Welcome Back Thornton Creek

Dear Thornton Creek Families,

What a joy it has been to welcome everyone back to campus! This first week has been filled with energy, laughter, and reconnection. Students are settling into their new classrooms, building friendships, playing games, and diving into learning together. We even had the chance to gather as a whole community last week to pre-kick off our beloved assemblies with music led by Michaela and our in-house band with Josh, Mark, and Alex. Singing together again brought so many smiles, and we can’t wait to welcome our Kindergarten and Pre-K friends to join us at next week’s assembly.

Thank you for making the start of this school year so positive and uplifting. We’re looking forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events—the Community Meeting on September 16 or Curriculum Night on October 7.

Here’s to a wonderful year ahead, together

Warmly,
Brandee Spencer
Principal, Thornton Creek Elementary

September

16 | Community Meeting | 7-8:30 p.m. | See below

24 | International Peace Day Celebration | See below

29 | Picture Day | More information soon

October

7 | Curriculum Night | More information soon

We’re looking forward to our first Community Meeting of the year coming up next week! This is a chance to hear about the work ahead, share your voice in shaping that work, and connect with fellow families and staff. Please note that this is an adult-only event (no childcare will be provided). For those unable to attend in person, a livestream option will be available to listen in.

Tuesdays, 7–8:30 p.m.

• September 16: Live Stream of Community Meeting

• November 18

• February 24

• April 21

• June 9

Please complete this short survey for each of your TC children.

The survey asks permission for parent contact information to be included in our school directory, for your student to go on walking (less than 1 mile) field trips, and for us to share your email with our parent group. If you need help, email the office thorntoncreek@seattleschools.org. Thanks so much.

Make Your Vaccine Appointment

1. Find a date and location that is convenient for you and your family: These are regional clinics open to all in the SPS community. You do not have to be a student of staff of a particular school to make an appointment.
2. Make your appointment online. Register for Vaccine Clinic
3. Come to your appointment.

Vaccine Clinic

Weekend Food Packs

We have partnered with University District Food Bank to provide weekend food packs for students. The packs include kid-friendly, ready-to-eat, and microwavable items. Food packs can accommodate the following dietary needs: gluten free, dairy free, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, Kosher, Halal, and nut free (University District food bank does not screen products for nut free manufacturing facilities and is not a nut free facility). Food packs are put into student’s backpacks, every Friday.

TC Community Pantry
We have a community pantry located in TC which is available for the TC community. Pantry items include household cleaning supplies, laundry soap, and personal hygiene items. The pantry is available during office hours. If you have specific needs but are unable to come to the school, email Channon and she can pack them in your student's backpack.

If you are interested in a weekend food pack for your student or have any questions, email Channon at chagor@seattleschools.org or call/text at 206-379-2968.

To honor this day, our community will be celebrating together in several ways:

• September 17 Assembly: Students will learn about Peace Day and begin creating their peace pinwheels in class. You can support at home by talking with your child about what peace means to them.

• September 24 Pinwheel Celebration: At 8:10 a.m., the whole school will gather on the field to place our pinwheels and share a moment of silence.

This is a meaningful tradition that brings our community together in reflection and action. And as always, be on the lookout for volunteer opportunities in the TCPG newsletter—your involvement makes days like this even more special.

October 7

There are still spaces available for After Care programming at Kids Co at Decatur. Students are picked up from Thornton Creek and brought to our neighbor school, Decatur, for programming. If you are interested, please contact Adam Foote the Kids Co. at Decatur Program Director. He can be reached at 206-747-2584. For additional information visit Kids Co.

Hall of Fame After care is an enrichment program offered on days when SPS is in session, so there will be no HOFTC Tuesday 11/11. Please note that we have moved from a Quarter schedule to a Session schedule. HOFTC will run every Tuesday and Thursday, with no breaks, on days that school is in session, starting on Tuesday 9/30 and ending on Thursday, 11/20. Returning families can send enrollment requests through the Parent Dashboard by clicking Enrollment, and then Enroll for 2025-2026. New families will complete the New Family Enrollment Form. Registration closes on Friday, September 19 at 11:59 p.m. and schedule adjustments cannot be made after that time. Please note that class information will not be available in the Parent Dashboard until registration goes live.

School Start Reminder

A friendly reminder that school begins at 7:55 a.m. At that time, our gates will be closed to help keep our campus safe and ensure our complex systems run smoothly. If you arrive after 7:55 a.m., please plan to pull around and drop off at the front entrance.

Thank you for supporting this important consistency—it helps us create a safe and smooth start for all students each day.

Attendance and Office Procedures

• If your child will be absent or late, please email thorntoncreek.attendance@seattleschools.org or call 206-252-5304 with the reason for the absence.

• Vacation days are recorded as “unexcused vacation” absences. These are not considered truancy, though you may still receive an automated call or email from the District. If so, you can simply disregard the message and enjoy your trip.

• To pick up your child early for an appointment, please come to the office to sign them out. We’ll call your child to meet you once you arrive. Advance notice (by emailing thorntoncreek@seattleschools.org or calling 206-252-5300) is always helpful. While we understand that appointments during school hours are sometimes necessary, minimizing classroom interruptions is greatly appreciated.

If you are able to donate unscented tissues to the school office we will distribute them to classes as needed. Also, individually packaged, allergen free, snacks are greatly appreciated for students who forget or don't have snacks. Thank you!

The Developmental Preschool at Thornton Creek Elementary is in the process of recruiting Preschool aged students without IEPs to serve as peer models for our classroom.

Here is a description of the peer model requirements:

• student is toilet trained
• student is 3-5 years old
• student is able to attend one of our classes (7:40-10:20 a.m. or 11:45 a.m.-2:25 p.m.) M, T, Th, F
• student demonstrates developmentally appropriate skills for their age

District website the explains the Developmental Preschool Program

Attending as a peer model is free and your child will receive all the same curriculum instruction and assessments of students in our program! If you are interested in learning more, have any questions, or would like to have your child enroll as a peer model, please email Jadyn Tipton at jatipton@seattleschools.org. We have capacity for 2 peer models per class (AM or PM), so 4 total.