SPRING BREAK - APRIL 1ST - 5TH NO SCHOOL

APR ..8 - LATE START @ 10:00 a.m.

xxxxx x- 6th Grade Intramurals - Field Sports & Basketball

APR ..9 - 7/8 Track & Field and Baseball Begin

APR ..10 - 6th Grade Intramurals - Field Sports & Basketball

APR ..12 - END OF THIRD QUARTER

APR ..15 - LATE START @ 10:00 a.m.

xxxxxxx- 6th Grade Intramurals - Field Sports & Basketball

APR ..16 - 6/7/8 Unified Badminton Begins

APR ..17 - PTG Meeting @ 12:00

xxxxxxx- 6th Grade Intramurals - Field Sports & Basketball

APR ..18 - 6/7/8 Unified Badminton

xxxxxxx- Quarter 3 Grades Finalized in Power School

APR ..22 - LATE START @ 10:00 a.m.

xxxxxxx - 6th Grade Intramurals - Field Sports & Basketball

xxxxxxx- Screenagers 3 Movie at 5:30 p.m. @ Sac

APR ..23 - 6/7/8 Unified Badminton

APR ..24 - 6th Grade Intramurals - Field Sports & Basketball

xxxxxxx- Varsity Baseball vs Chase @ Sac / JV Baseball @ Chase

APR ..25 - 6/7/8 Unified Badminton

xxxxxxx- Track Meet @ 4:15 p.m. - Sac, Glover, Salk @ North Central

APR ..29 - LATE START @ 10:00 a.m.

xxxxxxx- 6th Grade Intramurals - Field Sports & Basketball

xxxxxxx- Varsity Baseball vs Flett @ Sac / JV Baseball @ Flett

APR ..30 - 8th Grade Honor Roll Celebration

xxxxxxx- 6/7/8 Unified Badminton

MAY ..21 - 7th Grade Honor Roll Celebration

xxxxxxxx- 6th Grade Intramurals - Field Sports & Basketball

xxxxxxx - Varsity Baseball @ Peperzak / JV Baseball vs Peperzak @ Sac

MAY ..22 - 6th Grade Honor Roll Celebration

xxxxxxx - 7th Grade Expo "74 Field Trip: 9:20 a.m. - 12 p.m.

xxxxxxx - 6/7/8 Unified Badminton

xxxxxxx- Track Meet @ 4:15 p.m.- Sac, Flett, Yasuhara @ Hart Field

Dear Thunderbirds,

Spring is in the air and our students have been working so hard. The last few weeks we have been MAP testing. What a celebration of GROWTH!!! I am proud to say that Sacajawea Middle School is far above the national norms in all 3 of the areas tested - Reading, Math and Science. Additionally, this year we have over 700 students involved in athletics, activities, clubs, organizations, ASB, and more.  A predictor of high performing schools is a high percentage of student involvement.  

I am most proud though, that our school is much more than a high performing academic institution. We are a school that promotes giving and being a part of our community. Our students recently completed a Guild School Penny drive to raise money to support students with developmental and physical disabilities. Our current student body raised nearly $2,000. We have participated in this event for 22 years competing against Chase Middle School to support an incredible community resource!!

On another note, I wanted to take a moment to remind families of an opportunity to support your children and their academic mind set. Several years ago, our school committed to adding minutes into the school day to support students with study skills, homework completion, social emotional learning, and more. The Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning recognizes different competencies which include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.  At Sacajawea we have SAT (Student Academic Time), embedded in the school day to support our students, your children.

Two days a week, our bell schedule prioritizes students’ ability to access core content and elective teachers to get support with homework and academic misunderstanding. Additionally, students begin practicing academic habits such as taking college-ready notes, organizing an academic binder, and filling out the student planner they received that the beginning of the school year. Teachers model and monitor these growth mindset skills and teach lessons on positive behavior and citizenship.  Students also complete monthly planner and binder checks to monitor their own progress.

Our Student Access Time is from 9:00-9:23 Tuesday through Friday and the schedule is as follows:

• Monday - Late Start No HB
• Tuesday: HB Activities and Lessons
• Wednesday: HB Activities and Lessons
• Thursday: Student Access Time
• Friday: Student Access Time
• 

How can you help? As a parent/guardian, a good way to support Student Access Time and build the capacity of your children as they become excellent and organized learners is to check their student planners often. If your student is not filling out their planner, have conversations as to why. Please check PowerSchool often with your children and encourage your children to access SAT if you see a concern in PowerSchool. Feel free to reach out to a counselor or teacher and REQUIRE attendance during SAT. 

Tracey Leyde

Happy Spring Sac Families!



It is getting to that time of year where many of your kiddos are requiring certain immunizations for school. While I know many of you plan to go through your child's primary physician, we are fortunate to have an upcoming vaccine clinic available as an alternative option. Please see the information below for clinic information. Additional clinic offerings can be found at Spokane Regional Health District.  Walk-ins are welcome! 

If you are unsure if your child requires any vaccines, please feel free to reach out to nursing staff for verification either at heatherd@spokaneschools.org or through the Sac office. 6^th graders especially, we do require a Tdap vaccine before starting 7^th grade.  

If you would rather not have your child receive immunizations, please reach out to the above email and we would be happy to discuss alternative options with you.  



Thank you all so much for your ongoing support in keeping our kids happy and healthy!"

NEWS & INFORMATION

FROM THE OFFICE



REMINDERS:

IF your student will be absent or late, for any reason, please call our 24hr Attendance Hotline at 509-354-5515 by 9:00 a.m. Leave us a message with your student’s name, clearly spelling out their last name, how long your student will be out, and the reason for their absence.

If your student has an appointment-please call the day before or send in a note so we can plan ahead with a dismissal pass to avoid disrupting the classroom. Students who have a pre-authorized pass will be released from class to meet you outside at the time you indicate. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

The earlier you can notify when your student will be absent or needs an early dismissal, the less disruptive it is for teachers and students.

PLEASE UPDATE INFORMATION

With more and more information being communicated via email and phone calls, please be sure to contact the Sacajawea Office (509-354-5500) and update your information!

ATHLETICS & EXTRACURRICULAR

We are happy to have a robust array of extracurricular opportunities for all students at all three grade levels. Studies show that students who regularly participate in extracurricular activities surpass their peers in academic performance and learn valuable skills such as time management, setting goals, teamwork, and contribution/connection to community. We hope that each one of our Thunderbirds finds something of interest to participate in. This list showcases all of our current Athletic and Club offerings this year. New additions/edits since this was last communicated to students and families are highlighted in yellow. A few current highlights:

• Spring Athletics Season begins April 9^th (right after Spring Break). 

• 7^th and 8^th Grade boys and girls Track & Field: Sign up on Final Forms. Students must have a current physical to participate.

•  7^th and 8^th grade Baseball: Sign up on Final Forms. Students must have a current physical to participate.



•   6th, 7th & 8th grade Unified Badminton begins the week of April 15^th and will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays for 6 weeks. All 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders can participate. Sign up on Final Forms. 

•   Builder’s Club will begin meeting on April 11^th and will meet Thursdays for 8 weeks.   This club meets with Mrs. Taylor in the shop. Birdhouses are one of the items on the docket to build. Sign up on Final Forms. 

•   Spirit Club is currently on a pause but will begin meeting again in late April for a few Home Track Meets and Baseball games as well as attending a few Unified Badminton events.  A full schedule will be communicated soon. This club provides a place for students to gather from the time school gets out to the time the games begin and then the club attends the game together to cheer on their peers. This club meets on the dates of every home game/meet/event.

• Sac Alliance and Photography clubs began in March and have been meeting regularly. The Sac Alliance meets Wednesdays and Photography is Mondays and Wednesdays. Clubs run 3:30-4:30pm



• Ongoing clubs including Cooking Club (full), Writing Society, Strategy Game Club, Homework Clubs, and Drill Team are still meeting regularly.

ALL CLUBS have busses available for regular Zum Riders and sign up is available for clubs with open spots on Final Forms.

PBIS REWARDS

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

To our FEBRUARY Sac

Way/PBIS drawing winners!

6^th Grade

• Arrow Johnson won a prize of his choice form the Amazon Catalog, ticket given by Mrs. Knipprath

• Doug Allen won a Sacajawea Beanie or Water Bottle and Candy, ticket given by Ms. Handelman

 7^th Grade

• Lydia Killian won a Sacajawea Beanie or Water Bottle and Candy, ticket given by Mr. Rise

 8^th Grade

• Terrance Bland won a prize of her choice from the Amazon Catalog, ticket given by Mrs. Malone

• Marcus Miller won a Sacajawea Beanie or Water Bottle and Candy, ticket given by Mr. Kuehn

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.

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

If you haven't already done so, please sign up here to receive PTG-specific news: https://forms.gle/ta2wsJmJKyj398aC9. It is a different email system than those sent from the school, and it will only take a couple of minutes to provide your information. Thank you!

The flower basket sale has begun! Baskets will be delivered before Mother's Day and make great gifts! Baskets and pots range from $40-$45. Reach out to Megan Jackson to order at 253.224.7798 or meganbjackson@gmail.com. Money can be dropped off in the office, but hurry, we are limited to 125 baskets! 🌷

Our Ferrante's fundraiser brought in $550. Thank you to everyone who ordered or purchased from their gift section that day; they are a wonderful community partner and we look forward to working with them again next year! 🍕

Teacher appreciation week is coming up (May 6-10), along with third quarter honor roll donuts (May 1-3). Be on the lookout for volunteer requests for both events. 

There are shadowing opportunities available for the PTG Exec board next year. This is a great opportunity to understand what each position entails, and to know if you'd like to take it over for the 25-26 school year. Positions include President, Treasurer and Secretary. Reach out with interest or questions. 

Our next PTG meeting is Wednesday, April 17 @ 12:00 PM. Please join us either in-person in room 107, or virtually via Teams. The link can be found on our website at www.sacthunderbirds.com under the About tab and then click on Parent Group. We understand that noon on a weekday is a hard time for many, so be sure to sign up to receive emails to stay in the know about PTG happenings!

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 $100.  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 an entire month on our brand new Sacajawea Middle School electronic reader board.
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

Spokane Public Schools complies with all federal and state rules and regulations and does not discriminate in the admission, treatment, employment, or access to its programs or activities on the basis of age, sex, marital status, race, color, creed, national origin, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, sexual orientation including gender expression or gender identity, or honorably discharged veteran or military status. This holds true for all students who are interested in participating in educational programs and/or extracurricular school activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Inquiries regarding compliance and/or grievance procedures may be directed to the school district's Title IX/Staff Civil Rights Officer, ADA Officer, Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying (HIB)/Student Civil Rights Officer and/or 504 Compliance Officer. Officers: *Title IX/Staff Civil Rights Officer, Jodi Harmon, (509) 354-7344 *Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying (HIB)/Student Civil Rights Officer, Jodi Harmon, (509) 354-7344 *504 Compliance Officer, Jodi Harmon, (509) 354-7344 * ADA Officer, Stephanie Busch, (509) 354-5993 * Affirmative Action Officer, Nancy Lopez-Williams, (509) 354-5651 * Equal Opportunity Officer, Nancy Lopez-Williams, (509) 354-5651 *200 N. Bernard Street, Spokane, WA 99201-0206 View EEO Information

STAY CONNECTED

Sacajawea Middle School | 509-354-5500 | FAX -509-354-5300 | traceyl@spokaneschools.org| www.sacthunderbirds.com