Sarah White, Principal
June 2, 2020
24-Hour Attendance Line: 425.408.4410
erattendance@nsd.org
East Ridge Distance Learning Page: https://sites.google.com/apps.nsd.org/eastridgekeepslearning/home
School Days...Please note!
Last day of school … June 19th
Summer office hours: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Beginning Monday August 12th.
Dear Families,
We cannot stay silent after the events in our nation over the last week. In the Northshore School District and at East Ridge Elementary, we want our students and families of color to know that we hear you, we see you, and we care about you. You matter! We believe that as educators and as members of our community, we are shaping the future of our country and our world. We take this responsibility very seriously. We intentionally work to create a positive culture in our school, our classrooms, and in our relationship with each student and family. We also believe our conversations with and among students, along with our modeling, can make a difference. Our school equity team helps all of us to continue to learn, grow, and reflect on our practices so that we can do better. I have shared resources with our teachers to support their conversations with students this week. It also feels timely to share some resources with you around this topic. We hope you will make a commitment to have conversations as a family. Here are some resources to support conversations at home:
- Dr. Reid and Dr. Bigelow (Director of Equity) discussion
- Northshore’s Race and Equity Resources: You can find resources for parents and students through books, videos, articles and more.
- Helping Children Process Violence, Trauma and Race in a World of Nonstop News (live session today at 3pm)
- How to Teach Your Kids To Fight Hate: An age-by-age guide
- Video: Black Parents Explain How to Deal with the Police
- 30 Children’s Books About Diversity That Celebrate Our Differences: Keep the conversation going through read-alouds with your child.
- Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup: Explore additional resources for parents and students on this topic.
- Advice for Teachers About Talking to Children about Recent events (applicable for families, too)
We have many important events coming up! Please scroll through the whole newsletter to be sure you don’t miss out on important details!
- Medication Pick up: Tuesday, June 9th. More info below.
- Pick up of student materials and drop off of school materials will occur on Monday, June 15th. Please see below for details.
- Next week, we will be having virtual grade level events (via zoom) for grades K-4. The purpose of these events is to introduce students to the teachers in next year’s grade, tell them a little about next year’s grade, and give them an opportunity to meet future friends who will be new to our school next year. We have many new students coming to us from Bear Creek next year, and they will be joining us for these events. Look for an email early this week with the zoom details.
- Current K students: Monday, June 8th at 2:30pm
- Current 1st grade students: Monday, June 8th at 3:00pm
- Current 2nd grade students: Wednesday, June 10th at 2:30pm
- Current 3rd grade students: Thursday, June 11th at 2:30pm
- Current 4th grade students: Friday, June 12th at 2:30pm
- Tuesday, June 16th at 7:00pm is our PTA General Meeting and also a time for us to celebrate all of our volunteers. We hope you will tune in!
- We are planning a virtual celebration for our 5th graders on Thursday, June 18th at 4:00pm. Details coming soon!
- On the last day of school, Friday, June 19th, teachers will schedule a zoom meeting with their class. During that meeting, they will share our end of year assembly video. This will include awards and a picture slide show. We will also post the video later to be sure everyone has a chance to see it.
Wishing you and your family well,
Sarah
💜 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜
**Drop Off School Materials/Pick Up Student Belongings Drive Through**
Monday, June 15th - (specific times by alphabet listed below)
Will we be returning the laptops and hotspots that were issued to us from NSD at this event?
No, students will keep their NSD loaned laptops and/or hotspots through the summer. We can not accept them for return on the 15th. Technology return details will be announced in the fall. Only students leaving the district will be returning technology and will be prearranged with staff for a return time. If you are leaving NSD and have not informed us yet, please email Kris Held - kheld@nsd.org as soon as possible.
How do I know what materials I need to return to the classroom?
Classroom materials such as books, book boxes, compass, etc. that belong to the school or teacher should be returned. Please work directly with your student's teachers if you are unsure of what needs to be returned.
How do I know which library books are checked out so I can begin gathering them?
You can use the following directions to look up which library books your student has checked out.
- Click here to go on-line to our East Ridge Elementary School Library.
- Login to your child’s NSD ER library account using the following:
USERNAME: NSD Student ID # (Without adding @apps.nsd.org!)
PASSWORD: The same password used to login your child’s NSD Google account*
*If this doesn’t work, please email Mr. Cissna immediately: rcissna@nsd.org - Click on “My Info” tab (blue banner) to see a record of the current “Items Out” in your child’s account.
- Confirm that the title(s) listed as checked out look familiar. What may help with recognizing these titles will be to look each one up in the Catalog. This should show you a color thumbnail of the book cover which you can click on to enlarge.
Will there be other dates available for pick up/drop off of school/student materials?
No, unfortunately we can only provide this set date/times for pick up and drop off in order to adhere to district guidelines for health and safety of families and staff. We will have more details to come however, you can make arrangements for friends or neighbors to drop off/pick up at your slated time. The school is getting new flooring this summer so all classrooms will be packed up and moved for the summer and we will not have extra storage capacity. Any student items not picked up on June 15th will be disposed of.
Are you moving?
If your family is planning to move out of the East Ridge service area over the summer vacation, PLEASE let the office know as soon as possible. This will help us to have a more accurate enrollment count as well as make our preliminary placement and balancing of the class/student groupings as accurate as possible. eroffice@nsd.org
News from Nurse Gerry
Hello families! This is an update for the end of the year and needs for next year.
- Medication pick up: See Nurse Gerry’s email if you have meds at school.
- Immunization requirements are different this year, as of August 1, 2020. This is due to a law from Governor Inslee that students must have proper completed documentation in regards to immunizations before they can attend school. The proper documentation is a printed copy of the CIS form from WAIIS that says "Pass", medical verification, positive titers or completed exemption form.
Immunizations Needed for Incoming New Students/Kindergarteners:
- DTaP/DT/Tdap: need 5 doses unless 4th dose after 4 years of age
- IVP (polio): Need 4 doses with 4th dose being after 4 years of age
- Hepatitis B series (3 immunizations): 8 weeks between dose 1 and 2, 8 weeks between dose 2 and three but dose 3 needs to be given AFTER 24 weeks of age to be valid.
- MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella): Need 2 doses (if not given on same day as other live virus immunization, there needs to be 28 days between to be valid)
- Varicella: Need two doses (if not given on the same day as other live virus immunization, there needs to be 28 days between to be valid). If already had Chickenpox, need MD verification or positive titer.
- Tdap is now due prior to start of 7th grade instead of 6th grade (as of August 1, 2020)
Amazing PTA Art Docents!
Thank you to all of our amazing art docents who have helped create an amazing art program here at East Ridge. This year, most classes had the opportunity to create clay projects, fused glass, and create prints using either block or screen printing techniques. We are so fortunate to have such a rich and diverse art program. Thank you to Heather Burke and Danielle Wheeler for heading up this incredibly gifted group of volunteers!
Back to School - Things to Know…
- Meet the Teacher: Details will be sent in August.
- The first day of school is September 2nd. First days for Kindergarten will be September 9 and 10 (staggered start - more info in August)
- Class placement letters- Please be sure you are able to access ParentVue. This is the only method we will be using to release class assignments in August (we will not be mailing letters with placement information this year). You can also check your child’s attendance status in Parent Vue. Don’t wait! Contact Rae Shepherd (rshepherd@nsd.org) if you are having any trouble signing in.
- Bus routes and stops will be posted on the E-Link 2 weeks before school starts. Bus routes will not be mailed out. http://versatrans.nsd.org/elinkrp/Students/BasicTransBoundarySearch.asp
- A basic Student Supply List will be available on our website. Please wait until after school has started to buy supplies other than those on the list.
- The school office will be closed the month of July and will reopen in August.
- Children without up-to-date immunizations may not enter school. State law does not allow for a grace period.
ERPTA News
Congratulations 5th Graders!
Over the weekend, ERPTA surprised 5th grade East Ridge families with yard signs to celebrate and commemorate moving on to middle school next year! We wish them all of the best on their new adventures in 6th grade!
ERPTA Officer Elections
ERPTA elected officers for next school year during the general membership meeting on May 12, 2020. There are still positions available!
- President: OPEN
- Co-Secretary: Julie Even & Lillie Linville
- Treasurer: Mitchell Zimberg
- VP Events: Stephanie Weymouth
- VP Programs: Ira Mandell
- VP Communications: Lori Burkman
- VP Fundraising: Annette Beaven
ERPTA General Membership Meeting
June 16, 2020
Join us for the last ERPTA meeting of the school year!
- Approve ERPTA budget for 2020-2021 school year
- Golden Acorn volunteer recognition
Golden Acorn Nominations!
Every Spring we join Washington State PTA in nominating outstanding volunteers so they can be recognized for going above and beyond. You can nominate an outstanding East Ridge volunteer by following the links on erpta.org's homepage. Feel free to nominate as many people as you'd like, submitting one form per nomination. A selection committee will review the nominations and the winners will be announced at the June 16th General PTA meeting. Submissions are due by June 9th.
PTA Box Tops for Education
Thank you, East Ridge Families, for a wonderful collection year! Way to go!
Keep collecting Box Tops all summer long and look for collection dates in the fall!
Have a great summer!