Dear Sakai Families,
I am so excited to welcome you and your child to the 2022-23 school year! I hope you are enjoying a safe, relaxing, and joy filled summer. For those of you returning to us, welcome back! For those of you new to our school, I think you will find Sakai an extraordinary place for your child to learn and grow.
I am fortunate to know many of our families, but those of you I haven’t had the pleasure to meet, let me take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Drew Crandall and this is my third year as principal at Sakai.I feel very lucky to be working with such thoughtful, caring, and supportive staff, families and students. I have been in education for 19 years as a principal, assistant principal, instructional coach and teacher. My wife and I are originally from Michigan and moved to Bainbridge Island nine years ago after living in Seattle for seven years. We have two children in the Bainbridge Island School District, Porter who will be a 6th-grader this year and Olive who will be a 2nd-grader. As a family we enjoy camping, skiing, playing pickleball, cheering for the Sounders, and walking our dog, Juno.
This is the first Coho Connection newsletter of 22-23 and you can expect to receive one each Monday throughout the school year. Please take a moment to read these as they will have important information on the week ahead and future events.
With every start to the school year, there comes a range of emotions from nervousness to excitement. With the disruption to our schools the past few years, those feelings may be understandably increased for your child. We recognize this and the need to spend extra time getting students connected and comfortable with their new learning environment. Sakai has always had a focus on the unique social-emotional needs of students at this age, and I assure you this year will be no different. To help us, we will be piloting the research-based social emotional learning currcula, CharacterStrong. You will hear more about this curricula from me in upcoming newsletters.
Below are some important calendar items to note as we get started. Look for our Coho Connection next week to answer questions regarding arrival and dismissal schedule, lunch plans, and specialist rotation. As always, if you have any questions please feel free to reach out.
We are so excited for this upcoming school year, and can’t wait to get started!
Drew Crandall
Principal
Calendar Items
August 29: Class placement will be open for families on Skyward at 4:00 pm (supply lists are already on our website).
September 2: Ice Cream Social! Stop by any time between 10:30-11:30 to see the school, find your classroom and meet your teachers.
September 7: First day of school! Please note that Sakai hours are 8:55 am to 3:25 pm Tuesday through Friday and 8:55 am to 1:55 pm on Monday.
September 28: 5th-grade Parent Night from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.
September 28: 6th-grade Parent Night from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.
September 29: School photos during the school day
