...
September 2026
Greetings MCE Families!
Welcome to the 2026-2027 School Year! Whether you are returning to our school community or joining us for the first time, we are so happy you’re here and we hope that you’ve heard only positive things from your child(ren) in these first few days of the new school year! The start of each new year just seems to overflow with new opportunities, friendships and experiences! Our staff has been working so hard to welcome your child(ren) and ensure that they feel safe, valued and inspired, equipped, and excited to learn! We are all excited to work with you to make this a joy-filled, successful and memorable year for all!
The purpose of this newsletter is to inform all our new families; new and returning, how we work to very purposefully build a positive school environment using our Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework, designed to help each and every student achieve behavioral success at school this year.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS (PBIS)
PBIS is a systemic approach to creating a safe and productive school culture and learning environment so that all teachers can teach and all students can learn. A key goal of a PBIS program is prevention. The goal of PBIS is to prevent or reduce problem behavior as a barrier to student achievement by creating a safe, welcoming, familiar, consistent and predictable school culture that sets every student up for success.
Key components of any PBIS program include:
Common school-wide behavior expectations for every campus setting
Direct teaching of expected behaviors, initially and throughout the year
Consistent school-wide routines and language regarding expected school behaviors
Specific and frequent feedback, acknowledgement and recognition for students who are successfully meeting behavior expectations
Reteaching with additional behavior interventions and supports for students who need it
WE SHOW COUGAR PRIDE!
At Mill Creek, our school-wide PBIS program is defined by two words: Cougar Pride.
Students are asked to ‘show Cougar Pride’ by meeting 4 simple expectations:
Be Safe
Be Responsible
Be Respectful
Be Kind
Across every setting of our campus, these behavior expectations are clearly defined and visibly displayed. Expectations are summarized in our school-wide behavior expectation matrix.
COUGAR PRIDE BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS ARE DEFINED AND TAUGHT.
SUCCESS IS CELEBRATED AND STUDENTS WHO NEED MORE SUPPORT RECEIVE IT.
To start the year, we embark on a school-wide, K-5 aligned instructional plan to teach students what ‘Cougar Pride’ looks like in every setting. This helps to ensure that every child is set up for success. Ask your child if they’ve gone on their Playground Walkabout with their teacher yet. Can they remember something they learned from the slideshow about our new playground that they watched on the first day of school? Do they know what our school-wide attention signal is? What else can they tell you about what they’ve learned so far?
All students are retaught these expectations and individual students may receive additional teaching if needed.
Students and entire classes observed meeting our Cougar Pride expectations may receive a Cougar Pride card or Golden Ticket from any staff member and be eligible for additional classroom and schoolwide recognition. We celebrate success!
When responding to problem behavior, our goal is to provide a student with the level of support necessary for behavioral, social and emotional success in the same way that we work to provide each student with the level of support necessary for academic success. Parents/guardians may be contacted. At the conclusion of every problem behavior incident, all affected persons are given the opportunity to have productive closure through steps designed to repair harm, restore trust and reconnect completely back into the school community.
OUR COUGAR PRIDE ‘SELF-MANAGER’ PROGRAM
The newest component of our PBIS program is our Cougar Pride Self-Manager Program, designed to help all students take ownership of their own behavior, in regard to our school’s behavior expectations.
What is The Cougar Pride Self-Manager Program?
The Cougar Pride Self-Manager Program is the student-centered piece of our program that supports students’ in becoming more self-aware of their behavior choices. Through increased personal responsibility in the form of ongoing goal setting, monitoring and reflection, the goal of this program is to help all students become effective behavior self-managers who recognize that they are in charge of their behavior. Teaching, guidance, and encouragement from both teachers and parents/guardians as well as ongoing opportunities to set goals, practice, monitor progress and reflect on experiences all help students develop and demonstrate increased self-manager skills. Success is celebrated and progress toward success is recognized. Reteaching and additional supports are provided as needed.
A ‘Reminder’ vs. an ‘Official Reminder’
Our Cougar Pride Self-Manager program is built on an important concept called an ‘official reminder.’ As you know, a ‘reminder’ is simply a verbal or visual cue to prompt someone to remember to do something. Reminders are helpful for everyone and benefit all of us occasionally! Though students naturally need, receive and learn from behavior reminders every day at home and school, it is also expected that after a period of time, students can act with greater independence and need less reminders, as greater independence and self-manager skills kick in. Once all students are taught our school’s behavior expectations, a student who needs to be reminded excessively to meet a behavior expectation may also receive an ‘official reminder’ along with a reminder. All staff may give out ‘official reminders.’
Student Goal Setting, Ongoing Monitoring and Reflection Using A Self-Manager Card
Each student regularly sets a personal ‘official reminder’ behavior goal. This goal is a unique number of official reminders that the student feels they can reasonably stay at or below for the current period of time. Both the goal and any official reminders are documented on the student’s Self-Manager Card and discussed/reviewed privately with the teacher. Students carry their Self-Manager Cards to and from school each day, so parents/guardians can also be involved in discussing/reviewing them. At the end of the period, students are guided to reflect on their own progress, parents/guardians sign off on the card and teachers keep the card at school. At the end of the period, each grade level teaching team jointly offers a common way to celebrate success or offer additional support. In the new period, students receive a new self-manager card, set a new behavior goal and begin the process again.
Details by Grade Level:
All students will start learning about and practicing being behavior Cougar Pride Self-Managers at the start of the year. The program is school-wide, but it looks slightly different between the primary and intermediate grades. Teachers at each grade will share the specific details of the program with their students and families regarding:
Start date
Length of time in the goal setting period (weekly or monthly)
Self-Manager Card format
Positive recognition strategies for students who meet their goal within the period
Support and intervention strategies for students who do not meet their goal within the period
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
There are many things you can do to help your child stay on the path to behavioral success throughout this new school year! Here are a few suggestions:
Regularly talk about our Cougar Pride expectations with your child. Ask questions like: ‘How were you kind on the playground today?’ ‘How were you responsible in the cafeteria today?’ ‘How were you respectful in your classroom today?’
Ask your child if they or their class have received a Cougar Pride card or a Golden Ticket.
Ask to review your child’s Cougar Pride Self-Manager card each night and talk about the progress and/or challenges they are experiencing in reaching their behavior goal.
Keep in touch with your child’s teacher if you have questions or want to talk more.
Volunteer if and when you can. You are welcome here!!
Thank you for taking the time to read and learn about our PBIS and Cougar Pride program! It’s the foundation for a successful school year at Mill Creek Elementary and we appreciate your support! Thank you also for all the ways you helped to prepare your child for a successful start of the school year. We so appreciate you.
You can expect our school-wide newsletter on the first Wednesday of every month for the remainder of this year, containing information that all our families need to know. Our classroom teachers and our PTA will also work hard to share important and timely communication with you on a regular basis, to help us have a strong part
Have a wonderful September!
Sincerely,
Cindy Foster, Principal cfoster@everettsd.org
Kristin Dickert, Asst. Principal kdickert@everettsd.org
Thursday Sept. 30
- Picture Day
Counseling News by Mary Donnelly
A Strong Start Begins with Showing Up!
Welcome to a new school year! September is a time for fresh starts, new friendships, and exciting opportunities to learn and grow. One of the most important ways families can help children begin the year successfully is by making regular, on-time attendance a priority.
Every school day matters. When students attend consistently, they have more opportunities to build relationships, develop confidence, practice important skills, and feel connected to their classroom community.
Families can support strong attendance by:
· Establishing consistent bedtime and morning routines
· Preparing backpacks and clothing the night before
· Scheduling appointments outside school hours whenever possible
· Talking positively about school and celebrating good attendance
· Contacting the school when challenges make attendance difficult
Some mornings may be harder than others, especially as children adjust to a new classroom or school routine. If your child is feeling worried or having difficulty coming to school, please reach out. We are here to listen, problem-solve, and help your child feel safe, connected, and ready to learn.
We want every student to have what they need to feel comfortable, confident, and prepared for school. If your family needs assistance with school supplies, clothing, or other school-related necessities, please contact me. I will be happy to help connect you with available support and resources.
Let’s work together to make September the beginning of a wonderful year filled with learning, growth, and Cougar Pride!
Mary Donnelly
School Counselor
Mill Creek Elementary
425-385-6810
mdonnelly@everettsd.org
LIBRARY- by Holli Williams
Welcome back to a new school year!
I am Holli Williams, your school librarian. I get the privilege of seeing each of your kiddos in library once a week. All students will get to check out books each week as long as they bring back their books.
Here are some helpful tips to make sure books are getting back to the school.
Keep books in their backpack at all times except when reading them
Check your student account in destiny in student tools, clicking the Follett Destiny Icon, Log in with Student ID number and password, if it asks for the student’s email is StudentID@apps.everettsd.org then typing the student’s id number.
Check emails - notices are sent each Friday evening to help keep you up to date.
Friday notices do not mean your child’s books are due or overdue, please refer to the due date on the notice. The notices are just to help you keep track of what books your child has out.
Book Fairs - Book fairs are not only so much fun, they provide funding for our school. The money raised is helping our school buy more books for the library and classrooms. They happen three times per year - Fall, Spring, and the final one is in June.
Volunteering in the library - I would love help in the library. If you are interested, please send me an email or message in parent square. Please make sure you are approved by the district to volunteer. Here is the link https://www.everettsd.org/domain/1452
Reminder that all students have a digital library card as partners with the Sno-Isle Libraries and Everett Public Libraries.
Username is es and student number ie. es123456
Password is 1234
Thank you for reading this email about library! Stay tuned for more information throughout the school year about other activities and events!
Kindly,
Holli Williams
Teacher Librarian
Mill Creek Elementary
PE- by Kim Lobe
In PE, we have been learning the PE routines and expectations to prepare us for a fun, safe year in PE! I am very grateful to the students as they have been engaged, respectful, and responsible during the lessons! Woohoo!!
Field Day Our school wide Field Day will be the afternoon of Thursday, June 3rd this school year! I like to let you know the date early on in the school year so you can reserve this day on your personal/work calendar. 😊 Our parent volunteers are the true stars on this day as you show up in spades to make this fun day possible! THANK YOU!!
I sent the following PE information out through Parent Square before school started but in case you didn’t receive it, I am including it in the school newsletter so every family receives it.
Proper Athletic Shoes I want to ask for your support in helping your child remember to wear their “athletic” shoes to PE class each week! This is very important for your child’s safety and comfort, as well as the safety of the other children in the class.
Please, no: Crocs, boots of any kind, sandals, flip flops, high heels, slip on shoes, dress shoes, etc., only athletic tennis shoes! 😊 Thank you!
Athletic tennis shoes should have shoelaces or Velcro straps. There is also a style of running shoe that does not have laces or straps, but they are “athletic” running shoes that fit tightly up around the feet/ankles. This style of athletic running shoe is very different than the low cut, slip on “Vans” style of rubber soled skateboarding shoes. When children wear these low-cut, slip-on shoes to PE, they do not support a person’s feet/ankles as well and frequently come off very easily while running or kicking. I see students who are not wearing proper footwear in PE fall down a lot more, which is a potential safety hazard for them and for others. It does not matter at all what brand of shoe your child wears, it is the “style” of shoe that makes the safety difference when playing in PE.
If your child wants to wear a different kind of footwear to school on their PE day, that is understandable and ok, they can bring their athletic shoes in their backpack and change into them when it is PE time. Some students bring an extra pair of athletic shoes to school to leave them in their locker all year long so they always have them on PE day. It is also very helpful if you double tie your child’s shoes for them in the morning if they don’t know how to tie their shoes independently. Thank you very much for your support in keeping your child and the other children safe with proper footwear! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. If this creates a financial burden on your family in any way, please don’t hesitate to confidentially reach out to me and we will try and find a solution.
Excusal Note Required for Limited/Non-Participation in PE If your child is not able to participate in PE for any health reason, they can be excused for 5 consecutive school days with a written note from a parent/guardian. If after 5 school days, the child is still not able to fully participate in PE, a note of excusal is required from a medical professional with a start and end date. Please send either a handwritten excusal note with your child to PE to be given to me, the PE teacher, or email me (klobe@everettsd.org) and Health Room by 9:00am on the day of your child's PE so the PE teacher and Health Room are aware of the physical limitations.
THANKS SO VERY MUCH for all you do to support your child in their PE class! Hooray for PE!!
STEM- by Steve Harvey
I'm excited to get rolling with another fun year of learning in our Cougar STEAM classroom!
This year we will again be cooking! We are very excited to share with families that we not only received the Sprout Grant for our gardening program, but also a culinary arts grant for the garden to table program through Whole Foods Market!
In STEAM this year we will be spending more time with gardening and cooking due to these wonderful opportunities. Continue to be on the lookout for sign-ups for cooking as I will certainly need help again to make these lessons run smoothly. Occasionally I may also solicit ingredients and/or recipes.
If you have a family recipe that you would like to share with our school community and potentially have it featured in our STEAM culinary arts this year please feel free to do so. In case it is digital my email is sharvey@everettsd.org My goal with Mrs. Ripley this year is to start to have a cook book for students to create each year with art from their Art specialist as well.
With additional cooking opportunities I would like to start a safety agreement with students. We will review this agreement in class during the month of September prior to our first cooking challenge, but please take a moment to talk about it with your student as well. Look for this agreement in kid mail within the first few weeks of the year.
MILL CREEK ELEMENTARY FAMILY 2025/2026 HANDBOOK
Link to read the MCE Student Handbook
MCE PARKING LOT PROCEDURES
It is important to follow the MCE Parking Lot Procedures to keep our students safe!
Please https://millcreekes.everettsd.org/about-us/mce-parking-lot-procedures to review the procedures. Be sure to watch the video.
