News from Seabury School

"Unless we have excellent education for both our plumbers and philosophers, neither our pipes nor our ideas will hold water."(John Gardner)

Recently, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and The Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted (CSDPG) released their annual report on the state of gifted education in the United States. The 2008-2009 State of the States In Gifted Education report (State of the States in Gifted Education report link) measures the degree of support states offered for meeting the needs of gifted and talented learners, including allocation of funding, mandates for service, accountability and more.

The introduction to the report states a fact many of us know to be true about our children:
"Most agree that the education of our children is vital to our future. But, when it comes to learning, one size does not fit all."

With the millions of gifted and talented students in classrooms today, this 2008-2009 State of the States report reveals a lack of a coherent national strategy to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists, mathematicians, peacemakers, artists and engineers.

While Washington State offers more in the way of public school gifted programs than some states, there is still no mandate for schools to differentiate education for gifted learners. With school districts required to meet requirements for No Child Left Behind at the same time that schools are faced with budget cuts, many gifted programs are being cut back, eliminated or shifted to programs designed for high achievers rather than gifted students. Teachers often lack training in how to appropriately differentiate curriculum for gifted learners, and schools are often limited in the curriculum options they can provide and the class sizes they can offer. Therefore, opportunities for individualizing education to the needs of a highly capable student can be limited. (Continued below)

Middle School Information Meeting
Wednesday, December 2
7 pm
Middle School Campus 925 Court C

On Wednesday evening, December 2, Seabury's middle school teachers and Head of School, Sandi Wollum, will be meeting with parents to talk about Seabury's new middle school program. Expectations for students, curriculum design, the shape of a typical day, the role of field study, community partnerships, and more will be discussed. There will be lots of time for questions and answers from parents.

If you are interested in seeing Seabury's middle school campus and learning more about the program, you are encouraged to attend. If you know of someone whose child might benefit from a middle school program designed to develop strong academic skills, creativity, problem solving, leadership and community service, invite them to attend as well. We hope to see you there!

Lower School Winter Program

Directed by Jakob Breitbach, Seabury Music Teacher

Tuesday, December 8th

Seabury Middle School Campus

925 Court C

Tacoma 98402

7:00pm

Jakob has been working with the students to prepare them for upcoming performances at the Festival of Trees and for the lower school Winter Program. Mark your calendar now for this original evening performance by our PreKindergarten through 5th grade students.

From the Head of School (Continued from above)

This is not news for Seabury parents. Many of you are here at Seabury, making significant sacrifices as families, because Seabury offers the program your children need to maintain their love of learning, be appropriately challenged, and be understood as learners - something many of you have not been able to find for your children elsewhere. At Seabury, your child's readiness, both developmentally and intellectually, are taken into account as lessons are planned. Limits are removed from how far a child is able to go in a particular subject. The program is responsive to both your child's strengths and your child's areas for growth -tailored to his or her individual needs. This is not because our children are more special or more deserving. It is because EVERY child is special and EVERY child deserves to learn something new at school every day - even gifted children who learn differently than typical kids their age.

A quote in the report caught my attention: "Genius without education is like silver in the mine." -William Butler Yeats All children deserve to learn in programs designed to meet them where they are - where their gifts are nurtured and supported. Gifted children learn differently and need a program that is responsive to their needs. At Seabury, we are privileged to serve these amazing children at our school. And, we are pleased to be helping our next generation of thinkers, leaders, designers and creators discover their gifts and develop their incredible potential.

~Sandi Wollum

Inclement Weather

Now that the weather has become quite wintry, it seems that we will have to implement our bad weather plans. Seabury School follows the Federal Way School District's plans for bad weather and snow closures(http://www.fwps.org/info/emergencies/index.html). Also, our class representatives will call parents when Seabury is closed.

Please remember to dress your child in layers for school. By layers, we mean for parents to provide gloves, hats, warm coats and layers of clothing that can be "peeled" off if your child gets too warm. Boots are fine for wet weather; if your child wears boots to school, please be sure to leave a pair of tennis shoes at school or have your child bring a pair in their backpack. For wet days when the puddles are most encouraging, you may consider leaving an extra change of clothes at school. Keeping your children warm and happy at school benefits all of us. Thank you for working with us at Seabury.