Volume 2 / DECEMBER 2021
Calendar of Events
DEC 1 - 7th Grade Girls Volleyball Game @ Home vs Salk - 4:15 p.m.
DEC 2 - 8th Grade Girls Volleyball Game @ Home vs Northwood - 4:00 p.m.
DEC 7 - 7th Grade Band/Orchestra Concert - 7:00 p.m.
DEC 8 - 8th Grade Band/Orchestra Concert - 7:00 p.m.
DEC 9 - 8th Grade Girls Volleyball Game @ Home vs Mountainside - 4:00 p.m.
DEC 10 - EARLY RELEASE 2:15 p.m.
WINTER BREAK - DEC 20TH - 31ST - NO SCHOOL
JAN 3 - 7th Grade Boys & Girls Basketball Begins
JAN 14 - EARLY RELEASE 2:15 p.m.
JAN 17 - NO SCHOOL - MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
JAN 18 - Choir Concert - 7:00 p.m.
JAN 19 - 7th Grade Boys - Basketball Jamboree @ Home - 4:15 p.m.
...............7th Grade Girls - Basketball Jamboree @ Shaw - 4:15 p.m.
JAN 20 - 7th Grade Boys - Basketball Game @Home vs Chase - 4:15 p.m. (Varsity 1st)
...............7th Grade Girls - Basketball Game @ Chase - 4:14 p.m. (Varsity 1st)
JAN 25 - Orchestra Feeder Concert -5:00 p.m. rehearsal 6th grade tour
......................................................... - 7:00 p.m. Concert
JAN 26 - 7th Grade Boys - Basketball Game @Shaw - 4:15 p.m. (JV 1st)
...............7th Grade Girls - Basketball Game @ Home - 4:15 p.m. (JV 1st)
JAN 28 - EARLY RELEASE 2:15 p.m.
FEB 1 - Band Feeder Concert
FEB 2 - 7th Grade Boys Basketball Game @ Northwood - 4:15 p.m (Varsity 1st)
..........- 7th Grade Girls Basketball Game @ Home vs Northwood - 4:00 p.m. (Varsity 1st)
FEB 3 - 7th Grade Boys Basketball Game @ Mountainside - 4:15 p.m (JV 1st)
..........- 7th Grade Girls Basketball Game @ Home vs Mountainside - 4:00 p.m. (JV 1st)
FEB 4 - EARLY RELEASE 2:15 p.m.
REMINDER
The weather is changing! Please make sure students are dressed appropriately. Our doors open at 8:50 am. Students wait outside until then. We also go outside every day for lunch recess! Please let your child's counselor know if you need help getting a coat/hat/mittens for your child. Our Thunderbird Closet has lots of gently used coats etc...
Message from the Principal

Happy Holidays to our entire Sacajawea Community.

Wow, it is amazing to think that 1st Quarter Grades have already been posted and we are past November and on to December. Did you know that 84% of our students are passing all 6 classes right now? Our amazing Parent Teacher Group handed out 421 donuts last month as recognition for the hard work and dedication our Honor Roll students are exhibiting. 421 students, despite all that has happened in the last couple of years, have achieved a GPA of 3.5 or better. We are so proud of all our students because this is just one indicator of the resiliency and strength of our Sac kids.

November and December are exciting months at Sacajawea. They are filled with activities and opportunity for our young people to showcase their talents. Our volleyball players are learning the value of teamwork, participation, and competition.  Our musicians, despite the challenges, are working hard learning new music and performing in a variety of formats. This week we will have 2 performances you are invited to attend.
7th grade Band and Orchestra performs on Tuesday 12/7 at 7:00 pm and the 8th grade Band and Orchestra concert is on Wednesday 12/8 at 7:00 pm.
 
The month of November is all about “Gratitude” at Sacajawea. Our students are reading articles on gratitude, our staff is modeling and teaching lessons on the importance of giving back and saying thanks. You may have seen the recent news story on KREM outlining Mrs. Taylor’s class writing letters of thanks and sending gifts to “adopted” servicemen. Our students and staff are so thankful for the sacrifice our military make every day. 

Keeping with the theme of gratitude and thanks, you should have seen a few emails from me talking about our annual SAC Gives program. This program was spearheaded by our Parent Teacher Group. Staff and community members partner together to adopt students and families in need and provide a holiday season filled with joy. Because of your generosity we were able to provide gifts to all the Sac Families who were identified. Once again, it is all about gratitude, thanks and giving.

Thanks for partnering with our school. 

Thanks for allowing us to serve and teach such a wonderful student body. 

Thanks for helping Sacajawea continue to be the flagship middle school in Spokane and in our region. 

Thanks for your commitment and support. 

On behalf of our entire staff, I want to wish you and yours a joyful, restful winter break.

Tracey Leyde
Message from Our Counselors
Technology and Social Media at School
 There’s no doubt about it that technology can be a powerful tool used to enhance our lives BUT there’s also no doubt that here at school this same technology can be disruptive to the learning environment and a distraction for kids.

Our Cell Phone/ Tech. policy matches school board policy

  • Cell phones are not allowed during the school day. Exceptions – students are allowed to use their phones/electronics at lunch. Students are also allowed to use them if there is an emergency situation or the teacher expressly authorizes using the device for educational purposes.

  • Cell phones are to be turned off.

  • During class students are required to store them (powered off!!) in the cell phone holders OR they can choose to leave it in their backpack OR turn them into the office for the day.  

Cameras are to be disabled during school hours. Videotaping/taking pictures is not allowed at school. WE are hearing of accounts (created by students) using the SAC name/ logo with pictures of students and we are investigating. Posting pictures of students intended to embarrass, bully, harass or without permission is illegal. Please talk to your child about this. 
We want what you want - for your child to be successful and ready for high school. With every opportunity available…no doors closed.

TIPS FOR STUDENTS
NOTHING IS PRIVATE
  • Think about what you type or send. REMEMBER – anything you put on the internet is out there for good!! We’ve seen “pictures of regret” still circulating 3 and 4 years later.
Tips For Students continued....
BE SMART
  • Your online behavior is your responsibility. Don’t harass or bully. Don’t respond to online fights. If someone is bullying you electronically, tell your parent. Online harassment and bullying is illegal. In most cases it takes minutes for law enforcement to find addresses and names. No-one is anonymous
WHEN TO TELL
  • If you encounter something online that makes you uncomfortable.
  • If something you see online seems “too good to be true,” it probably is. Ex. offers of free stuff.

TIPS FOR PARENTS
TEACH
  • Create a written Internet safety plan. Set rules for Internet/ email use. Include specific strategies for scenarios. 
  • Draft a list together of what not to share, like name, age, school, address, photos.
  • Talk frequently to your teen. Discuss their online friends just as you would their other friends

MONITOR, MONITOR and then MONITOR some more!!!!
  • Review social media accounts often, text messages – frequency and time of day, email accounts. The data related to teen mental health AND the effects we are seeing in the school house are concerning. Consider blocking access or removing altogether.
  • Keep the computer in a common area of the house and require that it be charged there at night, rather than the bedroom. 
  • Ask your teen to tell you about any uncomfortable online experience, with assurances that you will not be angry.
  • Consider filtering or monitoring software. While they can help you control your teen’s online use, these devices are no substitute for parental involvement and supervision. There are great parental controls offered by almost every cell provider.
IMPORTANT - Upcoming....
District-created Microsoft Teams will be "archived" during winter break.

What does this mean for you?
If a team is archived it means you will not have access to the TEAM or any work you may have planned on doing over the break. It also means that you can not turn in assignments through TEAMS. One Note is accessible but in a "read only" format (printable not editable). Teachers are able to unarchive (open up) their class teams but are responsible for actively monitoring the team and therefore actively working over their winter break. Some will choose to do this and some will not.

We want to publicly say that we respect both decisions and hope that you will too.

If you had planned on doing school work over break, please don’t panic.
There is a solution!! Download any work you had planned on doing over break before the end of school on Friday. You can turn it in when we return on January 4th.
 
Your teachers should be announcing whether or not they plan to unarchive their class teams over break. If they do, you will have access to any work through Teams. If they do not, you will want to download your work to your computer prior to school ending on Friday.
7th and 8th grade Basketball registration will be opening at the end of next week in FamilyID for both boys and girls. 

7th grade season: January 3 - February 10
8th grade season: February 14- March 30

Basketball is a high-impact sport and will require two weekly covid tests for all unvaccinated athletes in order to participate. The testing will be conducted at school. 

All athletes will need a current physical (within the last two years) to participate
LOST & FOUND
Our Lost and Found is overflowing!! We have over a dozen water bottles, shirts, jackets, hoodies, hats, lunch boxes and more. The items shown in the above picture will be given away to charity if not claimed by December 16th. If your child is missing something please have them look through our Lost and Found collection located outside the Business Office. Remember these items will be gone when students return from winter break. You can help us by putting your student's names on items they regularly bring to school so we can get lost items back to the rightful owners.
News/Info
Work continues on our backfield as weather allows and then we will see a pause until about February. Our ALSC Architects will soon be scheduling follow-up meetings to discuss the interior design of the building, likely before the end of January.
PBIS REWARDS

Congratulations to our
Sac Way/PBIS
drawing winners!

Our October winners are Ari Parent, who was nominated by Mr. Farley and Emma Thomas who was nominated by Mrs. Droter; our November winners are Brayden Stolz, who was nominated by Mr. Foley and Elaina Queral who was nominated by Ms. Eastham, won a prize of their choice from our PBIS Catalog. 

Students can turn in Sac Cards that they earn from staff members for our monthly drawings in the student office, or save up tickets to “buy” other prizes in the Business Office. To find out more about how you or your business can support our Sac Way/PBIS program, please contact Laura Treece at 509-354-5444 or LauraT@SpokaneSchools.org.
BITE 2 GO....

If you need food over the weekend, then you should sign up for Bite2Go! Bite2Go is 100% free and completely anonymous.

Once you sign up you will receive a bag of food once a week.

How to Order Bite2Go: 

  1. Click on this link BITE2GO. This will take you to the Bite2Go order form.
  2. Fill out the order form.
  3. Input your student ID and the date. Under teacher/staff person put Mr. Allen.
  4. Pick items from the Bite2Go menu, you will get these items every week, but you can change them at any time to add variety to your bag.
  5. Once the order form is filled out and submitted you will receive a pass letting you know where to pick up your Bite2Go bag on Thursdays after 3rd period or Fridays at any time (starting Oct.15).
  6. If you have any questions email­­­ veronicas@spokaneschools.org
ATTENDANCE PLEA FOR HELP!!


24 HOUR ATTENDANCE LINE
509-354-5515

Please call anytime your student will not be attending class. It is important that you notify the office when your student will be
absent - don't just tell the teacher.

WHEN YOUR STUDENT HAS AN APPOINTMENT
To avoid missing precious learning time, please do your best to schedule appointments outside of school hours. If this is not possible please call the day before or send in a note so we can plan ahead with a dismissal pass to avoid disrupting the classroom. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Digital Library Cards: The Spokane Public Library is introducing Digital Access Library Cards for all middle and high school students. These specialized library cards give students online access to most of the library's digital learning resources that are ideal for research. How to access: go to www.spokaneschools.org/students. Click the ‘Clever’ button and log in like normal. Click the Spokane Public Library icon, where you’ll see your library card number and pin displayed at the top of the page.
CLASSROOM NEWS
Over 450 of our Sac Thunderbirds achieved “Gold Status” or higher on our Sacajawea “Middle School Matters” points system for Quarter 1. This point system rewards students for a variety of things such as good attendance, positive behavior, GPA above a 2.5, completing activities in Home Base, having no missing assignments in their classes, staying organized by using their planner, completing the Summer Reading Challenge, furthering their literacy skills through reading, and more! Students who earn points in our “Gold” range each quarter can apply for “Platinum status” at the end of the year to earn a fun reward activity in June (possibly a field trip if COVID restrictions allow). Students who earned “Gold Status” first quarter will receive a small congratulatory prize in Home Base as well as have their names entered into a drawing for other prizes. The 450+ students who earned this status in their first quarter of this year are just another example of how amazing our Sac Thunderbirds are!!
Interested in exploring the Art Of France and Spain this summer? Contact Mrs. Pavey or check out the link www.explorica.com/Pavey-1896 for detailed information.

This summer, you will travel with an experienced company, Mrs. Pavey the art teacher here, and several students your age. Adults are invited too, to travel through Paris, the Basque Country, Madrid, and Barcelona. We will visit the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, Montmartre, Giverny, Picasso Museum, San Sebastian, Guggenheim Museum, and much, much more.  

Check it out! See Mrs. Pavey in room 121 for more information or contact her at zigp@spokaneschools.org today! Discounts are available up until Dec.30. The trip is June 30-July 11, 2022. Join us!
We have some voracious readers at Sacajawea and want to WELCOME our newest members of the Millionaires Club. To join this elite club students must read at least 1 million words.

SACAJAWEA LIBRARY CONGRATULATES

......Katherine Eddy - 3,126,508
.................................................Glory Eddy - 2,299,347
...............................................Grace Cockley - 1,293,646
.................................................Lincoln Pool - 1,241,440
...............................................Colt Anderson - 1,123,778
................................................Keala Quisano - 1,039,642
............................................Josiah Dougherty - 1,016,477
GOOD NEWS/ CELEBRATIONS
Sacajawea student Maeve Cronen was recently recognized by KXLY news as part of their American Strong series. At the age of 8 years old, Maeve Cronen’s outlook on life changed when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

According to Maeve “That really made me put myself in people’s shoes that are sick, especially kids because they should just be kids”

Now Maeve is working to make a difference in the world. She’s giving back and helping families in the hospital by delivering toys purchased with donations she collected. Sacred Heart’s Pediatric Oncology unit reaped the benefits of Maeve’s fundraiser that brought in $2,600.

“My fundraiser is to help them have happiness and hope and just to ease the pain of this experience by giving them gifts and toys to get their mind off of it,” Maeve said.

Maeve says all the presents make it sort of feel like Christmas morning. Presenting the gifts to kids who need them shows that even the young can be a light in a sometimes dark world. Maeve is already working to purchase more gifts and donate them to the hospital.

The above summary is from the KXLY story on Maeve. To see the complete story on KXLY's website click here and if you’d like to make a donation to Maeve's fundraiser click here.
Congratulations to Kellen Jones-Ross. Kellen was awarded a special “Sac Way” prize this month after a parent of a fellow student wrote that Kellen took the time to help a fellow student cross the street safely after their bus stopped at a slightly different location. This parent said that Kellen was a “hero” to her and her son that day. Way to go Kellen!

Congratulations: Share your good news with us! We love to feature the incredible things our students are doing inside and outside of school. If you have good news to share, please send it to Tracey Leyde (traceyl@spokaneschools.org) to be included in the SacNYCU
PTG CORNER
DECEMBER PTG UPDATE 
 
BIG THANK YOUS are in order:

  • To everyone who participated in Sac Gives to brighten the holidays for families in our own Sacajawea community!

  • For needed donations to the Sac Closet!

  • To parents who volunteered to help with the first quarter Honor Roll celebrations!

  • To parents who volunteered for the Fund Run Collection Days!

Join us for our next meeting (via Zoom) on January 19th for an update from Principal Leyde and to learn about our upcoming effort to provide TEACHER GRANTS!
 
If you haven't already provided the PTG with your contact information, please email us at sacptg@yahoo.com and let us know your name, best email contact, and name/grade of your SAC student for the 2021-22 school year.

Visit the Sacajawea PTG webpage (https://www.spokaneschools.org/domain/1556)
 to view past meeting notes and/or make a donation.
Community Partners
About our Community Partner's Program..... We would appreciate you partnering with us in supporting the PBIS program at Sacajawea. There are 2 ways to participate and help the Sacajawea community.
  1. We ask that businesses pick one month of the school year to sponsor our PBIS program, with a suggested donation of $75.  When your business sponsors a month of PBIS, it will be recognized in Sacajawea “News You Can Use” email with a link to your businesses’ website. This email gives your business exposure to the families of the 800+ students enrolled at Sacajawea. We will also advertise your business for the entire month on our brand new Sacajawea Middle School electronic reader board, located on Grand Blvd. at 32nd Ave.
  2. Other businesses provide us with rewards and tangible goods for students and staff.

If you are a business owner and would like to partner with us by contributing to our Sacajawea family with donations of time or resources please email Laura Treece at laurat@spokaneschools.org