CAMANO: Community Connections – Sep. 6, 2024

Community Connections is a weekly email with news, events, and highlights from the Stanwood-Camano School District that is sent every Friday afternoon during the school year. Click here to receive future issues. Ed. Note: We excerpt those portions of Community Connections pertinent to the activities of the school board. For the full contents of the current edition of the newsletter, click this link.

Hello community members!

Our students are back to school and in class!

We are thrilled to see the excited faces of our students as they meet new teachers, navigate new school buildings, and make new friends.

The adults in our system are making sure every student is empowered to learn and is prepared for the future of their choice — as outlined in our District Strategic Plan that guides our work through 2027.

As you may recall, we developed this plan with more than 1,000 voices at the table who were loud and clear about prioritizing academic growth. Our staff works each day to ensure our students are interested, supported, and engaged in the lessons they are learning in class.

We welcome your feedback throughout the year!

Deborah Rumbaugh

Superintendent

New websites!

We are excited that Monday morning, we will launch brand-new and improved school and district websites! This upgrade is part of our ongoing commitment to enhance communication, streamline access to important information, and provide a better user experience for all.

What to expect:

• New look and feel: Our updated websites will feature a simple design, improved navigation, and enhanced functionality. We built the site using staff and family feedback, in part from the hundreds of responses from our annual Community Survey in March.
• Learning curve: As with any new system, there may be a short adjustment period. We encourage you to explore the new site and familiarize yourself with its features.
• Family newsletters: You might notice that our weekly family newsletters have a slightly different appearance during this transition while we implement our new communication systems.

We appreciate your patience:

• Bug fixes: As we transition to the new website, we anticipate there may be a few bugs to iron out — such as a broken link here and there. Our team will work quickly to address any issues that may arise.
• Still learning: Please bear with us as our staff becomes familiar with how best to fill out our new website with all the upcoming news and events.
• Feedback: Your feedback is invaluable to us! If you encounter any problems or have suggestions for improvements, please let us know by emailing scsdinfo@stanwood.wednet.edu or — starting Monday after the new site goes live — by completing a form on our Communications Department webpage.

What’s next?

• Please note that there may be a disruption in access to our district and school sites Monday morning as the new sites go live.
• Coming in the next few weeks will be new weekly newsletters that align more closely with the information and resources on our new websites.
• Later this school year, you’ll be able to download the Stanwood-Camano School District app, which will allow users to get push notifications or a wide variety of alerts

Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we make this exciting transition to bundle our communication services, allowing the district to consolidate needed features and save money.

We are confident that the new website will serve as a valuable resource and enhance our communication with you.

School Board update

The Stanwood-Camano School Board unanimously approved several donations during the regular board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024 — including a massive donation for new band uniforms.

The donation of new marching band uniforms and storage equipment from the Stanwood High School Band Boosters, valued at $71,233, is the culmination of years of fundraising efforts and support from our community.

The board also accepted the following donations:

• $1,444 from the US Badminton Education Association to purchase badminton supplies for Stanwood Middle School
• School supplies from the Jerry Lafayette Memorial and VFW Post and Auxiliary 5056, valued at $355
• $5,950.79 from the Cedarhome Elementary PTO to cover the remaining balance of the Cedarhome Elementary field trip to Camp Orkila.
• A donation of school supplies from the Snohomish & Island County Labor Council, valued at $1,000

For more information about the meeting, see the agenda or watch a video recording of the meeting.

The school board will hold its next regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 17. Meetings are in the boardroom at the Stanwood-Camano School District Administration & Resource Center, 26920 Pioneer Highway, in Stanwood. You can sign up for public comment HERE.

For more about the School Board, click HERE.