K8 Weekly Memo

 Dear K8 Team,

As we head into this short but meaningful week, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for each of you. Your dedication, care, and commitment to our students and each other create a community we can all be thankful for.

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the blessings in our lives, and I count our school family among mine. This week is an excellent opportunity to weave that spirit of gratitude into our classrooms. While we honor the season with thoughtful celebrations, let’s continue to maximize learning during these precious few days. Ensuring our focus remains on engagement and academic progress will help students finish strong before the holiday break.

As you plan your classroom activities, please limit parties and ensure celebrations are balanced with meaningful instruction. Encouraging students to express gratitude through writing, art, or collaborative projects can be a wonderful way to celebrate the season while staying on-task.

Thank you for being the incredible, caring, and hardworking team that you are. Wishing you all a joyful and restful Thanksgiving holiday!

With gratitude,
Brett

PBIS Tip

Points of Interest

K5 IM Math PD

Thank you for your engagement during last Friday's professional development on Illustrative Mathematics. As we discussed, the lesson format—warm-up, instructional activities, lesson synthesis, and cool-down—is intentionally designed to guide students through a cohesive learning experience. Maintaining this structure and adhering to the instructional practices as designed ensures that all students benefit from the progression of concepts and the opportunities to engage deeply with the material. Let’s continue to prioritize this approach in our classrooms to maximize student growth and achievement.  I look forward to conducting instructional rounds to observe your skillful lesson facilitation and the dynamic engagement of your students!

School ID Card

Staff’s ID cards are now programmed to unlock school doors for added convenience and security. Simply hold your card near the reader on the door panel, and it will grant you access—no additional key needed!  Not all card readers are working yet, please be patient as we continue to get this system going. 

Renewing Certificate Data Change - Action Needed

The renewal date for Washington State Teacher certifications has been moved up to January. Please check your certification status and ensure all renewal requirements are completed promptly to avoid any disruptions!

Sign Up to Help with Family Night Out – Santa’s Workshop & Christmas Dinner! - Action Needed

Family Night Sign-up Link

We’re preparing for a magical Family Night Out on December 12th, and we need your holiday spirit to make it unforgettable! The evening will feature STEAM and craft activities in Santa’s Workshops, cozy story rooms filled with holiday tales, and plenty of cocoa and cookies to set the festive mood.

To bring this vision to life, we need your help! Whether you can assist with workshops, host a story room, manage cocoa and cookies, or lend a hand with setup and cleanup, your contribution will help create a special night for our students and their families.

If you haven’t signed up yet, please do so as soon as possible—we need to finalize supply orders this week to ensure everything is ready in time! Let me know how you’d like to get involved. Together, we can make this event truly magical! 

K5 Christmas Sing-Along Concert Song - Action Needed

Christmas Song Sign-Up Link

Please choose two songs for your grade level to sing during our Christmas Sign-Along Concert. We’ll use a YouTube playlist featuring the music and lyrics so the audience can sing along with the students, so make sure your selected carols are available on YouTube. No need to worry about perfect pitch—this sing-along is all about spreading holiday cheer and celebrating together as we head into winter break!

Counselor Corner

It’s a short week and Week 4 of Gratitude!  Let’s focus on loving on our kids before a long break.  Please keep in mind that as we are excited for our Thanksgiving holiday, some students may not be as excited because it means they won’t see their friends, have warm meal, and/or have a friendly face smiling at them throughout the day. 

PurposeFull People: Week 4 of Gratitude!  We are covering these topics this week:

PK/K: Identifying Emotions

1: Emotional Awareness

2: Emotion Regulation

3: Understanding Conflict Resolution

4: Positive Self Talk

5: Stress Management

CharacterStrong:  It’s Week 13! Woohoo! Here’s the topic for grades 6-8th.

6: Building Listening Skills

7: Creating Caring Environments

8: Happiness Mythbusting! (Emotion Regulation)

Thanks for focusing on these lessons and the character development of our students.  You are doing a great job!!!

Calendar

2024-25 K8 Calendar

Monday, 11.25

• Parent Safety Plan Meeting, 8:30 AM

• Behavior Intervention Team, 10:00 AM

• MTSS Admin Meeting, 10:30 AM

• Office Meeting,1PM

• Wrestling @ Chewelah

Tuesday - 11.26

• Student Support Team- K8 Conference Room, 10 AM

Wednesday - 11.27

• No School Thanksgiving Break

Thursday - 11.28

• Thanksgiving Holiday

• No School Thanksgiving Break

Friday - 11.29

• No School Thanksgiving Break

Up and Coming Events:

• High School Hall Sports Banguet, 12.4 6 PM

• Family Night Out: Santa Workshop, 12.12, 5-7 PM

• K5 Christmas Sing-Along Concert Song, 12.19, 1 PM 

Helpful Links

• PLC @ Work Documents

• K8 Daily Schedule

• SWIS Referal 

• K8 Meeting Agenda

• K8 PBIS

• MTSS Process

• K8 Dashboard

 Good morning, Team,

We’ve made it to the week before the holiday season officially begins! As excitement builds, let’s strive for a balance between celebration and maintaining our instructional focus. The upcoming holidays are a time of joy, but this is also a crucial moment to keep students engaged in meaningful learning.

Remember, November is Native American Heritage Month, an excellent opportunity to weave cultural awareness into your lessons. Whether it’s through literature, history, or art, let’s highlight the rich contributions and traditions of Native communities.

As always, thank you for your dedication to fostering an environment of learning, inclusivity, and celebration. Let's finish this week strong while creating moments that uplift both our students and ourselves.

Here’s to a productive and balanced week!
- Brett

Points of Interest

Monopoly Class Prizes

You still have time to cash in your Monopoly Class prize!  Schedule your reward with Bailey, and let the spoiling and supporting of your awesome classes continue. We can’t wait to celebrate with you! 

Two-Hour Late Start

As winter weather approaches, I want to review the two-hour late start procedure.  When we have icey and snowy weather, the district will review road conditions and make a decision by 6:00 AM. In the event of a two-hour delay, a school robo call will be sent out. The goal of a delayed start is to allow time for county transportation to clear roads and for staff to travel safely.

If a delay is announced, you are expected to report to work within the delayed time frame as soon as it is safe to do so. Please take necessary precautions to prepare your driveway and travel plans to ensure your safety.

Thank you for prioritizing safety and adaptability during inclement weather.

Learning Improvement Day

This Friday is our November LID Day.  We will be focusing on PLC at Work, Gradient Math, and AI tools.  Here is the link to the agenda draft.  This is scheduled for certified staff only.  Our next Para LID will be in February.   

PLC at Work Spokane Summer Institute (Aug 13-15)

Solution Tree will be hosting another PLC Institute in Spokane next summer from August 13-15.  We are currently in the process of registering our team and want to ensure strong representation from our school. If you are interested in attending, please let me know.

Social-Emotional and Behavioral Small Group Interventions

We know that interventions are key to helping our students succeed. While academic interventions are often at the top of the mind, addressing social-emotional and behavioral needs is equally critical. 

The Student Success Team is excited to roll out several Tier 2 supports aimed at helping students who are struggling in these areas. These small-group interventions include:

• UpStander Group: Fostering positive peer relationships and conflict resolution.

• Hands-Off Academy: Teaching personal boundaries and respectful interactions.

• Lean-In Girls: Empowering confidence, collaboration, and leadership for young women.

• Newcomers Group: Supporting students new to our school with social and emotional transitions.

• Art Therapy (K-5): Using creativity to process emotions and develop self-regulation skills.

These groups are designed to provide targeted support and help our students thrive in every aspect of school life. Thank you for partnering with us to meet the needs of our students!

Sunshine Committee

Watch your email this week, a special one will be sent out from the Sunshine Committee for staff to sign up for Secret Santa Stockings! 

Reminder: Sign Up to Help with Family Night Out – Santa’s Workshop & Christmas Dinner!

We’re gearing up for a magical Family Night Out this December 12th, featuring STEM and craft activities in mini “Santa’s Workshops,” cozy story rooms with holiday tales, and of course, cocoa and cookies to set the festive mood!

To make this event truly special, we need your help! Whether you’d like to assist with workshops, story rooms, or setup and cleanup, your support will bring this holiday night to life.

If you haven’t signed up yet, please consider joining in the fun and helping us create a memorable evening for our students and families. Let me know how you’d like to pitch in! 

MTSS News

I’m so looking forward to this week and getting back into the routine of things again! The LETRS training has been amazing and I’m excited to keep digging into the learning and applying it to current groups! Tuesday I will be meeting with K-2 during PLC time to look at data and use teacher input to regrouping those kiddos to best fit their needs. I will be meeting with other teachers as well this week to regroup! There is only 5ish more weeks until Christmas break and I really want to hit our kiddos hard with very specific, intentional interventions! I know that student behaviors are under the MTSS umbrella, so there will be some behavior interventions being rolled out as well from our room. Lots of new exciting things are beginning to take form!

Calendar

2024-25 K8 Calendar

Monday, 11.18

• K-3 Hearing and Vision Screening

• Behavior Intervention Team, 10:00 AM

• MTSS Admin Meeting, 10:30 AM

• Office Meeting, 1 PM

• OSSI Meeting, 2 PM

• Gearhart’s Classroom Ice Cream Party, 2:40 PM

• MS Girls Basketball, @ Wellpinit, 4 PM 

• MS Wrestling, Home vs Inchelium, Kettle Falls, and Chewelah (Only Home Meet)

Tuesday - 11.19

• Student Support Team- K8 Conference Room, 10 AM

• Monopoly Grand Prize: Principal Smore Roast, 1:30 PM

• Building Leadership Team Meeting, 3:45 PM

Wednesday - 11.20

• MTSS Round Table, 7:45 AM

• Behavioral Acadamy Meeting, 10 AM

• Behavior Intervention Team, 12:30 PM

• MS Girls Basketball, @ Valley, 4 PM

Thursday - 11.21

• WSU 8th Grade Vaping Lab, 9 AM 

• 5th-7th Hearing and Vision Screening

• Levy Strategic Planning Committee Meeting, 3:45 PM @ Springdale Community Church 

• November Board meeting @ 6 PM

Friday - 11.22

• LID Day

Up and Coming Events:

• 11.27-29 - Thanksgiving Break

• Family Night Out: Santa Workshop, 12.12

Helpful Links

• PLC @ Work Documents

• K8 Daily Schedule

• SWIS Referal 

• K8 Meeting Agenda

• K8 PBIS

• MTSS Process

• K8 Dashboard

• 
  

 Good Morning K8 Team,

I hope each of you enjoyed a restful and well-deserved four-day weekend! With all the hard work and energy you bring to our school each day, I’m grateful for the chance for everyone to recharge.

Last week was an exceptional one! Our PLC and CharacterStrong Tier 2 training went very well, with our PLC teams making significant strides. The collaboration and commitment everyone shows to ensure our students are set up for success is truly inspiring. Thank you all for your participation, thoughtful contributions, and dedication to pushing our PLC goals forward.

A special thank you also goes out to everyone who helped us honor and celebrate our Veterans. Our Veterans Day celebration was meaningful as our students gained a deeper understanding of our Veteran's sacrifices. It was great to have the local VFW present. 

Finally, we celebrated our Charger of the Month recipients, and I couldn’t be prouder of the way you’ve encouraged and recognized our students. The impact of your consistent encouragement and positivity shines through in their achievements and growing confidence.

Thank you all for continuing to make our school a place of support, growth, and encouragement for every student and each other. Here’s to another fantastic week together!

Professional Development Highlight

Behavior Solutions: Leveraging the PLC at Work Process to Teach Essential Behaviors  The heart of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) is to make sure all our students reach high levels of learning. We know that to achieve this, some students will need extra support in developing the skills and behaviors that will help them succeed not just in school but beyond. While this truth resonates with every school, building systematic processes to exopected behvaior is just as essential as our educational targets.  Last weeks training has guided us in exploring how to leverage the PLC at Work process to identify, teach, assess, and intervene when students need support with essential academic and social behaviors. In our commitment in helping all student successed, we are working to develop small group supports.  Last week sseveral Behavioral Academy small groups have launched as a result of this training. Learn more here.

CharacterStrong Tier 2 Workshop Tier 2 is a coordinated approach that provides targeted support for students who need additional help beyond Tier 1 universal supports. Some students have specific social, emotional, or behavioral needs that call for tailored support. CharacterStrong’s Tier 2 focuses on delivering precise, evidence-based interventions, including small group skill instruction, matched to the root causes of students’ needs. Our K8 Student Success Team—Matt, Erin, Mckinsie, Darci, Krysistn, and myself—along with the high school team, attended this valuable training. To learn more about the CharacterStrong Tier 2 clicking into this link.

Points of Interest

Friday School Day

Please be sure to remind your students and families that this Friday is a regular school day. 

Positive, Encouraging, Reinforcing Language.

The repetition of positive and encouraging language within teaching is essential in helping students with both academic and behavior needs.  Positive language builds a supportive classroom culture, boosts engagement, and fosters respect. Consider how your words can promote focus, inclusivity, and constructive behavior management.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
~ Mother Teresa

PLC @ Work

It has been nice to join in several of your PLC team meetings to see how you are using the data tool to analysis your assessments.  This week, I will start making rounds to review your current unit plans and to see how you are updating them to reflect your classroom practices. 

Please be sure to share your ‘list within a list’ of the essential standards with Darci.  She is building support around these standards.

Native American Heritage Month

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, let’s bring Indigenous cultures, histories, and contributions to life in our classrooms. Consider adding activities like storytelling, art projects, or discussions on traditional practices to deepen our students' appreciation and understanding.

Family Night Out: Santa Workshop and a Christmas Diner

We're planning a special Family Night Out in December, featuring multiple STEM and craft activities set up as mini "Santa's Workshops" for our students! We’ll also have cozy story rooms with holiday tales, cocoa, and cookies to complete the festive atmosphere. While we're still in the early planning stages, everything is coming together nicely!

We’d love your help to make this a memorable night. If you're interested in assisting with workshops, story rooms, or setup/cleanup, please let me know. Your support will help bring this event to life!

MTSS News

This is going to be a very busy week for me, with LETRS PD on Tuesday. The LETRS classes online have been very informative and I'm looking forward to how what we are learning as a k-3 team will impact our students, our instructional practices, and interventions now and in the future! Also this week is my daughter’s last trip to the state volleyball tournament Wednesday and Thursday! With all that, I unfortunately will be out of the building most of the week. The rest of the MTSS crew will be here and doing their very best to pick up as many groups as possible and continue progress monitoring! Thank you so much for your understanding! Next week things will be back to normal with a few new group additions and new Round Table discussions.

Calendar

2024-25 K8 Calendar

Monday, 11.11

• Veterans Day No School

Tuesday - 11.12

• Student Support Team- K8 Conference Room, 10 AM

• Brett/Bailey Office Meeting, 3:45  PM 

• Girls Basketball @ Home 

Wednesday - 11.13

• MTSS Round Table, 7:45 AM

Thursday - 11.14

• MS Girls Basketball @ Cusick

• MS Wrestling @ Inchelium

Friday - 11.15

• Regular School Day

• P2P Meeting for Brett at 8AM

• Sport Picture Day

Saturday - 11.16

• MS Girls Basketball, Home Vs, Selkirk (Varisty Only)

Up and Coming Events:

• 11.27-29 - Thanksgiving

Helpful Links

• PLC @ Work Documents

• K8 Daily Schedule

• SWIS Referal 

• K8 Meeting Agenda

• K8 PBIS

• MTSS Process

• K8 Dashboard