General Supplies: 1 box of 24 pencils, 2 erasers, 2 pencil sharpeners, 1 box of colored pencils, 3 graph composition notebooks (1 for math, 1 for science, 1 for STEM or other, elective class-Spiral bound notebooks are OK) 2 composition notebooks (regular lined), small calculator, headphones that connect to laptop (with built in microphones preferred).

School-to-Home Communication via email:  All teacher e-mails can be found on our school website. Communicating with staff via email follows this pattern in most cases: First initial of the first name + last name @lwsd.org 

For example: Tim Patterson would be tpatterson@lwsd.org   Check your email regularly. Schoolwide communication will come from ParentSquare.

Parent Access: Please verify and access all student and family information via Skyward (Parent Access) on the Lake Washington School District website (www.lwsd.org). Please follow instructions for verifications in Skyward.

ASB (All Student Body): At the beginning of the year it is a good idea to purchase an ASB card. This will allow the student to participate in sports, clubs, school dances and other activities. The price of the card is $30. If you qualify for Free/reduced lunch then this fee can be waved.  The procedures for waiving the fee are linked here.

School Lunch: Families will need to pay for School Lunch unless they qualify and have completed the application process for Free and Reduced Lunch at www.myschoolapps.com and consent to share eligibility information on the application in Skyward.

Adding money to a lunch account:  There are different ways to add money to a student’s lunch account:

Parents are encouraged to sign up on MySchoolBucks.com to easily update student lunch accounts, monitor student eating choices, and preview menus. Or, you can contact nutritionserv@lwsd.org ; 425-936-1393 to update a lunch account or get additional information.

Send cash or a check made payable to LWSD to the school kitchen with your child’s name attached. Students can bring checks or cash to the KaMS kitchen in the morning before school, or during lunch time.

Free and Reduced Information: Families who are eligible for free and reduced meals and have fees waived for ASB cards, sports participation and other extracurricular activities. For more information, please visit the LWSD.org website-Breakfast and Lunch Menus - Lake Washington School District (lwsd.org) Families that previously qualified for free or reduced-priced meal benefits will need to reapply to continue receiving district-supported fee reductions and benefits. Benefits and reduced fees available to families who qualify for free and reduced meals may include: PEBT, ASB cards, athletic fees and other extracurricular non-credit activities. To apply please visit https://www.myschoolapps.com Note: Children of parents who qualify for Basic Food, formerly known as food stamps, are automatically enrolled in the free lunch program. For more information, go to www.foodhelp.wa.gov If you need help, please contact your counselor: Melissa Pierson (A-L) or Liz Biell (M-Z). https://www.lwsd.org/students-families/breakfast-and-lunch-menus

Pantry Packs: Hopelink is an organization that provides free snacks and meal options for the weekends. Students can pick up pantry-packs from the counseling office on Friday afternoons. Talk to a counselor for more information.

Communication is the most vital link in our school community. This is accomplished in a variety of ways.

Email is the preferred way to communicate with teachers. In most cases, the email address for staff is firstinitiallastname@lwsd.org.  (example: tpatterson@lwsd.org). If students or parents have a question, concern or commentary, they should reach out directly to the teacher.  The Teacher Directory is a great way to find teacher  

Families will receive regular ParentSquare communication called the Principals Message from Timothy Patterson. These are also posted on the school website under news and announcements.

Principal: Tim Patterson	tpatterson@lwsd.org
Attendance Office Professional: Melissa Swanger	KAMSAttend@lwsd.org
Health Secretary: Jessica Hrcek	jhrcek@lwsd.org
Registrar: Sheetal Kulkarni	skulkarni@lwsd.org
Counselor (A-L): Melissa Pierson	mpierson@lwsd.org
Associate Principal (A-L): Elise LaMont	elamont@lwsd.org
Counselor (M-Z): Liz Biell	ebiell@lwsd.org
Associate Principal (M-Z): Katie Mikel	kmikel@lwsd.org
Dean Of Students: Alex Vecchiolla	avecchiolla@lwsd.org
School Safety and Prevention Specialist: Lele Te’o	lteo@lwsd.org
AP Office Professional/ASB: Becky Elizondo	relizondo@lwsd.org
Office Manager: Kelly Wilkinson	kwilkinson@lwsd.org
Community Engagement at KaMS: Vincent Ngo	vngo@lwsd.org
Community in Schools at KaMS: Cyrus Malapajo	c-cmalapajo@lwsd.org
ASB/Leadership Advisor: Kristine Kyllingmark	kkyllingmark@lwsd.org
Athletic Director: Neil Kells	nkells@lwsd.org

 

You can contact teachers through email and ParentSquare preferably. Phone calls during working hours will be sent to their email for follow-up at a later time.

School Letters/Notices: Additional information deemed necessary by the district or our school will be mailed, emailed or hand carried to the home of each student.

Websites:
Skyward Access: The Lake Washington School District has a system which allows students and parents/guardians to access student records including grades and attendance via the internet. By registering for Parent Access, families will have access to general student information, attendance, grades, lunch account balances and volunteer applications. One log-in links parents to all students in their family. Additional district publications are available by personal request to the District Administration offices at 425-702-3200.

School Website: The school website is a great tool that will allow you to look up teachers emails, announcements and a copy of this handbook are just some of the things that you can find here.

ParentSquare is a tool used to communicate with families. The district and school will use this tool. The link to set up your account is found here.

Counselors are here to support students with a variety of needs, resources and guidance! Stop by the counseling center or e-mail to make an appointment to see your counselors. Counselors…   

• Provide support on academic concerns
• Support on issues relating to the health of students
• Support on bullying/harassment issues
• Support on friendship issues
• Conflict resolution
• Small group guidance
• Scheduling assistance
• Accessing resources to support student attendance including clothing, food, school supplies, and future scholarships

Students whose last name begins with A – L are supported by Ms. Pierson: mpierson@lwsd.org  
Students whose name begins with M – Z are supported by Ms. Biell: ebiell@lwsd.org.

If there is an emergency safety concern, please notify a teacher or other staff member right away.

Youth Eastside Services provides behavior health services, counseling, and school-based services.

Community in Schools (CIS) provides resources and supports for students and families, addressing the unique needs of students to ensure they have equal opportunities to reach their full potential. Cyrus Malapajo can be reached at cmalapajo@lwsd.org

The S in KaMS stands for Safe. The K in KaMS stands for Kind. These skills are explicitly taught to students and are expected behavior.

Reporting Concerns: At KaMS Safety is very important and we expect that all KaMS community members be upstanders by reporting any unsafe behavior to an adult at school that they trust such as a teacher, administrator, counselor, or other staff member. Students can come to the Student Office, Main Office and ask to speak to anyone available about safety concerns. Parents/guardians should email or call the principal or other administrators with concerns. Lele Te’o is Kamiakin’s School safety and prevention specialist. He is another great resource to talk to if you have any concerns about the safety on campus or any other security related concerns.

Anyone who is a bystander and does not report, could be considered a contributor to unsafe behavior. Videoing of unsafe/unkind behavior without reporting is considered contributing to the likelihood that this behavior continues and could disrupt the learning environment.

LWSD Anti-Bullying Rules:
1. We will not bully others or engage in bully type behavior
2. We will be kind to others
3. We will try to help other students who are bullied.
4. We will try to include students who are left out.
5.  If we know that someone is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.

For more information, please see the district policies on the website related to harassment intimidation and bullying, safety, and Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Safe Schools Alert is our districts tip reporting system allows students, staff, and parents to submit safety concerns to our school administrators in different ways: Phone: (425) 529-5763         
Email: 1342@alert1.us Web: http://1342.alert1.us Text: Text your tip to (425) 529- 5763

Safety Procedures are practiced and reviewed regularly to prepare for emergency situations during the year in a variety of ways listed below. To prepare for emergency situations, students should memorize their parent/guardian contact information. Families should create detailed family emergency/communication plans. Parents and Guardians should make sure all contact information, emergency contacts, names of who is allowed to pick up your child, health information, etc.  is up-to-date at school in Skyward.

Fire: Watch for hazards. Exit the building. Line up with first period teacher on the track. Teachers will line up alphabetically and have signs with their names.
Earthquake: Move away from windows and drop, cover, and hold until the shaking stops. Listen for announcement to carefully exit the building. Line up with first period teacher on track.
Modified Lockdown: Follow teacher directions. Remain inside the building or portable. Classes will continue. Do not go outside of the building.
ALICE (Dangerous Intruder): Listen to announcements and follow staff directions. You also have tools to make choices during an intruder emergency including evacuating or barricading a door. These skills are taught and are not necessarily in order. A: Alert, L: Lockdown, I: Inform, C: Counter, E: Evacuate.
Shelter-In-Place: Evacuate to gym (if possible). Line up with first period teacher.
Power Outage: Remain in class. Listen for teacher directions. If passing/lunch, go to next class.
Seizure/Choking/Injury at school: Get the nearest adult immediately! Call 911 if needed.

What Should Families/Parents Do in the Event of a (non-drill) Campus Lockdown?

The campus will go into lockdown if there is a potential or immediate threat to students. Working with authorities, the school will send vital messaging through our parent communication systems to keep families apprised.

• Not all lockdowns indicate an actual emergency; upon the lifting of a lockdown, we will do our best to maintain a school environment as normal as possible. However, some families may still choose to pick up their student.
• If you receive information that the campus is in a lockdown, please do not attempt to immediately enter the campus for both your student’s and your own personal safety.
• Working with authorities, the school will send vital messaging through our parent communication systems to keep families apprised.
• When the lockdown is rescinded, we will be available to release students to parent/guardians listed in student emergency contact files.
• Parents and guardians must have photo identification and be listed on a student’s emergency file for the student to be released; parents should follow signage to access student reunification points.

More information regarding Kamiakin’s emergency plan and information for parents is on the LWSD website. The website also provides real-time emergency and weather information. At school, in case of emergency, call 911 immediately if there is no adult nearby that can do it!

Parents and other visitors to KaMS are very welcome at school. We have a Family and Community Engagement Center where families can meet. All visitors to Kamiakin are required to report to the main office upon arrival. All adults within the building must visually display an employee or guest badge. Students not attending Kamiakin are not permitted as guests during the school day.

Leaving Campus After Dismissal: Once school has released for the day all students should leave campus unless they are taking part in a school sanctioned activity. Students who do not ride a bus are asked to leave campus after the school day has ended. There is no adult supervision outside of arranged school activities.

At Kamiakin, daily attendance is valued. Students are reminded that “attendance matters” and so do they. We like to see them at school. Students who attend regularly have more opportunities to participate, be recognized, and grow with their school community.  

Because regular attendance is both an expectation and a critical component of school success, parents or guardians of students who exceed four (4) unexcused absences in a semester will be sent a letter of concern. Parents/guardians of students who exceed ten (10) unexcused absences in a semester will be required to meet with the Associate Principal/Principal, and contact will be made with the LWSD Becca Coordinator for referral. Unexcused tardiness to school will result in the assignment of a lunch workshop or school service. 

Vacations or other non-illness related absences or early dismissals should be avoided and pre-arranged though the attendance office.

Please see complete attendance policy and state attendance law in the LWSD Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook on page A3. In addition, more information regarding the LWSD attendance policy including the WA RCW’s and chronic absenteeism can be found on the LWSD website.

When a student is absent or tardy, their parent or guardian needs to call the attendance office for excusal at 425-936-2401 or email KAMSAttend@lwsd.org within 48 hours of the absence. Any absence unreported will be deemed an unexcused absence. If the student has missed more than half of a class period, the record will reflect an absence rather than a tardy.

Procedure for Reporting a Full Day Absence: A parent or guardian may excuse their student’s absence by: 

• Calling the attendance recorder at 425-936-2401 before 8:00 AM or emailing at KAMSAtten@lwsd.org 
• Sending a written note with their student. The student is to report to the Attendance Office before school to turn in a written excuse. 

All absences and late arrivals need to be called or emailed in within 48 hours of the absence to be excused. 

Pre-Arranged Absences: Missing school for two or more days in advance should prompt students to get a Pre-Arranged Absence form from the main office prior to the dates they will be out of school. The Attendance Professional in the main office and the student’s teachers should be made aware of these types of absences in advance. The parent/guardian must sign this form. Pre-arranged absences for family vacations must be approved by the principal in advance to be excused. 

Procedure for Early Dismissal: All students must have a pass from the Attendance Office to have an early dismissal. To obtain a pass the student must present a note from a parent/guardian to the Attendance Office before the start of the school day. Parents may also call the main office to arrange early dismissal. The student will be issued a pass to leave at the appropriate time and can meet their parents out in front of the school. 

Make-up Assignments: In the case of an absence from class due to an illness, appointment, or school related event, it is the responsibility of the student to contact the teacher to make arrangements for missed work. In the case of an extended illness, please allow two days for materials to be prepared, and on some occasions, assignments may not be available prior to absences. Each teacher is responsible for setting guidelines as to when the make-up assignments are due. Students have 24 hours upon returning to school to make arrangements with teachers about make-up assignments due dates. Check Microsoft Teams and OneNote if possible. 

EXCESSIVE ABSENCES OR TARDIES   

Tardy/Late Arrival: Students are expected to arrive at school on time and demonstrate the ability to get to each class within the four-minute passing time. Students who arrive after 7:50 AM are considered tardy. 

Unexcused Tardy – To School or To Class: Students are expected to be in the classroom on time. Following are the Kamiakin responses for tardies per quarter per class: 

Kamiakin TARDY Response Plan

Offense:	Teacher will:	Student will:	Admin will:
1st/2nd unexcused tardy	- conversation to seek to understand emerging pattern of tardies   - remind student “attendance matters and so do you”	- reflect with teacher on behavior	- monitor Skyward
3rd/4th unexcused tardy	- assign lunch workshop and contact home	- complete an “On Time Goal Sheet” during lunch	- monitor Skyward
5th and more unexcused tardy	- reach out to alphabetical administrator by putting a referral in Skyward	- participate in developing a response plan with school support team	- create a response plan with home and school team

Health Room/Medication: If a student has sustained a minor injury at school, basic first aid, such as a band-aid, ice pack, and minor wound cleaning with soap and water is available in the health room.  The health room is intended to help students return to class quickly or serve as a care facility until they are picked up to go home. Students are only permitted to stay in the health room for approximately ten minutes unless there is a serious injury or illness that requires parent/guardian assistance. There are specific guidelines for medication at school. The LWSD medication policy can be found on page A14 in the Student Rights and Responsibilities. The Health Forms on Skyward should be updated regularly by parents/guardians. In addition, if a student needs rescue medications they must be at school in order for them to be at the school.

Lost and found items are kept in the cafeteria. Books, notebooks and all items with names in them are returned to the student. Valuable items such as phones, airpods, purses, jewelry, etc., are kept in a safe place in the student office. To help identify personal property, we urge you to put your name or initials on everything you might bring to school. We may donate all lost and found items that are not collected at the end of the semester.

KaMS Family and Community Center: A place to meet other families from the community or to talk with our Community In Schools Representative, Cyrus Malapajo, or our Family and Community Engagement School liaison, Vincent Ngo.

Medical Transportation Services: To schedules free transportation to non-emergency medical appointments covered under Medicaid, call Hopelink at (800) 923-7433 or visit https://www.hopelink.org/need-help/transportation

Additional Resources: We can connect you with a variety of resources to meet your needs. If your family needs help with school supplies, finding medical or housing resources, finding mental health counseling, college prep resources or anything else, please reach out to school counselors and or Cyrus and Vincent. We are here to help you find the support you need for school success!

• Liz Biell: ebiell@lwsd.org
• Melissa Pierson: mpierson@lwsd.org
• Cyrus Malapajo: c-cmalapajo@lwsd.org
• Vincent Ngo: vngo@lwsd.org

Academic progress is an important part of the KaMS Way. Here are some reminders about how to meet and exceed expectations academically as we strive to make academic progress this year.

Skyward is a great tool for students and families to stay informed about the students’ grades in each class. If you do not know how to log into the family access portion of your students' grades, please follow the instructions that are linked here. This is also available on the district website under the “HELP” tab at the top right of the screen.

The school year is divided into four quarters. Report cards are issued after each quarter. The end of each semester is the final grade for student transcripts and for credit. Middle school courses that are represented on High School transcripts for credit: World Language and WA State History.

Grades are meant to communicate what a child knows and is able to do in relation to your content standards. At the middle school level,  letter grades are assigned that represent students’ overall proficiency in relation to standards for the subject. These letter grades are based on a body of evidence, based on student work. Since the electronic grade book uses a numerical measuring system, a district-wide scale has been agreed upon for middle school to convert a final numerical percentage to a letter grade. This grading scale is already in Skyward.

Grading Scale For Kamiakin Middle School:

• A grades typically mean that students are performing above standard level.
• B+
• B grades typically mean that the student is at standard.
• B-
• C+
• C grades typically mean that the student is approaching standard.
• C-
• D+
• D grades typically mean that a student is at risk in this subject area.
• N N = Not Passing. This means that there is not enough evidence for a grade to be assigned. The N grade replaced the F grade. N grades do not meet credit requirements.
   

Additional/Modified Grading Scales
In addition to this grading scale, there are some other grading scales that may be used for individual students. These are S/N (Satisfactory/No Credit) grading scales and a P/N (Pass/No Credit) grading scale. An Individualized Education Plan, 504, or other team meeting with parents and teachers will determine that one of these grading scales is appropriate for individual students. Definitions of S, P, and N are defined in LWSD policy as:

• S: Satisfactory- student has not met course requirements but has met objectives commensurate with     ability. Parents, students, teacher, counselor, and principal should all be consulted in determining whether an "S" grade should be given.
• P: Passing- meets minimum requirements for credit.

*Please check the class syllabus to determine what percentage grade aligns with letter grades in each class.

Academic Honesty: Students are taught expectations regarding academic honesty by teachers and during our review of Acceptable Use Policy. Plagiarism, cheating, and stealing others’ intellectual property will result in consequences. Students will also be required to redo the assignment or assessment.

Cougar Time/Flex Time:
Flex is a period of time 4 times per week when students can get the help and support that they need at school. Every Teacher has a Flex.  Students and Teachers use the Flexisched system kams.flexisched.net to request attendance.  Students are expected to attend Flex with one of their current teachers that they would like more time to get academic support or enrichment in this class. In some cases Flex with a certain teacher is open to students who are not in their current class. This is communicated by the teacher that is offering the Flex (example: Club meetings 2X a month).

Cougar Time is a period of time on Wednesdays’ for students to receive Social Emotional Learning and School Support. Students can get support from each other and from their teacher during this time. Sometimes Cougar Time will have specific Social Emotional lessons and sometimes will be presented with schoolwide procedures and policies that will further enhance the Kamiakin community.

Devices:
Cell phones and personal devices have continually become more important to our daily routines every year. Cell phones are a great tool to help us communicate with people when we are out of the house. While at school cell phones should be placed in a backpack and stay in the backpack once entering the school until leaving the school at dismissal. If you need to get into contact with your parents or guardians, you can use a school phone in the front office.

In order to maintain a safe and productive learning environment, all devices must stay off and not be used during the school day. Students should not have their phones in their hands or their desks and should not take them with them to the bathroom. Phones are best in backpacks during the day unless given prior permission by a teacher for a specific reason.

• 1^st offense: The student will be reminded to put the cell phone away and turn it off for the school day.
• 2^nd offense: Item will be confiscated and locked up by the teacher. The student will discuss this expectation and pick it up at the end of that period from the person that confiscated it.
• 3^rd offense: Item will be confiscated and delivered to the student office and secured. Item may be picked up by the student at the end of the day. Teacher should communicate with home at this point if they haven't already.
• 4^th offense: Item will be confiscated and delivered to the student office. A Parent/Guardian will be contacted for a conference and may be asked to pick up the device in-person.

If a student refuses to have the item confiscated, a parent conference will be required.

Exception to offense progression: KaMS staff can confiscate phones and electronic device at any time on the school campus including non-school hours if they are being used inappropriately or pose a risk to student safety. Further interventions and consequences may be assigned by an administrator based on severity and frequency.

 *In some cases, an individual teacher may choose to allow personal electronic devices in his/her classroom for a specific learning activity or when the student asks for permission.  (Example: our photography class wants to explore the use of cell phone camera's).  This should not be an every day activity.

*Families should call the school if they need to get in contact with their children during the school day. Students can call home as well from any office.

Campus Movement: Student safety is of primary importance. Students should only leave classrooms, lunchrooms or other assigned spaces with permission from staff.

Please walk in the halls and cafeteria, stay to the right in halls and lines and follow the KaMS Way to ensure that all students feel safe and comfortable Students should practice situational awareness, give physical space to others, keep their hands to themselves, walk and notice surroundings before they act.

Student’s using the bathroom during class must sign out and should go straight to the bathroom to meet their needs and then return to class and sign back in. Students should not socialize in the bathroom. Only one student is allowed in a bathroom stall at a time. If more than one student is in a bathroom stall together, they may be subject to search and disciplinary action. Teachers may become concerned and notify the office if students are out of class for a bathroom break for longer than average.  

If students have other needs during class, they should tell the teacher where they would like to go. These places could include the: Health Center, Counseling Center, Main Office, Student Office, Library or Family/Community Center. Any break /trip to these locations longer than average may result in the teacher contacting the office to check on their safety.

Acceptable Use Policy/Laptop use:
Students agree to follow the AUP and the Student and Staff AUP Procedure when they sign into their laptop.

Students are expected to use their laptops only for academic and school related purposes. All computer use history is saved and can be reviewed by LWSD. This includes and is not limited to emails, Teams chats, and browsing history.

Students with off-task laptop behavior will receive a classroom consequence and may be referred to administration.

Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Student and Staff AUP Policy (Formerly IIAB & GBD): Electronic Resources and Internet Safety (2022)

Student and Staff AUP Procedure (Formerly IIAB-R and GBD-R): Procedure Electronic Resources and Internet Safety (2022P)

Dress Code: Dressing in a manner that is not conducive to the educational environment. A student’s dress or appearance may not present a health or safety hazard or create material and substantial disruption of the educational process at the school. Student dress shall not be gang related, nor may it promote illegal activities or activities that violate school regulations.

Middle School Athletic Program 2023-24

Season One Sept. 11-Oct 27	Season Two Oct. 30-Dec. 15	Season Three Feb. 5-March 22	Season Four April 22-June 7th
B/G Cross Country	Girls Badminton	Girls’ Basketball	B/G Track and Field
Boys’ Tennis	B/G Soccer	B/G Wrestling	Girls’ Tennis
Boys’ Basketball			Girls’ Volleyball

 

This is the schedule for sports for the year. Please remember to sign up as early as possible for season 1 sports and to remember that to be eligible students need to have a sports physical turned into the school before participating in any practice or games. Please schedule an appointment to get your physical ASAP even if you are not planning to participate until later in the year.   You must join the ASB to join any sports team listed here. The fee for ASB cards is $30 per year.

Sports fees are:

• $100 per sport
• $200 individual cap
• $300 same school family cap
• $30 intramural sports

 There is a way to qualify for the sports fees to be waived if you qualify for free and reduced lunch- see info above. There is also an option to play intramural sports in between some of the seasons that allow students to compete against other students at Kamiakin. This will be a great opportunity for students to meet new people and play sports in a more relaxed environment.

Click Here to get more information about Student Rights & Responsibilities.