MBMS FAMILY AND STUDENT NEWS

Welcome 2025!

Reminders:

We have had many students being dropped off in the parking lot off of Section St. Please, please use the designated car drop off area off of LaVenture Road. I understand that the cars do get backed up so please be patient.

We do not have adult supervision prior to 7:00AM so please be sure to drop your child off after that time.

We have a number of students riding bikes, scooters, and/or skateboards to school. To avoid any accidents, please have your child use a helmet and walk their bikes on campus and in crosswalks.

January:

8th - Early Release: out at 12:00

9th - Home Volleyball Game

15th - Early Release: out at 12:00

16th - Home Volleyball Game

20th - No School: Martin Luther King Day

22nd - Early Release: out at 12:00

23rd - Home Volleyball Game

27th - No School: Semester Break

28th - Start of Semester 2 and Home Volleyball Game

29th - Early Release: out at 12:00

February:

5th - Early Release: out at 12:00

12th - Early Release: out at 12:00

17th - No School: President's Day

19th - Early Release: out at 12:00

26th - Early Release: out at 12:00

Click here (English/Spanish OR Russian/Ukrainian) for the UPDATED 2024-2025 Mount Vernon School District Student/Staff Calendar.

We want to inform you that MBMS will be administering the WIDA language assessment in late February to students whose first language is not English. This assessment measures your student’s English language proficiency and helps us better understand their language development. To help ensure your student is set up for success during the test, please encourage them to get a good night’s sleep before the test, and please make sure they eat a healthy breakfast each day at home or at school between 7:00-7:25. Please encourage them to take their time and do their best, as the test is designed to reflect their strengths. Thank you for helping us support your student’s success!

Stay in Touch with Teachers: Maintain communication with teachers to understand the student’s progress and seek advice on how to support learning at home.

Celebrate Achievements: Acknowledge and celebrate both small and large accomplishments in language learning to motivate and encourage continued effort.

Foster a Growth Mindset: Encourage resilience and a positive attitude towards challenges. Help them understand that mistakes are a part of learning.

Limit Screen Time: Manage recreational screen time to ensure it doesn’t interfere with academic responsibilities. Encourage productive activities instead.

Promote Extracurricular Activities: Support involvement in clubs, sports, or arts, which can enhance skills like teamwork and creativity that are valuable for academic success.

Our counselors will be visiting classes to cover the Signs of Suicide Curriculum in the near future. Please review the attached letter and call or email your child's counselor if you have any questions.

Natalie Grote (Ms. G) has been hired to support student at MBMS. She will work along side our wonderful counseling team consisting of Mrs. M, Mr. Hatley, and Mr. Edwards to support the students at MBMS. I am attaching a welcome newsletter below that she would like to share with students and families.

The following sports will be offered to students at Mount Baker Middle School this year (start dates subject to change):

Coed Wrestling (grades 6, 7, and 8): begins Feb. 3rd

Girls’ Basketball (grades 7 and 8 only): begins Feb. 3rd

Boys’ Soccer (grades 7 and 8 only): begins April 14th

Sports physicals will be required for students to participate. Parents/Guardians may register their child for the above activities using this link to Final Forms. In final forms you will be able to also upload any pertinent information.

To minimize travel costs, competitions will be localized with other schools/districts adjacent to or within Mount Vernon. The Mount Vernon School District will provide transportation to the event competition; however, parent must provide transportation home from the event. Coaches will provide a form to students about transportation requirements at the first turnout.

As always, please reach out with any questions.

The Boys’ and Girls’ Club sponsors an after-school Study and Activity club. If you are interested in signing up please contact the Boys and Girls Club at 360-419-3723.

Students will need to bring their charged Chromebooks to school everyday. If your student is new to the Mount Vernon School District or missed the 5th grade distribution at the end of last year, we will be issuing a Chromebook to them during the first few days of school.

We do not have loaners so it will be important for your child to bring their charged Chromebook to school each day.

Technology agreement will be in the first week paperwork.

Inappropriate use of electronic devices disrupts the learning environment and is disrespectful of others who share our community of learners. Please see the student planner for complete guidelines, but briefly:

Personal electronic devices may not be used during school hours (7:25am - 2pm).

• First Offense: student will be asked to put away the electronic device
• Second Offense: the electronic device will be taken to the office and student may pick it up after school
• Third Offense: parent will be called to pick up the electronic/phone.

All student/school expectations will be reviewed with students during the first week of school.

Parents needing to contact their child during school hours should call the office at 360-428-6127.

In the event of a school emergency, we will contact parent/guardian using REMIND. It is very important that the school office have accurate information in the event of any emergency. Each student is required to have a completed emergency form on file in the school office. Your student will be sent home with a packet of important forms to be completed by guardians. Please make sure to read and sign all relevant forms. Please return all forms the office or your child's Home Court teacher during the first week of school. If phone numbers or addresses change throughout the school year, please, please notify the school with all updates.

We will again be re-establishing our PTO this year. If you are interested in being part of the PTO, please call the school 360-428-6127 and speak with Ms. Plumly, Principal or Mr. Tayon, Assistant Principal.

The school and District will communicate with families via Remind and/or email. Below are the instructions for signing up for Remind.

Click here for instructions.

MBMS Student hours are 7:25am (warning bell) - 2:00pm with breakfast being served from 7:00am to 7:25am in the cafeteria. Click here to view the Mount Baker Middle School Bell Schedule. Below are the student bell schedules.

Please contact the bus garage for all student busing questions at 360-428-6147.

Highlights:

• Clothing and logos that promote alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gangs, profanity, violence, and sexist/racist themes;
• Clothing that is revealing in nature;
• Accessories that could be considered dangerous objects, such as chains or spikes; and
• Hoodies may be worn as long as the hood remains down inside the building.

For the safety of our staff, students, and school community, please use the student drop off/pick up area located on LaVenture Road - west side of the building. Students riding the bus will load/unload in the bus zone located in the north parking lot near Section Street. For the safety of our students and staff, access for student drop off/pick up from Section Street will be limited to visitors and staff who are parking and entering the building. All gates to the campus will be locked during school hours. For visitors during school hours, a buzzer system, on the wall next to the main entrance, will be utilized. For safety reasons, please be sure to use the locations on the map attached here.

Student expectations will be reviewed with students during the first week of school. This document will be reviewed throughout the school year.

Mount Baker parents are encouraged to volunteer as mentors, tutors, chaperones, classroom or office assistants, and as needed for special projects. The Mount Vernon School District policy requires all volunteers complete a Volunteer Application prior to volunteering in schools.

The new Online Volunteer Application is available at https://mountvernonvolunteers.hrmplus.net/

All volunteers must complete a new online application regardless of their previous approval date. We encourage parents and community members to volunteer by working in classrooms, assisting with activities, coaching and chaperoning students on field trips. Field trip chaperones must complete their application at least two (2) weeks prior to the trip.

We look forward to another great school year and the contribution of our volunteers!

NONDISCRIMINATION

The Mount Vernon School District does not discriminate in employment, programs, or activities on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Inquiries regarding compliance and/or grievance procedures may be directed to the District's Title IX/Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator, Jon Ronngren, Director/Human Resources, 124 E. Lawrence Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 (360)428-6110; Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Clint Carlton, Executive Director/Student Support Services, 920 S. Second Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, (360)428-6141.

NO DISCRIMINACIÓN

El Distrito Escolar de Mount Vernon no discrimina en ninguno de los programas o actividades según el sexo, la raza, el credo, la religión, el color, el origen nacional, la edad, el ser veterano o la situación militar, la orientación sexual, la expresión de género, la identidad de género, discapacidad o el uso de un perro guía capacitado o animal de servicio y proporciona un acceso equitativo a los Boy Scouts y otros grupos de jóvenes designados. Las preguntas en cuanto al cumplimiento y/o los procedimientos de resolución de conflictos pueden dirigirse al Coordinador de Quejas de los Derechos Civiles del Distrito/Titulo IX, Jon Ronngren, Director/Recursos Humanos, 124 E. Lawrence Street Mount Vernon, WA 98273, (360)428-6110; Coordinador de la Legislación para los Estadounidenses con Discapacidades/Sección 504, Clint Carlton, Director Ejecutivo/Servicios de Apoyo Estudiantil, 920 S. Second Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, (360)428-6141.

Недискриминация

Школьный округ Маунт-Вернон не допускает дискриминации при трудоустройстве, программах или мероприятиях на основе возраста, расы, цвета кожи, национального происхождения, вероисповедания, религии, пола, сексуальной ориентации, гендерного самовыражения, гендерной идентичности, ветерана с отличием или военного статуса, или наличие каких-либо сенсорных, умственных или физических недостатков или использование обученной собаки-поводыря или служебного животного лицом с ограниченными возможностями и обеспечивает равный доступ к бойскаутам и другим определенным молодежным группам. Запросы, касающиеся соблюдения требований и/или процедур рассмотрения жалоб, можно направлять координатору округа по разделу IX/соблюдению гражданских прав, Джону Роннгрену, директору/отделу кадров, 124 E. Lawrence Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 (360)428-6110; Координатор Раздела 504/ADA, Клинт Карлтон, исполнительный директор/Служба поддержки студентов, 920 S. Second Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, (360)428-6141.

Complaint

Citizen Complaint Against a School District or Other School Service Provider.

A citizen complaint is a written statement that alleges a violation of a federal rule, law or regulation, or state regulation that applies to a federal program. • Anyone can file a citizen complaint. • There is no special form. • There is no need to know the law that governs a federal program to file a complaint. Please contact LeAnne Plumly with questions @ 360-428-6127 for the information you need to move forward.You may also access this online https://www.k12.wa.us/about-ospi/contact-us/how-file-complaint

Title 1 Schoolwide Program

The Title 1 Schoolwide Program helps us increase the academic achievement of students by providing additional services to students. To accomplish our goals the school and the district use student assessment data to determine areas of need and outline a plan for addressing student needs. We structure professional development activities to support the needs, we connect the school with parents and the community, and we formulate an evaluation plan to monitor the progress of our efforts.As a school that receives federal Title I funds we must meet some specific federal rules. These include providing information to families regarding teacher and Para Educator qualifications, parent involvement, and schoolwide planning.

Parents’ Right-to-Know — Student Achievement

We provide every parent with information that describes the level of academic achievement reached by their child. This information provides the child’s achievement on state and district assessments and is sent home formally in June. We strive to communicate throughout the school year in multiple ways regarding student achievement and learning progress.

School’s Written Family Involvement Policy

We have a written parent involvement policy outlining how we work together as a school community to support all of our students, staff, and families. The current Parent Involvement Policy can be requested at your school, Also, you may view it on our School Webpage at your web page link to schools family Involvement Policy.

Title I, Part A Meeting

We invite parents to learn more about Title I, Part A programs operating at our school by attending school and district meetings throughout the year. In the Spring we host a meeting where we explain the requirements of this federal program and let parents know they have a right to be involved in school program activities funded by Title I, Part A.

Parents’ Right-to-Know — Highly-qualified Teachers

We provide timely notice to every parent if a teacher who is not highly qualified has been assigned or has taught their child for four or more consecutive weeks. All of our teachers meet the federal highly qualified status. In addition, our Para Educators working with children on academic support also meet the required federal highly qualified requirements.

School-Parent Compact— Shared Responsibility

We work together, families and the school, to share in the responsibility of the high-quality education for each child. Working closely with the parents of children who receive Title I, Part A services we create School-Parent Compacts each year. This compact takes the form of a written agreement that identifies shared responsibilities that parents, school staff, and students carry out to improve academic achievement.

Annual LEA Report Card

You may access the Mount Vernon School Districts report card that includes student achievement disaggregated by category-graduation rates, LEA performance, and other required information outlined in ESSA Section 111(h)(2). For a paper copy or for assistance, please contact your child's school office. You may also access online at http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us

English Learner (EL) Students
English Learner (EL) Students: Parent and Family Outreach Title III require that LEAs implement an effective means of outreach to parents of ELLs to [ESSA Section 1112(e) (3)(A),(B)&(C)]: • Inform parents on how they can be active participants in * Assisting their children to learn English, * Achieving high levels in core academic subjects, and *Meeting the state’s academic content and student academic achievement standards as all students are expected to meet. • Seek parent input into the development and evaluation of the LEAs’ ELL program. * Notify parents of their right to have opportunities for regular meetings for the purpose of formulating and responding to recommendations from parents of students participating in Title I or Title III programs.

District Website: http://www.mountvernonschools.org/

Email: SSANABRIA@MVSD320.ORG
Website: http://mountbaker.mountvernonschools.org/
Location: 2310 East Section Street, Mount Vernon, WA, USA
Phone: (360)428-6127
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mbmsgrizzlies