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Summer greetings - We hope that this mid-summer update finds you well and enjoying the warmer July temperatures. While we miss our STARs, we are busy preparing for the fast-approaching 2025/2026 school year, including our Opening Orientation on Friday, August 22nd and our Opening Day (first day of school) on Wednesday, August 27th. We want you to enjoy these longer summer days and do not want to rush anyone to think about back-to-school. That noted, our new school year begins in six weeks and to help prepare, we wanted you to have this mid-summer update to help plan at your choosing and convenience.

Please look for another update, our Back-to-School special, in early August. Until then, please reach out with any questions or areas we can assist. Take care, enjoy, and thank you for your time.

With Gratitude,

Holly, Drew, & Tyler

North Middle School

hsullivan@everettsd.org - abaewilliams@everettsd.org - tream@everettsd.org

Phone: 425-385-4800

Summer + Back-to-School Dates/Events:

• 8/11: North Office Reopens (9:00am to 3:00pm, closed 12:00pm to 1:00pm)
• 8/22: 2025 Opening Orientation (2:30pm to 5:00pm)

• 8/25: Normal Office Hours Begin (7:30am to 4:00pm)

• 8/27: Opening Day 2025 - First day of the 2025/2026 school year

• 9/1: No School (Labor Day Holiday)

• 9/2 - 9/5: Fall Reading and Math Diagnostic Testing

• 9/9: Picture Day

• 9/13: Happy Birthday, North! (11:00am to 2:00pm/North campus)

• 9/18: Curriculum Night '25 (5:30pm to 7:30pm)

For additional dates related to the forthcoming 2025/2026 school year, please see our 25/26 Everett Public Schools Calendar.

This year, our 2025/2026 calendar has us opening the school year a few days earlier than in past. Opening Day is Wednesday, August 27th which marks the first time in a while that we have started the school year before Labor Day. This schedule allows for a "three-four-five" staggered start to the school year with three school days in our first week, four school days in our second week, and a full five-day week as our third week. This staggered start has been proven beneficial in helping students better acclimate to the start of the year. It also provides us with needed scheduling flexibility as we have a variety of academic and operational deliverables across the first few weeks of the school year.

On Opening Day (8/27), please know that our first bell will ring at 8:10am, as normal, with first period beginning at 8:15am. Our students will proceed through all six periods across each of their first three days of school, allowing us the orientation time that is critical to a successful start. For more information pertaining to our Opening Week schedule, please see the below "Opening Notes" section.

Please keep our 2025 Orientation date in mind as you plan for next month. As in previous years, our Opening Orientation is a flexible, drop-in event. We’ll be open from 2:30pm to 5:00pm on Friday, and you’re welcome to stop by at any time during that window.

During Orientation, you’ll be able to:

• Pick up your class schedule
• Connect with student and family groups, clubs, and organizations
• Register for athletics
• Collect any needed supplies
• Tour the campus and preview your classroom locations

Attendance is optional, as all essential back-to-school information and activities will be covered during Opening Week. That said, if you’d like to get a head start on the year, we’d love to see you at Orientation!

This year, North Middle is celebrating 100 years of service to our North Everett community. Opened in 1925 as North Junior High School, our school started with 1,180 seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students. The first iteration of our school (below, left) was constructed for $275,000 with additions of a library and gymnasium built across the following years. In 1981, the original building was replaced and the school transitioned to the middle school model we know today - focusing on sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The second version of our North building/campus opened with 1,100 students and is well remembered by many who grew-up and lived in our North Everett community. Our current building/campus was opened in 2019 and includes an updated version of the historic Bagshaw Field (below, right) and our two North gyms.

100 years is a significant milestone and we are celebrating A Century of STARs as we seek to honor our past, celebrate our collective present, and work together in reimagine and design the North Middle of our near future. Across this 2025/2026 school year, we look forward to celebrating including a planned Birthday Party for North on Saturday, September 13th (times and additional information forthcoming). Purposefully, this is a open, community-wide celebration as we want to thank you for being part of North.

Our North PTA is busy preparing for the coming school year and we would be honored if you/family would consider joining this valued group of parents, family members, staff, and volunteers. Our PTA supports so many efforts across our campus including classroom-based efforts and grants, and school and/or community events. This includes open, monthly meetings led by our elected PTA leaders including this year's Co-Presidents Jeannette Clarke and Stacy Gay. All are welcome and provide meaningful opportunities to connect and support our students and school.

As you plan for this forthcoming school year, please consider joining our PTA and supporting our school through your membership. Sign-up is simply (please CLICK HERE for access) and memberships cost only $15 for the year. Thank you for your time, consideration, and support.

Please click here to access our North Athletics page for more information and athletics/competition schedules.

We fully acknowledge that you may not be ready for back-to-school shopping and are not attempting to rush these valued summer days in any regard. That noted, should you want to add supplies to your to do list, please CLICK HERE to access our updated, 25/26 school supplies list.

Please note that we are happy to help students/families with supplies and through the generosity of our local Everett Public Schools Foundation, we have new backpacks and supplies avaliable to help. We certainly do not have enough personal supplies to support every student so please consider our list should back-to-school shopping be in your plans for weeks ahead. This list is also linked in several areas across our North webpage.

Please remember that our North Library is open across the summer on Tuesday mornings, from 9:00am to 12:00pm. Students/families may come by your convenience to checkout/return books as part of your summer reading efforts. As a reminder, North students (rising 6th, 7th, and 8th) are encouraged to participate in our ongoing Summer Reading program. Additional details are included below.

• What: Our summer reading program is simple and asks only that students read across the coming summer months.
• Who: All rising sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students are encouraged to participate.
• When: Students are encouraged to read each day across the summer, for a minimum of 45 minutes. To assist with books, please know that our North Library is open on Tuesdays, all summer - From 9:00am to 12:00pm
• Where: Students and families are encouraged to stop by our North Library on Tuesdays anytime between 9:00am and 12:00pm. Please note that our North Library will not be open on certain, specific Tuesdays specifically August 5th, August 19th, and August 26th. Other than these dates, please know that our North Library will be open every Tuesday across the coming summer months.
• How: To participate in our Summer Reading program, students should log/record their reading/books via this READING LOG for tune-in this coming September. Participating students will be honored next fall with their own STAR party and time to celebrate their dedication and accomplishments.

As we progress towards our Opening Week in late August, the below notes have been added to help your family plan for your Back-to-School efforts next month.

• Opening Week Schedule: We will utilize a slightly modified version of our REGULAR BELL SCHEDULES across our first three days of school (8/27, 8/28, and 8/29). The only modification involves us not hosting our STAR block until our third week of school. On our Opening Day (Wednesday, 8/27) our students will report to their first period class at the normal reporting time of 8:10am (first period bell, signaling start at 8:15am). Across the first two days of school, we utilize common period-by-period plans as an in-house orientation to help acclimate all of our students to our school, classes, staff, and each other. Our first Friday is dedicated to opening class-by-class content including overviews, expectations, syllabus information, technology platforms, etc. As noted below, our second week of school includes a modified schedule to allow for diagnostic assessments. Normal bell schedules begin as we launch our third week of school (9/8 - 9/12).
• School Meals - Breakfast & Lunch: North provides free breakfast and lunch meals of all of our students. Many of our STARs do eat both our school breakfast and lunch but there is no schoolwide expectation to do so. Students are also welcome to bring a lunch from home as doing so provides some additional time to eat as lunch lines take a few minutes to resolve. Please know that students/families are not required to pay for school meals in any regard as students simply enter their school number prior to entering our kitchen. Additionally, students are not required to predesignate whether they plan on eating a school meal and may pick/choose by day and meal.
• Chromebook Distribution: Tentatively, our students will receive their school provided Chromebooks on Friday, August 29th. That afternoon will be the first time that your child will bring their device home for use and charging. As part of our in-school orientation across the first two days of school, our students will learn about their device, including expectations for use and care. We ask that devices are charged each evening so that each student is ready to use their Chromebook as needed the following day in their classes. Should you have any questions about our Chromebooks, please reach out as we would be happy to answer and/or find an answer to your question.
• Fall Diagnostic Testing: During our second week of school (9/2 - 9/5), our STARs are scheduled to participate in our fall Reading and Math diagnostic assessments. These baseline assessments help us better understand where each student is starting in terms of academic strengths and needs. These results inform our academic planning including needed intervention efforts. Students will participate in two assessments, reading and math across three (possibly four) days. Testing will occur in students' first period classrooms (90 minute sessions), using the above-referenced Chromebooks that our students were newly provided the prior Friday. Following these testing windows each morning, students will proceed through a modified six-period schedule.
• Need Anything This Summer? While our students are away for summer break, several of us are on on campus preparing for the coming school year. Please reach out at any time, and if you would like to visit, send us an email as we would love to have you! Our individual contact information is listed above.

To help with back-to-school, below are a few frequently asked questions/answers related to opening next month.

When will my child receive their class schedule? Students/families may receive their 25/26 class schedules at the above-referenced orientation (8/22, 2:30pm to 5:00pm). On 8/22, schedules will also be live via Synergy ParentVUE. To access schedules via ParentVUE, families will need to create an account. In the coming weeks, parents/families will receive an activation email to set-up their ParentVUE account. Please check our Synergy website for more information: https://www.everettsd.org/Page/43251

Are backpacks required for all students? Yes. At North, we do not utilize lockers beyond PE. Backpacks are critical for carrying needed supplies/materials including Chromebooks and class specific folders. If your child needs a backpack for the coming year, please contact our office (phone or email) and we will quietly and happily connect with them to provide several middle school specific options.

What is the best way to meet/connect with each of my child's teachers? Teachers are always interested in connecting with families and two important opportunities in this regard occur shortly after the start of our school year. Please add our forthcoming Curriculum Night on your calendars for the evening of Thursday, September 18th (5:30pm). Additionally, our Fall Conferences are scheduled for Monday, November 3rd and Tuesday, November 4th. Both are built-in opportunities to connect with your child's teachers. That noted, we certainly applaud you reaching out to establish a connection early in the school year. Contact information for all of the members of our North Team is avaliable via our school website, specifically the Our Staff page.

Are cell phones, earbuds, headphones, and other forms of personal technology still not allowed at North? Absolutely - Per EPS Policy 3246 and Procedure 3246P, cell phones, Bluetooth earbuds/headphones, personal videogame consoles, and other forms of personal technology may not be out/in use during school hours. At North, students are required to power off and store any personal technology before entering our building. They are free to use these devices again after our 2:50pm dismissal bell (1:35pm on Fridays) as use is sometimes needed to coordinate after school transportation, etc. Please know that we strictly enforce these personal technology expectations as the absence of these devices is beneficial to our needed teaching/learning and social-emotional environment. Additionally, the absence of personal technology during school hours is critical to school safety and student wellbeing. Please look for specifics in our student and family handbooks (online with revised versions forthcoming this August).

Is there a school store for purchasing food during the school day? North does not have a school store. Snacks are currently available for individual purchase via vending machine. A school store remains a possible development but is not an active/current part of our school.

LINKED HERE is an updated edition of family and community resources for the later half of our summer break. Compiled by Student Support Advocate, Nicole Hoshock (Evergreen Middle), this newsletter is full of information and opportunities for students and families, all local and relevant to Everett. Additionally, please consider our North team a resource. Should you and your family need anything as you prepare for back-to-school, please do not hesitate to reach out.