Principal Jaskot's Weekly Dayette

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    Coming up: 

    March 18th – 2nd Trimester ends

     Healthy Culture updates

    In light of recommendations to minimize the spread of COVID-19, we have suspended large group activities which include assemblies, field trips and parent meetings for the time being.  We rely on district communications which are sent out daily around 6PM.

    We will continue to make daily calls from the office if your child is absent.  It would be helpful to us for you to disclose whether your child is sick or whether you are opting to keep your child home as a preventative measure.  All student absences will be considered excused at this time. 

    Things to keep in mind when reporting absences this week:

    -Most importantly, the Main Office should be the first point of contact to report an absence, or tardy, followed by your student’s teacher. To reach the office, you can email the attendance line at:

    bfday.attendance@seattleschools.org  or by calling the office at 206.252.6010. By contacting the office first, it eliminates the need for the office to call you.

    -When reporting an absence, please state the reason. Either illness related or precaution related. Illness related absences are always excused. Additionally, at this time, opting to keep your student home due to precautionary concerns will also be treated as an excused absence. Therefore, we want to be sure to enter all absences appropriately, and to be able to distinguish students that are absent due to illness or precaution. So please include reason in communications to the school.

    Work packets will be created by teachers on a weekly basis. These will be compiled during the early release Wednesday afternoons and available on Thursdays.  Parents may pick up printed packets in the office, or you may request that one be emailed to you.

    Packets will be largely a review of skills already covered in class, in an effort to keep students’ skills “fresh.” There may be some challenge materials containing new material, but we are being careful to avoid the possibility of having misconceptions reinforced when teachers and students are not interacting and reviewing the work packets.

    Work packets are optional and must be equitable for all of our students.  Thus, there won’t be links or other website options as a part of the packets, as not all families have technology or internet resources at their disposal. 

    The district is prioritizing guest teacher assignments to cover staff illness and voluntary self-quarantine situations.  Professional development sessions that require sub coverage are cancelled.  This will help ensure we have every available resource to help cover classes.  Staff who are particularly at risk are encouraged to protect themselves and their families, and there is a protocol in place for them to access sick leave during this time.  Each staff member’s situation is unique, and we certainly support their decisions.

    Library News                                                                                                                                         

    ➢ Calling all poets: share your talents!

    Capitalizing on all the wonderful work our WITS partners have done with BF Day teachers and students, we would like to invite our talented student writers to share poems with our school community during the month of April. Students will have the opportunity to read their poems aloud either at one of our assemblies or during morning announcements. 

    The theme of this year’s poetry celebration is empathy.

    All students are welcome to participate. Poems can be submitted to the office, care of The Assembly Committee. 

    The deadline for submissions: April 6

      Global Reading Challenge update:                                                                                                                                                         

    A decision has been made to hold all GRC semi-finals remotely. Our winning team, The 7th Wheel, will be representing BF Day in the semi-finals, meeting in our school library and participating in the challenge by way of a Zoom web-based video conference. Plans for the GRC Finals will be decided at a later date. The semi-final challenge will take place next Tuesday, March 17 in the BF Day library. Members of The 7th Wheel should plan to arrive at 10:00. The challenge will begin at 10:30. 

    “Keep on rolling, 7th Wheelers!”

    Tues, 3/17 from 10:00 - 12:00.

    Keep on rolling, 7th Wheelers, “BF Day is in the house!” 😉

    Call for library volunteers: It’s time for a little early spring cleaning! If you’d like to help make our library even more spectacular, please consider helping out with one of our library improvement projects. Our first training session this spring will be this Thursday, 10:35-11:50. Feel free to contact Mr. Hammer to arrange another time or w/nay questions:

    kahammer@seattleschoools.org Thank you!

    It’s time for a little early spring cleaning! If you’d like to help make our library even more spectacular, please consider helping out with one of our library improvement projects. 

    Our first training session this spring will be this Thursday, 10:35-11:50. Feel free to contact Mr. Hammer to arrange another time or w/nay questions:

    - kahammer@seattleschoools.org

    Volunteers Needed for Spring Library Projects

    Our library needs your help with 3 spring projects: 

    • Weeding out old or unused books
    • Processing and cataloging donated materials
    • Taking inventory of the library collection.

    Informal training sessions start Thursday, 3/19 10:35-11:45 a.m.  If you’d like to come at another time, please reach out to Ken Hammer at kahammer@seattleschools.org. 

    Thank you!

     B. F. Day Green Sustainability Team

    This all school Green Team is working out great!    Today the 1st – 5th grades started a Hügelkultur Bed right outside the fence in the basketball/soccer area.  They did amazing work in a very short time.  Today the K students cleaned up trash and planted carrots.  We will continue building the Hügelkultur Bed on Thursday, it may take us a few weeks to complete but should be a beauty when complete:

    PTSA News

    LAST CALL FOR MARINERS TICKETS! If you would like to join BF Day at the Mariners Game on Sunday, March 29 @ 1:10 please email gaylecperez@gmail.com ASAP. Final order goes in on Friday. Also, if you've ordered tickets and have since changed your mind due to social distancing, please also email gaylecperez@gmail.com. Thanks!

     The Arty Party Is scheduled for April 4th, and we are considering options for alternatives to a gathering. Stay tuned for final updates!

     In the meantime, here is a Fun Way You Can Contribute!

    What can you do? Donate to the auction! This year we are focusing on fun experiences that people love and build community. Do you have an awesome talent to share, or does your company offer experiences people love? Please consider offering your skills as a fun auction item! Top auction items families have donated in previous years include personal experience like a parent-led bread-making class, a cheese and wine pairing, art making lessons, condo share, personal training, etc! 

    Contact artyparty@gmail.com for more info, or complete and submit the donation form by 3/20. http://bit.ly/artypartyauction

    EVENT WEBSITE + TICKET SALES: www.bfdayartyparty.com

    QUESTIONS? email us at artyparty@bfdayptsa.org

    Chinook Sale

    The BFDay PTSA is still selling Chinook Book coupon book/app combos and app cards.  Now that we are into 2020, we are offering the few book/app combos remaining for a discounted price of $15, and the app cards are also $15.  There are coupons to local grocers and drugstores, fun activities like the Zoo and Aquarium, sport and outdoor retailers like Evo and Big 5, and local restaurants and shops selling Neopolitan pizza, specialty cupcakes and ice cream, baked goods and coffee.  Proceeds from the sale of these Chinook Books and app cards go to the PTSA and helps to fund programming and supports that benefit the BF Day community.  Cash, check, credit card accepted, as well as payments directly to the PTSA through Venmo (@BFDayElementary) or PayPal (PayPal.me/bfdayptsa).  Contact Jenny at   jenny4218@comcast.net  with questions or to place an order and arrange for delivery.  Thanks so much for your support!