Welcome Message from Principal Willette!
Welcome to the New School Year!
I hope you enjoyed your summer break! It was such a privilege to join Sugiyama last year and is such a privilege to continue to lead during the 2024-25 school year. Our theme for the year is “Unlocking Our Potential.” We are all excited as we use our theme to reinforce our instructional vision for “Remixing Education” through experiential and interactive learning.
I thank you for entrusting us with the care of your scholar and for partnering to ensure they have a safe, welcoming, inclusive, equitable and personally tailored educational experience!
First Week of School
Please read the information in this letter since it provides keys to success for the first week of school and key safety initiatives that we will focus on for this school year.
Sept. 4, 8:50 a.m. – 3:40 p.m.
9th-12th gather in the Commons for an orientation, community building, laptop pick up, etc.
Sept. 5, 8:50 a.m. – 3:40 p.m.
9th-12th gather in the Commons to receive their schedule for the day. Students will continue orientation, community building and reviewing their course schedules.
Sept. 6, 8:50 a.m. – 3:40 p.m.
All grade levels follow an abbreviated all periods bell schedule. This is also ID day for all scholars.
Laptop Distribution
Laptops will be distributed on Sept. 4 and Sept. 5.
Cell Phone Policy
Cell phones and any personal electronics (including ear buds and Apple watches) are silenced or powered OFF and out of sight during instructional school hours in the classroom and during passing periods. Students can use their cell phone before school/during lunch/and after school. If you need to contact your student during school hours, please call the main office and we will release your student to call you.
Closed Campus
Sugiyama will join other South End schools and have a closed campus beginning this school year. This policy is in alignment with SPS Board Policy 3242.
“It is the policy of the Seattle School Board that all students are to remain on campus during school hours.”
However, Principals can determine rules for leaving campus during mealtimes.
- 9th and 10th graders will remain on campus during the lunch period.
- 11th and 12th graders can go off-campus during lunch with a signed parent consent form outlining all expectations, including returning to class on time.
- Privileges will be revoked if expectations are not met. Your 11th-12th grade scholar will bring the form home the first week of school.
I understand this is a big shift for our scholars and that they have legitimate concerns about the availability of tasty food options. The best deal is that All meals are free for every student, regardless of your income status. We have made this decision to close campus with careful thought, reviewing incident data during lunch from previous years, and collecting feedback from scholars, staff, and community members.
As many of you may know, crime and violence in our own surrounding community has escalated exponentially over the last few years, which unfortunately impacts our students. Many of the incidents reported in the last few years began or occurred off campus during the lunch period. Our primary goal is to keep our scholars safe. Please know that we are working closely with Rainier Beach High School, District Administration, Security, SE Network, Safe Passage, SPD and our local businesses to address these issues to the best of our ability.
I know this is a lot of information, but I want to make sure you are well informed of our plan and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Thank you and I look forward to an amazing year!
With gratitude,
Renée Willette
Interim Principal Sugiyama at South Lake
rmwillette@seattleschools.org