February 2010

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Community Members:

As we enter the second half of the 2009-2010 school year, I want to provide you with some brief updates and also highlight a few of our partnerships.

Our “going paperless” initiative has been a huge success! We currently have nearly 80% of all parent/guardian email addresses in our PowerSchool program. The collaborative effort of parents, school offices, newsletters, media and the district office is appreciated. Communication between the District and our parents is vital to the education of our students. If you have not supplied your email address yet, please take a moment to do so by selecting one of the following options. Simply provide your email address to your school office or by entering it through your login on Parent Portal. Parent Portal can be found at http://parentportal.psd401.net.

In previous newsletters, I have presented information on proposed budget reductions by the state for the 2010-2011 school year. Parents and staff have been inquiring as to how they can provide input to our state legislators. The link http://www.supportgreatschools.com, developed by parents, provides a vehicle to voice your opinion. I must remind District staff that this communication should be done from your home computer.

We are grateful for your patience and support as we work to create a balanced budget for the 2010-2011 school year. As most of you know, Superior Court Judge John Erlick recently ruled that the State of Washington is failing in its constitutional duty to fully fund basic education. This ruling could influence our legislature to re-think the Governor’s proposed reductions for education.
Finally, you can expect more details regarding our 2010-2011 budget in the coming weeks. Your support of our schools and your suggestions regarding the budgeting process is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Terry Bouck
Superintendent

Partners in Education

• Junior Achievement
  Junior Achievement (JA) is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. JA programs help prepare young people for the real world by demonstrating the relevance of their education to future success as an employee, citizen and consumer.
  
  All Peninsula School District 5th graders spend the day at JA Biz Town, a reality-based, eight-week economic education program that provides exciting real-life learning. Prior to their day-long visit at JA World, students learn about writing checks, keeping checkbook registers, applying for a job and working in groups. Students learn the relationship between businesses and consumers, use quality concepts in business and consumer planning, use simple decision-making processes, and work together to satisfy customer expectations. All Peninsula School District 8th graders participate in JA Finance Park. For more JA information, please use the link http://www.jawashington.org.

• Kiwanis Club of Peninsula and Gig Harbor: GearUp
  Our local Kiwanis Club is a tremendous partner and supporter of the students, parents and staff of the Peninsula School District. Since 1997, the Kiwanis Club has helped over 3,000 students from kindergarten to 8th grade. Each student who attends the GearUp event receives a new pair of jeans, shirt, socks, shoes, outerwear, backpack and grade appropriate school supplies. They also provide many students with refurbished bikes and helmets. If you have a children’s bike that you no longer need or one that could use repairs and then be donated, please consider contacting Carol Arnold, GearUp Coordinator, at 253.857.8505.

• Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound
  The Cheney Family Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound is a valued partner who offers out-of-school-time programs for children ages 6-18 years. Programs cover six core program areas: The Arts, Character and Leadership, Education and Career, Health and Life Skills, Technology, and Sports and Fitness. The Boys & Girls Clubs’ mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need the most support, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Please call 253.502.4670 for more information or visit their website at http://www.bg-clubs.com.

As part of its outreach effort to staff, parents and community members, the Peninsula School District will sponsor four Superintendent Forums open to the public, the first meeting was held January 21. Thank you to everyone in attendance for your thoughtful dialogue. These sessions will be unstructured and will allow community members to raise issues and ask questions pertinent to the Peninsula School District. The meetings will be held at school sites to afford community members the opportunity to visit their neighborhood schools and better understand their school system.

The evening will be hosted by Superintendent Terry Bouck and will rotate throughout the District’s four middle schools for maximum  participation. All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end by 8:00 p.m. at the following locations:

• January 21, 2010 Goodman Middle School
• March 15, 2010 Harbor Ridge Middle School
• May 4, 2010 Key Peninsula Middle School
• June 1, 2010 Kopachuck Middle School

• The ACT Explore Test will be given to all Peninsula School District eighth and ninth grade students this year.
• The PSAT is a testing option for students in their sophomore and junior years.
• The SAT is a national exam that is part of most colleges’ admissions process.
• The ACT is an exam that is part of most colleges’ admission process.
• My Road is also available for all students enrolled in SpringBoard language art courses.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

As a goal for the 2009-2010 school year the Peninsula School District is attempting to save money by moving many possible communications to a digital method rather than paper. This should help us to reduce administrative costs of paper, printing, and postage. To be successful in this endeavor, we need to make sure we have correct email addresses for all students/parents. Please review the steps below for updating your student's contact email address.