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PSD Connectivity
Dedicated to excellence
April 29, 2016
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| Superintendent Yeomans poses with former Woodland Elementary students |
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Woodland Elementary rings in a new bell
Current and former
Woodland Elementary students and staff gathered at Woodland during an assembly to rededicate a new bell on April 13.
The new bell replaces the original historic Woodland brass bell, which was stolen a few years ago. The original bell dated back to 1884 when Washington was still a territory.
The new bell was donated by Assistant Superintendent Casey Cox and his family. It had been in the Cox family for more than 50 years.
After being refinished, the new bell has a permanent place in the lobby at Woodland. The words "Education continues to ring true at Woodland Elementary" will be mounted on the wall near the bell.
The audience consisted of Woodland students and staff, district administrators, community members, and many past Woodland students and staff members.
Woodland sixth-grade students CeCe Sanchez, Max Tomlinson, David Debruler, Raven Clinch, Akaiyah Vine, and Nathan Smilonich read an excerpt from a poem, recited memories from former Woodland students and thanked the Cox family and everyone who made the project a success.
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Spring Events
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May 2-6
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Teacher Appreciation Week
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May 17
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Vesey - Munson Art Show at the Karshner Center
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May 23
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Elementary Honors Concert at Rogers High School
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May 30
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No school, Memorial Day
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May 31
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No school, Snow Make-up Day #1
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June 3
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Elementary Track Meet at Sparks Stadium
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June 4
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Puyallup River Rock Festival at the Karshner Center featuring 'Sweet Kiss Mama'
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June 7
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Elementary Track Meet at Sparks Stadium
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June 18
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Graduation Ceremonies at the Washington State Fairgrounds
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June 23
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Last day of school
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Making the Transition to Schoology
This article is fourth in a series on the Empowering Puyallup initiative which is a technology-focused project featuring the implementation of a Learning Management System (LMS) and the roll out of one-to-one devices for Puyallup students.
Behind the scenes the Empowering Puyallup team is getting things ready for Schoology to be up and running come August.
The Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology, will focus on a system which enhances quality instruction, and is a highly effective communication tool for students, teachers, and parents to collaborate and communicate. Schoology will be the platform through which we extend the time, place, path, and pace of the learning.
On April 11th a company trainer from Schoology worked with a conference room full of Puyallup School District staff to "train the trainers." Between now and August staff will begin training to prepare to use Schoology in the 2016-2017 school year.
Jeanine Medvedich, director of instructional leadership and digital open educational resources, is working with curriculum directors to ensure all of the correct learning resources and digital curriculum will be ready and available beginning this September.
The Empowering Puyallup team is currently running tests in the Schoology testing environment, curriculum is being uploaded, pushed out, and accessed as if by a student, staff member, or parent. All of this is to ensure that in September Schoology will be enhancing the learning environment and teacher-to-student relationship instead of being a hindrance.
The goal of Empowering Puyallup is to enhance the teacher-to-student relationships. Schoology will be a technology tool that can enhance the relationship between teachers and students by making things like grading, pushing out curriculum, and communicating easier. By making these processes streamlined through Schoology, teachers will have more time to focus on the individual attention of each student, and the students will have more time to focus on their individual studies.
Currently the Empowering Puyallup team is looking into devices for the upcoming 1:1 rollout. There are many questions that need to be taken into consideration for these devices especially since technology is growing at such a rapid pace.
Frankie Topasna, project manager of Empowering Puyallup, explained, "We're currently looking at several different components of the 1:1 devices, such as hard drive space and battery life. There are devices that have more hard drive space and some with longer battery life. The real question is what will serve the students best."
Empowering Puyallup is a multi-year initiative including implementation of Schoology and the roll out of technology devices for Puyallup students.
The vision of Empowering Puyallup is to unlock for our students' unprecedented opportunities for breadth, depth, and relevance in learning through collaboration, creation, and communication. We are creating equity for all students through access to technology.
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Meeting Growing Needs
With completion of the architectural selection, the first sale of bonds, the development of the Bond Oversight Committee (staffing to be completed by mid-May), the completion of the districtwide elementary educational specifications, and the work of the design advisory teams for Northwood, Firgrove, and the new elementary school, the district is now well underway in the implementation of the 2015 Bond Program.
New Construction
- Watch for signs being placed at the new elementary, Northwood, and Firgrove sites!
- The architectural firms for the new elementary, and Firgrove and Northwood replacement projects have begun working on beginning phases of the pre-design work by collaborating around the approved educational specifications. They will work with staff and community to identify important design elements pertaining to the individual school and its sight. 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 to support the bond projects have been filled.
- Les Gerstmann, assistant director, project manager for the new elementary
- Mike Meadows, director of construction, will manage the Firgrove Elementary project
- Larry Vandeberg, assistant director, project manager for the Northwood Elementary project
- Brady Martin, quality assurance manager, in support of all projects
- Katie Dickinson, project management system coordinator, in support of all projects
Boundary Review Committee
The school board was asked to consider approval of a districtwide Boundary Review Committee to review and make recommendations to the board regarding adjustments to school attendance areas in response to the implementation of the 2015 School Construction and Facility Improvements bond projects.
It has been nearly a decade since the last comprehensive school boundary review.
Class size reduction
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- Architects and capital projects staff are collaborating on design development phase.
- Construction to begin in July 2016.
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Teacher Appreciation Video
Puyallup School District certificated teaching staff will be honored throughout the district next week, May 2 through 6. Take a few minutes to hear testimonials about some favorite teachers, and learn what makes them so effective in the newest PSD video:
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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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