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We keep you informed throughout the year with poignant posts and informative articles.
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BLOG
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We keep you informed throughout the year with poignant posts and informative articles.
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Dear Families, Administrators and Teachers:
Mukilteo Elementary PTSA (ME PTSA) is continuing our participation in the National PTA School of Excellence program to grow our family-school partnerships and enrich the educational experience and overall well-being of all students in our community. As part of the process, National PTA requests feedback from families, administrators and teachers at two points in the school year—the beginning and the end. We used results from the first survey to identify an action plan for continuous improvement. Your initial survey responses let us know that our families need more support as their students transition into kindergarten, out of 5th grade, and into the district’s specialty programs based at our school. In early April, we held our first Family Connect sessions for Middle School and Summit Program transitions. Next week, we will hold a Family Connect session for Kindergarten, to connect new and experienced families through ME PTSA. We hope to continue building on these points of connections, and strengthening our existing efforts to create a strong community where everyone belongs and every student thrives. Now it is time for our second survey! We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, and kindly ask for your feedback once again. Your responses will not only help us show our improvements but will also provide us with more information as we continue to build upon our efforts to enhance family-school partnerships in the future. Please take 5-10 minutes to reflect on your experience at this school and share your feedback by Friday, May 27th. You can return the paper survey to your student’s teacher, or complete the survey online. Please choose the response that most accurately expresses how you feel about your experience. This survey is completely anonymous, and we encourage you to share any additional feedback online, or attached to the paper survey. If anyone needs a translated survey, they are available in Arabic, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), French, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Sincerely, Erin Senge President, ME PTSA In conversations with families, as well as reviewing responses to our initial School of Excellence survey, we realized that ME PTSA could help better support families and students transitioning in and out of Mukilteo Elementary's regular and special programs.
We will be hosting several Family Connect sessions for families to directly exchange information, advice, and perspectives on the transitions to kindergarten, to middle school, and to the Summit program. If you have a current (or former!) kindergarten, middle school, or Summit student, we hope that you will join and share your perspectives on your student's experience. If your student will be transitioning into kindergarten, middle school, or the Summit program, these sessions will be the place where you can ask questions and get answers from the parent and student perspectives. Family Connect: Middle School - Monday, April 4th at 7pm - RSVP Here Family Connect: Summit Program - Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm - RSVP Here Family Connect: Kindergarten - Monday, May 30th at 7pm - RSVP Here Please RSVP for each session you'd like to attend, and let us know a little bit about you and how we can best support you! Questions? Email [email protected] High Trek Everett is teaming up with local elementary schools to encourage our students to develop strong reading habits and to experience outdoor adventures in the PNW!
During the month of March, students who reach the goal of 8 hours of recreational reading will earn their choice of a Ropes Course or Laser Tag Adventure at High Trek Everett (valued up to $40!). You may also choose a discounted Summer Camp voucher (valued at $50!). Rewards will be delivered before May 1st, and can be used immediately! Just complete the reading log between March 1 through 31st - these minutes also count for your Million Minutes - and submit your log by April 15th. Thank you, High Trek, for this opportunity to earn such a fun adventure! Mukilteo School District Board of Directors approved resolutions during their November 22 board meeting to place two levy resolutions on the Feb. 8, 2022, election ballot: a Replacement Educational Programs Levy and a Capital Projects Levy for technology and facilities. The current Educational Programs Levy and Capital Projects Levy will expire in 2022. The proposed levies, if passed, would replace the expiring levies. Check out the full presentation on the district site, and watch this video to learn more about levies.
ME PTSA voted to endorse these levies at our December meeting, so we encourage you to vote 'YES' and turn in your ballot by February 8! Follow the Citizens' Team on Facebook to stay updated and learn how you can get involved!
Thank you to everyone who completed the survey for our application to the School of Excellence Program! You can see an overview of the responses here, and further down is a link to view the presentation with more detailed information. We'll be submitting the survey results with our application on Monday, November 15th, following a discussion at our general meeting.
Check out the slides below to visualize responses to each question. You can view this presentation a little larger here.
ME PTSA is applying to the National PTA School of Excellence program, which requests feedback from the school community at both the beginning and end of the school year.
Printed surveys are headed home with students. The class with the most survey responses will win a special prize! Please write your teacher's name on any returned forms and deliver to the office at the end of the day on Wednesday, November 10th. The survey can also be completed online. The survey is also available to print in the following languages: Arabic Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Simplified) French Portuguese Somali Spanish Swahili Tagalog Vietnamese Thank you for your support of ME PTSA, and for helping to build a strong school community! ME PTSA is affiliated and in good standing with the Washington State PTA and National PTA organizations. These organizations are first and foremost advocacy organizations dedicated to bettering the lives of every child focusing on education, health, and safety. You can read more about the history and many successes of the PTA here. There is no commitment required to join ME PTSA, other than the membership fee. Your membership alone helps to create a powerful voice to advocate for every child in our school, district, community, state, and nation. Membership fees provide a very small portion of the ME PTSA budget, the majority of our budget comes from generous donors who support our annual fundraiser. The ME PTSA budget funds programs that benefit every M.E. student, including all materials for the art docent program, as well as grants for every classroom and specialist. ME PTSA also funds and coordinates many great events and initiatives that build up our community and students, like the Reflections Art Program, the Pumpkin Party, Multicultural Night, STEAM Night. Our budget is completely donation-based, and our organization is completely run by volunteers. All of our efforts need helping hands to be successful. The backside of the Membership Form has a little more info on volunteering for a typical year's programs, but our most urgent and important needs look a little different this year. Please read on for a little more about each need, and let us know how you would like to get involved! Just email [email protected] for more info! Co-President Erin needs help!! Basic commitment includes attending two meetings a month, the General Membership meeting and Exec Committee meeting one week prior. Vice President - Communications Update websites and social media, send out weekly newsletter. Attend two meetings a month, General Membership meeting and Exec Committee meeting one week prior. Art Docent Chair/Co-chair Basic duties include coordinating Art Docent program and volunteers, making sure art docent supplies are maintained, organized, and replenished (shopping for art supplies is fun!!). Bonus duties include coordinating projects for teachers or take-home while volunteers are not permitted on campus, and helping with creation of curriculum and lessons. Reflections Chair/Co-chair Coordinate student participation in National/State PTA arts contest. In typical years, we’ve held an after school art workshop where kids could make art using materials belonging to the Reflections committee, and organized a gallery night to display and enjoy all the student artwork. This year, art will all be submitted digitally again, so we just need someone to facilitate that and help promote the program. Virtual workshops may also be an option. Advocacy Chair Keep ME PTSA updated on state and national advocacy efforts. Attend Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly, recruit other voting delegates. Work with WSPTA contacts on state and local advocacy opportunities. MultiCultural Night & Committee Co-Chair In normal years, we have a Multicultural Night where families can host a table to share their cultural with our school community. It is one of our most fun events and we have some great ideas for our next in-person Multicultural Night. Last year, we did a virtual Multicultural celebration, where kids and families submitted videos of their favorite aspects and elements of their cultures and traditions. In the past few years, we have tried to highlight Multicultural events like Black History Month and Asian-American Pacific Islander History Month, but would love to have a committee of multicultural volunteers to help us represent and celebrate the many cultures and religions in our community! Talent Show
In the past, we have held an in-person Talent Show. The past two years, we did virtual, and would love to continue including a virtual/video element even when we can return to in-person. We need a Committee Chair/Co-Chair to help with this event, including auditions for an in-person event, rehearsals, and/or coordinating virtual submissions. National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month is observed through the month of September, but especially on September 10th and the week surrounding that day. Throughout this month, we will be sharing information and resources to help raise awareness about suicide prevention, especially material that grown-ups can use to address the issues with their students. We will continue to update this post with additional links and resources. For immediate support, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, or start a chat. The Depression Project has good information and resources. Read Dawn Krivanek's article in Parent Map Magazine: Why You Need to Talk to Your Child About Suicide Now, and find more helpful resources. The "A Kids Book About" series covers some really important topics, including depression, anxiety, mindfulness, and suicide. Some of these titles are available in the M.E. school library, and hopefully we'll be able to find them at the public library soon as well.
One of Washington State PTA's Legislative Priorities this session is to Prevent and Reduce Gun Violence & Suicide. Learn more about the WSPTA Legislative Priorities and advocacy and read the handout here. Most of our officers are returning for a second year, but we are so happy to welcome Jessie Goodpaster, the new Vice President of Membership! We still need a Vice President of Communications, and a Co-President, if you are looking for a way to get involved. Read on to get to know your 2021-22 Officer team, and consider joining us! We have fun doing meaningful work! Erin Senge - President We've been part of the M.E. community since we moved to Mukilteo from L.A. in 2015. This year, I'll have daughters in 6th and 3rd, and my son in 1st. Despite all the craziness, I'm looking forward to another great year with a great ME PTSA team and all our fabulous staff and families. If you see me, say hello! Jessie Goodpaster - VP Membership My daughter is in 1st grade and I have a 4-year-old son. My husband and I are originally from Idaho but moved to Mukilteo in 2010 and absolutely love it here! In my spare time I enjoy playing cello in the Mukilteo Community Orchestra. My other hobbies include reading, crafting, and caring for my houseplants. I am excited to join the ME PTSA Board to help give back to our amazing school and community! Melissa Adams - Treasurer I have two daughters, one in 6th grade and one in preschool. I love drawing from my background in engineering, culinary arts and music to share knowledge, appreciate cultures, explore and improve the world around me. My family and I moved here from Michigan about three years ago and we are thrilled to be a part of this amazing community. I am excited to continue to work with ME staff and families to enhance the educational experience for our students. Kelly Ho - Secretary I am the parent of a current 5th grader at ME and a high school freshman. I am a stay-at-home mom, but in my pre-kids life, I was a substitute teacher down in Southern California. Because of my SoCal upbringing, I am a Disney-holic who enjoys Disney theme parks, Disney cruises, and stays at Aulani in Hawaii. Since moving up to WA 10 years ago, I have expanded my interests to short scenic hikes/walks, volunteering, and sewing. I love to make new friends and am really easy-going. I hope to meet more ME parents at future PTSA events as I join an amazing group of ME volunteers and try to help ME become an even more awesome school! We are SO excited to be able to have an in-person Book Fair this Spring! We know our students LOVE the Book Fair, and so do we! Read on below to get ALL the info you need to get ready! For our students' safety, the Book Fair will be held outside, in the undercover basketball court area. Classes will visit the Book Fair once during school hours. Families & Zoomies can make a reservation to shop after school hours on select days. Masks and social distancing are required at all times.
IN-PERSON Each class will visit the Book Fair ONCE during school hours. Watch for your student's shopping date soon! During their class visit, students can shop with cash, check (made out to ME PTSA), or Scholastic's eWallet option. The Book Fair will also be open on select days for afternoon and evening shopping, perfect for distance learners and families! Reservations are required, please RSVP here. Shopping will be limited to your reserved time slot, masks and social distancing are required at all times. CASH COUNT VOLUNTEERS We also need a few volunteers each day to help count the money in the cash registers before the Book Fair opens, and when it closes. Please plan on a half-hour. During school day mornings, this can be done any time between 9am and 10:30am. Please sign up here! ONLINE SHOPPING Students love the Book Fair flyer, check it out online! It's a great way for student's to make a wishlist and a shopping budget! You can also shop the Book Fair online from May 23 - June 5th - including an expanded selection of over 6,000 titles! SCHOLASTIC eWALLET Scholastic's eWallet option gives kids a safe, cashless, no-contact way to shop the Book Fair. This digital payment option can be used at the in-school Book Fair, or online at the virtual Book Fair. How it works:
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