Dear Tolt Families,

This has been another positive week at Tolt as we settle into this school year. Our students are developing deeper connections with each other and with our staff and digging deeper into what they are learning. Yesterday, I was impressed by how understanding our students were about selecting a new mascot and enjoyed hearing some of their ideas for our new mascot. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to work with such wonderful students.

Next Wednesday, September 29, we will participate in our district Tolt Dam Full Evacuation Drill. Please make sure your student wears walking shoes and clothes suitable for the weather conditions. More information below.

Tolt Middle School conferences are on Wednesday, October 6 and Thursday, October 7. This is a great opportunity to talk with your student’s teachers and hear about their progress in their classes. And of course, you can always check in Skyward Family Access to see their current grades. Below is information to sign up.

All our students will take Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA) in Math and Language Arts on October 13 and 14. All 6^th grade students will take the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) on October 19 and 20. Our students will take these exams this fall since our state postponed them last spring. Please mark your calendars to make sure your student is at school and ready to do their best on our testing days.

We appreciate your partnership and support as we go through this school year.

Warmly,

Amie Karkainen, Principal

Each year, the Riverview School District conducts a full-scale or partial-scale drill involving our Carnation-based schools, transportation, maintenance, and district office staff and administration.

The Tolt Evacuation Drill simulates the procedures in place to evacuate students and staff safely on an evacuation route in Carnation, if the Tolt Dam sends a failure alert.

This year, the drill takes place on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. More information will be shared ahead of the Tolt Evacuation Drill and to learn more about the Tolt Dam, click below:

We are looking forward to connecting with parents and guardians during our upcoming conferences. Just like last year, our conferences will be via phone and Microsoft Teams.

Signing up for conferences is optional for parents and guardians. Furthermore, you may choose to only sign up for conferences with some of your student’s teachers. Our staff is always willing to talk with parents and guardians if you ever think it would be helpful for your student(s).

Below are Microsoft Bookings links for you to use to sign up for conferences. There is a separate page for each grade. Here is also the link to a video about how to sign up for conferences using Microsoft Bookings.

Note that our students will not attend school on Thursday, October 7th as teachers will be in conferences. Since Friday, October 8th is also a non-school day, this means our students will have a four-day weekend.

Thank you for your continued support and efforts at home to help your student(s) to do their best this year.

Power Packs are meal/snack packs that are provided for students to take home with them on Fridays. Items such as whole grain cereals, fruit and vegetable juices, cheese and pepperoni sticks, oatmeal bars, complete pasta meals and other healthy options will be included. Power Packs are FREE and are available to ANY student who needs supplemental food on the weekends. Power Packs will be available each Friday starting September 24th. If you want to be on the list for Power Packs, please contact Cindy Stout at stoutc@rsd407.org or Joe Ayers at ayersjo@rsd407.org.

The 2021–2022 Reflections theme is I Will Change the World By…

Reflections is calling for entries! Students submit their completed works of art in one or all of the available arts categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, Visual Arts. 

Submit Artwork and Entry Form in 2 ways:

Option 1--In person to Mrs. Lagace in the Tolt art room

Option 2--Online using GoogleForm

Go to www.toltptsa.org/reflections/ for submission instructions, more information, and inspiration!

Have a question? Want to get involved with Reflections? Email: toltreflections@gmail.com

Season II sports registration opened Thursday, September 23rd and closes Thursday, October 21st. Girls Basketball (7th/8th), Wrestling Boys & Girls (6th/7th/8th). First day of practice begins Monday, October 25th. Please click here for Required Steps To Register.

Both are high contact sports, which per WIAA, requires weekly COVID testing. If the student athlete is fully vaccinated from COVID, they can be exempt from weekly testing if proof of vaccination is uploaded to their FinalForms documents. 

Pictures for all Season I sports (boys soccer, coed cross country, girls volleyball) will be during practice on Monday, October 11th. More details to come.

Please know that our staff wants to help students to stay caught up in their classes. The following is included in our Student Handbook:

Our TMS Curriculum Night website includes a Welcome Video and links to videos from our teachers sharing about their classes as well as their syllabi. Please take time to watch the videos and read the syllabi for each of your student’s classes. If you do not know who your student’s teachers are or their classes, you can check in Skyward Family Access. Our TMS Curriculum Night website will be live through Sunday, September 26.

Included in our Welcome Video are messages from administrators, counselors, support staff, and our PTSA President. To join our wonderful PTSA, visit: www.toltptsa.org and click on "Become a PTSA Member."

Parents who transport their students will enter campus from the back (using Blanche St), drop off and pick up students at the marked location, loop through the back parking lot, and exit campus back onto Blanche St.

Please DO NOT drop off or pick up students at the front of the school.

If you need to pick up your student(s) early from school please call our attendance office at 425-844-4606. Please allow enough time for the student to be retrieved from their classroom. You will not need to sign your student out. The student will meet the parent/guardian at the time/location indicated*

*if it is before 2:45PM you may pick-up in the front parking lot of the school (by the flag pole). If it is after 2:45PM, please pick-up at our regular Pick-up/Drop-off at the back of campus as shown on the map above.

FIRST Robotics at Tolt 

FIRST Robotics is a fun, team-based, competitive, robotics and STEM project program for students looking for more challenge, competition, and career preparedness. As a small group, students build a Lego robot and program it to score points in an obstacle course. Students also research a problem related to the year's theme and design a real life solution (not out of Lego). Working with a team and project management are emphasized throughout. Take a look at the schedule of the program to get more of an idea of what we do in FIRST. For more information about FIRST Robotics, visit https://www.firstlegoleague.org/. 

If you have decided to have your student return to campus, it is imperative you begin working on completing any annual health paperwork (Versión en español), medication authorization forms (Versión en español), Emergency/Individual Care Plans, and immunizations prior to our potential, March 15^th, welcome back date. You will need to have any necessary emergency medications or medications to be given at school ready as well. If these items are not completed in a timely fashion, your student’s ability to be on campus may not be possible until these items are completed. Check with Nurse Rachel by phone (425-844-4662) or email (tomczekr@rsd407.org) to see what forms or items you need to complete so your student is ready to return.

Email: tomczekr@rsd407.org