Pathfinder Compass

Every Sunday you will receive The Compass to keep us all informed and connected of essential Pathfinder news. If you are interested in narrating The Compass please reach out to Dr. Holmes!

Essential News

• Welcome Back Pathfinder
• Mark Your Calendars
  

New News

• Clickable Link for Pathfinder Needs
• Pathfinder Wreath-Making
  
• Clickable Link for Direct Give
• Pathfinder Operations
• Just so you know...
  

Old News

• Clickable Link for Blazing Trails News
• Upcoming Listening Sessions
• Lost and Found Fridays
• Recordings of Virtual Events
  
• Previous Compass Links
  
• Dr. Holmes' Incoming Goals

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.

- Coretta Scott King

As you all know we are coming back from a traumatic event on Friday. We are bringing in a trauma response team to support us in moving forward. So you have a better understanding, please review the plan for tomorrow.

The following information will be shared with all scholars in K-2, 3-5, and Middle School grade bands.

Friday afternoon at about 8:50 AM a staff member discovered a noose attached to a tree on our campus. The noose was removed within minutes of being discovered. The school immediately contacted the Seattle Public Schools’ Safety and Security Office, and a report was made to the Seattle Police Department as well. This incident is still under investigation. We don’t have additional details to share currently because this is an active investigation. When more information becomes available that we can share in regard to this investigation, we will share it with Pathfinder students, families, and the community.

A noose has dark historical roots in the United States and is seen as a symbol of fear, brutality, racial violence, and hatred of African Americans. Regardless of the intent of the noose that was discovered on our campus, the impact is significant, especially for our Black students, families, and staff. The noose also has significant impact to other students, families, and staff of color.

We talked about this as a staff this morning and decided that we should share this news in class today so that students hear the same information from an adult at the same time. We also wanted you to know this because some students and staff might be showing their emotions this week and into the future. Your family received a letter Friday night, so you may have talked with them about this incident already too. You may notice that we have additional staff from Seattle Public Schools’ Coordinated School Health Department in our building this week to support the Pathfinder community.

To address the harm to Black students and other students of color, we will be offering affinity spaces today for students who want to process this incident or have further questions or concerns. This is an optional support space for students.

An affinity group is a designated safe space where everyone in that group shares a particular identity. This identity can be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, language, nationality, physical/mental ability, socio-economic class, family structure, religion, etc. The affinity spaces for today will be based on racial identity.

At Pathfinder, we will not tolerate any symbols of hatred, oppression, or violence. As a community we are working to be anti-racist. Across the city and state, we have seen an increase in hate speech and crimes in the form of discrimination, police brutality, institutionalized racism, anti-Asian and anti-Blackness, among other incidents, that has created tragic loss of life for members of our community. Seattle Public Schools feels deeply for any members of our community who continue to experience the hurt, anxiety, uncertainty, and fear from these unwarranted acts.

Following the sharing of this information, students will be invited to break into affinity spaces to further process. We are providing affinity spaces for Black, White, and Mixed Race groups. Please support your scholar in deciding the most appropriate space for them. If your scholar does not want to join an affinity space, they will be sent back to class to engage in academic content - not to further debrief Fridays event. K-2 students will be joining racial affinity groups for 30 minutes, 3 - 8 grade students are allotted one hour.

We are working hard to be mindful of this event for our entire community and are hopeful the trauma team will support us in positively moving forward with restorative justice in mind.

Thank you all for your patience, partnership and support as we move forward.

Please look at the following resources in case they are helpful to conversations at home:

• Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup
• Seattle Public Schools’ Addressing Incidents of Hate and Bias
  

- Dr. Holmes

October 26 - November 10 SBA Testing for Grades 4 - 8

November 1st - November 15th Direct Give

November 5th During School Spooky Spirit Day

November 8th 6:00 - 7:00pm SPED Families Listening Session

November 9th Picture Retakes

November 15th 6:00 - 7:00pm BIPOC Families Listening Session

November 18 - December 12 Pathfinder Wreath-Making

Save the Date! Nov. 18 - Dec. 12

We are pleased to announce that Pathfinder Wreaths are a go! For the past 20 years, we have been making and selling 100% homemade wreaths as a way to benefit outdoor education at Pathfinder. But it is much more than a fundraiser -- it is a community-raising event as well, and we encourage you to be a part of it!

This year, we will have five dispersed sites set up at Pathfinder homes where up to 4 to 5 adults can make wreaths, and we plan to host grade-oriented work parties where small groups of adults can learn to make wreaths and meet one another. Stay tuned for details.

Are you interested in being a part of the wreath team? We welcome new volunteers for roles big and small! Please contact Susan Elderkin at wreaths@pathfinderk8ptsa.org for more info.

The fall window for the SBA assessment is open. Please prepare your scholar by ensuring they have a good night sleep and a hearty breakfast!

We have also learned it is VERY helpful to restart laptops multiple times prior to the assessment, this allows for necessary updates to be installed. Please ensure your scholar restarts their laptop at least once each night!

As you know, our large bus routes have been cancelled. This will likely change the flow of traffic as folx are being dropped off and picked up. Please be patient as we adjust to this new flow and make revisions as needed.

K-3 Families: We have established a reasonably efficiently pick up and drop off process, a few asks:

• Ensure you keep the entrance to the roundabout clear as we had families who park in the ADA lot.
• Ensure you drive along the curb as tight as possible to ensure there is another lane open for traffic flow.

We embrace and make space for trans brothers, sisters, and siblings to participate and lead while being self-reflective and doing the work to dismantle cis-gender privilege and uplift Black trans folks.

People know in their hearts and minds whether they are a boy, a girl, both, or neither. We call this gender identity. At Pathfinder, we respect people’s genders, and understand that being trans or non-binary is not a choice.

Our upcoming sessions will be focused on grade band specific information and opportunities to share praises, questions, and concerns. We look forward to seeing you all on Zoom! All sessions will be recorded and take place 6 - 7pm.

Folx with students in any Special Education program | November 8th

BIPOC Folx | November 16th

Troops are active and forming at Pathfinder K-8! Girl Scouts are making an impact in the world, taking on challenges, learning STEM and outdoor skills, making friends, and much more. There are activities and options to fit every age and interest. Want to learn more? Attend a virtual information night on Monday, November 8 at 6:30. Sign up HERE.

Our lost and found is piling up! On Fridays we will pull the cart to the front of the school - please be sure to take your belongings home when you find them :)

• Dr. Holmes Meet and Greet
• MS Orientation
  
• School Opening and Pathfinder 101
• Second and Third Listening Session
• Kindergarten and First Listening Session
• Curriculum Night, Music with Mr. Bores, Elementary and Middle School Art with Adrian, Garden with Karen
• Fourth and Fifth Listening Session
• Middle School Listening Session

October 24, 2021

October 17, 2021

October 10, 2021

October 3, 2021

September 26, 2021

September 19, 2021

September 12, 2021

September 5, 2021

August 29, 2021

August 22, 2021

August 16, 2021

July 2021

• To know all folx personally and professionally connected to the school. Further, allow others to know me as fully as possible outside day to day connection, crisis, and problem solving.

• To use qualitative and quantitative data to determine concerns and issues regarding improving student performance that needs to be closely examined and addressed to repay the educational debt.

• To learn the artifacts, beliefs, and basic underlying assumptions through engaging in essential conversations with Pathfinder students, staff, and community.

• To identify, hold onto, and strengthen traditions that center students and bring the community together. Further, partner with students, staff, and the community to ensure social emotional learning and growth is embedded in the curriculum, adult strengths are highlighted, and we have fun!

https://www.pathfinderk8ptsa.org/

Email: bdholmes@seattleschools.org
Website: https://pathfinderk8.seattleschools.org/
Location: 1901 SW Genesee St, Seattle, WA 98106, USA
Phone: 206.252.9710