Dear Tolt Families,

Happy New Year! I hope your family enjoyed our extended Winter Break and Winter Wonderland. It was great to see our students on campus again this week and back into the rhythm of learning. Your support in encouraging your student to do their best in school and to stay on top of their assignments will continue to help them to be successful this year.

On Wednesday morning, our students were reminded about our safety and health procedures and the importance of following them. This included always wearing a mask over their nose and mouth except when they are eating their lunch. Thank you for helping our community to stay safe by keeping your student at home when they are not feeling well.

Below is important information to keep you informed about what is happening at Tolt throughout January. Note that the end of 2^nd quarter is coming up on Thursday, January 27. If you have not done so recently, please check your student’s progress in Skyward Family Access. It can be helpful to do so with your student so you can discuss their grades with them. If you have any questions, please reach out to their teachers. Our students benefit when the adults in their lives work together to support their learning.

Thank you for your continued support of our school. Have a wonderful weekend.

Go Bears!

Amie Karkainen, Principal

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January 10-12, 2022 (Monday-Wednesday)  

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Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) on Tuesday, January 11

We are committed to helping students to develop social-emotional skills to succeed in life. Each month during an extended 5^th period class, all students will complete a lesson from Second Step, our social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum.

6^th Grade: “Managing Your Emotions” – Students will demonstrate and evaluate strategies for managing their emotions.

7^th Grade: “Practicing Positive Self-Talk” – Students will practice using positive self-talk to reframe unhelpful thoughts.

8^th Grade: “Strategies for Managing Stress” – Students will demonstrate how to choose strategies for managing stress.

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Tolt 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders will participate in a presentation on suicide prevention in their social studies class on Thursday, January 27th. The presentation, “How to Help a Friend,” is a youth suicide prevention program that follows a peer-to-peer training model. Students learn how they can identify and help their peers/friends that may be experiencing hardship or struggling. High school students are engaged as peer trainers for the “How to Help a Friend” suicide prevention training. We find that younger students pay closer attention to the message when it is being delivered from an older student rather than an adult. The presentation is provided by the Empower Youth Network (www.empoweryouthnetwork.org). The program is based on the work of Washington State's Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP), established in 1999 to lead statewide effort to reduce youth suicide. For more information, please see the following link: www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/Pubs/631-058-SuicidePrevPlan.pdf.

·    1-800-SUICIDE

·    Crisis Text Line: 741-741

·    24-hour Crisis Line 866-4CRISIS

·    Teen Link 206-461-4922

·    National Prevention Line 1-800-273-TALK

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is now open and will close Friday, January 21, 2022

Please note the following for completing this process via Skyward Family Access for each student in your family:

*Step 1: Ethnicity/Race Verification -- Recently, the federal government and OSPI changed the reporting categories for student ethnic and race data. As a result of the new reporting categories, you are being asked to identify your student as either Hispanic/Latino or not Hispanic/Latino and by one or more racial groups. Must be completed for each student in your family.

*Step 2: Military Family Verification -- Must be completed annually for each student in your family.

*Step 3: Complete/submit the verification.

1.      To begin, login to Family Access.* If you don’t know your login credentials, contact BUILDING REGISTRAR at phone, email.

2.      Click on the link in the middle of the screen or the tab on the left to start the verification process; click Next to “Verify Ethnicity/Race”; click Continue and make the appropriate selections; choose the write-in option ONLY if your student’s race is not listed within the category; click Complete Step 1 Only.

3.      Go to “Verify Military Family”; make the appropriate selection and click Complete Step 2 Only.

4.      Go to “Complete Ethnicity/Race & Military Family Verification”; confirm Steps 1 and 2 are complete.

5.      Finally, click on Submit Race/Ethnicity & Military Family Verification.

6.      Repeat this process for each student in your family.

*The verification process cannot be completed through the Family Access mobile app. However, within the app, you can tap your profile icon and select Go to Desktop View to complete the process on your mobile device.

Please contact Kim Piira at 425-844-4607, piirak@rsd407.org with questions. Thank you for helping us keep your student's information current.

7th/8th Grade Girls Soccer & 7th/8th Grade Boys Basketball: Practice begins after school on Monday, January 10th from 3:00-4:45PM for all athletes who have been registered and cleared to play.

Athletes will change in the locker rooms directly after school and report to the gym or field. Please have your athletes prepared with their sports related practice gear and water bottles. Families may pick up their athletes in the front parking lot at 4:45 or they can take the activity bus on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays Tolt Middle School: About Us: Calendar (rsd407.org). Coaches will be communicating with the athletes/families with additional information.

Tolt Dungeons and Dragons Club

Tuesdays from 3:00 to 4:45!

No experience necessary. Go on adventures and tell great stories with your friends. We are looking for student Dungeon Masters to run games. Students can check their student email for a sign-up form from Mr. McFarland, or sign up here. Students can play Magic: The Gathering too!

Planning Games Session (Dungeon Masters only): January 11th

First day of play (open to everyone who signs up): January 18th

Students can ride the activity bus home: Tolt Middle School: About Us: Calendar (rsd407.org)

Looking forward to great adventures!

We will review financials and have a guest speaker. Find out more info and RSVP here: https://fb.me/e/30kXaYBVo

Tolt Middle School PTSA has partnered with Smith Brothers Farms to raise money for our organization! Simply use our Code ToltPTSA at checkout when you set up a new account for Home Grocery Delivery. YOU get $15 off your first delivery order and Tolt PTSA will receive a gift of $50! Be part of a Northwest tradition and get in on "the secret" (that weekly grocery delivery of fresh dairy and hand-selected products beats going to the store any day) and help us raise much needed funds for our kids! You'll get the iconic porch box with your 1st delivery!

Link to sign up: https://www.smithbrothersfarms.com/

Join the PTSA Today! Tolt PTSA directly benefits the students at Tolt. The PTSA supports grants for teachers, school events, art education and much, much more! When you join the PTSA, you are not only advocating for your student, but all students local, in Washington State and Nationwide. To print the volunteer form click here or for more information go to www.toltptsa.org.

With the rampant rise in COVID cases, if your student has even the most mild of symptom(s), they must obtain a COVID test to return to school and/or be fully symptom free to return to school. Once you have a COVID test result, please send Nurse Rachel a copy and she will help determine when your student may return to school.

Resources: Find Free COVID testing sites or contact your school nurse to see if they are available to provide testing at school. Find more information from the King County Schools COVID-19 Response Toolkit, specifically the Return to School Flow Chart and When can I return to school? documents.

Test-To-Stay Program: The Test-to-Stay Program has launched! Your school nurse will help determine your eligibility to participate.

COVID Information: Continue to follow our symptom guidance and check the COVID FAQ page for additional information.

tomczekr@rsd407.org