February 5, 2015
       
School Beat
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Jane Addams Middle School Jazz Combo
Jane Addams Middle School Jazz Combo Student Performance SB Feb 4, 2015
Jane Addams MS Jazz Combo Student Performance at School Board meeting, Feb. 4, 2015

SPS's first new comprehensive middle school in four decades included a great jazz music program from day one. Hear all about it in this video.
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DISTRICT NEWS
Recognizing distinguished graduates of Seattle Public Schools for Black History Month
Check our Facebook page throughout Black History Month to see some of the many distinguished African American graduates of Seattle Public Schools.

Reminder: Mid-winter break Feb. 14-17
We have a short mid-winter break this year. The four-day weekend includes Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 16, and Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Advanced Learning testing delayed, but enrollment must proceed
A record number of tests are being administered for Advanced Learning this year, creating a delay for families. Testing will continue through the end of February, which means that results won't be available in time for Open Enrollment for School Choice, held from Feb. 23 to March 6.

Families should still submit a School Choice Form by March 6, even if they haven't yet been notified of Highly Capable or other eligibility.

Eligible students are guaranteed a seat in the Highly Capable Cohort (self-contained classroom formerly known as APP) if the School Choice Form is submitted. Please see our Advanced Learning Enrollment page for instructions on how to enroll without eligibility results at www.seattleschools.org/advlearning.
Small groups generate big ideas at Technology Summit
Photo � Susie Fitzhugh
Imagine you're an eighth-grader working on a project about native peoples in North America by video conferencing and sharing documents electronically with students in Mexico City.

Or maybe you're a special education teacher who is able to bring a student "into the classroom" from home to join in a small group discussion with other students in the class.

Or maybe you're a parent in the military, deployed overseas, who is able to take an active role in your child's biology class presentation - before, during and after the presentation is actually given.

These are just a few of the "dream big" ideas that came out of Seattle Public Schools' Teaching & Learning Technology Vision Summit held at Cleveland High School on January 24. What's next? Read more.
Share your ideas at our Technology Vision Town Halls
Seattle Public Schools wants to give everyone an opportunity to provide feedback and input into the district's Technology Vision process. To accomplish this we are scheduling five "Town Hall" meetings around the District. One in each of the five major regions. The schedule is as follows:  
  • NORTHEAST REGION: Monday, Feb. 23 at Eckstein Middle School cafeteria
  • CENTRAL REGION: Tuesday, Feb. 24 at Washington Middle School cafeteria
  • SOUTHEAST REGION: Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Rainier Beach High School cafeteria
  • NORTHWEST REGION: Thursday, Feb. 26 at Ingraham High School cafeteria
  • WEST SEATTLE REGION: Monday March 2 at West Seattle High School cafeteria
Learn more.
Family and Community Summit Feb. 21: "Parent and Family Engagement Make a World of Difference"
Dr. Otha Thornton, Jr. President, National PTA
All families and community members are cordially invited to a parent/family and community summit to be held at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence on Saturday, February 21.

This daylong summit will explore how we can all come together to improve student academic achievement, our schools and communities. This important event is sponsored by the Seattle Alliance of Black School Educators and the U.S. Department of Education in collaborative partnership with Seattle Public Schools. Learn more.
Obituary: Richard Alexander, school board director during desegregation
As a member of the Seattle School Board from 1969 through the 1983-84 school year, Richard Alexander helped see the district through one of its most contentious periods: the busing and school desegregation debates. His support for desegregation hit home when someone planted a burning cross on his front lawn and teachers picketed in front of his house.

Alexander died January 30 in Seattle.

"I doubt when he got on the Board that he knew how hard the desegregation effort was going to be," said Alexander's daughter Alexis Zolner, who was 12 and 13 years old during the most difficult period of the debates. Read more.
New Arbor Heights Elementary will support Environmental STEM program
Architectural rendering of New Arbor Heights School
Seattle Public Schools is moving forward with plans for a new building at the Arbor Heights Elementary School site to welcome K-5 students to an Environmental Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (E-STEM) program. The new school is scheduled to open for the 2016-17 school year.

The building will be approximately 89,000 square feet and accommodate 660 students. It will house four small learning communities that include individual classrooms surrounding an open-shared learning area and an Idea Lab. Read more.
Kindergarten Enrollment Nights continue
Seattle Public Schools' Kindergarten Enrollments Nights continue. Next up:


Thurs., Feb. 5, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Hawthorne Elementary, 4100 39th Ave. S.

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Emerson Elementary, 9709 60th Ave. S.
Thursday, Feb. 12, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Roxhill Elementary, 9430 30th Ave. SW
Thursday, Feb. 19, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at West Seattle Elementary, 6760 34th Ave. SW

Get your kids excited about kindergarten and get help with the enrollment process. Enrollment specialists and interpreters will be on hand. Flyer at http://bit.ly/SPSEarlyLearning. Enrollment forms and a listing of required documents are on the SPS Enrollment Page.
AROUND THE SCHOOLS
Dearborn Park students take their circus act on the road
SCATS (Seattle Cirque & Acrobat TeamS) at DEARBORN PARK [cc]

S.C.A.T.S. (Seattle Cirque & Acrobat TeamS) at Dearborn Park International School travels around the Greater Seattle area performing for schools, colleges (such as Seattle Pacific University, University of Washington and Seattle University), Sports Teams (like the Storm and Seahawks), festivals and parades.

You have to watch these kids juggling, flipping and doing the hula hoop while balancing on top of a ball.
Moving used paper towels from landfill to compost
recycling posters
Posters by students in Kate Ayers' class at Concord
Ever look at the overflowing bin in the restroom and wonder why the paper towels can't be composted?

Well, they may soon be coming out of the landfill. Concord International School is the first Seattle Public School to pilot the Cedar Grove Restroom Paper Towel Composting Program.
Read more.
Open house season in Seattle Public Schools
Each school plans its own open house and/or school tours. Most occur in late January or February.

You can find information on individual school websites, all of which you can access through our School Directory.
SHARE YOUR STORIES
The communications office is always looking for stories on interesting classroom projects, inspirational people and big events in our schools to share with the greater Seattle community. If you have a story to share, please send your ideas to [email protected].
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