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PSD Connectivity
Dedicated to excellence
March 4, 2016
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| Students at Ridgecrest Elementary are excited to have Dr. Yeomans as a guest reader. |
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Puyallup students across the district celebrated reading, rhyming, and silliness this past week in honor of Dr. Seuss. Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program held every year on March 2, the birthday of the childrens' author.
Many schools found creative ways to incorporate Seuss celebrations into their literacy instruction. For example, at
Stewart Elementary, each day of the week featured a Dr. Seuss book and permission to wear something fun to school.
- Monday was "Fox in Socks" day and students wore crazy socks to school.
- Tuesday was "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" day and each grade had an assigned color for their clothing.
- Wednesday was "Wacky Wednesday" day in which kids wore mismatched clothes.
- Thursday was "The Cat in the Hat" day and everyone wore red, white, and black.
- Friday is "Oh the Places You'll Go" day and everyone is wearing a team jersey, college gear, or Stewart gear.
Stewart parents were encouraged to talk with their child each night about the stories read at school and their favorite books. On March 2, Seuss's birthday, students visited three other classrooms to hear three stories read aloud.
At other schools, administrators came to be guest readers.
Ridgecrest Elementary students were honored to have
Superintendent Yeomans read A favorite Dr. Seuss book. In some cases, classes grouped together in one room in order to be part of the fun.
"Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement and creating lifelong successful readers," says the National Education Association website, sponsors of the Read Across America event. "Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school."
See more pictures of students and guest readers on the
PSD Facebook page. Visit school Facebook pages to get an idea of how creative each school was in celebrating reading.
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District hosts Candidate Day for prospective teachers
Within the next three to five years, Washington State will face a significant teacher shortage. Over 10,000 certificated teachers will be needed, and only 1,500 are anticipated to be available from college programs.
The Puyallup School District is looking for quality teaching candidates who will help maintain the district's tradition of excellence. The hunt is on for educators who will make a difference for children in Puyallup.
The district will be hosting a special event on March 15, 2016 called Candidate Day. Interested teacher candidates are invited to come to the
Karshner Museum and Center for Culture & Arts beginning at 4:30 p.m. After a greeting from
Superintendent Tim Yeomans, directors and technicians from the district's
Human Resources Department will help participants get the application process started. Elementary and secondary school principals will be on hand to conduct initial screening interviews (so bring your resume!).
Candidate Day will also feature a bus tour of the Puyallup School District beginning at 1:30 p.m. Seating on the bus tour is limited, and
reservations are required.
For more information about this event, and to reserve a seat on the 1:30 bus tour, visit the Human Resources website. No reservations are needed for the 4:30 p.m. meeting.
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District partners with county for street improvements
A new concrete sidewalk, curb, and gutter will be installed in front of
Ballou Junior High this summer in the areas where gravel currently exists on both sides of 136th
Street East. The project will improve safety for pedestrians.
Additional improvements include upgrading existing roadway lighting to LED lighting and ADA curb ramp improvements at various locations along the sidewalk, including the crosswalk in front of Ballou.
The crosswalk is used daily by students, parents, and the community. The project improvements are within the walking areas for Ballou Junior High and
Firgrove Elementary. The voter approved 2015 School Construction and Facility Improvements bond will replace Firgrove with a
30 home room classroom elementary on the existing site, scheduled to open in September 2019.
"This project will have a direct benefit to our students and their families," stated Director of
Facilities Planning Brian Devereux.
In 2014 the Puyallup School Board approved a resolution agreeing to contribute $7,500 in matching capital funds to the project. Pierce County Public Works has shared the total project cost at $618,000.
The joint grant application between the school district and Pierce County Public Works and Utilities is resulting in great benefit for students, families, and community members at minimal cost to tax payers.
During the design phase the county discovered that it would need 18 feet of district property to complete the sidewalk improvements. The school board approved a
resolution to dedicate approximately 18 square feet of property to the county at the
February 22 board meeting.
Pierce County Public Works and Utilities is scheduled to begin the work during the summer of 2016 soon after the school year ends. Project completion is expected prior to the beginning of the 2016-17 school year.
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Improving communications on the Internet
The Puyallup School District website is the centerpiece of an important communication network. The PSD website contains current and relevant information available to stakeholders 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
With this in mind, the district continually strives to stay up-to-date with ever changing technologies and methods of communicating with parents, staff, students, and community.
After completely restructuring the PSD website a few years ago, the district has worked hard to provide a site rich with relevant content. To better serve our community, we intend to expand the scope and direction of the website, along with social media, to take advantage of new technology and make use of the most effective communication tools.
The changes made to the Puyallup School District website in 2013 were significant. Over the past three years efforts have been made to improve PSD's presence on the internet, providing stakeholders with timely and accurate information using a Content Management System (CMS) called Edline.
Changes were well received, and it appears the website is used extensively. However, some aspects of the Edline system do not fully meet communication goals. For example, the district is now pursuing the
implementation of a Learning Management System (LMS)
during the 2016-17 school year since the current communications platform, Edline, cannot meet district expectations.
Several months ago the district learned that Blackboard, the parent company of Edline, would be reducing enhancements to Edline because of their acquisition of another CMS called Schoolwires. While these kinds of company acquisitions can sometimes be discouraging, it actually provided the district with a great opportunity to begin considering other options for the PSD website.
Over the past several months, staff from the Technology Services Department have been working with staff from the Communications and Information Department to reconsider the elements needed for an effective CMS. The result has been the development of a Request For Proposals (RFP) made public in early February. Vendors have been drafting proposals and sending them to the district for consideration. The proposals were opened on Thursday, March 3, 2016.
It is important that the parents, community members, students, and staff of Puyallup have access to important school district information online. In an ever expanding world of digital communications, it is critically important the district has a reliable and effective website for all stakeholders.
Implementation of a new CMS for the district is expected within the year.
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Third grade students learn of Coastal Salish culture
Nearly 1,700 third grade students will visit
The Karshner Museum and Center for Culture & Arts this year as part of the district's literacy curriculum. They will visit the museum as a culminating activity following a two-week Native American Studies unit.
The curriculum, specially designed by specialists in the Puyallup School District, integrates proven instructional strategies such as Guided Language Acquisition Development (GLAD) and arts instruction.
Lesson plans focus on Washington's coastal and plateau Native American tribes and are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and English Language Proficiency standards. Instruction also includes the integration of social studies skills such as how to use primary sources in research.
The curriculum also meets the requirements of a new law which requires schools to teach about Native Americans unique to their area. Last year, the Washington State legislature passed Senate Bill 5433 which requires the teaching of Northwest tribal history, culture, and government in Washington State's common schools.
Upon their arrival at the teaching museum, third graders will learn about artifacts related to their classroom lessons, use modern technology to support their research and learning, and do art projects such as weaving authentic cattail mats.
The learning will continue in the weeks following the trip as third graders prepare reports, do art projects, tell stories, and incorporate technology related to their museum visit.
During their field trip students will see the Legacy Washington exhibit, "We're Still Here: The Survival of Washington Indians." The traveling history exhibit is in the form of large panels that feature stories and photographs of the people and events that have made Washington state what it is today.
Legacy Washington exhibits are displayed for a year in the Secretary of State's lobby at the Capitol building in Olympia. From there, they make their first stop at the Karshner Museum and Center for Culture & Arts before traveling to other locations statewide.
In addition to the Legacy Washington exhibit, students will be invited into museum galleries to see artifacts related to Coastal and Plateau Native Americans.
Students will view a rare mountain goat wool and dog hair woven blanket, fishing and hunting tools, and a wide variety of baskets including one made by Chief Sealth's daughter, Princess Angeline. A bentwood box, beaded jewelry, and authentic carved pieces for the bone game Slahal are part of the exhibit, "From the Salish Sea to Mount Tacobet." Third graders will complete a research journal while examining these primary sources.
While the teaching museum is open for free to school district field trips, it is also available to outside groups and organizations for field trips. The museum is also open to the public every school day from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
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On behalf of the entire district, Superintendent Tim Yeomans would like to thank the many Classified Public School Employees who work so hard for the benefit of Puyallup students. Please take a minute to view this newest video message from Dr. Yeomans.
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Puyallup School District
302 2nd St SE Puyallup, WA 98372 | Phone: (253) 841-1301 www.puyallup.k12.wa.us
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Puyallup School District provides equal opportunities in education and employment and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, 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 in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.
Questions or complaints of alleged discrimination may be directed to:
Puyallup School District
302 2nd St SE
Puyallup, WA 98372
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