Principal Wheeler’s Weekly Update 1-24-25
Principal Wheeler’s Weekly Update 1-24-25
Hello Viewlands Families!
Our 2nd grade team is co-creating and leading our school in a Gathering for Positive Change assembly and community march on Friday, February 14. This is in honor of Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy and Black History month. Students will be sharing their hopes and dreams for our world and their ideas for creating a positive change. The 2nd grade teachers and students will be leading this, but they have invited others to participate. If you as a family member are interested in participating in the assembly, sharing something, or supporting, please reach out to Teacher Norma Andrade at ncandrade@seattleschools.org.
Over the next couple months, every classroom will participate in a workshop to enrich their learning through guest artists and teachers from Seattle Childrens Theater or Pacific Science Center. This classroom enrichment is funded by VEPTSA. We greatly appreciate their partnership and support. This will impact every child. Today, was the first visit, with a guest artist visiting our kindergarten classrooms with a focus on the Water Cycle. Thank you to VEPTSA for making this happen!
A few highlights from my visits in classrooms and with students this week: hearing 4th and 5th grade student reactions to the habitat décor transformation at our salmon tank; learning about an extension math activity with a few 5th graders planning a road trip; listening to 3rd graders discuss their thoughts on the positive and negative impacts of a damns and their ideas about other sources of power and the importance of salmon; the 1st graders in Ms. Veliz’s class discussing MLK and why they had a birthday party for him; and drawing with 1st graders in Mr. W’s class with their guest teacher. Today our 4th and 5th graders had a author visit as part of the Global Reading Challenge (GRC). Author Tae Keller, the author of When You Trap a Tiger, one of the GRC books, visited Viewlands. She shared her journey as a writer and a child. She celebrated her Korean roots and shared with students how this book honored the stories shared by her halmeoni (Korean for grandmother).
Your children are bright, inquisitive, and creative thinkers. We will continue to seek ways to make every student feel known, valued, and empowered through the year.
In Partnership,
Carrie Wheeler | Viewlands Principal
P.E. Biking Program for K-5 – All Grades
Our bike safety and riding unit starts next week in P.E. We have two fleets of bikes, the glider bikes that are part of our PE program equipment and loaner bikes from the Cascade Bicycle Club, which we will have for a few weeks. This means all grades are doing a bike unit in PE for the next few weeks. This is a partnership between Seattle Public Schools, Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Department of Transportation. Coach Lauren will be using the traffic garden that is part of the upper play area on the playground to teach bike safety and bike riding at Viewlands, in addition to the gym. This starts next week. Coach Lauren will be sharing more information with families via Talking Points soon. We encourage students that have their own bike helmet to bring it from home on P.E. days.
If you have any questions, you can reach out to Coach Lauren at lmbangasser@seattleschools.org.
February 14th Friendship Day
There are many different viewpoints, opinions, and preferences from our families on the upcoming February 14th Valentines Day. At Viewlands, Feb 14th is referred to as a “Friendship Day”. The exact way teachers decide to celebrate ‘Friendship Day” varies. Valentines Day does not have historical context that connects to elementary learning in core subjects but can be a way to connect to our social-emotional learning centered around friendship or a way to acknowledge our classmates/peers.
- If a classroom teacher chooses to do something to celebrate “Friendship Day”, it is something handled in the classroom so all students can participate (i.e. friendship cards, pictures, compliments for every student). I encourage teachers to communicate ahead of time of their plan for this day. We want this day to feel successful for all students.
- We do not want candy or high sugar treats from home as part of any friendship day celebrations. This is because families have different opinions and preferences around candy/high sugar treats and those types of snacks/treats can impact the emotional regulation and social behavior responses for some students, as well as how students respond to each other.
- When classrooms do something to honor or celebrate Friendship Day, the goal is to connect to classroom community building that our educators are working to cultivate throughout the year and/or social-emotional learning.
I appreciate your understanding and flexibility. If you have specific questions about what is happening in your child’s classroom, please reach out to the classroom teacher.
Salmon in Schools
Our salmon eggs are doing well. The 4th and 5th graders are being good stewards of the eggs and the tank, while continuing to learn and prepare to be student teachers for K-3rd grade classrooms that visit the tank.
The habitat décor for the tank was transformed this week by 4th grader, Jade Stedman, and her mom Gillian Stedman. Thank you, Jade and Gillian! Your work and time invested in supporting this project and our salmon is appreciated. The decorations around the salmon tank habitat allow for a darker and quieter environment so the salmon eggs can thrive.
Crossing Guard Opportunities
We have two crucial crossing guard posts that are currently vacant in our community. Please consider applying to be a crossing guard or sharing with other neighbors who may be interested!
- Locations: N 110th St and Greenwood Ave N, 3rd Ave NW and Holman Rd N
- Pay: $19.97 per hour
- Hours: Part time, during school arrival and dismissal
- SPS Crossing Guard Application
Viewlands Math Night and Community Resource Fair – Wednesday, January 29th 5:30-7PM
Together with VEPTSA support, we will have a school event, a family math night open to all Viewlands students and families hosted by Zeno and funded by VEPTSA and a Community Resource Fair hosted by our ML team. The community resource fair will include the Seattle Public Library, Seattle Metro, and other resources. There will also be an information session specifically for our Spanish-speaking families.
Zeno Family Math Night is open to all families! Thank you VEPTSA for co-hosting and supporting Family Math Night!
Viewlands will be hosting the resource fair, an event focusing on community partnerships, at the same time. This will include Family Works, Seattle Public Library, King County Metro, and the Seattle Housing Authority. These organizations will have booths to provide information and assist with applications. We will also have a workshop in Spanish led by the Latino Civic Alliance.
Please note that this is a change in the year long calendar provided at Bring Your Family to School Night in September. We are hosting the family math night and resource fair with VEPTSA in January, instead of the movie night. There will be NO movie night on January 31st.
Viewlands Open House for Prospective Viewlands Families Next School Year
We will have an open house for prospective NEW families and incoming Kindergarten families. This event is for families that have children that will be joining Viewlands next school year in the fall of 2025.
Date: Tuesday February 4th at 5PM
Duration: 1 hour
What will be shared:
- An 10-15minute introduction to Viewlands by Carrie Wheeler, the Viewlands Principal for all prospective families in the library
- After the introduction, incoming prospective kindergarten families will engage in a 10-15 minute introduction to kindergarten at Viewlands with the K team
- A school tour led by a couple Viewlands staff for incoming prospective students 1st through 5th grade will occur after the introduction to Viewlands
- A school tour led by the K team and a couple other Viewlands staff for prospective kindergarten families after the Kindergarten at Viewlands Introduction
- On the tour, families will see the spaces students will use, including the lunchroom, the art room, the gym, the library, the playground, and classroom areas.
VEPTSA
Updates and Messages from our VEPTSA Partners:
Zeno Family Math Night – Next week! Wednesday, January 29, 5:30pm-7pm
We hope to see many students with their families at Family Math Night next week. Please see details above from Ms Wheeler and you can also find details in Konstella app > Calendar. A few volunteers are needed to support – signup for Zeno Family Math Night.
Winter Enrichment Registration – Last chance to register is today!
Winter After-School Enrichment registration closes today. Classes run after-school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from February 4 through April 3 (8 weeks) again. Classes include chess club, slime making, and new options including hip hop dance, drama, clay and 3D art, and lego engineering.
VEPTSA Winter General Meeting – Save the date! February 4, 6:30-8pm
Join us Tuesday, February 4, 6:30pm – 8pm for VEPTSA’s Winter General Meeting. Childcare is provided onsite by Creative Kids. Find meeting information and agenda in the Konstella app > Calendar. If you haven’t already joined Konstella, now is a great time to do that.
Important Upcoming School Calendar Dates
- Wednesday January 29th 5:30-7PM Viewlands Zeno Family Math Night & Community Resource Fair
- Tuesday February 4th at 5PM – Viewlands Open House for Prospective New Students and Incoming Kindergarten Families for Next School Year
- Monday February 17th through Friday February 21st – No School, President’s Day Holiday and Mid-Winter Break
¡Hola familias de Viewlands!
Nuestro equipo de 2º grado está co-creando y liderando nuestra escuela en una asamblea de Encuentro para un Cambio Positivo y una marcha comunitaria el viernes 14 de febrero. Esto es en honor al legado de Martin Luther King Jr y al Mes de la Historia Negra. Los estudiantes compartirán sus esperanzas y sueños para nuestro mundo y sus ideas para crear un cambio positivo. Los maestros y estudiantes de 2º grado estarán liderando esto, pero han invitado a otros a participar. Si usted, como miembro de la familia, está interesado en participar en la asamblea, compartir algo o apoyar, comuníquese con la maestra Norma Andrade en ncandrade@seattleschools.org.
Durante los próximos meses, cada aula participará en un taller para enriquecer su aprendizaje a través de artistas invitados y maestros del Seattle Childrens Theater o el Pacific Science Center. Este enriquecimiento del aula está financiado por VEPTSA. Agradecemos enormemente su asociación y apoyo. Esto afectará a todos los niños. Hoy fue la primera visita, con un artista invitado que visitó nuestras aulas de jardín de infantes con un enfoque en el Ciclo del Agua. ¡Gracias a VEPTSA por hacer que esto suceda!
Algunos aspectos destacados de mis visitas a las aulas y con los estudiantes esta semana: escuchar las reacciones de los estudiantes de 4º y 5º grado a la transformación de la decoración del hábitat en nuestro tanque de salmón; aprender sobre una actividad de matemáticas de extensión con algunos estudiantes de 5º grado que planean un viaje por carretera; escuchar a los estudiantes de 3er grado discutir sus pensamientos sobre los impactos positivos y negativos de un damns y sus ideas sobre otras fuentes de energía y la importancia del salmón; los estudiantes de 1er grado de la clase de la Sra. Veliz discutiendo sobre MLK y por qué le hicieron una fiesta de cumpleaños; y dibujo con alumnos de 1er grado en la clase del Sr. W con su maestro invitado. Hoy nuestros alumnos de 4º y 5º grado tuvieron una visita de autor como parte del Global Reading Challenge (GRC). El autor Tae Keller, autor de When You Trap a Tiger, uno de los libros de GRC, visitó Viewlands. Compartió su trayectoria como escritora y como niña. Celebró sus raíces coreanas y compartió con los estudiantes cómo este libro honraba las historias compartidas por su halmeoni (abuela en coreano).
Sus hijos son pensadores brillantes, curiosos y creativos. Continuaremos buscando formas de hacer que cada estudiante se sienta conocido, valorado y empoderado durante todo el año.
En asociación, Carrie Wheeler – España | Viewlands Principal