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PSD Connectivity
Dedicated to excellence
March 18, 2016
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March Gladness projects continue
The bulletin board in the hallway at Karshner Elementary has been turned into a "Wall of Thanks." It is filled with notes written by students giving thanks for school, family, dogs, community, and many more blessings in their lives.
"The notes are things that we are thankful for in our community, including friends and family," said Karshner Counselor Eddie Nunez who worked with leadership students who
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Karshner students pictured from left: Steven Steele, Nam Tuan Alexander Nguyen
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sponsored the project and assisted students in posting notes on the wall. He said the Karshner projects focus on the March Gladness mission to 'Serve Your Community.'
Other projects held at Karshner this March include a coin drive, a Hat Day, and movie night to raise funds for the '
Together We Rise
' project to support kids in foster care.
This charity works with improving the lives of foster children. They provide items such as a travel bag, teddy bear, and college scholarships.
There are 67 March Gladness projects taking place between January and March. Students from around the district are volunteering and giving back to their community through the annual community service program.
Some of the many projects taking place throughout the district include:
Rogers High School
Rogers High has a variety of fundraisers including 'Cups for Pups.' Students Sarah Archer and Kylie Paine are coordinating the project which sells cupcakes to staff and students during lunchtime. They made the cupcakes themselves and have earned more than $650 dollars so far. The money will go to the Sunny Sky's animal shelter.
Rogers teacher Kate Bacon stated, "Our March Gladness students have done an amazing job with this project!"
Stahl Junior High
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) fundraisers include Pennies for Patients coin drive, Purple Ribbons for Hope, a Hope run jog-a-thon, bingo night, car wash, and the sales of Hope Gear.
The drive is being done to bring attention to LLS and to support Stahl Principal Troy Hodge. Those interested in purchasing a t-shirt to support the drive can
order here
.
All profits (50% cost) will go to LLS in Hodge's name. The logo on the front was voted on by Stahl students and the back contains a slogan used frequently by Hodge.
Woodland Elementary
Woodland Elementary held a 'Fox in New Sox' sock drive in early March. The new socks will be donated to the St. Francis House and others in the community. One student participated by bringing 120 pairs of new socks to donate.
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Thursday, March 24
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2.5 hour early release for all grades: teacher training
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Friday, March 25
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No school: teacher training
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March 28 - April 1
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No school: spring break
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| Friday, April 15 |
No school: teacher training |
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Meeting Growing Needs
With voter approval for the 2015 School Construction and Facility Improvements bond, the district is moving forward with the projects. In addition, t
he Capital Projects department is working to meet state class size reduction goals for grades K-3.
Please continue to watch for regular updates identified by the new FOUNDATIONS FOR OUR FUTURE logo on the district website, in the electronic newsletter Connectivity, and the Connections printed newsletter.
New Construction
- The Puyallup School Board has adopted the district standard educational specifications for elementary.
- Four architectural firms were hired by the district and assigned to design the new elementary, Firgrove and Northwood replacement schools, and for class size reduction projects.
- The architects met with district staff on March 4 to review the standard educational specifications.
- The architectural firms for the bond projects will begin the process of site specific work this spring. The architects will meet with the school staff, parents, and community members for the individual project assigned to them. They will identify important design elements pertaining to that school and its sight. For example, Northwood Principal Melanie Helle is forming a team of 12 representatives, including Northwood staff and a parent. They will begin with the standard specifications and apply them to the culture and environment of the specific school.
- Studies will begin this spring at each of the sites. County and city regulations require certain site specific requirements that will need to be done. For example, traffic design reports, environmental soil samples, and wetland conservation reviews.
- Capital projects positions are being hired to support the bond projects.
- Hired two project managers
- Hired a quality assurance analyst
- Hired a project management systems coordinator
Class size reduction
- Shaw Road Project
- School board approved the addition of 12 classrooms at its February 22 meeting.
- Architects and capital projects staff are collaborating on design development phase.
- Construction to begin in July 2016.
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Striving the fully engage students and stakeholders
In an effort to improve instruction, and student growth and achievement, the Puyallup School District constantly evaluates existing practices and strives to implement practices which will best serve students and families.
Content Management System
The district's website is the centerpiece of an important communications network containing current and relevant information available to stakeholders 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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, the district intends 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 the district's presence on the internet, providing stakeholders with timely and accurate information using a CMS called Edline.
Changes were well received, and evidence shows the website is used extensively. However, some aspects of the Edline system do not fully meet communication goals, and the vendor is no longer designing upgrades for their product. For example, the district is now pursuing the implementation of a LMS during the 2016-17 school year since the current communications platform, Edline, cannot meet district expectations. For these reasons, the district is moving away from Edline and seeking a new content management system.
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 new website will serve all schools, programs, and departments of the district and will continue to serve as the primary source of current and relevant news and information about the Puyallup School District.
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.
Learning Management System
In the classroom, Puyallup students will soon find teachers are better equipped to engage today's learners. The implementation of a Learning Management System (LMS) is the practical goal of an initiative titled Empowering Puyallup: It's all about the learning.
Empowering Puyallup is an initiative designed to maximize PSD students' opportunities for collaboration, communication, and extended learning through the use of technology. Although the initiative features technology as a facilitator of this kind of student achievement, technology is not the focus. Rather, the focus of Empowering Puyallup is the way students learn, the way teachers interact with students, and the way parents stay engaged in their student's education.
With the LMS initiative, the district strives to provide teachers with a single platform for all district-approved resources Effective collection and management of learning resources will create opportunities for educators to make use of Open Education Resources (OER), which are freely accessible, openly-licensed materials found online and useful for teaching and learning.
Recently, a group of 40 participants spent a Saturday listening to vendor presentations and rating the products for final recommendation. Educators, students, and parents processed the data and came to consensus that Schoology would best fit the vision of the Empowering Puyallup initiative. The school board has approved this recommendation.
The successful implementation of both a CMS and an LMS will require plenty of planning by district leadership. The inclusion of parents, teachers, and students in the process should help facilitate a smooth transition and well-vetted products. Success will also require frequent communications and careful understanding of the ways the CMS and LMS will differ and complement each other.
To stay informed of the progress, visit the PSD homepage and find the Empowering Puyallup button. Regular updates and news stories will be added on a weekly basis.
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Staying Informed
In the newest district video Dr. Yeomans takes a moment to explain how the district strives to provide current and relevant information to keep our staff and community informed of the many great things going on in the Puyallup School District.
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See what's happening on our social sites:
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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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