the Orca Splash

Hello Viewlands Families!

Happy New Year!

It was wonderful to welcome back our students this week after winter break. The school was alive with stories from winter break. Time playing in the snow, visiting loved ones near and far, cooking delicious foods that are part of winter holiday traditions, cozy time at home with friends and family members...many stories were shared!

This week we were all working on getting back into our learning routines at school and in classroom communities. This needs to happen after every break from school. We also know home routines often change during a school break, including sleep schedules. We appreciate your support in getting your child back into good sleep schedules so they can get good rest each night before school. This really helps children reset and get back into their school routine and learning. Sleep is critical for every child and helps them be ready to learn, engage in peer interactions, and regulate their emotions better. We know during breaks from school sleep schedules get shifted often for the adults and children. Thank you for helping your children back on healthy sleep routines.

Students have expressed interest in more dance parties at lunch recess. We celebrated winter break last month with lunch recess dance party, which is tradition. I received a proposal from a small group of students about more frequent recess dance parties. We will be doing Friday Lunch Recess Dance Parties more frequently when we have dry weather. We started this today with our blue sky sunny weather day. We had a lot of fun dancing! A few photos of sidewalk chalk fun and our dance party are shared in this newsletter.

A few highlights from my visits in classrooms and with students this week include: poetry with the 4th and 5th graders in Mr. Arango's class as part of their piloting one of the potential new reading and writing curriculums the district is considering; listening to 3rd graders describe their mathematical thinking during a prime game and then during math instruction in Teacher Valentine's 3rd grade room; Orcas Explore time with kindergarteners; listening to some 1st and 2nd graders in Mr. Brandon's class share their stories about being in a snow globe; and connecting with students while drawing with sidewalk chalk at lunch recesses.

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

Seattle Public Schools will host summer learning opportunities for Kindergarten through 4th grade students. There are highly limited spots. Not all students are eligible for summer learning. If your child is eligible, an e-mail notice was sent to parents/guardians from the district on Monday, January 5. The e-mail went to the e-mails on file for the parents/guardians and came from Power School Enrollment (a district e-mail).

Summer learning is optional for families. Your child's classroom teacher can let you know if summer learning is important for your child and something your family should highly consider. If your child received a summer learning invite, you are welcome to reach out to your child's classroom teacher if you have questions about if this is something your child needs.

The parent/guardian must complete the registration for their child as soon as possible if you are interested in summer learning. There are highly limited spots and only one summer learning location in each region. James Baldwin is the host location for the NW region. In the e-mail received from the district there is information about transportation, school day, dates, and locations. The e-mail from the district also has the links for registration and the individual code for your child. Please note when you click on the link from the e-mail you will need to first create an account for the Source, if you haven't already created an account.

If you need help registering your child, first reach out to your child's classroom teacher. You can come to the school to use a school computer and get support if needed by staff during specific windows of time:

• Spanish speaking families: Mr. Hector can support next week (Monday Jan 12th through Friday Jan 16) 7:50-8:20 a.m.. He is only available in that morning window of time.
• If you are not a Spanish speaking family and need support to register, please reach out to your child's classroom teacher.

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 2026.

What will be shared:

• An 10-15minute introduction to our Viewlands Community by Carrie Wheeler, the Viewlands Principal for all prospective families in the commons
• An introduction to our partners, VEPTSA, in the commons
• Kindergarten at Viewlands: an introduction to Viewlands Kindergarten for incoming kindergarten families with the K team in the commons
• A school tour led by Viewlands staff for incoming prospective students 1st through 5th grade will occur after Principal Wheeler's Viewlands introduction
• A school tour led by Viewlands staff for prospective kindergarten families after the Kindergarten Presentation
• 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.

If you have questions, please out to Ms. Lin in the Viewlands office at lkmccormick@seattleschools.org or call the office 206-252-4400.

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 school staff. This is an open-house style family event. Typically families stay 45-60 minutes so you can come anytime between 5:30-6:30 p.m.. Please note the event starts at 5:30 and ends at 7 p.m., so please arrive by 6:30 p.m. at the latest. This is a family event, children must attend with an adult. Families are supervising their children. Children can't attend on their own.

There will be math games and activities to enjoy! Thank you VEPTSA for co-hosting and supporting Family Math Night! The Lincoln High School and Robert Eagle Staff math clubs will be supporting this event with student volunteers and will have information to share. We will also have alum Viewlands students from Robert Eagle Staff, Whitman middle school, and Ingraham high school volunteering at this event! We love our alum students!

Viewlands will be hosting the Community Resource Fair, an event focusing on community partnerships, during math night. This will include Family Works, Seattle Public Library, NeighborCare, and King County Metro. These organizations will have booths to provide information and assist with applications.

The Whitman Middle School Open House is on Tuesday, Jan. 20, from 5:30-7 p.m. for incoming 6th Graders for the 2026-27 School Year.

Parents/Guardians and Students are all welcome to attend!

Whitman MS Open House Schedule

• 5:30-6 p.m. Special Education Presentation
• 5:30-6 p.m. Parents can browse the information tables outside the auditorium
• 6 p.m. Principal/ASB Student Panel & PTSA Presentation in the auditorium with student led school tours.
• Event ends at 7 p.m.

The Robert Eagle Staff Middle School Open House is on Thursday, Jan. 22, from 6-8 p.m. for incoming 6th Graders for the 2026-27 School Year.

Parents/Guardians and Students are all welcome to attend!

Family Math Night & Resource Fair - Save the date! Thursday, Jan. 22, 5:30-7 p.m.

Bring the whole family to Family Math Night and Resource Fair on Thursday, Jan. 22, 5:30-7 p.m. Viewlands is partnering with Zeno, local middle and high school math clubs, and local organizations for an evening of fun math activities and family resources. We need many volunteers to support this event, please consider sharing with a community member to support volunteer signup for Family Math Night.

• Jan. 19 - No School, MLK Day
• Jan. 22 (Thursday) - Viewlands Math Night and Community Resource Fair 5:50-7 p.m.
• Feb. 16-20 - No School, Mid-Winter Break