Good evening families,
I hope this email finds you healthy and well. We are a week away from the first day and I know there are many unknowns and anxieties about the start of school. Please know our teachers are working hard to prepare and are excited to see your children virtually next week!
The school board voted on several key decisions last night. Central Office decisions are being made daily, I will share these and other updates with you. Moving forward, you can expect weekly emails from me (likely on Fridays). Next week, I may send additional information if more is available in the interim. Please see below for updates.
First Day of School Sept 4th: The first day of school for 1st-5th is September 4th. The first day for preschool and kindergarten is September 8th.
Schedules: Bell times are 8:30am-3:00pm with early release Wednesday at 1:45pm. We will finalize our building daily schedule and share with you by September 2nd.
“Strong Start”: The first week of school Sept 4th-11th will focus on social emotional learning, learning routines for virtual learning, and connecting with families. SPS Central Office will release more details with schools soon, and I will share these next week.
Teacher Assignments on 8/27: Most teacher assignments were released today. Some; however, were not due to an uncooperative data management system. We hope to have it fixed tomorrow.
Beginning of Year Family Connection Meetings: All families will have a meeting with your child’s teacher in the first weeks of school. The purpose is to learn about your hopes for your child, strengths and challenges about remote learning, and discuss how to work together to best support you and your child.
Devices: 3rd-5th grade students will receive laptops. More specifics on delivery dates as the devices arrive at school. They are scheduled to be here before Sept. 9. iPads for K-2nd arrive in the next couple weeks. We understand this creates significant challenges for students who do not have a device, and we are trying to find out the delivery date and will get them to families as soon as possible.
Learning Platforms: The district has shared Microsoft Teams will be the common videoconferencing platform for class meetings. For organizing classes, assignments and lessons we will use Seesaw for grades K-4, and Schoology for fifth grade to prepare for middle school. The district will share webinars and tip sheets with families about these programs.
Free and Reduced Meal Application: The Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application are now available for families to apply online (www.paypams.com/onlineapp) for the 2020-21 school year. Applications also are available on the Nutrition Services webpage at www.seattleschools.org/meals.
Contact Information:
Office Staff Dana Keene (Office Manager) – dlkeene@seattleschools.org or Michelle Dougherty (Office Assistant) – mpdougherty@seattleschools.org (help with start of school forms, enrollment, etc.)
Family Support Worker (Andrea Bergan): support with food, housing, resources – aebergan@seattleschools.org
Bilingual Instructional Assistants
Ms. Gloria Downie (Spanish Bilingual IA) – gedownie@seattleschools.org
Mr. Joel Fisaha (Tigrinya & Amharic Bilingual IA) – jtfisaha@seattleschools.org
Administration
Brent Ostbye, Principal – boostbye@seattleschools.org
Please reach out to me any time. If you have emailed me, please know I am working through my inbox and will respond to you as quickly as I can!
In partnership,
Brent Ostbye
Principal
John Rogers Elementary
