Message from Principal Collins
Hello Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers,
It was great to see so many of you at our band, choir and orchestra concerts. Our very first concerts as Evergreen Middle School. Thank you to all of our music scholars their dedication and hard work, paid off at the concert. Thank you, guardians and parents, for coming out to listen to the wonderful scores of music.
We are wrapping up the 21-22 school year and preparing for the 22-23 school year. This year of coming back after a pandemic was a trying year but, we still had a great year and I love how we became a family! As we look ahead we are excited to welcome back most of our scholars and are very excited to welcome our incoming 6th graders to the Evergreen Family, and I truly mean Family! We plan to continue to build on what we’ve started this year and improve in every area. The past few weeks have been filled with excitement. We have had some pretty amazing and memorable events. Moving into our new building was phenomenal. Having a voice in renaming our school, I am very proud of our scholars for achieving this task. Our girls’ basketball team become the district champions. What exciting times for Evergreen Middle School!
As we come to the end of the year, and I realize this is our final newsletter of the year I continue to reflect on the year. As we are planning for next year, please let us know what you would like to see more of in our future newsletters. As always, do not hesitate to contact me with questions, concerns or suggestions. Have a great end of the school year and a fun and enjoyable summer.
In Partnership
8th Grade Farewell Celebration 2022
Schedule of event:
Date: June 14, 2022, 12:30pm-2:00pm
Ceremony: Students only (in person); family on zoom
Place: Evergreen Gymnasium
The Zoom link was sent out Friday to parents' email as well as 8th graders invite cards.
**After the Ceremony**
Date: June 14, 2022, 2:00pm-2:30pm
Celebration: Please join your students for food, photos, and celebration.
Place: Evergreen Blacktop
Last Day of School/Message from School Nurse
Thursday, June 16th, school will be let out at 10:30am.
MEDICATIONS: If your student has medication at school, please pick it up by the end of the day Thursday. Medications left in the health room will be destroyed.
INCOMING 7TH GRADERS: Incoming 7th graders are required to have their DTAP vaccination before returning to school in the Fall.
SUMMER HOURS: Evergreen's office will be fully staffed during the month of June and back open August 2, 2022. We will be open Mon-Fri 8am-3pm
SUMMER YOUTH ORCA PASS
Students in 8-12th grade who are eligible for the Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program can get a free Summer Youth ORCA Pass through King County! The Summer Youth ORCA Pass gives King County students unlimited rides on transit all summer long, through September 2022.
Families who are eligible can learn more and sign up for a free pass today at: kingcounty.gov/metro/summerorcapass.
Why can’t we just watch movies for the rest of the year?
Middle schoolers are so funny. The closer we get to the end of the school year, the more I hear kids saying things like, “Do we have to learn today? Can’t we just watch movies for the rest of the year?” Of course, our teachers do not see things this way. Apart from (perhaps) the very last day of school, our teachers will be teaching rigorous and interesting material, and students will be expected to learn it. We don’t take our foot off the gas when we see the finish line – we accelerate!
It's not just the days that we hold sacred at Evergreen; It’s also the minutes and seconds. At Evergreen, we subscribe to a bell-to-bell teaching approach. Instead of wasting 5 minutes of every lesson for attendance, students are expected to enter and immediately get started on exercises in their notebooks – also known as the “Do Now” – while the teacher takes attendance. Instead of having students huddle next to the door as they wait for the bell to ring, we end lessons with short quizzes – also known as “Exit Tickets” – so that every last second of precious class time is dedicated to learning.
So, no, we won’t be watching movies for the rest of the year. This doesn’t mean that the end of the year will be dull. This week I observed students designing kites in science class, launching cardboard rockets in CTE class, and achieving personal best mile times in PE class. My biggest shoutout goes to the Evergreen band, choir, and orchestra, who spent many hours rehearsing their material in preparation for the live performances on Tuesday and Thursday. The pride that these students wore on their faces as they demonstrated a year’s worth of growth is a million times more valuable than the short-term gratification of junk food and movies.
Zach Groshell
Instructional Coach
Evergreen Middle School
LOANER LAPTOP AND/OR WIFI HOT SPOT
Students attending summer school will have a device checked out to them, if needed, the first week of that program.
Please ensure that all loaner items are returned. Fines will be applied for missing power adapter or hotspot ($50), screen, keyboard or case damage ($100) or non-returned devices ($25 to $450 depending on model).
If you need assistance covering monthly internet service, the Emergency Broadband Benefit program will cover up to $50 per month on the cost of home Internet access or mobile hotspot if you are eligible for Free or Reduce Lunch Program. Check for eligibility and services available at https://getemergencybroadband.org.
If you have any questions, you may contact the Information Technology Services (ITS) department at helpdesk@fwps.org or by calling 253-945-2111.
SUMMER MEALS PROGRAM
Children need to have access to nutrition all year long, including the summer months when school gets out. Federal Way Public Schools (FWPS) is once again a sponsor of the federally-funded Summer Food Service Program for Children. Meals are available at no charge to any child 18 years of age or younger.
Meals are served at multiple sites across the district. For a complete full list of summer meal sites and dates, go to www.fwps.org/SummerMeals.
If your child receives a special diet accommodation through Nutrition Services and would like to access summer meals, please contact Lauren Hoffman at 253-945-5567 or LHoffman@fwps.org
Evergreen Middle School
Email: mnelsen@fwps.org
Website: https://www.fwps.org/evergreen
Location: 26812 40th Ave S, Kent, WA, USA
Phone: 253-945-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvergreenFWPS/