Dear students, staff, families and community,
Starting kindergarten is such an exciting time for students and families, and we are looking forward to meeting our incoming kindergartners for next fall soon. Registration for fall 2023 kindergarten begins Monday, March 6 across Whatcom County. Mount Baker Elementary Schools will be hosting in person kindergarten registration on March 15 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Register at Kendall, Acme, or Harmony. All children who will be 5 before September 1, 2023 can register for kindergarten in their school district.
Our District 1 Board Member, Abby Yates has resigned her position from the school board for health reasons. I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her service. She will be truly missed, but I know it is important for her to focus on her health at this time. When a board member resigns a replacement is appointed through an application process. I will be posting information about the process on our website and will share more in my communication next week.
As I mentioned in my January 25 message, we are facing some challenges in the coming year including a significant reduction in budget revenue. As a result of some helpful conversations I have had with parents recently, I would like to engage an advisory group made up of one or two parents from each of our schools. My hope is that this could be an ongoing committee that meets with me monthly to weigh in on things such as budget revenue and expenditures, facilities, student wellness and well-being, communication, and family/community engagement, etc. If you are interested, please email me your contact information and what school(s) you represent at msewright@mtbaker.wednet.edu.
Our School Board President and Legislative Representative, Russ Pfeiffer-Hoyt and I along with our Whatcom County colleagues met with representatives on the Hill Monday to advocate for schools. While there are many bills to weigh in on, we focused on Transitional kindergarten, special education, and transportation. Three students from Whatcom County who serve as school board members joined us and took leadership in this advocacy. They were articulate and so well received proving that student voice matters. Mount Baker has a goal to add student board members in the near future. The Mount Baker School Board appreciates the information I obtain from my superintendent advisories at each school. A huge thank you to these students for volunteering to represent the students in their schools.
FFA continues to be very successful in competitions throughout the region and state. Our Forestry team placed first at the Toutle Lake FFA Forestry Career Development Event on Saturday, February 25. Drake Pinkey placed first, Zack Zender placed second, Kyle Sandvig was third, Jace Gauf was tenth, and Kaitlyn Rathjen was twelfth. Forty-two students competed from nine schools.
The Ag Mechanics and Technology team placed first at the Ferndale Ag Mech Career Development Event Monday night. Drake Pinkey was high individual, Case Heutink was second, Wyatt Freeman was fifth, and Jace Gauf was tenth. Sixty-six students and eight teams competed. Congrats to Drake for placing as high individual in two different contests in three days (Forestry on Saturday and Ag Mech on Monday), both were his first FFA competitions.
I am in the midst of visiting classrooms and schools and enjoying seeing awesome teaching and learning happening. The Mount Baker School Board is also visiting schools with me on Fridays to see first-hand how our District Strategic Plan and School Improvement Plans are being implemented. We appreciate all of the hard work and commitment of all Mount Baker staff for meeting the needs of our students!
Have a wonderful evening!
Sincerely,
Mary Sewright, Superintendent
msewright@mtbaker.wednet.edu
(360) 617-4600