Superintendent

Email Address: c.lanz@tlschool.net

Phone number: (509) 395-2571

 

 

Superintendent Letter                                                                                            

October 2019

Dear Mustang Families, 

Welcome to October and the beautiful fall season! October is a busy month this year and we have many activities coming up. Fall Fling will take place on October 19th. We look forward to welcoming our families to school October 23rd and 24th for parent/teacher conferences. Parent/teacher conferences are an important time to meet with teachers to discuss your child’s progress. The high school students will have a Fall Formal dance on October 26th. This month, we also continue to enjoy watching our volleyball, soccer and cross country teams competing. Please check our school calendar on the website to keep up-to-date on the latest happenings and activities. 

MAPS Testing

I want to thank our K-8 students, teachers, and staff on a job well done during our September MAPS testing! Our Fall testing always requires a bit of patience, but everyone did very well. Our MAPS testing will provide us with valuable information about our students and allow us to set goals and monitor progress for each of our students. We conduct MAPS testing three times per school year (September, January/February, and May/June). 

Second Step

This year, we have adopted the Second Step Social Emotional (SEL) curriculum. Second Step SEL is research-based, teacher-informed, and classroom-tested to promote the social-emotional development, safety, and well-being of children from Early Learning through Grade 8. This month, our school wide theme is a welcoming place where every student feels like they belong. We will be reminding students to welcome others and act and speak in a safe, respectful, and responsible way. Our classroom teaching will include lessons that support these behaviors. Please support your child at home in welcoming others and acting and speaking in safe, respectful, and responsible ways.

Financial Aid Night for 11th & 12th Grade Students & Parents

We are hosting a Financial Aid night at Trout Lake School on October 2nd at 6:00 p.m. in Timmy Waller's room. A financial aid advisor from Columbia Gorge Community College, CGCC, will be joining us to discuss how to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The night will consist of a brief overview of the process and the rest of our time will be spent completing the FAFSA. This process will be most pertinent to high school seniors and parents, however, juniors and parents of juniors are encouraged to attend. 

Early Release

Students will be released at 11:48 a.m. on Friday, October 11th.  Early releases allow the staff to engage in professional development trainings as a team to continue to learn and work together to best meet the needs of our students.  During the October 11th early release, teachers will be engaged in collaborative time.

Fall Fling

The Fall Fling will be held at Trout Lake School at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 19th. This event features the Trout Lake High School Jazz Band and Choir along with the White Salmon Jazz Band. Fall Fling benefits the band and choir spring overnight trip. Tickets are sold ahead of time and at the door. For tickets, contact Sean Coleman at s.coleman@tlschool.net or ask any member of the High School Band or Choir. 

Presale Ticket Prices:

Adult: $10 Child (under 10 yrs): $8

At the Door Ticket Prices:

Adult: $12    Child (under 10 yrs): $10

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/teacher conferences will be held this year on October 23rd and 24th. School will be released at 11:48 a.m. on October 23rd, 24th, & 25th. You will be receiving conference times in the mail soon. Please let the office know if you cannot make your appointment or need to reschedule. 

Absences

Please call the school (395-2571) by 8:30 a.m. when you are keeping your child home for illness or any other reason. In the event your child is absent, please email the teachers for make-up work. 

Notes

Any change in the normal routine for your child must be done through the office before noon.  If your child, for whatever reason, will not be following their regularly established routine, please notify the school by sending a note or calling to provide us with the appropriate information.  Additionally, if your child has a “permanent note” in the office, we need to know of any changes to this routine to ensure that your child is where they are supposed to be. 

Bus & Parking Lot Safety

A couple of reminders about bus & parking lot safety: 

Please do not park behind the buses at any time!

If your child misses the bus, please drive them to school.  Do not try to catch the bus along the route. Furthermore, if you are picking your child up from school, please park and meet them by the elementary entrance (K-4) or the front doors (5-12) to ensure their safe crossing of the parking lot.  Please cross the parking lot in front of or behind the buses. Do not go in-between the parked buses. Additionally, please be aware of your speed through the parking lot at all times, but particularly during drop-off and pick-up times as we have many students moving around. Our number one job is student safety and that takes a whole community.

Box Tops

The elementary is participating in Box Tops for Education. Box Tops for Education allows the elementary to buy much needed items for classrooms. Families can help by scanning the Box Tops off approved products. From frozen foods to produce and household cleaning products, there are literally hundreds of opportunities to help, and each Box Top is worth 10 cents. Even though it doesn't sound like a lot; it adds up fast. Eventually the Box Tops program will become digital-only. Participating brands are starting to change their packaging from a traditional Box Tops clip to the new Box Top label. If you see the label below, use the new Box Tops app to scan your receipt. The app will find participating products purchased at any store and instantly add cash to your school's earnings online.

Highly Capable Program

Trout Lake School recognizes that all students have gifts and talents and believes in providing an environment that supports the whole child while also helping prepare students through innovative programs. Trout Lake will use multiple measures to identify gifted and talented students and provide for them by offering professional development for classroom teachers, differentiated instruction within the classroom, and innovative programs outside of the classroom that will enhance their abilities. If someone would like to nominate a student for the highly capable program, he/she can fill out a nomination form. Forms are available in the Trout Lake School Office. Forms should be returned to the assistant principal at Trout Lake School. We need to receive all nominations by October 31st. 

First Step Art Grant

This year, the Trout Lake School is a recipient of a First Step Art Grant. The First Step grant program is designed to support partnerships between schools and arts organizations who are working together to develop, implement, and evaluate high quality arts learning programs for students in K-12 schools, as part of the regular school day. The grants can also support professional development for teachers. This year, we are implementing a dance component to our PE classes in grades K-8 with part of our First Step Art Grant award. Starting last Monday, September 23rd, Ms. Nika Kermani of the Columbia Gorge Dance Academy started a six week hip hop dance unit with our students. Students will be receiving dance instruction 1 day per week (Mondays) until the end of October. Our first dance session on Monday was a great success and we are looking forward to many more engaging sessions.

Harvest Festival

We are seeking someone to organize our annual Harvest Festival this year. Please let me know if you are interested in organizing our Harvest Fest for grades K-5. Our annual Halloween parade will begin promptly at 1:25 p.m. Please feel free to join us for the parade. 

Study Group

We have a variety of study group times available for students in grades 5-12.  Mrs. Nakae is available each morning Monday - Thursday from 7:45 - 8:15 to assist students with their work in her classroom. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, Mrs. Nakae is available in her classroom from 3:05 - 4:00 p.m. On Tuesday evenings, there is a study group in the library from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.  

Thank You

Thank you for a great start to the school year.  Please contact me if you have any questions, concerns, suggestions, etc.  

Mrs. Crystal Lanz

Superintendent