December 17, 2021
Upcoming Events
DECEMBER
  • Fri. 12/17 - 1hr Early Dismissal (1:25pm)
  • Mon. 12/20 - Fri. 12/31 - No School, Winter Break
  • Fri. 12/31 - End of Annual Appeal -- your donations are appreciated! DONATE HERE

JANUARY
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From Thornton Creek Parent Group
From the Fundraising Committee
If your student has come home talking about the power of play, the topography of Washington State or interesting facts about the human body, they could be sharing fun facts from their expeditionary learning project this year – I’m not sure about you, but I always learn alongside my student to discover something new. (Did you know that Beavers have two sets of eyelids – one they use underwater!? Thank you to the 2019 third grade band, now I know this great trivia question!) There are many things that make Thornton Creek an awesome place to learn and grow, and expeditionary learning is high on the list.

We as a group of families and friends do a lot to make TC a special community. Right now, fundraising is an important part of that landscape. The money we raise feeds directly back into the school, supporting our classrooms, teachers and students. In the 21-22 budget we support things like classroom supplies, classroom assistants, library and art materials. While in a perfect world, we would not need to ‘fill in’ the funding gaps – we just aren’t there – and we’re grateful to this community for stepping up where they can, in so many ways. As we near the end of the year, if you haven’t yet done so yet, we hope you will join our Annual Appeal with your gift today. And if you have -- thank you. You can donate directly to the AA here. Donations are accepted throughout the year.

Kathleen Pham
TC Parent Group Fundraising Committee
Why do you give to Thornton Creek Parent Group?
"I give to support my kids in learning and growing in a school that means so much to them and because it is a way to directly support the needs of my community. I strongly believe in the importance of public schools, and this is one way I can help to support the public school system." --Jana Dilley, Mom to 1st and 4th graders at TC 
From Thornton Creek Site Council
Hello TC families and friends, 

Thanks to everyone who came to December’s Site Council meeting on Tuesday. It was a great opportunity to hear updates from Principal Kischner and our committee chairs, and start some pretty major conversations that I hope to engage the community in come early 2022—around events/traditions and what they look like through the end of the year and beyond; around what shared governance means in the context of our school and district; and around what a single unified parent group could look like. This last part we didn’t get to in the meeting, but is, I think, incredibly important as we look to create a sustainable, welcoming, equitable environment for families here. We also have budget conversations happening, so that we can get parent input on the best ways to spend our TCPG funds. Do you want to be involved in these conversations? Are you going to feel left out if decisions get made without your input? Your voice matters. Please, email me at chair@thorntoncreek.org, and keep an eye on this space for additional, dedicated meeting details to come in January. 

Communication has been a huge hurdle due to Covid and myriad other reasons. But I’m going into 2022 feeling so hopeful that our future—most importantly our kids’ future—at TC is going to be very bright. 

Wishing you all a healthy, happy, relaxing couple weeks together with your family. Happy New Year! 

In partnership and community, 

Chelsea Lin (she/her)
Chair of TCPG and Site Council 
From the Health and Safety Committee
Health & Safety Info and Reminders for the School Community

Emergency Preparedness Container
With the help of volunteers, the Safety Team has made huge progress on clearing out the shipping container! We have moved the emergency supplies to a storage closet and SPS will be removing the blue shipping container from the playground over Winter break! Be on the lookout for a giveaway of extra supplies in the coming weeks. We also have extra lumber from disassembling the shelves that were in the container. If you are interested in lumber (which is a hot commodity right now!), please email us below.
BEFORE
AFTER
‌
Holiday Travel
This is a friendly reminder to the community about quarantine guidelines for kids who plan to travel over the winter break and are not fully vaccinated. Children who have received two doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks afterwards.
Here are the current guidelines from the CDC:
  • Regardless of vaccination status, everyone who travels should wear a mask and monitor for symptoms for 14 days
  • Unvaccinated travelers should get tested 1-3 days before travel and get tested 3-5 days after travel AND self-quarantine for 7 days. Even if you test negative, stay home and self-quarantine for the full 7 days. If you don’t get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days after travel.
  • People should NOT travel if: exposed to COVID-19, are sick, test positive for COVID-19, or are waiting for results of a COVID-19 test
  • People should NOT travel with someone who is sick

Follow these links for Domestic Travel and International Travel.
Vaccine Info
Covid vaccines and boosters are available but are in high demand! There are a variety of options to receive the vaccine from your regular doctor’s office or clinic; local pharmacies and community clinics. To find a site near you, use the Washington State’s Vaccine Locator. You can also visit vaccines.gov to find out how you can schedule COVID vaccines/boosters, as well as the flu shot.

Seattle Public School Links
Safety during the 2021-2022 school year

Seattle and King County Public Health Community Links
King County COVID-19 Dashboard
King County COVID-19 outcomes by vaccination status
King County Schools COVID-19 Response Toolkit
King County COVID-19 free testing locations link

Here’s to a Happy and Healthy Holiday and Winter Break!

Erica Seddig and Courtney Bell
Safety and Health Committee Co-Chairs
Questions? Concerns?
Thank You TC Staff

Thank you to administrators, teaching staff and non-teaching staff for all the intensive work you do to make sure the school is a safe, comfortable and inclusive learning space, where kids can find and exercise their strengths. You are appreciated! We hope you enjoy this well deserved break!
Thank You TC Families

Thank you for your patience and encouragement! In times like these, we really need each other, and every little thing we do for each other, and for the school, counts big! Let's enjoy these holidays one day at a time, and enjoy every moment.
We have a tradition at our school of saying "thank you." If you would like to submit a thank-you note, send an email to submit-news@thorntoncreek.org. Thank you!
From the Community
Transgender Awareness Resources
Transgender Awareness week and Transgender day of remembrance just passed us in November. In recognition of this, Bridget Osborn wanted to highlight two websites with great information and support to parents that are new to navigating their child's gender journey.
Quick Links and Information
Thornton Creek Is a Box Tops for Education School. Look for new BLUE Box Top coupons on products (e.g. Cascadian Farm cereal), and then just scan your receipt. Get the app at BTFE.com.
Our Office Depot School ID# is: 70107343. Purchases of school and office supplies at Office Depot will return a 5% credit to Thornton Creek. www.officedepot.com/a/content/back-to-school/5percent/
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Site Council Officers:
Chelsea Lin, Chair
(unfilled), Vice-Chair
Roddy Theobald, Treasurer
Jessica Prince, Secretary




Text THORNTONCREEK to 22828

Tel.: 206-252-5300
Fax: 206-252-5301

Principal: Gerrit Kischner
Asst. Principal: Laurie Miller

Bell Times:
Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri
7:55am to 2:25pm

Wednesday
7:55am to 1:10pm

Attendance
Call 206-252-5304, or e-mail the office.