Family Newsletter  6/3/24

Hello Maverick Nation.

Hello 8th grade families!  Beach Day is coming on June 18th!! Field Trip forms were distributed in Advisory on Friday, May 30th. Please sign & have your student return to Advisory.

Below you will find the link to pay for the field trip. We are asking for $20 but are happy to take less if you are not able to pay or more if you could cover the cost of another student. (We also accept cash/check at school if this is your preference- made out to McClure Middle school).

Please provide payment and permission slips in by Friday, June 7th!

It’s going to be FUN! Thank you!

Pay for Beach Day field Trip 2024

We need you…Please apply!

Maverick Community!  

Your involvement is valued! Please consider becoming involved in the available roles on the PTSA Board outlined below. Should any role catch your interest, please don’t hesitate to contact us at presidents@mccluremavericks.org. We’re eager to provide further insight into these positions.

Understanding the busy schedules of many parents in our community, we’ve structured the majority of our board meetings to take place via Zoom once a month for 1 hr each! This format requires significantly less time commitment compared to in-person meetings.

While there are several volunteer positions to be filled, the following roles are crucial to ensuring the smooth functioning of the PTSA Board at McClure.

Board Treasurer:

The PTA Treasurer is responsible for overseeing the finances of the organization. The Treasurer is a member of the board’s executive committee. The PTSA Treasurer must have knowledge of budgets and be willing to work with the bookkeeper for updating the budget. We do have a paid bookkeeper to support this role.  This role can be a 1-2 year commitment.

Board Co-President: 

The PTSA Co-Presidents share responsibility for providing leadership and direction to the organization. Co-Presidents should enjoy keeping track of the “big picture,” be good organizers, be comfortable leading low-key meetings, and be good at delegating.

Board Secretary: 

The PTA Secretary is responsible for maintaining the non-financial records of the organization including meeting minutes, membership voting documents & all bank records. This role can be a 1-2 year commitment. 

Thank you again for your consideration. 

-The McClure PTSA Board SPS in the Pride Parade 

Please share this information with your school community:  

SPS has marched in the Seattle Pride Parade for over 25 years with students, staff, and families. This year, we are proud to be part of an intergenerational group of Grand Marshals, led by LGBTQ+ athletes Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe! All are welcome to join.  

Find us at the front of the parade staging area, prior to 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 30, along 4th Avenue downtown. Look for the big yellow school bus adorned with decorations made by students and families. No RSVP is required.  

• For information about LGBTQ+ supports in SPS, visit the SPS LGBTQ+ webpage.
• You can also view our one-pager about school practices for Pride month. 

For more information, contact Sam Cristol, SPS Health Education, secristol@seattleschools.org or visit the Seattle Pride website.

6th and 7th Grade Families – Volunteer for 8th Grade Celebration…it’s fun!

Sign Up to Help with 8th Grade Celebration

Article: The Evidence for Phone Bans Mounts:

The Evidence for Phone Bans article

End of Year Activities – Privilege not a Right.

Assemblies, Field Day (last day of school), 8th grade Beach Day (Tuesday, June 18th)

We love celebrating our kids and having fun with them! 😊We have so many fun activities coming up.  That being said, we would like to remind you and our Maverick students that these are privileges not rights. If students cannot comply with basic and reasonable expectations (including kindness and respectfulness towards peers and adults), they will not be allowed to participate.  We hope to not have to apply this consequence to any of our students but we do want to remind them that we expect them to show PRIDE for the remainder of the school year and to earn the fun that comes at the end. Any student who earns a conduct violation or is a repetitive user of oppressive language or actions within the school will lose one or more of these activities.  We will gear kids up for meeting basic and reasonable expectations for the remainder of the school year but please check in with your McClure student about this so they are clear.

No Energy Drinks (including Starbucks):

At McClure we have been seeing an increase in energy drink consumption at school. Energy drinks can have harmful effects and are not recommended for children and adolescents (see below). We also have noticed a not so positive change in students’ behavior (not surprising) when they have consumed energy drinks.

Students may no longer bring energy drinks into the school building.  Please speak with them about this tonight and we will also let them know on the school front.

Here are the reasons we will not allow energy drinks in the building moving forward:

Possible side effects of over consumption of energy drinks include difficulty sleeping, increased anxiety, release of stress hormones, nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, and elevated heart rate as well as headaches and migraines. These effects are compounded in young people using these products. Most energy drinks are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not recommended for anyone under the age of 18 or for people with certain health conditions. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that kids and teens avoid energy drinks due to negative effects on sleep cycle, brain development and changes in heart rate.”

• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends adolescents do not consume energy drinks.
• For children under 12 years of old, AAP advises against caffeine; for those 12-18 years old, the recommendation is less than 100mg of caffeine daily.
  • Some energy drinks contain up to 300 mg of caffeine (a 12 oz can of soda contains about 35mg)
    •     Side effects of increased caffeine consumption include irregular or increased heart rate, anxiety, insomnia, headaches, and dehydration.
• Ingredients such as L-carnitine, L tartrate, Taurine, and Guarana can produce serious health issues and can act as an added stimulant.

If interested in learning more check out these reference articles:

UCLA Health Teens and energy drink side effects

Seattle Children’s – Why kids and teens should avoid energy drinks

Upcoming Events

1. June 4: Choir and Band Concert, 7:00 pm
2. June 12: 8th Grade Celebration/Parade (5:30-6:30 – McClure Middle School – outside!)
3. June 17: Laptop/Charger Return
4. June 18: 8th Grade Beach Day (Golden Gardens)
5. June 19: Juneteenth – No School
6. June 21: Field Day (afternoon)
7. June 21: Last Day of School! 1 hour early dismissal

Community Meeting Dates re well-resourced schools and possible school closures:

As I am sure most of you have heard, Seattle Public Schools is in a challenging position of needing to reduce its budget which could mean school closures. The focus is on what would schools look like if they were “well-resourced”?  If you have read any of my newsletters during school budget planning season this spring, you would see that the drastic budget cuts to our building were frustrating; McClure could certainly be better resourced!  If you are interested in better understanding this budgetary crisis and perhaps share your perspective, I have included the Spring Community Meeting locations and dates below. It would be nice for McClure to have a showing at some of these meetings to speak your perspective of what a well-resource McClure Middle School would look like. 😊

From the District: You are invited to join Seattle Public Schools (SPS) for an upcoming community meeting. During these meetings, senior leaders will share information about the proposed plan for creating a system of well-resourced schools that serve students in kindergarten through 5th grade.

A system of well-resourced elementary schools will create a new foundation of stability and consistency that our students and staff need to thrive. 

June Community Meeting

To ensure SPS families have the greatest opportunity to take part, each meeting will present the same information in locations around our district.

The schedule for well-resourced schools staff meetings will soon be shared with SPS staff.

• Tuesday, June 4, 6 – 7:30 p.m., Zoom meeting

Translation and interpretation services (American Sign Language (ASL), Amharic, Cantonese, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese) will be provided at each meeting based on request. After the online meeting, a recording will be posted to the district website.

We hope you can join us! Take a moment to RSVP for the June Community meeting or send us your questions. Please complete the form to request accommodation for the meetings.

Our goal is that all schools would include the elements that many of our families, staff, and students said were important during the Well-Resourced Schools Engagement Sessions last fall and earlier this spring.

You can read more about this work, including the well-resourced schools elements on our well-resourced schools webpage. Thank you for joining us for these important conversations!

Sincerely,

Bev Redmond
Chief of Staff
Seattle Public Schools

Join the PTSA! (You’ll be so glad you did!!)

Please join the PTSA!  It’s a fun and easy way to connect with your McClure community and contribute to the school. Please click on the link and join as an individual or family.   Join McClure PTSA

That’s it for now!
Go Mavs!
Principal Shannon Conner