BACK TO SCHOOL TO DO LIST:

1. Register for the school bus if you are a bus rider.

2. Playing sports? Go online to register....Final Forms

3. All students take Fitness and Health for a semester Order PE uniform. Fitness and Health shirts are required. Personal shorts, sweats, and other activewear can be worn in lieu of purchasing Sacajawea shorts.

4. Buy School Supplies....Sacajawea School Supply List

5. Check on the Summer Assignment - this is due Monday September 12 Go to www.sacthunderbirds.com

6. As you are shopping for and thinking about back to school please review our our policies/procedures. Especially our cell phone and dress code policies in our Student Handbook.....Student Handbook

7. PEACH JAR - Important back to school flyers...."the back to school district packet" will be downloaded electronically to Peach Jar. Watch for the welcome email from Peach Jar that includes a username and password and add it to your email contacts. Click here to link automatically to the SAC PEACH JAR

8.Schedule a check up with your doctor to check on immunizations (all students must be fully vaccinated BEFORE the first day of school or they will be excluded - this is new!!) and request a sports physical if your child is planning to participate in sports.

Print this form and take it with you to your appointment. Sports Physical Form

PRO SAC TIP....Plan on packing a sack lunch (if you are able) the first few days. Lines are very long as students figure out the procedures and learn their student numbers. We want all of our students to EAT!!!

Launch Conferences

We are looking forward to welcome all of our new and returning Thunderbirds to Sacajawea. Launch conferences will be an opportunity for all students and their families to:

• Meet their Home Base teacher
• Check out their school laptop
• Learn about school-wide communication/ support systems
• Get their class schedule 
• Practice opening their assigned locker
• Take a self-guided tour of the building and walk the student’s scheduled day

Plan on arriving 10 minutes BEFORE the time you schedule so that you and your student can check out their school computer. After computer check out, students and their guardians will be directed to the student’s Home Base teacher’s classroom for their conference, which will last about 30 minutes. This is where students pick up their schedule.  After the conference, plan on another 20-30 minutes to take a self-guided tour of their schedule as well as key places in the building. We are excited to have this opportunity to help release some of the first day jitters and get all of our Thunderbirds ready for a great first day of school, which begins on Tuesday, September 6th.

Sign-ups for Launch conferences can be found at  www.spokaneschools.org/conference 

Family Tip Sheet with more info here... Launch Conferences 2022-23 Family Guide Sheet.pdf

Times are available between:

8am-12pm, 12:30 – 3pm, and 3:30-6:30pm on Thursday, September 1^st   and

8am-12pm and 12:30-3pm on Friday, September 2^nd

Interested in participating in Athletics this year?

We have a new registrations system called Final Forms. You can access directions for it here: Parent Playbook (SEED) - Spokane (spokaneschools.org)

Cross Country, Flag Football, and Girls Softball registration will open on August 25th. All athletes will need to upload a physical signed by a doctor as part of the registration process and a physical form can be printed from here: SPS Preparticipation Physical Evaluation Form_Current 9_18.pdf (spokaneschools.org)) A physical is good for two years from date of physical. 

Sports registration will open a week or two before each season. See Sacajawea Middle School / Homepage (spokaneschools.org) under the activities tab for more information on other athletic opportunities.

HEADS UP!! CONSTRUCTION!

Sacajawea Administration has been working closely with the city and our contractors around traffic impacts especially during drop off and pick up.

Bus riders will access their buses on Lamonte Street (West end of the building) Drop off and pick up for bus riders will be on Lamonte.  Parents please do not use Lamonte during bus drop off and pick up times.

Parent drop off and pick up will be on 33rd.. Plan ahead, traffic will be very congested. We recommend planning a pick up spot off campus if you can. 

Studies show that students involved in after school activities are happier, healthier and get better grades!!

Click here to see all the great sport and club opportunities that are available.

PTG Corner

Parent involvement MATTERS. Please participate in the Sacajawea PTG (Parent Teacher Group). The PTG helps support Sacajawea students and staff. Teacher Grants, Quarterly Honor Roll Celebrations, SAC GIVES holiday program to assist our students/families in need, End-of-Year 8th Grade Celebration, Teacher/Staff Appreciation days, and volunteer opportunities are all examples of the way our PTG supports our learning community.  The PTG will host a table during Launch Conferences. Stop by to say hello, ask questions, and pick up a donation envelope!

If you haven't already provided your contact information, please send it to [email protected] to receive important information and updates throughout the year. This year we will also be implementing optional texting-based updates using the Remind app. Please make sure we have your mobile number as well as email if you would like to receive texts.

Our next meeting is Sept 21st @ 12:00 PM. Please join us either in-person or virtually. The link can be found on our website at www.sacthunderbirds.com under the About tab and then click on Parent Group.

Donate.

We strive to provide the BEST middle school experience for your child. Many of the activities we offer here at SAC are unfunded and don't happen at other middle schools. This is because of YOUR PTG. Parents tell us that they don't want to sell cookie dough, wrapping paper, chocolates, etc.....Sacajawea PTG is solely funded by your direct donation. This year we will be trying something new with a focused ONE WEEK DONATION DRIVE in September. CLICK HERE and donate today!!! Or pick up an envelope in the main office. Please make checks payable to Sacajawea PTG.



Volunteers are needed. Contact our office to get in touch with our volunteer coordinator at 509-354-5500 and/or email us at [email protected]!

Health Care Deadlines

ALL STUDENTS MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF ATTENDANCE.

Please be aware that all students in Spokane Public Schools are required by state law to be fully vaccinated prior to the first day of attendance (RCW 28A.210.080). If the student’s immunization record is not complete, the student will be excluded from school. If your child is exempt from vaccination, please ensure that your school receives this documentation. At this time, the requirement to be fully vaccinated does not include the COVID vaccine.

Vaccination Clinic on Aug. 25th

The Spokane Regional Health District, in partnership with the WSU College of Nursing and Spokane Public Schools, will host a vaccine clinic at Shaw Middle School on Thursday, Aug. 25th from 3:30 - 6:00 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. Appointments are not required. For more information and a list of available vaccines visit the SPS website.

Asthma requirements: Asthma will be considered a life-threatening health condition. For students who have a diagnosis of asthma, state law requires them to have a signed Asthma Care Plan and Medication Orders on file, updated by a health care provider each year. 

All students who have asthma will be required to have an Asthma Care Plan and Medication Orders AND an inhaler at school prior to the first day of school or they will be excluded. Please contact Becky Doughty, director of Health Services, at 354-7298 with any questions. Health care provider orders & forms information can be found here, on SPS's District website.

RCW 28A.210: Life-threatening health conditions: Prior to attendance at school, each child with a potentially life-threatening health condition shall present a medication or treatment order addressing the condition. A life-threatening health condition means a condition that will put the child in danger of death during the school day if a medication or treatment order is not in place. Needing to keep asthma medications at school is considered a potentially life-threatening health condition.

Planning to ride the school bus this year? All eligible riders must register online to ride the bus every year! All eligible bus riders in Spokane Public Schools must register online now to ride the bus for the 2022 - 23 school year. How? Visit www.spokaneschools.org/BusRegistration. You can check your eligibility there too. Specific bus route information will be available online by the second week of August.

ATTENDANCE INFO

Attendance Matters and will be a key focus for our district this year. Research shows - and our data supports - that students who are chronically absent (10 or more days per YEAR) have reading difficulties and math deficits. Middle School is critical to prepare students for success in High School - we need them at school everyday!! Read more here......Attendance Works

IF your student will be absent or late, for any reason, please call our 24hr Attendance Hotline at 509-354-5515. Leave us a message with your student’s name, the clear spelling out their last name, how long your student will be out, and the reason for their absence. If you’re able to provide a doctor’s note, please have your student bring it into the student office the next day they return to school.  

Please do your best to call your student in before 9:00am the day of the absence if not sooner.  

Early dismissals - Please be aware that if your child will be leaving class early at the end of the day we need to know by 9:00 the morning of or even the day before. The earlier you can notify us the less disruptive it is for teachers and students. In an effort to maintain the highest levels of instruction we do not interrupt classes to deliver messages to students.

We really appreciate your help with this!!

 Blackboard Messenger: This is the program we use to alert you when we have marked your student absent. This automated system starts calling at 1:45pm and again at 4:20pm. If you receive this message and have any questions please call 509-354-5500

If you know that your student will be gone for an extended amount of time please direct them to the Student Office where they can pick up their Extended Absence sheet. This communication tool helps the attendance office and teachers know your student will be gone. It also helps your student and their teachers to figure out how assignments and late work will be handled.

If your student brings you a half sheet of PINK paper, this is a reminder that we still have unexcused marks on your student’s attendance records. Please circle the best reason for their absence and sign following the instructions on the sheet if you choose to excuse the dates. This DOES NOT mean that your student is in trouble! This is just another way to help keep their attendance clean of unexcused marks. 

Thank you for all your help, we are looking forward to an amazing school year! Go Thunderbirds!!