Sand Hill Elementary

☕ Would you like a hug with your coffee? ☕ The crew from Bulldog Java, some of them Sand Hill alums, arrived with their mobile coffee service to make and deliver coffees to the teaching staff as part of Teacher Appreciation Week. It was a "well-oiled machine," to borrow a phrase from Rick Robbers, who came in for his coffee order and left with a side of hugs and high-fives from the students. It was a variation of that scene at each delivery. A perfect start to the day: coffee, smiles, and hugs. Thank you to the Bulldog Java students, Mrs. Hackett, Ms. Ashley, Ms. Chelsea and Ms. Lelaine for bringing all that joy to our teachers' classrooms today at Sand Hill Elementary, and earlier in the week doing the same for the teachers at Belfair Elementary. What a treat!

🍎 It's National Teacher Day today, which leads up to the big event of Teacher Appreciation Week May 6-10th. Check back as we will be sharing the fun events happening around the District to celebrate our SUPERSTARS!

🍎 It's National Teacher Day today, which is the precursor to a big event at NMSD...Teacher Appreciation Week May 6-10th! Check back as we will be sharing your teacher appreciation comments from the recent POSSIP survey, along with pictures of all the fun events happening around the District to celebrate our SUPERSTARS! We L❤️VE our TEACHERS!

Sand Hill Elementary Kinder student "bought" AM announcements with Principal Swaser using her PAWSitives, and is seen here announcing the four pillars: I am strong! I am in control of myself! I can do hard things! I am responsible!

Student getting a PAWSitive reward...Lunch with Principal Swaser!

🥇🥈🥉The Reading Olympics concluded this week at Sand Hill when students were celebrated for their extraordinary achievement in logging a tremendous amount of reading minutes. Watching the young children waiting expectantly, one of the paraeducators, himself a former Cougar, shared, "This was always the most exciting event for me as a kid!" He walked off, the light of his smile bookending the moment and reflecting the excitement on the students' faces around the gymnasium. Teachers took great pride in announcing individual and classroom achievements. After receiving their certificates and bronze, silver or gold medals, students also received generous praise from Principal Swaser and Assistant Principal Lampano. Members of the Free Masons of Hood Canal Lodge #288 were on hand to award two bikes for each group, K-2 and 3-5. Speaking with one of the members and thanking them for the donation, his response was enthusiastic, "We've been doing this for YEARS!" The smiles on all of their faces said they'd be doing it for many more. The excitement of reading. 📚❤️

🍎🥝🥦National Nutrition Month🥕🥣🥪 Have you heard the term, "food insecurity?" Research shows an association between food insecurity and delayed development, risk of chronic illness and behavior problems in children. Students in our district receive free meals and snacks because of the Community Eligibility Provision grant. Knowing everyone is getting the nutrition they need while they are in school means so much to our food services team. As Mackenna Long, Director of Child Nutrition, explains, "Food is a lunch lady's love language...and that's how we show our love for the kids." Thank you to the team from Sand Hill Elementary, Shelby, Michelle, and Traci (not shown), for making sure our students have healthy meals...served with a smile, and a side of love. ❤️

☃️Snow Day Make Up March 15th / Recuperación por el día de nieve 15 de marzo See you at school! ¡Nos vemos en la escuela! ❄️since we had a snow day on February 15th, students must attend school on March 15th ❄️dado que tuvimos un día de nieve el 15 de febrero, necesitamos que los estudiantes asistan a la escuela el 15 de marzo.

❤️📘💚📕💙📒❤️ Kindergarten students at Sand Hill Elementary gave a warm welcome to members of the district administration team, who joined Principal Swaser as guest readers for the kindergarten classes yesterday. Students were animated, enjoying the fun selections of books the guests brought to share. It was heartwarming to see the kindness the students exhibited to the guests, a couple of students even taking the time to compliment Superintendent Rosenbach's shoes and blouse! But the best part was seeing the pure JOY they exuded being read to and how they were completely engaged in the stories. In the hallway there is a sign that says, "Reading is Food for the Brain." Watching students embark on a lifelong love of reading was definitely "food for the soul."

❤️Friend-Ship❤️ Sand Hill Elementary was a sea of hearts on Valentine's Day, students and teachers dressed in red and pink. It was a fitting backdrop for Taproot Theatre Company who came to perform 'The Friend Ship,' an educational, age-appropriate, play addressing issues surrounding bullying. The engaging performers introduced students to the 3 R's: Recognize, Report, and Refuse, along with the importance of being an 'Upstander' vs. a 'Bystander.' Afterwards, the actors posed questions to the students, which they answered based on lessons learned from the scenarios in the play. Students were captivated from beginning to end, and left with the message, "Bullying is something you do, not who you ARE. You can always make a different choice." Thank you, Taproot Theatre Company, for visiting Sand Hill Elementary and presenting these powerful messages in such an entertaining way!

Thank you for sharing ideas through Possip this week! We’ve heard from 132 of you during the course of the year. We are seeing that 85% 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 communicative and helpful teachers Praise for an inclusive school culture Feedback about communication from the campus Comments about student interactions 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! Thanks again for sharing!

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!