Evergreen Weekly Newsletter
May 9, 2024
Message from Principal Collins
Hello Evergreen Friends and Families,
This week we started our Math SBA test and will conduct our SBA ELA (Language Arts) test next week. This week marks Teacher and Staff appreciation week, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to our exceptional team of teachers and staff members. Their commitment to excellence, their tireless efforts, and their genuine care for each and every student exemplify the true spirit of education. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated team! We will celebrate our amazing Staff and shower them with appreciation! An educator has the MOST important job in the world…securing a beautiful future for everyone for years to come! They work tirelessly, day in and day out creating, inspiring, innovating, cheering, comforting, supporting, leading, juggling, teaching, learning, believing, and caring. Please take time to thank our incredible teaching and support staff for their extraordinary efforts. Thank them for their strong commitment to excellence and for making our community special! Thank you to our wonderful PTO parents for the treats and helping our scholars write thank you notes to the staff.
Welcome to the home stretch of another school year. As the warmer weather approaches, we understand our students will be focusing their thoughts on summer vacation. It is very important that students continue to focus on their schoolwork during this busy time of year. This is a great opportunity to focus your child on time management and prioritizing. We ask you to partner with us in speaking with your child to remain focused and end the year in a positive manner. With the end of the school year coming soon and summer fast approaching, it is easy for students to lose focus on their work and make silly behavioral mistakes. We would like all of our students to participate in our fun end-of-the year events. For this to happen, students need to keep on top of their academic responsibilities and follow the Grizzly Way. Finishing the 4th quarter on a strong note will carry over to the 2024-2025 school year.
We are in the middle of the Attendance Cup Competition- Our theme is "Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!" We want to make coming to school not just important, but also fun and rewarding for everyone involved! Regular attendance isn't just about being present – it's about setting yourself up for a bright future! But wait, there's more! We're setting up a friendly competition between our schools in our district! The schools in each group with the best attendance and most improved attendance overall will take the top honors award at the end of the school year. Plus, there will be weekly challenge awards as well! You can help EVG earn the FWPS Attendance Cup! Make sure your child(ren) come to school every day on time. Right now, we are still in 3rd place, but only by a few percentage points.
Testing-Testing
As we continue to conduct our state testing-Here are some test tips to help our scholars be successful during testing time.
Go into the test with confidence. Staying confident makes it easier to remember everything you need to know.
Get enough sleep the night before the test. Your memory recall will be much better if you've had enough sleep.
Put away all your study materials before the test. It’s more important for you to clear your mind and relax during this time, so you’ll save your mental energy for the actual test.
Listen closely to any instructions. As the teacher hands out the test, be sure you know what's expected of you.
Read through the test first. If something seems unclear before you start, don't panic: ask.
Answer the questions in any order. You may find it easier to answer a question you’ve skipped after you've answered other questions.
Relax. If you're so nervous that you blank out.
Finished already? It's usually a good idea to spend any extra time checking your work.
Science is Fun Experiment with Erosion
The Earth is constantly changing as wind and rain shape the land. Try this idea that shows your youngster how erosion, or the wearing away of land, works. 1. Have him put a layer of sand or sugar in a baking dish. 2. Let your child blow through a straw onto the sand to make a "valley." This is wind erosion. Then, tilt the pan slightly, and have him pour water into the valley at the higher end. He'll see the sand move "downstream." This is water erosion. 3. Now suggest that your youngster smooth out the sand and repeat the activity—this time adding different arrangements of rocks, leaves, or grass. (The soil won't erode as much, which is why farmers and communities use trees and bushes to protect land.
As always, please let us know how we can best support you and your student. The education and wellbeing of our students is the utmost importance to us and we will continue to do everything we can to meet the needs of all our students. We are here to support, encourage, partner together, and engage students in their learning. Thank you for partnering with us! I appreciate you and truly believe that we will finish this school year Grizzly Strong with your unwavering support. Thank you for being a part of the Grizzly family.
Your Partner in Education,
Mrs. Collins
253 945 5100
What can we do to show our appreciation for teachers?
This week was Teacher Appreciation Week, which is an opportunity to recognize the sacrifices teachers make for children every day. Our district and office staff went out of their way to give us treats and drinks, including a full meal on Wednesday, and a visit from a barista on Tuesday. All in all, this week was one of the best Teacher Appreciation weeks I’ve experienced since I got into teaching.
While the snacks were sweet, the salty secret right now is that the teaching profession is in the middle of a crisis. There is a huge demand for teachers across the country, and the supply of teaching applicants hasn't kept up with the demand. Fewer college students are choosing to enter teaching and more and more teachers are leaving the profession. What can we do to halt this worrying trend?
The first thing to do is to fix behavior. It is impossible to enjoy teaching when students are being disruptive, and it is downright scary to teach when at any time you could be the target of violence and insults. The second thing to fix is workload. Teachers are increasingly given responsibilities that are beyond their paygrade and training. Their job is to teach, and to prepare to teach, and anything past this is unsustainable. As a parent, you can help by teaching your child to respect their teachers. The ultimate teacher appreciation gift isn’t an apple or a gift card, but that your child comes to school every day with a desire to learn, behave, and achieve.
Zach Groshell, Ph.D.
Instructional Coach
Evergreen Middle School