Sky Valley Education Center

Jan. 15th - No School / MLK Day

Jan 16th - *EVENT* Homesteading Day 10am-2pm / No Regular Classes

Jan 17th - One-Pot Wednesday in the Gathering Room

Jan 17th - Talent Show Auditions @ 2:30

Jan 19th - Mid-Winter Nights Ball

Jan. 19th - Dyslexia Screening (K-2) *appt's required

Jan. 19th - Talent Show Auditions @ 12:30

Jan. 26th - AVANT Test @ 12:30

Jan. 31st - No School /Staff Collaboration Day & Last Day of Semester 1

Feb. 1st - First Day of Semester 2

Feb. 2nd - No School / District Wide Professional Development Day

Feb. 2nd - ASVAB at SVEC

Feb. 7th - Parent Advisory Meeting

Feb. 13th - Spelling Bee

Check out our online calendar for even MORE events and MORE DETAILS on the ones listed here!

On Thursday January 25th, Superintendent Shawn Woodward and all of the School Board members will be visiting our school between 10:00-11:30 am!

We are looking forward to our district’s leaders experiencing our school community during the day. It is impossible to take a tour of SVEC and not be impressed.

I am sure you will see them out and about. Feel free to stop and ask them a question or tell them how you feel about our school! Proudly wear your SVEC swag that day if you have some:). Our staff wil be wearing theirs as well.

Each student must have contact with a certificated teacher every week.

How can this be accomplished?

• The student attends class with a certified teacher

OR

• The student talks in person, on the phone or on Zoom with their WSLP consultant about courses in their learning plan.

OR

• The student calls or drops by the main office to talk to a certified teacher about courses in their learning plan.

If your student will not attend any classes in a week for any reason we still need to talk to them. This could include vacation, illness, canceled classes, and non-school days. Please communicate absences of a week or more with your WSLP consultant AND the main office.

*Please take in consideration that students enrolled in programs such as School To Go and BookShark may have a separate attendance/contact agreement with their program teacher. It will be important to discuss these specifics with your student’s WSLP consultant AND their program teacher.

Questions? Contact Cara McCrain

For Our Families With Tweens and Teens:

Please be mindful that this is a K-12, family-oriented campus, with a lot of little ones around.

Language, public displays of affection (more than a quick hug and I love you). crude gestures or drawings are not tolerated here at SVEC, in any location on campus.

*This type of behavior will result in a student losing the privilege of being on campus without an adult.***

What types of behaviors can result in a student needing to have an adult with them on campus, even if they are 12 or older, regardless of what program they are in?

• Skipping class
• Repeated tardiness
• Unsatisfactory progress
• Inappropriate language, gestures, or drawings
• Anything that could result in school discipline (vandalism, bullying, etc)
• Public displays of affection except for hand holding, quick hugs, and saying "I love you." : )

And For Our Families With Young Children:

Please keep an eye on your little ones at all times, or "deputize" another friend or parent to keep a look out if you need to be in a class. And please supervise children on the playground at all times. In particular it is our expectation that students under 12 always have a parent or other adult with them on the playground.

We all want Sky Valley to be a safe place for our families to be - and that takes all of us working together!

Thank you to all our families who have been on top of our drills - and our unplanned alarm that occurred awhile ago. : )

Our goal is to practice and be prepared in the unlikely event of a real emergency.

We know drills can seem complicated already in our crazy, wonderful school, so in an effort to keep it simple and safe please know…

• The teacher or staff member present in the classroom or space at the time of the drill or incident is in charge.
• The teacher or staff member present is expected to prioritize student safety above all else, and staff safety is the next priority.
• If your child is in a classroom at the time of an event or drill, the student is expected to remain with the teacher throughout the event.

Being really clear with our procedures, and following the directions of staff will help our community be organized and safe in the event of an emergency.

If you have any questions, or have a unique situation you’d like to discuss, don’t hesitate to reach out to our administrators, Karen or Pexa at any time!

We’re making some great changes this year to streamline testing week!

Stay tuned for more details. Students can still look forward to snacks and treats and a fabulous party to celebrate their efforts on Friday.

Washington State requires we offer the following tests to our students:

-Smarter Balanced Assessments (Math & English) for students in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th & 10th grades.

-Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science for students in 5th, 8th and 11 grades.

We rely on our entire SVEC community to keep our school innovative. We look forward to hearing all of your creative ideas! Planning for the 2024-2025 school year begins.... NOW. Please submit parent and student class suggestions HERE.

We wanted to let families know that our Parent Advisory Committee has been working on ideas to make our parking lot more orderly and safe. You may notice some new signage or cones in the weeks to come as we try to balance convenience and safety for our community.

As always, we are open to your feedback as we roll out some of these ideas.

• mechanisms to lock exterior doors without going outside
• reliable, functioning window coverings
• adding speed bumps (when we get a couple dry days!)
• upgrading exterior lighting
• feasibility and cost of possible cameras on our campus

While these things don’t happen overnight, we do want our community to know we are working on it!

Who: Students aged 14 -16.

What: Pages participate for one 40-hour work week, assisting the House of Representatives with duties including serving on the chamber floor, making deliveries throughout campus, supporting member offices, and attending Page School.

When: Apply now, there are 9 different opportunities between Jan. 8th & March 4th Where: On the Capitol Campus in Olympia. ​

Why: Pages earn a stipend of $65 a day and can also earn up to 20 hours of community service.

Apply and learn more HERE!

• Jostens.com for gowns, caps, stoles. Needs to be completed by Feb 1st
• Yearbook photo for seniors due by March 1st, send to: svecyearbook@gmail.com
• Graduation slideshow pics due April 28th to: huberh@monroe.wednet.edu
• Offsite credits - get them done ASAP :). Call the office to make an appoinment to present your work so you can recieve credit.

Big changes are coming to financial aid applications for the 2024-25 academic year. The changes will increase eligibility, make more money available, and simplify the form. Because of these improvements, financial aid applications likely won’t be available until December 31, 2023.

But just because you are waiting for financial aid applications to open, doesn’t mean you should wait on other important steps. Here are some things to take care of in the meantime:

Create your FAFSA or WASFA account:

• Create a FAFSA account on the Federal Student Aid website. Most people should complete the FAFSA to maximize financial aid.

• Create a WASFA account on the Washington Student Achievement Council website if you’re ineligible to use FAFSA.

• Remember your login info or store it somewhere secure. Do not share this info with anyone.

Would your child benefit from working with an Edge Coach to improve their executive functioning skills? Our Edge trained coaches at SVEC are prepared to support your children in grades 6-12) in meeting their goals, so please reach out to JeNell if you are interested in this program.

Retooling the New Year’s Resolution for ADHD

Family/Parent Workshops begin soon!: 4 sessions total each

• Parenting Teens (ages 12-18), begins Feb 7
• Addressing Challenging Behavior (ages 4-12), begins February 7

Kinder - 2nd grade Dyslexia Screening @ SVEC

*January 8-February 5: Students will need to complete the iReady reading assessment (on-site or off-site)

*Friday, January 12th or 19th, 9am-12pm, Room 2: Students will also need to make an in-person RAN assessment appointment in the office (each assessment takes 4-6 minutes)

For more information:

Amber Ortiz, Family Engagement Coordinator

Amy Turner-McVey, Montessori and Reading Teacher

SVEC Food Rescue Committee NEEDS MORE VOLUNTEERS

Tuesdays @10am - help unload and set-up donation deliveries

Tuesdays @2:30pm - help clean-up donation and break-down cardboard

Food Bank Drive Coordinator/Volunteer

For more information: Amber Ortiz

Vision & Hearing Screenings have concluded. If you missed them, please call or stop by the office on a Friday and schedule a screening with our nurse, Miss Kathleen.

Students and families can attend on their own or students can join Sarah and JeNell on a field trip. We have reserved a bus and plan to leave at 8:15AM (Saturday, Feb. 3rd). Permission slips are available in the main office.

Bonus: Breakfast and lunch will be provided:)

Wishing you had access to free, easy-to-use credit classes for your high schooler?

Wondering what other free resources we have?

Feel like you have successfully taught your other children to read/do math, but with this one it’s not working?

Struggling to figure out how to get all the subjects or credits you need for your student?

We have a curriculum library full of free courses at your fingertips!

Check it out in the Library, or ask Katie Kent for help. Her desk is in the library and she is available Tuesday-Friday to help. Amber Ortiz, our Family Engagement Coordinator is also an excellent resource for parents, as well as our School Counselors, JeNell Buchanan and Sarah Parry.

You are not alone! And SVEC is always a Judgment-Free Zone. : )

Email: rosencransk@monroe.wednet.edu
Website: https://www.monroe.wednet.edu/svec
Location: 351 Short Columbia Street, Monroe, WA, USA
Phone: 360-804-2700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkyValleyEducationCenter/
Twitter: @MonroeWAschools