2018-2019 Parent Newsletter

School Hours : 8:30AM – 3:00PM Tues. to Fri. & 9:30AM-3:00PM on Mondays

Office: 360-582-3300 & Bus Garage: 360-582-3274

Greetings from Greywolf,

Congratulations Greywolf Elementary!! For the 6th year

in a row, our staff and students have distinguished themselves

among their peers in the state of Washington state.

This graph shows individual student

growth. At GWE, 80% of our students

have made typical or high growth in

English and Language Arts! 52% of

students showed high growth! Our

math growth was also very exciting!

73% of students showed typical or

high levels of growth!

Please take a minute to share these

results with your kids and show them

the result of hard-work, persever-

ance and grit! Great things are hap-

pening at Greywolf! Thank you for

sharing your kids with us every day.

All my best,

Student achievement is

ranked on a scale from

1-10. This chart uses color

to rank schools across the

state of Washington.

Greywolf students have

done exceptionally well as

compared to their peers

across the state.

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The state SBA testing has already begun for 5th grade students. Testing begins in May

for grades 3 thru 4. Please limit late arrivals and early pickups for appointments. Check

out the schedule on the last page of this newsletter. You can help your child with a good

night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast in the morning to start off their day. Don’t forget to

give them a hug and encouragement, too.

Kindergarten Enrollment & Screening

Monday, May 6th 4:00-5:30pm

Please bring your child for enrollment and screening along with a copy of:

1. Official Certified Birth Certificate (NO Footprints from the hospital, please.)

• Sequim School District requires a birth certificate for registration.

• Need to order a WA State Certificate? www.doh.wa.gov

2. Immunization dates (a completed immunization form must be completely filled out by a parent or guardian and include a signature)

3. Proof of address for our district (rental agreement, lease, PUD or phone bill, or mail with your name/address, etc.)

Enrollment information can be found under "Our School" on our school webpage.

Parent Input Forms

PTA Happenings

We are now accepting parent input for 2019-20 class placements.

Please check your email for the input form or pick one up in the office.

Remember, this form is optional and is only to help you explain your child’s learning needs… not to request a specific teacher.

DEADLINE: forms must be returned to Mrs. McAliley, in the main office, by Friday, May 3rd.

PTA “Kiddo & Me Paint” ~ April 25th 5:15pm in the Gym… Bring your kiddos and learn to paint a picture. $20.00 for adult and student. Signup information available on the Greywolf PTA Facebook page.

Westside Pizza– Friday, May 3rd 5pm-7pm 10% proceeds to the PTA.

PTA Board Members: Positions for next year 2019-2020: Secretary, volunteer coordinator, spirit wear, and yearbook. Other positions are open for anyone interested in volunteering.

Join us at our nextmeet- ing: May 8th, 7pm

Testing Time

Mark Your Calendar

Thank You, Sonja Bittner Sequim School District Nurse

From the Nurse

Lost & Found Sunny days cause jackets, coats, and layered shirts to pile up in our lost and found.

All unclaimed/unlabeled items will be donated, the end of each month.

Please take a look through the lost and found.

Remember to label with your child’s name so items can find their way back home.

Over-Flowing Coats

April 22 Hi-Cap Field Trip

April 25 PTA “Kiddo & Me Paint” 5:15pm

May 3 Westside Pizza Takeover 5-7pm

May 3 Family Movie Night 6:00 to 7:30 “Peter Rabbit” (PG)

May 6 Kindergarten Screening & Registration 4:00-5:30pm in the gym

May 6-10 Teacher Appreciation Week

May 8 PTA Meeting 7pm

May 22 5th Grade Parent Night at Sequim Middle School 6pm

Going on a Field Trip?

It’s field trip time at Greywolf. If you plan on attend-

ing any field trip with your student an on -

line volunteer application MUST be

completed each school year at

least 2 weeks prior to the field

trip. Don’t miss out!

Volunteer/Field Trip on-line application!

https://sequimvolunteers.hrmplus.net/.

(You can check with the office or your

child’s teacher to see if you are already on the

"Oral health means more than sound teeth. Oral health is integral to overall health..."

Oral Health in America, A Report of the Surgeon General 2000

Good oral health is important for good general health and quality of life. Oral health affects both physical health and mental health. It affects how we grow, enjoy life, look, speak, chew, taste food and socialize. Dental care remains a top unmet health care need for children. But dental disease is largely preventable by practicing sim-ple behaviors at home. Learn ways to prevent tooth decay and gum disease and enjoy better overall health.

https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/children_adults/child.htm

Due to Dr. Kirsti Turella’s (DDS),

and Amy Pearson’s (RDA) dedi-

cation and concern for our stu-

dent’s oral health, your child

may have received oral health education in their

classroom recently. The Oral Health Education

Program is exciting, inventive and VERY im-

portant to the Sequim School District.

Thank you! Dr. Turella and Amy Pearson for

all the time you volunteer for our students!

If you have Apple Health (Washington State sponsored insurance program for children), den-tal care is provided free or low-cost for children under age 19. Please contact your school’s health services if we can be of any assistance in helping you get Apple Health or dental care for

your child.

▪

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, 503 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim, WA 98382, 360-582-3261, rhill@sequimschools.org ; and for Section 504/ADA Coordinator,

Matt Duchow, 503 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim, WA 98382, 360-582-3401, mduchow@sequimschools.org.

Violent Media and Aggressive Behavior in Children Does watching violence on TV, in movies, or video games promote aggression? With recent worry about violence in the United States, one of the questions that always comes up is whether vio-lent media promotes violent or aggressive behavior. This is something that is especially important to think about for parents, as violent content is common on television and in movies, on the internet, and in some of the most popular children’s video games.

Although the issue is often presented as controversial in the media, we have pretty good evidence that exposure to vio-lent media does make children more aggressive. And we’ve known it for decades. In one of the most well-known studies on this topic (published all the way back in the 1960s), researchers showed preschoolers a video of an adult playing with an inflatable doll. In the video, the children watched as the adult sat on the doll, punched it in the nose, hit the doll on the head with a mallet, and kicked it repeatedly. After watching the video, the children were brought into a playroom with the same doll and lots of other toys. As predicted, the kids who watched the aggressive video imitated what they saw—they beat the doll with a mallet, and they punched and kicked it. What was most surprising was that the children found new and creative ways to beat up the doll, and they played more aggressively with the other toys in the room as well. In other words, children didn’t just imitate the aggressive behaviors they saw; seeing aggressive behaviors caused these kids to play more aggressively in general (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963).

Very recent research suggests that these effects can become particularly problematic when guns are involved. Research-ers from Ohio State University brought pairs of 8- to 12-year-old children into a lab and showed them a 20-minute version of a popular PG-rated movie—either the Rocketeer (1991) or National Treasure (2004). In the edited movie, the children either saw that actual movie footage, which contained characters using guns, or they watched a version where the guns were edited out. They were then presented with a large room that contained various toys including Legos, nerf guns, and games. Not surprisingly, the children who watched the movie with the guns played more aggressively than children who watched the movie with the guns edited out, consistent with previous research.

This research suggests that violent media can cause aggressive behavior in children, and that this behavior can be incredi-bly problematic if the violent media includes guns. Indeed, children are incredibly curious about guns, and they can have difficulty understanding the difference between real and toy guns (Benjamin, Kepes, & Bushman, 2017).

So can viewing violent media cause more aggression in children? The answer based on this research is a very clear yes. And it’s worth pointing out that the videos children saw in the studies I described were pretty mild; they either saw a homemade video of someone playing roughly with a doll, or 20-minute clips of movies that were rated PG. The violence in these videos pales in comparison to the violence in other full-length movies and in video games, which have also been linked to increases in aggressive behavior (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). The clear implication from here is that if you don’t want your children to be aggressive or violent, keep them away from violent media, and even away from toy weap-ons that might encourage aggressive behavior all on their own. That doesn’t mean you won’t end up with an aggressive child—some children are just naturally more aggressive than others—but it’s certainly a start.

References Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12, 353-359. Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1963). Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 3-11. Berkowitz, L., & LePage, A. (1967). Weapons as aggression-eliciting stimuli. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 7(2p1), 202-207.

Cheryl McAliley, School Counselor

Greywolf Elementary

Mrs. McAliley,

GWE School

Counselor

Hi Parents/Guardians. Please read the article below from Psychology Today. Elementary age students are negatively affected by exposure to violence in movies, video games, and at home. It is important for caretakers to monitor and ensure that children are watching age-appropriate content. Cheryl McAliley, School Counselor

All Greywolf students and staff practiced a

successful shelter in place

drill on April 9th.

NOTICE OF HIV/AIDS PREVENTION EDUCATION CLASS

Dear Parent/Legal Guardian:

In response to the growing threat of HIV to our population, the 1988 Washington State Legislature mandated that a program of prevention education be presented to student’s yearly, beginning with the 5th grade. The Sequim School District #323 has adopted an appropriate program for HIV/AIDS education with the advice of educators, parents, and community members.

Greywolf Elementary School 5th graders will be attending an HIV/AIDS education class on Friday, May 24th. The class will be taught the last hour of the day, 2:00 - 3:00pm. Boys and girls will be taught in separate classrooms.

Two parent preview meetings were held last October to allow par-ents to preview the curriculum.

STATE LAW PROVIDES THAT A PARENT OR GUARDIAN MUST AT-TEND SUCH A MEETING BEFORE THEY CAN HAVE THEIR CHILD OR LEGAL WARD EXCUSED FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE HIV PRE-VENTION PROGRAM.

If you have any questions, please call Sonja Bittner, School Nurse at 360-477-7728.

From the Nurse

Remind your friends, too!

School Drills

April 12, 2019

Dear Parent/Guardian:

This spring, your child will take the Smarter Balanced tests in Math and English Language Arts. Students in grades 5 will

also take the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS). This is the fifth year our state will administer

the Smarter Balanced tests and the second year for the WCAS. The results from these tests will give a more accurate

picture of whether students are on track to be ready for college or career.

Most students will take the tests online. Our school is scheduled to take the tests:

5th grade 4th grade 3rd grade

5th grade will be

bused to Sequim

Middle School for

all testing.

4th grade will test in their classrooms

using Laptop Computers.

3rd grade will test in the

computer lab or in their

classrooms using Laptop

Computers.

4/19 – Science

5/8 & 5/15- English/Lang Arts:

Little/Withrow

5/7- English/Lang Arts

4/26- English/Lang

Arts

5/9 & 5/16 - English/Lang Arts:

Merring/Stewart

5/14- English/Lang Arts

5/3-English/Lang

Arts

5/22 & 5/29 -Math: Little/Withrow

5/21- Math

5/17- Math 5/23 & 5/30-Math: Merring/Stewart 5/28- Math

5/24- Math 5/31- Math

For more information about the Smarter Balanced tests, visit www.k12.wa.us/smarter.

To try out an online Smarter Balanced practice test, visit https://wa.portal.airast.org/training-tests.stml.

For more information about the WCAS, visit http://www.k12.wa.us/Science/Assessments.aspx.

To try out a WCAS training test, visit https://wa.portal.airast.org/training-tests.stml.

Please call the Greywolf Office at 360-582-3300, if you have questions about state testing.

Thank you for continuing to work with us to make sure your child is successful. Please let us know if there is anything we

can do to better support your child. We want your child to leave us with a solid foundation of skills and a future full of

opportunities. Parents, you can support your child(ren) by making sure they get a good night’s rest and eat a good

breakfast.

Sincerely,

Donna Hudson, Principal