Principal’s Message
It was wonderful to see so many hardworking and joyful students this week at IRE! Their energy, kindness, and focus made our classrooms and hallways come alive. Thank you, families, for your continued support in helping our students start the year strong.
Wednesday, September 3rd, we are excited to welcome our youngest learners—our Pre-K and Kindergarten students—for their very first day at IRE! Families are invited to walk their children to class on that special first day. For safety and supervision reasons, we only allow families to walk with students to our Early Childhood classrooms (3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and Kindergarten).
We know many families wish they could walk their older students to class. One of the best ways to do that is by volunteering! Volunteers complete a district background check for safety and then become an important part of our school community. We appreciate your understanding and support in helping us keep all students safe.
Best,
Tyler Dockins, Principal
Nate Beede, Assistant Principal
Rebecca Kratzig, Dean of Instruction

Irene Reither Elementary Recognized – AWSP “School on the Rise”!
We are proud to share that Irene Reither Elementary has been recognized with the Washington Schools on the Rise Award by the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) and the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL).
The Schools on the Rise Award celebrates schools where students and adults collaborate to improve culture and amplify student voice. These schools foster inclusive and equitable environments, showing the power of student–adult collaboration in creating a positive school culture.
schools on the rise

Early Childhood and Kindergarten’s first day
First Day of School for Early Childhood Students [PK (formerly TK) & Kindergarten]
We’re excited to welcome our youngest learners on Wednesday, September 3rd!
  • 8:50 a.m. – First Bell
  • 9:00 a.m. – School Start Bell
  • 1:15 p.m. – Early Dismissal
We can’t wait to see our new TK and Kindergarten students on their first day!

Family Conferences & Schedule – Early Dismissal
Early Dismissal at 1:15 PM on:
  • Tuesday, September 2 – Thursday, September 4
Late Start (Every Friday)
  • 10:00 AM – 3:40 PM
Conferences
Teachers have reached out through ParentSquare to schedule conferences. These meetings are an important opportunity to talk about your child’s learning and growth. Please sign up as soon as you receive the message—our goal is for 95% of families to join us for conferences this fall! (We’ve hit this goal for the last 3 years for Fall & Winter, let’s keep the streak!)
buses

From our Counselors
After two months away for summer break, we look forward to welcoming everyone back for the new school year! Whether your child is beginning their final, fifth grade year at IRE, their very first in Kindergarten, or anywhere in between, this is an exciting time!
As school counselors, we’re holding space both for excitement, and also for any nervous feelings heading into the new year. These are all normal to have around such a time of transition, and we want you to know that you’re not alone in that!
To prepare, we are gearing up to work alongside our talented team of teachers, family care liaisons, behavior interventionists and administrators to help support students in their navigation of social emotional learning during the 2025-2026 school year! Our offerings include a variety of classroom lessons, small groups and individual meetings to help students with topics including emotion regulation, friendship building, conflict resolution and more!
As our teachers prepare their students to excel academically in literacy and math, our counseling team is dedicated to helping students build key skills in social emotional learning, and we look forward to building on our program in the coming year.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us over phone or email for any student counseling needs!
Welcome back,
Olivia Klein (grades TK-2nd )
Laura Lupo (grades 3rd-5th)

 
buses

School Dismissal Manager
School Dismissal Manager (SDM) is our organized and efficient tracking system for afternoon dismissals. With SDM, you can quickly update your child’s dismissal instructions from your desktop or smartphone—eliminating the need to call, email, or send notes to the school.
The easy-to-use system allows you to:
  • Create “exceptions” for dismissal changes in advance or for the same day
  • Report absences and early pick-ups
  • Schedule recurring instructions for after-school activities
Important cut-off times:
  • Regular school days: 2:10 p.m.
  • Early release days: 12:00 p.m.
We will begin using SDM to report daily absences and dismissal changes on the first day of school. Please be sure your account is set up ahead of time for a smooth transition.
Getting started to-do:
  1. Download the SDM app to your smartphone, tablet, or add it to your web browser. (Available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play.)
  2. Log in and confirm your child’s default dismissal (the way they typically go home each day). Make updates if needed.
  3. Test out the scan in process

School Breakfast and Lunch Menu Survey
We would love to hear your feedback on our food program in Meridian. Please take a few moments to complete this survey.

From our PTA

PTA Meeting
Monday, September 8
6pm-8pm
IRE’s Library
Join your PTA and help plan the Trojan Trot, the brand new September social event TrojanFest, and preparing for all the cool things this year. We are a people-powered school – that means we need you!
For those of you who can’t make it in person, please join us via Zoom
and we are working to secure childcare for the event. Come one, come all!