France 2012 meeting Feb. 22

Hello France-going families!

Just 50 days until we’re leaving on a jet plane for la belle France. Who’s excited?

We’ve got a number of things to go over before we leave, so we’ve scheduled a dinner meeting for Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. at the middle school. If you’d like dinner, bring $5 for pizza and drinks. We’re asking that all students who are headed to France be present and at least one parent (bonus points for both!). We’ve got quite the itinerary for this meeting and will be answering lots of your burning questions (For example: Where are our tickets? Answer: on their way to Halley’s house via FedEx!), so you won’t want to miss this. We’ll be going over all of the nitty gritty details in addition to some practical ones, like tips for packing, carrying money, tipping, getting through airport security and more.

Mark your calendars!

What: France 2012 planning meeting! With pizza!

When: Wednesday, Feb. 22, 6 p.m.

Where: Seabury Middle School

How much: $5 for pizza, a beverage and maybe even a cookie! Please let us know in advance if you’ll be eating.

** For chaperones only **

We’re also scheduling a mandatory chaperone meeting for the week before we leave. We have this tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, March 13 at 3:15 p.m. at the middle school. We’re hoping that by scheduling this a month and a half out everyone will be able to make the necessary arrangements to be there. However, if you know that you will not be able to be present, please let me know ASAP and we will see what we can do.

Thanks!
Halley

Weekly update, Jan. 27, 2012

Happy Friday, parents! Please read through this entire post as it contains important information!

Important Court C update for Jan. 30-Feb. 7:

And we thought we were done with construction closures! Little did we know there was a bit of cement that didn’t quite get poured at the corner of S. 9th St. and Court C. Unfortunately, because the street was narrowed during the reversal, this means the City of Tacoma will have to close completely the 9th St. end of Court C.

We will have local access for the duration of this portion of the construction, meaning you will still be able to enter Court C from the S. 11th St. side to drop off your child. However, you will need to turn around in Court C to exit the same way you entered. Bus pickup and drop-off will be … interesting. If we are unable to get the bus into Court C and turned around, it will take place at the corner of S. 11th St. and Court C. This leg of the construction has been postponed several times already, so it’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll go ahead with it on Monday. We will, as always, keep you as posted as we possibly can. Contact Halley with any questions.

Weekly Update:Upcoming Events and Other Important Dates: 

Report Cards: We will have them finalized and sent home on Monday, January 30. Thanks for your patience as we worked around the storm and computer issues! 

Science due date changes due to the storm: 

Independent Science Project #2- February 7

Independent Science Project #3- February 29

Research Paper (Students may choose one of the projects to write a research paper for.)- February 29

Tri-Fold Science Fair Board completed- February 29

All SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR- March 1 – Lower School Campus! 

Breaking News! 

On Thursday, February 16– from 1:00-2:30, we will have a guest speaker to talk about the Holocaust.

Marie-Anne Harkness will tell her family’s story of resistance during the Holocaust. Her Grandmother joined a “reseau” of the Resistance in Paris and helped to hide 300 Jewish refugees into free France.

See her biography in the Friday folder. Middle school parents are welcome to join us.

Ms. Harkness is brought to us through the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center in Seattle. They will also be sending an educational trunk the first week of February with many resources including some authentic artifacts from WWII and the Holocaust.

A note about learning about the Holocaust, Hiroshima and the Japanese Interment: 

After doing much thinking about how to approach these challenging topics with middle schoolers, I have decided to hit them head-on, but without focusing excessively on the most gruesome details. It would be a disservice to the students and those affected by these events to sugar-coat, or gloss over them but I will take our students’ sensitivities into consideration at all times. As always please talk with me if you or your students have any concerns. – Tamara

A note from Mme. Olliphant:

The accumulated French homework and test papers from the first semester is coming home in the Friday folder this week. If you have any questions, please ask. – Mme Jo Ann Olliphant

Weekly Update 1-6-12

Happy New Year! We’re so glad to see everyone’s smiling and well-rested faces. It sounds like everyone had wonderful breaks.

Here’s some important dates and information  for you:

January 10– Independent science project topic due

January 11-Open Arts Studio classes begin (every Wed. and Fri for 6 weeks)

January 12– Heritage Dinner at Lakota Middle School- All Seabury families invited. Bring a potluck dish from your family and a story to share. 6:00 start

January- 13- End of first semester!  Creative story rough drafts due for language arts, question for independent science projects due.

January 16-NO SCHOOL- MLK Jr. Day

January 20-Report Cards home- Yoga day! We’ll be heading over to the “Center for Good Karma” on St. Helen’s Ave and doing an hour of yoga in the morning. Mrs. R will teach.