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PARENT NEWSLETTER 301 W. Hendrickson Rd., Sequim, WA 98382
360.582.3500 office ▪ 360.582.9468 fax ▪ Office Hours: 7:30am to 3:30pm
Website: www.sequimschools.org
Principal’s Message:
We’re all familiar with the saying, “April showers bring May flowers.” Well, April showers also bring
state testing for millions of kids in Washington. Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA) will officially start
on Tuesday, April 30th for our 8th grade students. Testing will continue, for all students, through most of
May. Your child’s teacher will communicate the exact date of each assessment.
We appreciate your efforts to bring your child rested and ready to engage in a challenging assessment.
As you know, students are tested over multiple days for nearly two hours each session. We have devel-
oped a schedule where students will only be tested one day per week. Here’s a website which has
practice opportunities for your child: https://wa.portal.airast.org/training-tests.stml
We hope you had a chance to connect with SMS during the Student-Led Conferences. It was great see-
ing so many families being part of our learning community. If for any reason you were unable to
attend, please connect with our office and we’ll be glad to schedule a time to meet with you.
We had our last Wolfpack (advisory) of the year on April 25th. The lesson focused on one
of our school improvement goals; creating more hopeful kids. Students participated in a
time travel activity. They discussed and wrote about their future through life’s four
major destinations: home & family, hobbies & recreation, community & service, and
education & career. Our goal is to help students visit their future (mentally time travel)
and return to the present to prepare for the journey. Time traveling is an essential com-
ponent in creating hope for kids. We encourage you to discuss this activity with your child.
Lastly, we had an awesome Spring Formal for our 7th & 8th graders earlier this month. A special thanks
goes out to our Leadership Students and Mr. Miko for putting together such a wonderful event.
As always, feel free to contact us if you have
any questions or concerns.
We’ll be glad to help in any manner.
For Kids,
Vince Riccobene
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 the Se-
quim School Board approved an ex-
tension to the 2018-2019 academic
calendar, to accommodate the snow days accrued in
February. School will now be in session June 14th,
June 17th, June 18th, and June 19th, all scheduled as
full days. In addition, June 17th is NOT a late start
Monday. School will start at 8:15 on June 17th.
Sequim School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or
military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access
to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of
alleged discrimination: Title IX Coordinators, Civil Rights Compliance Coordinators: Randy Hill, 601 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim, WA 98382,
360-582-3609, [email protected] and for Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Matt Duchow, 503 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim, WA 98382,
360-582-3401, [email protected]
The end of the school year is filled with many fun
activities and celebrations for our students. Upcom-
ing events for 8th graders are the Movin’ On
Ceremony and the Wild Waves field trip. In order to
participate, students must be passing (D or better)
all of their classes by June 7 and have NO suspen-
sions or serious disciplinary issues from May 20-
June 13. We appreciate your support.
8th Grade Parents:
You are cordially invited to attend the
8th grade “Movin’ On” Ceremony
June 12th @ 6:00 p.m.
In the Sequim Middle School Gymnasium
Reception to follow in small gym
For eligible students (see requirements above) the
annual 8th grade field trip to Wild Waves is on
Thursday, June 13th. They will leave SMS at 8:20
a.m. and return at 6:15 p.m. The cost of $25 is ad-
mission into the park, all general rides, water slides
and lunch. Suggested items to bring: bathing suit,
towel, sunscreen, sensible shoes, sun glasses, hat,
water, extra change of clothes if going in the water
and extra spending money. Lockers are available to
rent for $10 (fits 1 large school bag), $20 (fits 2-3 large
school bags), and $25 (fits 3-5 school bags). Parent
Permission Forms with all the information will be sent
home the first week of June .
Microsoft Imagine Academy is a required class for
graduation, usually taken in 9th grade. Students
may opt to test out of the class, but passing the
test does not earn high school credit. This rigorous
bypass test is offered twice a year. Current 8th
graders may take the test at Sequim High School
on the following days/times: Tuesday, May 21 or
Thursday May 23 at 3:00 p.m. in Room A4. Or,
Wednesday May 22 or Friday May 24 at 7:00 a.m.
8th Grade Requirements for
End of the Year Activities
If your child has medication in the nurse’s office at school or on the bus, you will be able to pick up all medications from the Middle School office on the last day of school June 19th until 3:00 p.m. or from 9-11:00 on June 20th. You will not be able to get the “bus medications” from your child’s bus driver. Since the school cannot hold medications over the summer, any that are left after June 20th will be discarded. A new medi-cation authorization form, completed by the parent and li-censed healthcare provider, is required each school year. All forms are now available on the Sequim School District home page>Departments>Health Services (forms). You can also get them from your school office. Thank you, Sonja Bittner BSN,RN Sequim School Dist. Nurse
MAY:
7 Grade Check in science class
8 National School Nurses Day
7 Track meet at N. Kitsap Lv. 1:45
15 Track meet at Sequim 3:15
22 Track meet at Kingston High Lv. 1:45
22 5th Grade Parent Night 6:00 SMS Cafe
29 Track meet at Sequim 3:15
27 NO SCHOOL Memorial day
30 Band Concert at 7:00 SMS GYM
31 Spring Fling during the school day
JUNE:
4 Final Grade Check in math classes
5 Track Meet at Stevens Middle. Lv. At 2:15
5 Choir Concert at 7:00 SHS Auditorium
7 No Late Start / School Starts at 8:15
12 Movin’ On Ceremony at 6:00 SMS GYM
13 8th grade Field Trip to Wild Waves
19 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL out at 2:45
25 SMS Office Closes for Summer
AUGUST:
19 SMS Office Opens 8:00-3:00
21 Timberwolf Days 6th grade 11:30-5:30 **
22 Timberwolf Days 7th & 8th grade **
9-12:00 and 1-3:00.
** If you have multiple grade levels you may
come either day. Note: the Health Dept. will only
be here on 8/21 to administer needed immuniza-
tions.
Monday, June 17th will NOT be a Late
Start, school will start at 8:15
Last day of School is June 19th at 2:45
School Medication Pick-Up
Chronic Absences: An estimated 5 to 7.5 million students in the United States miss almost a month of school every year. This adds up to over a year missed by the time of graduation.
Chronic Absence = Missing two or more days per month: Research shows students who miss 10 percent of school, or just two days per month, show negative academic progress. In some schools, that adds up to 18 days a school year and is considered to be chronic absence.
Excused Absences Hurt Too: Excused absences are just as neg-ative as unexcused ones. Suspensions add additional missed time in the classroom, which in turn increases the dropout risk.
Every Minute Matters : If a student is 10 minutes late to school each day, this adds up to missing more than 33 hours of class time. A student with a 90 percent attendance average for Kindergarten through 12th grade will miss over a year of accumulated time in the classroom.
Stop by Student Services to
reserve your copy TODAY!
$18.00 with an ASB Card
$20.00 without
Turn in LIBRARY BOOKS BY JUNE 7th. If a student
has lost or damaged library materials, please make arrangements to pay for the item before June 19th. After we have fin-ished inventory, students with excellent check-out/return records (no overdue books this year) are invited to check out books for the summer!
SMS Library is putting on a coding camp for boys and girls! Discover how to code by creating a project
of your choice. We will be discovering Micro-bits with the boys from June 3rd - 7th and Girls Who Code projects with the girls from June 10th - 14th. Held from 2:45-4:00. Trans-portation is not included. If you have any questions, please call Mrs. Lawson at 360-582-3515 or email [email protected]
