Muckleshoot Tribal School

Muckleshoot Tribal School Families,

I hope everyone is enjoying some of the amazing sunny weather and is able to engage in fun activities with families and friends.

In March and April, MTS is focusing on increasing students' skills in mastering Washington State Standards. Students are preparing for a Smarter Balance Assessment- State Test, which will be held from April 28, 2025, to May 9, 2025.

I encourage all parents to continue bringing their child/children to school regularly so that they will be prepared to do their best on the assessment.

We have adopted the 2025-2026 Muckleshoot Tribal School Calendar. There is a change in the time of early release days for the 2025-2026 school year. Note: Students will be released from school at 1:30 pm on early release days next year. The 2025-2026 MTS Calendar is attached for your viewing.

Holiday/Important Dates:

• Monday, March 17, 2025- Regular school day. This is a make-up day for the November 20, 2024 closure.

• April 10th and 11th- Parent Teacher Conferences

• Tuesday, April 22, 2025- Earth Day

• Wednesday, April 23, Culture Night

• April 28th to May 9th- Smarter Balance Assessment.

March 24th - 27th is our Read a Thon Week! It is such a fun way to encourage reading and support our school. The theme is: SuperHeroes, Read Across Muckleshoot! Stay tuned for fun activites and special visitors that will be happening during this week.

Parents and Guardians,

Our school does not allow food deliveries from third party services such as Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, etc. If a parent/guardian wants to drop off food, they may drop it off at one of the offices and the student may eat it during their designated lunch times. MTS also does not allow students or staff car services such as Uber or Lyft, this is for the safety of the students.

During the month of March several of our students will have the opportunity to participate in activities off campus. The Kindergarten students are going to Boise Falls, and the second grade students are going to Boise Creek. Fifth grade will wrap up their time visiting and learning up at Crystal Mountain. In addition, the "Read Across Muckleshoot" event is scheduled to take place from March 24th through the 28th here at school. Our goal is to continue to foster a love of reading among our students.

Additionally, our 3rd-5th grade students are focusing on test-taking strategies and practice problems to prepare for the SBA in April. It is important that your student comes to school on time each day so we can maximize our learning opportunities before the SBA in April.

In February, we held our Student of the Month assembly to recognize students who demonstrate integrity and maintain positive attendance. In March, we will celebrate students who are noble—someone who is honorable, brave, and kind. These assemblies will continue through May, each highlighting a different character trait:

K - Kindness (January)

I - Integrity (February)

N - Noble (March)

G - Grit (April)

S - Selfless (May)

Families are welcome to join us each month as we honor our outstanding students!

As a reminder students should not be using cell phones during the school day. While students are at school the expectation is that phones are put away. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the elementary admin team—Krista Yi (Principal), Andrew Upchurch (Assistant Principal), or Jason Russell (K-12 Dean). We are committed to supporting you and working together to ensure your student's success.

The second semester is progressing smoothly, and I am pleased to report that our "Read Across Muckleshoot" event is scheduled to take place from March 24th through the 28th. This initiative aims to foster a love of reading among our students and enhance their literacy skills.

Additionally, as we transition into the spring sports season, excitement is building among our students and staff. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in physical activity and teamwork.

I also want to emphasize our progressive discipline, in regards to our policy concerning phone usage during classroom time. Students that have continuously disregarded warnings for cell phone use will be expected to have a parent meeting with administration or receive a half day of In-School Suspension (ISS). Please remember this is being done so we have a successful and conducive learning environment.

Thank you for your continued support in our efforts to provide a safe and productive educational atmosphere for our students. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out.

We have had a very successful Winter Season with our student athletes showcasing their resilience and willingness to grow and improve each day.

Middle school basketball finished their season in February. We watched as a team mixed with different experience levels were able to come together and improve game to game. There was clear growth in their ability to compete through adversity and bounce back from those moments.

We also have launched an elementary wrestling club that is headed by our wrestling coaches, Nick Carlisi, Shane WhiteEagle, and Skylar Carey. It is the hope and mission of this program to introduce our students to the foundational and fundamental skills for the sport of wrestling to build the MTS program back up. The club currently has 33 students bringing lots of energy and excitement to the mat each week!

High School Basketball has caught the attention of many folks in our community, with both of our teams making deep runs into the postseason. Both teams were able to showcase their talents at the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe Community Center which hosted the Tri-District Basketball Tournament for the first time.

MTS High School Girls finished 2nd in the league standings losing to Crosspoint in the title game. They also advanced to the Tri-District semifinal game where they played a very tough Neah Bay team who is a favorite to win the State Tournament this year. We are so proud of the team as they qualified for the state tournament and earned the opportunity to play for a spot in Spokane. They won the first ever WIAA State basketball game played at the MITCC in an intense 53-44 game vs Mary M. Knight team. Sadly our girls fell one game short led by a valiant effort of lone Senior Makayla Courville. Her energy and passion that she showed during every game deserves recognition, we appreciate everything she has done for the program in these 2 years!

Shout out to Head Coach Tera Baker who in 2 years at the helm have led her teams to a Tri-District appearance in her first year and a State Tournament appearance in year 2. The future looks bright for Coach Baker and this young group.

MTS Boys basketball were able to punch their ticket to Spokane by winning their Second Round game vs Riverside Christian at Auburn Mountainview HS. The #10 seed MTS Kings defeated the #18 Crusaders from Riverside Christian 49-43.

In her first 2 years as head coach of the MTS Boys Basketball Program Dora Davis has led the team to 2 straight appearances to the Spokane Arena. Awaiting the Kings in the Round of 12 was the #7 seed Moses Lake Christian-Covenant Christian Lions. The Kings battled all game long and had opportunities to win the game despite fighting foul trouble and offensive struggles. We are very proud of the effort and accomplishments of the entire team this season!

Visit muckleshootkings.com for spring schedules.

Running Start Program - Allows high school juniors and seniors to enroll in college courses tuition-free.

• Green River College: https://www.greenriver.edu/students/academics/running-start/index.html

• Upcoming Information Sessions scheduled at GRC for students/families to sign up! https://www.greenriver.edu/students/academics/running-start/events.html

• Northwest Indian College - Muckleshoot Campus: https://www.nwic.edu/admissions/#Running-Start

Puget Sound Skills Center - Serves juniors and seniors interested in specialized career and technical learning. Students earn high school credits in a hands-on environment.

• Students spend half of their day at MTS and half their school day at PSSC.

• Classes are 2 ½ hours daily.

• Students attend one class program and can earn 1.5 credits for each semester of successful completion.

• PSSC offers 19 Programs - https://pssc.highlineschools.org/programs

• https://pssc.highlineschools.org/admissions/how-to-apply

• Application Deadline for 2025/2026 School Year is March 7th!

**Please reach out to Krystal Adolph if you have any questions at (253)569-9598

MTS took Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors to CWU for a campus visit. The students participated in a campus tour, student panel, admissions presentation and experienced lunch on campus.

Native Youth Community Project-

Upcoming field trips:

March 14th- IGNITE: Coyote & Crow. Explore a table top role playing game. Open to all secondary. Click the link to sign up! Coyote and Crow - Google Forms

March 19th- IGNITE: Stoke Space Center. Tour of a rocket company. Open to all secondary girls. Click the link to sign up!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeToBxQIQ89Az94qEdTBJMO1O0FmUtsjCNg7C-fWeQyoiFGbA/viewform?usp=header

March 25th- City of Seattle:Office of Planning & Community Development. Exploring careers in Indigenous Architecture. Open to all secondary students. Click the link to sign up!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bq6xfXZMhI4IrbSR9Vb2IEUghKKQRKXxQ3rE86bA5mg/edit?usp=drive_web

After school clubs: If your student stays for these activities, they must stay in these classrooms until the 4:30pm bus leaves. If they do not follow this, they will be asked not to stay for after school activities.

Only Tuesdays- Art Club in Room 3116

Only Thursdays- Woodshop Club in room 4120

Tuesdays and Thursdays: Culinary Club in room 3113

Wednesdays and Thursdays: Photography Club in room 3209

Our middle and high school students are excited to celebrate student self-expression and gender equality on March 14th. Students will discuss the history of dress codes in advisory and look at allowing cultural expression in how students dress in school and during celebration ceremonies like graduation.

Elementary students will be planning an event for May.

Our plant teacher of the month is nettle, which teaches us how to build inner strength through providing powerful nutrients, and helping us to be more mindful.

We collaborated with MIT Victim’s Services to provide a teen dating violence awareness event attended by 50 students, 7th-12th graders who signed up in advance. Students let us know that they learned a lot from the event, including how to tell the difference between healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationship.

If your child is interested in or seeking individual Mental Health counseling, or you think that they might benefit from individual counseling at school, you can make a referral here:

https://forms.gle/wtRc78QXAvG3YsjC8

Students may also self-refer.

MTS Hawthorn’s Purpose team, focused on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, is preparing for upcoming trainings for students and the community. On March 7th MTS Hawthorn’s Purpose Students will host students from Mt. Si at Crystal Mountain. On March 27th MTS Hawthorn’s Purpose students will participate in the Day of Hope event at the University of Washington.