Architecture: We continued with our ongoing architecture unit this week, beginning with a visit to downtown firm BCRA on Monday. We met with architect Gail Merth who gave a presentation on architecture and had us brainstorming ideas for the new Children’s Museum building! They’ll have Seabury to thank if the museum ends up with a giant Velcro wall.

She also turned us on to a new program that students AND staff have been loving. Ask your student about Google Sketchup, or check it out for yourselfhere.

We will return to BCRA for another visit and tour in the coming weeks.

Michael Sullivan with Artifacts Architectural Consulting also gave a great presentation at the middle school on Tuesday. Thank you Michael!

Architecture tours continued with a visit to Tacoma’s Old City Hall building. Did you know there are ancient jail cells in the basement? Or that people can access the inside of the bell tower? (With the help of friendly property managers, of course.) Check out pictures from the visit on our Flickr page.

Library: Another exciting new development this week was the addition of a Middle School library! Seabury librarian Becky Young came over with a van full of books, and we rearranged furniture, cleaned and shelved books together.

Just two days later, there are library books sitting on nearly every desk. Thank you Becky!

Dining Out for Life: Thursday we took part in the nation-wide AIDS fundraiser “Dining Out for Life.” We voted on two restaurants as a class, then divided into groups and dined out.

Twenty-five percent of our bill was donated to the Pierce County AIDS Foundation, and many of the students brought extra money to donate as well. They were generous and respectful, and FULL after a giant lunch.

Thank you also to the parents and students who dined out for dinner as well. I know I saw some of you at Europa Bistro, and I’m sure there were many more at other restaurants around Tacoma.

P.E. Swimming starts next Thursday! We are reminding students this and next week that they will need to be prepared with swimsuit, towel, etc.

Art: Also beginning next week is work on our mural project with Seattle artist Jose Orantes. We are excited to brighten up Court C as well as give students the chance to work with this talented artist.

Twitter: For those of you who tweet, there are some great gifted resources to be found. Check out the Hoagies Gifted Twitter feed, the Davidson Institute, or Deborah Mersino. You can find more great Twitter feeds to read by visitingSeabury’s Twitter page and checking out who WE follow.

Additionally, every Friday at 9 a.m. (noon EST)the gifted/talented Twitter community takes to the web for a live chat with a different subject each week. Each related tweet is tagged with #gtchat for ease of searching and reading.

Gifted Teens survey: A new edition of The Gifted Kids’ Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook is in the works from Free Spirit Publishing, and needs YOUR student’s help.

The book “will be based on the actual experiences, frustrations, desires, and ideas of students like you.

Our survey is for gifted teens ages 11–17, and includes questions about giftedness, education, relationships, and personal growth. All responses are anonymous and confidential.”

Take the survey here.

Check out our year in review slideshow shared at the April 22 parent meeting here.

Twitter: For those of you who tweet, there are some great gifted resources to be found. Check out the Hoagies Gifted Twitter feed, the Davidson Institute, or Deborah Mersino. You can find more great Twitter feeds to read by visitingSeabury’s Twitter page and checking out who WE follow.

Additionally, every Friday at 9 a.m. (noon EST)the gifted/talented Twitter community takes to the web for a live chat with a different subject each week. Each related tweet is tagged with #gtchat for ease of searching and reading.

Gifted Teens survey: A new edition of The Gifted Kids’ Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook is in the works from Free Spirit Publishing, and needs YOUR student’s help.

The book “will be based on the actual experiences, frustrations, desires, and ideas of students like you.

Our survey is for gifted teens ages 11–17, and includes questions about giftedness, education, relationships, and personal growth. All responses are anonymous and confidential.”

Take the survey here.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Parent meeting

All current and incoming Middle School parents are strongly encouraged to attend a parent meeting on Thursday, April 22 at 7 p.m. at the middle school campus. Read more here.

Twitter: For those of you who tweet, there are some great gifted resources to be found. Check out the Hoagies Gifted Twitter feed, the Davidson Institute, or Deborah Mersino. You can find more great Twitter feeds to read by visitingSeabury’s Twitter page and checking out who WE follow.

Additionally, every Friday at 9 a.m. (noon EST)the gifted/talented Twitter community takes to the web for a live chat with a different subject each week. Each related tweet is tagged with #gtchat for ease of searching and reading.

Check out today’s #gtchat transcript here.

Gifted Teens survey: A new edition of The Gifted Kids’ Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook is in the works from Free Spirit Publishing, and needs YOUR student’s help.

The book “will be based on the actual experiences, frustrations, desires, and ideas of students like you.

Our survey is for gifted teens ages 11–17, and includes questions about giftedness, education, relationships, and personal growth. All responses are anonymous and confidential.”

Take the survey here.

Testing Week! Next week is testing week at Seabury. The standardized test we use is the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, or ITBS. We’ve been talking to the students about ways they can prepare, mainly through maintaining healthy eating and sleeping habits throughout the week. We appreciate your support with this! Testing will happen in the mornings, Monday through Thursday. Any tests that were missed due to absence can be made up on Friday. Each day during the week, we’ll be using the first half hour of the day for a fun activity that will help the students be calm, focused, and awake for the test.

Architecture: We started studying architecture this week. We’ll be using the buildings in downtown Tacoma as jumping off points to study three different aspects of architecture: history/styles, design of space/form and function, and structural engineering principles. We started off by getting a fantastic tour of Union Station and its surrounding area from Doug McDonnell, who was on the team that worked to save the building from demolition and then oversaw its renovation.

From this we learned not only about the fascinating history of the station and that part of downtown, but also some basic architectural vocabulary and building techniques. It was a great way to start the unit! From there, we’ve been studying basic architectural principles like load, compression, tension, etc. Next week we’ll be starting in on some fun activities, so that the students can start trying these principles out for themselves. We have a lot more exciting things to come in this unit, so stay tuned.

English: On Tuesday, we traveled to the Tacoma Book Center – the largest used book store in Tacoma. Once there, students were asked to select a book for their next independent reading book. The school purchased that book and it will go into the middle school library once they have finished reading it. We all enjoyed the opportunity to peruse the vast quantity of books on the shelves!

We fit in a quick trip to the Tacoma Art Museum on Thursday as well.

Civics: This week, students were asked to write a detailed and personal account of what they learned in the Civics Unit as a thank you note to Brenda Bono for her guidance and assistance in generating this unit of study. We worked through several drafts and the letters turned out very well.

Friday morning breakfast: Today, we started the day by making breakfast – scrambled and fried eggs, toast, hash browns, fresh fruit cut up, and orange juice. We created one large “breakfast table” that seated all of us. We shared a very good breakfast and gave thanks to Brenda for her work to create the incredibly successful Civics Unit. What a great way to start the day!

Upcoming events: Seabury will be hosting a Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted Webinar April 15 at our Middle School campus! This will be a great opportunity for parents all over Tacoma and the South-Sound region to gather together for networking and support.

Check here for a flier to peruse and pass along to other parents you think might be interested.

Spots are filling quickly, so register ASAP with Halley or Joslyn.

Summer @ Seabury 2010: It’s official, Summer at Seabury registration is now open! Brochures and registration forms are coming home in Friday folders. The registration form is also attached to this e-mail. Lots of great classes this year! Camp schedules and registration forms will also soon be added to Seabury.org, so keep checking in!

MySeabury: Have you checked out MySeabury lately? The layout is new but the information is all the same. Keep checking in on your portal to classroom blogs, curriculum overviews and other important parent information.

Civics: We wrapped up our Civics unit this week, with a round-up of topics covered. Thanks again to parent Brenda Bono for taking on this project with us!

Social Studies: Papers came in today, and they were fantastic!

Math: I’ve been impressed with the progress that the students have made in Math the past couple of weeks. Some topics have included multiplying and dividing mixed numbers, percent proportions, area of complex shapes, volume of all kinds of prisms, cylinders, cones and pyramids, and polyhedral (with some great student-made models). We’re entering the final stretch of the school year, and everyone is on track to finish strong and be ready for next year!

Architecture: Our architecture unit begins after spring break. Have a great vacation and we’ll see you all April 12!