SBLSD News

On May 25, Sumner High School’s Senior Showcase honored 11 students who have demonstrated attitudes and actions resulting in remarkable resilience through tough times and adversity while leaving a timeless legacy for those around them.

Congratulations to Bo Carlson, Eduardo Chavez, Steven Dunn, Juan Flores-del Toro, Jacob Gallagher, Angel Gutierrez, Kimberly Ibarra Solis, Gloria Kuzmenko-Latimer, Petra Lindner, Sabina Velazquez and Blake Wilson. Stay tuned for a video of each senior's accomplishments!

What are students at Sumner High School grateful for?

Sophomore Ilee Lewis has some good insight.

“There’s a lot of, ‘I’m grateful for my pets, my friends, my family — looking forward to summer.’ Lots of different things to be grateful for towards the end of the year,” said Ilee.

Those are some of the things that Ilee sees on the notes she pulls out of the Gratitude Locker at Sumner High School, which stands tall and purple in the commons area.

The locker’s purpose? To get students to share what they’re grateful for on index cards and slip them inside.

It’s a simple concept, but one that Ilee hopes will spread positivity after a couple of difficult years through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It's just a great way for kids to think about good things,” she said.

The locker was installed earlier this year with help from Gratitude 253, a community group that aims to spread love, kindness and joy in the area. Three of those ambassadors are SHS alumni: Marlus Francis, Liz Hall and Summy Dahlman.

Sumner High School isn’t the only place you can find a Gratitude Locker. The original bright yellow locker is in downtown Sumner by the Spread Love mural, located next to Bank of America.

The latest Sumner Gratitude Locker — a blue one, this time — was installed at Sumner Middle School and is managed by students in EarlyAct, a rotary youth program at the school.

Sumner Mayor Kathy Hayden helped bring the program to life by connecting Gratitude 253 with the schools.

“I appreciate that the program gives kids a time to pause and think of the good things in the world with everything going on now and what they're thankful for,” Mayor Hayden said.

Ilee is the lucky student who gets to empty out the locker every week and read what people write. But she hopes to make a poster out of the notes to hang above the locker so others can see them, too.

“It's so heartwarming and lovely to see what other people are thankful for,” she said.

About 200 people attended the May 23 Mental Health Awareness event at Sumner High School, where they had the opportunity to talk with representatives from 11 local mental health resource agencies, view a feature-length documentary about suicide awarenss, and listen to a six-member panel of mental health professionals about how youth, parents and the community can best support those in crisis.

Here are a few thoughts from panelist Dr. Chris Ladish, chief clinical officer of pediatric behavioral health at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and MultiCare Behavioral Health Network:

• Youth: “Depression is not a sign of weakness and it’s not something you’ve done wrong.”
• Parents/Caregivers: “You don’t plant the seed of suicide by asking about suicide. When in doubt, check it out and seek support.”
• Community: “Let’s normalize mental health as another system, such as dental care and health care.”

The nearly 80 youth who attended the event received a T-shirt and were entered into a drawing to win prizes, such as gift cards, Gordon Family YMCA guest passes, and iPads. We thank our partners who made this event, the prizes and free dinner possible: Kids Mental Health Pierce County and Coordinated Care.

We thank Sumner Rotary for their decades-long commitment in awarding SBLSD seniors with scholarships. This year, 11 seniors earned a combined $35,000 in scholarships, which were awarded at the rotary club’s May 17 meeting.

Congratulations to these scholarship recipients:

At their May 24 meeting, Bonney Lake city council members recognized the 12 winners of the City of Bonney Lake Stormwater Pollution Prevention/Water Conservation Calendar Contest.

Out of 100 entries, all of the 12 winning submissions came from SBLSD students. Congratulations to the following students with artwork to be featured in the city’s next calendar!

Artwork submissions were to correspond with one of the following categories:

• Pollution / Illegal Dumping Reporting

• Friendly Vehicle Washing

• Water Conservation

• Pet Waste Disposal

• Used Oil Recycling

• Household Hazardous Waste Disposal

What does life look like after graduation?

Sumner and Bonney Lake high school students celebrated their career pathways at recent Signing Day celebrations. Students shared that they'll be attending Washington State University, the University of Washington, Pacific Lutheran University, Western Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, Pierce College, the U.S. Air Force, Clover Park Technical College, Western Welding Academy, the Marines, electrician apprenticeships, and more!

Check out some of the signing day photos below.

What are our students working on at the Pierce County Skills Center?

Four SBLSD students were recognized as Students of the Month in 2022 by the skills center, which serves juniors and seniors from 10 districts across the county, including Sumner-Bonney Lake.

February 2022:

April 2022:

Congratulations to our PCSC Students of the Month!

My heart breaks deeply for those affected by today’s school tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. From New York to Texas and points throughout our nation, senseless mass shootings or acts of violence of any kind are absolutely unacceptable, which intensifies my pledge to continue doing everything possible to keep our students and staff safe.

We will never become numb to these incidents nor to the ripple effects felt here in our Sumner-Bonney Lake community. Families trust us daily to provide a safe learning environment for their precious children, a responsibility we don’t take lightly. The Bonney Lake and Sumner police departments will provide increased presence at schools this week.

• Emergency Drills: Every month all schools perform emergency drills, which include fire/evacuation, lockdown, earthquake, shelter-in-place and safety-related.
• Secure electronic entry systems: Most schools have either a safety vestibule or secure electronic entry systems into classroom areas. Schools in construction (Sumner HS and Mountain View MS) will incorporate these features.
• Locking Classroom Doors: Staff have the ability to lock their classroom door.
• School Resource Officers: School Resource Officers monitor all of our schools located within Sumner and Bonney Lake city limits. For schools located outside city limits, the District is in discussion with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and is researching opportunities to have SROs at those schools in the future.
• Campus Safety Officers: Campus safety officers at middle and high schools.
• Security Cameras: Security cameras are installed at all of our schools.
• Partnerships: Partnerships with law enforcement and emergency management agencies include safety meetings, coordination of emergency drills, staging, risk assessments and staff trainings. School Board policies on Relationships with Law Enforcement and Other Government Agencies (4310) and School Safety and Security Services Program (4311).
• Training and Preparedness: District staff is trained on effective school emergency management and regularly drill as an Emergency Operations Center re-enacting a wide range of possible threats and hazards that may impact a school. Safety and security staff receive a number of trainings with local law enforcement and local jurisdictions to enhance our ability to respond quickly and effectively when there is a threat to student safety.

We all share the responsibility of creating safe learning environments so students can achieve their highest potential. Here’s how you can help:

• Report any potential threats. If your child sees something that may be a threat at school or online, please report it to your school principal, a trusted adult or law enforcement. You may also use our anonymous Report It system via phone, text, email or web.
• Make sure your school has up-to-date contact information on file in case we need to notify you about an emergency situation. The Family Communication Protocol lets families know how and when they will be informed about a schoolwide emergency situation.

We’re thankful for our vigilant staff, secure facilities and strong partnerships with law enforcement agencies to help maintain safe schools.

Sincerely,
Laurie Dent, Ph.D.
Superintendent

Tragedies such as school shootings are complicated topics that affect each of us in different ways. We encourage families to use the following resources as guides in talking with your children and helping them process this latest event:

• Tips for Talking to Children and Youth After Traumatic Events
• Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers (Infographic)

All schools and District offices will be closed on Monday, May 30 in honor of Memorial Day.

Every 10 years, following the U.S. Census, Sumner-Bonney Lake School District is required to redraw the boundaries of the director districts in which our school board members represent. The redistricting process balances the population in each director district so that everyone is fairly represented. It’s important to note that this will not affect where a student attends school. This process affects only director districts, not attendance areas.

Our existing director districts vary in population from 9,186 people to 14,701 people. The ideal population of each district is 11,094. Having five director districts, one for each board seat, ensures there is geographic diversity represented on the school board, even though each board seat is elected by all district voters.

The school board will vote to adopt one of three proposed draft maps at the July 6 board meeting. Before the vote, we want your feedback. Here are two ways to provide input:

• Make a public comment on the draft maps through June 8. Submit a public comment online by noon on June 8.
• Attend the June 8 Board Meeting at 6 p.m. in person at the Central Office (1202 Wood Ave) or via Zoom (passcode: 802164) to offer public comment. At this meeting, the school board will take action to adopt the final map.

Learn more about SBLSD’s redistricting process and timeline.

On May 20, Gov. Inslee updated the vaccine requirement for schools, stating that "a volunteer who engages primarily in outdoor work" is not required to be vaccinated. Based on that update, if a volunteer is primarily serving outside, such as for a field day or greeting students in the bus loop, they do not need to show proof of vaccination at this time. They can still check in and out inside the building. We are thankful for our volunteers, who are critical to student success.

To efficiently and safely replace the turf and lighting, Sunset Chev Stadium will be closed for district and public use from May 31 to July 15. Here are details about the upgrades:

• Lighting: Scheduled for June 6-17, the lighting replacement includes all pole lights in the stadium and on the soccer/baseball field. The LED lighting is more energy efficient and produces less light spillage with direct downward light onto the field.
• Turf: Removal of the old turf material is scheduled to begin May 31. The new turf will include an e-layer, a bonded rubber shock pad placed between the ground and the turf for increased player safety. The material, AstroTurf RootZone 3D3, is the same turf at Husky Stadium and Sparks Stadium.

The public is invited to attend School Board study sessions and meetings, which are held both virtually and in person. Please note that dates, times and locations are subject to change. Agendas are published a day prior to each meeting.

Board meeting: June 8

• 6 p.m. at Central Office (1202 Wood Ave)
• Virtual meeting link (passcode: 802164)
• Register for in-person or virtual public comment
• Submit comments online (general items)
• Submit comments about School Board Director Redistricting

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