Dear Medina Tigers,
I am excited to welcome you back to our new school year. It will be such a treat for all of us to come back to our beautiful school to work and learn over the coming year and I know I speak for all our staff when I say we're really excited to start school. We have all been in workshops, taking classes, and collaborating with colleagues on continuing our work from the past years and getting excited about the next steps we are taking with our new superintendent, Dr. Amalia Cudeiro. If you haven't had a chance to hear from her yet, I encourage you to attend one of the area meetings she will be hosting this fall (see calendar below). Here at Medina, we are all in the process of setting up classrooms, preparing lessons, and getting ready to welcome your student back for another great year. This letter will hopefully give you all the information you need to get ready as well!
Student Placement: Thank you for the class placement input you provided to the Medina staff in May and June 2009 or when you registered your child for school. The information you shared regarding the academic, social, and emotional needs of your child was considered during the student placement process. Each class was created to ensure every child is part of a heterogeneous, well-balanced classroom. All of Medina's teachers work hard to provide quality learning experiences for students.
School Hours - The warning bell rings at 8:05 and class starts at 8:10. It is really important that students be on time as it impacts their learning and that of the entire classroom when they are tardy. Dismissal is at 2:35, except on Wednesdays, when all students are dismissed at 12:15.
Logistical Information: You'll find the information you need for supplies, parking, etc, at http://schools.bsd405.org/medina/homepage/. You'll also find lots of information about parking, traffic, Curriculum Night, the Curriculum Web, general information about school rules and policies, as well as other important topics.
Emergency Forms: Please check your child's backpack after the first day of school for a packet of important information which will include Student Emergency Information Forms and Confidential Emergency Health Information. It is extremely important that these forms be returned to school as soon as possible and that they contain the latest information regarding emergency information including phone numbers, home addresses, and health concerns.
Teachers: We have a really wonderful teaching staff again this year. We are delighted to welcome back nearly all of our staff from last year, with a few changes. Sheila Hill is currently enjoying her retirement and wishes us well for this year, as does Cindy Goldhammer. Mary Grambush will be out on leave for the first part of the year, and we are very lucky and very excited to welcome Lindsay Post back to our staff as her long term substitute in 2nd grade. Lindsay was a VIBES volunteer in first grade a few years ago, then an instructional aide for kindergarten and first grade, and now is a certificated teacher. She is really looking forward to working with the same students she supported in kindergarten as they now enter 2nd grade. We are further delighted to have Michelle Urban remain with us on the 2nd grade team this year. Lisa McQuade also returns to us from Clyde Hill, as a job-share partner with Rebecca Nowak in kindergarten.
Student Drop-off/Pickup, Parking and Traffic: The most important thing is to practice patience, understanding, flexibility, and good judgment in your journeys to and from school. Please do whatever you can to minimize traffic the first day, the first week, and throughout the year. We will have more information posted at our website but here are a few really important reminders:
· Walk! Even if it is raining, it's a healthy, green habit.
· Ride the bus! It will save you time and is much safer than driving.
· Carpool! There are parking spaces reserved just for carpool drop-off and pick-up.
· If you must drive, please follow all rules and staff directions.
· Drop-off and pick-up of students should only be on the curb - never in the middle of traffic.
· Never leave your vehicle unattended in the fire lane.
· Do not park or wait in the load-only zone in front of the school.
This year will be a terrific one as we work together again towards our common goal of ensuring that our children and students reach their potential in all areas. I have tremendous respect for the thoughtfulness, intelligence, commitment, and overall greatness of our staff, our students, and our entire community, and I know that with such a concentration of talent and virtues in one place, this will be another great year for Medina Elementary. I can't wait to get started and I look forward to seeing you very soon.
Jennifer Rose
Principal
Medina Elementary
