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Greetings!
Happy Thanksgiving! There's a lot to be grateful for this month - clean water, sunny fall days, and beautiful island foliage. Parent-Teacher conferences also give us the chance to connect with our teachers and show appreciation for all they do to bring out the best in our kids. Please note that there are Conference Day Art Clubs to help out with childcare on the upcoming half-days - more information can be found below.
Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family!
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Mark Your Calendars
November 20th-26th - NOON DISMISSAL for Parent-Teacher Conferences
November 21st - Half-Day Hat-Day!
November 27th-28th - NO SCHOOL/THANKSGIVING BREAK
December 5th - Popcorn Friday
December 11th - 2:35pm West Mercer Winter Music Assembly
December 11th - 7pm West Mercer Winter Music Concert
December 22nd - January 2nd - NO SCHOOL/WINTER BREAK |
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WEST MERCER ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Thank You!
for Supporting West Mercer
at Island Books!
West Mercer BRUNCHED AND BROWSED at Island Books last Friday and it was a great success! The place was buzzing, the ambiance was festive and many holiday shopping lists were checked off after a successful morning of hunting for the perfect book or gift. A HUGE thank you to all of you who came en masse to support our school, our classrooms and our fabulous local Bookstore. As always, our West Mercer family pulls together when needed! We are grateful to all of you, in particular our tireless volunteers who year after year show their love and dedication for this event.
Nancy and Roger Page, our hosts and the wonderful owners of Island Books, were able to give back $1800 from the proceeds of the day to our school! This money directly supports many of the enrichment programs offered by the West Mercer PTA. As an extra bonus, over 110 new books were purchased from the teachers' wish list table this year. A record! The books will now find a permanent home in the libraries of our kids' classrooms, a fact that would have no doubt delighted our dear Nancy Burrill. An enormous thank you on behalf of the WM PTA.
Christina Hendelman, Susan Szafir and Andrea Dickstein
Island Books Brunch and Browse Co-chairs
For a Beautiful Tribute
to Nancy Burrill.
A huge thank you to Cynthia Winiski (and manual labor assistants Christina Hendelman and Andrea Dickstein) for the moving and beautiful display she put together in honor of our West Mercer Grande Dame Nancy Burrill, who passed away last month. Cynthia created the "Nancy Burrill's Garden" where kids and adults can leave notes in the shape of flowers for Nancy. The drawings made by children and gathered this past month are also on display in the garden as well. Please come visit "Mrs Burrill's garden", it is located in the main corridor right next the Teachers' lounge entrance.
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3 Fast Facts about WM PTA:
1 Did you know that the PTA pays for ALL of the books required for the Great Books program? Great Books is our West Mercer book club program for 2nd - 5th graders. It is entirely sponsored by the PTA and led by parent volunteers in small group settings. The program gives children opportunities to articulate their questions and opinions, and listen to the thoughts of others. Most of all, it encourages our kids to read classic literature while developing critical thinking skills.
2 Did you know that the PTA pays for all of the field trips at West Mercer? Our students embark on many exciting adventures during the school year such as visits to the Frye Museum, the Seattle Aquarium, Seward Park Audubon Center, the EMP, Washington State History Museum, Museum of Flight, Seattle Children's Theatre, Issaquah Salmon Hatchery and others. The cost for all field trips nears $20,000 and is entirely funded by the WM PTA.
3 Did you know that the PTA funds school assemblies? This year, we have scheduled several exciting assemblies for social, cultural and academic enrichment: Taproot Theatre's "Allies Ahoy" play to promote anti-bullying, 5th Avenue Theatre's "Baseball Saved Us" production about Japanese American imprisonment during WWII, and Alex Zerbe's "Disaster Catastrophe" show about science and physics.
Thank you for your support of the WM PTA through the "ASK"! Without you, these programs could not exist
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Recess Expectations
November 17, 2014
Dear Parents,
A few questions have come my way about recess and recess rules, so I thought I would take this opportunity to share some recess-related information. Recess is a valuable time for students to move, play, get some fresh air, and engage socially with their peers. Most days we have three recesses: morning, lunch, and afternoon. Here is a link to the Playground, found in the West Mercer Handbook, that have been in place at West Mercer for the past several years.
This year, one game-specific rule change occurred in Kick Ball. A safety concern arose with respect to "pegging" to tag others out during the game. Mr. Alin, our PE teacher, worked collaboratively with some of our 4th and 5th grade students to rewrite and post new Kick Ball Rules that support safer play and reduce injuries (e.g. no one-handed "pegging" or head shots).
We have several paraprofessionals on playground supervision duty for each of the recess times. Their role is to supervise students in safe play, support kids with problem solving, and help enforce rules for safety and fair play. They work hard to help keep all our students safe during this unstructured play time.
If you have any questions about recess or playground expectations, please feel free to contact me.
Respectfully,
Aimee Batliner-Gillette
Interim Principal, West Mercer Elementary
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Half-Day Hat-Day!
Friday November 21st
This coming Friday is Half-Day Hat-Day!!! Wear your craziest, biggest, smallest, funniest, fluffiest, sparkliest, sportiest, warmest, coolest hat to school!!! Help kick-off our THANKSGIVING BREAK by wearing a fun lid that makes people smile!
Hats Off to our Wonderful West Mercer Teachers and Staff!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
    
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After School Art Clubs
on Conference Days
CONFERENCE DAY ART CLUBS
Each November, West Mercer schedules five noon dismissal days to allow for parent/teacher conferences. The West Mercer PTA offers tuition-based after school art classes on these days.
These classes meet immediately after school, at the school, from noon until 5pm and are available to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. You may enroll your child for one day or all five days. More information here. |
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Reflections Art Contest
The Reflections Program is a National and Washington State PTA cultural arts competition, purposed with providing an opportunity for students to use their creative talents to express themselves through their own original works.
Reflections challenges students to create art that supports a specific theme. Themes are selected from thousands of ideas submitted by students to National PTA's Theme Search. The 2014-15 Reflections theme is:
"The world would be a better place if..."
Students may submit an original art work in any of six arts areas: Visual Arts Photography, Literature, Music Composition, Dance Choreography, and Film Production. Rules can be found Here. West Mercer Deadline: Monday, Dec 1, 2014 (entry form)
Winners will be honored at the District Award Ceremony on Feb 11. Top winners at the National level receive prizes up to $800.
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SCHOOL DISTRICT ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Mercer Island Band Boosters Presents: BAND TOGETHER
A Band Fundraiser for Grades 5 - 12
Saturday, November 22, 2014
6:00 - 10:00 pm
Mercer Island Community Center
Come together. Don't miss this unique evening to support Mercer Island School District band programs. The evening's theme, "Rockin' the Casbah," will feature an eclectic mix of music, wine, beer, hors d'oeuvres and desserts with a Moroccan flair along with one-of-a-kind Live and Silent auction items. Tickets for this adults only event are available in limited quantity for $75 per person.
For tickets, visit www.misbb.org
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You may have seen the story, "School district launches online construction update tool". Through these facilities web pages, the district will provide regular updates to the community regarding the three targeted facilities projects to address school overcrowding authorized in the February 2014 special election.
The online construction tool is available here.
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Boundary Committee Updates
The Superintendent has established a boundary committee, convened during the fall of 2014 and the winter of 2015 to recommend new elementary boundaries, given Elementary #4 will open on the North Mercer campus in the fall of 2016. The process is open to the public, and general input will be solicited in early 2015, followed by a public hearing.
More information is available here. |
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Little Dribblers 2014
Mercer Island Boys Basketball Tradition
Winter Saturday Program Dec 6th to Feb 7th
Little Dribblers is a long standing basketball tradition on Mercer Island, originally conceived and run by legendary coach Ed Pepple and continued by current head coach Gavin Cree. This program gives young kids interested in basketball a wonderful opportunity to interact with and learn from high school players and coaches. It allows high school players to share their skills and mentor these kids and indoctrinate the love of the game. Young kids adore these players and have lots of fun on the court. They learn skills which serve them well with their current teams and prepare them for future Islander basketball.
Players of all abilities are encouraged to participate. Members of the sophomore, JV, and Varsity basketball teams will coach the younger players in grades 2nd through 9th. Proceeds from this camp are used to support boys' basketball activities.
Click here for more information, |
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Auditions for the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra
Register Now for December 8th Auditions for the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. Open to all symphonic instruments, musicians ages 6-19. Rehearsals are on Monday nights in Bellevue during the school year. For more information, please visit www.byso.org.
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Boys and Girls Club Winter Athletic Programs are Coming
Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club offers a number of active programs for kids throughout the fall and winter, including:
- Basketball
- Parkour
- Wrestling
- Yellow Yoga
- Futsal
- Baseball try-outs
Programs are ongoing. See the flyer,
Also, don't forget: Registration opens for Spring programs Nov. 15 for Little League, Softball, T-Ball, Sluggers, Soccer, Track and Field, and Volleyball.
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Boys Spring Lacrosse 2015
REGISTRATION - NOW OPEN at mercerislandlacrosse.com
Kindergarten-8th Grade Island Residents
Kindergarten
Starts Sunday 3/15/15
Last Sunday 5/17/15
Every Sunday from 2:30-3:30 at IMS South Playfields
Equipment: stick, cleats, dress for inclement weather
1st/2nd Grade
First practice - Thursday 3/12/15
Practices weekly on Thursdays at an MI elementary school 3:45-5pm
First scrimmage 3/15/14, last scrimmage 5/17/15
Scrimmages weekly on Sundays 1-2:30 at IMS South Playfields
Equipment: stick, cleats, dress for inclement weather
3rd/4th Grade
First practice Tuesday 3/10/15
First games 3/14/15, last games 5/16/15
Practices weekly on Tues/Thurs at an MI elementary school 3:45-5pm
Games weekly on MI and/or greater eastside, mainly Saturdays
Equipment: stick, full pads (helmet, chest/shoulder, elbow, gloves, mouth guard), athletic cup
5th - 8th (Excluding Silver/Black Teams)
First practice Monday 2/23/15
First games 3/7/15, last games 5/16/15
Practices weekly Mon/Wed/Fri at IMS 4:30-6:30pm
Games weekly on Saturdays on MI and/or greater eastside
Equipment: stick, full pads (helmet, chest/shoulder, elbow, gloves, mouth guard), athletic cup
Questions regarding K-2nd grade contact Jola Jensen: jolajensen4@gmail.com
Questions regarding 3rd/4th grade contact Missy Johnson: tonyandmissyjohnson@comcast.net
Questions regarding 5th/6th grade contact Sarah Rowe: sarah.rowe@comcast.net
Questions regarding 7th/8th grade contact Susie Plummer: susie@uvillage.com
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Mercer Island CrossFit offers programs for kids at the SJCC
Make physical activity fun with CrossFit Kids! Mercer Island CrossFit offers weekly fitness classes for kids ages 5-10 years old. CrossFit Kids focuses on finding fun and active ways to teach kids healthy movements, nutrition, team building, emotion regulation, and social skills. Classes are taught by a Licensed Mental Health Therapist with certifications in NASM-CPT and CF Level 1.
Mercer Island CrossFit is located in the Stroum Jewish Community Center. Classes are Tuesday's & Thursdays at 4pm.
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Futsal Registration Open through Boys and Girls Club
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What is Futsal? It's fast paced, action packed and FUN!
- Taught by IAS Professionals
- Small rosters = more touches
- Small fields/goals and out of bounds lines improve ball control, foot coordination and agility
- NO booting the ball and NO standing around
- Played indoors at the PEAK
- Team jersey supplied
- Friend requests accomodated
Registration for players U6 through U14. Register through the Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club
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Mercer Island FC (MIFC) is proud to announce a NEW program! Fall Technical Director "TD" Friday Academy
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K, 1st & 2nd grade
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IMS Turf
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4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
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3rd & 4th grade
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IMS Turf
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5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
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5th grade and older
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Island Crest Park
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6:15 - 7:15 p.m.
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Learn more here!
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hosted by MI Parks & Recreation and MI Fire
Gather with your family, friends & neighbors for an evening of holiday merriment at the community tree lighting ceremony and caroling at Mercerdale Park. Radio Disney will be at Mercerdale Park with music and activities starting at 5:30pm thanks to sponsorship by Republic Services. Arts & crafts, Santa photos, treats and musical entertainment will follow at the Firehouse. Bring an unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots drive to help a child in need have a better holiday season.
Age: All Ages
Date: Friday, December 5
Time: 6:30pm - 7pm (Tree Lighting & Caroling*)
7pm - 8:30pm (Firehouse Munch & Activities**)
Fee: FREE
Location: *Mercerdale Park & **North Fire Station
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Mercer Island Parks and Recreation is offering an opportunity for a Parents Night Out!
Enjoy a night out with your spouse, friends, or just chilling at home without your kids.
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Bellevue Magic Season
Ice Arena
Dates: Nov. 28, 2014 - Jan. 11, 2015
Skate and celebrate at the Magic Season Ice Arena, the region's largest open-air holiday ice skating experience! This beloved Magic Season tradition is the perfect memory-making activity for family and friends. The festive venue offers shelter for all-weather skating, seasonal food and beverage concessions, music from STAR 101.5. This is also an easy fundraising opportunity for our school.
Simply tell the attendant at the entrance which school you are from and each student attending will raise $3 for their school's PTA.
Click here for more information.
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Hola, Ni Hao, and Bonjour! Sponge language classes are just getting started for the year at the Mercer Island Elementary schools, and you can still sign up for class! We offer a research-based, exciting and engaging curriculum taught primarily in the target language. Our goal is to help build comprehension and communication skills through active learning -- which means lots of games, stories and songs! It's not too late to join the fun!
Classes for Spanish, French and Mandarin are held before and after school at all three Mercer Island Elementary schools. Busing is available between schools, so your children can learn their favorite language regardless of the school they attend. Visit www.spongeschool.com/sign-up/ and select the big pink "Mercer Island Elementary Registration" button to register. Contact us by email at info@spongeschool.com or call us at 425.274.5188 with any questions.
Register now and secure your spot in class!
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TechSmartKids - After School
Computer Programming Course
TechSmartKids, a leading provider of computer science and physical computing education for elementary and middle school students is offering after school computer programming classes for West Mercer students and the community.
Enrollment
Enroll Online: http://www.TechSmartKids.com
Enroll by phone: 425-786-7824
TechSmartKids Fall 2014 Courses available here.
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The Wolf newsletter will go out on the first and third Thursday of each month. If you have any announcements that you would like to appear in an upcoming newsletter, please send in your submissions by the end of business day on Monday prior to publication. Submissions can be made to: editor@westmercerpta.com.
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