Sultan Pepper Parent Newsletter

Belong-Lead-Unite-Excel

September

Greetings Turk Families,

Sultan High School (SHS) welcomes you and your student to the 2024-2025 school year! I am eager and excited to meet you and welcome you to our Turk team. I hope all of you are as excited as I am about the upcoming school year!

The past few years have been challenging for all of us. I am so grateful for the flexibility, caring, and patience of our parents, students, and staff, who worked together to creatively support our students. Despite the challenges we faced, we saw growth at SHS last year and I could not be prouder.

I am anticipating a great year at SHS. Our staff is committed to the success of ALL students. The staff at SHS work diligently to provide each student with a high-quality education while fostering an environment where students are learning skills needed to be successful in the future! With student centered strategies at the heart of our instruction, students are empowered to maximize their academic potential and take ownership of their learning- ultimately preparing them for the future! For us, preparing students for life after high school means more than just earning a diploma. It means students are equipped with the necessary skills to be successful in the workplace, college, or military. It means students have a plan for the future.

Everything we do at SHS revolves around our school vision of Be Think Live BLUE! Belonging, Leadership, Uniting, & Excelling. We empower students to be their best selves while fostering a strong sense of pride in all that they do!

Students, all you must do is take advantage of what SHS has to offer and make your high school experience the best it can be. We look forward to building a partnership to prepare you for life after graduation. Whether your future plans include college, the military, or the workforce, we want to make sure you have the skills necessary to be successful. Students, you are the key to making this a great school year. None of this will work without your participation and cooperation. I hope you are excited for a great school year. The main ingredient in this recipe is YOU!

The education of children is a joint effort between parents and the school. Strong family engagement is a critical part of student success. We encourage parents to actively participate in their student’s education. An important way in which you can support your children is through encouraging good attendance. Students should be at school on time every day and avoid missing school as much as possible. We encourage vacations to be taken during breaks from school. Also, communication is important for your student’s success. We encourage you to communicate and partner with your student’s teacher to help your students be successful in class. To help with success in the classroom, the school board has passed a no telecommunications policy and we will be enforcing it. Please help your student find success by not texting them or calling them during school hours.

I am excited to see the academic, social, and intrapersonal progress our students make during the 24-25 school year. We appreciate you and are grateful for the role you play in our SHS learning community. It is going to be a great year! Please continue to visit our website, Facebook, Twitter (X), and Instagram pages for updates throughout the year. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can reach me at sarita.whitmire@sultan.k12.wa.us or
360-793-9860.

Sincerely,

Sarita Whitmire-Skeith

Principal

Wednesday, September 4th- 9th Grade Only First Day of School

Thursday, September 5th- First Day of School (All Students)

Friday, September 6th- Football @SHS 7:00

Saturday, September 7th- Girls Soccer @ SHS 1:00

Friday, September 13th- Football @SHS 7:00

Saturday, September 14th- Girls Soccer @ SHS 1:00

Monday, September 16th- Girls Soccer @ SHS 6:00

Saturday, September 21st- Volleyball @SHS @1:45

Tuesday, September 24th- Girls Soccer @ SHS 7:00

Friday, September 27th- Football @SHS 7:00

Saturday, September 28th- Volleyball Tournament @SHS @ 8AM

District Calendar and the 2024-2025 Calendar to the right.

Want to pay for your student's fees for this year online? Here is the link to pay fines, sports fees, ASB Card, lunch bill and much more.
Please note that next year's fees will be online after the first of July.

https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/55757/students/associate

If you prefer, you may call Val Norris during office hours and she can process
your payments over the phone.

School Counselor for Last Names A-L: Jenny Pederson

School Counselor for Last Names M-Z: Andrea Garibay

Registrar/Counseling Office Assistant: Melissa Garry

Student Support Advocate: Bethany Pownall

Academic Success Coach: Micki Miller

Drug and Alcohol Support: Chris Gardner

3 Mental Health Therapist available through Counseling Referral

James - THS

Yi-Wen - SeaMar

Riley - Consejo

Counseling Office Hours: 7:30am-3pm

• Schedule Change Request Process: Submit form online- https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=IEiVYWkokkeaAkUgE3ixB5p2si19oXFFvCEujeqNecBUMDFSRjRaQjhLVzYxT09ZQlAwOFBBRzNaSS4u . The deadline to submit is request via the form is September 9th. Anything past that could result in an F on transcript for the dropped class. Schedules will be final on the first day of school and can change at any point prior in order to make sure everyone has a full schedule with all their required courses.

• Financial Aid Updates and Events for Seniors: Financial aid events | WSAC (wa.gov).

• University Applications for Seniors: Most are open now! Start working on them! Check out the admission requirements of the universities of interest. If there are particular classes your senior needs to take for their senior year, make sure to submit that online request form by the 9th. To review the deadlines and minimum admission requirements, make sure to visit the college websites: Colleges and Institutions in Washington | WSAC.

• School supplies and resources: If your child is in need of school supplies or other resources, please reach out to your student's school counselor or contact our Student Support Advocate - 360-793-9861 ext 1640

• Senior Parents: Counselors will meet individually with each of their seniors this fall. If you would like to be part of the meeting, please email your school counselor directly. Meetings will start mid-May.
  
  
  

Please take a moment to look over the Student Handbook. On September 13th in advisory, your student will review this with their teacher and sign the signature page.

Please remind your student that cell phones, ear buds, headphones, smart watches, and communication devices need to be away in backpacks all day, except during lunch. If you need to contact your student, please call the main office at (360) 793-9860. We will give messages to your student. If your student texts you during the school day, please remind them of the rules. First Lunch is from 10:24 AM-10:54 AM. Second Lunch is from 11:17 AM-11:47 AM Monday through Thursday. Friday's, first lunch is 10:08 AM-10:38 AM and second lunch is 10:43 AM-11:13 AM.

We appreciate your support on this. By having cell phones away, our students can focus on learning.

Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence.

When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating.

School starts at 7:45AM. Doors open at 7:30AM. Students are expected to be to each class on time, being late to class creates a disruption and reduces the amount of learning time for a whole class. We appreciate your support with this. Please plan vacations and appointments around the school day. Even excused absences impact a student's school success. If your student is home sick, please excuse these absences by calling 360.793.9860 and pressing 4 or emailing SHS.attendance@sultansd.org

Homework Club:

Tues/ Thurs Homework Club (2:40 – 4:45) * is an optional opportunity for students who need extra support or time to either stay caught up on classwork/ homework or who need to catch up after being gone. These are students who want to work and are motivated to improve their grades for either sports or other reasons. Homework Club is encouraged, but is a choice, not a requirement.

If a student is being disruptive at Homework Club they can be asked not to return, as it is only for students who will use it appropriately.

Friday School:

Friday School (ERF Fridays 1:00 -3:15)* will be a required opportunity for students who are failing classes due to not completing classwork. Part of building relationships means caring about our students enough to hold them accountable for their choices and providing consequences when they are not meeting expectations. With this goal in mind, we are implementing the required opportunity of Friday School for students who choose not to complete work or need additional help.

Friday school is assigned by teachers. You will hear from the teacher by Wednesday, if they have Friday School. If your student completes the work, the teacher can sign off and your student will not need to attend Friday school.

The goal of Friday School:

• Improved academic performance by students not meeting expectations.

• Increased student sense of responsibility for academic success.

• Improved use of classroom time.

• Increased communication between school and parents.

Friday School is from 1:10 pm to 3:30 pm on Early Release Fridays.

*Activity buses are available to transport students home afterward.

Only the parent/guardian of a student assigned to Friday School may request a “reschedule” to the next available Friday. Should the student not attend their assigned Friday School for a reason other than an illness, the student will be assigned additional consequences:

• First Missed Friday School: Re-assign Friday School and 2 days of lunch detention.

• Second Missed Friday School: Parent meeting, 3 days of lunch detention, and re-assign Friday School.

• Third Missed Friday School: Parent Meeting, 5 days of lunch detention, and re-assign Friday School.

Please contact the office at #360 793-9860 and ask Laura Breen or Micki Miller if you have any further questions.

“Cedarcrest High School Team welcomes you to our Information and Registration meeting on September 10, 2024 at 7pm at Cherry Valley Elementary (26701 NE Cherry Valley Rd, Duvall, WA 98019) in the library. Our team Co-ops with your school to provide you a competitive level of equine showing. We have numerous competitors go on to WAHSET State and Regionals. We are a fun team with practices beginning early October and look forward to you joining us for our 24-25 competition year. For questions, please email mastroc@rsd407.org or jenniferkniss@gmail.com We are also on Facebook (Cedarcrest High School Equestrian Team) if you’d like to see more about us.
We look forward to meeting you on Sept. 10!”

Senior - Savannah St. Pierre Perales showed her pig this summer at the Evergreen State Fair.

Sophomore - Paige McKay showing her cow Clyde at the Evergreen State Fair.