Personal Praise and is another type of praise that can come naturally to us as adults, but doesn’t lead to the outcomes we’re after when we go to praise kids in the first place. Instead, try these two kinds of praise:

Effort-Based Praise – This is one of my favorite kinds of praise because it focuses on the things that kids can control. Instead of telling a student what a great sprinter they are, from the example above, we could instead say, “I can tell how hard you’ve been working at track practice. All of those extra hours working on your technique are really paying off!” In this way, we’re applauding their effort and dedication to practicing the skill; something they have control over, vs. telling them they are a great sprinter, which can feel like it’s something natural they were born with and thus, not something others in the group could achieve or that they could improve upon.

Behavior-Specific Praise – This type of praise is also very effective and is a strategy we use in the classroom all the time. For this example, we might tell a student “I love how you had your math journal and pencil out right at 11:00. You know we start math at that time, and I love to see you being responsible and prepared without having to be reminded.” This lets the student know immediately that the specific thing you’re impressed by was their preparedness, and how they showed you that by having their pencil and journal out without being reminded. When we provide Behavior-Specific Praise like this, it makes it much easier for the student to replicate and build upon the skill you’re reinforcing. If you walked by the same student and said “nice job!” they might think it’s because they had their pencil and notebook out, or because they were sitting quietly, or because they had a smile on their face, or any number of other things that aren’t the target of your reinforcement.

Anytime we’re encouraging kids, it’s a positive thing, but utilizing Effort-Based and Behavior-Specific Praise techniques can increase student efficacy and growth much clearer and faster than General or Personal Praise techniques. When practicing these techniques at home or in the classroom, remember to keep your praise: clear, specific, genuine and focused on process rather than outcome. If you follow these suggestions, you will see your students’ self-esteem and independence progress in ways that will surprise you.

If you would like to learn more about how to utilize more effective types of praise at home, please feel free to reach out to me at: jallred@everettsd.org or ext: 6963 and we can talk about your exact situation and brainstorm strategies to support your students’ growth at home.

In partnership,

James

Hello SLE Families,

We want to take a moment to thank our families for helping us by either donating, sharing, promoting, sponsoring, planning, and/or volunteering for our Stampede Run this year! We were so excited plan and execute this event for our school. Altogether with this event we brought in $30,211! We call that a success. Here is what we have going on for November.

Movie night is happening this month on Friday, November 22nd. Doors will open at 6:15pm, with our movie starting at 6:30pm. We will be playing Inside Out 2! Make sure to bring your blankets and pillows and join your friends to watch a movie. Popcorn will be provided. Please note that this is NOT a drop off event. Wristbands will be distributed at the door to students who come with an adult chaperone. Students without an adult will be turned away.

Join us for our first dine out event of the year!

Come eat out with your SLE friends at MOD Pizza located at:

16330 Bothell Everett Hwy Suite 102 in Mill Creek on Monday, November 18th. You can stop in anytime during that day, just let them know you are with Silver Lake Elementary. They will donate 25% of sales to our school’s PTA. If you cannot go in person, you can order online and use the code MODGIVES25 to include your purchase towards the fundraiser. We hope to see you all there!

We are excited to introduce Givebacks! This is our new PTA website. This site also provides us with a storefront and a fundraising platform. You will see this used on multiple occasions during the school year. Be patient as we are adding more to it every week, but we promise it will provide you with all the PTA information you will need to stay up to date. You can purchase this year’s PTA membership or visit our website at https://silverlake.givebacks.com/

This month our PTA Member Meeting is on Wednesday, November 6th at 6:30pm in the school cafeteria. You can find our full PTA meeting schedule and Zoom link on our GIVEBACKS Website. Childcare and snacks will be provided.

We have a live SignUpGenius for all this year’s PTA events. Anyone interested in donating 30-90 minutes of there time can sign up on the hyperlink attached here! We will continue to add events to this page for more opportunities later in the year. We thank all volunteers for being a part of our amazing crew!

Attention: Please make sure to re-enroll for community rewards annually to continue receiving donations.

Make sure to register for the Fred Meyer Community Rewards. In your Fred Meyer App open your menu and select Rewards>Community Rewards.> then search Silver Lake Elementary PTA. This way Fred Meyers makes donations to our charitable organization www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards

Be sure to follow us on Facebook for all of your up-to-date PTA information: Silver Lake PTA 7.3.45

Sincerely,

Your PTA Crew

Did you know Everett Public Schools implemented our cell phone policy and procedure in 2019? The policy, which is designed to support an engaging learning environment, applies to cell phones as well as all personal electronic devices (PEDs) such as earbuds and smartwatches. Below is a breakdown of what families and students need to know as we start the school year.

At Silver Lake Elementary:

• During the hours of 8:50a.m. to 3:30p.m. (or respective dismissal time): Cell phones/PED will be turned off and strored in backpacks. Students should not use these personal devices during the school day.

• Communicating with your child during the school day: If a student needs to contact a parent/guardian, they can do so through the classroom/school office phone. Likewise, parents/guardians can call the office for any urgent messages.

Disciplinary action: If a cell phone/PED is seen or used during the day, school staff will hold it in the office where a parent or guarding will need to pick it up during office hours. Repeated violations may lead to further consequences.

Special accommadations will be made if a PED is part of a student's Individualized Education (IEP), 504 Plan, or Individual Health Care Plan (IHP).

We are using a new Versatrans My Stop application for bus route tracking and information. The Versatrans My Stop application provides you with an estimated time of arrival for your student's school bus. Please continue to arrive at the scheduled bus stop location 5 minutes prior to the scheduled stop time.

How to Log In

All information is transmitted securely and protected. No data is provided without proper credentials being provided.

1. Enter your student’s ID number in the username field.

2. Enter your student’s date of birth in the password field. Use the mmddyyyy format with no slashes. For example: if your student was born on Jan. 1, 2017, your password would be 01012017

3. If you have more than one student, their names will appear in a drop-down list in the top left corner. To view a different child's bus information, select their name from the dropdown list.

4. In your phone settings, under Notifications, scroll to the Versatrans My Stop app and make sure:

1. show notifications are in the on position.
2. pop on screen is also in the on position.

5.This will allow you to see any notification that Everett Public Schools sends through the Versatrans My Stop App.

Whether it’s from the district, school, or your child’s teacher, ParentSquare keeps all your communications in one place. Learn more and activate your account: www.everettsd.org/ParentSquare (and download the free app!)

The ParentSquare app replaces the EPS app, which will no longer be updated and should be deleted from your devices.

If your student is absent or tardy from school, please email the attendance office at sleattendance@everettsd.org to let us know the reason for the absence or tardy.

• Absences must be reported (by email or note) within 30 calendar days after a student returns back to school, not including Holidays or weekends, in order to have the absence excused. Emails or notes turned in past the 30-day timeframe will be accepted; however, the absence is not excused and will be coded as such.
• Automated attendance calls will be sent out daily. If your student will be absent or tardy you must notify the office before 9:15 a.m. If it is reported after this time you may receive the automated call.
• Please view the Everett School District Attendance Procedure 3122P for more information (including definitions of absences).
• Did you have a medical appointment for your child, or they were sick, and you brought them to the doctor? If so, make sure to ask for a medical note from the provider. Email or bring the note to the attendance office so those absences can be coded as a medical note excused absence.
• Please fill out a prearranged absence form if your student will be going on vacation/traveling or will miss school for an extended period of time. As per district policy, the principal or designee may excuse up to five (5) school days for a prearranged absence per student each school year.

Email: SLEATTENDANCE@EVERETTSD.ORG
Website: https://www.everettsd.org/silverlakees
Location: 12815 Bothell Everett Highway, Everett, WA, USA
Phone: 425-385-6900