Sherwood Forest Archers…

Arrows to the Future

September 2016

Upcoming Events:

****************************************** September 22 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Open House September 28 PTA fundraiser

kickoff October 5 1:50 Early Release October 12 Health Screening

Day October 13 9:00 a.m. Principal

Coffee Chat October 14 No School Teacher

in-service October 27 Multicultural Night October 19 1:50 Early Release November 2 1:50 Early Release November 3 Picture Retake

Our Shared Strategic Plan

Mission: In an environment of high expectations, high support, and no

excuses, the staff of Sherwood Forest Elementary School will

continually learn, lead, utilize data, and collaborate to ensure our

scholars have a voice, a dream, & a

bright future.

CONTACT US: Sherwood Forest Elementary School 34600 12th Avenue S.W Federal Way, WA 98003 (253) 945-3800

Federal Way Public Schools www.fwps.org www.fwps.org/sherwoodforest

Dear Sherwood Forest Families,

We are excited to welcome all of our student scholars and families back to the Forest! We hope the summertime provided your family the opportunity to relax, reconnect, and have fun in the sun! Over the past few weeks, teachers have prepared their classrooms and attended professional development trainings. Also, our custodians have worked hard to clean and prepare our campus.

The beginning of this year has been so successful! Here are some highlights: Several of our families, students, and staff cleaned-up our campus in preparation for

the opening of the school year. Plants were trimmed, flowers planted, and weeds pulled – thank you to everyone!

Our teachers and staff enjoyed meeting their new student scholars and their families during the “Supply Drop-off” time.

The first day of school was fantastic! It is a joy to see the excitement on our students’ faces. At 9:15a.m., we gathered around the flag pole to welcome in the new school year and welcome new students and staff including the DHH program and Assistant Principal Mr. Cook.

Our students are enjoying the new playground structure. It’s a very busy place during recess – thank you to our PTA & FWPS for making this possible!

Looking forward, please make note of the following: September 22 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Open House – An opportunity to build a

partnership with your child’s teacher, learn classroom expectations and procedures, and ask questions.

Smarter Balanced Parent Letters: 4th and 5th SBA score letters will go home the

week of September 26th. A video will be posted on the FWPS website to assist parents in understanding your child’s results.

This year, you will hear about our district’s new strategic plan, which outlines a vision and student-focused goals, and what it means for your child. At Sherwood, we will focus on two of the goals this year: Goal 2: the ”whole child” and developing thriving, confident, responsible individuals and Goal 4: academic achievement with mastery of all subjects. To borrow a phrase from our district’s strategic plan, we aim for every scholar to have “a voice, a dream, a BRIGHT future”, and we look forward to partnering with you to achieve it! You can find more about our strategic plan on our district’s website: www.fwps.org.

It is such a privilege to be a part of our wonderful learning community! The staff and I value the trust that you’ve shown in us by sending your children here every day and we are committed to giving your child our very best. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. We are excited for the year ahead and thank you for the opportunity to serve your children!

Alisa DeSart, Principal

Meet Assistant Principal Cook! Please join us in welcoming Sherwood Forest’s new Assistant Principal, Mr. Shawn Cook. As Assistant Principal, Mr. Cook assists Ms. DeSart in making sure that all student scholars are safe, respectful, and responsible. He supervises and monitors students during recesses and lunch, assists in matters of student discipline, oversees many other school-wide responsibilities, and he also works with our teachers in improving classroom instructional practices.

“Hello, my name is Shawn Cook, your new Assistant Principal. Over the last 15 years, I have had the pleasure of working as a classroom teacher as well as in various school and central office roles. I live with my amazing wife (who teaches kindergarten) and two boys (ages 6 and 4 months) in Maple Valley. Having lived just up the street as a boy, coming to Sherwood Forest is truly a homecoming for me. I look forward to rejoining this community and partnering with you to serve each one of our students.”

THANK YOU Campus Clean-Up Volunteers! Thank you to our wonderful families and staff of the Forest who participated in Campus Clean-

Up day on August 31st. The following families and staff members weeded, planted, trimmed,

swept, and picked-up trash to create a picture perfect opening day: The Barnes, Gabe, Heo,

Imbert, Jarvis, Martin, Porter, Mr. Cook, Mrs. Vukas, and Ms. Williamson

Please accept our heartfelt thanks!

USDA Meal Applications It is easy to apply! https://www.mealappnow.com/manfwy/splash.php

Welcome to the Forest!

Dr. Nicole Alston-Abel, School Psychologist

Mrs. Cassandra Alexander, DHH Interpreter

Mrs. Linda Brown, K-5 DHH Teacher

Miss Emily Buettemeier, K-5 FCP/DHH Teacher

Ms. Ginny Davis, Audiologist

Mrs. Katy Doyle, PreK DHH Para

Mrs. Zoey Dunne, School Psychologist Intern

Mrs. Brandie Fisher, PreK DHH Teacher

Mrs. Christina Harpin, DHH Interpreter Coordinator

Ms. Marissa Harris, DHH 1:1 Para

Ms. Teresa Lacy, DHH FCP Para

Mrs. Donna Lambert, DHH 1:1 Para

Mrs. Cara Lynn, DHH K-5 Para

Mrs. Megan Mitchell, 2nd grade Teacher

Ms. Gwen Pinkney, Data Secretary

Ms. Mackenzie Thiem, DHH K-5 1:1 Para

Mrs. Svetlana Zhuk, DHH K-5 Para

We extend our warmest welcome

to our newest staff members at

Sherwood!!

2nd Annual Golf Charity Event to Benefit Sherwood Forest’s Library!

Sherwood Forest Librarian, Mrs. Post, accepted a check on our school’s behalf for nearly $1900 from the 2nd annual golf charity event hosted by the Gillespie family! Mrs. Julie Gillespie retired a year ago as Sherwood Forest’s librarian and her son Charlie wanted to honor her service to our community by raising funds for our school library. This is the second year in a row Sherwood Forest has directly benefitted from the Gillespie family’s goodwill and generosity! The funds will be used to purchase library books in Julie Gillespie’s honor. Thank you Julie Gillespie and your family for this generous donation that will benefit our students!

Our goal this year is to ensure that every student attends school regularly!

Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life.

We realize some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. But, we also know that when students miss too much school— regardless of the reason – it can cause them to fall behind academically. Your child is less likely to succeed if he or she is chronically absent—which means missing 18 or more days over the course of an entire school year. Research shows:

Children chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade.

By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school.

By 9th grade good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th grade test scores.

Absences can add up quickly. A child is chronically absent if he or she misses just two days every month!!

Every day counts!

We don’t want your child to fall behind in school and get discouraged. Please ensure that your child attends school every day and arrives on time. Here are a few practical tips to help support regular attendance:

Make sure your children keep a regular bedtime and establish a morning routine. Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before. Ensure your children go to school every day unless they are truly sick

Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor’s appointments when school is in session. Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your children feel anxious about going

to school.

Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, neighbor, or another parent to take your child to school.

Let us know how we can best support you and your children so that they can show up for

school on time every day. We want your child to be successful in school! If you have any

questions or need more information, please contact your child’s school

September is Attendance Awareness Month Every Day Counts, Every Scholar Matters!

.

Please join us in welcoming our PTA Board Members for the 2016 – 2017 school year:

Jackie Jarvis President Lindsey Francis Vice President Tara Davis & Deah Gabe Co-Treasurers Hannah Wickstrom Secretary

2016-2017 Rights and Responsibility Scholar and Family Handbook

The purpose of our 2016-2017 Rights and Responsibility Scholar and Family Handbook is to ensure that all scholars, families, and staff members have critical school and scholars’ rights information. You can find versions of the handbook in English, Korean, Russian, and Spanish on our district’s website at http://www.fwps.org/Page/2123 or contact your child’s school to request a hard copy. Hard copy requests could take up to two weeks to receive.

KOREAN

2016년 8월 29일

2016-2017 학생 및 가족의 권리와 책임 안내책자의 목적은 모든 학생과 가족, 그리고 교직원들이 학교와 학생의

권리에 대한 중요한 정보를 갖도록 하는 것입니다. 영어, 한국어, 러시아어 및 스페인어로 된 이 안내책자는

우리 웹사이트인 http://www.fwps.org/Page/2123 에서 찾으실 수 있으며 혹은 자녀의 학교에 인쇄된 책자를

요청하실 수도 있습니다. 인쇄된 책자를 받으시려면 2주 정도 걸릴 수 있습니다.

RUSSIAN Цель руководства “Rights and Responsiblty Scholar and Family Handbook” (Руководство о правах и обязанностях учащихся и членов семьи) на 2016-2017 школьный учебный год, чтобы все учащиеся, семьи и сотрудники знали важную информацию о правах учащихся и школ. Вы можете найти руководство на русском языке на веб-сайте школьного округа http://www.fwps.org/Page/2123 или попросить школу, где учится Ваш ребёнок, предоставить копию на бумаге. Копия на бумаге будет предоставлена в течение двух недель после обращения.

SPANISH El propósito de nuestro manual de derecho y de la responsabilidad del alumno y de la familia para el año escolar 2016-2017, es para asegurar que todos los alumnos, familias y miembros del personal tengan información crítica de los derechos de la escuela y de el alumno. Puede encontrar versiones del manual en inglés, coreano, ruso y español en nuestra página de http://www.fwps.org/Page/2123 o puede contactar a alguien en la escuela de su hijo y solicitar una copia del manual. Estas solicitudes se pueden demorar hasta 2 semanas para recibirlas.