9/13/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

As we prepare to start our 3^rd week of school, I’m continuously impressed by how quickly our staff, families, and students have adapted to our remote learning environment. Each day feels like it’s getting smoother.

Since Nelsen is unable to host any in-person events, our Nelsen Open House will look different than previous years. Each of our teachers will record a video that will share the most importance information with you about their class. The videos will be emailed to you and posted to our website to access on September 22nd. The only live Zoom sessions will be held by our school administration and counselors to provide some grade level specific information and answer questions. The times for the grade level Zooms are below. The specific Zoom links will be sent out in my weekly email on Sunday, September 20th.

Tuesday, September 22nd

6^th Grade: The last few weeks I’ve sent out videos with my emails. I look forward to continuing that in the coming weeks, however, this week I’m excited to give you a break from being stuck with me on your screen. This week’s videos are an opportunity to get to know a little bit about your student’s teachers. Each video has the teachers for that specific grade level introducing themselves and telling you a little about who they are and why they work in education.

6^th Grade 

7^th Grade 

8^th Grade

As a reminder, every Monday is a purple day, which means all students will start their week with live instruction via Zoom in all their classes. If your student is having any difficulty accessing their classes, please contact the teacher of that class. Here is our staff directory.

Steve Rencher

Principal

Nelsen Middle School

9/6/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

Congratulations on navigating our first 3-days of school. As we continue to develop our new technology skills in our new normal, please don’t hesitate to reach out for support. Here is the webpage that supports videos that have been sent.

When students login to Zoom, all students must include their real names. This is to ensure that our Nelsen teachers are giving access to our Nelsen students and not someone who shouldn’t be in the Zoom. If a student doesn’t use their real name, that student will not be allowed access to the Zoom class.

There are several important features about our remote-learning weekly schedule that I want to communicate with all of you. Similar to last week, I’ve created a video to present the information. The information from the video is outlined below.

Our school days at Nelsen are divided into two types of days, Purple Days & Gold Days.

Purple Days: These are days that students will all have live instruction from their teachers. The live instruction will be presented via Zoom with access codes in Canvas. Although class periods are 45-minutes, most classes will not be that long. We want to ensure students ARE NOT forced to be on their computers the entire day.

Gold Days: These days are opportunities for teachers to offer mini lessons of live instruction, offer small group support, and/or for students to complete assignments, projects, and assessments. Gold day activities will be communicated to the students from their teachers. During Gold days, all teachers are accessible to their students for support and to answer any questions the students/families may have about the class and/or assignments.

Another portion of time that is on our schedule is Hawk Time. Hawk Time is not a class that students are required to attend. Instead, Hawk Time is specifically for additional support that students may need for any of their classes. During Hawk Time students can meet with their teachers on Zoom to get support in any of their classes. Hawk Time starts each morning on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30am – 9:00am. Hawk Time also ends each day on Tuesday – Friday from 2:30pm – 3:00pm. All Nelsen teachers are available to support students during Hawk Time.

A schedule is attached to the email so families can see each day of the schedule.

The message below is from our PTSA President Heather Ralston with important information about our first PTSA meeting this Wednesday:

As the new year starts, your PTSA Board would like to welcome all new and existing families to join us for our first Zoom Meeting of the year. We will be holding it on Wednesday night, September 9th at 7pm. 

Why JOIN the PTSA?

We are always hard at work to find creative solutions to the needs of students and staff, being advocates for your children's education and finding ways to provide you and your students with all the information you need to have a successful experience navigating their school careers at Nelsen. 

This year we will be putting together monthly Zoom Webinar/Education sessions on a variety of topics. All free to you! It will definitely  be a new experience for us working remotely and not being able to meet in person, but I am confident we can make this a successful experience with new opportunities we've never tried before. 

We welcome your input, knowledge and advice going forward into the new year. Please consider joining as a member and lending your voice to the process. All are welcome, parents, educators, community members and students! Every voice matters and the more we have, the better we can work to serve our staff and students. 

Thank you so much and we are looking forward to seeing your faces and hearing your voices via zoom. 

Heather Ralston, PTSA President

Rachael Shea/Ashley Ferluga, Vice-Presidents

Janna Witt, PTSA Secretary

Lory Suzuki/Kim Steiner, Treasurers

Our zoom Link is available on our Facebook page and website.

You can email us at: nelsenhawks@gmail.com

Memberships can be purchased ONLINE for now at the following link:

Scholarships are available and can be requested by emailing us directly. 

Have a great week.

Steve Rencher

Principal

Nelsen Middle School

6/1/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

As we close our registration process for students selecting their classes for next year, I want to give everyone another opportunity to complete the registration.

If you have an incoming student that will be in 6th grade next year.

If your student will be in 7^th grade next year.

If your student will be in 8^th grade next year.

The next three messages are from several different staff members about upcoming events. The first is from Mr. Mullins with information about STEM camp:

We are getting ready for another exciting year of Renton CTE STEM Summer Camp. With schools still shut, this year it will be a Virtual STEM Summer Camp!  We have an exciting week planned for current 6th - 8th grade students which includes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), decision making, problem solving, fabrication, and programming.  Students are engaged in hands-on learning throughout the camp! 

Class starts on Monday, June 22nd and finishes on Friday, June 26th. Students build, make, and explore STEM topics at home at their pace with help from teachers at several times throughout the day. Materials are provided at no cost to the participants thanks to the Renton Schools Foundation. Register for camp and be ready to pick up materials at school before camp begins. See you at Camp!

The next message is from Ms. Park and is about an upcoming Gear Up event:

Have you considered becoming a lawyer or a judge in the future, and would like to learn more about what it takes?

The GEAR UP team is hosting a panel on Careers in the Law, featuring Civil and Trial Attorneys, an Assistant United States Attorney, and a sitting judge, and we invite you to join us.  This is an opportunity for you to meet some people who are in the legal field, and ask them questions about what they do, why they chose the law, etc.

This is a one-day event, and it does require pre-registration, so that we know who is sitting in on our meeting.  Click on the link below to register for the Zoom meeting.

If you have any questions regarding this, please contact Ms. Park at christina.park@rentonschools.us

You are invited to a Zoom meeting, but please register in advance for it.

When: Jun 3, 2020 01:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Our last message is from our PTSA President Ms. Ralston:

We have a couple reminders for Nelsen parents and staff. Our Facebook and website page will be updated with all this information as well. Any questions can be emailed to nelsenptsa@gmail.com.

Please remember to vote for your nominees for your favorites below - it's anonymous and if you don't have a nomination for every category, that's ok too! We really want to recognize those who provide outstanding service in our community and we need your input!

Please vote for the Golden Acorn, Janie White and Outstanding Educator 

June 10th, 7pm Final PTSA Meeting for the year, through Zoom.

Please join us as we celebrate our award winners, announce our new board for the 2020-2021 school year and Screenagers details! 

Screenagers Showing plus Live Q&A with Nelsen MS Counselors, June 10 6pm-7:45

WITH SPANISH SUBTITLES!

Showing will be recorded and can be watched for 2 weeks post live event. All participants MUST register below for the event to gain access. 

Stay safe and stay healthy. 

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

5/25/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

It was wonderful to see so many of you and your students on Friday during our staff parade. During these challenging times, seeing so many smiling faces was an excellent reminder of the strong connection within our community.

Earlier this school year our PTSA held our PTSA Reflections Contest. Not only did Nelsen have a student win 1^st place at the district level, but that same student won an Award of Merit on the national level from the National PTA. On behave of our entire staff at Nelsen, congratulations Ty Johnson for your outstanding work! I would like to thank Debbie Epperson for her work and dedication as the PTSA Reflections Chair, thank you Debbie!

In the coming weeks, a schedule will be sent out to families with information about locker cleanout and school supply return. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Have a same and healthy Memorial Day.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

5/10/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope each of you were able to spend today connecting with people you love and doing things that bring you joy.

Don’t forget to check our In-Home Learning website for weekly assignments that our Nelsen teachers are creating. If you have  questions regarding any of the assignments, please contact the teacher for that class.

During these challenging times it can be easy to feel isolated from our Nelsen community. Our Nelsen staff is organizing a Nelsen staff car parade to reconnect with our Nelsen community. The Nelsen staff car parade will be held during the afternoon of Friday, May 22^nd. As details and a route are finalized, I’ll share those details with all of you.

As a reminder to my message last week, Nelsen Middle School is no longer severing lunches. However, you can still pick up lunches at nearby Cascade Elementary, Tiffany Park Elementary, and Renton Park Elementary. Meals will only be available Mondays and Wednesdays. Monday’s pick-up will include meals for Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday’s pick-up will include meals for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
 
Stay safe and stay healthy.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

5/3/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

The week of May 4th to 8th is Teacher Appreciation Week! Since the school closure began, teachers at Nelsen, and throughout the Renton School District, have worked hard to develop new instructional strategies to adapt to our new digital delivery model. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of such a strong group of Nelsen educators.

Later this spring, Nelsen will have a digital talent show. The flyer attached has information on how students can sign up: NMS Virtual Talent Show Announcement.pdf. If you have questions, please contact our 7th grade counselor Emily Gray.

The information below was sent to all RSD families last week. I wanted to send it again because the changes in the meal service program that distributes lunches impacts us here at Nelsen.

Changes to meal service
In order to better serve our families, we are making some changes to our school meal program:
Beginning Monday, May 4, we will close some sites that have participation levels of less than 50 children picking up daily meals. Families will still be able to pick-up meals at any sites near their home, including those within one mile of the previous site: (meal sites list.) 
Bryn Mawr Elementary site will close: families can pick-up meals nearby at Campbell Hill, Lakeridge, or Dimmitt Middle School
Nelsen Middle School site will close: families can pick-up meals nearby at Cascade, Renton Park or Tiffany Park
Renton High School site will close: families can pick-up meals at nearby Sartori Elementary
Beginning Monday, May 11, we will move from a 5 day/week meal service to a twice per week meal service.  
Meals will only be available Mondays and Wednesdays at all meal sites. 
Monday pick-up will include meals for Monday and Tuesday.
Wednesday pick-up will include meals for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
We will provide grocery bags to make it easier for families to carry multiple-day meal packs. Families are also encouraged to bring a backpack or bag to comfortably carry 2-3 days of meals.

 
Stay safe and stay healthy.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

4/26/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I hope each of you is safe, healthy, and enjoying your Sunday. In this week’s principal’s message, I want to remind everyone of the new grading guidelines schools received from The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) that were emailed last week. Along with the information on grading, at the end of this email is information on the College Bound Scholarship Program.

As our students continue to progress through our 3rd trimester, it’s important that students are actively monitoring our In-Home Learning website to access and complete assignments from their teachers. We understand there is no replacement for the high-quality in-person instruction that our teachers and students typically engage in at school. However, completion of these In-Home Learning assignments is important for your student, as the skills gained through these assignments will support your student’s academic readiness for their classes next school year. Starting this week, you can monitor your student’s progress of completing their In-Home Learning assignments on Skyward by visiting the teachers’ grade books where they are tracking the completion of assignments. If you have any questions about an assignment, please email the relevant teacher.

Below are the new grading guidelines as provided by OSPI:

Middle School Grading

For full-year or two-trimester classes, middle school students’ grades will carry forward from 2nd trimester to the final grading period.  Students who continue to be engaged in their schoolwork, complete assignments, and show evidence of meeting standards may improve their grade, but students’ grades will not be negatively impacted as a result of the March 17, 2020 school closures. 
For middle school classes that are one trimester (e.g., health), students will either be given a standards-based grade (4-3-2-1) or will be given an “NA” (Not Assessed) based on engagement and completion of assignments.
For middle school students taking a high school credit-bearing course, please see section on High School Grading. 

High School Grading

High school students and middle school students earning high school credits (e.g., Algebra, Geometry, Spanish) will be graded in the following manner for the third trimester of the 2019-2020 school year:  

Letter Grades (A through D): 

• Students will complete assignments, activities, and assessments. At the end of the course, students will receive a traditional letter grade on their high school transcript.
• Attendance will not be a factor when determining student grades.
• If students are unable to complete enough work for the course to earn a letter grade in accordance with the teacher’s grading practice, then the student will earn an Incomplete (I) on their transcript.

Incomplete (I):     

• The Incomplete will be converted to a letter grade by one of the following:  contract with the teacher to establish assignments or assessments which must be completed by an agreed upon timeline; taking the course in the following year; completing an online course.
• Students who did not engage in the class at all via remote learning shall retake the class or complete the class as online credit recovery.
   

Your student may be eligible for the College Bound Scholarship program. The College Bound Scholarship is an early commitment of state financial aid to eligible students who complete the application in middle school, fulfill the scholarship pledge, and meet income requirements in college. For more information about the College Bound Scholarship, please visit their website. 

Our school has started an application for your student, but you will need to complete the form to complete the application process. The College Bound Scholarship office will be sending the form to your home address in the next few days. You should expect to see it come directly to you, so keep an eye on your mail.

Be sure to provide all required field(s) on the form and double check that both you and your student sign the back side of the form. If any information is missing, the application will not be able to be completed and you will have to do the form again. You can then return the form to the address below. Note that the address will also be listed on the back of the form.

The College Bound Scholarship
PO Box 43430
Olympia, WA 98504
 
If you have any questions about the College Bound Scholarship, please contact our 8th grade counselor Andrea Lehwalder.
 
Stay safe and stay healthy.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

4/19/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I hope this email finds you and your family in good health and enjoying your Sunday evening. If your student is currently in 6th or 7th grade and you haven’t completed the online registration for next year, please visit our Nelsen website to complete the form. The online registration forms are on our main page of the Nelsen website.

Our In-Home Learning website has new learning activities that our teachers have posted for this week. All the learning activities can be found at our In-Home Learning website. If you have any questions about a specific activity, please contact the teacher.

Our Nelsen Middle School National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) directors Ms. Protasiewicz and Ms. Bennett are working hard to find ways to celebrate our students’ academic excellence. To qualify for NJHS students must receive grades of 3 or higher for their academic grade, effort grade, and community skills grade for all six of their classes during the second trimester. The service hours portion of the requirement has been waived for this year. All students who qualify for Nelsen’s NJHS will receive a certificate in the mail before the end of the school year.
Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Stay safe and stay healthy.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

4/12/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I hope each of you had a restful, safe, and healthy spring break. As a reminder, every Friday there will be new learning activities posted to our In-Home Learning site from each of our teachers. If you have any questions about any of the activities, please contact the teacher responsible for the activity. 

Current 6^th grade families and 7^th grade families, later this week you’ll receive an email with a link to a registration form to select the classes your student will take next year. Current 8^th grade families, your student already completed their registration process for next year when the Lindbergh counselors came to visit in February.

Lastly, I wanted to include a picture that was created by some of our Nelsen staff. As a staff, we truly miss our students and want them to know that they are loved. Nelsen Staff Photo.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

3/29/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I hope all of you that have been able to stay home have done so and that all of you are staying safe.

I want to let everyone know that 2^nd trimester report cards will be mailed home tomorrow. On the report card, in the top right corner, it says “2019-2020 Report Card 1^st Trimester”. That is a typo, as this is the report card that contains grades for both 1^st and 2^nd trimester. Our apologies for the typo.

As a reminder to my previous emails, each week our staff is updating the various learning activities on our school website. Each Friday new activities will be posted for the following week. All our Nelsen students can access all the work that is posted on the In-Home Learning site.

Be on the lookout for report cards arriving soon.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

3/22/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

During the first week of the school closure, our Nelsen staff have been busy creating learning activities for our students. Our Nelsen website has an In-Home Learning page that has a list of learning activities for all our Nelsen classes. To access the page, go to In-Home Learning.

The majority of the activities are online via Google Classroom. The codes for all the activities are online as well, so all Nelsen students have access to every teacher’s activities for the whole school. If you have any questions about the activities for a class, please email that teacher.

As a reminder, our nutrition services department has been handing out lunch to students outside the main entrance of the school. Lunch is provided Monday through Friday from 11:00AM to 12:00PM.

 
Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 

3/8/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

As we begin our school closure this week, I won’t be continuing to send out my weekly email on Sunday evenings. The purpose of my weekly email is to keep our Nelsen community informed of events and news from our school. During the closure there won’t be any events or news to share. Although I won’t be emailing weekly, when I receive any new information from our district that we as a community need to know, I will send that information to you.

In these unprecedented times, I have no doubt that many of you have questions. Please be sure to check the Renton School District website for information, as well as check your email for any communication from the district and from Nelsen.   

Take care of each other and stay safe.
 
Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School 
 

2/2/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

This Wednesday, our Nelsen PTSA is meeting in the Nelsen library at 7:00PM, all are welcome to join us for the meeting. Our Nelsen PTSA is selling Valentine Grams that will be delivered to students on Friday February 14th. Valentine Grams are being sold during lunches and can also be purchased online at the PTSA Website. 

The following message is from Ms. Stephens and the students on our Nelsen yearbook committee:  
The end of our 8th graders middle school career will be coming to a close this school year. In order to honor that, we would like to include baby pictures of them in our 2019-2020 yearbook showing how they've changed. To accomplish this we need the help of families by sending in their favorite pictures to nay.col000@rentonstudent.us before February 14, 2020 along with the student’s full name (first and last) making sure the photos are sent in the largest format possible. This is a hard deadline. Don't miss out! Get them in as soon as possible!

As a reminder, there is no school during the week of February 17th – 21st. Nelsen, and all Renton schools will be closed for mid-winter break. 

Have a great week. 
 
Steve Rencher
Principal 
Nelsen Middle School

1/26/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

In partnership with the Renton community, the Renton School District proudly provides all middle and high school students with their own Chromebook, which allows students to access to digital resources when and where they need them. 

We are considering the idea of having sixth and seventh grade students keep their Chromebooks at home over the summer as they transition to seventh and eighth grade.  This will allow students to have access to their Chromebooks for as much time as possible (including until the very end of the school year, over the summer, and at the very beginning of the following school year). Eighth grade students would receive their Chromebook from their high school in late August.

We want to hear from you!  Please provide us your opinion on students keeping their Chromebooks at home over the summer by completing this short surveyOpens in New Window. 

Have a great week!
 
Steve Rencher
Principal 
Nelsen Middle School

1/18/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

As a reminder, there is no school tomorrow, Monday January 20th. Schools are closed in observance of MLK Day. After last week’s snow and icy road conditions that forced school closures and delays, I’m looking forward to getting back into our regular routine.  

Later this week, come support our Nelsen choir as they perform at the Winter Choral Concert. The concert is on Thursday at Lindbergh High School and begins at 7:00PM. If you haven’t been to a Nelsen musical performance yet this year, you’re truly missing out.

Another date that I’ve mentioned previously is the upcoming showing of the documentary Screenagers. The showing of Screenagers is being hosted by our Nelsen PTSA, and the event is on Friday March 20th. Details on the exact time will be communicated once that is determined. Please save the date and join us on the 20th. If you would like additional information about the documentary, please go to Screenagers.

Have a great week.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School
 

1/12/20

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

The weather forecast for this week has several days of snow and cold weather. District staff begin evaluating road conditions at 3:30AM. Student and staff safety is the number one priority when evaluating road conditions to make a decision about potential school schedule changes. If inclement weather makes a school schedule change necessary, the decision will be made by the Superintendent and communicated to families and staff by:

 

• Phone call/email/text to all families
• Renton School District website and school websites
• The district's Facebook page
• The district's Twitter page
• The district's Instagram
• Local media outlets (TV, radio)

The Renton School District has the following tips for families regarding inclement weather:

• School schedule change announcements apply for that day only.
• If no announcement is made by Renton School District during a weather event, all of our schools, offices, and buses are operating normally.
• Continue to look for updated announcements throughout the day. If conditions change rapidly or unexpectedly, we may need to make a quick decision to cancel school or send students home early.
• Keep in mind that some areas of the district experience more severe weather and driving conditions than others. School closures and schedule changes are districtwide, even if your neighborhood is not severely impacted.
• Please avoid calling the transportation office, your school, or the district offices. Calls divert staff from responding to the current situation.

In other non-weather related news, we have a busy upcoming week here at Nelsen. On Monday we have our first day of volleyball tryouts and wrestling practice. If you have any questions regarding either volleyball or wrestling, please contact our athletic director Kelly Jones. On Friday we have our MLK assembly, as well as lessons in each period on Friday that reinforce the powerful message of Dr. King. There is no school on Monday January 20th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day.  

I hope each of you has an amazing week, and hopefully we avoid a repeat of last year’s “snowmaggedon”. 
 
Steve Rencher
Principal 
Nelsen Middle School
 

1/5/2020

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I hope each of you has enjoyed your winter break and holiday season. I look forward to welcoming all our students back to kick off the 2020 year here at Nelsen Middle School. We have several events taking place this week here at Nelsen.

On Tuesday, both the girls and boys basketball teams have home games here at Nelsen vs Dimmitt Middle School. The girls begins at 3:00PM and the boys begin at 4:15PM. Please come and join us in supporting our basketball teams. Later this week on Wednesday, our amazing group of dedicated PTSA members are meeting at 7:00PM in the Nelsen library. All are invited and welcome to join us for that meeting.

An upcoming date to have on your calendar is March 20th. Our PTSA is hosting a screening of the documentary Screenagers. Specifics about the event will be communicated as details are finalized. If you’re not familiar with the documentary, it’s about the amount of screen time, phones, computers, television, etc., and the effects of excessive screen time on the brain. It’s an interesting documentary and I’m excited that our PTSA will make this available to our community.

Cheers to an amazing 2020!
 
Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School
 

12/20/19

Good Evening Nelsen Families, 

Over the last week many schools across King County, including many in the Renton School District, have seen an increase in student absences due to illness.  The most common symptoms include fever and other flu-like symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.  To help prevent the illness from spreading and to keep our Nelsen community healthy, we ask that you keep students home if they are feeling sick.  Students should only return to school when they have been symptom free without medication for over 24 hours.   

Thank you,

Steve Rencher

Principal 

Nelsen Middle School 

12/15/19

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

Welcome to the final week of school of 2019! As we make our way towards the end of 2019, we have a busy last week ahead of us.

As I mentioned in my email last week, this Thursday December 19th, Nelsen is hosting a community listening session. The event begins at 6:00PM in our Nelsen cafeteria. As families arrive, they’ll get food and join a table group. At each table group there’ll be a Nelsen staff member who’ll guide the conversation by asking several questions about your experiences and opinions of Nelsen Middle School. The purpose of the event is to gather your feedback and create that feedback into actionable items that we can use to improve Nelsen. 

Apart from the evening event on Thursday, our Nelsen basketball teams play on Thursday at McKnight Middle School. Our boys begin at 3:00PM and our girls at 4:15PM. 

We recently had two Nelsen staff members leave our professional community. Our registrar Ms. Cortina and science teacher Ms. Dove, both resigned from their positions. We thank them both for their dedication to our school community and wish them well moving forward. We’re already working hard to hire for each of their open positions. 

We hope to see you all this Thursday and we look forward to an amazing last week of the 2019 year. 
 
Steve Rencher 
Principal 
Nelsen Middle School 

12/8/19

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday evening. Last Thursday at Nelsen we hosted grade level assemblies. During the assemblies we spoke about a variety of topics, one of those topics was attendance. When I worked at the high school level, I learned that the number one predictor of students graduating was maintaining an attendance percentage above 90%. On Thursday we spoke with our Nelsen students about how attending at least 90% of school each year, will help our students graduate from high school and be successful while they’re here at Nelsen.

Another topic of the grade level assemblies was the use of cell phones and headphones/earbuds. We reminded students of the expectations here at Nelsen, which are that all cell phones and earbuds need to be put away, in their pocket is perfectly fine, from 7:50 until 2:35. The only exceptions to this rule is if a teacher gives specific permission for students to use their devices within that teacher’s classroom.

Our Nelsen PTSA is looking for any interested parents to help support the student store. If you’re interested, please visit the PTSA webpage and look for the student store sign up button. You can also follow the Nelsen PTSA Facebook page for updates. Our next Nelsen PTSA meeting will be January 8th at 7:00PM in the Nelsen library.

This week we have basketball games on Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, our boys and girls teams travel to play at Dimmitt. On Thursday, our boys and girls teams are at home here at Nelsen vs Risdon. On both days the boys start at 3:00PM and the girls begin at 4:15PM. This Thursday our Nelsen Band is hosting their winter concert at Lindbergh High School at 7:00PM. This Friday is our first school dance of the year. Students must have a ticket prior to the dance, as tickets are not sold at the door. Tickets are $3 with ASB, $4 without ASB, and ticket prices increase to $5 on Friday during lunch.

If you haven’t completed our family survey, please take a minute to do so. Your feedback and opinion is incredibly important to us here at Nelsen and helps us continue to make improvements and address the needs of our community.

Have a great week.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School

11/25/2019

Good Evening Nelsen Families,
 

It’s been such a fast and great start to the school year, it’s hard to believe we’re already to Thanksgiving week and Parent - Teacher conferences. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week are each half-days, which end at 11:00AM. Nelsen will be closed on Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving break. Nelsen will also be closed on Monday Dec. 2nd for a teacher training day. 

Our fall Parent – Teacher conferences will be held on Monday from 12:00PM to 3:00PM and Tuesday from 12:00PM – 4:00PM and then from 5:00PM – 7:00PM. Teachers will not be available on Tuesday from 4:00PM – 5:00PM. During conferences, there’ll also be a resource fair with various agencies and resources from our Renton community. A few of the resources that’ll be available are the following: Atlantic Street Center, Big Brother / Big Sister, King County Library, and Glover Empowerment Mentoring.

On Monday, Nelsen students will receive this flyer Nelsen Middle School Parent-Teacher Conferences. The flyer has additional information about conferences and has a space for your student to write down their schedule to help you navigate your way through conferences. Students are welcome and encouraged to attend conferences with their family
Below is the bell schedule for this week, including the Parent- Teacher conference schedules:

Monday, November 25th:

1st period         7:55AM -   9:00AM

2nd period        9:04AM - 10:00AM

3rd period       10:04AM - 11:00AM 

Conferences  12:00PM -   3:00PM

Tuesday, November 26th  

4th period         7:55AM - 9:00AM

5th period         9:04AM - 10:00AM

6th period       10:04AM - 11:00AM 

Conferences  12:00PM -   4:00PM

Teachers will not be available from 4:00PM - 5:00PM

Conferences   5:00PM -  7:00PM

Wednesday, November 27th

1st period         7:55AM -   8:30AM

2nd period        8:34AM -   9:00AM

3rd period         9:04AM -   9:30AM 

4th period         9:34AM - 10:00AM

5th period       10:04AM - 10:30AM

6th period       10:34AM - 11:00AM 

One of my biggest goals when I first started at Nelsen was to continue to improve our school spirit. Our newest Nelsen spirit wear options allow our students, staff, and community members to show off their Nelsen pride in a variety of different styles. Please check out the following site to show your Nelsen pride.

Our Nelsen Book Fair has been going on for the past week and will continue until the end of conferences on the 26th. Please stop by the library when you visit conferences to check out all the fun items included in our Nelsen Book Fair.

We look forward to seeing you all at conferences. Have a great week.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

Over the next couple of weeks, Nelsen Middle School has a lot of exciting events coming up. Our fall play begins tomorrow, with a performance at 2:45PM in the cafeteria, and another show on Tuesday the 19th at 2:45PM. Families and friends are welcome to attend!

This Friday, November 22nd is not a late-start Friday. School will start at our regular start time of 7:55AM. This change is implemented throughout the district. There are additional schedule changes on the week of Thanksgiving, Monday the 25th, Tuesday the 26th, and Wednesday the 27th are all half-days for students, which end at 11:00AM.  The Monday and Tuesday end at 11:00AM to accommodate for our parent-teacher conferences. Conferences are done in an arena style format with teachers situated in our gyms. No appointment is necessary, you can come at any time during the conference schedule. The conference schedule for those days is below:

Monday, November 25th 12:00PM - 3:00PM

Tuesday, November 26th  12:00PM - 3:00PM

                                            5:00pm - 7:00PM

Teachers will not be available from 4:00PM - 5:00PM

During the first few months of school, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you. During our conversations I greatly appreciate your feedback on various aspects of Nelsen. As a way to get more feedback, the Renton School District has created a family survey. If you could complete the survey, it would provide much needed family feedback on additional ways we can continue to improve our school community.

If you would like to see all the great work our Gear Up program is doing, here is the November Gear Up newsletter. 2019 GEAR UP News - Nov.pdf . If you have any questions about Gear Up, please contact Ms. Christina Park. 

Have a great week!

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School

11/10/19

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I hope everyone is enjoying their Veterans’ Day weekend. On Thursday last week, Nelsen Middle School had the opportunity to honor local veterans during our Veterans’ Day assembly. The assembly was a great success and our students were exceptional audience members. A big thank you to all of the veterans that were able to attend.

On Thursday of this week, the Nelsen PTSA has a fundraiser with Menchie’s. From 2:30PM to 8:00PM 20% of all purchases will be donated to Nelsen PTSA. Swing by Menchie’s on Petrovitsky and support our Nelsen PTSA! Menchie's Flyer.pdf. 

The Nelsen Drama Club presents their fall play on Monday November 18th and Tuesday the 19th. On Monday and Tuesday, the play will start at 2:45PM and end at 4:00PM. If you have any questions about the fall play, please contact our drama program director Andrea Sylvester.

Our fall parent-teacher conferences will be held on Monday November 25th and Tuesday the 26th. On Monday, conferences will be held from 12:00PM – 3:00PM. On Tuesday, conferences will be from 12:00PM to 4:00PM, then teachers will have a break for dinner and conferences will continue at 5:00PM and end at 7:00PM.

The following message is from our student yearbook staff:

The end of our 8th graders middle school career will be coming to a close this school year. In order to honor that, we would like to include baby pictures of them in our 2019-2020 yearbook showing how they've changed. To accomplish this we need the help of families by sending in their favorite pictures here before January 10th 2020, please include the students full name (first and last) making sure the photos are sent in the largest format possible. This is a hard deadline. Don't miss out! Get them in as soon as possible!

Have a great week everyone!
 
Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School

11/3/19

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday evening. Don’t forget to vote by this Tuesday! There are a number of items on the November 5th ballot that if approved would greatly benefit Nelsen, as well as our entire Renton community. As a reminder, this Friday Nov.8th is a non-student day. The following Monday, November 11th, Nelsen will be closed in observance of Veterans’ Day.

Our Nelsen Middle School Veterans’ Day Assembly is this Thursday at 8:15AM. After the assembly, Nelsen PTSA will provide refreshments for our Veterans and their families in the library.

The following message is from our Gear Up Coordinator Ms. Christina Park:
On Wednesday, November 6th, from 6-7pm, there will be a Family Information Night regarding financial planning and preparing for your student’s future education.  Information about STEM, CTE pathways in high school, financial aid, mentorship, and College Bound Scholarships will be presented.  It is being sponsored by the GEAR UP program, and all Nelsen families are invited to attend.

It will be at McKnight Middle School, and dinner and childcare will be provided.  Please join us!
McKnight Middle School (in the commons) from 6:00PM – 7:00PM

Gear Up Financial Planning

This week we have several exciting events taking place. Below is the weekly schedule:

Tuesday, November 5th

• Orchestra Performance, 7:00PM at Lindbergh High School
• Don’t forget to vote!

Wednesday, November 6th

• PTSA Meeting 7:00PM in the library
• GEAR Up Financial Planning Event at McKnight Middle School at 6:00PM

Thursday, November 7th

• Veterans’ Day Assembly at 8:15AM in the gym
• Band Performance 7:00PM at Lindbergh High School

Friday, November 8th

• No School

Have a great week!

Steve Rencher

Principal

Nelsen Middle School

10/27/2019

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

It's hard to believe we're at the end of October and the beginning of November. As we end October, I want to let all our families know that students are not able to wear costumes at school for Halloween. This includes masks and face paint.

Tomorrow, Monday the 28th is our first day of basketball tryouts. The following information is a repeat of a previous weekly principal’s message from Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Ms. Jones with information about basketball at Nelsen:

Basketball registration for our 19-20 Boys and Girls Basketball teams is open and will remain open until the first day of tryouts, Monday, October 28th.  All students must be registered online if they would like to try-out for the team.  Please note that this is a cut sport.  You can register your student at the NMW Registration Page. In addition to being registered online, students must also have an ASB Card, running shoes, athletic clothing and a water bottle to participate in try-outs.  Please email Assistant Principal and Athletic Director, Kelly Jones with any questions.

On Tuesday the 29th come support our Nelsen choir as they perform at Lindbergh High School. Both the Nelsen choir and Lindbergh choir will be performing. The performances begin at 7:00PM. 

In preparation for our Veterans’ Day Assembly, Nelsen would like to honor our community members who have served and are currently serving our country at our Veterans’ Day assembly. If you, or anyone you know would be interested in joining us for our assembly, please contact our Veterans’ Day Assembly coordinator Ms. Sylvester.

Have a great week!

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School
 

10/20/2019

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

This is our final week of our soccer season. Please come out and support our Nelsen soccer teams. On Monday we host Dimmitt here at Nelsen and this Thursday we travel to play at Risdon. For both days, the boys begin at 3:00 and the girls at 4:00. As the soccer season comes to an end this week, we begin to prepare for our basketball season. The follow message is from our Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Ms. Jones:

Basketball registration for our 19-20 Boys and Girls Basketball teams is now open and will remain open until the first day of tryouts, Monday, October 28th.  All students must be registered online if they would like to try-out for the team.  Please note that this is a cut sport. You can register your student at the NMS registration page. In addition to being registered online, students must also have an ASB Card, running shoes, athletic clothing and a water bottle to participate in try-outs. Please email Assistant Principal and Athletic Director, Kelly Jones with any questions.

Don’t forget to vote on the Nov. 5 ballot! If voters approve the measure on the ballot, here are some of the big construction projects planned for Nelsen:

• Boilers
• Heating, Ventilation, Air Circulation (HVAC) & Energy improvements
• Fields and grounds
• Accessibility from parking lot to school
• Entry plaza concrete
• Paint portion of building
• Roof flashing membrane
• Power

 
Have a great week!
 
Steve Rencher
Principal

10/14/19

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

We have a busy week at Nelsen with both Discover U Week and our annual Hawk Walk on Friday. For Discover U Week, students will experience various lessons and activities that highlight post high school educational options, as well as exploring different types of careers and career pathways. If you have any questions related to Discover U Week, please contact Ms. Christina Park.

Our Hawk Walk is a fundraiser that culminates this Friday the 18^th. All students that have completed their pledge form and submitted their $2.00 fundraiser donation can attend the Hawk Walk on Friday during 6^th period. If you have questions about the Hawk Walk, please contact Ms. Alyssa Barrett.

This week at Nelsen we have soccer games on Monday and Thursday. On Monday our Nelsen teams are playing here at Nelsen vs Risdon Middle School and on Thursday our teams travel to play at McKnight Middle School.

On November 7^th Nelsen will host our Veterans’ Day Assembly. The assemblies will be by grade level and held in our cafeteria. During the assemblies we would like to honor our community members who’ve served and those currently serving in our military.  If you would like to attend please contact Ms. Andrea Sylvester. We would truly be honored to have our veterans join us for the assembly. 

Let’s have a great week!

 

Steve Rencher

Principal

Nelsen Middle School

Good Evening Nelsen Families,

I want to thank all the students and families that attended Nifty Nelsen Night last Friday. It was awesome to see everyone having so much fun with all the great activities that were going on throughout the building. And a big shout-out to our PTSA volunteers for their continuous support of our Nelsen Middle School community!
This Friday, October 11th, there is no school for students. This Friday is a state in-service day for educators. Again, no school this Friday.

The following message is from our art teacher, Mrs. Sheri Stephens:
The PTSA Reflections Art Contest is back! Calling all students to get creative! Entry forms and contest rules are on the Reflections bulletin board at the front of the school. This year’s theme is, "Look Within".  The 6 categories are:  Film, literature, dance/choreography, visual arts, photography and musical composition.  Please turn in your entries to Mrs. Stephens in room 18 before 11/8/19. There are prizes for winners in each category, and every student that enters the Reflections Art Contest will get a student store coupon. Need a space for creating? Come to the art room after school on Thursday October 17 and/or Thursday October 24.  Supplies will be available or bring your own. If you have questions please contact the Reflections Chair.

I want to thank Mrs. Stephens for her dedication to our Nelsen art program and ensuring our Nelsen students have access to a creative art experience.  Speaking of creative, this month is Socktober and our PTSA is selling crazy socks for Socktober. Socks will be for sale in the student store. If you have any questions about the socks, please contact Nelsen PTSA.

This week at Nelsen we have our first soccer games of the season. On Monday, both our girls and boys teams play here at Nelsen against McKnight Middle School. Our girls begin at 3:00 and our boys start at 4:00. Please come out and support our Hawk soccer teams in their first game of the season! On Thursday our teams travel for an away game at Dimmitt Middle School. At Dimmitt, both teams begin at 3:00.
I look forward to an amazing week here at Nelsen!

Greetings Nelsen Families,

As our busy September comes to an end, a fast-paced October starts this week. Below are this week’s events for Nelsen Middle School:

• Monday September 30th – Soccer Jamboree at Dimmitt Middle School
• Wednesday October 2nd – PTSA Meeting at 7:00 in the Nelsen Library. All Nelsen families are welcomed to attend the PTSA meeting!
• Friday October 4th – Nifty Nelsen Night from 6:00pm -7:30pm. A flyer with specific activities will be sent out this Wednesday.

The following information is about the upcoming November 5th election ballot and how that ballot has a direct impact on Nelsen Middle School:
Many improvements at Nelsen Middle School, and a new elementary school on the Nov. 5 election ballot
The Renton School District School Construction measure on the Nov. 5 ballot includes a lot of work here at our school. If voters approve the measure on the ballot, here are some of the big construction projects planned for Nelsen Middle School:

• Boilers
• Heating, Ventilation, Air Circulation (HVAC) & Energy improvements
• Fields and grounds
• Accessibility from parking lot to school
• Entry plaza concrete
• Paint portion of building
• Roof flashing membrane
• Power

Also on the ballot is the construction of a new elementary school in the Hazen High School area. That additional elementary school is important in helping relieve the overcrowding at schools all around the Highlands area.
The good news is that because of the large number of businesses and families that have moved into the area, many more businesses and property owners combine to pay for this work; that means Renton School District will be able to do all of the work while keeping tax rates for property owners flat and not raise tax rates. See a list of projects at all schools and read more about the new elementary school at this website.

School districts in Washington State do not receive any state or federal funding to do these kinds of large-scale construction projects to improve our school and to build much-needed new schools. That work can only be done if voters approve School Construction measures on the election ballot. So, if you’re not registered to vote, please consider registering now to be ready to vote for our school improvements on the Nov. 5 ballot. You can register to vote, online or by email 8 days prior to the election.
 
Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School

Greetings Nelsen Families,

It’s been such a fast and wonderful start to the school year that it’s hard to believe were almost through the month of September. 
This Wednesday September 25th is our Watch D.O.G.S. event. D.O.G.S. stands for Dads of Great Students. The program is designed to have fathers of students be involved in our school. The event on Wednesday begins at 6:00pm and is for fathers and their students to attend together. Dinner will be provided and the event will be held in the cafeteria. If you have any questions regarding the Watch D.O.G.S. program, please contact our Dean of Students Mr. Gary Aguilar.

Later this week, HotSpots will begin going home with students. If your student needs a HotSpot please be sure to complete the HotSpot form as soon as you can.If you have any questions about the HotSpots, please contact our Technology Resource Specialist Ms.Terri Zura.
Below are a few events that are further out to add to your calendars:

Wednesday October 2nd – PTSA Meeting in the library at 7:00pm. Please visit the new PTSA website to learn more about our amazing Nelsen PTSA

Friday October 4th – Nifty Nelsen Night. Come and spend time with us as our staff presents fun activities for students and their families to enjoy. Specific details for this event will be sent out later this week.

Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School

Greetings Nelsen Families,

I want to start off by saying thank you to all the parents and family members that attend last week’s Open House. It was amazing to see the cafeteria completely full and at standing-room only. If you have any questions about any of your students’ classes, please don’t hesitate to contact the teacher.

There are two upcoming events that I want to share with everyone:

• Tuesday Sept. 17th – Gear Up Family Kick Off: This event is for 7th and 8th grade students and families to learn about the Gear Up program. The event is from 6:00PM to 7:00PM at the Renton Ikea Performing Arts Center at Renton High School. Gear Up Flyer. Please contact Christina Park with any questions christina.park.
• Wednesday Sept. 25th – WatchDOGS: Come learn about our Nelsen WatchDOGS program and how you can get involved. The event begins at 6:00PM and is hosted in the Nelsen cafeteria. Please contact Gary Aguilar with any questions.

Below is a message from the Renton School District about middle school students attending high school athletic events:
Notice to middle school parents & students who attend High School Athletic events: Middle and high school sports are vital to the growth and development of all students, and participation in sports helps build self-esteem and creates memories that last a lifetime. We want all students and families to have positive experiences while attending sporting events at our schools and Renton Stadium. 

Middle school students must pay the student price to enter high school events. Middle school students with ASB are not admitted for free.  Students will be expected to demonstrate positive fan behavior and sportsmanship. This includes but is not limited to:

• Sitting in the bleachers for the duration of the game. 
• Using appropriate language and treating others with respect
• Complying with direction from stadium and/or high school officials 
• School rules and behavior expectations apply to district athletic events and venues 

Students who do not meet expectations of either the stadium or high school staff may be asked to leave the facility and staff will attempt to contact parents/guardians.  Students who violate school rules could potentially receive school discipline and be No-Trespassed by the Renton Police Department. 

High School events such as football games at Renton Memorial Field are meant to be enjoyed by the entire community. Please attend these events with your student whenever possible, and when you cannot, review the expectations for their behavior ahead of time. 

Steve Rencher
Principal

From Principal rencher:

9/9/2019

What a great, and busy, start to the new school year at Nelsen Middle School. Let’s start with the positive: Let’s all give a huge shout-out to our Nelsen PTSA members who last Wednesday hosted the largest PTSA meeting I’ve seen in my career! It was incredibly impressive to witness the dedication to our students, our school, and our community from all those that were able to attend. If anyone is interested in learning more about the Nelsen PTSA, please contact our PTSA President Ms. Heather Ralston at NelsenPTSA@gmail.com as well as the Nelsen Middle School PTSA Facebook page.
Our Open House quickly approaches this Thursday, Sept. 12, at 6 p.m. Families can meet their student’s teachers and learn about their classes. 
This week there is a small chance that some students will experience a minor schedule change. This potential change in class schedule is due to Nelsen’s enrollment being slightly lower than anticipated. Although we’re not losing a staff member, we’ll rebalance our numbers in some classrooms to ensure we’re equitably serving all of our students.
Below is a list of events for this week.

 I look forward to our first full week at Nelsen!
 
Steve Rencher
Principal
Nelsen Middle School

From Principal rencher:

Greetings Nelsen Families,

• Last week our school year got off to a fast start. Between learning how to use lockers, how to navigate the school to find new classrooms, and learning new teachers, our students had a busy first few days. As we move into September, I want to communicate some upcoming important dates.
• Tuesday Sept. 3rd is the first day for soccer try-outs. All students must be registered in order to try-out, you can register here.
• Nelsen Middle School is a 1 to 1 school. Which means all Nelsen students will have access to a laptop. At Nelsen, the laptops we use are Chromebooks. The Chromebooks will be distributed to students on Sept. 10th and 11th.
• Picture Day for all students is Sept. 11th.
• Our Nelsen Middle School Open House is Sept. 12th at 6:00PM. A detailed schedule will be sent out prior to Open House. However, for your planning purposes, please mark 9/12 on your calendar.

I hope each of you is enjoying your Labor Day Weekend.