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Upcoming Event s:

Shar k Tales MESSAGE FROM MR. WESTERMANN

Happy Hol idays, Midway Famil ies!

The month of December is really the best month to be in school. The energy and excitement the kids radiate each day is infectious! With snow fall ing, holiday performances, the anticipation of gif ts, and a nice 2-week break looming on the horizon, kids are so happy to be at school.

December also brings the point in the year when kids are making tremendous academic progress and have really settled in with the daily routines which teachers have worked so hard to create. As we look to being on break for a couple weeks, here are some ideas to keep kids academically engaged.

- As you visit places together, use new words to describe what you see. Vocabulary development is crit ical to literacy success.

- Talk to your kids about what you are reading and have them talk to you about what they are reading.

- Create a family calendar for the break. Work to plan something each day to do together.

- This is baking season! Explore the math concepts that are in every recipe. Have students create math stories based on the treats you are baking.

- Learn about the weather together. There are great videos online, l ibrary books, and local news stations that offer tours of the meteorology center.

- Set school goals for the New Year; create a plan to achieve them!

The winter weather also brings the time to bundle up! Please remind your students to bring, and wear, their winter gear to school. Students will go outside for recess unless temperatures (with wind chill) drop below 15 degrees. If you are in need of winter clothing please let us know.

The holiday season is f il led with so many activit ies that keep us busy each day. Make sure to take time to enjoy the litt le things that make life fun! Thank you so much for sharing your children with us!

DECEMBER 11: Deadline to turn in wrapped gifts for PTO Giving Tree

December 15t h ? 5th and 6th winter concerts 7:00

December 16t h ? 1st (6:00) and 2nd (7:15) winter concerts

December 17t h ? 3rd and 4th winter concerts 7:00; Last day to donate shoes to Kira's Kloset

December 21st ? Januar y 1st ? Winter Break

Januar y 4- First day back!

Januar y 18t h ? MLK Day No School

Of f ice: 465- 6700 absence hot l ine: 465- 6784 www.midway.mead354.or g

Decem ber , 2015

Sincerely,

Josh Westermann, Midway Principal

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Shark Tales December, 2015

Shark Tales Publication Editor: Lisa Fairbanks-Rossi, Library Information Technology Specialist

The kindness of shar ks

Left: Student-donated shoes for Kira's Kloset; Center: gift request tags, above: Our Giving Tree, and the Midway ASB Food Drive donations, which were already delivered to the Mead Food Bank.

Midway's halls are f il led with several ways our kids (and their parents!) are giving back to our community. Holiday Giving Tree, Mead Food Bank food drive, boot and shoe drive for "Kira's Kloset." (a Mead-area children's clothing closet and book bank created in loving memory of Kira Wraspir.)

Midway's PTO is sponsoring the "Giving Tree" to bring joy to families in our community who are experiencing f inancial strains this holiday season. Our generous families have already emptied the tree of its request tags; we are on the second round! To participate in any of these kindness drives, please choose a gif t request tag, or drop donations to their respective places in Midway's lobby. The deadline for food has passed, but we are stil l accepting both gif ts and Kira's Kloset donations until December 11 and 17th, respectively.

In an effort to deal constructively with minor discipline issues, Midway will be starting a "Solut ions Room " to support students. Problems arising between peers, in recess conflicts, classroom struggles and work completion can often lead to office referrals.

Rather than working in isolation, the Solutions Room, facilitated by Mrs. Pratt, will provide students a private, nurturing space to create a plan that leads to a complementary solution and get kids back on track.

If a student is referred to the Solutions Room, a referral form will be sent home

informing parents what happened, and most importantly, the plan the child helped create to reach a solution and eliminate future incidents.   

If you would like to learn more, please contact Mrs. Brady or Mr. Westermann.

cr eat ing sol ut ions

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Shark Tales December, 2015

Hel ping St udent s Stay Healt hy & Saf e:

Are your immunizations up to date? New requirements for 2016-2017 school year:

The main school immunizat ion requirement changes for the 2016-17 school year include:

1.      Varicella requirement

a.      Two doses of varicella vaccine will be required for al l students in K-12thgrade. Detailed information can be found in the Individual Vaccine Requirements Summary (IVRS).

2.      Polio requirement

a.      K-5th grade: the f inal dose of IPV, given on or after August 7, 2009, must be given on or after 4 years of age AND a minimum interval of 6 months from the previous dose.

3.      Hepatit is B requirement

a.      K-9th grade: Dose 3 must be given on or after 24 weeks of age; minimum interval between Dose 1 and 3=16 weeks.

b.      10th-12th grade: Dose 3 must be given on or after 4 months of age; minimum interval between Dose 1 and 3=12 weeks.

- DTaP, Tdap, and MMR requirements remain the same as the current school year.

For more information visit the DOH immunization website at: www.waiis.wa.gov

Thank you to those staff and community members who contributed to the important community conversation through Mead's "Thought Exchange." Your valued feedback will be used to guide and plan the way Midway and the Mead School District are run. The purpose of the

interactive online program, according to www.thoughtexchange.com, is to begin "developing a culture where the current and future needs of students directly shapes district strategic planning." Or in Mr. Westermann's words, "...how to serve our community and provide the best experience for each child."

THOUGHt EXCHANGe f ol l ow- up

From the office of...Carrie Dinw oodieDays of practice lost from the

unplanned (windstorm-caused) school closure did not deter the genius of Midway's Music Director, Karen Brasch!

Ms. Brasch has shif ted specialist t imes around and given up lunch hours to perfect her annual winter concert, "A Holiday Tradition!"

Students have been excitedly grasping their scripts while walking the hallways after music class, and learning lines and songs! Here are the schedules for the four winter concerts:

December 15th Grade 5, 6 ?Winter Magic? 7:00 p.m.(students report to classrooms at 6:30 p.m.)

December 16th Grade 1 ?Christmas Makes Me Sing? 6:00 p.m. (students report to classrooms at 5:30 p.m.)

December 16th Grade 2 ?Santa and the Star Search? 7:15 p.m (students report to classrooms at 7:00 p.m.)

December 17th Grade 3, 4 ?Christmas Time Is Here? 7:00 p.m. (students report to classrooms at 6:30 p.m.

**Dress Rehearsal only for 3/4 program: Open to families at 10:30am

WINTER CONCERT COUNTDOWN!

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Midway Shark gear is on sale through Dec. 18th. Go to www.eagleathleticsapparel.com and click on the Midway icon at the bottom of the page. Orders will be delivered after winter break.

"The Giving Tree " supports our Midway community by lessening the burden on 18 families of our students. Thank you so much to all the people who have donated and will help to make a much brighter Christmas. Gif ts need to be turned in by the 11th will be dispersed before break.

You can support Midway PTO by shopping on Amazon.com or at Fred Meyer. Simply go to www.amazonsmile.com and link your Amazon account to Midway. Or log on to your Fred Meyer account and click on "Community Rewards" under the rewards section.

A portion of your purchase will help the PTO to

fund the needs of our school.

https:/ /www.fredmeyer.com/ topic/

community-rewards-4ase

Volunteers needed for upcoming school events:

- Chairperson for staff appreciation- Chairperson for 6th grade graduation/Dare- Chairperson for the end of the year picnic

Funds approved at December 3rd meet ing:

$70 Puzzlet Mat that promotes mathematical thinking and engineering strategy.

$175 Book set for 5th grade

$100 Classroom subscription of Reading STEM center)

$1100 Library supply of 18 Ozobots used to teach computer coding $1000 (additional to existing budget) 9 LEGO robotics kits

What 's happening in Midway's Libr ar y Media Cent er ? Award-winning books, Hot wheels tracks, and computer-coding!

From PTO President Chelsea Haverkamp

Here's a video that explains our winter plans in about a minute and a half ! I used Animoto, and the drag and drop platform is so easy, I know our students can do it, too!

CLICK:ht tp:/ / t inyurl .com/MIDWAY1516

If your 4-6th graders have been coming home and talking about playing with Hot Wheels in library, let me explain: We are in the process of \expanding the Midway library into a center for engaged learning; whether it be literature-based or

STEM. (Science Technology Engineering and Math) As more of an artsy-writer bookie person who is a recent technology groupie, this is a transition for me, too! But I love creating a place where focused, intense learning is happening. We are just releasing a new collection of new

award-winning picture and juvenile books, and are in the process of adding even more. I am so grateful to the school's generous support of cutting edge education, and it is a privilege to be your LITS.(Library Information Technology Specialist) Happy

Holidays! ~Mrs. Rossi

PTO updat e!

Shark Tales December, 2015