What a week this has been! Our students returned to school on Monday after a sugar-filled weekend of Halloween festivities, to see our nation participate in a historic election. Record turnout numbers were exciting for all of us to see, particularly our Navigators, who had studied voting trends this fall and had worked hard on their "Get Out the Vote" (see Browns Point Radio website) campaign. It worked better than they could have imagined! Our children saw our nation elect its first African American president, and got to see how their votes in the National Mock Election compared to the votes cast by Washington State and national voters. They had the sense that they had been involved in something important and real. That is the key to learning at Seabury. Learning through experiences that inspire and motivate exploration and discovery, from the youngest Bear Cub in the Early Learning Center to the oldest Middle School student, is the key to what makes a Seabury education vibrant and relevant to our gifted children.
 
We know you support Seabury. You bring your child to school every day. You support Seabury's teachers and staff. You volunteer in classrooms and provide resources that are invaluable to our children's education. 
 
If you picked up your child after school today, you may have noticed posters on the wall encouraging you to participate in this year's Annual Fund campaign. As you are aware, tuition revenue pays about 85% of the cost of educating children at Seabury. Additional funds for the program, as well as funds for program enhancements and additions, come from the generous contributions of Seabury's families and friends though the Annual Fund and annual auction. In addition, community organizations that are considering supporting Seabury will look first to see whether we support our own school. 100% participation in the Annual Fund from parents, staff members and board members is the primary way these organizations judge whether we support our own organization.
 
If you have already made your pledge to Seabury's Annual Fund, thank you. If you have not yet pledged, please do so right away. Give as you are able, whether the amount is small or large. Your tax deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. If you have more questions about the Annual Fund, please contact Katherine Overton, Seabury Advancement Director.
~~Sandi

 

Last night, Thursday, November 6, Toby Welch and Sandi Wollum met with parents to update them on the latest developments regarding Seabury Middle School. Toby has been working full time since July to take our middle school concept and develop the program and curriculum. 
 
If you were not able to attend, or would like to see information presented at the meeting, please visit http://myseabury.org/midschstudy.htm. You will find notes from the meeting, an overview of the middle school curriculum, and a middle school scope and sequence. These are working documents that will continue to be revised as the year progresses. 
 
Toby shared the chart he is using to develop the Origins theme that will be the framework for the integrated curriculum next year. He will be sharing the overview of the specific themes and projects that will be studied as soon as it is completed. Talk with Toby if you'd like to view the work done so far. He has fascinating studies planned for students to explore next year, and will continue to work with Seabury's faculty and incoming middle school students to refine the curriculum in preparation for next year.
 
If you have questions about the middle school, or would like further information, contact Sandi at director@seabury.org or Toby at twelchseaburymiddleschool@comcast.net.  

The Sharks have caught the reading bug!  It has been so EXCITING to see each shark pick up a book and read the words!!  Thank you to our families who helped our library grow with many awesome books from the book fair.
This week, we went with the Beacons and Navigators to the Museum of Glass.  We observed the chemical changes that silca sand, ash and lime make to create glass, and the physical changes glass goes through to become things that we use everyday.  One sculptor even made a horse out of glass right in front of us!  Ask any of the Sharks about other chemical and physical changes we have been observing in our class, as we continue our study of solids, liquids and gases.
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 Officer Dennis and Maher
Today we had an unusual student at Seabury.  We are talking about a "four-legged" student being taught by one of Gig Harbor's canine unit officers.  Officer Dennis brought 9-month old Maher to school today to visit with the students and to talk about what a "canine" officer does with his human!  All of the students were allowed to ask questions (answered by Officer Dennis, of course) and then were allowed to pet Maher.

Maher is special because he is named after Officer Patrick Maher, who died in the line of duty.  Thanks go out to Renee Maher for arranging this special visitor to Seabury.

 

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We still have room in the The Good Teen discussion group.  They will be going over chapters 1-5 next week on Thursday, November 13th, at 7pm.  You can purchase your book by going to our website at www.myseabury.org and linking to the Amazon website.   The Seabury library will get credit for you purchasing The Good Teen through that link. 
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Learn more about the Puget Creek Restoration Project by going to www.pugetcreek.org.  This is the project that Mr. G's 6th Graders and Mrs. O'Brien's Explorers have been working with on their stream study.

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Sincerely,