February Panther Pride 2025

February Panther Pride 2025
PANTHER PRIDE
February 2025

 

We create and maintain a safe and consistent learning community by establishing positive behavioral supports and a culture where all students achieve social, emotional and academic success.

In this issue:

  • Principal’s Message

  • Dates to Remember

  • Construction Update

  • Counselor Connection

  • In the Know

  • District Information

  • PTSA Information

  • And More

 PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

 

Dear Fernwood Community,

 

With the end of the first semester on January 24th, teachers have been preparing report cards to communicate your child’s academic progress and growth. Report cards for the first semester will be available through Parent Vue on February 3rd. The information within the report card is more comprehensive as compared to your child’s progress report from the fall. For assistance in understanding the scores provided, please review the following documents based on your child’s grade level:

 

 

You may find the information provided similar to the conversations held during conferences as your child continues to make steady progress. As a result of the home-school partnership, you may also find that your child has made strong progress in an area that was once a challenge. If your child has encountered an area of challenge since conferences, consider having a conversation with your child about holding a growth mindset in this area. To learn more about growth mindset and/or strategies to support your child, we encourage you to explore the following links:

 

 

Taking a team approach to this work will support students in both hearing and using the same language when at home and at school. All of us praising effort will help students shift their thought process from “I can’t” to “I can”! Together, we prepare students to reach their full potential.

 

The beginning of the second semester in school always marks an exciting time of the year. We have the opportunity to look back and see how much progress students have made since September. It is also a time to pause and reflect about adjustments needed through the end of the year to support students’ success. At Fernwood, we recognize that a key part of students experiencing academic success is directly connected to students experiencing a sense of belonging and a feeling of value when at school. One way we work toward that desired outcome is by creating opportunities for students to personalize their learning experience. That personalization can extend beyond our school walls as well. 

 

On February 3rd, you will be able to access your child’s report card through Parent Vue. We encourage you to talk with your students about their report card. Praise them for their efforts related to progress big or small. To personalize learning at home for your child, first help them identify their unique strengths and needs. Next, assist them to set goals, create a plan towards their goal, and then take steps to achieve their goal. Linked is a resource to guide you through this process. These conversations are essential to personalizing learning for your child and helping them to develop self-efficacy (a belief that they can set a goal and take steps to meet them) overtime. 

 

Our teachers support our desired outcome of students experiencing belonging and a feeling of value not only on a daily basis in the classroom, but also through their time and effort in completing report cards that communicate each student’s progress to date. They work collaboratively with colleagues to calibrate scores as well as individually to communicate each student’s unique strengths and needs to families. Teachers consider a variety of data, including recently completed i-Ready diagnostic scores as well as student work samples to make these determinations. We appreciate their dedication to supporting student learning through strong communication about each student. 

 

As always, it is our continued goal to work in partnership with you to support your child’s learning pathway. If you have specific questions in regards to your child’s progress, please reach out to your child’s teacher. 

 

With appreciation, 

Cassie Morton, Principal

 

 DATES TO REMEMBER
 

February

DATE EVENT LOCATION TIME
2/5 Extra Fun Recess   lunch recess'
2/7 Early Dismissal @ 12:30 for Conferences   12:30pm
2/10 Spelling Bee Finals Cafeteria 6:30pm
2/14 Student Council - Pajama Day    
2/17 - 2/21 NO SCHOOL - Mid-Winter Break    
2/27 Class Picture Day   All day


 

 

 

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

 

Fernwood Entrance Safety

We want to thank parents for following our safety procedures when entering campus through our new 

entrance door. We understand these newly implemented practices can be confusing at first and we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

As a reminder, with the new door to enter the campus…….it is VERY important that you come to the main office before going anywhere else on campus.  Please do not go directly to your child’s classroom.  If you meet up with your student on the sidewalk, you must still come to the main office to sign them out as part of our safety and security procedures. For safety and security, all students meet parents in the main office before leaving campus. This ensures that we are able to keep track of our students and that we release them to the approved adult.
 
COUNSELOR CORNER

 

A white dove on a heart with a red ribbon around itAI-generated content may be incorrect. 
For the week February 10th, all students have the opportunity to participate in The Great Kindness Challenge. This is a week-long event that shows our commitment to spreading kindness by students and staff committing to acts of kindness to help cultivate a positive school community and beyond. Encourage your student to complete acts of kindness at home, school and within their larger community.  
 
For the month of February, our small Winter groups are finishing up by mid-winter break, and soon we’ll be thinking about our Spring 2025 small groups. You may still be wondering about levels of support your school counselors provide. In particular, these small groups provide our tier 2 level of support. This means that students receive additional instruction to go beyond what more our classroom lessons provide in order to solidify their SEL (social emotional learning). In addition, these 6 - 8 week long small group experiences provide practice and opportunities for student reflection, which helps strengthen their learning.  Just like last Winter session, Spring small groups will have an opt out approach. We aim to begin Spring groups by the week of March 24th and run through May 23rd 2025 following our referral process from classroom teachers and staff.  
 
As always, if you have any questions or would like to request any additional support for your student, please do not hesitate to reach out! We are here for your student’s success!  

 A diagram of a tiered pyramidAI-generated content may be incorrect.Best Regards, 
Jennifer Brisbine (Grades 1, 3 & 5) jbrisbine@nsd.org and 425-408-4570
Sarah Cue (Grades K, 2 & 4) scue@nsd.org and 425-408-4572
*The SEL Calendar is shared with families to promote students' self-care practices to help create healthy habits.
 
To learn more about these curriculums, we encourage you to explore the resources below:
Kelso’s Choices Parent Information
3rd Grade Bullying Prevention Unit Family Letter
4th Grade Bullying Prevention Unit Family Letter
5th Grade Bullying Prevention Unit Family Letter
 
Additional Resources:
Child Mind Institute Free Webinars
Student Self-Care Calendar
Click on the image below to access 10 months of self-care ideas designed to help elementary students create habits to make self-care practices a daily routine.
A calendar with a cartoon animalAI-generated content may be incorrect.
 
 

IN THE KNOW

 

iReady Challenge Extra Fun Recess - February 5th

We are so excited and proud of our Panthers for reaching their goal of 90% participation in our iReady challenge! We had 90% of our students completing math iReady lessons in the month of January! Even more amazing is that students completed those lessons with 97% accuracy!! We will celebrate their achievement in an extra fun recess on February 5th. Our next iReady challenge will be centered again on math raising participation to 95% of students completing math iReady lessons for the month of February. Stay tuned for updates!


Friday, February 7th

Students will be dismissed at 12:30 pm on Friday, February 7th. The remainder of the day is set aside for parent-teacher conferences. Teachers selected families with whom they would like to meet to further discuss student progress for the 2023-24 school year. Since only an afternoon is set aside, teachers are not able to meet with all families. If you have further questions, please reach out to your teacher. 

 

WIDA Testing

The WIDA testing for students who are multilingual learners enables us to identify students who qualify and continue to qualify for English language development support. The window for this testing runs from January 30 through March 22. If your child is scheduled to take the WIDA, you can support their success by making sure they get plenty of rest and have their computers charged and ready to go for this assessment. You can find more information by visiting this link through OSPI.

 

Skyview Counselor Visitor for 5th Grade Students and Parent Meeting

The Skyview counselors will visit Fernwood to talk about registration for the 2024-25 school year on February 6th. 5th grade parents should anticipate information about course selection and electives to come home with specific next steps and timelines. 

 

Skyview’s Parent Night is on February 5th from 6:30-7:30 held at Skyview Middle School.  Please click on this invitation to learn more about this informative event.

 

Emergency Contact Update

As we begin a new semester of school, this is a great time to check that emergency information is up to date for your child. You can do this by logging into your ParentVue account and choosing 

“2024-25 Updates.”  Having current phone numbers and emergency contacts on file for your child ensures that we will be able to reach someone in the event of an emergency.  Please, do not add parents to the emergency contact section.  We will always contact parents first, in the case of an emergency. 

 

Breakfast at Fernwood

If your student(s) eats breakfast at Fernwood, please remind them that they need to eat their breakfast in the cafeteria before school starts at 9:20. Students who need to eat breakfast at school,arriving just before the bell rings, will be given time to eat in the cafeteria. They will then be checked in by the front office with a tardy. Students are not to take their breakfast to eat in the classroom or on the playground. This helps us keep our classrooms and playground free from litter and spilled food. Thank you for your support in reinforcing this expectation. 


 

Join You Students for Bowling During PE Class
A group of colorful bowling pinsAI-generated content may be incorrect.
February 3rd - 14th during your students PE class. 
Parents need to be cleared to volunteer in the classroom, in order to join us for PE class.  Link to Volunteer Paperwork
Please sign in at the main office before coming into the Gym. Find your students' PE class time linked HERE
 
Email your PE teacher with any questions;
Mr. Ciucci - sciucci@nsd.org
Ms. Luckenbach - nluckenbach@nsd.org
Mr. Shumate - mshumate@nsd.org
Mr. Hatlen - mhatlen@nsd.org

 

DISTRICT INFORMATION

 

Preparation for Inclement Weather

If weather conditions are severe enough, there are times when our school schedule can be impacted. You can visit the "Closures and Delays" on the Northshore School District's website to learn more about how decisions are made related to this topic as well as how you can be informed if adjustments to the school schedule occur.

 

Enrollment for 25-26 School Year

New student enrollment, including Kindergarten, for the 2025-26 school year is now open. Families who have students currently enrolled in a Northshore school this school year do not need to re-enroll, but we would appreciate it if you would please share this information with friends, family, and neighbors who may have new students. When registering a kindergartener, they must be 5 years old by August 31, 2025 to be eligible. Enrollments are not contingent on the date and time of submission. All enrollments for students living in our boundaries will be accepted.

 

Enrollment dates are as follows:

  • January 6:  The K-12 waiver application process opens for Northshore employees and in-district and out-of-district students with current waivers.

  • January 8:  Open Enrollment for all Kindergarten students, new 1-12th grade Northshore students, and Choice Programs and Schools applications begin

  • February 24:  Students with approved applications for Choice Schools and or Programs may submit waivers.

  • March 24:  The K-12 application process for new waivers including in-district, out-of-district, and currently waived NSD students moving from 5th to 6th grade and 8th to 9th grade opens.

 

PTSA INFORMATION/
Please be sure to check the PTSA'S website for all the up to date information and calendar

 

Spirit Wear

The Spirit Wear site is up and running!  Get your Panther Gear in time for our upcoming Spirit Day on March 27th if you order by Friday, February 28th!

 

PTSA Website 

Check out the new PTSA Website

Join Fernwood PTSA

If you haven't yet become a PTSA member for this new school year please consider joining the PTSA today. 

https://fernwoodptsa.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true


Fernwood PTSA Social Media 

Keep up on events, key dates, spirit days, and more by following us on social media.   

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FernwoodPTSAOfficial 

Instagram: fernwood_ptsa 

 

 


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