Jodee and Michelle's Notes Archive

Principal's Note 5/13/13

Salmon Bay 6--7-8th Grade Advisory Periodand 7th & 8th Grade Friday Clubs

During the summer, many of our Middle School teachers are participating in Advisory Training, which is offered by Origins (Developmental Designs), the Midwest center for the Responsive ClassroomApproach. Developmental Designs’ comprehensive practices integrate social and academic learning. Knowing that teaching and learning are weakened by misbehavior, lack of a safe, inclusive community, and student apathy, the practices in the Developmental Designs approach are designed to meet adolescent needs by addressing these key elements of effective teaching and learning.

A key component of Developmental Designs is Advisory. Next year’s schedule includes a block of time each morning (homeroom) for an Advisory meetingand each Friday afternoon (6th period - 1:00-1:50) for our students to regroup with their Homeroom Advisors. The Friday afternoon Advisory period will offer students time to wrap up the week through a class meeting and will also offer time for students to receive individualized or small group support from their Advisors for their long-term 8th Grade Promotion Projects.

This adjustment to our schedule has opened up a 50-minute block of time each Friday (7th period - 1:55-2:45) for us to offer Clubs. While we understand that many of our students are involved in a variety of activities and/or clubs outside of school, we firmly believe that our students will benefit from similar opportunities within the school community. Each middle school student will select a club of interest and we will do our best to consider students’ preferences . Club choices were made through a combination of student survey, teacher passion and connection to our mission, vision and values statement. Through these Clubs, students will be able to pursue passions, experiment with budding interests, and forge friendships with peers and staff. Students will learn about clubs and submit preferences during the first week of school.

Calling ALL SB K-8 Parents: If you are interested in being the instructor of a middle school Friday club (1:55-2:45) that is not mentioned below (or are interested in co-teaching one of our clubs listed below), please contact Glyde (ghking@seattleschools.org) as soon as possible.

FRIDAY CLUB DESCRIPTIONS:

Glee Club/Rock Band: sing and dance with your friends. Do you play an instrument? Bring it on! Flash mob performances. Instructor: Glyde

GSA:GSA stands for Gay Straight Alliance. In addition to participating in the GSA meetings, club sessions will give us the opportunity to work on projects, learn about what is happening at other GSA groups, listen to guest speakers and plan for future GSA events. This is an opportunity for students to broaden what we do as a GSA and to connect with what is happening outside of Salmon Bay K-8. Instructor: Markos

ASB:ASB stands for Associated Student Body. The purpose of ASB is to promote representative and democratic government, outstanding sportsmanship, student activities, and the general welfare of Salmon Bay K-8. Students will collaborate with instructors to: improve and promote student, staff, and community interaction through mutual respect and communication; increase student voice in school management; and continue and establish traditions, activities, events, and responsibilities that promote a positive school atmosphere and culture. Instructors: Jen and Brett

Panther All-Stars:Students will have an opportunity to engage in thoughtful debate, analyze trends, understand the rules, and discuss current events of Washington's college and professional sport teams, specifically soccer, baseball, basketball, and football. Instructor: Anthony

Cooking Club:Learn about people and places by exploring recipes and cultures from different regions. Instructor: Cindy

Cartooning Club: Learn basic cartooning techniques, idea development and publishing styles. We use Gary Larsen as our mentor/text but you may develop your own style as well. Then DRAW! Instructor: Tim

Fitness Challenge:Experience different challenges in traditional and alternative sports. Focus on (but is not limited to) cardiovascular endurance, balance, flexibility, strength, power and accuracy. Instructor: Domingo

Jazz Club: For students interested in playing America's own music--Jazz! The Jazz band will perform with marimbas during school concerts, as well as possible outreach events outside of school. No previous experience playing Jazz required, but students should have a working knowledge of their instruments and be able to read musical notes and rhythms. Instructor: Mark

Library Club: Library Club students will be involved in shaping the library’s future by increasing its usability by groups that currently don’t use it as much as they could.

Library Club tasks may include:

Creating user surveys to gather data about what school-community stakeholders want in a library program;
Analyzing that data and coming up with a project that meets an important need;
“Resourcing” the project (i.e., what resources do we need, what do we already have; what do we have access to - ex. Donor’s Choose/FOSB, etc.);
Marketing our project; and
Reflecting upon the project - - successes, challenges and next steps.

Instructor: Linda

And here are some ideas for additional clubs we might offer with parent support/instructors:

French Club (or other language)
Photography Club
Stage Tech Club
Spelling Bee Club
Geo Bee Club
Anything you want to share with our students? You’re on! Just let Glyde know...

Assistant Principal’s Note

I was utterly delighted to see our community members share their appreciation for the teachers and staff members of Salmon Bay K-8 last week. Each morning started with a small group relaxation session. We started the week with a beautiful staff sing with Mary K, followed by Yoga, Oom Yung Doe, guitar circle, and then ended with staff massages. The 15 minute massage sessions on Friday were without a doubt, the most popular relaxation event. On Tuesday evening, nearly 40% of the staff attended a fun Appreciation Hour at the Matador Restaurant; it was nice to connect with each other outside of school!

Each day of the week also included a special treats and gifts from our parent community. We had a wonderful breakfast bar on Monday, special coffee delivery on Tuesday, an amazing potluck on Wednesday, creative brown bag lunches on Thursday and then gifts of potted plants on Friday. These five days of appreciation were warmly received and greatly appreciated. Thank you to all who helped make this a special week!

-------

Bike to School

This month is bike to school/work month. We have noticed a significant increase in our two wheel commuters. It is nice to see so many students and parents ride to and from school. Keep up the great work!

Have a great week,

Brett and Jen

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Submitted by Caitlin Racey on Tue, 05/14/2013 - 11:27am

Principal's Note 4/29/13

Teachers are preparing to reorganize student groups for 2013-2014 classroom assignment. Our teachers spend many hours organizing classes, taking into consideration group dynamics as well as the individual needs of every child. Please trust the judgment of our teachers, as they know our students extremely well. If there are any extraordinary circumstances that should be considered during this process, please write a letter explaining this to me (jlbenkovitz@seattleschools.org) so that I can share necessary information with teachers. Please note that requests for a specific teacher are not considered. Instead, this is an opportunity for you to provide us with information about your child that may help us best meet his/her needs for the upcoming year. Letters must be sent to me by Wednesday, May 8th.

Thanks,
Jen

Assistant Principal’s Note

Tomorrow will be the first of four state testing days. Our teachers have diligently worked to prepare our students for this assessment. Below is our testing schedule and some tips that may be helpful as you and your child prepare for each testing day.

Salmon Bay’s MSP Schedule

Apr.30 Writing 1(4th & 7th Grade), Science(5th & 8th Grade)

May 2 Writing 2 (4th & 7th Grade)

May 7 Reading (3rd-8th Grade)

May 9 Math (3rd-8th Grade)

All make-ups must be done by May 20

Testing Day Strategies

• Make sure that your child is rested and eats breakfast.

• See that your child arrives at school on time and is relaxed.

• Encourage your child to do their best work possible.

• Do not send your child to school if he/she is ill.

• Please do not remove your child from school on test days for appointments.

Test Anxiety

Students may experience anxiety about tests and may experience heightened anxiety before a testing situation. A certain degree of test anxiety is normal and may help students prepare more effectively, work more efficiently, and remain focused during testing. Too much anxiety, however, can negatively affect performance. The following strategies may assist students, parents, and teachers in reducing test anxiety.

Parent Strategies for Reducing Test Anxiety

• Discuss the test openly and in a positive way.

• Have realistic expectations of your child's performance while encouraging his/her best efforts.

• Emphasize that the test is only one measure of academic performance.

• Emphasize that test scores do not determine a person's worth.

-Brett

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Submitted by Caitlin Racey on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 10:18am

Principal's Note 4/22/13

Dear Salmon Bay K-8 Families:

Welcome back. We hope everyone enjoyed some much deserved time off with family and friends. It is great to be back in the school as we prepare to round the final curve of the school year together. There are so many exciting things to look forward to as we near the end of the year. Most importantly, please join us in reminding the kids to adhere to the "Salmon Bay Way" by being kind, safe and responsible with words and actions.

Also, in the next few weeks, teachers will be re-organizing student groups for 2013-2014 classroom assignment. Our teachers spend many hours organizing classes, taking into consideration group dynamics as well as the individual needs of every child. Please trust the judgment of our teachers, as they know our students extremely well.

If there are any extraordinary circumstances that should be considered during this process, please write a letter explaining this to me (jlbenkovitz@seattleschools.org) so that I can share necessary information with teachers. Please note that requests for a specific teacher are not considered. Instead, this is an opportunity for you to provide us with information about your child that may help us best meet his/her needs for the upcoming year.Letters must be sent to me by Wednesday, May 8th.

Thanks,
Jen and Brett

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Submitted by Caitlin Racey on Tue, 04/23/2013 - 8:04am

Principal's Note

Dear Families:

I'm keeping it light this week as we are finishing up a long grading period and heading into a much needed and well deserved spring break. It's hard to believe that it is already April. The school year is truly flying by. We have had the opportunity to celebrate many successes throughout the year and also have plenty to look forward to as we round the final curve. The remainder of the school year will be busy with testing, camp, field trips, culminating projects and promotion celebrations. Be sure to keep up with school happenings via classroom and school newsletters so that you can remain involved and in the know. My best wishes go out to everyone for a safe and healthy spring break with family and friends.

Thanks,
Jen

Assistant Principal’s Note

“Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots,

Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words, and Kind deeds.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

The other day I was outside at recess and overheard a young boy encouraging his friend as they were playing a silly game on the large playground toy. As one child struggled to climb up the toy the other boy cheered him on. “You can do it...great job!” These genuine words of encouragement were a highlight to my day and elevated my spirit.

Sometimes it seems like all I hear are jeering put downs, sarcasm and insults! Well, that is certainly true if it is the only thing that one listens for. The next recess, I tuned my ears to positive praise. Wow, what a change! I heard loads of positive, reassuring language that highlighted children playing together. “Slow and easy, I know we can do it together!” coached one young girl as a small group of five collaboratively performed a spontaneous 5-girl backbend. This was quite impressive. A few feet away a group of young “Trojan warriors”, a.k.a. 3rd grade boys, huddled together on the toy as they prepared to fight off the attacking invisible monster. One called out “Okay team, together…” as the lot charged off the small toy. All around me I witnessed children being kind, safe and responsible.

I challenge students, parents, and teachers to find ways to encourage and praise each other by sharing messages that nurture positive growth and increase self-esteem. Give it a try with the following phrases…

Unbelievable Work!	Two Thumbs Up!	You've Got It!
It Couldn't Be Better!	What An Imagination!	Outstanding Performance!
You've Outdone Yourself!	Marvelous!	Your Help Counts!
Amazing Effort!	Bravo!	Exceptional!
Breathtaking!	Worthy Of An Oscar!	You're Special!
Keep Up The Good Work!	First Rate Work!	Fantastic Work!
You Should Be Proud!	I Knew You Had It In You!	You Made The Difference!
Stupendous!	Sensational!	A+ Work!
What An Imagination!	Outstanding Effort!	Spectacular!
You Made It Happen!	Extra Special Work!	How Artistic!
Good For You!	You're A Good Sport!	That's Incredible!

Be Kind, Be Safe, Be Responsible

Brett Joachim

Assistant Principal, Salmon Bay K8

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Submitted by Caitlin Racey on Fri, 04/12/2013 - 10:30am

Principal's Note 4/1/13

Principal/Assistant Principal Note

Dear Salmon Bay K-8 Students and Families:

Spring is around the corner! First, we hope this means that you have been spending some time outside enjoying the beautiful weather that we've had lately. Jen and the dogs have been enjoying the weekends and early mornings at Golden Gardens and other area parks.

Second, we want to take a moment to also remind you that spring weather often results in "spring fever." This means that in order to remain focused on teaching and learning, it is important to review and reinforce expectations for school behavior. Please remind your child/children of our expectations for being safe, kind and responsible with our words and actions at school (including on the bus).

As the weather gets warmer, it is also especially important for you to help us reinforce the importance of adhering to our Dress Code guidelines. While these guidelines (below) are currently only printed in our Middle School handbook, they apply to all of our students. We want to take this opportunity to review these expectations so that this policy can be adhered to across our school, K through 8.

With regard to Dress Code, our goal at Salmon Bay K-8 is to allow everyone to be comfortably dressed. We should express ourselves in a manner that does not disrupt, offend, or intimidate other members of the school community. Inappropriate dress includes clothing that advertises, displays or suggests drugs, alcohol, sex, profanity, tag names or gang affiliations (no bandanas). Also, clothes must fully cover the undergarments. (Shirts that expose the stomach and spaghetti straps are not allowed.) Shorts and skirts should extend to mid-thigh (approximately 5 inches above the knee). All pants should be worn at the hips (no sagging). Hoods can be worn outside but must be off inside the school. Inappropriate dress can result in the following consequences: 1st offense - request for a clothing change; 2nd offense - phone call home, 3rd offense - lunch detention (middle school only), 4th offense - office referral. We ask for your cooperation in ensuring that your child is dressed appropriately for school so that we can remain focused on teaching and learning.

We look forward to seeing you in and around the school!

Thanks,
Jen and Brett

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Submitted by Caitlin Racey on Tue, 04/02/2013 - 8:23am