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Late summer greetings as we collectively arrive at the doorstep of a new school year. Our Opening Day is a bit earlier this year - Wednesday, August 27th, and the coming days will be filled with meetings, events, and on-campus efforts as we prepare for this centennial year at North.

This update has been specifically crafted to help you prepare for back-to-school. Some of the below information has been repeated from our mid-summer update last month. Please look for another update on August 27th, our digital First Day Packet. For now, our focus is on next Friday's Welcome Back Orientation (8/22) and our Opening the following week. Please see the below Upcoming Dates section for additional calendar reminders.

As you prepare, please know that we are here to help. Our North Office is open each day from 9:00am to 3:00pm (closed 12:00pm to 1:00pm) and we are always happy to connect. Please call or stop by with any back-to-school questions or needs. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you at this year's Orientation and/or as our school year gets underway in late August.

On behalf of our entire team, thank you again for being part of our North Community (CLICK HERE). We look forward to serving your family as valued partners across the year ahead.

With Gratitude,

Holly, Drew, & Tyler

(please visit our page)

North Middle School

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

Phone: 425-385-4800

Back-to-School Dates/Events:

• 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

• 9/8: Fall Athletics Season Begins (Cross Country, Softball, and Football)

• 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.

Ahead of our first week of school, please take a look through the below notes for schedules and opening logistics.

• Student/Family Handbook: Our 2025/26 Student/Family Handbook is live and avaliable on our North website. As part of our back-to-school opportunities, we will spend time with our students in reviewing pertinent sections of this handbook. As in the past, we anticipate updates to our handbook as the year progresses. For this reason, updates will be included in our monthly newsletter with current versions avaliable in multiple locations across our North website.
• 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.
• Transportation, Arrival, & Dismissal: As your family prepares for the coming school year, it is important to create a transportation plan for before and after school. We ask that each student/family clearly understands how they will be getting home each day (bus, walking, or getting a ride from an adult). For North specific arrival/dismissal information, please click here. Should you need help with bus/transportation information, please click here to access EPS Transportation and our district partner, Durham Transportation. Bus routes for the 2025/26 school year will be continually refined across the opening weeks of our school year
• Chromebook Distribution: Our students will receive their school provided Chromebooks on our first Friday of the school year, August 29th. That afternoon, your child will bring their device home for use/charging for the first time. 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.

Our Welcome Back Orientation is Friday, 8/22 from 2:30pm to 5:00pm. As in previous years, this is a flexible, open-house type event so please come by when convenient.

Additionally, if you cannot make our Orientation, please do not worry as our students will be provided all of this information and access to services across our first week of school.

During orientation on August 22nd, you will be able to:

• Pick up your class schedule
• Grab a bite to eat, courtesy our North PTA (donations appreciated)
• Purchase limited-time North gear from our PTA (order ahead here)
• Connect with student and family groups, clubs, and organizations
• Register for athletics
• Collect any needed supplies
• Tour the campus and preview your classroom locations
• Turn in medications and health forms (including any of the below forms, as needed). Please remember that we cannot accept medications without the below, required Medication Authorization Form (please see below, #1).
• Note: Student/school pictures will not be taken as part of orientation. Our fall picture day is 9/9 and student IDs and ASB cards will be updated at this time.

1. Medication Authorization/Order Form: For all medications (includes prescribed and over-the-counter medications).
2. Allergy questionnaire (must be signed/submitted)
3. Life Threatening Allergy Treatment Form: For treatment of life threatening allergies only.
4. Asthma questionnaire (must be signed/submitted)
5. Diabetic Order Form for injectable Insulin & Diabetic Insulin Pump Orders for insulin pumps.

Our North PTA is gearing-up for a big 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 numerous efforts across our campus including classroom-based efforts and grants, and school and/or community events. Regular opportunities include our 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 jump into this 25/26 school year, please consider joining our PTA and supporting our school through your membership. Sign-up is simple (please CLICK HERE for access) and memberships cost only $15 for the year. Thank you for your time, consideration, and support.

Ahead of our 2025/26 school year, our North PTA would like to hear from you and have created a brief survey to help better understand the needs, interests, and priorities of our families. Our PTA will be using the feedback they gain from this survey to plan events, programs, and volunteer opportunities that best support our students and staff.

Please take a moment to click on the below and share your thoughts - Thank you!

North Middle School PTA Member Survey

This year, we welcome several new members to our North teaching team. Last June, we celebrated the impactful careers of Mary Stolmeier and Kari Eggink as they retired. A new program, family moves, and transfers created several more classroom openings and we are thrilled to welcome the below teachers to our North staff. As you check your child's class schedule beginning next Friday, you may notice one or more of the below educators.

• Saraya Barton joins North from Hawthorne and Whittier elementary schools as our new Resource teacher. She will focus on our sixth graders, partnering with our sixth grade team as a co-teacher for ELA 6 and Math 6, while also teaching two specific support classes. Saraya returns to North where she formerly served as a paraeducator in our Achieve program.

• Sarah Fischer joins North from Heatherwood Middle School (Everett) and will be focusing her efforts on Math 7 and Math 8. Sarah has taught math, CTE courses, and special education across her career.
• Sandy Flores is joining North as our new Health teacher. She has both middle and elementary experience most recently at Hawthorne as a well-regarded student teacher.
• Brandy Schroeder joins North from Eisenhower as a well respected Science lead. She joins our sixth grade team and will focus her efforts on Science 6. Across her career, Brandy has taught a number of subjects/courses including science and math.
• Jessica Skoor comes to North from View Ridge and was selected to open our Life Skills class. This is a new class serving all three grade levels of students. Jessica brings several years of outstanding Life Skills experience to North and once taught here as a student teacher.
• Michelle Ulke returns to North as a well regarded leader in special education. Michelle led our Achieve program at North before being hired a district lead several years ago. Thankfully, she wanted to return to the classroom and selected North as her choice school. She will lead our Extended Resource classroom serving all three grade levels of students.

In addition, North welcomed two new babies to our community this past spring and over the coming months, both Drew Bae Williams (Assistant Principal) and Shawn Madigan (Math/Science) will be away from campus on paternity leave.

• Shaun Monaghan will be joining our team while Mr. Bae Williams is away. Shaun has served our Everett Public Schools for several decades including Jackson High School and, most recently, Everett High School.
• Ella Strittmatter will be partnering with Mr. Madigan while he is away from campus this fall. Ella comes to North after serving as a teacher in the Phoenix area of Arizona. A graduate of Grand Canyon University, Ella brings strong experience as a middle and high school math teacher to our North team.

We are thrilled to welcome these teachers to our North team and are excited for the many contributions that they will make to North across this 2025/26 school year, and beyond. We are also excited for you to meet each of our teachers as part of our forthcoming Curriculum Night on Thursday, 9/18.

This summer, our Everett Public Schools officially made the switch to a new student information system, Synergy. To date, our experiences with Synergy have been positive but with every new system comes an inevitable learning curve. Two weeks back, registered EPS families received an email with information pertaining to the family-access side of Synergy, ParentVue.

If you did not receive this email, please CLICK HERE for the related information.

If you did receive this email but have run into challenges in setting-up your ParentVUE account, please CLICK HERE to request help from our EPS Technology Team. (Related Note: Please enter "NA" for the final prompt related to a barcode as this is not relevant to ParentVUE.

Please CLICK HERE for our school supplies list, also avaliable on our website and back-to-school hub.

As you consider this list, please know that we are happy to help students/families with supplies and/our any back-to-school needs. Through the generosity of our local Everett Public Schools Foundation, we have new backpacks and supplies avaliable to help.

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

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? Correct - 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).

Does North have a school store for apparel and gear? Yes, please CLICK HERE for our digital storefront. In addition, shirt and sweatshirt sales often occur through our North PTA, ASB, TSA, and other school-related clubs and groups.

Is there a school store for purchasing food during the school day? Currently, we do not have a school store at North. Prior to this year, students had access to vending machines but those have been disabled as the managing company is no longer active (machines will be removed). Students may bring snacks as part of their lunches. In addition, we serve breakfast, lunch, and provide after school snacks as part of every school day.

As our community prepares for the opening of a new school year, a variety of partner organizations have come together to host events and provide a broad level of support. As you will note from this calendar/newsletter, some of these events have already occurred but many are planned for the near future. These are outstanding community partners and we encourage you to take a look at these upcoming opportunities.

Is your student interested in bicycles? North is partnering with Sharing Wheels Community Bike shop for a second year of Youth Bike Club - inspiring safe, confident riders in our community. This 8-week program will be offered 3 times this school year - Fall, Winter and Spring, and possibly summer too. Students meet weekly after school on Tuesdays and walk to Sharing Wheels for Club, then return to our North campus for our 5:00pm activity bus.

Students participating in this terrific program learn bike maintenance and repair skills, practice safe city riding and build confidence and connection as a group. Upon completing the program, students are eligible for a free bike, helmet, lights, lock and more. Registration is open but space is limited. We are especially in search of female students interested in this program. Once the Fall Club is full, families will be placed on a wait list for Winter and Fall sessions. To register, please CLICK HERE or pick up materials in our front office.

Youth Bike Club is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act.

Picture Day '25 is scheduled for Tuesday, September 9th. All students will take pictures on this day including the image needed for our school identification cards. Families can order pictures online at mydorian.com before our 9/9 picture day and up to four days afterwards. Please take a moment to consider the Dorian site before our forthcoming school pictures date.

The Back-to-School edition of our district's newsletter is avaliable and full of needed information as we open this 2025/2026 school year. Please CLICK HERE to access our EPS Back-to-School newsletter.

Everett Public Schools does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, homelessness, immigration or citizenship status, disability, neurodivergence, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:

Title IX/Civil Rights Compliance Officer and ADA Coordinator, Shawn Bryant, 425-385-4117, SBryant@everettsd.org; Section 504 Coordinator, Dave Peters, 425-385-4063, DPeters@everettsd.org; Gender-Inclusive Coordinator, Joi Odom Grant, 425-385-4137, JGrant@everettsd.org.