Friday Letter 5-23-08

THE SMASHING FRIDAY LETTER
May 23, 2008

Memorial Day—No School Monday!

Dear SMASH Community,

I am pleased to announce that our new Core 1 will be Chrysta Wyse. I mentioned in the Friday Letter two weeks ago that, due to the many layoffs in the district, it was possible that a teacher who was on leave or on special assignment could be joining our team. Chrysta is an amazing fit for SMASH. Chrysta has been working in the district for 12 years, and has always been interested in what goes on here at SMASH. After completing the Teacher Education Program at UCLA with Jessica Rishe, Chrysta was hired at Will Rogers Learning Community where she had student taught. She spent the next 8 years teaching first grade, second grade, and 1-2 multi-age. At Rogers, she had the opportunity to collaborate with innovative teachers and leaders, striving to implement practices that are best for all children. Four years ago, Chrysta was chosen to become a mentor teacher in SMMUSD for the Cotsen ART of TEACHING Program (www.cotsen.org). Now that this extraordinary experience is coming to an end, Chrysta is thrilled to be returning to the classroom. She requested to be placed at SMASH because of the progressive teaching that takes place here. “When thinking about where I wanted to teach, I first asked myself, ‘Where would I want my daughter to learn?’ The answer was clearly SMASH.” Chrysta is married to Mark Wyse. Their daughter, Emma, will be two in the fall.

Chrysta will be at Super SMASH and at Open House on June 12.

Carrie

A LETTER FROM OUR NEW PRINCIPAL—JESSICA RISHE

Dear SMASH Students and Families,

I am so excited to be returning to a community I deeply love, respect and believe in! As I mentioned during my interview, I feel SMASH graduate (and former Core 1 student of mine) Sam Henstel said it best in an alumni essay, ”I feel proud to know what it means to be SMASH-like.”

Since 1995, when I was placed as a UCLA student teacher at SMASH, I have refined my SMASH internal compass by teaching in Core 1, serving as a new teacher Support Provider for Core 3, and working for 2 years on a proposal to once again grow SMASH to a K-12 continuum (as it was in its beginnings). My time learning about and working with SMASH faculty and families only serves to reinforce my belief that this an amazing community and I am lucky to be back.

During the last 8 years, I have been a SMMUSD and Los Angeles County facilitator of professional development for teachers and administrators. I have worked to deepen teacher and student self-reflection and create engaging K-12 learning environments. For the last 2 years, I have also worked as Assistant Principal at McKinley Elementary, a stimulating and nurturing school community where I have learned a lot about strong school-family partnerships and courageous leadership by student groups, parents, staff, and the principal.

On a personal note, you will meet my coordinated, articulate 3 _ year old, Micah, my smiling, curious 1 year old, Eli, and my loving, lovable husband Mitch at SuperSMASH. I look forward to connecting with many of you at the May 27th Meet and Greet, at SuperSMASH, and to once again witnessing the magic that happens at the end of the year during graduation when every 8th grader has a moment as valedictorian, taking the stage to describe the power of their experience at SMASH.

Finally, I look forward to working with all of you when we begin the 2008-2009 school year – I can’t wait for the work, fun and SMASH community building to begin again!

Warmest Regards,
Jessica Rishe

DATES TO REMEMBER

Sat, May 24 - LIVE DRAW - 7-10pm, DCA Fine Art, 3107 Pico Blvd
Mon, May 26 - Memorial Day - School Closed
Tue, May 27 - Site Council Mtg. 6:30pm (Jessica Rishe will be in attendance)
Wed, May 28 - Police Activity League Youth Center (PAL) Open House 6-8pm (310) 458-8988
Thur, May 29 - 5:30 pm - Next year’s middle school music program information mtg. DATE CHANGE
Sat, May 31 - Benefit for the Arts Concert, 8:00 pm - Barnum Hall, SAMOHI
Sat, May 31 - SuperSMASH Carnival and Silent Auction
Fri, June 6-Sun, June 8—Camping trip at Decker Canyon (contact Janice Merrihew for details)
Wed, June 11—Core 3 and 4 Instrumental and Choral Music Informance 6pm
Thurs, June 12—Open House 6:30pm
Tues, June 17 through Friday, June 20—1:30 dismissal
Thurs, June 19—8th Grade Graduation 10:00am
Fri, June 20—All school beach day (last day of school)

THE LAST BAKE SALE OF THE YEAR IS NEXT WEEK!
Core 4 - May 28

8 Artists, 3 Models, 1 Incredible Scene!
Support SMASH by attending the most exciting art event of the season
Hosted by SMASH parent and DCA Fin Art proprietor Delia Cabral (Core 3’s Liam Peterson)
World Famous Live Art Event
LIVE DRAW!
Saturday, May 24 7-10 pm
Advanced tickets $45
Watch 8 artists in action. Buy art right off the pad.
Fine Wine by Tisza Wine Co. and creative tapas Grooves by DJ S.I.M.O.
DCA Fine Art, 3107 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica
Tickets: www.dcafineart.com Information: 310-828-4751
For The Arts BENEFIT CONCERT! May 31, 2008
Jackson Browne, Venice and Special Guests
Barnum Hall, Santa Monica High School
Doors 6:30pm Show: 8:00pm
Purchase tickets: www.smmef.org - $50, $100, $175, $250 Call 310-396-4557 to order $1000 VIP Tickets
$900 is tax-deductible - pre-show dinner, seating in first 5 rows center, parking on campus and after-party.

NOT RETURNING TO SMASH NEXT YEAR?
AN INTRA DISTRICT ENROLLMENT FORM IS NOW MANDITORY

If your child will be attending another elementary or middle school in the Santa Monica-Malibu School District, you must submit an intra district form BEFORE May 31, 2008 to
the District’s Student Permit Office. Forms are available in the SMASH main office.

The Cafeteria will no longer accept checks
after May 30

Last Day for District Music for this School Year
3rd grade ends: June 6 Cores 3 & 4 ends: June 12

CANDIDATES FOR SITE COUNCIL—2008-2009 SCHOOL YEAR
Daniel McGee Kezia Miller Tracy Saltzman
Ballots are in this Friday Letter and are due by 1:30 on Friday, May 30. No late ballots will be accepted.
Representatives will be announced in the June 6 Friday Letter.

Signed up yet?
SuperSMASH needs U!
Saturday, May 31
11:30AM to 5:30PM

Help run a Game
Assist at an Art Booth
‘Man’ a Refreshment Stand
Watch over the Silent Auction

Hand out postcards
to family and friends, in your neighborhood, at your children’s sports events.

Post posters
any time any place where children and their parents will see it.

Bring in an item to fill up the Core Culture Baskets
by Wednesday, 5/28.

Bring in a cake for the Cakewalk
on Saturday, May 31, by 10AM.

Bring in a casserole for the Casserole Corner
on Saturday, May 31, by 10AM.

Set up and decorate
on Friday, May 30, in the afternoon/evening
and/or on Saturday, May 31, in the morning.

Sign up!
Helga Schier at 310-828-8421 or e-mail helgaschier@verizon.net


SuperSMASH ‘08
is just 1 week away!

Got Donations?
Please bring your fabulous donations in ASAP!
Catalogue closes Wednesday 5/28
Donation forms available in the office

Got Time?
Please volunteer. SuperSMASH needs you! REALLY!
Helga at 310-828-8421 or helgaschier@verizon.net

Got T-shirts?
Bring your t-shirts, dresses, sheets to SuperSMASH to tie-dye.
Got no t-shirts? Don’t despair… we’ll sell some at SuperSMASH!

Dear Families and Friends,

My name is Jila Tayefehnowrooz, Core 4 Parsa’s mother. To help with SuperSMASH Silent Auction we would like to create multicultural baskets from each Core.
To do this we need collaboration of the entire community. We need each family to bring in an item that they feel represents their culture. For example, a spice, a book of tales from your country, a cd, recipe, video with subtitles, a travel book . . .there are many ideas. You may say that you have no culture—well, we are all from somewhere. Maybe you identify more with a region of the United States. How about a gift certificate for a dinner if you are from the Midwest, or movie coupons, beach towel if you are from California, or taffy from Oregon, seafood cookbook, etc.
There will be a box in each Core. Please put your items in these boxes with your name and the culture it represents.
Please contact me at 310-417-8000 if you have any questions.
Let’s all use our imagination and create something really special to celebrate our differences!

Thank you! Gracias! Merci! Arigatou! Grazie! Motashakarm!


Dear SMASH Community,
As most of you know, Carrie and I are members of the Small Schools Task Force Committee. This is the group the School Board has mandated to investigate the feasibility of a small high school. We were
supposed to present our findings to the School Board last Thursday night, and many of you showed up to support us, and hear and comment on our vision for an alternative to SAMOHI, for which we are grateful. Unfortunately, the meeting got a late start and the agenda was very long. At about 9:30pm, members of the task force realized that our report would not be heard until close to midnight!
Luckily, we were able to have our presentation pushed to the next board meeting, scheduled for June 5. To those of you that came to support us, thank you! For the June 5 meeting, we're hoping to get our presentation "time stamped" on the agenda so that we'll know exactly what time we're presenting. I hope this explains what happened, and I really hope everyone comes back out to support us on the 5th.
Sincerely,
Toby Berlin (Mom to Sophia and Zoey Rose Grecco)
Got 2 Bucks?

Here’s your chance to win a fantastic
Veloworx BIKE

Buy one (or two or three…) raffle ticket(s) for only $2/each and perhaps
you’ll win a Phat Cycles SeaBreeze Cruiser
(valued at $200; exchangeable for store credit only)

Raffle opens Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Raffle closes at SuperSMASH, Saturday, May 31, 2008

Purchase your tickets at Wednesday’s bake sale or in the office.

&------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please fill out the form below and hand it in with your
$2 for one (1) raffle ticket towards a chance to win the
Veloworx Phat Cycles SeaBreeze Cruiser.
The purchase of multiple tickets is gently encouraged.
Additional forms are available in the office.


Name ______________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________________________

Telephone____________________________________________________________________

E-mail ______________________________________________________________________


ptsa news
president’s note
Dear Smashing Parents,

I can't believe it, my final President's Message, my, how time has flown. I suppose that must mean that I have had a lot of fun over the past two years. It has been a privilege and an honor to serve as PTSA president, and I would like to thank you all for giving me the opportunity.

SMASH is a rare place, where respect, tolerance and democracy are the rule and not the exception, where the members of our diverse community put aside (most) of their differences and pull together for a common goal on a daily basis, and not just in crisis. Being an active part of the SMASH community over the past two years has been a profound source of joy for me.

As I stated in my first President's message two years ago, it is my firm belief that the responsibility for teaching basic values should be shared by the home, school, place of worship and the community. The examples we set, as parents, have a profound influence on the kind of person our children becomes. Values are "caught as well as taught," that is what "freedom with responsibility" is all about. When you volunteer at SMASH, you demonstrate to your children that, in addition to a healthy work ethic, you value altruism, charity, and community, and foster the development of those values in them. I look forward to participating for many years to come, and invite those of you who feel too busy to become involved to join us.

Ofer
SMASHing fundraisers
1 more week to SuperSMASH on Saturday, May 31, 2008. We need your help to make it a success. We are still accepting donations. New donations will be listed in an updated catalogue published on the day of the event. Bring in your donations by Wednesday, 5/28. Thanks! Please also check out this week’s call for volunteers. Thanks!
SMASHing events
In support of SMASH, DCA Fine Arts presents
Live Draw! Eight Artists. Three Models. One incredible scene.
May 24th, 7 - 10 pm
DCA Fine Art, 3107 Pico

Enjoy a DJ, Hungarian wine, Golden Ale, and tapas! Tickets are $45 pre-sale or $55 at the door. Buy tickets online at www.dcafineart.com and check out the flier attached!
John Muir/SMASHing workshops
There’s still a chance to join the “Green Living” workshop! Come on Monday, May 26 at 6PM and learn great things about green living. Parent/children participants are welcome. Questions? Contact SMASH parent Gina Garcia at ginagplus2@msn.com. Thanks!
SMASHing meetings
NEW DATE for our next PTSA meeting: Thursday, June 5, at 6:00PM. Come meet the new board! We need your support! Be there!

CORE 1 NEWS

Core 1 Play
Come see Core 1 in our first theatrical production of the year. We will be performing our versions of Charlie the Caterpillar next week on Wednesday, May 28th from 9:00 – 10:15. Both circle groups will take turns performing in the Core 1 classroom. Come see our budding stars! Thanks to Kristy, our drama teacher, who has worked extra hard to help us get ready. Don't forget your camera!
(If anyone plans to make a DVD, please let us know. We’d love to watch our performances on TV!!)

On the day of the plays the kids should wear colors that match their animals—ask your child what her/his character is so you can help them choose their clothes for the day.

Also, we need to borrow 4 tennis rackets for the play as well as some brown and/or black tails for our mice and monkeys. If you have either or both of these items and are willing to lend them, please make sure your child’s name is on them somewhere so we can make sure they get back to you. Thank you!

Meeting Our Penpals
Our penpals from Our Community School will be visiting us at SMASH on Friday, May 30th. It will be so much fun meeting our “mystery friends” after all of this time. After a quick Morning Meeting with them in our classroom, we will venture to the beach for a time at the park. All students will need snacks and lunches, which we will be eating at the park. We hope to have many chaperones for this fun event, so please sign up in the Peaceful Room if you are available.

Summer Reading – Library Trip
It’s time to get ready for your summer reading! With so much time away from school, it is essential that you continue nurturing your child’s reading muscles throughout the summer. The Santa Monica Public Library has a great program to help you motivate and monitor your reading. Core 1 will be visiting the Santa Monica Main Library on June 6th. We will be leaving by Big Blue Bus around 9am and returning in time for lunch. All students will need to bring their snack. We also need chaperones for this event. Please sign-up in the Peaceful Room.

Cores 1&2 BBQ
A huge thank you goes to the whole Core 1 community for helping make the BBQ such a success! We couldn’t do it without you. It was fantastic to enjoy good food and good friends for a few hours to kick off the 3-day Memorial Day weekend. A special shout out goes to the families who let us use their BBQs for the day and of course to the parents who did the grilling. Thank you as well to everyone who helped clean up the Small Yard afterwards. You’re all wonderful!

The Peaceful Room has become a huge Lost and Found! There are tons of sweaters, hats, and sweatshirts that we’ve found around Core 1. There are also plates and bowls from bake sales and other events. Please stop by to see what belongs to you.
All left items will be donated to Goodwill at the end of May.


Wish List: Thank you for your donations!

HAVE A GREAT 3-DAY WEEKEND!!
Mana, Candis, and Jackie

Candis: candis.berens@smmusd.org Mana: mhale@smmusd.org

CORE 2 NEWS

Dear Core 2 Community,

We had our Core 1/Core2 (almost) end of the year barbeque today! Thank you all for making this event yummy and fun.

Our field trip to Santa Monica Playhouse was so much fun. The audience had the opportunity to interact with the actors. Ask your child about the four main characters. Thank you to all the parents who accompanied us there is a surprise from the Playhouse for you attached to these papers. Each child received an information packet and two free tickets. Enjoy!

In Literacy, the students worked on illustrating their Story Starter story and worked on their story revision. All of the student’s poetry books are published and available for you to read. We will send them home at the end of the year. In Reader’s Workshop, the students are learning how to write a book summary.

In Science the students began Invention #3. The children are so creative and imaginative with this individual invention. Thanks for all the supplies you sent in from home.

In Arts with Christine Marie, the students added sound effects to their comics. Only one more class and then the students will share their work with the SMASH Community. Core 2’s Art Sharing will be Wednesday, June 4 from 10:30 - 11:45. Hope to see you there!

In Body Movement, all students had the opportunity to do Tinikling with the sticks. They found it to be more challenging and trickier than the line of tape.

So much to do and only 4 weeks left!

Dates to remember:
Monday, May 26 -- School Holiday, Memorial Day
Wednesday, May 28 -- Last Arts Class with Christine Marie
Teacher Raffle continues, bid early and often at the Bake Sale
Saturday, May 31 -- Super SMASH
Wednesday, June 4 -- Arts Sharing, in Core 2 10:30 - 11:45
Final afternoon for the 3rd graders moving down to Core 1 and next year’s Core
2 to have Choice Choices in Core 2
Friday, June 6 -- Last District Music for the 3rd Graders
Thursday, June 12 -- Invention Convention -- 1:15 - 2:15
-- Open House
Friday, June 13 -- Birthday Bash -- June, July, and August birthday babies, more info in future letters
Tuesday, June 17 to Friday, June 20, minimum days, 1:30 Dismal
Thursday, June 19 -- 8th grade graduation and Pot Luck Lunch, more info in future letters
Friday, June 20 -- ALL SMASH Beach Day, Life Guard Station #26, more info in future letters


Jayme Laura and Nadja


Jayme: jayme.wold@smmusd.org Laura: sherman@smmusd.org

CORE 3 NEWS

***Middle-school Music Info Meeting Date Change: Thursday 5/29, at 5:30. Childcare available***
Incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students and parents--please attend a meeting about next year's District Music Program for Core 4. Tom Whaley, music coordinator from the district, and Katie Cavallaro, our on-sight music coordinator, will both be there to explain plans for next year's program at SMASH and hear our ideas. This is a great opportunity for all of us to share our questions/concerns and brainstorm for the future of the SMASH Middle School Music Program.

Another packed week--with Jeannine Renshaw and David Saltzman sharing their writerly lives with us, Anna Hays, author of the middle-grade novel Portia’s Ultra Mysterious Double Life, reading from her book and teaching us about developing interesting characters, the Music w/Dian sharing at the assembly and Ocean House, and the Core 3 & 4 community snack/mixer! Read on for all the juicy details…

Get your summer reading together! Reading every day is not only important during the school year, but is also important over the summer. Book Orders (see attached) are a great way to get inexpensive books on your child’s nightstand and in their beach bags for the summer. Shiloh for 95 ¢! The Island trilogy in one pack! The Click order offers items like “School House Rock” software, which looks like a fun way to learn about a lot of different things and a paperback book to help you understand your Wii. We also recommend either typing software or any of the math software. All great ways to make reading an integral part of your lives! Ask your child how many books they think they’ll be able to read over the summer and plan for it. Book orders are due Tuesday, June 3!

In Reading Workshop, both groups worked with their book clubs to present an Academic Choice activity to share a summary of their book with the class. It was fun (and funny!). We’ve noticed that some students have been slacking on reading their Just Right books at home. It’s true that we have been reading non-fiction for science/social studies at school, but students still need to read their own books at home!

In Writing Workshop, we continued planning out our feature articles by thinking of sections and using an outline to help us organize our thoughts and writing. With a crunch for time, students will be responsible for using homework time to get some of the work done. Your child should be done with their research, gathering information, and interviews by Tuesday, May 27 so we can draft and revise next week.

Fourth grade mathematicians continued to look at fractions and data. We looked at when we change groupings, our data changes. We also looked at looking at two separate groups of data in the same graph and discussed how looking at that information informs us. Fifth grade mathematicians concluded the mini-unit on Algebra. They are starting to understand how to do different operations with positive and negative numbers, which they used to balance algebraic equations two ways: trial and error (plugging in different numbers) and isolating the variable. Lots of “aha” moments! Let them show you what they can (and can’t) do on this week’s homework. Homework! Fridays! Do it! Thanks!

In Social Studies/Science we learned about the migration of freed African American slaves from the agricultural economy of The South to the Industrialized cities in The North. They’ve started an outline of the different reasons people move--ask your child why these people moved.

SuperSMASH is coming up! Each core is creating a multicultural basket for the silent auction. Please add an item of cultural/regional significance for your family to Core 3’s basket with your name and info on it--Thanks! Contact Dylan’s Elaina for more info.

In Spanish with Sonasha they are doing a cook/comic book as their final project. Each child has picked a country and are bringing in a recipe from that culture. They need to bring a recipe from their country by Friday, May 30. We will pick a few simple recipes to cook in class towards the end of the year.

There are 4 weeks to go—minus 1 holiday, graduation day, and beach day—How many days are left?
Tamara, Genie, Malaika, and Ingrid

mugalian@smmusd.org genie.hwang@smmusd.org

CORE 4 NEWS

***Middle-school Music Info Meeting Date Change: Thursday 5/29, at 5:30. Childcare available***
Incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students and parents--please attend a meeting about next year's District Music Program for Core 4. Tom Whaley, music coordinator from the district, and Katie Cavallaro, our on-sight music coordinator, will both be there to explain plans for next year's program at SMASH and hear our ideas. This is a great opportunity for all of us to share our questions/concerns and brainstorm for the future of the SMASH Middle School Music Program.

6/7 Math: Focusing on Formulas: This week we focused on reflecting and celebrating our work over the past trimester in our Core 4 Expo. Thanks to all those that showed their support! In preparation for the Expo, the mathematicians demonstrated a strong effort in creating a final project focusing on math apparent in World War II. They had the option of doing a project on codes and ciphers or one involving victory gardens. Please ask your child which one they chose and how their project related to both Math and World War II.

Toward the latter part of the week, we regained our focus back our Algebraic unit. We looked further into formulas by studying area and perimeter. By working with manipulatives, the students had a chance to deepen their understanding of these two specific formulas as well as gain more practice in working with formulas. Next week, we will look more closely at other types of formulas involving rate.

Dancing for a Cause Proved to be a SMASHing Success!: Core 4 planned and successfully put on a middle school dance a few weeks ago. Along with the purpose of having fun and enjoying the friends we have in Core 4, it also served the purpose to raise money for an organization, Healing Bridges. This organization supports refugee children in Africa. Because of the solid effort and hard work from each Core 4 student, we were able to raise a grand total of $756! What a gratifying and huge success we are all feeling up here on the second floor! As we walk away from this Dream Project, we will remember that it’s not hard to pick a cause, do something fun to support it, and donate the money! Please reach out toward the Core 4 team and congratulate their efforts!

Humanities: This week we continued our study of American music by watching portions of Ken Burns' documentary "Jazz." It was great to see the connections between the topics in the film and the Southern history that we studied earlier in the year. On Wednesday we had a great Spring expo where students displayed their "Letters from Manzanar" and their Maus projects. Great job everyone! Have a super three day weekend!

El Charrombly Advisory: The World war two expo was a fine thing to see. In art this week we continued making very cool sixties posters. Our middle school is roaring right along! Please join us for the end of year events.

Ciencia: The biology teaching presentation presentations are thrilling! We have seen the insides of computers, frogs and playstations. Witnessed natural selection in middle school students and had a great time. You would be proud of these kids if you wer able to see all they do. Do plan to be at the 8th grade presentations!

Algebra: We started Chapter 11 this week and are getting into square roots and looking at the Pythagorean Theorem. Fun stuff! Our test for Chapter 11 will be next Friday!

8th Graders: Graduation is fast approaching. It will be on Thursday, June 19 beginning at 10:00am. More details to come. 8th grade presentations will take place the first week of June. Your child should have already told you the date and time of their presentation. If they have not, please contact us!

Music with Dian A huge THANK YOU to Dian for all of her work with us this year. We had a terrific performance this week at the assembly and then at the Safran House. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
From Dian: The singing classes I've taught for the year are coming to an end. I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach and hopefully inspire your kids. Please continue to sing and enjoy music over the summer.
Love, Dian Andrews

Kelly: kkulsrud@ao.com Kurt: holland@smmusd.org Erin: erin.haendel@smmusd.org

¡ Español Hoy !

May 2008

Hola familias.
This month has been full of many great traditional Mexican celebrations. We have enjoyed sharing with los estudiantes the popular Cinco de mayo and Día de la Madre (we hope all you mother’s enjoyed your cards). In the coming weeks we will incorporate Día del Maestro and Día del estudiante, holidays honoring teachers and students throughout the country.

Final projects for each Core are coming along and we are busy putting on all the final touches. Each Core will have something fabulous showcased at Parent Night. Hope to see you all there!

For families wishing to continue enhancing students Spanish language skills this summer, Escuela Azul : A Spanish Summer Adventure Camp will be offered through the City of Santa Monica. Our Spanish teacher, Nina Baumgartner, is the creator and lead teacher of this camp. It has been ongoing for 9 years with tremendous success. Please check out the flier attached in this week’s Friday letter

This month we have focused on words relating to a students day. Themes have included school classes, city places, and sports.
Vocabulario para praticar en la casa:
City/La ciudad: school/la escuela, church/la iglesia, beach/la playa, library/la biblioeca, shop/la tienda, park/el parque, airport/el aeropuerto, movies/el cine, restaurant/el restaurante, supermarket/el supermercado
Sports/Los deportes: tennis/el tenís, soccer/el futból, football/el futból americano, golf/el golf, baseball/el beisból, basketball/el basquetból, volleyball/el voliból,
Classes/Los clases: English/inglés, math/matemáticas, art/arte, social studies/ciencias sociales, lunch/al almuerzo, technology/tecnología, Spanish/español, P.E./educación física, science/ciencias naturals

Ways to share the language:
*ask students how classes were today using Spanish words
*while driving name a city place in Spanish and see who can be the first to spot it
*play charades acting out different sports and guessing correctly in Spanish

Instrumental Music/Chorus Spring Concerts

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The end of the year is approaching fast! It is time to celebrate the hard work our John Muir and SMASH students have done in music class with a concert! The Spring Concert will take place on June 11. All performances are on the John Muir and SMASH campus in the following locations at the following times:

Beginning Music Classes (4th Grade)
6:30
Beginning Violin, Viola, and Cello Class—Auditorium
Beginning Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn, and Clarinet—Media Center
Beginning Flute—Room 415


Advanced Music Classes (5th Grade) and SMASH Middle School Classes
7:30
Choir, Advanced Strings, and SMASH Middle School Strings—Auditorium
Advanced Winds and SMASH Middle School Winds—Media Center

Performing is an important part of the music curriculum. Attendance to this event is mandatory, and is part of each student’s grade in music class. Students are asked to wear nice school clothes to the performance. Nice clothing will reflect the pride that they take in their hard work in music class!

All of the music teachers at John Muir and SMASH look forward to seeing you at our final performance!

Sincerely,
Katie Cavallaro (kathryn.cavallaro@smmusd.org)


Dear 8th Grade SMASH Families,

Welcome to the SAMOHI Orchestra Program!

We would like to invite you to the following upcoming events so that you can experience the outstanding Santa Monica High School Orchestra Program first hand:

1) Tuesday, May 27, 2008 – Please join us for the 2008 Orchestra Pops Concert at 7:00 p.m. in Barnum Hall on the Samohi Campus. 8th grade students are free (bring your student I.D.)

2) Monday, June 2, 2008 – Please join us to welcome you at the Orchestra Parents Association (OPA) meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Samohi Orchestra Room.

The Samohi Orchestra Program Information Packet for 2008-2009 can be found here - http://www.samohi.smmusd.org/orchestra/SamohiOrchestraWELCOME.doc. It provides details about Samohi Orchestra classes, audition information, important dates and general information, along with the Samohi Orchestra 8th grade invitation and RSVP - http://www.samohi.smmusd.org/orchestra/SamohiOrchestrainvitation.doc.

We welcome your questions. Please e—mail us at orchestraparents@aol.com, and for more information visit our website at www.Samohiorchestras.org

Joni Swenson, Director of Orchestras
Jason Aiello, Orchestra, Piano and Guitar Teacher
Samohi Orchestra Parents Association (OPA)

Got Friends?
Don’t forget to bring them to SuperSMASH ‘08

Call your friends and invite them to come to SuperSMASH.
Ask your neighbors to come.
Send e-mails to family and friends.
Hand out postcards at your baseball, soccer and basketball games.
Take along postcards to ballet, art and music classes.
And parents, ask your co-workers to come, too.

Friends don’t let friends miss SuperSMASH!
Saturday, May 31, 11:30AM to 5:30PM

Come to the small yard at pick-up on Friday, May 23 and get your SuperSMASH button!


Super SMASH Silent Auction Catalog
The catalog has been updated and is available online at our website (smash.smmusd.org)

SMASH SITE COUNCIL PARENT REPRESENTATIVE BALLOT
(One Vote Per Student)

Please vote for up to 4 candidates
Return this ballot to the SMASH office by 1:30 pm on Friday, May 30, 2008



________ DANIEL M. McGEE (Dad of Molly McGee, Core 1)
________ TRACY SALTZMAN (Mom of Sadie, Core 3 and Zelda, Core 1)
________ KEZIA MILLER, (Mom of Naomi, Core 2)

_______ write in candidate

CASSEROLE CORNER

COME ONE COME ALL TO THE NOW SMASH FAMOUS CASSEROLE CORNER!!!!!!
MAY 31st IS NOT FAR AWAY AND WE NEED YOU, YES YOU… AND YOUR CULINARY SKILLS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS MAKE UP A FAMILY SIZE ENTRÉE OR CASSEROLE IN A DISPOSABLE PAN THAT CAN BE FROZEN AND REHEATED AND BRING IT ON DOWN TO SMASH BEFORE 11:00 A.M. ON MAY 31st.
WE ARE SELLING THESE THE DAY OF OUR EVENT.
DON’T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE?
Lasagna (veggie or beef), tamale pie, pasta, chili, enchiladas, mac ‘n’ cheese, turkey tetrazzini, goulash, eggplant parmesan, meatloaf and mashed potatoes layered or Shepard’s pie. The ideas are endless!!!!
So get the form filled out and get going girls and guys.
Call Carol Koncan @ 310-895-6615 or e-mail me at sonagenics@gmail.com
DON’T DELAY…GET COOKIN’ TODAY!

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INGREDIENTS
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PREPARATION
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RE-HEATING INSTRUCTIONS
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