FRIDAY, MAY 27 & MONDAY MAY 30
NO Friday Letter next week
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SuperSMASH ‘11
Saturday, June 11, 11:30AM to 5:30PM
Coming Attractions
Carnival
Sure to be a SMASHing hit
SMASH That Car
{… seriously, we’ll have a car you can smash with a hammer…}
To make sure this booth is not only fun but SAFE FUN,
we need lots of adult help to supervise it! Please sign up today!
We’re also looking for a flatbed trailer to help us tow the car.
Please contact Yvonne at paradisekid@verizon.net
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More new stuff
Splash Attack • Littler Kids Playland • Water Balloons • Slip and Slide • Pinkberry
Back by Popular Demand
To Die For Tie Dye • Wheel of Fortune •Candy Necklaces • Fish Bowl Toss • Water Slide •
Tattoo Art • Spin Art • Plinko • SMASHing Grill
And of course there’s music and great food and much much more!
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We need volunteers to make it all work. So please do sign up.
Contact Helga at helgaschier@verizon.net or sign up online.
Check your e-mail for links.
Thank you!
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SuperSMASH ‘11
Saturday, June 11, 11:30AM to 5:30PM
Coming Attractions
Silent Auction
Featured Item 1001
One-of-a-kind opportunity for your child to create a one-of-a-kind art piece with our very own
Artist-in-Residence, Julianna Ostrovsky.
Featured Item 1002
Give your child the gift of an amazing camp experience this summer
at Bar 717 Ranch Camp in beautiful Trinity County.
Your child will enjoy horseback riding, swimming, hiking, pottery, silk-screening, photography and numerous other arts and crafts, archery, backpacking, farm animals, gardening, nature exploration, ropes course, farm cooking, and many other ranch activities. Campers live on a covered open-air platform with other same gender and age campers and 2 counselors. Check out www.bar717.com or talk to Erin (Core 3 teacher and sister of camp directors) for more information. Camp is for children 8 - 16 years old. Auction winner can choose one 2-week session for one child, or a 1- week session (the first week of camp) for two children.
Transportation (chaperoned group trip from LA) costs not included.
Featured Item 1003
2 Dodger Field Level Tickets right behind the plate, VIP parking, and Stadium Club access to the Father's Day game against the Astros on June 19 @ 1:10 p.m.
Have brunch at the Stadium Club and take in a ball game for Father's Day.
Featured Item 1004
A residential DirecTV package, including a DirecTV system for up to four rooms, free professional installation and 1 year of free Choice Extra programming, plus DVR service and HD access (new customers only).
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Do keep ‘em coming. We’d like to fill the auction floor with good stuff.
So go out there and get more donations.
Thank you!
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DATES TO REMEMBER
Mon, May 23 - 9-10:15am - Last SMASH school tour
Wed, May 25 - 5-6:00pm - Site Council Mtg
Fri, May 27 - Furlough Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Mon, May 30 - Memorial Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Tues, May 31 - Music Concert - 6:00pm - 4th Grade
7:00pm - 5th Grade
8:00pm - 6th-8th grade
Wed, Jun 1 - Bike It! Day
Wed, Jun 1 - 6pm - PTSA Mtg
Fri, June 3 - Arts & Letters Sale
Sat, Jun 11 - SuperSMASH Carnival & Auction
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WEDNESDAY BAKE SALE DATES CORE 4: May 25
TEACHER APPRECIATION LUNCH CORE 4: May 13
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BIKE IT DAY - Wednesday, June 1, 2011.
Leave your car in the garage, in your driveway or on the street,
and hop on your bike, the bus or your feet!
Bike it, bus it or walk it to work or school.
and everyone will think you’re cool.
Questions? Contact student-led SMASH bike club:
Gabriel Schier. (310-779-3165 or gbsicebat@gmail.com)
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"WANTED: leftover house paint and supplies like brushes, paint rollers and pans, etc... for a Core 4 SuperSMASH
project. Please leave anything you can contribute in a box or bag in the office for Julianna Ostrovsky (art teacher).
We need the stuff by Tuesday, May 31. Thanks for your help!
Contact Nina Furukawa at nina@smdp.com or 310-922-2060 if you have questions."
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COMPOST WORKSHOP - learn how you can compost at home
Saturday, May 21 at 9:30am - Virginia Avenue Park Resource Recovery & Recycling Division
310-458-2223, www.smgov.net/r3 - Open to all Santa Monica residents
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JUNE 10 is the LAST DAY TO ACCEPT CHECKS AND PAY ALL NEGATIVE BALANCES.
Check is the cafeteria staff or call the district office to get your child’s balance.
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SMASH MUSIC CONCERTS
TUESDAY, MAY 31
6:00PM - 4TH GRADE 7:00PM - 5TH GRADE 8:00PM - 6TH-8TH GRADE
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JAMS GOES INTO THE WOODS
In partnership with the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation, JAMS
Theatre Company will make its debut Thursday night with its production
of Stephen Sondheim’s twisted and witty fairy tale musical,
“Into the Woods, Jr.”
Friday, May 20 at 7pm and Saturday, May 21, at 2pm and 7pm in JAMS Auditorium
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. All tickets will be sold at the door. Cash only, please!
Come see Smash student Maya Reimer as Cinderella’s mother
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SMASH Site Council Agenda
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
5:00 PM Core 2
Adopt Agenda
Approve minutes of last meeting
Community participation
Reports and Announcements (regular agenda items)
Principal’s Report
Student Reports
Community Organization Reports (to include but not limited to the following):
PTSA
Student Council
Other :
Old Business
Site Council Elections
New Business
Plans for 2011-2012
Community participation (if applicable)
Adjourn
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Flyers Available in the SMASH Office
• Cali-Camp, Summer Day Camp for boys and girls ages 4-14.
1717 Old Topanga Cyn Rd, Topanga. 310-455-0404; www.calicamp.com or info@calicamp.com
Cali-Camp offers incoming 9th grade students a junior counselor volunteer program.
For info go to www.calicamp.com\available.html
• California Dance Center - Veterans Auditorium at 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City; 213-304-4161
Free Class Day on May 21 at 1pm. Boys and girls ages 4-18.
• Perfect Day Surf Camp. Two locations, Redondo Beach by Avenue A & Santa Monica by Annenberg Beach House Summer Camps ages 5-7 (Adult surf & paddleboarding classes available). $200/week early bird special! 310-985-1458; www.perfectdaysurfcamp.com
• Learn to Surf LA Camp. Camps for Teens (13 to 17) and Kids (7 to 12). Full and Half Day Sessions.
Trial Day $90. Book online at www.learntosurfla.com or call 310-663-2479
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ptsa news
president’s message
Dear SMASHing Parents,
Let’t Get Ready for …….SuperSMASH!.
Our biggest and most important fundraiser of the year is right around the corner, on June 11. There will be food, activities, rides and games, and of course, our ever popular Silent and Live Auctions. For the first time we will have a car that will be smashed and hammered. We need the entire SMASH community to come together for our biggest event of the year. Most of you have already seen emails about the preparation that is well-underway by our committed group of SuperSMASH organizers. At this time, we need the entire SMASH family to get involved in
some aspect of SuperSMASH. Now is the time to get silent auction donations, sign-up for handling booths, set-up and clean-up or any of the many other ways that you can help with this very important event.
Contact Helga at 310-828-8421 or helgaschier@verizon.net or go on-line to sign-up for your volunteer slot.
For those who don’t know, the SMASH Camping Trip on May 6th & 7th was a resounding success. We had 27 families (90 people) on Saturday and 60 people on Friday. It was a great time for the kids and parents. Next year, the SMASH camping trip is scheduled for the September. Don’t miss out. Dan McGee
ptsa annual family investment drive
• Public school is free – a great education is not. The SMASH Annual Family Investment Drive is winding downfor the 2010-1011 school year. Have you participated? If not, please make your contribution in any amount you can afford. We are still aiming for 100% participation in the single most important fundraiser of the year. 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.
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, there are still events that you can attend.
REMEMBER: 100% of all SMASH BASH funds collected goes directly to SMASH. The following events still have space available:
* High Tea on a Roof Garden -- May 22 (SUN) 1pm (Kids and Adults)
* Poker Party -- NEW DATE -- June 4 (SAT) (Adults Only)
* Tacos, Mojitos & Legos -- June 12 (SUN) 2pm (Kids and Adults)
* Tapas and Drinks -- NEW DATE - June 18 (Adults Only)
Please contact Marni Ayers Brady (marniayers@gmail.com) and sign-up for one of these remaining events.
SMASHing meetings
• Our next PTSA meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 1, at 6:00 p.m. Please try to attend this meeting.
Final preparations for SuperSMASH will be discussed.
GREEN TIP FOR THE WEEK
New Terracycling Opportunity: We are now signed up to collect healthy food pouches (i.e., Trader Joe's Apple Crushers and other fruit/baby food/healthy drink pouches).
BYOD: With the Core 1 BBQ and Super SMASH coming up, remember that you can Bring Your Own Dishware! Utensils, cloth napkins, dishes, cups... Bring them in a washable, leak proof bag for easy and practical portability.
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SMASH Camping / Cabin Trip
At Camp Joseph September 23, 24,25 2011
3000 Rustic Canyon Road, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
SMASH invites you to join us for a fun community building outdoor event
CABINS ARE LIMITED AND FIRST COME FIRST SERVE
TENT CAMPING WELCOMES THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
It is so close you can come for the whole weekend or just for one day
Bring: Sleeping Bags, Food and Charcoal. BBQ pits are provided.
Pre-registration is required to receive the Gate Code.
e-mail: elizabethrita@gmail.com
Last minute call Elizabeth Kramer 310-433-5612
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SMASH SITE ADVISORY COUNCIL BALLOT
Must be returned to SMASH office no later than 3:00pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Candidate Statements:
MIMI LICHTERMAN: My sons, Jack and Quinn, are in Core 1, moving up to Core 2 in the fall. I am excited by the opportunity to participate in Site Council. It would allow me to diversify my involvement at SMASH. I believe my dual perspective as educator and parent will make this a valuable service and learning experience. Thank you for your vote.
NINA FRESCO: My son Eli is a 3rd grader in Core 2 at SMASH. It's our first year here and I am looking for an opportunity to become more involved with the school and to learn more about how funding and operations work. I believe being a member of Site Council would offer me those things and allow me to be of service to the SMASH Community.
Ballots were distributed to students on Friday, May 20
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JUNE CAFETERIA MENU
Wednesday, June 1 - Mini Cheeseburgers, baby carrots, fruit
Thursday, June 2 - Salad Bar, Crunchy Taco, Cinnamon Churro
Friday, June 3 - Galaxy Cheese Pizza, 3-Way Salad, Cry Baby Sour Apple, Fruit Cup
Monday, June 6 - Baked Chicken Nuggets, Baked Seasoned Potato Wedges, Fresh Fruit
Tuesday, June 7 - Salad Bar, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Frozen Vanilla Yogurt
Wednesday, June 8 - French Toast Stix w/Sausage Patty, Tater Tots, Orange Juice
Thursday, June 9 - Salad Bar, Hot Dog on Wheat Bun, Multi-Grain Chips
Friday, June 10 - Sicilian Style Cheese Pizza, Fresh Garden Salad, Sunrype Fruit Strip
Monday, June 13 - Cheeseburger on Whole Wheat Bun, Baked Crinkle Fries, Fruit
Tuesday, June 14 - Salad Bar, Trader Joes’ Orange Chicken, Steamed Rice, Fortune Cookie
Wednesday, June 15 - Salad Bar, Baked Chicken Tenders, Patriotic Cookie
Thursday, June 16 - Salad Bar w/ Taco Bar
Friday, June 17 - Thin Crust Cheese Pizza, Celery Sticks, Fresh Fruit - LAST DAY FOR SALAD BAR
Monday, June 20 - Baked Corn Dog w/ Baked Potato Smiles, Wild Cherry Fruit Cup
Tuesday, June 21 - Manager’s Choice will be posted in the cafeteria
Wednesday, June 22 - Manager’s Choice will be posted in the cafeteria
Thursday, 23 - SCHOOL CLOSED—HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!
BREAKFAST MENU AT www.smmusd.org/foodservices
SECOND CHOICE VEGETARIAN MENU:
6/1-6/3-Bean Burrito; 6/6-6/10-Cheese Quesadilla; 6/13-6/17-Yogurt & Pretzels; 6/20-6/22- Cheese Sticks
Students may choose the featured hot lunch, or salad bar, or the Vegetarian option.
Elementary Meal Prices:
$3.00 Lunch, Full Price
$0.40 Lunch, Reduced Price
$1.25 Breakfast Full Price
$0.30 Breakfast, Reduced Price
$8.00 Prepaid Reduced Price (20 lunch meals)
JUNE 3 is the LAST DAY TO ACCEPT CHECKS AND PAY ALL NEGATIVE BALANCES.
Check is the cafeteria staff or call the district office to get your child’s balance.
PARENTS PLEASE NOTE: If your child participates in the Free/Reduced Price Meal Program his or her 2010/11. Application will expire the morning of Wed., Oct. 12, 2011. You will be receiving the 2011/12 application in the US mail some time in August. Applications will also be available at the District Office, and can also be found on our website at www.smmusd.org/foodservices. All school sites will have applications available at the end of August. Please complete and return this application by October 1, 2011 or sooner. It is imperative that you submit your 2011/12 meal application prior to Wed., October 12, 2011, (the date that the 2010/11 application expires) because it can take up to ten (10) days to process an application.
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CORE 1 NEWS
A BIG WEEK IN CORE 1…AND MORE TO COME!
Core 1 Open House Reflections
“I liked it when I came and built more of my house. I liked that we had another chance to build after school. It was
awesome because we don’t usually get to build after school.” ~Shai G
“I like it when we were building our houses with our parents.” ~Jovana
“I liked when we got to do water study. Me and my mom got to do water study with the eye droppers.” ~Kim
“I liked it when I got to use the syringes to put water down the watershed.” ~Kaleb
“I liked it because I got to show my mom the bean plant in Chrysta’s room and I got to show her the real bean plant.”
~Sydney
“I didn’t like it when I could not find my bean plant diagram, but then I liked it when Eliana came and told me that she
found it.” ~Sophia
“I liked seeing all the work that everybody did.” ~Nalani
“I didn’t like it when I had to go!” ~Taj
“I liked it when it was time to go, because I was tired!” ~Luca
Thank you to all of you who attended Open House, our Core 1 Writing Celebration,
and the Core 1 BBQ! It was a big week with lots to celebrate!!!
Core 1 would not be the same without you.
BIRTHDAY BASH for our MAY birthday children will take place on THURSDAY, MAY 26th. (Note the day of the week change due to the furlough day on Friday.) If your child was born in May, 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 11:45am.
UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS
May 25th Santa Monica Farmers Market: On the 25th we will visit the Farmers Market and the water fountains at the Promenade. Volunteers needed and welcome! THERE IS STILL TIME TO VOLUNTEER TO GO!
June 2nd Tanaka Farms- After we go to the Farmers Market, we are heading to the FARM! Tanaka Farms in Irvine, that is. During this field trip we will be driven in wagons, pulled by tractors through the organic farm. Our docent will inform us about organic growing and farming methods and we will be given freshly picked fruit and vegetables to eat! Finally we will stop at a strawberry field to pick our own container of strawberries to take home (plus, all we can eat on the spot)! The spots for grown-up on the bus for parent chaperones are full, but there is still room for carpooling volunteers to meet us down there.
(All Core 1 children will be riding in the bus.) Please sign-up to go in the Magic Garden. If you would like to attend.
For more information go to www.tanakafarms.com/. ON THIS DAY WE ARE ASKING THE PARTNERS TO STAY UNTIL 2:50 WITH US. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY, AND LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS PLAN.
Look for your permission slip in the Friday Folder.
Have a great weekend!
Candis, Chrysta, Graciela, Jackie & Karin
cberens@smmusd.org, cwyse@smmusd.org, gbarba-castro@smmusd.org
REMINDER: SCHOOL CLOSED FRIDAY, MAY 27 & MONDAY, MAY 30
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CORE 2 NEWS
Advisory: In Core 2, and across SMASH, we’ve been talking about ways to make the Friday Letter more user-friendly for students and their families, more manageable for Janice and Wende to copy, collate, and distribute, and less time consuming for the teachers to write (wouldn’t you rather we spend our time planning and preparing for work with the kids???). So, we’d love your input: What would you like out of the Friday Letter? Dates to remember/calendar? How often do you need a blow-by-blow update? Community news? Do you read letters from Jessica and the PTSA? What kinds of changes would make the letter better for you and your family? What kind of changes do you think would make the Friday Letter better for teachers? ***Family HW: Read and discuss the letter as a family and send your ideas to Tamara and Laura—really, we mean it!
Thank You Cris, Kaiden’s mom, for teaching us how to make delicious, low-fat., low-sugar ice cream—it was fun and delicious!
Kudos to Dian for helping the kids practice and perform the “Tin Pan Alley” songs from the 1920’s & 1930’s for the residents of Safran House. And they loved hearing the songs and meeting the kids. I wish each and every one of you could have witnessed your children singing, dancing, and—especially—mingling with the people there. They shook hands, asked questions, and really engaged with the residents—it was a beautiful and moving experience.
Theme: Shout out to Jules and Nile, our 8th grade leaders, for teaching us about static electricity, magnetic fields, and positive and negative charges--and leading a couple of fun experiments with us!
***Don’t forget your homework. Read a Just Right Book at home every day and collect ideas for your poetry.
We hope you enjoyed our Open House Math Night—Laura and Tamara and the amazing 3G and 4G mathematicians had a great time sharing our math curriculum and math learning with you at Open House on Wednesday. If you missed it or have any questions about the research and theories behind the TERC Investigations curriculum, games, manipulatives, and math strands—or would like support to help your child practice new 9and WAY better!!!) ways to approach addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—please check out the website at investigations.terc.edu
Math: Laura’s 3rd graders worked on review activities that were presented at Open House and worked with Base Ten blocks to do 3 and 4 digit adding. ***3G HW attached, due Thursday, May 26.
Tamara’s 4th graders will be starting a new unit next week—look for a preview in this week’s homework ***4G HW attached, due Thursday, May 26
Dates to Remember:
Friday, May 27 – Furlough Day, NO school
Monday, May 30 – Memorial Day, NO school
Tuesday, May 31 - 4G grade music concert, 6:00pm
Wednesday, June 1 – Field trip to Griffith Park Observatory, permission slip attached
– please fill out and return asap - unless you signed one at Open House
Friday, June 3 – 3G music performance 10:30 – 11:30—parents welcome!
Have a great weekend!
Laura: lsherman@smmusd.org
Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org
Jayme: j.wold@smmusd.org
REMINDER: SCHOOL CLOSED FRIDAY, MAY 27 & MONDAY, MAY 30
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CORE 3 NEWS
Thank you to all who came to Open House and purchased raffles for our
SuperSMASH Teacher Raffles! There are still Raffle Prizes/Activities available!
6th gr Math w/ Carrie: We completed our unit on Fractions this week and will take the unit test on Monday. They are doing a great job with a difficult subject. They all have their packet of work from this unit as well as a few extra credit assignments to use as studying tools. Please encourage your child to study for the test on Monday.
5th gr Math w/ Genie: We have been deepening our decimal understanding and learning how fractions are just division problems which can be converted to decimals by dividing the numerator by the denominator.
We have been using calculators and seeing the relationships between 1/8, 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, etc. because they move with a pattern of .125. We have also started adding decimals so when you come across them in your life (like with money or measurement), please have your child help you figure out the sum or difference.
Science: Congratulations to all of the "doctors" in Core 3! Everyone successfully passed the Board Exam this week and will now join their Clinic. I hope you had a chance to see your child's exam as well as the diagrams and models from all of the specialty groups. Their work is quite impressive! I am proud of all of the students - they really worked hard to learn all about their specialties. Next week the Clinics will meet and the specialists will teach their Clinic-mates what they know then they will take a Clinic Exam on Tuesday so they can open their doors and "see patients". We hope to see patients on Tuesday, May 31!
Social Studies/Geography: In Social Studies and Geography this week we continued our study of immigration systems. Students read and discussed a non-fiction article about discrimination that various immigration groups have faced throughout history. We also talked about quotas and looked at a time-line of events and laws that have been used to keep out immigrants from certain nations. In Geography, students continued to work on their immigrant maps.
Reading Workshop: We have been reading Letters from Rifka and the students are at the edge of their seats. Ask them what has been their favorite part. Ask them who Pushkin is. And ask them why the writer Karen Hesse put a poetry excerpt at the beginning of each letter.
Writing Workshop: We started drafting our Historical Fiction piece. We discussed how it is important to write more details and slow down the moment right before the top of the story mountain map and at the top. It makes readers happy to get important details and clues them in on the point of the story.
Homework:
6g Math: Assignment #27 due Monday. Study for the unit test on Monday!
5g Math: Packet #29 is NOTE UNUSUAL DUE DATE: DUE TUES 5/31
RW: Choose and read a nonfiction article from a newspaper, internet, or magazine.
WW: work on revising/publishing poetry and drafting/revising historical fiction piece.
Genie: ghwang@smmusd.org
Carrie: cferguson@smmusd.org
Erin: ehaendel@smmusd.org
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Tuesday, May 31 - Music Concert: 7:00pm for 5th grade, 8:00pm for 6th-8th grade
Tuesday, June 7 - 6:00-7:00pm - Parent Information Night for incoming 7th graders (current 6th graders) in
Kurt's room
REMINDER: SCHOOL CLOSED FRIDAY, MAY 27 & MONDAY, MAY 30
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CORE 4 NEWS
Congratulations to Gabriel Schier for promoting June 1 Bike It! Day awareness at Open House this past Wednesday night. Fliers were distributed and $95 worth of safety helmets and snacks were sold to support our SMASH Bike Club goals.
Current 8th graders presentations: Be sure to check when your child is scheduled. They begin on Thursday, June 12.
Wednesday, May 25: 8th grade tile painting: We have the painting kit for this day only. Any 8th grader who is absent this day will have to go to Color Me Mine on his/her own outside of school hours in order to have a tile for the graduate wall.
Tuesday, May 31: SMASH Music Concert - 8:00PM for 6th-8th grade music students
Tuesday, June 7: 7:00-8:00pm - Parent Information Night for incoming 8th graders (current 7th graders) in Kurt’s room.
Kurt: kholland@smmusd.org
Darwin: dmendinueto@smmusd.org
REMINDER: SCHOOL CLOSED FRIDAY, MAY 27 & MONDAY, MAY 30
