Southwood Elementary

5:45 a.m. 11/22/24 UPDATE: Due to ongoing power and technology outages, Byron Kibler Elementary and the Birth to Five Center are closed today. Enumclaw High School, Enumclaw Middle School, Thunder Mountain Middle School, Black Diamond Elementary, Southwood Elementary, Sunrise Elementary, and Westwood Elementary are fully operational and will be open today. Open schools will run on the regularly scheduled half-day schedule. Conferences will occur at open schools only. Buses will run on normal routes. Thank you to our operation teams, first responders, and PSE workers who are still working to return operations and power to our community! ...... 4:10 p.m. 11/21/24 : We are continuing to monitor the ongoing impact of this weather event closely. Currently, we have five school sites back up and running: Enumclaw High School, Enumclaw Middle School, Sunrise, Southwood, and Birth to Five. We will continue to assess conditions throughout the night and early morning. Any delays or closures will be communicated by 6:00 AM. School conferences that had to be canceled this week will be addressed by each school once they reopen. Thank you for your understanding, and please stay safe. ..... 5:54 a.m. 11/21/24: Due to ongoing power outages across the Enumclaw School District, all schools are closed today (Thursday, November 21, 2024), and all activities are canceled. Thank you to our operation teams, first responders, and PSE workers working to return operations and power to our community!

5:00 p.m. 11/20/24: We are closely monitoring the ongoing impact of this weather event on our district and community. While we remain hopeful that power will be restored and roads and facilities will be operational by morning, we will reassess conditions throughout the night and early morning. Any delays or closures will be communicated by 6:00 AM. Thank you for your understanding, and please stay safe.

Due to widespread power outages and road debris across the Enumclaw School District, all schools are closed today (11/20/24), and all activities are canceled. Thank you to our facilities and grounds teams, first responders, and PSE workers working to return operations and power to our community!

5:55 am 11/20/24 UPDATE: Due to widespread power outages and road debris across the Enumclaw School District, ALL SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED TODAY, and all activities are canceled. Thank you to our facilities and grounds teams, first responders, and PSE workers working to return operations and power to our community! ......... 11/19/24: Due to widespread power outages and road debris across the Enumclaw School District, all schools will operate on a two-hour delay tomorrow (11/20/24). Birth to Five families will receive additional information related to programming in a follow-up message. Please note there will be no out-of-district transportation. Buses will run on normal routes. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families. 

Attention Panther Community: Picture retakes are Wednesday! Please be sure to bring your original picture order back to exchange for your new ones. And, if you have not made an order yet or were absent on the original picture day, you can order online by going to https://mydorian.com/order/ or by bringing your order form and payment with you to retakes.

Reminder: November 21 - 27 are half days with early release times for school conferences. Elementary schools release at 12:15 pm.

During a recent field trip with the third graders, I witnessed a wonderful moment when a group of boys invited one of their classmates to join them as they explored together. In a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming, it was truly heartwarming to see such genuine kindness. Their thoughtful gesture not only brightened their classmate's day, but also inspired others to follow their lead. It's a beautiful reminder that kindness knows no age and that together, we can foster a supportive and caring community! ~ Happy World Kindness Day!!

Meet the Staff Monday (on a Tuesday): Today, in honor of National School Psychology Week, we are meeting Ms. Woods, our school psychologist. This is Ms. Woods' fourth year working as a school psychologist, her second year in Enumclaw School District, and her first year at Southwood. She also splits her time with Sunrise Elementary. She is very excited to be a part of the Southwood team and enjoys getting to support our teachers and students in many different ways! She recently moved back to Washington from Montana, so in her spare time she loves spending time with friends and family, as well as reading and baking.

What a Fun Fake Friday here at Southwood! We had our Veterans Day Assembly today where we were able to honor some of our local veterans from the senior center as well as veteran family members of some of our students! We sang songs, listened to a bugle performance of the song Taps performed by Casey Westendorf from EHS and some of our third graders put on a performance of the book America's White Table to honor prisoners of war and missing in action soldiers. We thank you, Veterans, for your service!

Panthers, in honor of Veterans Day, please join us in wearing red, white and blue tomorrow, November 7th.

Teacher Feature: Students in Ms. Miller's first grade class practice their reading stamina every day. On Fridays, they do it with flashlights! It's an engaging way to get kids excited about books while also practicing self-control as they follow expectations about being respectful and responsible with their flashlights! Well done, Mrs. Miller's Class!

Meet the Staff Monday! Today we're meeting our Title/Lap team, Mrs. Blanchard, Ms. Terri, Ms. Rachel and Mrs. Pohlman. Mrs. Blanchard started teaching 29 years ago and is working on her 12th year at Southwood. She came here first as a 5th grade teacher and transitioned into the Title 1/LAP Reading role 8 years ago. She said the best part of her job is getting to know her students and helping them to see how much they are growing as readers! Ms. Terri is in her 21st year teaching and 10th at Southwood. She spends most of her day in the Title/Lap room and in classrooms helping out, but also supervises in our lunch room during lunch. In her spare time she is a photographer and farmer! Ms. Rachel has been helping with the Southwood PTO for the last 6 years, but decided to join us full time 3 years ago. She also spends her time in Title/Lap, in classrooms and our lunchroom. When she's not at school she's loving life as a busy sports mom. Her 3 kids are all previous or present Panthers! Mrs. Pohlman has been with the Enumclaw school district for 6 years now and is her 4th year at Southwood. She works in the Title/Lap room and helps with reading in other classrooms, as well as recess supervision. She said she truly enjoys watching all the students grow in their reading skills. She has 3 daughters (all former Panthers) and she spends most of her time outside of school watching them play sports. Thank you, Title/Lap Team, for all you do for the students of Southwood!

It's National Digital Citizenship Week and our Southwood Panthers are learning how to be responsible and safe online. They're exploring topics like internet etiquette, pausing to think about what we see online, and balancing our time online with play offline. Together, we're empowering our young learners to navigate the online space with confidence, kindness and respect!

Teacher Feature: Students in Mrs. Flaherty's kindergarten class have been working hard learning the expectations and routines at Southwood. They are doing an amazing job showing their Panther qualities by taking turns at choice time, practicing their fine motor skills during penmanship lessons, being leaders during calendar, listening to instruction during counselor lessons and following step-by-step directions during art projects!

Today, 10/17 at 10:17am, Southwood students participated in the Great American Shake Out where they were able to practice their earthquake preparedness! Way to go, Panthers, you nailed it!

Make sure you are prepared for current and upcoming elections with up-to-date voter registration. You can update or register now at VoteWA.gov

It's National School Lunch Week! 🍽️ This week, we recognize the importance of healthy meals in our schools. Let’s celebrate the delicious and nutritious options available to our students! 🌟

Southwood Spotlight: We wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to Deputy Superintendent, Jill Burnes for your willingness to step in and help us out this morning. Our night custodian was unexpectedly out and with a trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday our kindergarten rooms were messier than ever. Your support and willingness to help with what may seem like an inconsequential task truly makes a difference, and it’s a testament to your leadership and commitment to our team. Thank you for going above and beyond—your hands-on approach inspires us all!

Meet the Staff Monday! Today we're meeting our first grade team, Mrs. Damery and Mrs. Miller. Mrs. Damery is in her 11th year teaching first grade at Southwood, and it's an extra special year because one of her own kids is at Southwood this year! She loves spending time outside hiking, coaching soccer, and adventuring with her family! Mrs. Miller is in her 8th year of teaching, all of them (plus 2 as a para) at Southwood. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and reading in her spare time! Thank you, First Grade Team, for all you do for the students of Southwood!

Teacher Feature: This week we are featuring Mrs. Cierkowski's 3rd grade class on their field trip to the Salmon Hatchery! The 3rd graders have been working hard, learning about salmon and this is what Mrs. Cierkowski has to say: "Part of 3rd grade is learning about salmon and their life cycle. We went to the hatchery in Issaquah and learned how they help the salmon population in our area. We also learned how to identify the 5 kinds of local salmon. We had a great time!"