September Newsletter

Back-to-School Night Family Event!

Date: September 24, 2026

Come learn about our school and engage in our community!

Agenda:
4:30-5:20 pm: Family Room is Open: Clothing, hygiene products, non-perishable food items, etc. are available for Honey Dew families navigating economic challenges 
5:15-5:30: Cafeteria doors open for Back-to-School Night (free snacks and beverages for families)
5:30-6:00: Title I and School Information/ PTA Welcome
6:00-6:50: Sessions 1 and 2 in students' classrooms to learn about our classroom learning communities (families with 1 student can go home after Session 1)

From Our School Counselor

Dear Honey Dew Families, 

I’m excited to introduce myself as the new School Counselor at Honey Dew Elementary! This week, I had the opportunity to visit our 4th & 5th grade classrooms for a short introduction lesson, where students learned more about who I am and how I can support them at school. 

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be visiting the remaining grade levels to introduce myself and help students become familiar with the role of the school counselor. I look forward to getting to know our students and supporting their academic, social-emotional, and personal growth throughout the school year!

I’m so excited to be a part of the Honey Dew community! 

Warmly,
Jocelyne Gonzalez, School Counselor 

Estimadas familias de Honey Dew: 

¡Me da mucho gusto presentarme como la nueva consejera escolar de Honey Dew! Esta semana tuve la oportunidad de visitar los salones de cuarto y quinto grado para una breve presentación, donde los estudiantes aprendieron un poco más sobre quién soy y cómo puedo apoyarlos en la escuela. 

Durante las próximas semanas, visitaré los demás grados para presentarme y ayudar a los estudiantes a familiarizarse con el papel de la consejera escolar. ¡Espero conocer a nuestros estudiantes y apoyar su crecimiento académico, socioemocional y personal a lo largo del año escolar! 

¡Estoy muy emocionada de ser parte de la comunidad de Honey Dew! 

Un cordial saludo,
Jocelyne Gonzalez, Consejera escolar

From the Honey Dew PTA

Welcome back from your Honey Dew PTA!

We have a busy start to the year planned, and we look forward to connecting with as many families as possible through our events and activities.

First, we'd like to invite everyone to join or rejoin the PTA for the new school year. You can do that by visiting here. Joining helps you to stay informed and connected to our events and programs.

On September 10th, we're excited to meet up with our school community at Menchies at the landing for a fundraiser night and social time! Bring your friends and family any time between 3pm and 8pm. Mention Honey Dew when you check out, and Menchies will donate 20% back to our PTA.

Join us for a short meeting and introduction to the PTA at Back to School Night, to learn more about what we do and how you can get involved to support our school community.

And looking forward, we have our Walk-a-thon scheduled for October 2nd. We have decided to try this as a Fall event going forward so that the end of the year is less busy and to start the year off with a little more excitement. Watch for more information in your child's Thursday folders, and if you are interested in volunteering at the event, check out our sign-up link: Fall Walk-a-thon

Last, but definitely not least, we have a fantastic opportunity for all Honey Dew students to show their creative side! Reflections is the National PTA's arts competition. Students can submit entries in six categories at the school level, and we will send submissions on to the Renton level where they could move forward to the State and National competitions. The theme this year is "What My Culture Means to Me," and we are so excited to see what our students create! Information about the entry requirements can be found here, and more information will be available on our website soon! 

We are so excited for all we have planned for the 2026-2027 school year with all of you!

Shauna Sobel, PTA President
president@honeydewpta.org

We are a Title I School!

What is Title I?
Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides financial assistance to states and school districts to meet the needs of educationally at-risk students. The goal of Title I is to provide extra instructional services and activities which support students identified as failing or most at risk of failing the state’s challenging performance standards in mathematics, reading, and writing.
 

District Parent Involvement Policy
The Renton School District values parental involvement in students’ education and has a Parent Involvement Policy (No. 4130) to support this value. The Categorical Programs Department holds annual parent advisory meetings for Title I, LAP, and Multilingual (ML) parents to gather feedback and implementation suggestions on the district’s parent involvement policy, procedures and programs.  The District’s policy is available on the district website and at the front desk in each school. School parent involvement plans are made available to parents at conference time and through school newsletters. 

Instruction by Highly Qualified Staff
In compliance with the requirements of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) we would like to inform you that you may request information about the professional qualifications of your student’s teacher(s) or instructional paraprofessional(s). 

In this Title I school, all Paraeducators meet the Highly Qualified Teacher requirements.

Citizens Complaint Process
When a District receives Federal Title I funds it allows us the opportunity to provide supplemental support programs for Title I eligible students. As a recipient of these funds we are required to inform you that if you have a complaint about the services offered under Title I and have not been able to resolve them through the District process, you may file a citizen complaint to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

A citizen complaint is a written statement that alleges a violation of a federal rule, law or state regulation that applies to a federal program.

• Anyone can file a citizen complaint
• There is no special form
• There is no need to know the law that governs a federal program to file a complaint

Our Annual Honey Dew Title I Meeting will be held on September 24, 2026 as part of Back-to-School Night.

Dismissal Plans & Bus Transportation

If your student is a bus rider and you will be picking them up instead of having them ride the bus, please notify the office before 2:30 p.m.

You can let us know by:

• 📞 Calling the office at 425-204-4800, or
• 💬 Sending a ParentSquare message to your student’s teacher

This gives us enough time to communicate the change to the bus driver and make sure your student’s dismissal plan is updated.

When a change in dismissal is not communicated to the school before dismissal, it can create confusion and may result in a student being unintentionally left behind. Unexpected changes can also be stressful for your child.

Thank you for helping us keep dismissal calm, organized, and safe for all of our students and staff! We truly appreciate your partnership and support.

September at Honey Dew Elementary!

September is an exciting month at Honey Dew Elementary! Throughout the month, we will be highlighting the importance of school attendance, recognizing September Attendance Awareness Month, and celebrating Hispanic Heritage. We are also excited to kick off our first Honey Dew School-Wide Spirit Week!

Students and staff are invited to join in the fun by participating in a different spirit day theme each day during the week of September 14–18. Participation is optional, and we encourage everyone to have fun and show their Honey Dew spirit!

Honey Dew Spirit Week

Monday, September 14
Pajama Day: Come to school cozy and comfortable in your favorite pajamas!

Tuesday, September 15 
Honey Dew Spirit Wear Day: Show your Honey Dew pride by wearing school colors, Honey Dew gear, or anything that represents our Hornet community!

Wednesday, September 16 
Hat Day: Top off your outfit with your favorite hat!

Thursday, September 17 
Favorite Team Jersey Day: Represent your favorite sports team by wearing a team jersey or shirt!

Friday, September 18 
Celebrate You & Your Culture Day: Wear something that represents your culture, heritage, family, interests, or something special that makes you unique. We look forward to celebrating the diversity that makes our Honey Dew community so special!

We can’t wait to see our Honey Dew Hornets showing their school spirit, celebrating one another, and making September a wonderful start to the school year!

Attendance Corner

Welcome to the new year! We encourage your child to be at school on time every day. 

Reporting an absence: 
Use the parent square app
Call the 24-hour attendance line. 425-204-4810. Messages can be left at any time and are checked frequently.  
Email: honeydew.attendance.us

Important reminders:
Absences need to be reported by a parent or legal guardian.
Absences need to be reported within 48 hours of absence in order to be excused. 
Any planned extended absences of three or more days, need to have an extended form filled out prior to trip.  The forms are in the main office. 

Thank you!  
Mrs. Maggie Johnson, Attendance Clerk

Referral Window Open for Highly Capable Program

We are now taking referrals for our Highly Capable Program which supports academically highly capable students by nurturing a culture of growth that embraces strengths, enriches and extends thinking, and encourages passions for what’s next.

Family members, teachers, and others can refer students in kindergarten through 11th-grade for the Highly Capable program through December 4.  

Additionally, we will administer a screening test in class in October to all district 2nd-grade students and select 5th-graders based on their reading and math data. The screening is only one measure used to determine if a student would benefit from enrollment in the Highly Capable program. The 30-minute test is called the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, 3rd Edition (NNAT3) which measures student nonverbal reasoning skills. Families will learn the outcome of the testing in the spring.

Learn more and ask questions about the Highly Capable program at two virtual sessions (Zoom links will be sent to families of referred students).

• Thursday, October 22, 2026, 6-7:00 PM
• Thursday, November 5, 2026, 6-7:00 PM

Or visit our Highly Capable Program website or email hicapid@rentonschools.us.