Thursday, June 9, 2022 Volume 16 Issue 34
Reminders & Updates as we wrap up the 2021-22 School Year
Rather than a cohesive article – this week what I have for you is some reminders! If you are not planning to return to Thurgood Marshall next year for any reason (other than your child is being promoted from 5th grade), please reach out to our office to let us know. You can email cnwilliams@seattleschools.org .
Students must turn in their devices next Monday or Tuesday, June 13 and 14. Some of our teachers may be collecting devices a bit earlier based on their curriculum and testing dates, so please note any teacher communication on this point. Lost or damaged items are assessed the following charges:
Laptop: $350.00
iPad: $250
Charger: $48.00
Kindergarten Jump Start: If you have students joining us for kindergarten (or know others who do), please be sure to register your students as soon as possible. This ensures that we will have the necessary staffing to serve our students. You can learn everything you need to know here: https://www.seattleschools.org/admissions/registration . Kindergarten Jump Start will take place on August 15-19 from 9AM-12PM.
Fall 2022 Move-a-thon: If you have been at Thurgood Marshall for several years, you know that we have a tradition of a spring move-a-thon to raise money to fund field trips. This year, we determined it would work best to move the Move-a-thon to the fall, so look for more information about this shortly after the start of the school year next year.
We are still receiving adjusted enrollment numbers from the district for next year based on the AC Scholars cohort notification, so normally this is when we would be sharing our plans with you for classroom configurations, but we are not quite ready to do that yet. We do not take requests for specific teachers, but if you have a request for the learning environment that your child does best in, feel free to email me with as much specificity as you would like, and we will take that into consideration as we make our class lists.
Good-byes
I would like to share that we are saying good-bye to several staff members at the end of this school year:
Kimber Kierstead – Ms. Kierstead had been at Thurgood Marshall for the past 10 years, since 2012. She has taught many students who have left Thurgood Marshall as excellent writers, mathematicians, and informed citizens due to her passion for Social Studies. Ms. Kierstead will be enjoying a well-deserved retirement.
Mindy Huss – Ms. Huss also started teaching at Thurgood Marshall in 2012. Ms. Huss has taught 2nd grade AC Scholars and moved to teaching our 1st grade Scholars several years ago. Ms. Huss’ calm management style and strength as a reading teacher have greatly benefitted our students! Ms. Huss will be taking a position in the district as a Reading Coach. We are hopeful that she will continue to be involved in literacy work at TM.
Alex Shaw – Teacher Alex has been on a 1-year leave. Julie Riccio, her leave replacement for this past year has been hired to continue for Alex as she experiences teaching at another school in the district.
Caleigh Whitney – Ms. Whitney was on maternity leave this year and has taken a position at a school just 1 block from her home, allowing her more time with her 2 little ones. Tania Westby, filled her leave this year and will continue on as a Thurgood Marshall teacher next year.
Kelsey French – Music teacher, Ms. French, has been on leave most of this year. Ms. Mary Ellen Rose-Witt will be our music teacher next year. Mr. Salyer, who has been Ms. French’s substitute since late fall, will be subbing for Ms. Tyshler (Head Teacher/Read Interventionist)
Max Simon has been teaching a 3rd/4th class this year as a one year leave replacement for Ms. Jensen. Ms. Jensen will return this fall.
Julie Teeters – Ms. Teeters has taught in the PEACE Academy for the past two years. Ms. Kelsey Leonard will fill this position next year.
Jen Jepsen is one of the wonderful Occupational Therapists at Thurgood Marshall. She is leaving to take a job closer to her new home and will be missed! We do not yet know who will cover her position.
Kim Haile, AKA “Momma Kim,” has been our Protected Health Care Room Supervisor and also has supervised our lunchtimes. The district is not able to continue funding for this position, sadly, so she will be leaving us at the end of next year.
Nurse Anne, our school nurse for this past year, will not be returning to TM next year. I believe our new nurse has been hired, but we are waiting for this to be confirmed before announcing.
Finally, Amanda Hubbard will be joining us one day a week to teach Multilingual Learners, along with Ms. Reeves. Ms. Anderson (1st grade) will be sharing her position one day each week with Ms. Kari Mills.
We're Hiring
We are looking to hire a new lunchroom supervisor to work with Ms. Cherese. This position is 2 hours per day, 10 hours per week, and would be a great way to be involved in your child’s school on a part-time basis. Please let us know if you (or someone you know) would be interested!
