King Elementary 2155 Yew Street Road • Bellingham, WA 98229

360.647.6840 http://wadeking.bellinghamschools.org

http://wadekingpta.org wadekingpta@gmail.com

February 2018

A Note from the Principal

Dear Wade King Families,

One way our kindergartners and first graders build their number sense is by keeping track of the number of school days we have had. Most of our youngest learners can tell you exactly how many and this week they would be excited to tell you that we reached our 100th day of school.

Another important day was January 24th. It marked the halfway point of the school year. This is always a good time to pause and think about the growth your child has made this year, both academically and socially.

In late August, many of you came to Curriculum Night and learned about grade level standards for your child(ren). When you came to your student-led conference in November, your child was able to show you his/her work in relation to grade level standards and set goals for the remainder of the school year. Later this month, you will receive your child’s report card which gives you another opportunity to learn how your child is performing in relation to standards.

Bellingham elementary schools use a standards-based reporting system: 4, 3, 2, 1, to provide families with information on progress in relation to grade level standards. In addition to feedback on grade-level standards, report cards also provide feedback on learner attributes. These attributes relate to non-academic goals such as being a critical thinker, producing quality work, and collaborating well with others. Lastly, report cards include a class comment, indicating what all students worked on at that grade level, and specific comments on how your child is progressing and their current goals as readers, writers, and mathematicians.

(continued on page 2)

Upcoming Dates

2/3/18 Chess Tournament at WK PTA Sponsored

2/7/18 1st Grade Field Trip to WWU PTA Sponsored

2/8/18 PTA Meeting in library

2/9/18 NO SCHOOL – Staff Learning Day

2/13/18 Mobile Dental Clinic at WK

2/15/18 WK Chinese New Year Celebration at 8:10am in the Cafeteria We invite you to join us!

2/17/18 NO SCHOOL for President’s Day

2/21/18 1st-5th grade Report Cards sent home with students

2/22/18 YETI Finals for 5th Grade 1:30-4:00pm

2/23/18 Kindergarten Report Cards sent home with students

3/1/18 YETI Finals for 4th Grade 1:30-4:00pm

3/8/18 PTA Meeting in library YOU ARE INVITED!

3/9/18 No School for Students

3/16/18 Talent Show 6:30-8:30pm PTA Sponsored

3/21/18 5th Grade Exhibition Evening

Valentine’s Day Is Coming!

Valentine’s Day is a great day to celebrate friendships and acts of kindness in our school community. Your child’s teacher will let you

know if his/her class will be exchanging Valentine cards brought from home. If your child’s class is exchanging Valentines, and your child chooses to bring them, it is important that he/she bring one for each student in the classroom. In alignment with our district’s

Good Food Promise, and to ensure the safety of our students with allergies, please do not send candy or food treats to school! There is

more information about this in our Wade King Family Handbook.

(Principal’s Message continued)

It is important to remember that Curriculum Night, conferences, and report cards are just some of the ways we communicate student learning. Our teachers also send home newsletters or emails updating families on the learning happening in classrooms. You can also learn a lot by asking your 1st -5th grader to share what he/she wrote in their agenda and by taking time to look at work that comes home. Parents and teachers also call, email, or meet with one another when either has questions or concerns.

Our teachers truly want to partner with you to ensure your child’s success so please, let them know if you have questions about your student’s progress after receiving his/her report card or any time questions come up.

Stephanie Johnson

Principal

RSVP by Emailing Erica Rasmussen

Stay Connected to

Wade King

Wade King Web Page

Wade King on Twitter

Wade King Elementary Facebook Page

Wade King PTA Facebook Page

Wade King Music Facebook Page

Wade King Library Facebook Page

1st -5th grade parents – Read daily

Agenda messages with your child!

Snacks!

We need your help! Our PTA Help and Hope Committee graciously holds snack drives and uses their committee funds to

provide snacks for students who need them. Although the school-wide snack drive

does provide enough snacks for emergencies, and for students whose

families cannot provide snack, it is important that if your student is able to

bring a snack from home, he/she does so. Please check in with your child about

whether he/she usually has a snack from home, needs more snack than is brought, or just likes the school snack more than

what they have from home. If most kids are able to bring a snack from home, we’ll have plenty of snacks for those in need. Thanks!

Wade King Chinese New Year Celebration

Mark your calendars for Thursday, February 15th at 8:10am

One of the ways we develop international mindedness amongst our students is by learning about the Chinese Culture. Every year, we celebrate Chinese New Year as a school community and invite you to join us. This celebration always includes 5th graders presenting our Chinese Dragons, singing, and Shizi the puppet!

We hope you can join us!

Vote by February 13, 2018

Voters will decide on a bond this February

regarding facilities for Bellingham Public

Schools. This bond includes the highest priority

needs. Visit the Bellingham School District

website to learn more.

.

Family Game Night

and 10th Annual Dessert

Thank you Wade King PTA for sponsoring

this fun evening for our families!

Our annual Talent Show is coming up on Thursday, March 16th.

This is an evening event and all families are invited to be a part of our audience. Information on performing in the talent Show went home several weeks ago and our first practice was last week. There is a form to fill out in order to participate. A huge THANK YOU to Kathi Phillips for organizing the Talent Show for us this year. If you have Talent Show questions, you can email her.

Do You Know An Incoming Kindergartener?

Do You Know A Child Who Will Be In Kindergarten Next Fall?

If you know a child who will be 5 on or before August 31st, 2018, and who will attend a Bellingham Public School, please encourage their family to register for KINDERGARTEN at their neighborhood school. Registration is from March 1 to April 30.

Wade King’s Kindergarten Open House will be in the afternoon on Thursday, May 24th.

The Wade King Chess Tournament was lots of fun!

A special thank you to Robin Stimac, Lisa Sanders, and Lisa Niva

for planning this event and providing support during the day.

Thank you to Woods Coffee for donating coffee and Haggens for

donating donuts for this great event!

From Our School Nurse… What You Need To Know About Head Lice! We have very few cases of head lice at Wade King and we can keep it that way by working together!

What you can do: • Check your child about once a month for signs of lice or nits in the hair. • Teach your child not to share hats, scarves, or other hair items and to avoid head to head contact. • Long hair can be braided or pulled back to reduce accidently brushing against others. • If you find head lice or are notified that your child is suspected of having them, do not

panic! It can happen to any of us! Lice do not carry disease and there are effective ways to get rid of this pest.

What we do if head lice are suspected on a student: • We call parents/guardians of the student to inform them and discuss treatment options. • The student will be reminded not to share hair items or have head to head contact. • The student can go home as usual at the end of the day, to be treated that evening and can return to school the next day if they have been treated • For communication, if a classroom has two or more students with infestations, other

parents at grade level will be notified that head lice have been an identified at school. Identities are never disclosed in this notification.

If your family is having difficulty getting rid of head lice, or cost of treatment is a problem, please contact your school nurse for help and support. For more information on how to treat, please see visit the Families tab on your school website and click on health. More information about head lice and treatment can be found on the website at www.cdc.gov/lice .

Special Invitation Wade King PTA invites you to join them

on Thursday, March 8th from 6-8pm

in the Wade King Library

Our PTA does many things to support students, staff, and families at Wade King, but they need your help! Everyone is always invited to join our monthly PTA

meetings, but we are hoping you will make a special effort to attend this one! It will include a potluck dinner, childcare, and an opportunity to learn about easy

ways you can help support our school!