Dear SMASH students, faculty, family and friends:
How many laps did you run? This is the question students asked each other all last Friday. A wrist swollen and red from countless rubber bands was a badge of honor. We are pleased to report that this year we again broke a SMASH record and received over $18, 000 in pledges. The total laps run came to a whopping 6, 297. That many rubber bands would reach from wrist to shoulder.
SMASH’s athletes were supported by an amazing group of sponsors and volunteers who coached, DJ’d, tallied numbers, MC’d, picked up supplies, set up the course, designed posters, hung banners, counted laps, poured water, cut bagels, picked up trash, ran alongside, cheered and made it possible to give every athlete a t-shirt to commemorate the day.
We want to thank all of you and hope that everyone had as much fun at this year’s Jog-a-thon as we did. 100% of the money raised goes back into SMASH in the form of arts programs, supplies, alumni scholarships, teacher education, gardening, computers and more.
Pledge packets (showing how many laps your student ran and any money owed) will come home with each student. Please collect all outstanding pledges and turn in the money to the office or your Core teacher by Friday, 3/18.
Thanks again,
Darlene Flanders and Lillie Schlessinger
Jog-a-thon 2011 Co-chairs
PLEASE COLLECT ALL YOUR PLEDGES BY MARCH 18!
**********
Conference Sign-ups are in the office - Come in or call 310-396-2640
**********
WEDNESDAY BAKE SALE DATES
CORE 1: Mar 16, May 4
CORE 2: March 30, May 11
CORE 3: Apr 6, May 18
CORE 4: Apr 27, May 25
TEACHER APPRECIATION LUNCH
CORE 2: Mar 18; CORE 3: Apr 1; CORE 4: May 13
**********
DATES TO REMEMBER
Fri, Mar 11 - Cores 3 & 4 Dance
Sun, Mar 13 - Daylight Savings - One hour ahead
Mon, Mar 14 - District Furlough Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Fri, Mar 18 - 10:30-11:30am - String Quartet for 4th, 5th, 6th
Fri, Mar 18 - SMASH Movie Night - 6:30pm
Wed, Mar 23 - Conferences - Minimum Day 1:30 Dismissal
Thurs, Mar 24 - Conferences - Minimum Day 1:30 Dismissal
Fri, Mar 25 - Conferences
Mon, Mar 28 - 9-10:30am - SMASH Tour
Wed, Mar 30 - 6-7:30pm - SMASH Talent Show
Fri, Apr 1 - 6-7:30pm - SMASH Family Dance
Fri, Apr 8 - All School Beach Day
April 11 - 24 - SPRING BREAK - SCHOOL CLOSED
**********
SMASH TALENT SHOW
Sign up with Dian Andrews at 310-392-0600
March 30, 6:00 to 7:30pm
All students welcome - no auditions
3 minute time limit.
**********
“SMMEF RAFFLE 2011
Win a Weekend Getaway, MacBook Laptop or an iPod Touch….
This year’s prizes are better than ever!
The Ed Foundation’s Raffle has begun! Raffle ticket booklets, and all the information you need to get started have been sent home with your children—don’t forget to check those backpacks! For each completed book of raffle tickets you buy/sell, you will be entered into SMASH’s drawing for a $150 Best Buy Gift Card! There will be ONE $150 Best Buy Gift Card winner at EVERY SCHOOL! Anyone who buys raffle tickets will have a chance to win the following GRAND PRIZES:
1st Prize: Weekend Getaway!
2nd Prize: MacBook laptop!
3rd Prize: iPod Touch PLUS $100 iTunes gift card!
The annual SMMEF Raffle fundraiser supports the Ed Foundation’s Academic Enrichment Grant (AEG) program.
Conference Sign-ups are in the office - Come in or call 310-396-2640
**********
WEDNESDAY BAKE SALE DATES
CORE 1: Mar 16, May 4
CORE 2: March 30, May 11
CORE 3: Apr 6, May 18
CORE 4: Apr 27, May 25
TEACHER APPRECIATION LUNCH
CORE 2: Mar 18; CORE 3: Apr 1; CORE 4: May 13
**********
DATES TO REMEMBER
Fri, Mar 11 - Cores 3 & 4 Dance
Sun, Mar 13 - Daylight Savings - One hour ahead
Mon, Mar 14 - District Furlough Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Fri, Mar 18 - 10:30-11:30am - String Quartet for 4th, 5th, 6th
Fri, Mar 18 - SMASH Movie Night - 6:30pm
Wed, Mar 23 - Conferences - Minimum Day 1:30 Dismissal
Thurs, Mar 24 - Conferences - Minimum Day 1:30 Dismissal
Fri, Mar 25 - Conferences
Mon, Mar 28 - 9-10:30am - SMASH Tour
Wed, Mar 30 - 6-7:30pm - SMASH Talent Show
Fri, Apr 1 - 6-7:30pm - SMASH Family Dance
Fri, Apr 8 - All School Beach Day
April 11 - 24 - SPRING BREAK - SCHOOL CLOSED
**********
SMASH TALENT SHOW
Sign up with Dian Andrews at 310-392-0600
March 30, 6:00 to 7:30pm
All students welcome - no auditions
3 minute time limit.
**********
“SMMEF RAFFLE 2011
Win a Weekend Getaway, MacBook Laptop or an iPod Touch….
This year’s prizes are better than ever!
The Ed Foundation’s Raffle has begun! Raffle ticket booklets, and all the information you need to get started have been sent home with your children—don’t forget to check those backpacks! For each completed book of raffle tickets you buy/sell, you will be entered into SMASH’s drawing for a $150 Best Buy Gift Card! There will be ONE $150 Best Buy Gift Card winner at EVERY SCHOOL! Anyone who buys raffle tickets will have a chance to win the following GRAND PRIZES:
1st Prize: Weekend Getaway!
2nd Prize: MacBook laptop!
3rd Prize: iPod Touch PLUS $100 iTunes gift card!
The annual SMMEF Raffle fundraiser supports the Ed Foundation’s Academic Enrichment Grant (AEG) program.
Last year, the Ed Foundation awarded over $30,000 to 27 teachers throughout our district. Every year teachers are eligible to apply for an AEG up to $1,000 to support innovation in the classroom.
The Ed Foundation is again offering a $5,000 Super Grant. This grant will support collaboration and will only be awarded to one school, one grade level, one core, one department or one house in the District!
Please buy Raffle tickets today! At $4 per ticket and $20 per book of 6 tickets, this is a fun and affordable way to make learning fun for children at your school and district-wide.
**********
SAVE THE DATE!
SMASH FAMILY DANCE NIGHT - FRIDAY, APRIL 1!
What theme will this dance be??
**********
FLIERS AVAILABLE IN SMASH OFFICE
The UCLA Family Commons
Spark your creativity, wake-up your body and mind. Fun, healthy after-school classes for tweens. Develop your passions and discover that makes you feel good
Youth Mindfulness (9-12 years) - meditation
DIY Crafting (9-12 years) - a different craft project each week
Yoga for Kids (4 - 10 years)
The UCLA Family Commons; 1221 2nd Street, Santa Monica
(ph) 310-395-5650, (f) 310-395-5707; www.uclacommons.com for dates and times
**********
Santa Monica Symphony Concert - FREE
Saturday, March 12 - 7:30 p.m. - Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (School-age children especially welcome!)
Allen Robert Gross, Music Director & Conductor, Péter Tóth, piano
Rossini: Overture to “The Italian Girl in Algiers”; Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6
PreConcert Talk, David Kasunic, Meeting Room 6:30 p.m.; Elemental Strings Orchestra, Lobby 6:45 p.m.
OPEN REHEARSAL: CIVIC AUDITORIUM SATURDAY MAR 12 FROM 10:AM TO NOON
www.smsymphony.org
**********
SOCCEROPOLIS - Spring Soccer Camp 2011 - Boys & girls ages 4-9
April 11-15 and April 18-22, Monday-Friday, 9am-noon at Airport Park
Register by Mail/Walk-In: Ken Edwards Center, Community Rec Div, 1527 4th St., SM 90401
Or Fax to 310-899-0840 www.socceropolis.com
**********
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER - HANDS ON SCIENCE SUMMER CAMP
Explore science and have an experience you’ll never forget! Week-long day camps for pre-school –8th grade. Choose from over 25 workshops including Wizard Science, Skate Science, Invention Convention and many more. June 20 to August 19. For more information go to to www.californiasciencecenter.org/camp or call 213-744-7444.
**********
OCEAN PARK BRANCH LIBRARY - OPEN HOUSE! FREE EVENTS
Saturday, March 12 - 11am-2pm
2601 Main St (corner of Ocean Park Blvd & 4th St.)
11:00am - Annie Banannie Balloon Fun; 12:00pm - Crafts & Photo Booth; 1:00pm - Musical Group Leftover Cuties
For more information 310-458-8683 or www.smpl.org (Big Blue Bus lines 1, 2, & 8)
**********
String Project LA - The Creative String Experience
String Project LA proudly announces our new schedule of classes for Spring Break 2011!
April 11-15 & April 18-22, 9am-noon, Monday-Friday
$350 per week or $675 for 2 weeks
All Ages and skill levels welcome. Classes will be grouped by age (min of 4 students per class)
String Project LA Studios in Culver City - info@stringprojectla.com or 310-822-7752
**********
SANTA MONICA HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL CONCERT: MASTERWORKS
Tuesday, March 29 at 7:00pm
At Barnum Hall (Santa Monica High campus)
Tickets sold at the door - $5 Students, $10 Adults
Masterworks Chorus team with students from orchestra and band plus professional soloists on the Barnum Hall stage to present Handel’s Chandro Anthem “Let God Arise and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass at the annual Masterworks concert.
Guess soloist: Harriet Fraser, LA Master Chorale, plus more to be announced. Conductor: Jeffe Huls, SAMOHI.
**********
Youth Basketball League - Spring Session 2011
March 29-June 7
Santa Monica Family YMCA
1332 6th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-393-2721 x 137 or chris@ymcasm.org; www.ymcasm.org
**********
Silent Auction Featured Item
Summer Sleep Away Camp at Bar 717 Ranch
Dear Smashing Families,
I want to tell you about the opportunity to send your child to an amazing camp this summer. Camp Trinity, on the Bar
717 Ranch, for children ages 8 -16, is one of the oldest ACA accredited co-ed summer camps in California; it is also run by the sister of our own Core 3 teacher, Erin Haendel.
Bar 717 Ranch is owned and operated by Erin’s sister, Gretchen and her husband Kent. Gretchen is a native of Santa Monica with a MA in Social Work from UCLA. When she is not working for camp in the summer, she works as a school social worker for Trinity County. She happened to marry into this family and, thus, is fortunate to now be a part of this amazing camp!
In an effort to support SMASH and its students, Bar 717 Ranch will be donating a two-week camp session to the SuperSMASH auction. This is a great opportunity to earn a good amount of money for our school and for a child to get a wonderful camp experience. Because we realize that it might be difficult for a child (and family) to go that far alone, Camp Trinity has agreed to give four 20% discounts to SMASH families in advance of the auction. Further "camperships" are available on a financial-need basis.
The Camp is located in the mountains of beautiful Trinity County (hence the name) in Northern California. It is very SMASH-like in its' philosophy of non-competitive group experiences and learning by doing. Campers are not directed to activities by age group, but rather choose where and how they spend their time each day. Your child will have the opportunity to engage in horseback riding, arts and crafts, ropes-course, swimming, hiking, wood-shop, silk-screening,
camping, backpacking, archery, ceramics, gardening, music, and real old fashioned ranch activities such as blacksmithing, butter-making, taffy pulling, square-dancing and animal (cow, goat, chickens, rabbits) care.
In addition to the regular camp sessions, Bar 717 Ranch offers a one week family camp at the end of each summer (this year Aug 14th - 21st). This is a fun filled week for the whole family and is great for people with young children or camp-age children who want to try out the camp experience with their family first.
Additional information can be found on the camp website at: www.bar717.com. Erin also has many personal photos at camp that she has taken over the years that can be accessed here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp? albumId=862319838506&ownerId=26382859406
SMASH FAMILY DANCE NIGHT - FRIDAY, APRIL 1!
What theme will this dance be??
**********
FLIERS AVAILABLE IN SMASH OFFICE
The UCLA Family Commons
Spark your creativity, wake-up your body and mind. Fun, healthy after-school classes for tweens. Develop your passions and discover that makes you feel good
Youth Mindfulness (9-12 years) - meditation
DIY Crafting (9-12 years) - a different craft project each week
Yoga for Kids (4 - 10 years)
The UCLA Family Commons; 1221 2nd Street, Santa Monica
(ph) 310-395-5650, (f) 310-395-5707; www.uclacommons.com for dates and times
**********
Santa Monica Symphony Concert - FREE
Saturday, March 12 - 7:30 p.m. - Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (School-age children especially welcome!)
Allen Robert Gross, Music Director & Conductor, Péter Tóth, piano
Rossini: Overture to “The Italian Girl in Algiers”; Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6
PreConcert Talk, David Kasunic, Meeting Room 6:30 p.m.; Elemental Strings Orchestra, Lobby 6:45 p.m.
OPEN REHEARSAL: CIVIC AUDITORIUM SATURDAY MAR 12 FROM 10:AM TO NOON
www.smsymphony.org
**********
SOCCEROPOLIS - Spring Soccer Camp 2011 - Boys & girls ages 4-9
April 11-15 and April 18-22, Monday-Friday, 9am-noon at Airport Park
Register by Mail/Walk-In: Ken Edwards Center, Community Rec Div, 1527 4th St., SM 90401
Or Fax to 310-899-0840 www.socceropolis.com
**********
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER - HANDS ON SCIENCE SUMMER CAMP
Explore science and have an experience you’ll never forget! Week-long day camps for pre-school –8th grade. Choose from over 25 workshops including Wizard Science, Skate Science, Invention Convention and many more. June 20 to August 19. For more information go to to www.californiasciencecenter.org/camp or call 213-744-7444.
**********
OCEAN PARK BRANCH LIBRARY - OPEN HOUSE! FREE EVENTS
Saturday, March 12 - 11am-2pm
2601 Main St (corner of Ocean Park Blvd & 4th St.)
11:00am - Annie Banannie Balloon Fun; 12:00pm - Crafts & Photo Booth; 1:00pm - Musical Group Leftover Cuties
For more information 310-458-8683 or www.smpl.org (Big Blue Bus lines 1, 2, & 8)
**********
String Project LA - The Creative String Experience
String Project LA proudly announces our new schedule of classes for Spring Break 2011!
April 11-15 & April 18-22, 9am-noon, Monday-Friday
$350 per week or $675 for 2 weeks
All Ages and skill levels welcome. Classes will be grouped by age (min of 4 students per class)
String Project LA Studios in Culver City - info@stringprojectla.com or 310-822-7752
**********
SANTA MONICA HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL CONCERT: MASTERWORKS
Tuesday, March 29 at 7:00pm
At Barnum Hall (Santa Monica High campus)
Tickets sold at the door - $5 Students, $10 Adults
Masterworks Chorus team with students from orchestra and band plus professional soloists on the Barnum Hall stage to present Handel’s Chandro Anthem “Let God Arise and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass at the annual Masterworks concert.
Guess soloist: Harriet Fraser, LA Master Chorale, plus more to be announced. Conductor: Jeffe Huls, SAMOHI.
**********
Youth Basketball League - Spring Session 2011
March 29-June 7
Santa Monica Family YMCA
1332 6th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-393-2721 x 137 or chris@ymcasm.org; www.ymcasm.org
**********
Silent Auction Featured Item
Summer Sleep Away Camp at Bar 717 Ranch
Dear Smashing Families,
I want to tell you about the opportunity to send your child to an amazing camp this summer. Camp Trinity, on the Bar
717 Ranch, for children ages 8 -16, is one of the oldest ACA accredited co-ed summer camps in California; it is also run by the sister of our own Core 3 teacher, Erin Haendel.
Bar 717 Ranch is owned and operated by Erin’s sister, Gretchen and her husband Kent. Gretchen is a native of Santa Monica with a MA in Social Work from UCLA. When she is not working for camp in the summer, she works as a school social worker for Trinity County. She happened to marry into this family and, thus, is fortunate to now be a part of this amazing camp!
In an effort to support SMASH and its students, Bar 717 Ranch will be donating a two-week camp session to the SuperSMASH auction. This is a great opportunity to earn a good amount of money for our school and for a child to get a wonderful camp experience. Because we realize that it might be difficult for a child (and family) to go that far alone, Camp Trinity has agreed to give four 20% discounts to SMASH families in advance of the auction. Further "camperships" are available on a financial-need basis.
The Camp is located in the mountains of beautiful Trinity County (hence the name) in Northern California. It is very SMASH-like in its' philosophy of non-competitive group experiences and learning by doing. Campers are not directed to activities by age group, but rather choose where and how they spend their time each day. Your child will have the opportunity to engage in horseback riding, arts and crafts, ropes-course, swimming, hiking, wood-shop, silk-screening,
camping, backpacking, archery, ceramics, gardening, music, and real old fashioned ranch activities such as blacksmithing, butter-making, taffy pulling, square-dancing and animal (cow, goat, chickens, rabbits) care.
In addition to the regular camp sessions, Bar 717 Ranch offers a one week family camp at the end of each summer (this year Aug 14th - 21st). This is a fun filled week for the whole family and is great for people with young children or camp-age children who want to try out the camp experience with their family first.
Additional information can be found on the camp website at: www.bar717.com. Erin also has many personal photos at camp that she has taken over the years that can be accessed here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp? albumId=862319838506&ownerId=26382859406
The camp director (Erin’s brother-in-law) will be coming to Los Angeles on March 20 at 4:30 p.m. to do the camp’s annual Southern California Open House. The Open House will be at Erin’s House in Mar Vista. Please email Erin for directions if you are interested in attending: ehaendel@smmusd.org, or feel free to come visit Erin in her Core 3 classroom upstairs with any additional questions. She is there Wed-Fri.
**********
BUYING LOCAL MADE EASY
The Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation has teamed up with the Buy Local Santa Monica campaign to launch a website that makes it easier for people to support public schools while at the same time saving money and helping local businesses thrive. BuyLocalMarket.com is an online shopping platform like Groupon.com that features local businesses who donate a portion of their proceeds to the ed foundation, a nonprofit that funds art programs, athletics and academics.
Seventy five businesses are featured on the site, each offering various discounts. For example, Rosti Tuscan Kitchen is offering their pizza at a 14 percent discount and will be donating an additional $2 to the Santa Monica Ed Foundation for every order they receive. Agabhumi on Main Street is offering $50 worth of merchandise for $30. La Foto Studio is offering $575 Beauty Photo Session for $125.
BUY LOCAL EXPO, SATURDAY, MARCH 19 - FREE
Three blocks of the Third Street Promenade from 11am to 4pm, and will feature booths from local businesses, with Raffle Prize Drawings of $1,000 shopping sprees. Show your Santa Monica receipts from the day at either the Expo info booth or the Buy Local table at the ArtWalk and receive raffle tickets. Other events of the day include Santa Monica Airport Artwalk; Main Street Sidewalk Sale, All Day; Montana Ave BINGO 9am-6pm.
**********
Annual Family Investment (A.F.I.) Mid-Year Update
As a Community We Set (2) A.F.I. Goals for the 2010/2011 School Year:
1) Raise $55K and
2) Achieve 100% Participation
GOOD NEWS: We’re VERY CLOSE to reaching our goal of $55K!
NOT SO GOOD NEWS: We still have not achieved 100% participation
If you haven’t made your A.F.I. commitment yet, please do so today. Any amount will get us closer to reaching that goal of 100% participation. 100% participation will mean that EACH and EVERY family cared enough to contribute to this collective effort to better our children’s education.
Public School Is Free – A Great Education Is Not.
The SMASH Annual Family Investment is the single most important fundraiser of the year. Your contribution pays for classroom teaching assistants, reading and math specialists, the SMASH fine arts program, science equipment, technology upgrades, professional development and so much more.
Log on and give instantly:
ptsasmash.blogspot.com
Pay by check. Pay by credit card. Pay in the office. Pay online.
Give what you can. EVERY donation counts. Really.
100% goes to SMASH
100% tax deductible
For more info contact
Marni Brady at marni99@yahoo.com or Helga Schier at helgaschier@verizon.net
**********
GIVE YOUR OPINION ON EDUCATON TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Melody Barnes, advisor to President Obama, is soliciting information from parents, students, and teachers regarding education decisions being made in the White House. Let’s have SMASH parents and students write in to let her know "what's working" in education. http://www.whitehouse.gov/advise
**********
ptsa news
president’s message
Dear SMASHing Parents,
If you have not already heard, the SMASH Jog-a-thon last Friday appears to have set a new record for the amount of money raised. Even though some pledges are still to be collected, the money already received passes last year’s total. Once again our SMASH family comes through when it counts. We are all fortunate to be part of such a supportive community that always steps-up when needed. Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Jog-athon a resounding success. Dan McGee
**********
BUYING LOCAL MADE EASY
The Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation has teamed up with the Buy Local Santa Monica campaign to launch a website that makes it easier for people to support public schools while at the same time saving money and helping local businesses thrive. BuyLocalMarket.com is an online shopping platform like Groupon.com that features local businesses who donate a portion of their proceeds to the ed foundation, a nonprofit that funds art programs, athletics and academics.
Seventy five businesses are featured on the site, each offering various discounts. For example, Rosti Tuscan Kitchen is offering their pizza at a 14 percent discount and will be donating an additional $2 to the Santa Monica Ed Foundation for every order they receive. Agabhumi on Main Street is offering $50 worth of merchandise for $30. La Foto Studio is offering $575 Beauty Photo Session for $125.
BUY LOCAL EXPO, SATURDAY, MARCH 19 - FREE
Three blocks of the Third Street Promenade from 11am to 4pm, and will feature booths from local businesses, with Raffle Prize Drawings of $1,000 shopping sprees. Show your Santa Monica receipts from the day at either the Expo info booth or the Buy Local table at the ArtWalk and receive raffle tickets. Other events of the day include Santa Monica Airport Artwalk; Main Street Sidewalk Sale, All Day; Montana Ave BINGO 9am-6pm.
**********
Annual Family Investment (A.F.I.) Mid-Year Update
As a Community We Set (2) A.F.I. Goals for the 2010/2011 School Year:
1) Raise $55K and
2) Achieve 100% Participation
GOOD NEWS: We’re VERY CLOSE to reaching our goal of $55K!
NOT SO GOOD NEWS: We still have not achieved 100% participation
If you haven’t made your A.F.I. commitment yet, please do so today. Any amount will get us closer to reaching that goal of 100% participation. 100% participation will mean that EACH and EVERY family cared enough to contribute to this collective effort to better our children’s education.
Public School Is Free – A Great Education Is Not.
The SMASH Annual Family Investment is the single most important fundraiser of the year. Your contribution pays for classroom teaching assistants, reading and math specialists, the SMASH fine arts program, science equipment, technology upgrades, professional development and so much more.
Log on and give instantly:
ptsasmash.blogspot.com
Pay by check. Pay by credit card. Pay in the office. Pay online.
Give what you can. EVERY donation counts. Really.
100% goes to SMASH
100% tax deductible
For more info contact
Marni Brady at marni99@yahoo.com or Helga Schier at helgaschier@verizon.net
**********
GIVE YOUR OPINION ON EDUCATON TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Melody Barnes, advisor to President Obama, is soliciting information from parents, students, and teachers regarding education decisions being made in the White House. Let’s have SMASH parents and students write in to let her know "what's working" in education. http://www.whitehouse.gov/advise
**********
ptsa news
president’s message
Dear SMASHing Parents,
If you have not already heard, the SMASH Jog-a-thon last Friday appears to have set a new record for the amount of money raised. Even though some pledges are still to be collected, the money already received passes last year’s total. Once again our SMASH family comes through when it counts. We are all fortunate to be part of such a supportive community that always steps-up when needed. Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Jog-athon a resounding success. Dan McGee
ptsa annual family investment drive
· Public school is free – a great education is not. The SMASH Annual Family Investment Drive is the single most important fundraiser of the year. We are aiming for 100% participation. Give what you can and give as soon as possible. $5 pays for a student’s bus ticket to a museum during a field trip. $50 pays for a two year subscription to a science magazine in one of our cores. $500 pays for Arts Program supplies, $5000 pays for expenses connected to the copier. Every donation counts. Really. Questions? Contact Marni Ayers Brady (marniayers@gmail.com) or Helga Schier (helgaschier@verizon.net)
SMASH bash
If you haven’t participated in a SMASHbash this school year, here is your chance. There are still spots available for the SMASH Drama BASH (with SMASH Drama teacher Kristy Pace) this Sunday (March 13) at the Renshaw-Varner Residence (from 2-4). All SMASH students are welcome to join. You may sign up in the office for a donation of $25 (per child). Last year this event was a real hit -- so don't miss out! REMEMBER: 100% of all SMASH BASH funds collected goes directly to SMASH. Please contact Marni Ayers Brady (marniayers@gmail.com) at your earliest convenience and find out what remaining events are still available.
SMASH ptsa nominating committee
We need someone to handle PTSA Membership for the 2011-2012 school year. The V.P. of Membership is responsible for maintaining the PTSA membership list. The bulk of the position’s job duties are front-loaded at the beginning of the school year, and duties are minimal after November. Anyone interested in the position should contact our outgoing V.P. of Membership, Catherine Lerer (clerer@mcgeelerer.com), and she can give you more info.
In addition, next year we are planning to create a new position on the SMASH PTSA Board to handle money for the Core 3 & 4 trips. The PTSA is planning to have a separate account for money collected from the 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th grade parents to pay for their kids’ learning adventures including Astro Camp, Catalina Island and Yosemite National Park. If you are interested, please Dan McGee (dmcgee@mcgeelerer.com).
SMASHing meetings
Our next PTSA meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 6, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. Please try to attend this meeting. Because it is towards the end of the year, when many final decisions need to be made, it is one of our most important meetings of the school year.
GREEN TIP FOR THE WEEK
Turn Off Your Engine and Save Gas: For every two minutes a car is idling, it uses about the same amount of fuel it takes to go about one mile. Research indicates that the average person idles their car five to 10 minutes a day. The recommendation is: If you are going to be parked for more than 30 seconds, turn off the engine. Ten seconds of idling can use more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it. www.consumerenergycenter.org
**********
CORE 1 NEWS
Core 1 Beach Days and Field Trips On March 15th, all Core 1 students will be heading to the beach. Half of the Core will visit the Aquarium while the other half build and study water on the sand. The aquarium group will take the Big Blue Bus to the pier, and will walk back. All children should come prepared to walk to the beach and play in the sand. Be sure to apply sunscreen and dress warmly. Pack a lunch for the beach. “The beach elves” (aka seagulls) seem to really like the brown paper bag lunches, so the non-disposable lunch bags and boxes seem to work out best. Make sure your child has extra clothes and shoes in case they get wet. If your child is attending the beach field trip, we invite you to look around your house for beach toys and digging tools to bring. We will need many volunteers --some to go to the aquarium and others to help on the sand. Please sign up in the Magic Garden if you are able to accompany us on those days. If you received a permission slip for the aquarium in your Friday Folder, please return it on Monday so that your child can attend the aquarium. No additional permission slip is required for the beach field trip. These are free trips, this time! Thank you to Kurt in Core 4 for all your help arranging the aquarium trips, and to the staff from Heal the Bay!
Wall Works What a fun night at the Wall Works art opening reception! If you missed it, don’t worry! The exhibit is open until May 29. More info can be found at http://smmoa.org/index.php/programs/group/1/15.
Thank you to the SMMoA this wonderful opportunity to be a part of something so big!
Spring Conferences are around the corner beginning on the week of March 21st. Sign-ups are available NOW. Malaika will be available for childcare. Please see the Friday folder for your conference planning sheet.
All Core Writing Celebration During Morning Meeting on Friday, March 18, the Partners, Bigs & Mentors will be sharing their most recent published writing during Morning Meeting. You are invited to share in the celebration!
March Birthday Bash Friday, March 25. If your child was born in March, please sign up in the Magic Garden (Candis’ room) to bring a healthy snack to share on that day. Our Birthday Bash ceremony will begin at 11:15am.
Leprechaun Traps Please complete your leprechaun traps and bring them in on Wednesday, March 16 (and not before…we simply don’t have room to store them). Please check the Internet if you need any ideas!
Wish List We could use indoor or outdoor brooms, rakes of any size, and dustpans. We would also love small wooden beads and any hardware (extra metal pieces around your house that can be used for woodworking.
Thank you so much for supporting our daily life in Core 1.
NO SCHOOL MONDAY, MARCH 14 - District Furlough Day
Have a wonderful 3-day weekend!
Candis, Chrysta, Graciela, Jackie, Karin
cberens@smmusd.org
cwyse@smmusd.org
gbarba-castro@smmusd.org
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CORE 2 NEWS
Advisory News: The Wall Works Installation is really cool! It’s such a great experience for the kids to see their work on display in a real art gallery being celebrated at a real opening reception with the artist-collaborator! If you weren’t able to make it to the opening, the exhibition will be on display at Gallery G (next to SMMoA) at Bergamot Station until May 29!!! Go check it out as a family! ***Family HW: Discuss how you live and use the local resources of our unique Southern California environment. How does living in Santa Monica affect your lifestyle? How is it
different than other places you have lived?
Theme: Laura and Tamara Social Studies and Science: The students watched a video that combined our social studies and science theme about how different groups of Native Americans lived and used the resources in their unique environments (woodlands, desert, coastal, plains).
Literacy: RW: We finished Because of Winn-Dixie this week—what a wonderful book! ***RW HW: Core 2 students—read 30 – 45 minutes each night. Each student needs to find a Just Right historical fiction book to read for our next RW genre study. Please bring it on Tuesday, March 15.
WW: The students reflected on their Autobiographies. They will share this, and lots of other reading, writing, theme, math, and CARES work/reflections at the upcoming Spring Family Conferences, W 3/23 – F 3/25. They also wrote letters to their favorite picture book illustrators for a wonderful fundraiser we are planning for this Spring. AND we wrote our first 4-paragraph essay with a thesis statement and supporting ideas. ***WW HW: Core 2 Students—write a new draft essay (different topic) about your favorite movie, book, food, sport, game, city, park, vacation, video game, etc. Use and “I think…because…” sentence to plan how you will state your opinion and use 3 reasons for the introduction, then write 1 new paragraph about each reason—using examples to convince people to agree with your opinion.
Math: Laura’s 3rd graders worked on understanding and finding area by building Tetrominoes. Ask your child what is the area of a Tetrominoe and how many different 2D shapes are called Tetrominoes? This week we continued to review how to “unpack” a problem. What do we know? What are we trying to find out? What operation are we going to use to solve the problem? Does our answer make sense? Is there more than one way to answer the question ?
***3G HW due F 3/18.
Tamara’s 4th graders worked on using the relationship between multiplication and division and what they know about tens and multiples of ten to solve problems. This week’s HW reinforces how important it is for students to use what they know to solve harder problems and to THINK while they are solving problems to help them be more aware of their strategies. ***4G HW due F 3/18.
Arts with Julianna : We studied color theory. Ask your child to demonstrate it at home.
Beyond the Photo with Alie’s Kelly: • Please have your child bring in a 4x6 color photo of them selves (preferably outdoors) with an exciting background. It is ok to have people and/or animals in the photo with the student. This photo will become PART of a finished art project. (examples of good photos at the beach, outside with the family pet, in Grandma's garden, a favorite picture with flowers in the background, family picture in front of a building or family home, hiking trip in the mountains, snow trip, at the pumpkin patch, visiting the zoo) {Please bring photos in as soon as possible to assure 100% participation.}
cwyse@smmusd.org
gbarba-castro@smmusd.org
**********
CORE 2 NEWS
Advisory News: The Wall Works Installation is really cool! It’s such a great experience for the kids to see their work on display in a real art gallery being celebrated at a real opening reception with the artist-collaborator! If you weren’t able to make it to the opening, the exhibition will be on display at Gallery G (next to SMMoA) at Bergamot Station until May 29!!! Go check it out as a family! ***Family HW: Discuss how you live and use the local resources of our unique Southern California environment. How does living in Santa Monica affect your lifestyle? How is it
different than other places you have lived?
Theme: Laura and Tamara Social Studies and Science: The students watched a video that combined our social studies and science theme about how different groups of Native Americans lived and used the resources in their unique environments (woodlands, desert, coastal, plains).
Literacy: RW: We finished Because of Winn-Dixie this week—what a wonderful book! ***RW HW: Core 2 students—read 30 – 45 minutes each night. Each student needs to find a Just Right historical fiction book to read for our next RW genre study. Please bring it on Tuesday, March 15.
WW: The students reflected on their Autobiographies. They will share this, and lots of other reading, writing, theme, math, and CARES work/reflections at the upcoming Spring Family Conferences, W 3/23 – F 3/25. They also wrote letters to their favorite picture book illustrators for a wonderful fundraiser we are planning for this Spring. AND we wrote our first 4-paragraph essay with a thesis statement and supporting ideas. ***WW HW: Core 2 Students—write a new draft essay (different topic) about your favorite movie, book, food, sport, game, city, park, vacation, video game, etc. Use and “I think…because…” sentence to plan how you will state your opinion and use 3 reasons for the introduction, then write 1 new paragraph about each reason—using examples to convince people to agree with your opinion.
Math: Laura’s 3rd graders worked on understanding and finding area by building Tetrominoes. Ask your child what is the area of a Tetrominoe and how many different 2D shapes are called Tetrominoes? This week we continued to review how to “unpack” a problem. What do we know? What are we trying to find out? What operation are we going to use to solve the problem? Does our answer make sense? Is there more than one way to answer the question ?
***3G HW due F 3/18.
Tamara’s 4th graders worked on using the relationship between multiplication and division and what they know about tens and multiples of ten to solve problems. This week’s HW reinforces how important it is for students to use what they know to solve harder problems and to THINK while they are solving problems to help them be more aware of their strategies. ***4G HW due F 3/18.
Arts with Julianna : We studied color theory. Ask your child to demonstrate it at home.
Beyond the Photo with Alie’s Kelly: • Please have your child bring in a 4x6 color photo of them selves (preferably outdoors) with an exciting background. It is ok to have people and/or animals in the photo with the student. This photo will become PART of a finished art project. (examples of good photos at the beach, outside with the family pet, in Grandma's garden, a favorite picture with flowers in the background, family picture in front of a building or family home, hiking trip in the mountains, snow trip, at the pumpkin patch, visiting the zoo) {Please bring photos in as soon as possible to assure 100% participation.}
NO SCHOOL MONDAY, MARCH 14 - District Furlough Day
Dates to Remember:
Thursday3/17 – Core 2 Potato Parade, 10:00 – 10:10 and 10:40 – 10:50 (see attached flyer)
Wednesday 3/23 – Core 2 Arts Sharing, 9:15 -10:15 am (come early to check out the work C3 did with Julianna)
W 2/23, R 3/24, and F 3/25 – 1:30 dismissal for Spring Family Conferences, please sign up in the Main Office.
Wish List – large liquid hand soap refills, bean bags, pillows, stuff for reading nooks in Partyland, and someone who could make new pillow covers for our outside furniture.
You got the pledges, you ran the laps, now go collect the money you made for SMASH!
Laura: lsherman@smmusd.org
Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org
Jayme: j.wold@smmusd.org
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CORE 3 NEWS
Your child will need the golden guidelines signed by you in order to enter the Upper School SMASH Dance tonight. Bring in the dance flyer also for a $2 discount on the entrance fee!
Sign up for spring family conferences in the office! You may sign up with one teacher who will talk about your child in all their subjects and social development. Carrie, Erin and Genie are constantly discussing your child's growth in all their subjects because we are always looking at the whole child.
5th Grade Math w/ Genie: We have been busy looking at story problems with fractions and percents and playing a fraction card game called In Between. Also a big concept was discussed; what's the whole? So if Jessica ate ¾ of a pizza and Janice ate 2/3 of another pizza, and Janice says she ate more, how could this be true? Ask your child to
explain!
6th Grade Math w/ Carrie: We began our new unit, Bits and Pieces II. We are going deeper in the world of fractions. This week we started to look at how to add fractions by "getting close" using our estimation skills. We talked about times that it's better to overestimate & when it is better to underestimate. Think about examples in your life when you need to estimate using fractions and talk with your child about it (ex: buying supplies for a project, fabric to
use to sew).
6th Grade Math w/ Erin: This week we began working on angles. We first discussed (and for some reviewed) the idea of a right angle. We looked around the room and identified right angles as well as smaller and larger angles. We also discussed how right angles measure 90º. Using the right angle as a benchmark, we proceeded to estimate the size of various angles.
Science: We started moving forward with the research papers for our science projects this week. The students came up with thesis statements and started to work on their outlines using "boxes and bullets". The outlines are due on Tues. They continue to work on their "choice" project (experiments, models, songs, movies, etc.). Ask your child what they are doing as their choice project to teach others about what they have learned. Remember, the goal of the choice
projects is to find a creative way to teach others important information about the topic. All of the projects can be done simply and at little or no cost. Please do not let your child talk you into buying a ton of supplies for this! Encourage their creativity.
Social Studies and Geography: On Wed we continued with our study of history and how a story depending on a persons experiences and point of view. Students briefly summarized last week's documentary about the "First Thanksgiving" and the relationship between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people - as told from the indigenous point of view. I then read aloud portions of 3 Thanksgiving books that I found at the SM Public Library--books that each start
the Thanksgiving story with the Pilgrims leaving England. We talked about how even though the books don't have misinformation, it is often the information that is omitted that creates an partial view of history. Next, students participated in an activity to demonstrate how even in their daily lives, they experience many of the same things quite differently.
As different statements about Santa Monica and SMASH were read aloud, students moved to different categories around the room depending on whether they agreed or disagreed with each statement. In this way students were able to see that if they were to tell someone in the future about their city and their school, their "histories" could differ radically, even though they had a been at the same place at the same time. On Thursday and Friday we were fortunate enough to
have a wonderful presentation on the Haida people by Liam Hayden. Liam has worked for a few months on this independent project and it was inspiring and informative to learn about the Haida of the Pacific Northwest. Using a slide show for reference, Liam taught the class about the history and culture of the Haida and then taught the class about the meaning behind Totem Poles. Each student then proceeded to create their own sketch of what their own Totem Pole
might look like. Thank you to Liam and Barbara for this wonderful presentation!
have a wonderful presentation on the Haida people by Liam Hayden. Liam has worked for a few months on this independent project and it was inspiring and informative to learn about the Haida of the Pacific Northwest. Using a slide show for reference, Liam taught the class about the history and culture of the Haida and then taught the class about the meaning behind Totem Poles. Each student then proceeded to create their own sketch of what their own Totem Pole
might look like. Thank you to Liam and Barbara for this wonderful presentation!
In Geography, we're still working on our state maps!
Reading & Writing Workshop w/ Genie: There's nothing like a deadline to get some writers to push themselves to meet that deadline. We have reflected that there is enough class time given, over a month for this unit, to work on their museum brochure and personal narrative, which was assigned as an independent piece and to keep all students busy working and writing. If your child turned in a first draft that leads to the question, how serious do they take revising? If your child took this assignment seriously, without teaching points and a rubric, they are independent writers! Writing Workshop is the only class the students have 5 times a week for one hour. Many students never took either brochure or personal narrative home, used their class time wisely, and published a week in advance. Have a home discussion on how your child uses class time.
Reading & Writing Workshop w/ Genie: There's nothing like a deadline to get some writers to push themselves to meet that deadline. We have reflected that there is enough class time given, over a month for this unit, to work on their museum brochure and personal narrative, which was assigned as an independent piece and to keep all students busy working and writing. If your child turned in a first draft that leads to the question, how serious do they take revising? If your child took this assignment seriously, without teaching points and a rubric, they are independent writers! Writing Workshop is the only class the students have 5 times a week for one hour. Many students never took either brochure or personal narrative home, used their class time wisely, and published a week in advance. Have a home discussion on how your child uses class time.
Art: We only have 1 last session and as usual our fabulous artist in residence, Juliana, is pushing our young artists to do one last project looking at the Kuna designs of Panama. Please note your child's art homework and help them come up with a design so they are ready to do a symmetrical paper-cutting project with the idea as the central symbol. Our art share for this term will be on Wed, March 23rd Assembly style at 8:45-9:20. Please join us!
Homework:
6g Math - 6th Grade Math with Carrie: Assignment 2 is due Tuesday, March 15
5g Math - Packet #21 is DUE FRI 3/18
Science - Outlines for the research paper are due Tuesday, March 15
Reading - Nonfiction Article "Hip Hop at the Museum?"—read and marked up by Thurs 3/17
Writing - write 2 different summaries (as entries) on 2 books you've enjoyed for our literary essays
Art - have an idea ready that is a simple design of something meaningful to you or is a part of your everyday world
NO SCHOOL MONDAY, MARCH 14 - District Furlough Day
Genie: ghwang@smmusd.org
Carrie: cferguson@smmusd.org
Erin: ehaendel@smmusd.org
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CORE 4 NEWS
Your child will need the golden guidelines signed by you in order to enter the Upper School SMASH Dance tonight. Bring in the dance flyer also for a $2 discount on the entrance fee!
Core Four Notes: A reminder: Student Led Conferences are fast approaching. Get into the office and get your preferred time slot as they are going fast. Darwin and Kurt are available March 21st, through Friday the 25th.
Once more…. In keeping with our “integrated approach” to advising, schedule the conference with whomever you did not talk to last conference. In other words, if your last conference was with Kurt schedule a conference with Darwin and vice a versa. Our intention here is to provide both perspectives to each family while remaining wedded to the SMASHing ideal of relationship based teaching. In addition, this will be Darwin’s only chance to have a conference with many of you and he wishes to know the parents of the marvelous people he works with every day. Please check with Janice in the office for specific scheduling of times. We shall make a variety of times available to suit your needs including mornings, lunches and at least one late evening. As always, email if you need something we have not provided for.
8th Grade Notes: The science project is coming to a close with gloriously executed models, measurably increased content knowledge, and exclamations of glee from our student scientists who have exceeded expectations and are feeling the deep satisfaction that comes from completing demanding work. Of course, many of our students may also be happy to find that spring break is drawing close.
Parent Partners take note: Mark your calendars for April 6th when we shall present, defend, and celebrate this multifaceted capacity building project. Celebration will begin around 13:00 and I will remain on site through 19:00 to insure that my hard working parent partners may see the intellectual fruits of our young scientist’s efforts. You are also invited to join us at Heal the Bay’s aquarium next week (Wed the 16th between 09:30 and 11:30) when 4-6 of our scientists will present their findings to working scientists, marine educators and our partners from the aquarium.
NO SCHOOL MONDAY, MARCH 14 - District Furlough Day
Kurt: kholland@smmusd.org
Darwin: dmendinueto@smmusd.org
