8/14/14
Dear Island Park Families,
Welcome back to school!
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer. I also hope you are recharged and ready to start a new school year. I am so delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community. I welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education, and I look forward to working with you and your children.
All signs point to another incredible and productive school year. Our skilled and devoted staff is already planning and preparing for your child(ren). Our enthusiastic office team is registering new families, ordering needed materials and updating student files. Our hard working and conscientious custodians have spent the entire summer thoroughly cleaning the facility. And, our much-appreciated PTA is gearing up to welcome families, provide volunteer opportunities, and offer other exciting events and programs. We are indeed a joyful and caring community with the common goals of nurturing responsible, caring students and promoting high-level learning.
Student Placement
A great deal of time, effort and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2014-2015 school year.
Careful consideration was given to input from staff and families as well as student learning styles. Classrooms have been balanced academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level. Moving students is difficult without causing imbalances and inequities.
Thank you so much for being positive with your child and helping him or her understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. ALL of our staff works hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. Island Park is eagerly looking forward to enriching your child’s life. Thank you for understanding that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group and teacher.
Family access to Skyward will open at 5:00 PM on August 27th. You will be able to view your child’s teacher’s name at that time.
New Staff
Each year brings positive change. This includes additions to our staff.
As was shared last spring, Kerry Sundholm will be teaching our half day kindergarten. In previous years, Kerry has taught overload music, movement and P.E. at Island Park. She is a skilled instructor whose kindness, creativity and collaborative spirit will enrich her students’ lives and be an asset to an already stellar kindergarten team.
Our new fifth grade teacher, Eileen Brecha, comes to us via the Los Angeles area, although she is a native Washingtonian. She loves teaching fifth graders. Her dedication to children and strong instructional skills will delight and inspire all those with whom she works.
Two of our staff were granted one year leaves over the summer, second grade teacher, Nancy Johnstone and fourth grade instructor, Heather Sadler. Accordingly, two wonderful additions to our staff will be joining us for the entire year. Ashley Bossie will be teaching second grade. Ashley is not new to Island Park. She taught second grade for a large portion of the 2013-14 year. Ashley arrives at school almost earlier than I do (and that’s early!) to start preparing for the day. That’s just one indication of her commitment to the success of her classroom. Welcome back, Ashley.
Our new fourth grade teacher is Jacqueline Ney. Jacqueline received her masters from Northwest University and completed her internship experience in a fourth grade classroom at Bellevue’s Enatai Elementary School. Using her own words, Jacqueline brings a great deal of “drive and passion” to her work. Welcome!
Also joining the staff this year are Jennifer Flaningham, overload P.E. teacher, and Kevina Beloit, overload music teacher. Jennifer brings 12 years of experience in the areas of P.E. and directing athletic programs. Kevina is excited to share her passion for music and theater. Welcome!
Our new school psychologist is Beth Remy. Beth is not new to the Mercer Island School District. She was the school psychologist at Lakeridge before embarking to Paris, where she has resided for a few years. Welcome back to the states and to our schools, Beth.
Stay tuned for additional staff changes. We are still in the process of hiring one additional second grade teacher (yes, we will have 5 second grade classrooms this year!), a few paraprofessionals and a new school nurse.
Facilities Reminders
Last summer, we repainted our parking lot area to better delineate parking, drop-off and student walking spaces and lanes. The diagonal stripes painted across the front sidewalk serve to remind to students to stay clear of the parking lot curb as cars pull up for drop off or pick up. Thank you for reminding your children to walk only portions of sidewalk that do not have stripes.
Last year’s district-wide safety and security review generated a recommendation that additional surveillance cameras be added to all of our schools to better monitor ingress and egress. Installation of interior and exterior cameras was completed last year enhancing our ability to record who is on our campus at all times.
Please remember that a big part of campus security is identifying all the people in our building. All adults need to wear an appropriate ID badge at all times. Visitors and volunteers are required to sign in and out on the books and wear a name tag or sticker, all of which can be found in the front office.
To accommodate space and program needs in the main building, last year an additional portable was installed. This year, all of our third and fourth grades will be in portables.
Thank you to all who are helping prepare for the new school year. Your commitment to insuring that Island Park remains a celebrated and successful school is awe-inspiring. I eagerly look forward to greeting students and families again. It remains an honor and privilege to serve as your principal. Please stop by and say hello. Together, I know we will make this school year one of growth and achievement for all children.
Warmest Regards,
David Hoffman
Principal
Island Park Elementary