Dear Families,
I hope you are doing well during this time of away from work and/or school. I know that it is difficult and lonely being away from others. I want you to know your Park Lodge Family misses you and your student(s). You and your children are in our thoughts daily.
Washington’s Governor Jay Inslee mandated that all schools remain closed to students from March 17th until at least April 24th to help stop the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 in our region.
We are proud to be a part of a school district that has put many systems in place to continue to provide essential services to our Lakewood community. Here are some important things to know:
Food: We are so proud to be able to offer free meals to children 18 years-old and younger during the school closure! Our buses will stop once daily at 65+ locations throughout Lakewood and JBLM to pass out two meals: lunch for that day, as well as breakfast for the following morning. Children do not need to be present to get food. Please see a specific list and map according to location and time through the “School Closure Resources” link. This service is open to all children in the Lakewood community whether they attend one of our schools or not.
Food will also be delivered to the same locations during Spring Break, March 30th to April 3rd.
Timeline: Currently school is expected to resume on Monday, April 27th. The last day of school will now be Friday, June 19th.
Learning: Every Wednesday (excluding April 1st), Clover Park School District will provide activities and resources in the form of a student learning packet for K-8 students. These resources can be accessed online, and they are available for pick up at the meal delivery locations. The resources are meant for supplemental learning at home. They are not required, will not be used for grading purposes, nor will they need to be submitted when students return to school.
Communication: We are committed to continuing the partnerships we have established throughout the school year during this closure. We will continue to update our website with new information as we receive it. You will continue to receive emails and phone calls from the district during this time as well. As always, our staff and principals are always available through email; please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
Testing: OSPI is canceling all state testing for the 2019–20 school year. This includes the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS), the Washington Access to Instruction and Measurement (WA-AIM), and WIDA Alternate ACCESS for English learners.
For your own wellbeing may I suggest the following:
- Only watch the news at one or two times during the day. Allow yourself to hear what is going on in the outside world at two preselected times during the day. The rest of the day turn off the news. It will be less stressful for you and your children.
- Make sure you and your children go outside for a minimum of 30 minutes every day. Especially with the beautiful weather we have been having. Take a walk together and get some exercise. There is a large amount of research that shows exercise can improve your mood and lower stress. (However, remember to keep to the social distancing guidelines.)
- Have a schedule. Get up and go to sleep at the same times every day. Schedule that time you will go outside for the same time every day. Eat your meals at the same time every day. Schedule the time to work on the school packet for the same time every day. Again, there is a great deal of research that shows having a schedule helps to reduce anxiety. That is why we go over our daily schedule with the students at the beginning of every day.
These are unprecedented times, but we are confident in the decisions our District leadership team continues to make on a day-to-day basis. As always, the safety of our Clover Park and specifically Park Lodge students is our number one priority. We appreciate the flexibility and understanding you have shown us as we navigate this evolving situation.
Sincerely,
Synette Melluzzo, MA, NBCT
Principal