Principal's Message Continued From The Home Page

The beginning of the school year is a good time to complete the background check and volunteer forms which are found on our school website. This will allow you to be ready to volunteer as soon as the opportunity arises! Please note that this volunteer approval process MUST be completed each year.

We are also continuing with the change to the School Supply process that we began last year. No longer will we collect donations and purchase in bulk for the general classroom supplies, instead students are to bring specific supplies in for each grade.  You have a few choices to help you get these supplies ready:

• We offered a pre-purchase option in the spring through SchoolKidz, if you signed up for it, your child’s supplies will be here at school for you to see at our Open House on 9/3. No further action is needed; you are ready!
• If you didn’t sign up for the pre-purchase option last spring, you can click on the link on our website ( https://www.mercerislandschools.org/Domain/2162 ) and:
  • Print the supply list for your child’s grade level and shop on your own at your favorite office supplier.

We are asking that these supplies be brought to class on September 3^rd Open House or the first day of school (September 4^th for 1^st through 5^th and September 9^th for Kindergarten).

The first day of school for students in 1^st through 5^th grade is on Wednesday, September, 4th. The school will operate on the normal Wednesday schedule (9:15-2:05).

The first day of school for kindergarteners is Monday, September, 9^th. This will be a normal full day (9:15-3:45).

School Office
West Mercer’s school office is now open. Our summer hours are:

• August 5^th – August 30^th: 9:00AM – 12:00 noon, Monday – Thursday (closed on Friday)

Student Placement
A great deal of time, effort and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2019-2020 school year.

Careful consideration was given to input from staff and families as well as student learning styles. Classrooms have been balanced academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level. Moving students is difficult without causing imbalances and inequities.

Thank you so much for being positive with your child and helping him or her understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. ALL of our staff works hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. West Mercer is eagerly looking forward to enriching your child’s life. Thank you for understanding that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group and teacher.

Class lists will be available through Skyward on August 30^th (but only if you have completed the RSVP process).

West Mercer Staff
Each year brings positive change; this year is no exception. We are fortunate that the majority of our staff is returning but we do have a few new hires. For the fourth kindergarten classroom we have hired Kristina Olafsson. She is new to kindergarten but has previous experience as a Special Education teacher at Islander Middle School. For the added 2^nd grade classroom we have hired Carole Morrison. She brings a number of years of experience to this position, having taught in grades Kindergarten through 2^nd in California and in Georgia. Both teachers have come with very strong references and lots of enthusiasm for their new positions.

At this time, our teaching staff is as follows:

 Getting to School

• For those students who will be taking the bus to school next year, please note that the routes are currently being planned.  Once complete, they will be posted on the Transportation portion of the MISD website.  In addition, the Transportation Department has an online tool that enables parents to enter their address and other pertinent information to find the bus route and stop that will serve their children.
• For those students who will be walking to school next year, the safe crossing areas (with crossing guards posted) will once again be on 40^th and 82^nd Ave as well as 40^th and 80^th

For those of you who will be dropping off and/or picking up students, please review and follow the procedures listed in our WM Handbook 2019-20, found on the website.

Important Dates

Warmest regards,

Carol Best                                                           Melanie Ready
Principal                                                             Associate Principal
West Mercer Elementary                                 West Mercer Elementary & Northwood Elementary