Sand Hill Elementary

On Wednesday, January 24th, Multilingual families gathered together in the gym of Sand Hill Elementary to learn more about the upcoming English Language Proficiency test, and community resources that are available to support our Sand Hill families. In addition, they enjoyed a delicious dinner provided by the North Mason Food Service Department and had the opportunity to connect with Admin and the ML team. A huge thank you to our ML teacher, Mrs. Nunez, Ms. Cherry, and Mrs. Babcock-Chin for all of their hard work and to those who participated in this fun event!

Hello Sand Hill Community! Thank you for sharing ideas through Possip again this week! We’ve heard from 130 of you during the course of the year and are seeing that 99% of you are happy or mostly happy with our school. This week we heard members of the school community share examples of praise, appreciation, and feedback or questions. Praise for staff speaking to children with such respect, kindness, and encouragement Gratitude for the interactive learning experiences brought in for students Questions about food for students in the cafeteria Feedback about drop off procedures and staffing We continue to take your feedback and ideas into consideration for our future planning and follow-up. We hope to hear from you again on our next Possip Pulse Check! Thanks again for sharing!

A big thank you to the Pacific Science Center and Ms. R.C. for providing students and families the opportunity to participate in engineering exhibits last week the were both fun and educational. This was a fantastic way to support the learning that is happening for all students both inside and out of the classroom.

Hello Sand Hill Community, Thank you for sharing ideas through Possip last week! We have heard from 125 of you during the course of the year and are seeing that 86% of you are happy or mostly happy with our school. Some of the feedback we received was a suggestion about cafeteria options and a comment about Sand Hill and Belfair's national rankings. We are taking all of your feedback and ideas into consideration for our future planning and follow-up. We hope to hear from you again on our next Possip Pulse Check on January 24th. Thanks again for sharing!

📌 SAVE THE DATE! Multilingual Family Night on Wednesday, January 24th from 6-7 pm.

On Thursday, we recognized 2 students from each classroom who were showing a consistent example of empathy in and around the building and who were focusing on their work and getting it done. Nice job being a leader at school and working hard to set a positive example! We also recognized all of the students who reached their attendance goal for the month of December. Students with 2 or less absences this month received a Golden PAWSitive ticket. Congratulations!

🎄The Superintendent substituted at Sand Hill during Spirit Week.🎄 A classic example of alliteration but not what Superintendent Rosenbach was teaching today in Ms. Dimmen's 2nd grade class. She worked with students on contractions, using games to learn words like 'you'll, I'll, we'll.' Table activities also required the use of Sand HIll's four pillars as students practiced taking turns and working as a team. Thank you, Sand Hill Elementary, for welcoming 'Substitute' Rosenbach on Crazy Hat Day!

During our PAWSitive Assembly on Friday, 12/9, we celebrated all of the students who had received a POD party certificate during the 1st trimester. These students were recognized as setting a positive example throughout our school building by their consistent efforts to show respect, responsibility, and gratitude among their peers. We were also lucky to have student leaders from 4th and 5th grade teach all of us some problem solving strategies related to resolving conflict at recess. We are so proud of their hard work and willingness to help out. Nice job!

Thank you to the Sand Hill PTSO for hosting the Winterfest Event on Friday, 12/8. This fun-filled night included a holiday shop, carnival games, arts and crafts, and so much more! We appreciate all the time and effort our volunteers put into making this event a huge success for our Sand Hill Community. Thank you for all of the hard work and the joy that you brought to our students during this holiday season!

On Thursday, we recognized 2 students from each classroom who were consistently showing examples of gratitude and continued excitement for what they are learning at school. Nice job being a leader within our building and working hard to set a positive example! We also recognized all of the students who reached their attendance goal for the month of November. Students with 2 or less unexcused absences this month received a Golden PAWSitive ticket. Congratulations!

Sand Hill Elementary students traveled through our solar system and beyond on Friday thanks to Pacific Science Center. Students in 1st, 4th and 5th grade got a close up look at constellations, gravity and planetary science when they stepped inside the portable planetarium for this interactive exhibit. Thank you, Pacific Science Center, for giving our students an "out of this world" experience!

Register by midnight! Need assistance during the holiday season? This amazing North Mason Lions Club initiative helps families by providing gifts for children/teens. To register, or to help fulfill donations, please visit https://northmasonlions.org/giving-tree.

We are celebrating National Principals Month with an inside look at our schools' leadership. Our principals are answering the question, "What makes you proud to be a principal for NMSD?" This week we hear from Jason Swaser. "I’m a proud principal of Sand Hill Elementary in Belfair WA. I love being a principal because I get to positively interact and teach the youth in our community."

Have you filled out your Impact Aid forms? Impact Aid is a federal grant program designed to assist school districts who have experienced increased expenditures due to the enrollment of federally connected children. The program supports districts with concentrations of children whose parents work on military bases and other federal properties, and Indian lands. Filling out this survey gives us the information we need to verify our qualifications to participate in this program. Even if you do not work on federal property, we still need you to fill out the form. The Impact Aid forms are now available online through Skyward Family Access and ParentSquare. If you have not signed up yet, please follow the link below. Once signed up you can complete the very short survey for each one of your children enrolled in North Mason. Links available here: https://www.nmsd.wednet.edu/article/1290685 Thank you for taking the time to complete this very short survey!

IMPORTANT RELEASE TIMES FOR CONFERENCE WEEK OCTOBER 23 - 27 Half days for Elementary all week release 12:50 PM Secondary is no early release on Wednesday-it's a full normal day Secondary has early release Thursday and Friday release time is 11:25 AM

National Principals Month is a tribute to the pivotal role principals play in leading our schools and shaping the future of our nation’s students. Join us this October as we extend our gratitude to these transformative figures. Visit principalsmonth.org to #ThankAPrincipal! Thank you to our amazing principals, pictured left to right: Robert Kalahan, Hawkins MS, Alexia Hadfield, James A. Taylor/Homelink, Chad Collins, NMHS, Jason Swaser, Sand Hill Elementary, Jessica Collins, Belfair Elementary

The week ended right at Sand Hill Elementary when students gathered in the gymnasium to review the expectations of the PBIS system (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports). The students showed great examples of RESPECT, the featured Character Strong trait for September. Mr. Dimmens' class took top prize – having Crissa the baby Cougar in their classroom for the month of October. Congratulations 2nd grade! Coming up in October the students will be working on Responsibility.

Orange Shirt Day is September 30th North Mason School District honors the experiences of the Native American children who were victims of residential schools. We join with the Indigenous Peoples to celebrate resilience and affirm the commitment that Every Child Matters.

Celebrating our MLL teachers and staff during Hispanic Heritage Month! First up, meet Yesenia Nunez, MLL teacher at Sand Hill Elementary, answering the question, "Why did you become a teacher?" Thank you for sharing your story, Yesenia! My decision to become a teacher was to help kids that were like me feel confident in their ability to become whatever they want to be. I had an ELA teacher that was always there to help in my learning needs. Mrs. Suarez is a one of the biggest reasons I became a teacher. She always told me to be proud of my culture. I am a Mexican American, first in my family to receive a master's degree and second after my mother to receive a bachelor's degree. My mother is another reason teaching is a passion of mine. I come from a family of farm workers. My father worked hard to put my sisters and I through school and teach us what hard work was. One thing that makes me who I am is being Mexican; my culture and upbringing are why I am the way I am. It is also one of the main reasons I became a teacher.

North Mason School District is committed to offering a variety of opportunities to highly capable/gifted students. The referral window for the NMSD Highly Capable/Gifted program is now open. Referrals will be accepted until November 24th, 2023. Some characteristics of gifted students include: • Ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers • Surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age • Strong sense of curiosity • Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics • Quirky or mature sense of humor • Creative problem solving and imaginative expression • Absorbs information quickly with few repetitions needed • Self-aware, socially aware, and aware of global issues Have questions? Savannah Elliott, Coordinator of Highly Capable Programs, 360-277-2110, smelliott@northmasonschools.org