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October 2026

Greetings Mill Creek Families,

As we welcome October, we want to take a moment to celebrate the wonderful start we've had to the school year. Over the past several weeks, our students have worked hard to learn classroom routines, school-wide expectations, and the habits that help create a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment. It has been a joy to see students building friendships, demonstrating kindness, and growing in confidence each day. With these strong foundations now in place, we are digging deeper into learning, challenging ourselves, setting goals, and embracing opportunities to grow. Thank you for your partnership and support as we continue making this school year a successful and meaningful one for every child.

EVERY DAY COUNTS! HEALTHY ON-TIME ATTENDANCE IS H.O.T.!

At Mill Creek Elementary, Healthy On-Time (H.O.T.) attendance is one of the most important factors in a child’s success. When students arrive at school healthy, on time and ready to learn, they build strong academic skills, develop positive relationships with classmates and teachers, and establish routines that support lifelong success.

Even missing just a few days of school each month can make it harder for students to keep up with learning and feel connected to their classroom community. Arriving on time is equally important, as the first minutes of the day often include essential instruction, classroom meetings, and opportunities to set a positive tone for learning.

Families play a vital role in helping children develop healthy attendance habits. As we start the new school year, we ask that you partner with us in prioritizing school attendance whenever your child is healthy enough to participate and to establish morning routines that support an on-time arrival.

If your child needs to miss school for any reason, please be sure to notify us by emailing mceattendance@everettsd.org within 5 days of the absence so that we can maintain a current and accurate attendance report, as part of your child’s school record. If there are unique circumstances that make daily on-time attendance a challenge, please reach out to Assistant Principal Kristin Dickert at kdickert@everettsd.org so we can work together to understand and address the issues. We sincerely want to help. Thank you for partnering with us to ensure every student is present, engaged, and ready to learn. Together, we can make every day count!

PTA APPRECIATION FOR A GREAT SEPTEMBER

September is behind us and we want to say THANK YOU to our amazing PTA for helping to launch the new school year with such success. Thank you for offering all our engaging beginning of the school year events and an extra special thanks for yet another incredibly successful Cougar Craze fundraiser. With the generous support of our families and local community, the fundraising goal of $45,000 was met and exceeded! On behalf of every student and staff member at our school, words can not express how grateful we are for the PTA leadership and family support that made this possible. Thanks to you, our students and entire school community will benefit from another year of wonderful enrichment opportunities, brought to us by the PTA.

SERVICE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES COMING OUR WAY

Beginning this month, our school has a unique opportunity to partner with Sister Schools, to engage in both global and local service learning. Sister Schools is a local nonprofit that has been serving students in the Puget Sound region for over 35 years. Our PTA will be supporting the work of Sister Schools throughout their year long partnership with our school.

Sister Schools will offer their first global service-learning opportunity by pairing our school with a ‘sister school’ in Uganda, building cultural understanding and fostering mutual generosity while showing all students that everyone has something to learn and something valuable to share. The program will begin with assemblies on October 12 for our K-2 students and October 13 for our 3-5 students. A two-week school supply drive will follow, in which Mill Creek students will be invited to donate new and gently used school supplies as a gift to their Ugandan sister school. The supplies will be collected on October 26th and sent to Uganda for distribution to our sister school. At a follow up assembly in June, MCE students will learn about and see the impact of their donations and receive a special gift from their sister school in return. To learn more about Sister Schools and the school supplies that will be collected, please visit https://www.sisterschools.org/millcreek

Sister Schools will offer their second local service-learning opportunity on Saturday, November 7, by connecting interested Mill Creek students and their families with an opportunity to volunteer at the Mill Creek Food Bank. Later this month, all MCE students, with PTA support, will be invited to participate in a school-wide food drive to benefit the Mill Creek Food Bank.

We are excited to partner with Sister Schools and the Mill Creek Food Bank, with the support of our PTA, to help our students learn that everyone has something to contribute and can make a difference in our local and global community!

Wishing you a wonderful October! Please be sure to read our entire newsletter for more important information, and look for our school-wide newsletter on the first Wednesday of every month!

Respectfully,

Cindy Foster, Principal

Kristin Dickert, Assistant Principal

September Cougar Pride Winners

Congratulations to these students who earned a Cougar Pride ticket in September and then won the weekly lottery to get their photo taken with Principal Foster. Way to go Cougars!

Juan Mina Obando, Raylan Knowles

Charlotte Coe, Hiya Trivedi, Imogen Clark, and Arnav Dutt,

Elsee Karalus, Bentley Chambers, Methuki Gamage, Doris Bagherpour,

Kai Nguyen, and Gabe Medendorp

Makaiyah Yap, Aaliyah Nicholson, Ridharv Kashyap,

Chloe Li, and Maxim Puzynia

Novak Korzynek

Thursday, October 8th

Watch D.O.G.S kickoff zoom 7:00-8:00pm

Friday, October 9th

No School (Professional Development Day for all EPS Staff)

Friday, October 16th

Spirit Day (Grade Color) wear your Cougar Craze t-shirt to school

Monday, October 19th

Natural Leaders Kickoff 6pm

Monday, October19th- Friday, October 23rd

Dance Dude in PE

Wednesday, October 21st

UNITY Day- Wear Orange

Friday, October 23rd

Fall Family Dance (Kindergarten- 2nd grade 6:00-7:00pm and 3rd-5th grade 7:15-8:15pm)

Monday, October 26th

Staff Appreciation Candy Collection

Wednesday, October 28th

MCE Learning and Behavioral Resources Discussion

Monday, Nov. 2nd

No School for students (teacher conferences)

Tuesday, Nov. 3rd

No School for students (teacher conferences)

Counseling News by Mary Donnelly

October: Bullying Prevention, Kindness & Belonging

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a time to strengthen our school community by helping students understand what bullying is, how to respond safely, and how each of us can help create a school where everyone feels safe, included, and respected. At Mill Creek Elementary, these lessons connect with our Cougar Pride expectations: Be Safe • Be Responsible • Be Respectful • Be Kind

UNITY DAY — WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21

Unity Day, created by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, is an opportunity for students, staff, and families to come together and show that we are united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.

Students and staff are encouraged to WEAR ORANGE on Unity Day as a visible reminder that everyone deserves to feel safe, valued, and included in their school community.

Bullying Prevention Lessons

Students in 4th and 5th grade are currently participating in lessons from the Bullying Prevention Unit. Students learn how to recognize bullying, report unsafe or unkind behavior, and respond safely when they or someone else needs help.

3rd grade students will begin Bullying Prevention lessons near the end of October.

School-Wide SEL Focus: Second Step Unit 1

Our school-wide social-emotional learning continues with Second Step Unit 1.

Kindergarten–2nd Grade: Students are focusing on developing a growth mindset—learning that effort, practice, and learning from mistakes help us grow.
3rd–5th Grade: Students are focusing on problem-solving—learning how to identify problems, consider solutions, and make thoughtful choices.

Support SEL Learning at Home

Families can reinforce these skills in simple ways:

Praise effort and persistence: “You kept trying even when it was difficult.”
Normalize mistakes: Frame mistakes as opportunities to learn and improve.
Think through problems together: Ask, “What is the problem? What are some things you could try?”
Encourage reflection: Ask, “What worked? What might you do differently next time?”
Model problem-solving: Let children hear you calmly talk through everyday problems and possible solutions.

Every School Day Matters

Regular attendance helps children feel connected, confident, and ready to learn. Consistent attendance supports academic progress, friendships, classroom routines, and a sense of belonging.

Families can help by establishing consistent morning and bedtime routines, scheduling appointments outside the school day when possible, and reaching out to the school when attendance becomes difficult. We are here to help.

Family Conversation Starter:

“What is one thing you can do this week to help someone at school feel like they belong?”

Mary Donnelly | School Counselor | Mill Creek Elementary

Helping every Cougar feel safe, connected, and ready to learn!

LIBRARY- by Holli Williams

Happy Fall Y’All!

Fall Book Fair Coming SOON! Instead of the two conference days, I will be having a student only week and a family day.

Student Only: During the library time Monday October 19th-Friday October 23rd. You may set up an eWallet (info coming soon) or send cash with students.

Family Day: This will be on Monday November 2nd from 9am - 6pm

VOLUNTEERS WILL BE NEEDED! Sign-up coming soon

Online Book Fair will also be an option and will run for two weeks. Books will be shipped to your house with this option.

Checkout: Students will be able to continue to check out books each library visit when they bring back their other books.

Friday Library Emails: Friday library emails have started! You will receive an email that indicates books your child checked out. This does not mean they are late. Please make sure they get returned on their library day.

Partnership with Sno-Isle and Everett Public Libraries is now live: Your student is now able to go to the Everett Public Library or Sno-isle Libraries and use their student ID as their library card. This can be used online or in-person.

ID Card number: ES plus student id

Password: 1234

Attention 4th and 5th Graders: Sasquatch Challenge has begun. Students may check the books out from me, but may need to wait and place books on hold; or they may get them from the library, on libby or purchase them (I don’t recommend purchasing) I want this to be stress free and free, so if there are any needs please let me know.

No Library hours outside of school this year due to many meetings, clubs and events.

Library Wishes Club: This is a great way to support the library and honor your child by ordering a book from the Amazon list to donate to the library. Mrs. Williams will put a sticker in the book with your child’s name on it and let them check it out first!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/TG8RJKQKGT35/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex

Library Webpage: Is there, but under construction for the moment. My canvas page needs help, so I am working on that.

Keep Reading,

Holli Williams

PE- by Kim Lobe

Happy Fall! I wanted to send out an additional reminder to parents/guardians regarding an excusal note/email if your child cannot fully participate in PE on a given day. We have had a lot of new students enroll since I sent out the Parent Square message on this policy when school began and we have also had a lot of students who have been sick/injured over the past month of school. I sincerely thank you all for your support with this!

Excusal Note Required for Limited/Non-Participation in PE If your child is not able to participate in PE for any health reason, they can be excused for 5 consecutive school days with a written note from a parent/guardian. If after 5 school days, the child is still not able to fully participate in PE, a note of excusal is required from a medical professional with a start and end date. Please send either a handwritten excusal note with your child to PE to be given to the PE teacher or email the PE teacher and Health Room by 9:00am on the day of your child's PE so the PE teacher and Health Room are aware of the physical limitations. This is a school policy and can also be found in the Mill Creek Elementary student handbook. Since PE is a required class by the State of Washington, this policy is intended to keep our students active but also ensure their health and safety. (The reason for sending me an email by 9:00am is because once school begins, I do not have access to a computer in the gym while I am teaching so I wouldn’t see the email until the end of the school day. 😊)

Most of the 1st-5th grade PE classes were able to participate in the Fall Mile Run already this month. Unfortunately, the weather was too rainy for our Tuesday afternoon classes. We go outside and run the track during PE. This event is a fall and spring favorite for many students! Kindergarten classes will join in for the spring run outside. The kindergarten and first grade classes run around the track 2 times for a half mile. Second grade classes run around 3 times for ¾ of a mile. Third, Fourth, and Fifth grade classes run around the track 4 times for a mile. If a student wants to run more laps and there is still time, they can clock even more laps! There were many first and second grade students choosing to keep running and they clocked 3-11 laps before we had to go in!!!

Field Day will be Thursday, June 3,, 2027 this school year. I would like to encourage you to place this event on your calendar and submit your Everett School District volunteer application/renewal so you are all ready to go when volunteer sign-ups are posted! Only approved school district volunteers are able to join us on this fun afternoon. The volunteer approvals are good for 2 years and then you need to update your application. This month would be a great time to apply or renew your school district volunteer application! Click the following link to start the process of being a Field Day Volunteer! Everett School District Volunteer Application or Renewal

Happy October! 😊

STEM- by Steve Harvey

Welcome to October in STEAM! We are having a fun and tasty first culinary arts experience this week. If your child hasn’t see me yet (or if you are feeling generous with your time 😊) there is still time to volunteer! The next cooking experience will be the week prior to Halloween so there will be another opportunity before you know it. If you have any ideas for that one I’m still soliciting recipes.

Our garden is still going strong, but over the next couple weeks we will be getting it prepped for fall planting as well as getting our greenhouses ready for the winter. If you have a green thumb and would like to volunteer your time in your child’s class, please let me know and I will coordinate with you. I will rotate the grades so that everyone has a chance to get out into the garden before it gets too wet to enjoy.

As we roll into November you can look forward to more engineering opportunities across the grades as well as some fun robotics and computer science. Happy October and see you around the campus!

Sincerely,

Mr. Harvey

Art- by Mrs. Ripley

Dear MCE Families,

It is such a joy to create artwork with your students!

In early September we created a community “I Promise” tree inspired by Lebron James’s book, “I Promise”. Our promises to be kind, respectful and focused will help create a positive art workshop.

Grades K-5 Art Projects for September

5th Grade Lessons: Moving through Emotions; Students created journals as they explored how they want to feel during art workshops. We will use the journals to record and create elements of art and principals of design.

Now students are creating a 3D topographic mountain representative of their goals.

4th Grade Lessons: They also created journals. While 5th grade were at camp, 4th grade did a fun partner art activity called mirrored drawings. Next, students observed the outdoors for a Plein Air lesson.

2/3 Grades: Students created identity letters in a block style that showed all their interests and passions. Next, they created “Feelings Books”, accordion style, to express times when they felt feelings.

K-1 Grades – First we created collages at six stations to learn how to use materials and experiment with mixed media. Next, in a unit about the element of art, lines, students created three artworks, concentric circles, magic rugs, and Harry the chain snake.

Mrs. Ripley, Art Specialist