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Panther Post

April 23, 2023

Panther PostApril 23, 2023

Save the date...

On the Horizon...


  • May 8th-26th: SBA Testing for 3rd-5th grades
  • May 10th: Early Release
  • May 11th: Kindergarten Jumpstart for 2023-2024 @ 5pm
  • May 24th: Early Release
  • May 26th: Spirit Assemblies
  • May 29th: Memorial Day - No School
  • June 2nd: Multicultural Night Family Event

A message from the Ms. Smith & Mr. Soltez A message from the Ms. Smith & Mr. Soltez

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Greetings Panther Lake Family and Friends! It was another wonderful and busy week at Panther Lake!


At our Morning Assemblies in April we have been discussing two important topics.

  • Seek First to Understand then to Be Understood is Habit 5 from Leader in Me. When we have discuss this important practice we are working on empathy for others and recognizing that others have different perspectives. We have seen that this Habit be a powerful practice in resolving conflict and preventing future conflict!
  • April is a national month of recognition for Arab Heritage! We have learned about many of the important contributions of early Arab civilizations to the modern world especially in mathematics, science, higher education, optics, and more! Next week we will be learning about important modern Arab Americans.
Please feel free to ask your scholars what they have learned about these important topics.


On Thursday, April 20, fantastic opportunity to celebrate 17 of our Panther Scholars and 10 Panther Staff at the annual School Board Recognition award Ceremony! Congratulations to all who were recognized! We are so proud of your hard work!


We are also asking for your support with safety in our parking lots. Arrival and dismissal are busy times at Panther Lake. Please make sure that you are using the upper parking lot (by the field) if you are dropping off your scholar, and be sure to park if you plan to walk your scholar to the school. The lower parking lot, closest to the school is reserved only for buses, staff, and dropping off our preschool scholars. We recognize that many people come through our parking lots at these times, and we need your support to keep it safe for all scholars.


Thank you for your ongoing partnership!


Sincerely,

Jeff Soltez

Interim Principal


and

Emily Smith

Assistant Principal

Community Connect

FWPS Families and Community: You’re invited to attend a Community Connect on April 26, 2023, from 6-7 p.m. at Federal Way High School! Come, engage with the FWPS Board of Directors and share your thoughts about what’s working well in Federal Way Public Schools as well as your ideas to help us improve.

Register to attend today at www.fwps.org/CommunityConnect!


Estimados padres y tutores de las Escuelas Públicas de Federal Way,

¡Está invitado a asistir a la Conexión con la comunidad el 26 de abril de 2023, de 6 a 7 p.m. en Federal Way High School! Venga, participe con la Junta Directiva de FWPS y comparta lo que piensa sobre qué es lo que funciona en FWPS y en qué áreas podemos mejorar.

Regístrese hoy para acompañarnos, en www.fwps.org/CommunityConnect!

Summer Learning Opportunities







Registration is open for Summer Learning 2023!


Dive in to the new school year! We’re excited to offer expanded summer learning opportunities for FWPS scholars! These summer programs offer students an opportunity to continue learning during the summer in a fun way. There are limited spaces available, and students are registered on a first-come first-serve basis. See below for registration links.

Registration is open through April 28, 2023. Families will be notified by May 10 whether their child has been registered for a program or placed on a waitlist.

Date: June 27 - July 20, Monday through Thursday (No school on Fridays and no school on July 3-4)

Meals: Breakfast and lunch service will be provided

Transportation: Bus transportation is available for scholars attending summer programming, including scholars who are in-district choice during the school year.

  • Transportation is not provided for scholars who are out-of-district choice.
  • Transportation is available for in/out-of-district scholars receiving McKinney-Vento supports.


Registration links (Grade level listed is the current grade level):


  • Kindergarten - 4th Grade (English)
  • 5th-7th Grade (English)
  • Kindergarten - 4th Grade (Spanish)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Spanish)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Korean)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Korean)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Ukrainian)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Ukrainian)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Russian)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Russian)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Pashto)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Pashto)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Dari)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Dari)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Arabic)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Arabic)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Punjabi)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Punjabi)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Vietnamese)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Vietnamese)
  • Kindergarten-4th Grade (Somali)
  • 5th-7th Grade (Somali)

School Board Recognition

Congratulations to the Staff and Scholars who were recognized on Thursday April 20 at the School Board Recognition awards Ceremony!
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Principal Ritch came by to celebrate our award recipients! She is continuing her healing, and looks forward to her return to school!

April 22 - City of Federal Way Earth Day Clean Up

On April 22nd, the City of Federal Way Earth Day hosted a community clean up event at Panther Lake Elementary! Approximately 30 community members came and helped to clean up our school campus and the surrounding area!

Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) Testing Calendar

Please note that we are getting close to our Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) state testing for 3rd-5th graders. The testing window will be from May 8th-26th. There is a calendar below of the testing schedule. As you help your scholars feel prepared, some of the most important things we can do for them is to remain positive, help them get lots of quality sleep, support them in reading at home, and ask them to explain what they are learning about in school. We are going to be working as a school to encourage our 3rd-5th grade scholars and sending them positive messages on their testing days!

April Kids Night Out

April will be the last month for scholars to get Golden Ticket to Kids Night Out this school year. Since April is a shorter month, we've made the goal high! To get a ticket for the final Kids Night Out scholars need to have 0 absences in April. That means they will need to be in attendance the full day for all 15 school days in April. Details are below.


Note: As of 4/21/23 we have 173 scholars who have been at school every single day in April! They are on track to attend Kids Night Out!

Around Panther Lake this Week Around Panther Lake this Week

Panther Lake PTA Panther Lake PTA

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Seeking Members!

We are incredibly excited to announce the Panther Lake PTA Board:


President- Renee Metanoia

Vice President- Katie Finch

Secretary- Jason O'Daniel

Treasurer- Glyn Jenkins (5th grade teacher/admin intern)


PTA is still in need of members to support family event planning and building up our Panther Lake community.


If you would like to join our PTA, please reach out to Mr. Sanchez or any of our board members.

Family Partnership at Panther Lake Family Partnership at Panther Lake

Volunteers Needed
We are in need of very important partners here at Panther Lake! If you are interested in volunteering, please take a moment to fill out this short survey!

Attendance Matters! Attendance Matters!

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To report absences:

  1. Call Mrs. Hagen at 253-945-3603 or office 253-945-3600, email: bhagen@fwps.org
  2. Report on ParentVue, preferable before school starts at 9:10am (before teacher submit absences)

*If absences are not reported before 10:15am, parents will get a district automated absence callout* to remind them to call students absence in.


TIP: If students go to a medical appointment and misses school, you can provide a doctor's note so the absence can be excused as “medical” which will not count as an absent for BECCA.


**If you have a question about BECCA, our state school attendance law, please feel free to email or call me for more information.**



Prearranged absence: Form attached needs to be completed when student is out for more than 2 days BEFORE missing school. This applies for vacations or extended absences.

*parent will complete the top portion, then teacher will complete their section, parent and student will sign and final step will be completed from our principal, Mrs. Ritch.*


Tardy hours 9:10-9:40am

Absence is after 9:40am


If students are late and check in after 9:40am and it is under an unexcused reason, parents will get the auto absence callout.

  • PLEASE put a reason down when students are coming in late or leaving early, if there is no reason written down, then the attendance code will not be accurate and it will be automatically coded as unexcused.




If you have any attendance questions, please contact Data Secretary Bonnie Hagen 253-945-3603 bhagen@fwps.org

Because of YOU Award Because of YOU Award

Has your scholar's teacher gone above and beyond? Is there a staff member at Panther Lake you would like to recognize for their support and help? Would you like to celebrate anyone on the Panther Lake team for the incredible work they do everyday?


You have a chance to nominate any Federal Way Public Schools staff member in the district you believe has positively impacted you, your school, and/or your community with the “Because of You” award. Scholars from the superintendent’s advisory created the awards nomination process.


Nominations will be reviewed and selected by the Superintendent’s Scholar Advisory team and each month educators will be honored. Nominations forms can be completed online, and should be submitted by the end of the month. Stay tuned as we highlight these extraordinary staff members who make a difference each day in our schools!


Please use the link below to nominate your Panther Lake staff member!

Because of YOU Nomination Form
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