Dear MVE Families,

As the calendar turns to October, I wanted to provide an update to families regarding Methow Valley Elementary’s ongoing efforts to support the physical and social-emotional safety and well-being of our students.

Developing Strong Relationships

This work begins with the development of strong relationships between students and between students and adults; this approach is supported by an exceptional staff and small class sizes. Teachers build a classroom community where every student is valued and appreciated. These classroom communities create “Classroom Agreements” to support all students. These communities are developed throughout the day and are usually led by a daily class meeting. To further support students, our school counselor, Keri Moore, delivers classroom counseling lessons twice a month to every classroom to help work on age-appropriate skills such as self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

School-wide Expectations

Classroom teachers also review our school-wide expectations in our common areas: playground, cafeteria, hallways, and bathrooms. To promote these positive behaviors, all school staff build positive relationships with students by recognizing appropriate behavior throughout our school. Additionally, students earn “Cub Tickets” by exemplifying what it means to Caring, Principled, or a Thinker throughout our school. These Cub Tickets fill out the Cub Ticket board, and when the board is full, our school earns a school-wide incentive, such as selecting a couple of Principals of the Day.

When Mistakes are Made

With proactive and preventive teaching, we consistently see students develop age appropriate social skills. That said, there are bumps in the road, and every student develops at their own pace and/or comes into our building with a unique background and set of skills. When students fail to meet expectations, our staff engage in a range of responses generally starting with the restating of expectations, (ie-”walking feet”), and/or practicing the expectations with the adult (ie-”let's try to walk down the hall again”).

When we observe that these immediate interventions aren’t effective as we see a pattern of behavior, or the behavior warrants further follow up, our staff utilizes a number of strategies to support appropriate behavior, including, but not limited to: re-direction, removal/timeout, office discipline referral, parent phone call/email/conference, restorative conferencing, skill building lessons with counselor other school staff, referral to our Student Support Team, referral to Okanogan Behavioral Health, family support through Room One and other community partners, consultation with Special Education, and when necessary, a progressive course of disciplinary action that may lead to in-school or out-of-school suspension from school. When disciplinary action takes place, the decision-making process is guided by school board policies and procedures.

Ongoing Support

We look forward to continuing to partner with our community in support of the physical, social and academic well being of all of our students, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions.

Paul Gutzler

Methow Valley Elementary

Principal

Upcoming Dates:

October 5th & 6th- Vision Screenings
October 7th - 9th: 5th Grade field trip to Mountain School.
October 12th: 4H Club Meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the MVE Cafeteria.
October 13th & 14th: Hearing & Vision Screenings.
October 20th: Picture Retake Day.
October 22nd: 4th Grade Schoolyard Science.
October 23rd: No School; Professional Day.
October 30th: Spirit Day! Wear Black & Orange.

From the Office

Parent Drop-off Reminder: Our parent drop-off location near the district office is a busy location between 8:00- 8:30 a.m. Please be mindful of other families and do your part to keep everyone safe in the drop-off loop. As a general rule, it works best if drivers stay to the right and pull all the way forward in the loop for the quickest and safest drop off. And we ask that drivers remain with their vehicle so that all families can quickly and safely drop off their students.

Arrival & Dismissal Times:

School begins at 8:25 am and ends at 3:10 pm, Monday-Thursdays, and ends at 1:20 pm on Fridays. *Children can be dropped off no earlier than 8:00 am.

Bus Note Reminder:

Please call in bus notes by 1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and by 12:00 p.m. on Fridays. Our office phone number is 509-996-2186. Thank you!

Attendance Reminder: Please call the office if your student will be absent and choose the attendance line option to leave a message. Or, you can email Stacey at scooley@methow.org

No Animals at Parent Pick Up: We ask that animals do not accompany their owners at parent pick up. Over the years, we’ve had dogs, horses, and cats at parent pick-up, and no matter how cute, we ask that they don’t show up to parent pick-up. It's a busy spot, so thanks for supporting an orderly student dismissal.

Friday Foods Registration Info. Is your family in need of assistance with food over the weekends during the school year? If so, there are registration forms in the office. This is made possible through a partnership with The Cove.

AfterCare & Cub Clubs

Cub Clubs

Thursday Flag Football, grades 5 & 6
Friday Crafts, grades K & 1
Friday Garden, grades 1-3
Friday Science, grades 3-5

* Registration is closed, but we still have some space in flag football and craft club. Email lcarlton@methow.org if interested.

AfterCare (Grades K–5): Register For AfterCare here (space is limited)

Questions?

Contact Laurel Carlton, Family & Community Engagement Coordinator
lcarlton@methow.org

From Classroom In Bloom

Fall harvest at the garden has been a blast, lots of exploring, garlic sorting, snacking, and good old-fashioned farm work. We're so happy to have MVES students and teachers back in the garden! Parents, we invite you to join our newsletter to stay up to date on garden news and events. Subscribe here: https://classroominbloom.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=23c431d8de76165aca9b4f506&id=548501caab

Classroom in Bloom: A Year in the Life of a School Garden photo book is now available at Classroom in Bloom. For purchase, email classroominbloom@gmail.com."

Eat Lunch with your Student!

An adult lunch costs $4.85. Exact change is appreciated.

Be sure to sign in and grab a visitor sticker from Stacey on your way in. Below is the lunch schedule for reference, along with our school menu.

Kinder- 10:50-11:20
First- 11:05-11:35
Second- 11:20-11:50
Third- 11:45-12:15
Fourth- 12-12:30
Fifth- 12:15-12:45

Lunch Menu

From Our Community Partners

From Room One

MVSD is partnering with Room One and Okanogan County Developmental Disabilities staff to host a family information night on 10/8/26, 5:30-7:00 pm at Room One. This will be a chance to share resources available to support families in our community whose children experience developmental disabilities, and for families to hear how medical, educational, and community-based partners work to support their children.

Register Here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3SAGG4BSFE3UKY_GvFqQwuaDdjBaCIoqU7O8CNKOPbyK-rg/viewform

From Little Star School

Little Star School is hosting a community open house for their Early Childhood/Preschool program (ages 3-5) on Friday, Oct. 9 from 10:00-12:00! Please bring your child and join us for a classroom tour, art activity, snack, and open play in the classroom and on the playground. Meet our teachers and administrators and learn more about our play-based and Montessori-inspired curriculum and approach to Positive Discipline. All are welcome and an RSVP is appreciated, please email sarah@littlestarschool.org or call 509-996-2801 to let us know you’re coming. The address is 101 Norfolk Ave, Winthrop, 98862.

Parents/guardians are expected to stay onsite with their children during the open house. There are a few spaces currently open in the Winthrop Early Childhood program,and financial aid and state subsidies are available. Click here for more information about enrollment.

From OCCDA/Head Start

Monday, October 26th from 5:30–7:00 p.m. at MVE. Dinner will be served.

Help Me Grow WA is a resource for families and early learning providers that helps connect people to information, services, and supports available in their local communities. This can include resources related to child development, early learning, parenting, health, basic needs, and other supports families may be looking for.

This training will be a preview of the Local Help Me Grow pages being developed, which will make it easier for families and providers to find community resources and connections in our area.

This is a great opportunity for parents, Early Learning providers, and staff to learn together about resources that can support children and families.

From the Winthrop Rink

Register NOW for all Winter Programs at the Winthrop Rink - Learn to Skate, Advanced Figure Skating Lessons, Adult Learn to Play Hockey, and Wolverines Youth Hockey!

Visit www.winthroprink.org for more program information.

Season Passes on sale October 1st, with expected for Winter Opening on November 1st.

Questions? Contact the rink (509) 996-4199 or info@winthroprink.org