January 19, 2020

Hello Warrior Families:

This Monday we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In honor of Dr. King, our Warriors celebrated on Wednesday. This celebration was an inspiration to us all. Our ASB leadership students did an outstanding job putting together a celebration that provided us with history and purpose. For this we are grateful. Please take a look into history and why we celebrate this outstanding man! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's speech.

We are fast approaching our next sports season. On Monday, January 27 our boys and girls will be able to try our for boys soccer, girls soccer or boys basketball. Please make sure you have filled out the necessary paperwork and your child has his/her physical. We hope to see our Warriors trying out after school from 2-4.

Spanaway Warriors are doing a great job following expectations in and out of the classroom. A few reminders:

• Come to school in Pridewear
• No holes above the knee unless you have leggings or shorts underneath
• No phones or headphones in hallways
• No phones or headphones out in classrooms

We have had a few students who need multiple reminders. We will be assigning lunch success or after school if students are not following expectations. Please help us by reminding your child.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Shannon Leatherwood, Principal

Spanaway Middle School

Winter Weather

Official information about winter weather delays and closures will be shared first via robocall, email and text to families and staff. Be sure your contact information is up to date at your school office. Winter weather updates will also be shared on social media and our district website. Learn more at www.bethelsd.org/winter

Winter II Sports Information

Winter II Sports will kick off with tryouts on January 27 for boys basketball, girls soccer, and new this year, boys soccer. We are excited to cheer on a new season of Warrior athletics! For more information on how to register for sports, and the requirements to try out, please see our website here.

Phone number changes

All of our district and school phone numbers are changing prefixes this year. Due to the need for more numbers, we will no longer be 683. We will be 800. The majority of numbers – including all elementary, middle and high schools – will retain their same last four digits. For example, the number for the district office, 253-683-6000 will simply become 253-800-6000. Until April 1, 2020 both the old and new numbers will work. Please use that time to update your contacts. A few administrative buildings, as well as the Pierce County Skills Center, will get completely new phone numbers.

PLEASE ARRIVE IN PRIDEWEAR

We are at a point in the year where we expect all students to know and follow pridewear (dress code) expectations. We ask that students arrive already in pridewear so that they do not lose instructional time when teachers send them out for borrow pridewear or cover holes in pants. Here is a link to our pridewear expectations: Pridewear Expectations

We made the following announcement for students:

Friday's End of Day Announcement: Attention Spanaway Middle School Students - Please take a moment over the weekend to review pridewear rules. As a reminder, pridewear rules require that there are no holes in pants above the knee. Effective immediately, temporary measures such as duct tape or paper to cover holes in pants will not be acceptable. If you arrive at school out of PrideWear, (such as having holes in pants above the knee), you will receive a success time referral and parent phone call. Again, you must be in dress code when you arrive at school. 

Parents and Families - Thanks for your help with this!

Challenger Phase I is open for business!

Phase I of Challenger High School, which built new classrooms, offices, and common areas, is open! The 8,000 square foot building was not funded by our recent construction bond, but Phase II, which will be finished in 2022, will be. https://www.facebook.com/BethelSD/videos/310527293197327/

Smarter Balanced Assessments: Practice Test Information

Students have been practicing the Smarter Balanced (SBA) tests in their English, Math, and History classes and will continue to do so as we prepare for state testing in May. Additional practice tests will be administered in January, and more information about the Smarter Balanced tests, including practice test items, can be found here.

January Schedules: Quick Preview

A quick preview of January’s schedule:

• Monday, January 20: MLK Day (no school)
• Wednesday, January 29: PD Day for Staff (no school)

Join Team Bethel!

The Bethel School District is looking for outstanding teachers to join our team for the 2020/21 school year! Certificated candidates should apply on our jobs website by February 9. https://www.applitrack.com/bethelsd/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Teaching+-+Other

Second Step: Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum

The Bethel School District has adopted a new social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum for all students grade PS - 8 called Second Step. We are excited to be addressing this critical piece of adolescent growth and learning through our advisory classes each week.

We will let you know what we have done at each grade level through this newsletter, and will include some ways to engage with your student in their learning, thinking, and growing. These messages and questions are also in Spanish here. If you have any questions about the curriculum, please reach out.

Thursday, January 16th: Lesson #10

Grade 6: Family Lesson Summary. This week, your child explored the values he or she wants in a friend. This will help your child make new friends and be a better friend to others. 

**Family Lesson Question** Ask your child about his or her friends, including what he or she likes about them.

Grade 7: Family Lesson Summary. This week, your child explored how values can help build strong friendships. Your child will think about how his or her personal values help make him or her a good friend.

**Family Lesson Question** Talk with your child about what he or she likes about his or her friends. Ask your child what he or she thinks those friends like about him or her.

Grade 8: Family Lesson Summary. This week, your child learned that relationships often change during middle school, when interests and identities are changing. Your child will learn strategies for handling these changes in a healthy way.

**Family Lesson Question** Ask your child about any recent changes in friendships at school. Reassure your child that relationships change throughout our lives, and talk about ways to handle these changes.

Attendance Matters

GET READY - TARDY SWEEPS ARE HERE JANUARY 2020!

Please remind students that they need to be in class before the second bell. We will be doing a number of tardy sweeps this coming week.

During a "Tardy Sweep" we gather all students that are tardy to class, bring them to the office to call their parents, and then have them head to class with a tardy slip. Those students will automatically be assigned Lunch Success Time.

Please remind students to get to class on time!

Highly Capable Referrals (1st Grade - 7th Grade)

Anyone (parents, teachers, community, etc.) can refer a student to be tested for potential qualification in our Highly Capable programs. Referrals for 1st - 7th grade are due January 31. Complete the online referral form at www.bethelsd.org/Page/682

Common Sense Media Parent Resources: Parental Controls

We believe and support the power of parental control over middle school aged students' access to and use of technology and social media. We are continuing our emphasis on partnering with families around social media by encouraging you to monitor student access, use, and privacy settings. We strongly believe social media can be used for good, but we also know that students need to be guided on how and when to make that a priority.

Today, we are sharing this "Parents' Ultimate Guide to Parental Controls" from Common Sense Media.

The Bethel School District partners with Common Sense Education, a platform designed to "support and empower the next generation of digital citizens." CSE is a division of Common Sense Media, and we will be sharing family resources from CSM throughout the year.

PERSONAL ELECTRONICS

Cell Phone Reminder: Cell phones are not allowed during instruction. Many of our teachers collect phones at the beginning of the period to ensure phones are not a distraction in the classroom. As we return to school, more teachers indicate that they will be collecting phones. Please remind your students that they should not have a phone out in the classroom, and they should be kept in lockers. If a teacher asks for it to be turned it, they should comply immediately. We also want to remind students that they should not expect to charge their phones in class.