The Howler

Greetings Grant Watts Community,

On Wednesday, November 11, we pause to honor Veterans Day and recognize the men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces. Their courage, sacrifice, and dedication have helped protect the freedoms we enjoy every day.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the veterans in our community, including family members, staff, and neighbors, as well as to the families who have supported them through their service. We also remember those who gave their lives in service to our country.

We encourage students and families to take a moment this week to thank a veteran, learn about their stories, and reflect on the meaning of service.

With gratitude and a special nod to my dad,

Principal Small

Smartwatches and wrist trackers may be worn by students only when turned to the “school” setting. Students are not allowed to send or receive messages, play games, or take photographs or recordings. Any urgent need to communicate with your child should go directly through the main office.

Greetings Families!

This week we are focusing on another important aspect to bus safety, which is the importance of staying seated on the bus. Some key points to help reinforce this expectation for our student bus riders are:

• Stay sitting in your assigned seat. Do not switch seats without the bus driver’s permission.

• Sitting safely looks like having your back against the seat and keeping your body parts out of the aisle.

• Keep backpacks and bags in your lap or under the seat. Remember to take your belongings with you when you exit the bus.

• It is important not to stand or walk around while the bus is moving.

Remember, bus drivers have a big responsibility to keep everyone safe on the school bus. When every student follows basic safety rules, it helps the driver get student passengers to and from school quickly, efficiently, and safely.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns regarding your Grant Watts bus rider.

Kind Regards,

Rachel Sarver

rsarver@scappoose.12.or.us.

3rd grade students are working hard on their concert music. Practice slides and lyric sheets have been sent home for students to practice with. Please make sure that your student is practicing regularly, as it will make the learning process in class easier. This is especially important as we start to get closer to the concert date. Remember they only get music 2x per week; more practice outside of class is essential.

Here’s the slideshow link: 3 Grade Concert Songs 2026

Here’s the lyrics sheet link: 3rd Grade Concert Lyrics 2026

2nd grade students have been spending time learning solfege, playing xylophones and recognizing notes on the music staff. So far they have read and played Hot Cross Buns, Mary Had a Little Lamb and will be soon learning Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

1st grade has been singing fall songs. One lovely fall song they have learned is Come Little Leaves. They have also been continuing to do lots of work with rhythm.

Lunch Bunches

Students are randomly selected and can choose to attend lunch with the counselor-this is an opportunity for connection and quick check-ins and some jokes and laughter.

Small Group Counseling Opportunities

If you feel your child has a need for additional support in the areas of social skills, self esteem, school skills, or worries-please feel free to send me an email or contact me with your concern.

We are excited to begin our small groups! Information slips and group descriptions are being sent home or will be shared at conferences for students who have been selected to participate in a small group. These students have been identified by their teachers as someone who would benefit from a little extra support and skill building. Please reach out if you have any questions about our groups.

If you feel your child has a need for additional support in the areas of social skills, emotional regulation, self esteem, school skills, or worries-please feel free to send me an email or contact me with your concern.

We are focusing on Gratitude during the month of November!

Click here for a link to the Character Strong Website; https://characterstrong.com/

We are looking for volunteers-On Dec. 17th our students will spend some time “visiting” other countries and learning about how the holiday season is celebrated in that country. Do you have any cultural history linked to a country? WE WANT YOU!! (We would just ask you to prepare for a short presentation to students where different groups of students will visit your country.) The presenters in the past have read a book about the holiday in that country, shared a story, shown items from the country, shared a powerpoint, made a poster, etc. I have a lot of ideas and can help you with this. The presentation only needs to be about 15 minutes long. Use this link to sign uphttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJqilfC63cHItUOAWAFoC1HJTpmPc-Fyerz3nkHxhbU1jPyg/viewform?usp=preview

Feel free to email or contact Tami McDonald if you are interested or have more questions, 971-200-8002 or tmcdonald@scappoose.k12.or.us

Thank you!

PLEASE, feel free to reach out to me anytime; 971-200-8002-or email us; tmcdonald@scappoose.k12.or.us or rtop@scappoose.k12.or.us Thank you-Tami McDonald and Rachelle Top, School Counselors

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held in all three of our elementary schools starting Monday, November 9th. SEPO will be hosting an Ixtapa catered lunch/dinner on Monday starting at 11AM for staff members to graze throughout the day and evening. Leftovers will likely be available for Tuesday.

We need help with the following: Picking up the individual food orders from Ixtapa and delivering them to their respective building prepaid by SEPO; setting up the food in the staff room of the respective building with serving wear, plates, cutlery, etc. provided by SEPO; donating and placing drinks in the fridge or on ice for staff members to grab; donating and setting up snacks/treats

Check Out Our Sign Up Genius Here!