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“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” – Maya Angelou

FALL-ing in Love with Thornton Creek!

Dear TC Families,

Fall is now in full swing and I wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation to all of our parents and caregivers. These times are presenting many challenges for our world, our communities, and our families. I truly hope you are finding ways to take care of yourselves.

September and October at Thornton Creek have brought the return of many meaningful learning opportunities and gatherings: parent volunteers in the classroom, field work, assemblies at school, and in-person school events like Curriculum Night and the year's first Community Meeting.

What makes these events so important to our school? You! Specifically, the community you weave by showing up, by coming together to connect and enjoy each other's company. Giving your time and energy ensures that TC is a welcoming school where every student can succeed and feel seen. Thank you to everyone who has shown love to our school by helping and sharing your strengths with our community. Speaking of loving on our school, I am including the short film we made last year for those who haven't yet seen it. It brings me joy to celebrate the many intentional and special things about TC.

We have really fun school events coming up including the Monster Mash TC All-Family Dance Party, Landscaping Work Party, and Harvest Fair. Please volunteer if you can or just come to have fun. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

A change this year is around TC Community Meetings. Principal Kischner will host these gatherings quarterly. There will no longer be monthly parent group meetings. Thornton Creek Parent Group will continue to host budget related meetings in the Spring and the Annual Meeting in June. In the meantime, please read this newsletter for updates on school volunteer opportunities and community events. We welcome your input.

Later this month, TCPG will launch our Annual Appeal fundraiser. Thank you in advance for your attention to the information we will share and the collective work we will do to support all TC students to thrive.

If at any time the TCPG Board or I can support you as a parent/caregiver at our school, or if you have questions, please reach out.

In Community,

Erin MacDougall (she/her)

Thornton Creek Parent Group Chair 2022-present

chair@thorntoncreekparentgroup.org

Volunteer and Event Opportunities

Hospitality Chair - Thornton Creek Parent Group Board Position

Do you like planning and implementing events to welcome and appreciate folks? This board position may be for you! To learn more, please connect with Erin chair@thorntoncreekparentgroup.org

Friday, October 20

Picture Retake Day sign up here.

Saturday, October 21

Landscaping Work Party 9am - 12pm - sign up here.

Friday, October 27

Monster Mash TC All-Family Dance Party 6 - 8pm - sign up here.

Tuesday, October 31

Harvest Festival 12 - 2:25 pm - sign up here.

To keep up to date with school wide volunteer opportunities, sign up for the TCPG newsletter here. To volunteer in a classroom, please connect directly with the teacher.

SPS Volunteer Approval Process

If you are new to the school and/or have not applied to be a volunteer please complete the SPS online application. Applications generally take up to two weeks to process, and are good for two years from the acceptance date. (Pro Tip: Choose "Category A" volunteer.)

TCPG Bylaws Revisions

With the district’s establishment of Building Leadership Teams (BLTs) as the governing structure at all SPS schools, the relationship of the Thornton Creek Parent Group (TCPG) to our school has by necessity shifted, and we think for the better! Where we previously had a co-governance structure with school staff through the Site Council, TCPG now operates more like a typical nonprofit parent group organization supporting a school. This change meant that our bylaws needed to be updated. We received the professional services of a nonprofit consultant to review our bylaws and bring them into compliance with WA state law and nonprofit governance best practices. The TCPG Board approved these revised bylaws in August. If interested, see new bylaws here.. A description of the changes made can be found here. Please let us know if you have input or questions by contacting Jessica at vicechair@thorntoncreekparentgroup.org.

Short Film: Highlighting Expeditionary Learning at Thornton Creek

Please join us! Your participation in our community matters!

This newsletter is from the Thornton Creek Parent Group and does not represent Seattle Public Schools or Thornton Creek Elementary