Friday Letter June 13, 2008

SMASHing FRIDAY LETTER
Last Friday Letter of this school year!
June 13, 2008

Dear SMASH Community,

This is the last Friday letter of the year, and my last Friday letter. That’s hard to believe. It hasn’t quite hit me yet that my time at SMASH is coming to an end. It has been an incredible journey for me, professionally and personally. When I started at SMASH I was still in college, not even a teacher yet. Laura taught me the ropes as my mentor teacher during my student teaching year. I couldn’t believe my luck when a position opened up the following year and, even more fortunate for me, I was offered the position in then Core 2.
During my 13 years here, SMASH has undergone many changes. I worked in three different cores, with 9 different teaching partners, and with 4 principals before I became the principal 5 years ago. In these past 5 years I cannot believe how much SMASH has grown. Our community is stronger than I have ever seen it and that is because of all of you.
In this week’s assembly, Core 2 read a poem that talked about pursuing your dreams. I have to say that SMASH has been my dream. I cannot imagine ever finding a community like this. The hope I bring with me as I go is that places like SMASH can and do exist and that they should exist for more communities. This is how school should be – a true community of learners.
SMASH has been my home and my family and, as with all families, we may not live near each other all of our lives but we are forever connected. You have taught me well and allowed me to learn, grow, make mistakes, and move forward. For that I am forever grateful. Thank you to all of you for allowing me to be a part of your lives.


NEEDED: Helpers for Graduation! Two or three people to receive food in the morning. Five to six parents to help set up and serve the food just after graduation (around 11:30). And five to help clean up after! Please let Janice or Carrie know if you are available to help.

BEACH DAY: Next Friday is our All School Beach Day to celebrate the last day of school. We will not be going to Lifeguard station #26 this year. It will probably station #24. Don’t forget: sunscreen, towel, change of clothes. Only Cores 3 and 4 may bring boogey boards (no surfboards). Only children who have parental permission may stay at the beach after the school leaves and they must be with a parent. If your child will be staying with another parent, we need a note from you IN ADVANCE! Phone calls the day of beach day make things very difficult.
Carrie



NO HOT LUNCH OR ALA CARTE LUNCH AS OF WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18. PLEASE BRING YOUR LUNCH AND SNACK ON WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY. THURSDAY IS POTLUCK LUNCH.



8th grade GRADUATION!
Thursday, June 19 at 10:00 am - Everyone is invited! Please check the list to see what to bring!

1:30 Dismissal - June 17, 18, 19 & 20. PLAYGROUND ACCESS WILL CLOSE AT 3:45 pm.

FAREWELL TO CARRIE - FRI, JUNE 13 4:30 - 6:30 LULA’S ON MAIN - ADULTS ONLY PLEASE

Next school year begins on Tuesday, September 2!

DATES TO REMEMBER

Tuesday, June 17 through Friday, June 20 - 1:30 dismissal
Sat, Jun 14 - 11:00 - 5:00 Roosevelt Elementary Summer Splash Carnival. 801 Montana Ave, Santa Monica
Thurs, Jun 19 - 8th Grade Graduation 10:00 am - Lists of what to bring in this Friday Letter -
Please come help! Contact Janice or Wende in the main office.

Fri, Jun 20 - All school beach day (last day of school) ! Adults - Come & play with your kids at the beach!

YEARBOOKS $12 DON’T MISS OUT! ORDER YOURS NOW!
Place your order now with Janice or Wende in the main office.

Student Council voted to donate the proceeds from the SMASH Family Dance to 4 great causes:
Cancer research, homeless kids, animal shelters and Parkinson’s research

Check out “The Wave” a fully student-written, student-published school paper in this week’s Friday Letter



JOIN SMASH IN THE SANTA MONICA 4TH OF JULY PARADE ON MAIN STREET!

Come and march, walk, ride your bike, ride your skateboard - wear your SMASH shirt or red, white and blue!
Be at City Hall by 8:30 am to begin the 9:30 am 1.7 mile parade route down Main Street!

HAVE FUN & REPRESENT SMASH WITH ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!

Contact Susan Santino at 310-3966548 or
Dan & Kathryn McGee at 310-452-7112 or mcgee488@aol.com

From Nurse Sandy: Attention all parents of students with medications. Come by the office and pick up any medication and get a new permission slip for the next school year if your child will be back in the fall. Get it signed by your Dr. over the summer and this will save time next year. THANKS and have a healthy summer vacation!!!

ptsa news
president’s note

Dear SMASHing Parents,
What a week! Music recitals, special assemblies, Open House, and tonight’s big goodbye party for Carrie…one week left and you won’t have to make another school lunch until September.
But before heading off for the summer, we’d like to share our vision for next year. Our goal is to lead a PTSA that supports our new Principal Jessica in what is shaping up to be a dynamic and positive new year. We also look forward to the wonderful arts program and the growing foreign language program, neither of which would be possible without parent support.
Finally, it is with great emotion that we say goodbye to our beloved principal Carrie. She has been a devoted teacher and inspiring administrator for many years, and it’s hard to imagine SMASH without her. She’s been an amazing partner and leader within the PTSA and we appreciate that incredible commitment. We wish her a wonderful adventure as she enters the next exciting chapter of her life. To Carrie, we say thank you and bon voyage!
Hope you all have great summer. We look forward to seeing everyone in the Fall.
Best, David Saltzman and Helga Schier
SMASHing events
Farewell to Carrie, Friday, June 13. Come to Lula’s on Main Street and toast to Carrie’s new adventures away from SMASH. We’ll gather in the back patio from 4:30PM to 6:30PM. Thereafter we’ll move on to the bar. This is an ‘adults only’ event. See you there!

8th GRADE GRADUATION &
ALL-SCHOOL POTLUCK IS COMING!!!
THURSDAY, JUNE 19 — 10:00 AM

WE NEED EVERYONE’S HELP
TO FEED THE ENTIRE SCHOOL & THEIR FAMILIES!!!

We are having an all school potluck party after the 8th grade graduation.
If you are able to help
please contact Janice in the main office, 310-396-2640, or wold@smmusd.org

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP
Decorate Receive and Serve Food Clean-Up
DON’T BE SHY—DIG IN AND VOLUNTEER!

ALL SCHOOL POTLUCK

Please bring enough food to serve 15 people.
Food needs to be ready to serve with serving utensils and pre-cut

ALL SMASH FAMILIES (except 8th grade) if your last name begins with:

A-M: MAIN DISHES, Big hits are dinner pastas, buckets of chicken,
giant (cut) subs, pizza (prepaid & delivered by noon)
and anything homemade.
N-R: DESSERTS, including brownies, cookies, cupcakes

S-Z: SALADS, including potato, pasta, vegetable, green and fruit salads


Please deliver your items to the lunch bench area on Thursday morning before 9:30

IMPORTANT:
To save disappointment and confusion, please label your dishes and utensils
and then check at the lunch benches following the party and take them home with you that day


If you cannot bring a dish, a cash contribution for supplies & food would be appreciated!
Just send it to Janice in the main office.

SITE COUNCIL UPDATE

The Site Council subcommittees met and drafted the following goals for next year:

Health and Fitness Goals for 2008-2009

1. PE
- recruit volunteers (parents) to offer a 6 week course at 1 hour per week to provide more options for kids. Ideas include: yoga, dance, non-competitive games, personal fitness training, pilates, volleyball, skill building for various sports, track and field, juggling, tai chi, jump rope, strength training.

2. Ala Carte
- get the cards to work at ala carte
- more clarity around the rules for ala carte
- pursue other options for food at ala carte

3. Cafeteria liaison
This person (a parent, staff member, 8th grader) would keep the classes informed about changes in the cafeteria including new items, etc. Also to keep the cafeteria informed about how the students are responding to different food items.

4. Classroom visits throughout the year on nutrition
This could be Dona Richwine or possibly a parent. The person would come 3 to 4 times during the year to provide education.

5. 8th grader to take this on as their project for next year.



Tech Goals for 2008-2009

1. Tech Standards
- finalize the goals/outcomes for each core so that all teachers are aware
- include information literacy skills and basic computer skills like word processing, typing, saving/deleting/copying, excel, etc.

2. Professional Development
- provide professional development for the staff so they can meet the goals. Professional development areas could include (but are not limited to): how to run a computer lab, basic trouble shooting, smart board training, achieve 3000 training, using Elmos

3. Digital portfolios
- really try to do them! Coordinate with the other efforts around portfolios.

4. Expand/enhance computer lab
- new equipment
- software
- bring out the scanner and digital camera/camcorder and use them

CORE 1 NEWS

Last Friday Letter!
This is it! Thank you for being such dedicated readers this year. As you know, the Friday Letter is our main form of communication with Core 1 families, and most of your questions are answered in this important document. So take a break for the summer, but come back ready to read the Friday papers in the fall!!

NO HOT LUNCH STARTS WEDNESDAY
All students need to bring snack and lunch on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week.
The cafeteria will not be offering salad bar or hot lunch. Please come prepared!

End-of-the-Year Cleaning
It's time to clean out! Please look in your child's cubby and in the Peaceful Room for her/his belongings.
A lot of jackets have piled up on the hooks! Anything left behind will be donated to Goodwill.

Beach Day!
We will be having an all-school Beach Day next Friday, June 20 to kick off the summer. This is the last day of school! Please read the attached information sheet about Beach Day carefully so your child will be prepared to have a comfortable, safe, and fun day. We'd love to have you join us! Please Note: We will not be at Station #26. We are trying to secure Lifeguard Station #24.

Summer Reading
“Catch the Reading Bug” at your nearest Santa Monica Public Library branch. You can sign up for Summer Reading at any of the Santa Monica Public Library locations beginning Monday, June 16. Visit www.smplkids.org for more information and some great book lists. Let's keep those reading muscles strong all summer long!
Overdue Library Books
Some students still have one or more SMASH library books checked out in their name. You will receive an overdue notice, but please talk to your child to see if he/she still has a book at home. Yearbooks will not be handed out to students who have not turned in/replaced/paid for all overdue books. (Yearbooks are $12 and orders can be placed in the main office with Janice or Wende. They will be distributed during the last week of school.) Thanks!
Core 1 Graduation Ceremony
Please join us on Thursday, June 19th from 9:00-9:20 for our Core 1 ‘Moving on Up’ Ceremony. We will be honoring the Bigs and wishing them well as they prepare to enter the world of Core 2. We will also be
acknowledging the Partners as they become Bigs. Bring your cameras!

Core 1 Summer Playdates
Zelda’s Tracy and Abigail’s Gina will be organizing playdates for our new Bigs and Partners throughout the summer. We hope you can make 1 or 2 of these events. Also, look for summer notices about the Bigs/Partners Day, Family Summer Barbeque, and Parent Work Day at the end of August. Let’s give a warm welcome to our incoming SMASH families!!

Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, June 17th through Friday, June 20th—Minimum Days (1:30 dismissal)
Thursday, June 19th, 9:00-9:20am—Core 1 Graduation Ceremony in Core 1
Thursday, June 19th, 10:00am—8th Grade Graduation Ceremony in Auditorium
Friday, June 20th, All-School Beach Day; Last Day of School!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!
Mana, Candis, and Jackie

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

CORE 2 NEWS

Dear Core 2 Community,

This Week, June 9 - 13:
Wednesday, June 11 -- all SMASH Assembly to say farewell to Principal Carrie, 3rd graders played their recorders and the 2nd graders sang along. We had lots of fun.

Core 2’s Invention Convention, Thursday, June 12 from 1:15 pm - 2:25 pm. Wow, the children had some wonderful unique solutions for problems they see in their world.

Thursday, Open House -- 6:30 pm. Did you go to the other Cores to see what they are up to?

Final Birthday Bash of the year, June, July, and August birthdays today. Thanks for the donations so that the children could serve their friends their favorite healthy food.

Friday, June 13 -- Ari, principal for the day, Esmé, Janice for the day, and Riley, Wende for the day! Wow! A movie and popsicles!

Each child has a Hopes and Dreams Reflection attached to these papers!

Next and Final Week of school, June 16 - 20:
Monday, June 16 -- 3rd graders participate in Core 3’s Morning Meeting.

Tuesday, June 17 to Friday, June 20, minimum days, 1:30 Dismal

Wednesday, June 18 — NO HOT LUNCH or Ala Carte. Please bring lunch and snack for Wednesday and Friday. Thursday is all school potluck.

Wednesday, June 18 -- Game Day in Core 2, bring your favorite board game
(NO electronic games) to school, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Thursday, June 19 -- 8th grade graduation 10:00am and Potluck Lunch, make sure to look at the list in today’s Friday Letter to see what to bring. We need helpers!!

Friday, June 20 -- ALL SMASH Beach Day, WILL NOT BE at Station #26, We are trying to secure Lifeguard Station #24. See attached flyer for beach day rules.

A huge shout out to the Core 2 community for your support, monetary donations, volunteerism, and “loaning” us your fabulous children this school year. We did it together!!

One More Week - and then it’s Gone for the Summer!
Jayme, Laura and Nadja

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

CORE 3 NEWS

Thank you to all the families who were able to come to Open House Thursday evening or our EXPO today! And the celebration for the students who were honored by the district for their “You must be the Change” work—congrats Gabe, James, Dylan, Gigi, Seanie, Lola, Claire, and Savannah!—on Tuesday and the special assembly for Carrie and the fabulous music concerts Wednesday and…I suspect we’ll see some of you tonight;-)! It’s been a fantastic year in Core 3—your kids have grown and learned sooo much. If you weren’t able to come to any of these culminating events, please make time this summer to go through their work with them and reflect on all the cool things they have done. We/they couldn’t have done it without your amazing support.
Check out The Wave, the SMASHing kid-produced/published, Core 3 school paper!

Next week:
· All classroom and Media Center Books are due back on Monday!!!

· Scholastic Books, all work, personal belongings—come check the cubbies, lost and found, etc.--are coming home on Wednesday!

· Graduation is Thursday! Please check the Friday letter to know what potluck item you need to bring. Remember, it is a busy day with lots of family and friends on campus celebrating. Please help by reminding your child to be on their best behavior and to respect the graduates’ special day.

· Beach day is Friday! PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL NOT BE AT LIFEGUARD STATION #26. We are trying to secure Lifeguard Station #24. Please make sure your child comes with a towel, sunscreen, lunch, water, change of clothes, hat, and anything else they need for the day—see the front page of this letter. We would love to have families walk down with us or join us at the beach. Also, if your child is staying at the beach longer past 1:00 WITH YOU OR WITH A FRIEND, please make sure they have a written note, so we are aware of plans.

This summer:

· Read, read, read—magazines, emails, beach books, poetry, comics, read alouds, etc!

· Please remind your children that whether they are returning to Core 3 or moving up to Core 4, they should write over the summer just like they will read over the summer. Living like a writer is the way to be a better writer.

· Memorize and practice your math facts—addition, subtraction, multiplication and division! No more fingers and skip counting!

· Rest, relax, rejuvenate, rejoice, and make each day count! Get wet, cook, sleep in, make art, get dirty, stay home, get sand in all your nooks and crannies, go for hikes, dance, eat outside, sing, play hard, get sweaty, splurge a little, take a trip, and enjoy your summer!

Have a terrific Summer!
Tamara, Genie, Malaika, and Ingrid

NO HOT LUNCH or ALA CARTE AS OF WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18.
Please bring your lunch and snack for Wednesday and Friday. Thursday is all school potluck.

Mugalian@smmusd.org Genie.Hwang@smmusd.org

CORE 4

El Charrrombly Advisory: What an incredible week! I wish life allowed you to spend as much time with your fine children as I do here at school. They are an accomplished lot. Some are brave, others quietly leading when we need a lift, many are sweet, inspiring me to think of how good the world would be if they were running it. All are special to me and I rue the day this advisory will disband. What a fine experience! Get in touch if you need anything in the next two weeks. After that I go into summer mode; meaning you won’t be able to reach me as I will be deep in the Sierra camping, sailing in the San Juan Islands or caring for my mother.

Ciencia: The big news is the great expo and open house we had on Thursday. The children exhibited their documentation (boards) of the environmental monitoring project and they were impressive. Several people mentioned that they had never seen work of such quality here at SMASH. We have much to be proud of, you parents especially. Thanks for the gift of time with your children; they are special and dear to me.

6/7 Math: “Sum”ming it Up! What an incredible year! These past two weeks will focus on looking back at this past year. The mathematicians will take time to reflect on various aspects of their Math experience this year. These areas include: the biggest challenges of the year, their favorite moments, the funniest moments, goals they have reached, skills they have learned, ways that they have helped each other, and how they NOW feel as mathematicians. We will also have them look at their Hopes and Dreams created for Math at the beginning of the year to see how they have fulfilled or have made progress toward them. By engaging in this process, it helps students to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in themselves, their class, and their school as well as a sense of belonging and an affirmation of their significance within the group. They also gain a feeling of satisfaction from having worked hard to learn something and most importantly they recognize the fun and excitement that are a part of learning. These mathematicians over this past year have experienced many successes, and it will be exciting to hear them recognize this! I encourage you to do the same outside of the classroom!
I also want to take this time to thank all of you for the support you have provided throughout the year. It has made both the work in the classroom as well as the children thrive! I look forward to these last few days with these successful and wonderful children!
End of the Year Tidbits Because the students have many things to take home in all three of the classrooms here in Core 4, we recommend they bring an extra BIG bag to take home all of their materials! Doubling brown paper bags always serves as a durable way to take things home. Things will be sent home throughout the week, so please have these bags at the beginning of the week!
Also, as a reminder, if you plan on taking your child from one of the school activities such as during Beach Day or after Graduation, please make sure to sign out at the office as well as aware their teacher. Thanks! I look forward to seeing you all during these exciting events! --Kelly

Algebra: Congratulations! The last algebra test has come and gone. Woo hoo! No more tests, no more homework (until next year). I am very proud of all of you – you worked hard and it showed!

8th Graders: Graduation is next Thursday at 10:00! Please wear something nice. It doesn’t have to be formal, but “nice casual”.
One More Week!
Kurt, Kelly, Erin, Carrie, Ingrid & Karin

Note: Friday’s beach day will NOT be at Lifeguard Station #26 this year. We are trying to secure Lifeguard Station #24.

Please check the Friday Letter to see what to bring to the graduation potluck. Also - volunteers still badly needed to help with graduation preparations!! Please see Janice.

NO HOT LUNCH/ALA CARTE as of Wednesday, June 18. Bring lunch and snack on Wednesday and Friday/ Thursday is all school potluck.


Kelly: kkulsrud@aol.com Kurt: holland@ Erin: erin.haendel@ Carrie:cferguson@ smmusd.org