the Orca Splash
Viewlands Community Principal Wheeler Update
October 10.............27 days of learning together this school year
Hello Viewlands Families!
Orcas MOVE week was a celebration of being active members of our Viewlands community! Thank you to VEPTSA for supporting both of the events! Thank you to all the volunteers that help support! Thank you to students and families for participating in the two events this week that were part of our Orcas Move week. Thank you to Ollie the Orca for joining our Move-a-thon and Walk, Bike, and Roll day this week. It is always fun with Ollie is here!
The big highlight this week was seeing all of our students walk, skip, dance, run, and laugh during our annual Move-a-thon event and celebrating with students about their active or shared carpool commute to school on Wednesday! Orcas Move week was a big success! We are beyond grateful for the partnership with VEPTSA and the many ways they support our school community. A few other highlights from my visits in classrooms and with students this week include: spending time as the surprise guest teacher in Ms. Schilke's 4th and 5th grade classroom; learning from a 3rd grade student about his family's traditions during Ramadan; discussing symmetry with 3rd grade students in art; and playing pirate tag in PE with kindergarteners.
Your children are bright, inquisitive, and creative thinkers. We will continue to seek ways to make every student feel known, valued, and empowered through the year.
In Partnership,
Carrie Wheeler | Viewlands Principal
Picture Day is in 13 days. Every student will take a picture. Pictures will be in the yearbook unless a family opted their student out of appearing in the yearbook. School pictures are also available for purchase through the O'Connor studio. They only accept online orders. You can pre-order photos now.
To Order Photos:
- Visit the Picture Day website
- Click the "click here" button for pre-order fall pictures
- Click on "Elementary"
- Scroll down and click on "Viewlands"
- Enter your e-mail
- Order photos
There will be a retake day for students that were absent on picture day.
VEPTSA will help coordinate volunteers, we will only need 6 for picture day. O'Connor does offer free photos for volunteers. Volunteer sign up will be on Konstella.
It is an annual tradition to go to the Woodland Park Zoo on or near the last day of October. This is our tradition. We do not do Halloween celebrations or costumes, instead we focus on a fun fall activity by visiting the zoo. We love this tradition at Viewlands! A school day at the zoo is a fun way to celebrate fall. We will do our all-school fieldtrip to the zoo on Friday, October 31.
As a Title 1 school this all-school zoo fieldtrip has minimal costs. The cost for tickets for our students, staff, and some of the family chaperones is free and the busses are subsidized because we are a Title 1 school. (This is another reason the Nutrition forms are IMPORTANT!) We cover the remainder of the costs with shared zoo memberships for additional chaperones and support from VEPTSA for any remaining costs of chaperones and transportation.
Last Friday, the fieldtrip permission forms went home in your child’s red folder. Every child needs this completed. If you haven't returned the permission form, please return the form by this coming Monday, October 13. Every student needs a completed and parent/guardian signed permission form. The permission form is on purple paper.
- Complete the first page (English or Spanish side) and the back of the 2nd page of the permission form. Send back to school in the red folder next week!
- If you have a zoo pass, and are willing to share that for use, please send a photo copy to your child’s teacher or e-mail to viewlands.attendance@seattleschools.org
In art/Multilingual this month, students will be discussing and learning about the tradition of El Dia De Los Muertos and the cultural significance that it has within the Latinx community. Students will be using their personal connections, stories, and inspirations to create beautiful sugar skulls and paper tissue flowers. This topic has sparked powerful conversations while also providing a deeper understanding of how other cultures honor family through remembering rather than mourning. This unit will allow students to learn about symbolism and symmetry in their work. Our day-to-day work has created numerous opportunities to highlight the importance of both patience and practice as it relates to learning new skills and techniques. Displayed before you is an example of an Ofrenda which is used to display photos, items, or offerings that commemorate family members of the past. Many students donated their paper tissue flower to help brighten and decorate our official Viewlands Ofrenda.
This project is optional. Viewlands Elementary School respects the traditions and beliefs of all cultures. Students can reflect on a loved one or pet who has passed away. We focus on all the positive things we remember about the person or pet that made us love them so much and never forget them. This is a great way to learn a little more about our ancestors. If you wish to participate:
1. Decide who you want to remember for this celebration.
2. Focus on the positive things that remind you of your loved one.
3. Unleash your creativity by making a drawing that represents that loved one.
Because love never dies!
Gracias for collaborating with us!
Consider being a Classroom Family Ambassador (aka Room Parent)
Viewlands Elementary PTSA (VEPTSA) is seeking 1-2 volunteers to be a classroom family ambassador (FA). FAs act as a liaison between the teacher and the classroom families. They help the teacher organize volunteers as needed, communicate important information from VEPTSA coordinate teacher gifts, and help encourage attendance at school-wide or grade-level meetups. The commitment time is about 1 hour per week. Please contact face@viewlandsptsa.org if you're interested.
Have a voice, a vote, and access to fun perks—like ticket and retail discounts. Your membership supports playground supervision, literacy tools, field trips, and more. There is no time commitment required. Become a member today!
Viewlands Self Portraits
