Family Newsletter Archive

Pastries with the Principal

Join us for pastries, coffee and conversation with Principal Nur in the cafeteria on Thursday, February 16 from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Relaxed and informal, this is a great time to get to know our Principal. Hope to see you there! This takes place every third Thursday in most months! 

Upcoming dates are: March 16th, April 20th, May 18th and June 15th!

Sponsored by our Tukwila Elementary PTA!

LRC 1 News from Ms. Kitano

Students in LRC1 have been diligently working on the Moby Max online program, focusing on math and reading skills. Moby Max helps students close learning gaps where they are engaged with interactive lessons, activities, games and class rewards. The program pinpoints missing skills with diagnostic lessons.  Research found that students with learning deficiencies showed the most growth in MobyMax compared to peers who are on grade level

Students look forward to "MobyMax Friday" where they love earning badges, certificates and game time.  One wall in our room is FULL of all of the badges students have earned.  If your child has access to a computer, I encourage students to work on Moby Max at home in the evening or on weekends. Please let me know if you need your child's log-in information and I will get it to you.

Math & Reading Intervention News from Ms. Boline and Ms. Deming

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.” —Confucius

Hello Families!

This month we would like to focus on language comprehension and development in both literacy and math.  Did you know that studies show that reading comprehension has a direct correlation to students’ performances in math and accelerated growth from fourth to sixth grade?  Language comprehension is something that can be easily practiced at home, in the car, and while running errands.

Helpful tips: **Please note, all of these strategies can be used in your home language!**

• Try using higher level vocabulary in your everyday conversations.  For example, instead of saying “Would you like to help me make dinner?” say “Would you like to help me prepare dinner?”

• When reading to your child, pick a book that is at a higher reading level than they are currently reading on their own.  Check their comprehension by asking if they know what certain words mean.  Talk about the meaning of the words and ask if they can use it in a sentence.

• When discussing numbers, try using words like greater than and less than rather than bigger or smaller.

• When pointing out numbers in a store, ask questions like “How many digits are in that number?”  “What would be ten more than this number?”  “What would be ten less?” 

PTA News

This Valentine's Season we are doing Friendship Grams! There are two exciting options to choose from! Send a sticker for (25 cents) or a mini mochi squishy (75 cents)

Envelopes with Friendship Grams & order forms will be going home 1/30. More information will be provided in the envelopes sent home.

The PTA is hosting a FRIENDSHIP DANCE PARTY Friday February 17th from 4-6:30pm at the school. There will be food, music, and fun! More information will be sent home with students in early February.

Social Emotional Learning News from Ms. Rusk

SEL curriculum Character Strong:

• Character Development:
  Character education involves developing thoughtful, healthy, and kind human beings. Our character is informed by our personal values and choices.
• SEL Competencies:
  Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Our February character trait is perseverance, (pushing yourself to work through challenges and obstacles).
• Ruler:
  RULER, is an acronym for the five skills of emotional intelligence (recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating). Tukwila Elementary uses Ruler, (the evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning) in combination with Character Strong as our SEL curriculums.
• Mood meters:
  The Mood Meter is a tool from Ruler that allows students to recognize their feelings and learn how to move between them. It helps enhance self-awareness, supporting the development of a nuanced emotion vocabulary and the ability to self-regulate. You will find Mood Meters of all kinds across the Tukwila campus!

The Importance of Good Attendance

This is a reminder that if your child is absent from school you must call the school at (206) 901-7502. If your child is gone for 3 consecutive days or more due to illness, the school district will require medical documentation for the absence to be excused. If your family is planning a vacation during school, it must be discussed and prearranged with the school. If your child continues to have poor school attendance you may be required to meet with the school team and the district stay in school coordinator Katherine Turner.

Kindergarten Enrollment is Open!

Tukwila Schools’ inclusive community welcomes everyone with experienced educators and culturally responsive programs. We’re ready to engage and encourage every child! If your student will be 5 by August 31, we encourage you to enroll. For more information, please visit our enrollment page: https://www.tukwilaschools.org/about-our-district/enrollment

Are you interested in being on Tukwila's School Board?

The Tukwila School District is seeking to fill a vacancy for our Board of Directors. This position represents District Area 3 (three). Any citizen residing in District Area 3 who meets the following qualifications is eligible to apply:

• Must live in District 3 in Tukwila (link to District boundary map) **The District boundaries have been changed, so please look at the District boundary map to verify that you live in District 3**

• Must be a United States citizen

• Must be an Eligible Voter

Please visit the Board of Directors application page on the Tukwila School District website for more information and to fill out the application:

tukwilaschools.org/about-our-district/board-of-directors/board-of-directors-application

Please consider applying if you are interested in serving the students and families of Tukwila. We are a unique school district serving a vibrant community and we would love to hear from you if you are passionate about leading the District in providing high quality education for all students.

Please contact Deborah Kohr with questions at kohrd@tukwila.wednet.edu or 206-901-8006.

Pastries with the Principal

Join us for pastries, coffee and conversation with Principal Nur in the cafeteria on Thursday, January 19 from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. Relaxed and informal, this is a great time to get to know our Principal. Hope to see you there! This takes place every third Thursday in most months! 

Upcoming dates are: February 16th, March 16th, April 20th, May 18th and June 15th!

Sponsored by our Tukwila Elementary PTA!

LRC 1 News from Ms. Kitano

5 Ways to Encourage School Age Readers:

• Encourage your child to read on her own at home. Let your child see you read.

• Keep a variety of reading materials in the house. Make sure to have reading materials for enjoyment as well as for reference.

• Encourage your child to practice reading aloud. Frequently listen to your child read aloud and praise him/her often. Offer to read every other page, line or chapter to your child. Have conversations and discussions about the book.

• Continue to be a good role model. Let your child see you read. Write short notes for your child to read. Write down his/her weekly chores to keep track of or put a note in your child’s lunch bag.

Math & Reading Intervention News from Ms. Boline and Ms. Deming

Happy New Year!  We hope you had an amazing break, filled with all the things that make you most happy.  As we bring in the New Year, we would like to offer some quick Math & Literacy Ideas that can be worked on at home.

Do you know how important Handwriting is?  We want our students to not have to focus on how they are writing letters and numbers, it should be automatized!  That is, it becomes something they don’t even have to think about.  Research has shown that once it becomes an automatized skill, your student will be able to focus their brain more on composition instead…which leads to better reading, writing, and problem solving skills! Students should not spend so much time thinking about how to make letters and numbers, but rather, collecting their thoughts and sharing their ideas. Having your student practice writing letters & numbers correctly is something that can be practiced at home! 

Helpful tips:

• Most letters and numbers should be started from the top and pull down, not the bottom up.

• When writing, the majority of letters and numbers shouldn’t require you to lift your pencil.  They should be written using one continuous stroke.

PTA News

Parent's Night Out: Would you like to have a night out or a date night? Time away from the kids is always fun and the PTA is offering to host your children the evening of Friday 1/20 from 5pm - 9pm. We will host ages 5+ and will have food, movies, sports, and activities to entertain the kids. We will charge $10 per child. Sign up information will go out early January.

PTA Member meeting: Wednesday 1/25 from 5-6pm. In person or via Zoom - the PTA will send out the information one week before the meeting. This meeting is for current members, or people interested in joining the PTA.

Race & Equity Committee News

Committee's objective: Our committee is centered on the foundational work and training necessary to understand and address systemic racism, implicit biases and inequities. We are working to create a school where consistent equitable systems are utilized with fidelity for all students, but intentionally directing our primary focus on our historically marginalized black and brown students. By creating a school that is inclusive, recognizing and celebrating diversity, providing equitable access to rigorous coursework, and always using the lens of social justice and restorative practices we will begin to see improvement in students' academic, social, emotional and behavioral outcomes and success, which will also improve our school climate.

Social Emotional Learning News from Ms. Rusk

Tukwila Elementary School uses  Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS).

What is Positive Behavior Interventions and Support? PBIS is a process for creating safer and more effective schools. It is a systems approach to enhancing the capacity of schools to educate all children by developing research-based, school-wide, and classroom behavior support systems. The process focuses on improving a school’s ability to teach and support positive behavior for all students. 

What is PBIS at our school? We have adopted a unified set of school and classroom rules. These rules define our expectations for behavior in our school. You will see these rules posted throughout the school and your child is expected to follow these rules while at school:

Rule #1: Be respectful. Rule #2: Be responsible. Rule #3: Be safe.

 At Tukwila Elementary School we use PBIS by:

• Using a continuum of evidence-based practices to support student needs

• Engaging students, families, and community members to co-create culturally responsive practices

• Regularly checking  the effectiveness of our practices

• Relying  on teams to guide implementation

• Using  data to identify strengths, uncover needs, and monitor student progress

• Implementing universal screening

• Developing content expertise through coaching and on-going professional development

The Importance of Good Attendance

This is a reminder that if your child is absent from school you must call the school at (206) 901-7502. If your child is gone for 3 consecutive days or more due to illness, the school district will require medical documentation for the absence to be excused. If your family is planning a vacation during school, it must be discussed and prearranged with the school. If your child continues to have poor school attendance you may be required to meet with the school team and the district stay in school coordinator Katherine Turner.

Surplus Sale

The Tukwila School District will be holding a Surplus Sale on Thursday, January 5 in the Showalter Middle School Commons (4628 S. 144th St).

This one-day sale is open to staff and students from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. and will be open to the general public from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

We will be selling books, technology items, furniture and more. Prices will vary and delivery is not available. All items are sold "AS IS" and all sales are final.

You Got Next Basketball

Tukwila Parks & Rec is hosting basketball for K-8 students. See the flyer below for more information and register here: www.TukwilaWa.gov/signup

Questions? Contact sports@tukwilawa.gov

Dual Language Advisory Team

In Fall 2023 Tukwila School District will welcome Kindergarten students into our Dual Language Program at Cascade View Elementary. This is the result of a years’ long effort to support our students and families. To that end we will convene a Dual Language Advisory Team. During monthly meetings, the TSD Dual Language Advisory Team will provide feedback and input on the implementation of Dual Language programming using the Center for Applied Linguistics’ Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education. We are looking for staff, students, families, and community members to participate on this important team.

The Dual Language Advisory Team will meet at the district office from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. on the following dates:

• January 12, 2023
• February 9, 2023
• March 9, 2023
• April 13, 2023
• May 11, 2023
• June 8, 2023

If you have questions or are interested in joining the advisory team please email Silvia Dicus Mora at dicusmoras@tukwila.wednet.edu or via phone by calling 206-901-8028.  

Pastries with the Principal

Thursday, December 8 | 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. | Tukwila Elementary Cafeteria

Join us for pastries, coffee and conversation with Principal Nur in the cafeteria. Relaxed and informal, this is a great time to get to know our Principal. Hope to see you there! This takes place every third Thursday in most months! 

Upcoming dates are: January 19th, February 16th, March 16th, April 20th, May 18th and June 15th!

Sponsored by our Tukwila Elementary PTA!

The Importance of Good Attendance

This is a reminder that if your child is absent from school you must call the school at (206) 901-7502. If your child is gone for 3 consecutive days or more due to illness, the school district will require medical documentation for the absence to be excused. If your family is planning a vacation during school, it must be discussed and prearranged with the school. If your child continues to have poor school attendance you may be required to meet with the school team and the district stay in school coordinator Katherine Turner.

STEAM News (from Ms. Rice)

December is National Coding Month! Students in every grade level will learn new coding skills.  Coding is important to learn in elementary school in order to gain confidence with their problem solving skills.  Students who learn to code in elementary school are more likely to sign up for technology classes  in high school. Kindergartners through second graders are learning about movement and repeat blocks.  Third graders through fifth graders are learning what Events are in coding and how to use different Events to make actions.   If you would like to explore coding at home with your children, please visit scratch.mit.edu or code.org. 

Social Emotional Learning News (from Ms. Rusk)

Our school is using Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS)

What is Positive Behavior Interventions and Support? PBIS is a process for creating safer and more effective schools. It is a systems approach to enhancing the capacity of schools to educate all children by developing research-based, school-wide, and classroom behavior support systems. The process focuses on improving a school’s ability to teach and support positive behavior for all students. Rather than a prescribed program, PBIS provides systems for schools to design, implement, and evaluate effective school-wide, classroom, non-classroom, and student specific plans. PBIS includes school-wide procedures and processes intended for all students and all staff in all settings. PBIS is not a program or a curriculum. It is a team-based process for systemic problem solving, planning, and evaluation. It is an approach to creating a safe and productive learning environment where teachers can teach and all students can learn.

What is PBIS at our school? We have adopted a unified set of school and classroom rules. These rules define our expectations for behavior in our school. You will see these rules posted throughout the school and your child is expected to follow these rules while at school:

Rule #1: Be respectful

Rule #2: Be responsible 

Rule #3: Be safe.

Enrollment Event - In Memory of Lisa Pie

Public Health of King County is holding their annual enrollment event in memory of Lisa Pie on Saturday, December 10 from 10 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Foster High School. They will be providing health insurance enrollment, ORCA Lift enrollments, COVID vaccines, giving away Rite Aid flu vouchers, frozen chicken (and other meat), mammogram screening and free lunch. 

Vaccine Clinic

  

A message from our Quality Engagement Specialists

 

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, November 2 - Friday, November 4

These days are early release days. School is out at 12:40. Your child’s teacher will reach out to you concerning signing up for a conference time.

Pastries with the Principal

Thursday, November 17 | 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. | Tukwila Elementary Cafeteria

Join us for pastries, coffee and conversation with Principal Nur in the cafeteria. Relaxed and informal, this is a great time to get to know our Principal. Hope to see you there! This takes place every third Thursday in most months! 

Upcoming dates are: November 17th, December 8th, January 19th, February 16th, March 16th, April 20th, May 18th and June 15th!

Sponsored by our Tukwila Elementary PTA!

Tukwila PTA Meet and Greet

Thursday, November 10 |  6:00 - 7:00 p.m. | Tukwila Elementary Cafeteria

Calling All PTA members!

This November we are hosting a PTA Meet & Greet! Now that we are able to do so much more in person at the school, I would love to meet all of you personally and together go over what volunteer opportunities are open and what everyone enjoys doing most! 

Everyone is welcome to bring snacks and/or drinks for this potluck style event! Any leftover snacks can be gifted to the school staff lounge the next day.

Scholastic Book Fair

Get all your readers ready for a literary adventure this November! This is a great opportunity to add to your home library or help your kids finally get their hands on their favorite books! Shopping is easy and fun and I'm excited to announce that Scholastic will be giving back a portion of the goal as rewards to our school when you shop!

The book fair will be held the same days as parent teacher conferences, November 2-4th from 1pm-6pm. 

If you'd like to help run the book fair we need you! Please sign up with the link below:

Scholastic Book Fair Sign-Up Form

Message from Veronica Chea

My name is Veronica Chea and I'm the new school social worker here at Tukwila Elementary School. After having been here for a few weeks, I can say that the students, staff and families here have been so welcoming and I'm excited to extend the same love and care to our community through my work at the school. My own family immigrated here from Cambodia in the 1980s and have made our home here in Seattle. I'm the first in my family to graduate from a 4-year university and to go on to earn my Master's degree in Social Work at the University of Washington. I'm so excited to serve such a diverse community and support our kids in becoming the best version of themselves!

Vaccine Clinic

Proposed Revisions to Director Districts Public Hearing

Because of population changes reflected on the 2020 census, Tukwila Schools are proposing changes to the geographic boundaries of our director districts.

These boundaries are completely unrelated to school attendance boundaries; this process will not change any neighborhood school boundaries.

A public hearing on this proposal will be held on Monday, November 7 from 5:30 - 6:00 p.m. virtually and in-person | Tukwila School District Administration Building, 4640 S. 144th St | Zoom link

Click here for more information, including the proposed changes.

Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund

Apply by November 14, 2022 and you could get at least $1000; you can apply if you're over 18, are not eligible for federal stimulus funds or unemployment due to your immigration status, and you've experienced difficult times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's safe to apply - no information goes to the government.

Apply here

Chromebooks

Just a reminder that this year Chromebooks will stay at school. Students will have access to Chromebooks during class. If a student needs a Chromebook for homework, they may check out a device one day at a time with a written request from their teacher. Also, phones are not allowed during the school day, so please remind your child to keep their phone in their backpack during the school day.

Reminders

• Our school wide expectations are to be respectful, responsible and safe. We expect all students to follow these expectations whenever they are at school.
• No vapes, lighters or any other paraphernalia are allowed at school. Please make sure these things do not accidentally make it to school!
• Our school’s focus this year is improving school attendance.
  
  This is a reminder that if your child is absent from school you must call the school at (206) 901-7502. If your child is gone for 3 consecutive days or more due to illness, the school district will require medical documentation for the absence to be excused. If your family is planning a vacation during school, it must be discussed and prearranged with the school. If your child continues to have poor school attendance you may be required to meet with the school team and the district stay in school coordinator Katherine Turner.
• Volunteers, please fill out an application online at: https://www.tukwilaschools.org/get-involved/volunteer Thank you!
• WIFI access is available. Look for the TUK-Guest network when connecting. No username or password needed.

• Sign up for Flash Alert at www.flashalert.net

• Listen to local media for the latest delay/closure info

• Make sure your phone number is updated with the main office to get auto-dialer phone calls.

• Please see our Mental Health Resources page for information about services and supports we provide Tukwila students: https://www.tukwilaschools.org/services/counseling/mental-health-resources. This page will be updated throughout the school year as we improve our structures and processes.

Welcome to the 2022-2023 School Year!

We are so excited to share this school year with your child(ren) and family. It is going to be a great year of learning! Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns!

Bell Times

School Begins: 8:50 a.m. (No supervision before 8:30 a.m.)

School Dismissal: 3:10 p.m. (Please do not come early)

Early Release Dismissal: 12:40 p.m.

Principal's Message

Hello Tuk El Families,

Boy, has the school year been off to a busy start! We are excited to have your Terrific Tigers back in school and learning.

We hope you had the opportunity to connect with your student's teacher during our Open House! It was amazing and encouraging to see all of you back in person! Families, we need your help.

Please encourage and reinforce our Big Three. Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Responsible. We want to ensure every one of your Terrific Tigers are learning and fully engaged! With your support, we will have a wonderful and safe year!

I hope to see you at our First Pastries with your Principal. This will take place Thursday, October 20th, 2022, from 5:30-6:30 pm. I am hoping the later time will work for more families. This is a time to come and connect with me, share your concerns, and plan how we can best meet your student's needs!

Best regards, Ms. Nur

News Feature About Principal Nur

Runta News Channel did a feature about Tukwila Elementary Principal Hani Nur, the first Somali principal in Washington State!

Please enjoy the video they created:

Maintenance & Custodial Staff Recognition Week

October 3-7 is Maintenance & Custodial Staff Recognition Week. Tukwila Elementary wants to give a HUGE thanks to our Maintenance & Custodial Team! Your dedication to keeping our building clean and running smoothly is greatly appreciated. Tina Patterson, Mikhail Gorbin, and Salim Abdul you are the best!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food Service Staff Recognition Week

October 10-14 is Food Services Staff Recognition week - TES wants to give a HUGE thanks to our Food Services Team! Thank you so much for your dedication to keeping our students fed and healthy. We appreciate you! Elisa Ngiralmau, Norian Musa and Ruby Harrington, you are the best!

Chromebooks

Just a reminder that this year Chromebooks will stay at school. Students will have access to Chromebooks during class. If a student needs a Chromebook for homework, they may check out a device one day at a time with a written request from their teacher. Also, phones are not allowed during the school day, so please remind your child to keep their phone in their backpack during the school day.

Reminders

• Our school wide expectations are to be respectful, responsible and safe. We expect all students to follow these expectations whenever they are at school.
• No vapes, lighters or any other paraphernalia are allowed at school. Please make sure these things do not accidentally make it to school!
• Our school’s focus this year is improving school attendance.
  
  This is a reminder that if your child is absent from school you must call the school at (206) 901-7502. If your child is gone for 3 consecutive days or more due to illness, the school district will require medical documentation for the absence to be excused. If your family is planning a vacation during school, it must be discussed and prearranged with the school. If your child continues to have poor school attendance you may be required to meet with the school team and the district stay in school coordinator Katherine Turner.
• Volunteers, please fill out an application online at: https://www.tukwilaschools.org/get-involved/volunteer Thank you!
• WIFI access is available. Look for the TUK-Guest network when connecting. No username or password needed.

• Sign up for Flash Alert at www.flashalert.net

• Listen to local media for the latest delay/closure info

• Make sure your phone number is updated with the main office to get auto-dialer phone calls.

• Please see our Mental Health Resources page for information about services and supports we provide Tukwila students: https://www.tukwilaschools.org/services/counseling/mental-health-resources. This page will be updated throughout the school year as we improve our structures and processes.

PTA Information

The Tukwila Elementary PTA is hosting a Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, October 29 from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Please drop off candy donations for this event at the main office. You can sign up to decorate a trunk for the event. Email tukwilapta@gmail.com.

Boo Grams are back! The fun is for everyone including parents, teachers, students, and staff! We have two exciting options to choose from. Send a vinyl sticker ($0.25) or a silicone wristband ($0.75) to your Boos! Send them to your whole class, teacher or friends/teachers in other classes. The Boo is up to you! There are many styles of Halloween themed stickers and wristbands, so the more you send, the more you can add to each other's collection. *Styles are randomly chosen. Pick up your order form in the main office and return with payment by October 24. Boo Grams and collectables will be delivered to each class on Monday, October 31.

Our teachers would appreciate donations of Keurig coffee pods and creamers. Please drop off at the main office.

Scholastic Book Fair will be held this year. Dates and times to be decided.

Free ORCA Cards

All students (ages 6-18) are invited to sign up for a FREE ORCA card thanks to Move Ahead Washington, a statewide transportation funding package! With this card, students will be able to ride free on King County Metro, Sound Transit, Seattle Street Car, Pierce Transit, Community Transit, Kitsap Transit, Everett Transit, and Washington State Ferries.