Cedar Park Friday Howl Archives

December 13th, 2024

Hello Timber Wolves!

We’ve had another fun and joyful week.  Students are excited about their IDEA Time classes (and about the upcoming break).  I want to remind you we have a 1-hour early dismissal next Friday.  School dismisses at 1:25pm on Friday, December 20th.

Please come and take a look at our Lost and Found in the cafeteria.  We are seeing a lot of warm looking coats and hats starting to accumulate that may be needed in this winter season.

Registration is now open for KidsCo Winter Break childcare.  Kelley sent out information about this yesterday.  You can also check out the KidsCo website.

To prepare for the possibility of inclement weather, the district is sending student devices home over the break.  If weather conditions close our school, you will receive instructions about remote instruction.  This will help reduce the number of school days that would have to be made up at the end of the school year.  Let’s all hope for a fun and restful break and a return to school on time.

Next week our monthly safety drill will be a Lockdown Drill.  This drill can create anxiety in students.  Please help your student by letting them know we will be conducting a Lockdown Drill the morning of Tuesday the 17th.  This is only a drill.  We are only practicing how to be safe and there is no danger.  Staff will be supporting students in understanding this drill, what we need to do to ensure the safety of everyone, and offering any comforts or supports needed for students.  We appreciate your partnership and know your support in our efforts is key to the success of our students.

We have had a few families who needed to plan for some extra absences to accommodate for a family trip.  Any planned absences must be communicated to the office.  We appreciate you letting your teachers know but too often that message doesn’t make it to the office and you will get emails, texts, and phone calls as we inquire why your child is not at school.  If you have an upcoming planned absence, please use this Cedar Park Planned Absence Form to alert the office.  This will help avoid any misunderstandings of why your child is not at school.  Please continue to notify the office of any late arrivals, absences due to illness, or doctor appointments by emailing cedarpark.attendance@seattleschools.org.  Thank you.

We had a few families ask about our school policy around lice.  See information about lice on our website.

Here is a bit of joy from our week: After school this week the salmon tank was brought out and set up in preparation for that program to start soon.  The next morning students passed by the set up with wide eyes, dropped jaws, and exclamations of “Yes!”  Even the kindergartners, who have no experience with this program at all, were all abuzz about having fish at school, sharing what they know about fish with each other, and saying things like, “I can’t wait!”  Thank you to Ms. Lofgren (she will be back with us after winter break) for coming in and getting this program ready for us.  Even though this is a program that is specifically for a 4th grade curriculum, it brings so much joy and wonder to the whole school.  Just wait to see how students react when we actually get our salmon in there!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Principal Z

December 6, 2024

Hello Timber Wolves,

Welcome back from our short break.  I hope you were able to rest and connect with family and friends.  It is hard to believe that we are heading into our Winter Break in just 2 more weeks.  We are not going to let that slow down the learning and fun that we have at Cedar Park.  We kicked off our Literacy themed IDEA Time session this week.  Students are diving into the lore magical and mythical creatures, creating podcasts, newspapers, and comic books, and exploring the rich literature in books from our Global Reading Challenge. 

IDEA Time is central pillar of our school and only made possible through the generous support of the PTA.  Thank you to all who generously donated to the PTA Annual Enrichment Campaign.  The PTA has reached 50% of their $32,000 goal.  It is never too late to make a contribution to the PTA.  Donate to PTA Annual Enrichment Campaign, and help support the amazing work PTA does for our community.

Spirit Week is next week.  Have some funa nd show some school spirit with these thems:

• Monday: Cedar Park Spirit – come dressed in school colors, in our Cedar Park logo spirit gear, or in timber wolf themes.
• Tuesday: Hats and Headgear – fun and favorite hats, headbands, helmets… what will you wear?
• Wednesday: Wintery Wednesday – come with some of your favorite layers of clothes, winter themed wear, or wintery colors like icy blues and whites.
• Thursday: Dress like a Cedar Park Staff Member – time to do your best imitation of a someone at Cedar Park.  Will you have a hocky jersey like Mr. Hoppins?  A bucket hat like Ms. Wendy?  A cat sweater like Ms. Catherine?  Or a really cool, super stylish, not-at-all nerdy button up shirt like Principal Z?
• Friday: Comfy Cozy Day – come wearing your most comfortable clothes, which could be pajamas, sweatpants, fluffy, snuggly sweaters… You decide!

We have had a few families who needed to plan for some extra absences to accommodate for a family trip.  Any planned absences must be communicated to the office.  We appreciate you letting your teachers know but too often that message doesn’t make it to the office and you will get emails, texts, and phone calls as we inquire why your child is not at school.  If you have an upcoming planned absence, please use this Cedar Park Planned Absence Form to alert the office.  This will help avoid any misunderstandings of why your child is not at school.  Please continue to notify the office of any late arrivals, absences due to illness, or doctor apptointments by emailing cedarpark.attendance@seattleschools.org.  Thank you.

Here is a bit of joy from the week: A student came to school excited to share a precious treasure from home with their friends and classmates.  They came right up to me to show it off, filled with glee.  I talked excitedly about how cool it was and gave the obvious advice of “Don’t lose it.”  They turned to me with surprise saying, “Hey, that is exactly what my mom said!”  Of course it is!  Our families are smart.  We all know how easily a child’s heart can be broken when a beloved item from home gets lost or broken.  Please help us all avoid tears and hurt feelings by keeping personal items at home unless it is part of a special sharing time in class or for a project.  Thankfully the item in this story made it back home, safe and sound.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Principal Z

November 22

Hello Timber Wolves,

Well, this was a weird week.  Power outages in our neighborhood caused issues with transportation, our communication systems at school, and our heating necessitated our closure on Wednesday.  Apologies again for my contradictory messages Wednesday morning.  We will have to make up this missed day.  More information will be sent out as soon as the district has those details are worked out.

The good news is that we rescheduled our planned PAWS Assembly on Wednesday to take place this morning to honor the hard work of the students who put that assembly together.

Remember, there is no school next week so that we can hold Conferences with you.  You can contact your classroom teachers if you have not yet signed up for a conference or to confirm the day and time of your conference.

Literacy IDEA Time begins in December!  Volunteers are always welcome and always appreciated.  No experience is necessary.  Volunteers assist students with projects and help the teacher clean up at the end of class.  If you volunteer you will not necessarily be placed in an IDEA Time class with your child.  Classes are multi-grade and taught by many Cedar Park Staff and Teachers.  Volunteers are placed where needed each week.  You can sign up here IDEA Time Volunteer sign up

Here is a bright spot from the week: I noticed a kindergartner pulling at their coat by the lockers as they got ready for recess.  As I approached, I saw that they had shut the locker on the bottom corner of their coat and couldn’t pull it out our get the locker door back open.  I helped them open it and they were freed.  They turned to me, smiled, and said, “Thank you.”  As they did, they reached up and closed their locker door right back on the same bottom corner of their coat, once again trapping themselves in the exact same way.  Too funny.  Too cute.  Of course I helped them out again.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  I may see you next week as you go to Conferences.  Enjoy the break from school with family and friends.  We will see everyone back at Cedar Park again on Monday, December 2nd.

Principal Z

November 15, 2024

Hello Timber Wolves!

It has been a short, wet, and fun week for us at Cedar Park.  We wrapped up our first IDEA Time session and are excited to start the next session in December.  Next week we celebrate with a student-led assembly from our 4th & 5th grade SEL Assembly Team IDEA class students!  We will send out a sign up link to volunteer for our next IDEA Time session soon.

Remember, conferences are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, November 25th and 26th.  Everyone should have received a link to sign up for a conference time.  If you have not, please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher.  There is no school for students during the week of November 25th.

This is the time of year when many family traditions center around a winter holiday that includes gift giving.  We also know that gift giving can be financially difficult for some of our families.  This is why every year Cedar Park hosts a Giving Tree program to help families.  Find out more about our Giving Tree Program.  All requests are due by November 20th so that we can ensure we distribute contributions before we go to Winter Break.

Some bittersweet news for us.  Our friend, Mr. Jose, who has been working as one of our IAs for our Multilingual Learners will be stepping away from his long-term substitute rore here at Cedar Park.  We still may see him come and sub for us occasionally but he won’t be a regular part of our weeks at Cedar Park anymore.  We thank Mr. Jose for being part of Cedar Park and hope to see him again soon.

Here is a bit of joy from our week: I received a lovely invitation from the Karaoke Club IDEA Time class to join in and sing with them on their final day.  This class was all about growth mindset, being in a safe and supportive place so you feel safe to take the stage, and lots of positive reinforcement for taking that risk and trying your best.  I sang “Everything is Awesome” from the LEGO Movie with another student and I sounded terrible.  My singing partner helped carry me through to the end of the song and the entire class made me feel great for being there and participating with them.  I love what our IDEA Time classes do for our students and our community.  We are so lucky to have each other here at Cedar Park.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Principal Z

November 8, 2024

Hello Timber Wolves,

Another fun filled week of learning and growing at Cedar Park.  The popular biking unit wrapped up this week.  It has been incredible to see students enjoying bike riding not only in this unit but by seeing so many riding bikes to school.  It has been extra gratifying to see students who learned to ride a bike because of this unit.  Today students are celebrating Fall Family Traditions in their classes and tonight the PTA is hosting a Movie Night at Cedar Park starting at 6pm.

Remember, there is No School on Monday, November 11th in observance of Veteran’s Day.

Picture Re-take Day is Tuesday, November 12th.  This is for anyone who was absent on the previous Picture Day or for families who want to have the picture re-taken and re-ordered.

Remember, conferences are scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday, November 25th and 26th.  Everyone should have received a link to sign up for a conference time.  If you have not, please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher.

This is the time of year when many family traditions center around a winter holiday that includes gift giving.  We also know that gift giving can be financially difficult for some of our families.  This is why every year Cedar Park hosts a Giving Tree program to help families.  Find out more about our program and sign up to support a family.  All requests to support a family are due by November 20th so that we can ensure we distribute your contributions before we go to Winter Break.  Thank you for supporting our community.

Here is a bit of joy from our week: A student came into the office to let me know about something that happened in their classroom and it became immediately clear that they left their class without their teacher knowing.  I walked them back to class emphasizing the importance of how they should never leave their class without talking to their teacher first.  The student stopped and with a look of confusion asked, “But aren’t you their supervisor?!”  I hope that bit of joy kicks off a lot of joy for your 3-day weekend.  Enjoy this extra time with friends and family.  We will see you all again on Tuesday the 12th.

Principal Z

November 1, 2024

Hello Timber Wolves!

We did it!  We made it to November.  So many fun and exciting things are on the horizon.

We only have 2 more IDEA Time classes for this first session followed an all-school assembly just before Conference week led by students from one of those IDEA Time classes.  Soon all students will be asked to pick  their preferences for our next IDEA Time session that launches on December 4th.

Thank you to the staff on the PBIS Team and an extra thanks to Ms. Mary and Mr. Jose for hosting coffee and conversation for our Spanish speaking families.  Are you a Spanish speaking family?  We are now hosting this gathering for Spanish speaking families every Tuesday at 8am.  If you missed our last one, please come to the library on Tuesday.  I will reach out to our Spanish speaking families soon with additional resources and to get feedback soon.  We appreciate your partnership and hope that we can grow this into supports for more of our families.

We have our Fall Family Traditions Class Celebrations on Friday, November 8th.  This will be a time to have students talk about and share some of their fall family traditions.  Contact your classroom teacher if you have not heard from them about your class celebration.

This weekend is the end of Daylight Savings time.  Remember to set you clock back one hour before you go to bed Saturday night.

There is NO SCHOOL on Monday, November 11th in observance of Veteran’s Day.

Picture Re-take Day is Tuesday, November 12th.  This is for anyone who was absent on the previous Picture Day or for families who want to have the picture re-taken and re-ordered.

Remember, conferences are scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday, November 25th and 26th.  Your student’s teacher has started to send out sign up links.  Everyone should receive a link to sign up for a conference time sometime next week.

Here is a bit of joy from our week: A student walked into the office with a handful of plastic dice saying, “I found these in the boys’ bathroom.”  Mrs. Kolias said thanks and held out her cupped hands saying she would take them.  As the student dumps them into her hands he adds, “They’re wet.”  Ms. Kolias gives the subtlest of pauses and says, “…Thanks.”  Ms. Kelley is just shaking her head back and forth and I am stifling a laugh as Mrs. Kolias heads straight to the sink to wash up.  Let’s just not think about how they got wet.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy that extra hour of sleep as we “fall back” and set our clocks back one hour tomorrow night.  I don’t know about you, but I feel like we all deserve it!!

Principal Z

October 25, 2028

Hello Timber Wolves

Another great week at Cedar Park!  The Bike unit in PE has seemed to spark a higher interest in biking to school.  Our bike racks in the courtyard have never been so full!  Biking is a fun and healthy way to start your day.  Please remember that when you arrive at Cedar Park, we ask that you get off and walk your bike through our campus to the bike racks.  We had another near miss today as a student rode their bike around the corner of the portables and almost crashed into a classroom line on their way up.

It is the time of year for cold, flu, and COVID season.  Order free COVID test kits.

If your student is going to be absent or late to school, please email cedarpark.attendance@seattleschools.org.  It is a great idea to cc your classroom teacher too but when the email only goes to the teacher it creates work for our office that involves interrupting the classroom learning day to verify attendance and/or generates a call home about your missing student.  Thank you.

We are now halfway through our first IDEA Time session.  Students will be asked to provide feedback about this session and the classes and experiences they would like to see in our program.  We use this information to build new classes and adjust favorite past classes to align with student interests.  Info will come out soon about signing up for a class in our next IDEA Time session.

Are you a Spanish speaking family?  We are hosting a gathering for our Spanish speaking families on Tuesday, October 29th at 8am.  We will have an interpreter there to help provide more information about our school and how we can support you.  Also, you can enjoy a cup of coffee while you make connections with other Spanish speaking families at Cedar Park.  I hope to see you there.

Another reminder to the many families who will be celebrating Halloween next week, we ask that you do not send students to school in costumes on October 31st.  We will hold our Fall Family Traditions Class Celebrations on Friday, November 8th.  This will be a time to have students talk about and share some of their fall family traditions, which may very well include religious or secular holidays but could also include trips to see relatives or less festive celebrations like the start of cooking soups and chili or getting out that bin of sweaters to wear in the cooler weather.  Watch for more information to come from your classroom teachers.

Last week I let you know of our conference schedule next month.  There is no school for students the week of November 25th.  However, during the week of conferences KidsCo is running all-day childcare.  Registration opens on Monday.  Learn more about Kids Company.

Here is a bit of joy from the week: I walk through classrooms to see students engaged in learning and ask them about what they are working on.  After several minutes in a class working on games to build math fact fluency, I headed out the door to visit another class when I heard an excited voice call out behind me, “Principal Z!  Come here, come here.”  The students showed me the game they were playing on their iPad, how it’s played, how they used math to make all their moves, how many points and rewards they were earning in the game, and then asked me if I understood the game.  I explained everything back to them that they taught me, ending with “that is pretty cool.”  They replied, “Yeah, it is really cool!”  That excitement and joy for learning has lasting and meaningful effects for students.  I love this school.  I hope you are enjoying your school year so far!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Principal Z