A New School Year is Just Around the Corner!
Only 12 days left until we joyfully welcome our entire Soundview community back to campus for another enriching school year!
Dear Soundview Families,
It’s back-to-school time, a big welcome to our whole Soundview family! The faculty, staff, and I are excited to see you all soon! We’ve been busy preparing the campus and curriculum for the upcoming school year. We’re looking forward to outdoor school, student-run assemblies, the Fall Ball, new units, and many more fun and educational activities to start the school year.
The start of any school year is a big transition for children, parents, and teachers. Here are a few things, appropriate for all early childhood through eighth grade aged students to help with this transition:
Expect the full spectrum of emotions from yourself and your child. Remember that an emotion is not a problem to solve. Emotion does not always require explanation. Embrace our natural transition process. Practice holding space for emotions to come and go.
Start practicing an evening and a morning routine. Work together with your child to make a simple checklist for your routines (maybe write it on their bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker). Reign in screen-time and write a set of screen-time agreements with time limits for the entire school year.
Remember that you don’t need to have all of the answers to your students' questions about, “what school will be like.” Write them down and bring them to Dolphin Day (see below). Or, use questions as a tool for processing and naming emotions that come with the start of school.
We also have some exciting updates to share regarding our team:
Andrea Hjorten has been promoted to Office Manager (formerly Administrative Assistant). In her new role, Andrea will take on greater responsibility by overseeing our administrative work plans and leading the coordination of school events, ensuring seamless operations and exceptional experiences for our community.
Nikita Sharma has been promoted to Director of Technology (formerly Data Manager and Registrar). Nikita now has the important task of managing and enhancing all aspects of our school's technology infrastructure and systems, ensuring that our tech capabilities support both innovative education and efficient administration.
Ryan Wasserman has advanced to Director of Advancement (formerly Advancement Manager). This new title underscores the significant expansion of Soundview's advancement program. Ryan will continue to lead our development initiatives, forging stronger connections within our community and driving growth for our school.
Our Soundview Board of Trustees welcomes some new trustees this year:
Jason Chu, proud parent of two Soundview students, Eliot (4th grade) and Emily (1st grade), has a career spanning technology industries, including healthcare, e-commerce, and aerospace. Jason is eager to contribute to the continued growth and development of Soundview's long-term vision and mission. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling with his family and playing pickleball.
Whitney Suttell, parent of a recent Soundview graduate now freshman at the Northwest School (Will) and current middle schooler Hank (7th grade), brings a wealth of experience in education to the Soundview Board of Trustees. With a career spent working at independent schools both abroad and in the U.S., she currently serves as the Upper School Assistant Director at Lakeside School. When she's not engaging with teenagers, whether her own or those at work, Whitney enjoys knitting and reading cozy mysteries.
The Soundview board of trustees has been working for the last two years on Soundview’s current strategic priorities. Look for regular communication and opportunities to engage with our board about the strategic priorities. From 2023 through 2028, Soundview’s priorities are:
Deepening our community’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Defining our school’s future growth, including a campus and facilities plan.
Moving from candidate to accredited school with the Northwest Association of Independent Schools. (This is the highest standard for operation of non-profit independent schools. Parents, students, faculty, staff, trustees will all be involved over the next two school years. Look for further communication).
Here are the September reminders and opportunities to look forward to:
Tuesday, September 3rd is Dolphin Day. Dolphin Day is Soundview’s welcome and orientation event for new and returning students and families. It’s a fantastic opportunity for students and parents to visit the campus, see classrooms, meet teachers, gather relevant information, and ease any start-of-school jitters. While attendance is recommended, it is not required. If you cannot attend, don't worry! If you missed our August 9th letter with important times and back-to-school information, you can review that communication by visiting HERE.
The first day of school is Wednesday, September 4th. Soundview has a rolling drop-off and pick up. Please use the west driveway to enter the campus and follow the directions from staff to ensure a smooth process. If you missed our August 9th letter with important times and the map with directional information, you can review that communication by visiting HERE (same as link above).
Upcoming Curriculum Nights in September: Parents are invited to spend an informative hour with their child’s teacher, gaining insights into the curriculum, assessment methods, and class activities for the year. Parking will be available starting at 3:45 PM each night, and childcare will be provided for all students. Please mark your calendars for the following grade-level Curriculum Nights:
Third through Eighth Grade: Thursday, September 12th, from 4:00 to 5:00 PM on campus at Soundview.
Early Childhood through Second Grade: Thursday, September 19th, from 4:00 to 5:00 PM.
Community Coffees are back on campus this school year, starting on Wednesday, September 25th which will take place from 9:10 AM - 10:10 AM in the Performing Arts Center. A Community Coffee is an informal conversation with parents, our school counselor, other faculty/staff, and me. I’ll bring a topic of interest, and it’s time to connect with our community. We’ve added morning and afternoon times to make these events more accessible. You can find all of the dates on the Community Calendar HERE.
We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with ParentMap to bring their ParentEd Talk Series to our community. Topics range from mental health to screen time to puberty and more. You’ll be able to join live or view a recorded link following the sessions. Soundview will host follow up conversations too. Explore the range of topics, renowned speakers, key dates, and mark your calendars by visiting HERE. As we get closer to the events, we’ll send you the Soundview promo code to register.
Around the world and in different communities, August is a month of recognition and awareness:
The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is observed on 9th August each year to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world's indigenous population. This event also recognizes the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as environmental protection. You can learn more about this HERE.
On August 15th, 1947, India gained independence after 90 years of British rule. This day marks the culmination of a prolonged struggle led by freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi through peaceful protests. Independence Day celebrates justice, equality, and self-determination. It is now celebrated annually on 15th as a public holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from the United Kingdom. You can learn more about this HERE.
Women's Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26th to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. It commemorates the struggles of women to be heard, as fierce advocates who gained the statutory right to vote. Also, known as women's suffrage, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guarantees all American women the right to vote. You can learn more about this HERE.
See you soon,
Chris
Chris Watson, Soundview Head of School
One more thing…
On August 23rd, 1945 Sergeant Macario García was the first Mexican immigrant to receive the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration for valor under fire. Born in Castanos, Mexico in 1920, Garcia journeyed to the United States with his family at the age of three. He received the award for his heroic actions as a soldier during World War II. You can read more about this HERE.
