McKenny Elementary School
February 2018
McKenny Hawks Are Kind, Safe, Respectful and Responsible
Spring Conferences - IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Spring Conferences will be upon us soon!
Parent/teacher conferences will be held Tuesday, March 27th through Friday, March 30th. Student release time is 12:05. Please do not bring siblings (younger or older) in to the conference. Siblings may read in the pod area or look around at the book fair. Also, AM/PM Preschool will not meet Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, March 27th, 29th & 30th.
Families may begin scheduling conferences in Family Access on Friday, February 23rd. Scheduling will be open through Wednesday, March 21st. Also, students who see Miss Wilson in Special Services will have conferences scheduled before Family Access opens to all families, due to her need to be in all those conferences and the conferences that need interpreters have also been scheduled.
Each conference time is only 20 minutes long. This is essential to allow time to prepare for the next conference, so please arrive on time. Thank you - our teachers are looking forward to meeting with you!
Please do not hesitate to contact Debbie in the office at (360) 596-8400 if you are having trouble with scheduling a conference or need help with signing up for Family Access. Thank you!
Scholastic Book Fair
Visit the book fair in the library before or after your child’s conference on Tuesday through Thursday 11:00 to 6:00pm and Friday 11:00 to 4:00. There are some great books again this year! If you are interested in volunteering in the book fair, please contact Nancy Hooper, our Librarian at (360) 596-8400.
Olympia Junior Programs
The following is the schedule for our students to attend the Olympia Junior Programs at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Students will depart the school 30 minutes prior to show time and will arrive back at McKenny approximately two hours later. Please schedule appointments for after school time on these days!
Monday, March 19th at 12:30pm 3rd, 4th & 5th grades Frindle
Tuesday, April 10th at 12:30pm 1st, 2nd grades & DLC’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins
McKenny Science Fair – Wednesday, March 7th 6:00pm
We need more judges! Please contact Dana Woods at [email protected] to volunteer. Please bring your Science Fair exhibit to school on Wednesday morning, March 7th. The gym will be open at 7:30am to make it easier for parents to drop off and set-up displays.
Spring Forward
Sunday, March 11th turn your clocks ahead 1 hour!
Fifth Grade Parent Night at Washington Middle School
Monday, March 12th @ WMS gym at 6:00pm.
Kindergarten Registration for Fall 2018-19
• Registration Forms available starting – March 5th
• Return registration forms starting – March 6th
• A Taste of Kindergarten at McKenny - Thursday, May 31st at 11:00am
Smile Big and Bright
Group classroom pictures will be on Friday, March 23rd. Envelopes will come home soon.
5th Grade FamOLY Choir Concert
Thursday, March 22nd at 6:00pm at Olympia HS Performing Arts Center.
Mark your Calendars for Fifth Grade Outdoor School
Our fifth grade students will be attending Outdoor School at the Cispus Environmental Center in Randle, Washington, April 25th, 26th & 27th. This will be a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday trip. The Center has been developed specifically for students’ environmental studies and has excellent facilities for both study and research. Cost is $150.00 per student. If you need to make payments or need financial assistance, please contact Debbie in the office to set up a plan. Also, if your student needs to take a prescription or over-the-counter medicine, the medicine and doctors permission form need to be at school by Friday, April 20th.
Attention: Vaccination Requirements for Sixth Graders
Washington State Department of Health requires all children entering sixth grade or who are 11 years old to show proof of Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, & Pertussis) and Varicella (Chicken Pox) vaccinations. If your child has a check-up this spring, see if you need these vaccinations. Call the office or send a note with the date so that we can update your child’s health record.
International Night
International Night was a big success thanks to all the families, students, and teachers who worked together to put on a wonderful night to celebrate all the cultures represented at McKenny. There were approximately 200 folks who attended, and 90 students took part in the passport game and got prizes of international pencils and erasers provided by McKenny. Thanks to all the families who brought in their fantastic foods and displays to represent their country. Another big thanks to the performers who read, put on a play, sang, danced, and showed us an interesting and entertaining demonstration of karate. And, teachers did an awesome job of decorating the event by making signs and art displays that were beautiful. Finally, thanks to all the folks who volunteered their time to make it happen, helped to decorate with their beautiful displays of clothing, pottery, and art; and then stayed to help clean and organize materials afterward. It was so much fun and our community came together to make it a great event.
In Case of Emergency
Keeping your contact information up to date is vital in an emergency. When your child has been injured at school or is sick, the office needs to have accurate contact information. It is also necessary for teachers to have up to date contact information to keep you informed regarding your child’s progress. Please send a note in with your child if you have a change to your phone number(s), address, or email information.
Remember to call the Attendance Line at 596-8403 to report any absences or late arrivals.
The office needs to know as soon as possible. This is a 24-hour recording phone line. Please feel free to call this number at any time that you are aware that your child will be late or absent.
Jump Rope for Heart
We had our kick off assembly today, Friday, February 23rd and the Heart Association pledge envelopes will go home with students today. The students will be jumping rope during the school day on March 19th and 20th during their PE classes.
School Lunches
Parents don’t forget that you can login into Skyward to pay online with your credit/debit cards, or by phone by calling either Debbie at 360-596-8410 or Alicia at 360-596-7022. Also, we still take cash or checks. Let’s start March off with a positive balance!
When Should Children Stay Home?
As part of the Olympia School Districts commitment to maintaining a healthy environment, the following guidelines are provided to assist you in determining when to keep your child at home.
When to Keep your Child Home: When to Return to School:
Fever over 100 degrees No fever for at least 24 hours. Temperature under 100 degrees, without assistance of a medication, (e.g. Tylenol, Advil, etc.)
Diarrhea or Vomiting 24 hours after diarrhea and/or vomiting stops.
Rashes with a fever or itching, (unless diagnosed by a physician) Physician note and/or no longer present for at least 24 hours. No fever for at least 24 hours, (see above “Fever Over 100 degrees”).
Sore Throat Recommend consulting a physician. Stay home at least 24 hours after staring antibiotic treatment. Stay home if uncomfortable.
Head Lice or Scabies Head lice or scabies treated & Nits/Eggs removed (wait at least 24 hours and must be rechecked by the nurse or health room assistant upon return)
Cough with congestion or fever Cough has lessened, or illness has been treated by physician (coughing can be a real distraction to the class and/or student if severe)
Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) is highly contagious Physician note
Strep Throat Diagnosed and at least 24 hours after starting antibiotic treatment.
Chicken Pox May return to school after all lesions have formed crusts, usually 5-10 days after start of rash.
These guidelines are meant to help decrease illness so your children can be in the best environment for learning. Please cover all wounds and encourage hand washing. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your child’s school nurse. By working together, we can prevent the spread of illness and keep our children the healthiest they can be. THANK YOU! The Olympia School Nurses
Free Parenting Workshop - Anger
Date – Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Time - 6:30 to 8:30pm
Location - Olympia Regional Learning Academy, 2400 15th Avenue SE, Olympia School District
Presenter – Candyce Lund Bollinger. Bollinger is a parent educator and private parenting counselor in Washington State and has been practicing for more than 35 years.
March Upcoming Events
2 – Pacific Science Center - Science on Wheels
5 – Kindergarten Registration begins
7 – Release at 2:32
7 - Science Fair @ 6:00
12 – OSD School Board mtg @ 6:30
12 – 5th grade Parent Night @WMS @ 6:00
14 - Release at 2:32
19 – OJP 3rd, 4th & 5th grades @ 12:30
21 – Release at 2:32
22 – 5th grade FamOLY Concert @ 6:00 @OHS
23 – Class Pictures
26 - OSD Board mtg @ 6:30
27 – 30 Release at 12:05 Parent Teacher Conferences
27 – 30 Scholastic Book Fair - Library
OSD 2017-18 Notice of Nondiscrimination
The Olympia School District will provide equal educational opportunity and treatment for all students in all aspects of the academic and activities program without discrimination based on race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, honorably-discharged veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, marital status, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. The district will provide equal access to school facilities to the Boy Scouts of America and all other designated youth groups listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society. District programs will be free from sexual harassment. Auxiliary aids and services will be provided upon request to individuals with disabilities.
The following people have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies, reports of alleged sexual harassment, concerns about compliance, and/or grievance procedures:
• Jeff Carpenter, Title IX Officer, [email protected], (360) 596-8544
• Ken Turcotte, Section 504 and ADA Coordinator, [email protected], (360) 596-7542
• Steve Rood, Director of Career and Technical Education, [email protected], (360) 596-6109
• Scott Niemann, Affirmative Action Officer and Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator, [email protected], (360) 596-6193.
All four individuals may also be contacted at 1113 Legion Way S.E., Olympia, WA, 98501.
PTO
5th Grade Baby Photos for Yearbook
Attention parents of McKenny 5th graders! Now's a good time to start thinking about which baby picture you'd like to submit for the 2017-18 yearbook. Debbie Doherty and Megan Temple, our Yearbook Committee, needs your photos. Please e-mail photos to Debbie directly at [email protected]. Photos are due no later than April 11, 2018. We cannot accept late photos; the yearbook goes to print on April 12th. As of right now, the yearbook only has 1 baby picture. If we don’t receive at least 15 pictures we will not be including a baby picture page.
Go for Read-A-Thon GOLD
Read-a-thon started last week on February 9th and will run through February 25th when the Olympics ends! Keep gathering those pledges. There are ice cream cones and Kindles up for grabs as prizes! Prizes, reading, AND important student funds for your favorite school! Triple gold!
Pacific Science Center on Wheels!!
Speaking of important student funds- Something amazing is happening at McKenny soon. The Pacific Science Center’s, Science on Wheels (SOW) will be at McKenny on Friday, March 2nd. The theme will be engineering. Classrooms will have a workshop in class as well as have a period of time to tour exhibits that will be set up in the gym. Prepare for enlightened minds.
Movie Night: March 16th - COCO
Our last movie night was amazing! We are looking forward to our next movie night on Friday, March 16th. Movie Night is $5 for the first student and $4 for each additional student. We will be enjoying the movie Coco. Price includes intermission snacks! Come hang out and volunteer- the more hands we have to help, the better.
Value Village Drive
HEADS UP! Just in time for spring cleaning! See us at Value Village in April for our fundraiser! If you cleaned out clutter since the new year or you've got some old clothing, books, household items, round them all up and donate them for a great cause. McKenny will earn funds based on the weight of all our of items collectively!! A specific date/time range in April is coming soon- keep an eye out.
McKenny PTO Carnival is approaching
The annual Carnival is coming soon! We will need parent volunteers to make this a successful event. We need help with the prep, committee members, set up and tear down the day of, and also staffing the various stations during the event. Keep an eye out for further information in the upcoming months! Please contact carnival chair Sarah at [email protected] if you’re interested in helping.
Attention Amazon Shoppers
Love to shop on Amazon? Love to support your favorite PTO? Well, we have the program for you. McKenny PTO is now available to designate as your favorite organization on AmazonSmile. Each time you make a purchase on Amazon.com, they will donate a portion of the purchase to our PTO! Simply visit smile.amazon.com and designate “Mckenny Parent Teacher Association” as your organization of choice!
Save the Date
The next PTO meeting is Tuesday, March 13th at 6:30 in the library. Feel free to attend just to observe or come and share your ideas. We always need volunteers too! If you’re interested in giving a little of your time to the PTO, please contact the PTO Co-Presidents Frank and Kamy at [email protected] and [email protected].