In this issue:
March 6 coronavirus update
Wrestling wins third in state
Community welcomes next superintendent
District kudos
New middle school hi-cap classes to be offered
News briefs
What's for lunch?
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March 6 coronavirus update
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We have sent daily updates to families and staff about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) each day since Monday. Here is today's message:
Dear Tahoma families:
Our district custodians will be joined by maintenance staff members to perform extra cleaning in schools this weekend as we continue to emphasize hygiene to defend against coronavirus (COVID-19). All schools will receive additional cleaning, focusing on high-traffic areas such as the nurse’s office, countertops, library and lunch tables, doorknobs, and handrails.
In addition to changes announced earlier this week, we continue to make adjustments in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. The following changes are being made today and will be in effect until further notice to help us control potential exposure of students and staff to coronavirus:
• We are suspending the participation of volunteers during the school day; visitors will be limited to the main office.
• Field trips to indoor facilities are being postponed or canceled, except in cases where the trip would not create a significant risk of coronavirus exposure.
We will continue to provide in-school activities for students in group settings, such as assemblies, because they provide important learning opportunities. Students can choose not to attend assemblies if they have concerns about coronavirus exposure. The question of whether 5th-grade students will attend Camp Casey on Whidbey Island during the week of March 30 is under discussion, but no decisions have been made.
Public Health – Seattle & King County published new guidelines for people who are ill, especially regarding how long to stay away from school or work if they have fever. The new standard is people should stay home for 72 hours after fever subsides. Here is a link to the guidelines: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/news/2020/March/5-suspected-covid.aspx
At this time, we are not aware of any positive cases of COVID-19 among Tahoma students or staff. If we learn of a positive test result, we will inform our community immediately.
Thank you,
Tahoma Communications Office
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Wrestling wins third in state
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Photo courtesy of Heather Kovacs
The Tahoma High School wrestling team brought home the third place trophy from the Washington State 4A tournament two weekends ago. The team also earned six individual medals, including three State Champion titles: Nathan Curry, sixth place, 106; Brayden Hansen, fifth place, 120 lbs; Yusief Lillie, first place, 120 lbs; Steele Starren, first place, 145 lbs; Michael Gasper, second place, 195 lbs; Levi Kovacs, first place, 220 lbs.
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Community welcomes next superintendent
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Mike Hanson, who was most recently the principal at Shadow Lake Elementary, speaks during last week's School Board meeting, when the board formally announced they had reached consensus to hire Hanson as the next superintendent.
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Teachers, staff, community members and former students of Mike Hanson filled the room at Tuesday’s School Board meeting to show their support for the decision to name Hanson as the next superintendent of Tahoma Schools. Currently the principal of Shadow Lake Elementary, Hanson will work at the Central Services Center for the next four months to ensure a smooth transition to his new role, which will begin July 1.
While a contract with Hanson is not yet in place, the board reached consensus after carefully considering and talking about the best choice for the district in executive sessions over the past few months. Discussion of current employees in executive session is permitted under the Open Public Meetings Act.
After Board President Tami Henkel read aloud the same announcement that was sent to families and staff members last Friday, board members shared their thoughts about the process and decision. Henkel acknowledged that there may be some confusion and surprise in the community about the board’s announcement, and shared that their conversations about Hanson over the past few months took place during executive session because he is a current employee. Henkel said that the board followed a process analyzing attributes developed with the help of community members and staff two years ago, which they also used in the fall while evaluating candidates for interim superintendent.
The Board asked for the announcement to go out to all families, staff and the community on Friday because that is the regular timing for the release of the agenda and materials for the following Tuesday’s board meeting, she added.
Board member Malia Hollowell, who got to know Hanson when she was the PTA president at Shadow Lake Elementary, shared some written remarks.
“This is a great day for Tahoma and, even more important than that, it’s a great day for our kids,” Hollowell said, noting that while all of the board’s decisions are significant, that selecting a new superintendent is supreme.
“As the top leader in our district, Mike will be responsible for working closely with our administration, faculty and staff to ensure that every child is at the center of decisions,” she said. “I am overjoyed that our entire Tahoma community will now benefit from Mike’s leadership and extraordinary commitment to student success.”
Board member Val Paganelli said that Hanson is a consistent leader who believes in the “whole child,” inclusion, collaboration and systems thinking.
“He is able to stand at the balcony and engage people and engender trust,” Paganelli said, noting that the board had a sense of clarity during their conversations and process, and was in full agreement about their decision.
A number of people also spoke during public comment to thank the board for selecting Hanson, including Maple Valley Mayor Sean P. Kelly, community member Steve Bodwell, Tahoma High School teacher and District Health and Fitness Content Specialist Tracy Krause, parent and PTA Roundtable President Laura Meyers, VOTE (Voice of Tahoma Education) co-chairs Angela Stewart and Grifan Cayce, and Tahoma High School Associate Principal Chris Feist.
“He has done some incredible things for my kids on a personal level,” Feist said. “Just thinking about it makes me choke up a little bit.” While he said he is sad that Shadow Lake is losing its principal, Feist noted that he looks forward to all Tahoma students and staff benefitting from Hanson’s leadership.
Board member Katrina Montgomery said she can’t think of anyone with a bigger heart and passion for Tahoma. Montgomery said that some of Hanson’s best attributes are his compassion for students; the way he strives each day to be his best self and expects the same from his students, staff and colleagues; his willingness to listen to understand; the way he works and is part of solutions; and his ability to lead with conviction that inspires employees to want to be part of his team.
“I am 100 percent confident that the Board has selected the right person to lead us into the future,” Montgomery said. “(I) look forward to watching Tahoma become the ‘World’s Best School District!’”
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Auto Club will compete at state
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From left to right, Tahoma High School Auto Club members Isaac Miskar, who finished second, Drake Ziesing, who finished seventh and John Cefalu, who finished fifth during a recent competition.
Tahoma High School’s Auto Club qualified to compete at the state competition in Yakima in April, after performing well at the Power Equipment Skills USA competition at Auburn High School on Jan. 11.
“I am very proud of all three of my students for competing and basically going in blind to something they have never experienced themselves,” said Geoffrey Fiorito, club adviser and THS teacher. “I am very proud of my Auto Club and the progress we all have accomplished.”
Special Olympics Bears Junior team shines at winter games
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“Congratulations to our Bears Junior Team for taking fifth place in the Special Olympics Winter Games Feb. 29 in Wenatchee,” Program Coordinator Karen Smejkal said. “They dug deep into their souls and played their best ever. It was a double game elimination with all the action happening in the final fourth quarters.”
“We are so proud of their sportsmanship, skills and hard work,” Smejkal added.
Speech and debate will travel to nationals in June
Last weekend the Tahoma High School speech and debate team competed at the National Qualifying Tournament for the Western Washington district at Auburn-Riverside High School. This tournament determines which teams in the Puget Sound region will qualify to compete at the National Tournament in Albuquerque, New Mexico this June. It was a highly competitive tournament with a lot of talented students and I am proud to announce that FOUR Tahoma competitors qualified this year!
The qualifiers are:
• Djanaya Esiong and Cami Fairbanks; Duo Interpretation
• Quinn Kelly; International Extemporaneous Speaking
• Caroline Quevedo; U.S. Extemporaneous Speaking
It is Esiong’s third consecutive year qualifying to Nationals. The team also had several students that qualified as alternates.
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New middle school hi-cap classes to be offered
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Summit Trail and Maple View Middle School will offer a new class to support highly capable students in the academic areas of English-Language Arts and Social Studies in grades 6, 7, and 8. These classes will provide a more rigorous and integrated approach to the Language Arts and Social Studies disciplines.
Current and past Tahoma Discovery students are eligible for this program. Students may also be referred to this program by parents/guardians and/or teachers of current students in grades 5, 6, and 7. We are recommending that students who scored in the top 5 percent on SBAC and district assessments consider submitting a
referral form available here. The referral window closes March 13, 2020.
"I am thrilled about the new services Tahoma will be offering highly capable students in our middle schools,” said Michelle Smart, president of PATH (Parent Advocates for Tahoma Highly-capable). “The specially trained teachers and tailored instruction will give these students the opportunity to learn at their own paces. With my own children, I've seen that with more individualized education, they've both grown into their potential and felt more fulfilled. I am confident that Tahoma's new highly capable services will provide just such opportunities to students districtwide."
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Grad Night tickets on sale
Attention seniors and parents/guardians of seniors: Graduation is quickly approaching! Tickets are on sale for the Grad Night celebration, for $145 through April 30.
"Stay up all night and party in a fun and safe environment. The plans we have made for this year's event will surpass what was held last year," said Greta LaMont, chair of the Grad Night Committee for Tahoma High School PTA.
Volunteers are needed to chaperone the event; volunteers must be PTA members and be cleared through the district volunteer system.
Scholarships are available. After April 30, ticket prices will increase to $165.
Application numbers are low for PTA Community Scholarship
So far, a relatively small number of seniors have filled out the application for the Tahoma Community Partner Scholarship.
“There is still time to apply, but you need to get on it,” chair Stacy Pleskoff said. “There is money to give away!”
Pleskoff noted that there are scholarships available for every type of senior working toward graduation.
All applications are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 20. The application program is set on an automatic timer and is exact for Pacific Standard Time. Absolutely no late applications will be processed.
The application process will show which sections have been completed and what still needs to be done. Due to letters of recommendation getting spammed or sent to other folders in some email inboxes, we strongly suggest that students keep a close eye on whether the letters have been submitted. Applicants will not be able to see the letter itself, but will receive a check mark next to the progress of recommendation in the profile.
In a prior message, the PTA suggested a timeline of:
February 7: Finish all basic profile application information and send out recommendation requests
February 14: Begin all required essays
February 28: Follow up on recommendation requests and finish all essays
March 6: Verify requests were returned, recheck all progress and finalize any incomplete items
March 13: Make all final follow-up calls
March 20: If not already submitted, make sure everything is complete and submit applications by 5 p.m.
Special Olympics track and field begins soon
The Tahoma School District’s Special Olympics Track & Field Season is scheduled to begin on March 16 and run through June 7. Practices are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday evenings at Summit Trail Middle School. The first practice will be at 5:30 p.m. on March 16 at Summit Trail.
Special Olympics is open to all Tahoma School District students with developmental disabilities between the ages of 8-21.
New athletes must have an “Application for Participation” form completed and signed by their physician in order to participate, and are asked to bring this form with you on your first day of practice. Returning athletes will be contacted by e-mail or phone if their form has expired.
If you have any questions, or need an “Application for Participation,” contact Program Coordinator Karen Smejkal at
ksmejkal@tahomasd.us or 425-413-3716.
“This is a great opportunity for skill building, socializing, after school activities, and making new friends – and, it’s free,” Smejkal said.
School Board news
The Tahoma School Board met on Tuesday for a work-study session.
During that meeting, the board:
- Heard an update on coronavirus;
- Received an update on the fifth-grade data breach and changes made in relation to that situation
- Conducted a mid-year review of progress for School Board targets
- Heard an update on the Middle School Model Review
- Received an update on the budget process
The board is currently scheduled to have a regular board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10.
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The Tahoma School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:
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Title IX Officer
Director of Human Resources
25720 Maple Valley Highway
Maple Valley, WA 98038
425-413-3400
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ADA Coordinator
Director of Human Resources
25720 Maple Valley Highway
Maple Valley, WA 98038
425-413-3400
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Section 504 Coordinator
Director of Special Services
25720 Maple Valley Highway
Maple Valley, WA 98038
425-413-3400
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25720 Maple Valley-Black Diamond Rd. S.E., Maple Valley, WA 98038
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