North Beach Newsletter

This summer, I had the pleasure of sitting down with over 50 North Beach families and staff to learn as much as I could about our school. I'm not exaggerating when I say that everyone shared some variation of the same message- North Beach is a wonderful school driven by strong teacher and family partnership. Or, as one parent put it, "North Beach has heart."

As we begin the 26-27 school year, I'm honored and excited to build on the strong foundation that already exists at North Beach. In September, I'm focused on two priorities-

1. Being visible and present at school and in the community, and building relationships with as many students as possible
2. Setting up systems for collaborative work, allowing us to work together to support all students

Ultimately, the goal is for every student at North Beach to be learning at high levels and feel a deep sense of belonging at our school. I look forward to working towards that this year!

Aron

• Thursday, August 27: First in-service day for teachers
• Friday, August 28: Teacher introduction letters sent to families
• Tuesday, September 1: Meet Your Teacher 3-4 p.m. Popsicles on the Playground 4-5 p.m.
• September 2: First Day of School (1st - 5th)* *Any changes to the first day of school will be communicated by SPS*
• September 2-4: Family Connection Meetings (SPP+ and Kindergarten)
• September 8: First Day of School (SPP+ and Kindergarten)
• September 24: Open House 6-7:30 p.m.

Today, our staff met in the library to set the stage for the 26-27 school year. We explored schoolwide data and discussed our instructional vision for the 26-27 school year, which is focused on three pillars.

1. Professional Learning Communities: consistent time for staff to collaborate in service of students, asking and answering questions like "how will we support students who need extra instruction" and "how will we support students who need extra challenge or extension."
2. Emerge Reading and Writing Curriculum: our commitment to building our expertise in our new reading and writing curriculum.
3. The North Beach Way: at North Beach, we take care of ourselves, take care of each other, and take care of our school.

We will return to these pillars again and again throughout the year, focusing our work as adults around these core drivers. We believe that focusing our work in these areas will move us towards our North Beach Vision: "North Beach will be a strong community of staff, parents and students who are dedicated to reaching our full potential as learners and citizens."

In addition to these pillars, we will explore questions that came up during our spring and summer discussions, particularly questions related to tech use and enrichment at North Beach. Each month, our newsletter will share updates on our progress and next steps.

Preschool

Suzeth Alarcon: Suzeth joins us from the Licton Springs Developmental Preschool program, and just completed an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education from UW.

Naomi Mueller: Naomi comes to North Beach from Edmonds School district, where she was a Full Inclusion Preschool Teacher. Naomi recently completed her M.Ed. in Special Education.

Kindergarten

Autumn Reid: Autumn recently completed her Master’s in Teaching through the Seattle Teacher Residency (STR) program at UW, and was a Resident Teacher at Lowell Elementary this year. Prior to STR, Autumn served in a range of programs across K-5.

Emma Walton: Emma comes to us from View Ridge Elementary, where she taught 2nd grade this past year. Prior to View Ridge, Emma taught kindergarten and 1st grade in New York City.

First Grade

Christy Harris: Christy joins us from Olympic Hills Elementary, where she taught 4th grade and was an STR Mentor Teacher.

Special Education

Jenn Cooper: Most recently, Jenn was the Special Education teacher for the Licton Springs Developmental Preschool program. She has taught in a range of special education programs across PK-8 in SPS.

Kyle Robinson-Jaynes: Most recently, Kyle served as an SPS Special Education Program Specialist. He brings a range of experience in Special Education, from elementary to high school.

Multilingual Learning

Lauren Jensen: A parent of North Beach students, Lauren will support our multilingual learners. Lauren has a range of experience in education, including as a librarian, preschool teacher, and kindergarten teacher.

Library

Natalie Van Stone: Natalie comes to us from Madrona Elementary, where she served as a Academic Intervention Specialist. Prior to Madrona, Natalie was an Academic Intervention Specialist at TOPS K-8 and Librarian at Queen Anne Elementary.

Supplies: Supplies for all students are provided at the school- no need to purchase your own! Supplies are funded through our PTA, and our PTA asks families to contribute a flat $30 fee per student for the yearly supplies. Look for a Konstella message about contributions soon!

Teacher Communication: Look for a message from your student's teacher on Friday, August 28th! Throughout the year, teachers will send newsletters with updates and important information from the classrooms. For shorter messages, our staff uses TalkingPoints to communicate directly with families.

Breakfast and Lunch: Seattle City Council approved free school lunch for all students this year. We will begin the year with our typical lunch system, and transition to free lunches soon. Students who bring a lunch to school will be expected to eat their home lunch and not get a school lunch.

Volunteering: We love family volunteers at North Beach! All volunteers in SPS need to go through the Volunteer Clearance Process. At the beginning of the year, we're particularly looking for volunteers to support during lunch (11 a.m.-12 p.m.). Later in September, teachers will reach out to families with specific classroom volunteer requests. If you're interested in volunteering at North Beach, reach out to Punniya Poole at pkpoole@seattleschools.org.

This is our first full year with Superintendent Ben Shuldiner, and he’s shared a clear vision for where Seattle Public Schools is headed: to become the best urban school system in America – a district where any family can confidently enroll their child, knowing the system will serve them at the highest level.

To get there, the district has adopted a new Framework for Great Schools, shaped by feedback from more than 1,500 families, students, staff, and community members over the past year. Families told the district they wanted more trust and transparency, more equity, stronger family engagement, more rigorous instruction, and safer, more supportive schools – and that feedback is now built directly into the framework's seven conditions: Trust, Equity, Effective School Leadership, Strong Family & Community Ties, Collaborative Teachers, Rigorous Instruction, and Supportive Environments, all centered on student achievement.

You may hear this ambition referred to as “Top 5 in 5” – the goal of Seattle Public Schools reaching top-five performance among comparable districts, for every student group, within five years.

As part of our new SPS Strategic Plan, elementary schools across the district are aligning our daily schedules.

All students in SPS elementary schools will have the same amount of instructional minutes and recess minutes. For North Beach, this means a shift in our schedule from three daily recesses to two daily recesses.

K-2 students will have a morning recess and lunch recess, and specials (art, music, and PE) in the afternoon. 3-5 students will have a lunch and afternoon recess, and specials in the morning.

This does not mean that students will be sitting in desks all day! We believe that movement and social connection are important for learning, and teachers will build in time for movement and collaboration during the day.

Driving South on 24th: There is no safe way to just drop your kids off driving South on 24th. There is nowhere safe to pull over and you Cannot let them hop out of the car and dart across the street (they must use the crosswalks). So many kids have almost gotten hit by cars doing this. Instead, please loop around through Olympic Manor and come back down 90th to get pointed the correct direction on 24th for drop off. This will take you 2 extra minutes and could potentially save your kid’s life (see map below)

Driving North on 24th: The drop off zone immediately in front of the school is just for quickly pulling up and letting your kids hop out of the car. Parents should not get out of their car. Also, if you are driving South on 24th, it is illegal to pull across traffic to pull up in front of the school pointing the wrong way!

To Walk Your Kids to the Gate: Please park up 90th in Olympic Manor or any of the other parking areas and then walk your kids down the hill and to the gate (see map above).

Bus Zone: Do Not drop in the bus zone. This is strictly for buses only and is not a safe place for cars, bikes, or humans.

I want to extend a warm welcome to families new to North Beach and a warm welcome back to those who are returning! I can’t wait to see our students and families!

For those who are new to our North Beach community, my name is Alysa Reid, and I am the part-time School Counselor at North Beach. I am at North Beach all day on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Working as a team with North Beach staff and families, I support the social, emotional and academic development of our students. My goal is for each student to feel safe, connected and competent so they can have a positive school experience. I work with all K-5 students in their classrooms, some in small groups and others individually and am available to consult with families and provide community resources and referrals as needed.

If you have concerns you would like to discuss about your student, please contact me at: (206) 252-1535 or by e-mail at arreid@seattleschools.org. I look forward to working together with you and your students to make this a great year at North Beach!