With flu outbreaks already making headlines at schools around the country, officials at Catharine Blaine are working to keep students and teachers healthy. The nurses office and main office are teaming up to minimize the spread of the flu at school and they are asking for support.  The school is asking parents to help in the fight by bringing boxes of tissues, containers of bleach-free wipes and bottles of hand-sanitizer to the school.    A collection box is being set up at the office and in the nurse’s office.

The school points out that the cost of providing these items to prevent the flu is much lower than the cost of missed work days and doctor visits. The school is asking every family to provide the school with a few of these items and we are sure they would be happy to have community donations too.

According to a message from the school, clean hands, clean equipment and the containment of coughs and sneezes will help keep students, teachers and ultimately families at  Catharine Blaine School healthy during the cold and flu season. 

Its back to school for Magnolia kids and this year students at Blaine will be getting up earlier.  Despite protests from some parents, the Seattle School Board voted to change start times to save on transportation costs. Blaine K-8 school will now start at 8:15a.m. like the high schools and middle schools.  Last year classes at Blaine started at 8:50a.m.  Students at Lawton will begin class at 9:05a.m.. 

With the schools back in session, the focus will be on keeping students safe.  There is a big emphasis on getting drivers to slow down on 34th Ave West this year. 

This new sign let drivers know that they need to slow down to 20mph when the lights are flashing or there are children present.

Seattle Public Schools announced last week that it needed to lay off more than 150 teachers and staff to help adjust for an estimated $34 million budget shortfall.  Blaine principal Heather Swanson sent an announcement to members of the Blaine community with the news that three teachers will be let go as part of district budget cuts. 

As I’m sure you are aware Seattle Public Schools have recently announced a Reduction In Force (RIF), or a layoff of classified and certificated employees. Principals were informed that the decision had been made to go ahead with the certificated RIF due to the failure to call the state Legislature back into session. It was the district hope that a special session would lead to a lifting of the levy equalization lid and result in 7 million new dollars for SPS. When that did not happen our district leadership decided that a RIF was the only viable and responsible solution for our budget shortfall.  I can’t begin to tell you how sad, frustrated and empty it makes me to share the news that three teachers received RIF notices this week.  

The teachers are a middle school social studies teacher, a sixth grade language arts/social studies teacher and a part-time PE teacher.  Swanson says that this has caused pain for every staff member at the school  She says that she will do everything she can to get all three of the teachers back at Blaine but warns that odds are against that happening.  

A reader wrote to us asking about a troubling incident earlier this month at Blaine that was witnessed by a number of teachers, parents and students.  We just obtained a copy of the police report that outlines what happened:

A 37 year old man came to the school highly intoxicated and beligerent on March 6.  He said he was there to pick up a student.  He wandered the hallways of the school while classes were in session, opening the doors to two classrooms and yelling inside. He continued to insult and threaten people at the school.  The tirade continued after school let out, in view of students and parents.

The man continued yelling when police arrived and detained him.  The man’s behavior was erratic and he was yelling and crying while threatening to fight the police.  He was forced to leave the school and he went to the park nearby where he sat under a tree yelling incoherently.

Officers gave the man a trespass admonishment which means he can’t be on school grounds.  If he returns to Blaine, he will be arrested for criminal trespassing.   

We wanted to let you know that now is the time for school tours at our local public schools.  The tours are for parents with students who will be kindergarteners or will be new to the schools next fall.  Both Blaine and Lawton are hosting tours in the next few weeks.  We have posted the schedule in our events section. 

You can also get information on the school websites.  Click here for Blaine and here for Lawton. 

The schools also have open houses coming up. Lawton has an evening Open House on Thursday, February 5, from 6:30 to 7:30.  Childcare is available and you can call Maureen at 654-1040 to make arrangements.

Blaine has a Kindergarten Information Night on January 29 at 6:30pm with presentations by the principal, staff and PTA parents.  You can call 206-252-1920 to reserve childcare space. 

There is a Middle School Information Night at Blaine coming up on February 5, 7:00pm to 8:30 p.m. in the library. 

The new playground equipment at Blaine got a big workout on the first day of school.  The playground and asphalt are not the only improvements at the school.  There are new benches along with some fresh paint and landscaping.  New lighting goes in this week in the front of the building and there are plans to install a tile design on one wall of the playground.

Lots of groups contributed to the funding including the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, King County, Blaine PTA, The Norcliffe Foundation, Magnolia Advisory Council, and the Kroger Foundation (QFC).

In kind donations were provided by Pacific Custom Construction, OSH Inc., Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel, Hertz Equipment Rentals, Subway, and Pronto Pizza. And of course, lots of volunteers worked on the playground to get it ready for the students.  Nice work! 

School starts today in the Seattle School District and it sounds like our two local schools may be seeing more students than ever.

The district has scheduled a community meeting to address school capacity in our area because population growth is outpacing the number of spaces available. The meeting is for families and community members to discuss options for addressing this challenge with a focus on the 2009-2010 school year.

The meeting is set for September 15 at 6:30pm at Blaine at 2550 34th Ave W.

So, are your student’s classrooms crowded this year?  Tell us what you saw on this first day of school.

The Magnolia CoolMoms received a $13,000 grant from the city of Seattle to promote fuel free routes to school and that means you will see these Walking School Bus signs around Blaine and Lawton this year.  The grant provides 20 signs for five routes for each school. 

The Cool Mom group is made up of moms who are concerned about the impact global warming will have on their children’s future.

The idea is to get students walking safely to school along a prescribed route.  The groups says its good for the students to get more exercise and with fewer cars coming to school less fuel is consumed.  

The grant also provides funds to put these signs at the schools to discourage drivers from letting their cars idle.  

Kirsten McCaa, Magnolia CoolMom and CoolMom.org director, said the program works because it gets the students involved.  She says her group wants to teach kids that every trip doesn’t have to begin in a car.

The Walking School Bus program started at the schools last year but they are looking to substantially increase participation this year by offering more routes and getting more students involved. Both schools are looking for parent leaders to take on additional routes.  The goal is to have the programs offered five days a week, on five routes, at both schools.

For more information about routes at Blaine, click here.  For Lawton routes, click here. 

Little Emma is ready for kindergarten at Lawton Elementary School.  She attended the Popsicles in the Park event for students who are new to the school this year.

Over at Blaine parents were checking class schedules to find out which teacher would have the pleasure of working with their kids this year. 

Blaine also hosted an open house for students who are new to the school.

School starts at Blaine and Lawton on Wednesday, September 3.