Principal's Note

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

A big thank you to everyone who came out on Friday night and supported the Salmon and Spaghetti Feed.  Wow! We had a great turnout, very generous donations for the dinner and also for the playground tiles.  Plus, the food was definitely an amazing treat---so tasty! A special thanks to the parents who helped, especially Bret and Stephanie Lynch, to sponsor and make this event so successful.

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce a new staff member:  Natalie Ramsay.  Natalie will be working with the Special Education staff in both the elementary and middle school programs. She is replacing Seema Vaze, who transferred to a position at Nathan Hale High School.  Natalie is an experienced teacher—has worked in various schools for Seattle District, including AS #1 / Pinehurst Alternative School.  She is also an endorsed art teacher, as well as core subjects and special ed teacher.  She will be located this year in Room 214.  Please give her a welcome “hello” if you have a chance.

Did you know?  This is National School Counselor Recognition Week!  You may recognize many of the things Anthony does with children—talking, guiding, problem-solving, friendship coaching, helping families and students in crisis, as well as teaching the anti bullying curriculum in classrooms.

But:  Did you also know all the new programs Anthony has added over the years, including the following ones he has added just this year:

• Training and supporting the Panther All-Stars in their work of tutoring younger students, being peer conflict mediators, and anti-drug student educators. 
• Starting a book group, on the titles “Raising our Sons/Daughter” by Kathy Masarie, for our parent community (the group has been beneficial to gather parents to support each other in the most important job of parenting our children).
• Working with parents and staff to bring the wonderful movie, “Finding Kind,” to our school
• Coordinating our first Middle School Career Day.
• Organizing our first Middle School Health Fair put on by the Panther All-Stars to educate their peers on the negative effects of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco.

Simply put:  We count our blessings every day that we have such an amazing counselor as Anthony!

Have a good week!

Jodee

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

EARLY RELEASE WEDNESDAY: School dismissal at 12:35/12:45.  DON’T FORGET!

On Wednesday,  we will have one of our early release days for teacher professional development.  I want to thank those of you who have been so supportive of our teachers in their work to bring attention to the issues of state support for education in the legislature.

I also thank you for supporting the early release days for teachers, as well.  This week we will be meeting together to work further on project based learning, our focus for the year.  Previously we have read and discussed articles, teachers have taken “learning walks” to learn about other projects being

done in the building, and we have collaborated with staff from Thornton Creek School to learn more about Expeditionary Learning.  In addition teachers have organized themselves into study groups that have been meeting since September to create new project based learning for their curriculum. 

On WEDNESDAY we will look at current projects (one elementary, one secondary) and reflect on ways to strengthen and deepen the experience for students. We will look at further resources to support this kind of instruction (The Buck Institute) as well as a particular school,  Minnesota New Country School in Henderson, MN,  and watch a video, “Mummified Chicken, Mutant Frogs, and Rockets to the Moon.”  Teachers will meet in their study groups to see how this new information informs the projects they are creating. This time is invaluable for teachers, to take a breath and do long range planning and reflection.  So thank you for the role you play in supporting their work.

We’ll see you all at the Salmon / Spaghetti feed on Friday!  Seatings at 6pm, and 7pm. Donations, and playground tiles available. Bring your hungry snowboarders to dinner?

Take care,

Jodee

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S NOTE

Sneak Peeks January 30. 2012

Now that the snow has melted and vacation is over we are settling into our routines. Scurrying around the building these past few weeks staying warm I was able to see learning in many of our classrooms.

6th grade:

• Science was definitely hands on with students holding, petting and observing cockroaches. Tyler was like the cockroach whisperer he was able to get his cockroach to sleep in his palm and then hiss on demand….but I have to say I got a bit squeamish and let out a yelp.
• Math students were calculating percents using real world examples with sales at local stores.
• LA students were finishing their personal essays and doing peer editing. Essay topics ranged from being short, to the purpose of detention to the perils of being late.
• P.E. students were swinging and climbing ropes and working on their upper body strength.

5th grade students were sipping tea as they were deep in discourse in their literature groups.

4th grade students were building stamina in their writing and honing their brainstorming strategies.

1st grade students engaged in real world applications of writing and wrote persuasive letters about getting lockers to having a play date every day.

I also wanted to thank all the parents who came in on the late start/early release snow day and offered their help in calling families, running messages to teachers, finding rides for students and answering the phones. It certainly takes a village….

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

Whew!  What an amazing week! 

We will try to put things back to “normal” as soon as possible this week for your students. 

However:  Remember tomorrow, Tuesday Jan 24,  is an early release day because it is a furlough day negotiated for teachers as a budget reduction. School will be dismissed for all students at 11:30.

There will be a ‘lunchtime’ for elementary and middle school students prior to 11:30.

Here are re-schedules of events:

• MOST IMPORTANT:  Friday will now be a school day. (previously was a day off called “the day between semesters.) Classes will be held as usual. This will be our first make up day for the snow days.

• WEP: the middle school Winter Enrichment programs will be on Friday (not Thursday). All classes and routines will happen as other Fridays. The make up day for the one we missed last week will be Friday, Feb 17.

• PIE – Parent Information Exchange – Demystifying Standardized Testing – New date will be Thursday March 8, at 7 pm.

• Chorus Concert: Monday Jan. 30, 7 pm in the auditorium.

Snow Make Up Days – District Calendar:  the district has not settled the dates that will be added to the calendar to make up for the missed snow dates.  As soon as we know, we will pass on the information to you.

Again, even with the furlough day this week, we will be busy establishing the routine for students.  On Tuesday, for the first part of the furlough day, Middle School staff will use some of the time to do their planned activities to commemorate Martin Luther King Day. The elementary teachers and students will do their Peace and Justice assembly on Friday the 27th along with Friday sing.

Thank you, as well, for being so supportive and flexible on Tuesday when we had a both a late arrival and early dismissal—especially with those who pitched in to help get everyone home safely and families notified.

Take care,

Jodee

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

Next week we will celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday.This is an opportunity for you to join with us by having a conversation with your student, in whatever way is appropriate for their age, about why this is an important holiday. Martin Luther King fought for the civil rights and justice for all people. He relied on schools to be a key component in teaching students both directly about social justice, but also indirectly by supporting all students in their to desire to learn, to aspire to great ideas,  and to realize their dreams, whatever they might be. It is powerful for students when they hear about something both at home as well as at school, to know that the important accomplishments of people are not just something we celebrate and take note of in all sorts of ways.  There are community celebrations (you can find them listed in Seattle Times) at Benaroya Hall, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Seattle Children’s Museum,  Discovery Park and Garfield High School.

SalmonBayExpansion.  We will soon begin tours the first week of February.  In addition to our usual new students in Kindergarten and 6th grade, we will be opening up space in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade.  Can you please help us get the word out? Talk to your neighbors, friends, relatives who you think might be interested in joining us in one of those grade levels.  If they are interested, you can have them check our website, or call the school office for tour dates and information.  (Feb 2, 9, March 8 at 8:30am for middle school and 9:15am elementary, and a 6:00 elementary/7:00pm middle school evening tour on March 1). 

Have a great week.  Thank you for all you do to make Salmon Bay such a wonderful school community.

Jodee

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

Happy New Year!

Did you notice that returning to school was much more enlightening this time?  The district installed new hallway lighting in the first floor halls.  Wow!  Who knew those lockers were actually orange?  My favorite comment was from a young student who said, “Look you can really see the words in my story now!”  It’s great to be able to see the student work and art on the bulletin boards.  Eventually, we will also see the lighting on the 2nd floor and annex.  (And, for those of you who asked, I did have them save the old fixtures… future renovation? ... auction items?)

If you have an upper elementary student: they will be doing MAP assessment this week in reading and math.  Remember the MAP assessment measures growth, from one period to the next. If you have questions about MAP, or other assessments, please be sure to come to our next Parent Information Night on January 19—All about assessment—7 pm in the cafeteria.

If you have a middle school student: remember Friday is the first day of Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) so students may need a little extra help getting organized Thursday night, depending on the activity they have chosen.  Also, please remember, drop off and parking will be different.  Drop off in the playground, turning right ONLY, into the field.  No parking in neighbor’s driveways. 

It will be a fun, exciting week!    Jodee

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S NOTE

Sneak Peeks January 3, 2012

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

Few reminders:

This Friday, January 6, will be our first Winter Enrichment Day. We will have approximately 240 middle schoolers headed up to the mountain. Please plan for extra traffic around the school in the morning.  We will have the lower playground shutdown in the morning. Elementary students may go to the West Gym for rainy day recess or the library.

January 24th will be an all school furlough day and we will have a 3 hour early release day. We will be serving  lunch for students.

Winter Enrichment FYI’s for Middle school families

Before the winter break homeroom teachers went over with their class, student assignments for Winter Enrichment Activities. Students should know where they will be going for their first Winter Enrichment day.

We will be having a student assembly on January 5th where students will meet with their Winter Enrichment teachers and they will go over expectations, equipment needed and answer any questions. If your student is signed up for a Seattle Area Winter Enrichment activity, please have them bring their payment for their activity on that day.

MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENTS – PLEASE HELP US!!

 If you will be dropping off your student in the morning for skiing/boarding we will have the lower playground open for parking. Please come south on 18th ave NW, turn right into the playground lot, when leaving the playground we will ask that drivers turn right only.

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

Please save the date:  SalmonBayAssessment Night, January 19th  at 7 pm.  This will be an evening to talk about assessment: state, district and classroom.  How does a parent make sense of it?  There will be two parts: the first, to answer the question, “How do I use / read the assessment reports I receive for my child?” and the second, “How should I look at the big picture of assessment for my child?” This will be a presentation that has been planned by parents, staff and administration together. We hope to see you there!

ThursdayDecember 15– Middle SchoolGEOGRAPHY BEE at 1:00 to 2:30.  If you have never had the sheer fun of watching the Salmon Bay Geography Bee—don’t miss it.  Test yourself: how many of the questions could you answer?

EARLY DISMISSAL:Don’t forget we will be dismissing school at 1:35/1:45  Middle school will just be returning  from roller-skating, and Elementary will do their Lantern Festival that day.

ELEMENTARY REPORT CARDS– Elementary report cards will be coming home at the end of this week.  Remember this is a new report card, and if you have questions you can always check in with your student’s teacher.

From all your students’ teachers and staff, we wish you a wonderful holiday season—it’s always great to see if you can squeeze in some extra time for everyone in the family to READ!

Happy Winter Break!

Jodee

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S NOTE

Sneak Peeks December 9, 2011

I finished up my last teacher observations this past week and learned lots of Math and Science.

Multiplication is always a tough one to learn but the 3rd graders I had the opportunity to sit in with had it down. Students did choral response to equations, drew pictures to help their thinking and worked on following directions.

In another class we worked on equivalent fractions using the IXL computer based program along with a mini lesson using manipulatives to help students see visually if 1/8 is = to 4/12. 

I ended my week having 6th graders learn about transpiration and acting out the process of the water cycle through plants.

K-8 performance. If you didn’t get an opportunity to see Tom Sawyer, I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz. I attended the Thursday performance and it was standing room only and it was wonderful to see both elementary and middle school students in this production. Thank you to all the staff, parents and students for your hard work to make this happen!

Tidbits you may want to know…..

Middle schoolers will go roller-skating on Friday and the dress code will still be in effect.  If students are unsure of the dress code policy it can be found in their student planner on page 5.

The temperatures have dropped but students seem to be bundled and prepared to play outside before school and during lunch recess. Thank you for sending your student dressed for the weather.

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

As we approach the holiday break,I want to thank you, as always, for supporting the teachers in their work with students.  Especially at this time, teachers try to give students strong academic challenges and projects, as well as a balance of fun and special projects. Your support helps them pull off that balance.  In other words, keep checking the homework!  And keep everyone reading at home… And read the bulletin to take advantage of all the great things happening: lantern festival, geography bee, roller-skating, Tom Sawyer….

8th Grade Project Information Night-  Tuesday December 6th 7-8pm Cafeteria-  This is a meeting for parents and students to get information about how the 8th grade projects will go this year. 

Update on district Capacity Management:the revised district proposal for next year does NOT recommend any portables at Salmon Bay.  It does recognize classrooms we will add (elementary expansion). They may change our geo-zone boundary to include more residences in the Adams Elementary attendance area.

Thank you to FOSB:  We want to thank our amazing parent group, Friends of Salmon Bay, who have concluded their annual Mini Grant process.  These grants will provide:

• New stage curtains!  They are gorgeous!
• Support for showing Finding Kind, as well as a school bullying curriculum
• Classroom emergency supplies
• Class supplies for Japanese class, Spanish Class, Making History Project, 7/8th grade novel project, kindergarten expansion, reading program,
• Technology projects: earphones, ipods for audiobooks, audio book library

It is gratifying to have a community of teachers and parents who work and collaborate so arduously to support the learning of their children, and all children at Salmon Bay.

Take care,

Jodee

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S NOTE

Sneak Peeks  December 2, 2011

I had the opportunity to just peek into an intermediate class to see students working on geometry.

6th-8th graders experienced “Finding Kind” it  was an amazing experience to see students be authentic with each other and able to take steps to apologize to one another. Kudos to Anthony and Dana for the background work to make this happen.

6th graders were engaged in the library and LA classes gaining important research skills to build that foundation as a researchers by learning to evaluate reference books on Egypt.

7th graders were exploring scale factor and ratios demonstrating their knowledge by sharing their work to the class. The mantra in the class is U.S.A. does the student’s  answer show “Understanding”, a “Strategy”,  and do you have an “Answer”.  

It was wonderful to hear the hallways with pitter pattering feet and student voices after  a week break.

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

Welcome back to school!  I hope you had a refreshing and happy holiday break.

You probably already know through the bulletin that Salmon Bay will be showing the documentary “Finding Kind” this week to middle school students.  The film has been well received in other schools, and after previewing it with Anthony, we decided to show it here as well.  Middle students will see the movie on Thursday morning, followed up with discussions in their home room groups, and further follow up on Friday.  We will make certain that students include all types of bullying in their discussions and reflection, not just girl-to-girl bullying.  There is an opportunity for parents to view the film as well, on Thursday, December 1st, at 7pm, in the Ballard High School auditorium.  Please remember that this event is not open to friends and relatives, but the space is limited just to parents of Salmon Bay.  As we have previously shared with you, this film is not appropriate for elementary aged students.  Since our middle school students will have already seen the film during the day, there is no need to have students attend this showing.  We want to also thank FOSB, our parent group, for co-funding the event with us. There is an important reason why our first rule at Salmon Bay is to be kind….and this will give us a great opportunity to have meaningful conversations with our middle school students.

Thank you for your conscientious participation in school conferences last week.  We know that when parents do participate in their child’s education in ways like this, and by attending their performances, games and school events, it solidifies the child’s every-day engagement and effort as well.  Many of your conferences may have been “student led” and this is one more way we use to further develop our alternative school philosophy to have students own their education, and to become strong independent learners and thinkers.

Thank you for all you do to support your child at Salmon Bay School.

Have a good week.

Jodee Reed, principal

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

Remember:  NO CLASSES NEXT WEEK!

As teachers prepare and begin holding parent teacher conferences, I want to remind you that next week there are no classes, so that teachers can schedule their usual time during the day to meet with families.  Because we are a K-8 school, our middle school families also have this schedule, and the opportunity for a student-led parent/teacher conference.  If you have not yet signed up for your appointment, please do so right away.

Remember: PANCAKE BREAKFAST!  and  FAIR TRADE FAIR!

Roll in Saturday morning for breakfast and check out all the fair trade booths at the same time. These funds will provide scholarship opportunities to help ensure all of our middle school students can participate in our Winter Enrichment program. 

Remember: UNIVERSITY BOOK FAIR 

This is also the week-end when anything you purchase at University bookstore generates 25% of the amount donated to Salmon Bay School.  But there’s also lots of fun in store: puppet show, music, edible book feast…

Our teachers and students appreciate the great turn-out at all these events, and the support  it produces for our community.  Hope to see you there!

Jodee

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S NOTE

Sneak Peeks

3rd graders exploring the definition of a parallelogram, rectangle, rhombus.

4th/5th grade students practicing multi digit multiplication and long division.

6th graders learning how to take notes from a non-fiction text (Egypt unit) using a strategy from Teacher’s College called “boxes and bullets”.

7th/8th grade students infusing research skills as well reading non-fiction text and being able to pull important facts using the strategy “boxes and bullets” in their Africa unit.

Tidbits you may not know……

We are keeping busy this month! We are just finishing goal conferences with staff where we discuss their professional growth goals this year, which includes a student academic goal along with the support they will need to accomplish each goal. These reflective sessions are vital to our continued growth as a learning community. I am also in the midst of 1st round formal teacher observations, which consist of a Pre conference, 30-45 minute observation, Post conference, and teachers are provided with written feedback. Again, the observation cycle allows for continuous conversations about improving and enhancing the teaching and learning at Salmon Bay.

DearSalmon BayFamilies:

You’ve noticed the leaves falling?  It’s been such a gorgeous fall season. That also means it’s time for school conferences.  By now you have probably already signed up for your date and time, but I wanted to remind all of us about the importance of fall conferences.

Elementary Conferenceswill be an opportunity for teachers to review with you the new report card and process. It is also a time to hear about how your student is doing so far, a time for you to talk with the teacher about your own observations or concerns, a chance to see how some of the big picture goals play out over the year, and a time to establish the connection for continued communication throughout the year.

Middle School Conferencesare an opportunity for your student to show you their progress and goals, to reflect on their work so far, and to open up the conversation that you can continue with them for the rest of the year.  This is different than just receiving a report card, or looking at the source—it reinforces our belief that we want student to own their learning and be responsible for evaluating their progress. It is also different than an elementary conference because the student is the presenter and the teacher is a participant, with the parent, in that reflection. It is also a time to establish the ways you will continue to discuss progress with both your student and the teacher.

As you know, having specifics to talk about with your student always improves that dinner conversation about what did you do in school today and conferences play a key part in keeping that conversation going.

Have a good week.

Jodee

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S NOTE

Sneak Peeks November 6, 2011

We got our groove on….we had our middle school dance Monday, the 31st.  Thank you to all the parents, staff, the ASB, and especially Caitlin Racey and Janet Bogle, for the help to make this possible. We were entertained by our student performance of “Thriller” and we all got down to the “Cha-cha” slide.

The Halloween parade was a march of creativity and imagination. There were penguins, M &M’s, clone troopers, Captain Kirk was present and I do believe I saw the tooth fairy. Thank you to the parents for helping in the classrooms, and coming to help with all the costumes.

7th/8th grade Science one class was working on measuring lung capacity, with plastic tubes and a lot of red faces.

7th/8th graders were assessing their knowledge on their geographic map test.

6th grade LA students were working on their personal narratives.

3rd graders in Math were challenging themselves with having more fluency with addition/subtraction facts.

Tidbits you may not know……

The weather is getting brisker…. students will still be going outside for recess to get fresh air, so please have students dressed appropriately.

Drop off and Pick up zone….please do not double park or let your student off in the middle of the street. We want to keep all members of our community safe.