April 23, 2015
       
School Beat
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our
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and communities
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Students from the Whittier Elementary School Wildcats Choir perform during the April 22 School Board meeting. Music teacher Samantha Bosch leads the choir.

Whittier Elementary Choir School Board performance
Whittier Elementary Choir School Board performance

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AROUND THE SCHOOLS
"Before": What it's like to be 11, just heading into middle school
BEFORE
BEFORE

About a year ago, Loyal Heights Elementary parent and filmmaker Terence Brown set up his camera and sat down with a group of students who were just finishing fifth grade. He wanted to capture their thoughts about how it feels to be 11, not really a kid but not quite a teenager. The resulting film is called "Before" and is the cornerstone of The Before Project.

 

The Seattle Public Schools students in this video talk about what makes them happy and what scares them. They talk about sex, puberty, bullying and tragedies in the news. They have a lot to say, and they are well worth a listen.   

Roosevelt teacher's award puts Human Geography on the map
Rik Katz
Richard Katz

Forget about memorizing the capitals of the nifty fifty. This is what Geography looks like at Roosevelt High School:

 

To learn about the impact of industrialization, students create a SIM on paper of how their village is transformed by the Industrial Revolution starting in the 18th century, with all of its sooty impacts on people and the environment. Then they go back and plan a 1850s city from scratch, using theory and further analysis to create a better post-industrialized place using their geographic perspective.
 
This kind of creative approach to studying our human interactions with our planet won Roosevelt AP Human Geography teacher Richard Katz a Distinguished Teaching Award from the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE). Read more. 

DISTRICT NEWS
Proposed 2015-16 School Year Calendar
A draft calendar has been proposed for the 2015-16 school year and was introduced to the full board at the April 22 school board meeting. The board is scheduled to take action on it May 6. Draft important dates under consideration by the school board:

    Sept. 9: Start of school
    Dec. 21-Jan 4: Winter break
    Feb. 15-19: Mid-winter break
    April 11-15: Spring break
    June 23: Last day of school

Again, these are still draft dates until the school board votes. Upon approval (or changes and approval) this information will be updated and families will receive communications on the approved calendar.
School Choice assignments and waitlist now online
If you submitted one of the 5,300 choice applications we received during the Open Enrollment period, you can now view the results. The Assignment and Waitlist link has been updated for the 2015-16 school year.

Use the link to see your student's 2015-16 assignment and any wait list placements. You will need your student's identification number and birthdate. If you did not request a different assignment during Open Enrollment and have not submitted at change to your home address, your student's assignment hasn't changed.

Printed assignment letters will be mailed to home addresses the week of April 27. Second applications for choice enrollment will be accepted beginning May 1, 2015. The choice forms remain posted on the Admissions main page. If you have questions about school assignments for the 2015-16 school year, please call the Service Center at (206) 252-0760.

Seattle Public Schools to host community meeting on naming of two new school buildings on Wilson-Pacific site

Wilson Pacific site drawing
Wilson-Pacific site
Seattle Public Schools is hosting a community meeting to share information, accept public comment and answer questions about the naming of the new middle school and elementary school buildings to be constructed on the Wilson-Pacific site. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 4, in the Lincoln building auditorium at 4400 Interlake Avenue North.

Seattle voters approved the February 2013 Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy, which included the construction of a new middle school building and new elementary school building. Both are scheduled to open in September 2017.

For information about the Wilson-Pacific and other BEX IV construction projects, please visit http://bex.seattleschools.org. If you have questions or comments about this and any other Seattle Public Schools capital project, please contact Thomas L. Redman, Capital and Facilities Communications, at [email protected] or 206-252-0655.

Community meetings on school bell times set

School Family Partnerships' Neighbor to Neighbor program has scheduled five regional community gatherings to receive input on changing school start bell times. Anyone in the public is welcome to attend and provide input on whether the district should, 1) maintain current bell times, 2) adjust bell times by swapping current elementary and high school start times, or, 3) add an additional period to high school allowing families to opt for later start and end times.

Community Discussions:

  • Tuesday April 21, from 6-7:30 p.m. - Highpoint Neighborhood House (6400 Sylvan Way SW, Room 207)
  • Thursday April 30, from 7-8:30 p.m. - Hamilton Middle School Commons (1610 N 41st St.)
  • Tuesday May 5, from 7-8:30 p.m. - New Holly Gathering Hall (7054 32nd Ave. S.)
  • Wednesday May 6, from 7-8:30 p.m. - Garfield HS Cafeteria (400 23rd Ave.)
  • Tuesday May 12, from 7-8:30 p.m. - Chief Sealth HS Cafeteria (2600 SW Thistle St.)
As a reminder, family surveys from the meetings can be dropped off at the dropbox on the first floor of the John Stanford Center, at your local school, or emailed to [email protected].

We Want Your Input! Nominate a project for the 2016 Capital Levy

In Feb. 2016, Seattle voters will have the opportunity to vote on two Seattle Public Schools levies - an Operations Levy and a Capital Levy. The six-year Buildings, Technology and Academics/Athletics IV (BTA IV) capital levy replaces the BTA III capital levy approved by Seattle voters in 2010. BTA IV will provide funds for upgrades and renovations of our aging school facilities on a planned and predictable timeline to help ensure a safe, secure teaching and learning environment.

We would like your input regarding possible projects that may be included in our BTA IV capital levy. You may nominate a project for the BTA IV capital levy using our online form: http://bit.ly/BTA-IV-Nomination.The deadline to submit a nomination is April 30, 2015. Read more.
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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