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First day back: Sequim schools start 2025-26 year

Published 4:30 pm Tuesday, September 2, 2025

By Matthew Nash

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Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Ashley Henning gives her fourth grader Mavryck Hanning a hug as his sister Mckynlee looks on at Helen Haller Elementary School before the start of the first day of school. Henning also got a first day photo of Mavryck before he walked to class.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Layla Cheek, a second grader at Greywolf Elementary School, awaits the bus at Helen Haller Elementary before her first day of school in Kristin Mooney’s class. Layla was proud to show off her backpack filled with emojis drawn on by her sister Everly, a fifth grader.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Willow Christenson, a fourth grader at Helen Haller Elementary, grabs a bite to eat before the first day of school on Aug. 27 at Helen Haller Elementary.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Jay Earley, a living skills paraeducator, gives high fives to students as they walk onto Helen Haller Elementary School’s campus on Aug. 27, the first day of school.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Music teacher Laura Lorentzen helps student Caden Reyes find his way before the first day of school at Helen Haller Elementary.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Students find their way through the breakfast line at Helen Haller Elementary on Aug. 27, the first day of classes.

With first day photos before the bell, backpacks in tow, and new and familiar faces to see, school has started for Sequim School District students.

First through 12th grades started on Wednesday, Aug. 27, with kindergarten set to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 2 after Labor Day.

School District staff estimated that 2,525 students would start the year with its schools/programs, including Greywolf Elementary School, Helen Haller Elementary, Sequim Middle School, Sequim High School, Olympic Peninsula Academy, Dungeness Virtual School, and Running Start students through Peninsula College.

Leading up to the first day of school, there was freshmen orientation at the high school, and open houses at the elementary schools on Tuesday, Aug. 26.

According to the district’s calendar, conferences are set for Oct. 30-31.

Winter break goes from Dec. 22, 2025-Jan. 2, 2026, and spring break March 30, 2026-April 3, 2026. Graduation is set for June 5, 2026, and the last day of classes for all students is an early release on June 11, 2026.

For more information about Sequim School District, visit sequimschools.org.

Free meals

This year, each student that attends in person can eat breakfast and lunch at no charge to families.

District staff report that Sequim is participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) & Provision 2 National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs for the school year.

Each family should have received “The 2025/2026 Child Nutrition Eligibility & Education Benefit” application to fill out.

Only one application is required per household and can be returned to the child’s school or the Sequim School District Office, 503 N. Sequim Ave.

It can also be submitted at any time during the school year, and district staff said household members do not need to be U.S. citizens to submit the application.

District staff report that the application helps the district receive all of the available funding it is entitled to for other state-funded education programs.

For more information, call your child’s school building, or the district office at 360-582-3260.

Free middle school memberships

The Olympic Peninsula YMCA, 610 N. Fifth Ave., has announced that memberships are now free for all Sequim middle schoolers in grades six-eight through their time at the school. Staff said this will be ongoing for future middle schoolers, too. For more information, visit the YMCA or call (360) 477-4381.

Note: Matthew Nash has family employed and enrolled in Sequim School District.

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