Smash Friday Letter

Dear SMASH Families,
Thank you to all of the family members and staff who cleaned, organized, gardened, sewed, sanded patio furniture, tiled the wall, prepped first day packets, offered great refreshments…and left Clean Up Day feelingsatisfied with all of the beautification done around campus. It is amazing how much we accomplish when we work
together.
Parking and School Traffic:
We are working with the city to try and change parking restrictions and street sweeping times on 5th Street. Please know it is a lengthy process. In the meantime, be sure to read parking signs. Parking is available with signs posted along Ocean Park, 5th Street, and 6th Street. These areas are patrolled and you will be ticketed after the first two weeks of school.

It can become an unsafe situation when parents double park or park in restricted areas. Before and after school child drop-off and pick-up is available by the small yard gate on 5th Street. These areas are for loading and unloading only. Please do not drop off in the staff parking lot nor park in the staff parking lot, as spaces are extremely limited.

Volunteers are needed to help monitor the morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. Please call the office if you are able to help Monday-Thursday from 8:15 to 8:30 or 3:00-3:15 and Friday from 8:15 to 8:30 or 1:30-1:45.

Truly Yours,
Jessica
*************************
The Friday Letter is emailed out as well as being available online at www.smash.smmusd.org. If you want the Friday Letter by email and have not received a copy of this letter, please send your email address to me at
jrishe@smmusd.org. Out of care for our environment as well as the school paper/copy budget, we urge you to read it electronically. If you do need a paper copy, let the Core teachers know at the Core Forums that you do need to receive paper copies, and they will send it home with your child on Fridays.
************************
DATES TO REMEMBER
Tues, Sept 13: 6:00pm - Core 1 Forum - Childcare Available
Wed, Sept 14 - 8:30am - PTSA Meeting - In Music Room next to the Cafeteria
Wed, Sept 14: 6:00pm - Core 2 Forum - Childcare Available
Sat, Sept 17: 9am-noon - Heal The Bay Coastal Cleanup Day, Lifeguard tower #27
Mon, Sept 19: 6:00pm - Core 4 Forum –PLEASE NOTE THIS NEW DATE
Wed, Sept 21: 6:00pm - Core 3 Forum - Childcare Available
Fri - Sun, Sept 23-25: 2:00pm - SMASH Camping Trip (reservation sheets available in the office)
Thurs, Sept 29 - Admissions Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
8th Grade Camp Hess-Kramer trip has been rescheduled to October 24-26
******************************
REMINDER: ALL FIRST DAY PACKET INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE TURNED IN TO THE OFFICE.
*****************************
CREST MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS
FALL SEASON
Flag Football or Volleyball League (Grades 6-8)
Mandatory Evaluation Dates: Tuesday, September 20 (3:15-4:15) 6th grade volleyball and flag football
Wednesday, September 21 (3:15-4:15) 7th * 8th grade volleyball and flag football
REGISTER NOW!
$125 Fee (Financial assistance available)
For further information go to crest.smgov.net
Applications also available in the SMASH office
****************************
CREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ENRICHMENT CLASSES
Classes begin the seek of Sept 19. Enroll now at the CREST Office (bungalow B) on campus.
For complete information go to: http://www01.smgov.net/hsd/crest/1enrichment.htm
Classes
Creative Dramatics………. $125 Meets Mondays (September 19 - November 7)
Mini Doodlers & Doodlers.$140 Meets Mondays (September 19 - November 7)
Musical Theatre…………..$125 Meets Mondays (September 19 - November 7)
ABCs of Photography……$150 Meets Tuesdays (September 20 - November 8)
Creative Storytelling……...$150 Meets Tuesdays (September 20 - November 8)
Beginning Violin...……….$130 Meets Tuesdays (September 20 - November 8)
Ceramics………………….$145 Meets Wednesdays (September 21 - November 9)
Tennis………….………....$100 Meets Wednesdays (September 21 - November 9)
Tiny Tiger Kicks………… $160 Meets Thursdays (September 22-November 17) *No Class September 29
Dragon Kicks………...…...$160 Meets Thursdays (September 22-November 17) *No Class September 29
Play to Your Health…….. .$140 Meets Thursdays (September 22-November 17) *No Class September 29
Mad Science Extravaganza!$160 Meets Friday (September 23 - November 18) *No Class Nov. 11
Books for Cooks………….$140 Meets Friday (September 23 - November 18) *No Class Nov. 11
Secret Garden……………..$140 Meets Friday (September 23 - November 18) *No Class Nov. 11
Dances from Around the World….115 Meets Friday (September 23 - November 18) *No Class Nov. 11
****************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM NURSE SANDY
All students 7th though 12th grade have until September 30 to turn in
proof of their Tdap booster immunization (or the appropriate waiver).
If you want to sign a waiver it can be done by coming by the office before September 30.
This is a new waiver specific to this immunization - prior waivers do not apply.
Students without proof of immunization or waiver will be excluded from school as of September 30, 2011
******************************
Elementary Instrumental Music “Back to School” nightsParents should plan to attend one of the three evenings to meet with the music teachers and get information about this year’s instrumental music program. Your child who will be participating in the music program is encouraged to attend as well. There will be representatives from several music stores for parents who would like to rent or purchase an instrument. The informational portion of the evening will begin promptly at the start time for each site to introduce the music teachers, discuss expectations and go over the vital information regarding music supplies and equipment specifications.
· Monday, Sept 12, 6-8pm at Pt Dume Elementary School, multi-purpose room; 6955 Fernhill Dr; Malibu
· Tuesday, Sept 13; 6-8pm at John Adams Middle School, cafeteria; 2425 16th St; Santa Monica
· Wednesday, Sept 14; 6-8pm at Lincoln Middle School auditorium; 1501 California Ave; Santa Monica
**********************
Heal the Bay Cleanup Day
Saturday, September 17 at Lifeguard Tower #27
For info, registration and waiver, go thttp://sites.healthebay.org/volunteer/ccd/2011/participate.asp
All children under the age of 18 must have a signed waiver before joining in the clean-up.
All minors under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
All toddlers and babies must be with their parent at all times.
************************
Household Hazardous Waste Home Collection Pilot Program
A safe, convenient and easy to use pick-up service where the “Haz-Mat” technician comes to your home.
Beginning Sept 17, the Household Hazardous Waste Center will be open on Saturdays only, 9am-2pm only.
If the pilot program is successful, the city will transition to a permanent pick-up service in January 2012.
Call 1-800-HHW-PKUP (1-800-449-7587) Monday-Friday 8am-5pm;
or e-mail hotline@curbsideinc.com to get started.
For additional info or feedback go to sustainablesm.org/hhw or call 310-458-2213
****************************
Santa Monica Farmers Market Celebrates its 30th Anniversary with a series of events
“GOOD FOOD FESTIVAL” September 14-18 www.goodfoodfestivals.com
**************************
UPCOMING GREEN LIVING WORKSHOPSLearn how you can take positive steps to lower your ecological footprint, protect our local and global environments, improve human health, and ultimately save money in the process.Sustainable Works is a
nonprofit organization, funded by the City of Santa Monica, which is committed to providing Environmental Education and Action driven results to residents, businesses, and the community at large.
The Residential program offers a 6 week Green Living Workshop which covers 6 topic areas.The topics include; Water, Energy, Waste, Chemicals, Transportation, and Shopping & Food.Participants learn about environmental problems on a global, national and local scale and, with the help of the Sustainable WorksBook, participants review and take action on ten related solutions.
WE ARE OFFERING LIMITED WORKSHOPS THIS FALL AND
WE ARE ALSO OFFERING A DAYTIME WORKSHOP!
One workshop is almost complete but we still have 4 more scheduled this fall.
FALL WORKSHOP SCHEDULE!
· Started Tuesday, September 6, 2011, 7-8:30pm: Essentia – 2430 Main Street
(Even though this workshop has already started it is not too late to join!)
· Starting Monday, September 12, 2011, 9-10:30am: The Gourmandise School, The Market at Santa
Monica Place 395 Santa Monica Place
· Starting Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 7-8:30pm: Santa Monica Main Library – 601 Santa Monica Blvd.
· Starting Thursday, October 13, 2011, 7-8:30pm: YWCA Santa Monica/Westside -2019 14th St
Sign up at: www.sustainableworks.eventbrite.com | 310.458.8716 ext 4 | info@sustainableworks.org
***********************
ptsa news
president’s message
Dear SMASHing Parents,
The SMASH PTSA welcomes our entire SMASH family to the new school year. At SMASH, we are blessed with a rich tradition of parents, teachers and students working together to insure that our students receive an outstanding education.
Everyone should have heard from the Core Reps for each of your child’s Cores. If you have not received an email, please let us know and we will make sure that you are placed on the email list. As those returning SMASH families know and the new SMASH families will learn, reading the Friday Letter and the emails from your Core Rep. is how you keep up to date with what’s going on with your child’s classroom/advisory and the SMASH community.

Please attend the Core Forums, which start next week. You’ll hear from your child’s teachers and meet other SMASH parents. It is very important that you attend so that you are informed about the SMASH curriculum, your child’s responsibilities, and the activities and events upcoming for the 2011-2012 school year.
Returning families know that we had 100% membership in the SMASH PTSA last year. We want to duplicate that this year. Membership this year is again just $8.00, which gets you the very important SMASH

Directory. We hope that everyone buys a membership for every member of the family. SMASH PTSA representatives will be at the Core Forums to answer any questions.
Last year at this time, we were recovering from the loss of Measure A and gearing up for Props. Y &YY. Now that last year’s SMMUSD financial crisis has been eased, we cannot forget the continuing pressure on our school district to acquire and maintain adequate funding for our schools, and the responsibility of parents to help with this important endeavor. I hope everyone gets ready for another outstanding year at
SMASH and is looking forward with enthusiasm to this year’s fundraising events which will help assure that our SMASH children receive an outstanding education.
Thanks,
Dan McGee

ptsa annual family investment drive
· Public school is free – a great education is not. Hence the SMASH Annual Family Investment Drive 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. Please make your tax deductible contribution by October 1, 2011. We suggest an investment of $575/student, but no amount is too much or too little. We are aiming for 100% participation, so give what you can and give as soon as possible. Please check your first day packet for our Annual Family Investment Letter, the form and envelope. If you have any questions, contact Marni Ayers Brady (marniayers@gmail.com) or Helga Schier (helgaschier@verizon.net)

ptsa membership
· Don’t forget to turn in your completed PTSA membership envelope and check ($8 per membership, payable to SMASH PTSA).
SMASHing meetings
· Our first PTSA meeting of the new school year is on Wednesday September 14, at 8:30 am. PTSA meetings are held once a month and alternate each month between morning and evening meetings to accommodate all schedules. We need your voice, your support, and your involvement. Look for flyers posted around campus announcing the location. Be there!
Don't Trash It, Terracycle It!
Things we normally throw away are recyclable through Terracycle.net.SMASH raised over $400 Terracycling last school year!Cores 1, 2 and 3 have Terracycle bins for collecting the following items:toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes/toothbrush packaging, chip bags, granola/energy/cereal bar wrappers, drink pouches like Capri Sun, cookie bags, candy wrappers, writing instruments, antibiotic creams/ointment tubes, Elmers Glue bottles/sticks, personal/beauty care packaging, healthy food packaging (ex Trader Joe's Apple Crushers), cereal bags, cheese packaging, and tortilla/tostada
packaging .You can also give your Terracyclables to Mimi Lichterman, Core 2 mom. For a printable letter size pdf of Terracyclables, email Mimi at mimilichterman@yahoo.com.
SM Welcomes Plastic Bag Ban:
Woohoo!As of September 1, 2011, ALL 1,875 retail establishments are prohibited from providing light-weight, single-use plastic carryout bags to customers at the point of
sale.Grocery, convenience, liquor stores and pharmacies are allowed to sell paper bags for carry out made from at least 40% post-consumer recycled content for a minimum of 10 cents each. Need more reusable bags?Simply sew an old large sized tank top along the bottom hem.Voila!
Heal the Bay’s Annual Coastal Clean Up Day:
Saturday, September 17. This is California's biggest annual environmental day of action. It is a great opportunity for the whole family. If you any questions please
contact Core 1 mom, Brenda Weymouth, who will be at Lifeguard Stand #27, for whoever wants to come on down.
*********************
SANTA MONICA 5000
5K/ 10K/ 2.7 DASH FOR KIDS/ELITE WEST COAST INVITATIONAL
Benefiting the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation
Run or walk to support your favorite sport on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2!
100% of Everything you raise will go directly to your sport!
Register at www.runforschools.org
Spread the word and get everyone you know to register for the race and/or donate to your sport!
Not running or walking? Anyone can donate to their favorite sport or athletic program at www.active.com/donate/santamonica5000

CORE 1 NEWS
Welcome to Core 1!!
Meeting classmates, learning new names, practicing routines, introducing materials, creating classroom guidelines – these are important September traditions to help the Core 1 children become independent and creative thinkers for the rest of the school year.

Circle Groups: The children are quickly getting comfortable with their new circle groups. Chrysta’s group has named themselves The Diving Dolphins, Candis’ group is The Magic Puppies, and Graciela’s group is The Flying Monkeys.

Core 1 Forum: Save the date: Tuesday, September 13 from 6:00 – 7:30pm. This is an important night for parents to learn more about the Core 1 curriculum and about what we do on a daily basis. This will also be an opportunity to sign up for volunteering opportunities, sponsor equipment/materials for the classroom, and ask questions about how you can help your child through the school year. Childcare is available on campus and will be supervised by Nadja and Core 4 students. Your voluntary childcare donations benefit our upper school class trips. See you there!!

Reminders: All kindergarteners should be picked up in the Small Yard outside of Candis’ room at 1:30. This helps keep everyone safe and organized. This is also where they get picked up for aftercare and classes. We try not to disturb the Bigs, who are in Chrysta’s room at this time.

If you’ve made arrangements for your child to go home with someone else, please make sure you send us a note. Or you can post your note on the bulletin board in Candis’ room next to the Core 1 quiet room.

All PARTNERS need a change of clothes (in a bag with his/her name) in case of spills, slips, or occasional accidents. We have plenty of spare clothes for Bigs and Mentors when they sometimes need them, too.

Birthday Bash: August and September birthdays will be celebrated on Friday, September 23 during lunch.
Our ceremony will begin at 11:45, and we will eat our lunch and birthday snacks around 12:00. If your child is celebrating his/her birthday in August or September, food/drink sign-ups will be in the Magic Garden Room. Family and friends are welcome.
READING THE FRIDAY LETTER IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD AT SCHOOL. KEEP IT UP ALL YEAR LONG!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
Chrysta, Candis, Graciela, Nadja, and Jackie
Candis: cberens@smmusd.org Chrysta: cwyse@smmusd.org
Graciela: gbarba-castro@smmusd.org

CORE 2 NEWS
Advisory News: We started with our Responsive Classroom social curriculum.Last week our focus was Cooperation.We read discussed and practiced cooperation as individuals, partners, table teams, and a whole group. This week’s focus is Assertion. ***Family HW: Ask your child how/when they cooperate and use their assertion skills in Core 2. Notice/discuss times when your family uses these skills at home.
Literacy:Our academic focus last week was Reading Workshop (RW).We kept our book baskets organized, practiced choosing books, listened to multiple read alouds, read aloud as a group, brought in favorite books to share with classmates, and practiced independent reading, free reading (D.E.A.R.--Drop Everything And Read), and partner reading.We also started the Developmental Reading Assessments, our formal assessment tool, to help us guide our instruction. ***RW HW: All Core 2 students should read for at least 15 minutes at home each day(independent reading, reading aloud to and/or listening to a family member read aloud all count for reading homework). Each student needs to bring in Just Right Books, which he or she can read and understand by them selves. Great readers read every day!

This week’s focus was Writing Workshop (WW). We used our penmanship paper to write sentences about ourselves and friendly letters to our advisors, we noticed and discussed abbreviations, ordinal numbers, homophones, syllables, symbols, and writerly craft in our morning messages, we wrote responses to questions on the board, we explored complete sentences with capital letters and end marks, we talked and wrote about our connections with books, and we discussed and recorded about our math strategies. ***WW HW: All Core 2 students should write for at least 15 minutes at home each day (diary/journal, lists, creative stories, reports, blogging, and poetry all count for writing homework). Write on!!!

Math:We’re establishing our math habits and routines. Laura’s 3rd graders started with skip counting by 2’s 5’s and 10’s and identifying all the different groupings of 100. Tamara’s 4th graders also demonstrated their skip-counting prowess with 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s and explored the patterns of 9’s & 11’s. We’re tackling the tricky 3’s, 4’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s & 12’s by breaking apart arrays and using the multiplication combinations that are easy to help us figure out the more difficult ones. ***Math HW: Ask your child to skip count up to/close to 100 by different numbers. Which ones are easy and which ones do they need to practice? Skip-counting is a critical foundation for multiplication! Math packets due every Friday, so you have the weekend or the weeknights to do it. Do a little bit each day or do it all in one sitting, but remember to “Start with what you know, do what you can, and bring it in to ask for help!”

***PLEASE don’t struggle with your child over homework--it is their responsibility!!!***

Wednesday Drama with Kristy: Theater Arts with Kristy began this week.Laura’s Advisory Group has it at 8:30 sharp! They’ll be learning about masks and Readers’ Theater. Tamara’s Advisory Group will be doing puppetry and movement from 9:30 – 10:15.

Media Center: Laura’s group visited the Media Center this week. Tamara’s will go next week. Children will be allowed to check out 2 books and bring them home. Help them be responsible for their books.

District instrumental music: The 4th graders meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30 sharp!

P.E.: Core 2 has P.E.with Coach Tony every day except Friday. Tamara’s group has PE on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:30 sharp! Laura’s group has it from 9:05 – 9:40. 3rd graders have it Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30 sharp! 4th graders have it from 9:10 – 9:45.

Please help your child get here with plenty of time to sign in and make it to these classes by 8:30 sharp!

Core 2 Forum is Wednesday, 9/14 6 – 7:30pm.Come meet and mingle with families, discuss our curriculum in depth, address your questions, and hear from our PTSA.Childcare will be supervised by Malaika and Core 4 students.Your voluntary donations benefit our Upper School class trips.
Laura: lsherman@smmusd.org
Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org
***********************************8
September 9, 2011
Dear SMASH 6th/7th/8th Grade Music Families,
I know the high value so many SMASH families place upon music education, and I am excited to explain the SMASH-SMMUSD middle school music pilot that your musicians will experience this year on the SMASH campus. As you likely recall, parents, students, and District music staff, all of us together have been working towards an on-campus program that offers:
· Differentiation for dedicated advanced and intermediate musicians
· Additional music class time beyond the 45 min + 45 min = 90 minutes of the last several years
· Class offerings that include Winds, Strings, AND Choir

Middle School Strings will be taught by Robbie Anderson from String Project LA Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:00-9:15 in Tamara’s Room. 8:00-8:30 will be a focus on improvisation techniques. I know this class starts ½ hour before school typically begins, but the benefit is huge. 8:30-9:15 they will explore different types of music (at the first session this week students were asking about Classic Rock, Jazz, Classical, and Pop so stay tuned to see where the group’s interests take them). Their studies will be repertoire-based meaning they will learn scales and other skills appropriate to the pieces they select.

Genie, Carrie, Erin, Darwin, and Kurt endorse this plan and agree that it is fine for 6th graders to miss
Morning Meeting and Vocabulary Word Work and for 7th and 8th graders to miss Advisory Time and Quick Write Practice.

Middle School Winds will be taught by Kevin McKeown Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:15-10:15in the John Muir Computer Lab with a Dream Winds Coach rotating small group and 1:1 tutorials to expand each musician’s skills. They will be working on the varied instrumentation that Jazz music offers (many of us saw the beginnings of this at the Spring Concert) as well as different types of music the group selects together.

Middle School Choir Students will be taught by Jessi Spike-Gravelle Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:15- 10:15 in the Library. Many in this group have been singing with Jessi since 4th grade and they are thrilled to see their middle school group fill out with about 20 singers this year. If there is a keyboard or piano playing parent who is willing to come one day a week to accompany the choir, please let us know.

Musicians who did not attend September 6th : Since our middle school program is for intermediate and advanced, not beginning, musicians, if your child was not at the September 6th Introductory meeting with Robbie Kevin or Jessi and wishes to join Middle School Strings Winds or Choir, s/he will have to meet with Robbie Kevin or Jessi September 13 to determine if joining the group is appropriate.

The addition of Robbie Anderson and the Winds Dream Coach will be possible thanks to funds provided through the Education Foundation via Visual and Fine Arts Coordinator Tom Whaley as well as your SMASH music parent donations. At the SMASH music meeting Spring 2011, SMASH music parents enthusiastically offered to donate and raise monies to enhance our program. We need to raise $5,000 for our part of the match. There will be a music meeting soon so fundraising details will be coming. In the meantime, if you have an instrument to sell or donate to our program, we have several students in need of instruments.

In a time where most public schools are cutting music programs due to the dismal budget realities, we are very fortunate to be in a SMASH and SMMUSD community that prioritizes music instruction for our children. Robbie, Kevin, Jessi and I look forward to implementing this music program with your families this year.
Sincerely,
Jessica

Happy 2nd Friday, Core 3 Families!
Thanks for all your back-to-school support and for checking out our Core 3 website! We still have some wish list items if you feel you haven't had a chance to volunteer. We couldn't do all that we do without your time, energy, and effort!

6th Grade Math with Carrie: Our first unit is "Prime Time".This week we played the Factor Game - ask your child to play with you!There is a parent letter attached to the Homework section of our website giving you an overview of the unit.
6th Grade Math with Erin "Data About Us": Our first unit is "Data About Us". The students learned about the differences and similarities between bar graphs and line graphs. They then collected their own data and our working on graphing the length of names of all the students in our 6th grade class.

5th grade Math Workshop with Genie: We have started exploring concepts about numbers. Ask your child about factors, multiples, product, arrays, prime number, and square number. We have been playing number puzzle games with clues and will continue with more complex number puzzles. Your child took home today
parent letters. Please read them and use them as ways to connect to your child as well as refresh your math understanding. The letters are also available on our website under the Homework section.

Science with Carrie: Our study of The Solar System and the Universe is off to a great start.The students have been working on asking and answering questions they have about "everything under, around, and beyond the sun".We looked at Levels of Questions: Level 1 (questions that can be answered with yes/no, or specific information found in written material, lectures, movies, etc. questions that can be looked up and answered), Level 2 (questions that require you to do something with the information in order to answer), and Level 3 (questions require you to reflect on your thinking and be able to respond to questions with a personal opinion, supported with facts).We also started discussing the GRAIL mission that is scheduled to launch this week.Ask your child about it!

Social Studies and Geography with Erin: We've been working on ice-breakers and our Hopes and Dreams. We've been talking about the idea of Social Studies: What it is? And what things may come up in class. This week students did an activity that addressed how to discuss controversial topics in class. We also did an activity called "What's Your Frame?" that thinks about how and why we all may see things in a different way. Both of these great lessons come from Teaching Tolerance -an excellent website you might want to check out. In Geography students took some time to familiarize themselves with our atlases and participated in an atlas scavenger hunt.

Reading and Writing Workshop with Genie: We've launched Reading and Writing Workshop! Please support your child in their daily reading of a just right book. Make sure it's a book they understand, enjoy and finish! They will keep track of how many pages they have read at school. We decorated our writing notebooks and will use it this weekend to start collecting ideas that could be good memoirs. Ask your child to see their personalized notebooks.

Art: check out our Core 3 website for photos of our first art session with Juliana. We learned about contour lines, blind drawing, continuous drawing. Ask your child what we did!

Homework:6G math: #3 page 14 required, page 1 extra credit.Due 9/12/11
5G math: packet #2. Due 9/16/11 (packet #1 is over due), memorize multiplication combinations!
RW: read every day for 30-40 minutes (around 100 pages a week)
WW:collect 2 ideas in writing notebook that could be memoirs

Genie: hwang@smmusd.org Carrie: cferguson@smmusd.org Erin: ehaendel@smmusd.org

CORE 4 NEWS
Welcome to a year of learning adventures, thoughtful emphasis upon the development of effective habits of work/mind/heart, and the culmination of your child’s education here at SMASH. Bailey, Darwin and I are deeply aware of our responsibility to your delightful and cherished children. We shall strive constantly to improve our practice, to find engaging learning activities, and to be models of thoughtful, fair, and generous humanity. Thank you for the gift of working alongside these lovely, smart, and lively students.

The middle school years are often hard for loving parents as most find that they must fundamentally change how they demonstrate support for their children and let go of previous patterns of parenting behavior. Communication becomes challenging, simple issues bloom into complex dramas with little warning, risk taking on the part of the kids becomes much more common then when they were younger. In a sense, parents and teachers of this age group are confronted with a brand new child daily, weekly and monthly. Brain research tells us that this is indeed true and that
these fascinating young adolescents are navigating a period of change equaled only by their time in their mother’s womb. We are expert in navigating these years and will stand alongside you every moment as together we create a safe environment for our kids to become resilient, caring, and thoughtful. Let us help you find ways to support them as they fledge and fly away from the comfortable nest you have provided to this point.

I think you would agree that middle school students (ages 11-14) are exuberant, emotionally volatile, and full of joy as they explore the world. This is a time of life when children push away from parents and teachers; instead prioritizing friendships and peer values above all else. As challenging as this sounds it is a rare opportunity to deeply influence who these fabulous kids will become. Generally, this critical developmental stage is characterized by four developmental needs.

 Relationships: I want to connect with others. To reduce fear and aloneness, young adolescents need to build and maintain relationships that provide safe ground upon
which to make mistakes on their journey. These relationships focus on peers in a way that they never have before, but they also include powerful and reliable adult support. Young adolescents can't make it alone!

 Autonomy: I want to be independent.
The adolescent drive to function separate from adults is a powerful motivator. It works for school success when it drives middle level students to show that they can be given big responsibilities and freedom, but against success when it turns
into rebellion. They need maps from caring adults to help them find their own way.

 Competence: I want to experience success in what I do and feel like a worthwhile, significant person. Young adolescence feels like a make-or-break time for young people, a time when you have to demonstrate that you've got the right stuff or be seen as a loser. Adult scaffolding can make a crucial difference.

 Fun: I want to have a good time.
The need to enjoy moments of pleasure drives much adolescent behavior. Students will find their own fun during school hours (and sometimes pay a big price for it) if adults don't channel the need constructively.

We meet these needs using six research-based principles that have been proven here at SMASH over the last five years and throughout the US by many high achieving middle schools. These include:
1. Social learning is as important to success as academic learning.
2. Students learn best by constructing their own understanding through exploration, discovery, application of academic concepts to real world situations, reflection, self-evaluation, and especially the development of effective habits.
3. The greatest cognitive growth occurs through carefully focused social interactions within a supportive community.
4. A set of personal/social skills that students need to learn and practice in order to be successful socially and academically is: Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-control. Just like core three!
5. Knowing the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual needs of the students weis as important as knowing the content we teach. We strive to teach one child at a time.
6. Trust amongst community adults is a fundamental necessity for academic and social success in a learning community. We must constantly communicate.

In closing, let me reiterate our joy at finding ourselves in the midst of such a wonderful and caring community. Together we shall seek that very finest learning, habits, and life adventures.

Please join us at the core fore forum where we shall describe the specifics of each class. Drop in any time to see what is going on here as we guide your children to new opportunities.

Kurt: kholland@smmusd.org
Darwin: dmendinueto@smmusd.org

IMPORTANT: 8th Grade Camp Hess Kramer trip has been RESCHEDULE to October 24-26 (not Nov 8-10)

***************************
SEPTEMBER LUNCH MENU
Mon, Sept 12
MEATLESS MONDAY
Grilled Cheese Sandwich w/Fresh Baby Carrots Frozen Vanilla Yogurt Cup, Fruit

TUES, SEPT 13
COOL LUNCH! w/ NEW ITEM Meatball Sub Sandwich

WED, SEPT 14
COOL LUNCH! w/Loco Roasted Chicken w/Flour Tortilla, Salsa, Fruit

THURS, SEPT 15
COOL LUNCH! w/Baked Chicken Breast Chunks, Whole Grain Roll

FRI, SEPT 16 PIZZA FRIDAY!
Galaxy Cheese Pizza w/Fresh Garden Salad, Fruit

MON, SEPT 19
MEATLESS MONDAY NEW ITEM! Tony’s Flatbread 3-Cheese Sandwich, Fresh 3-Way Salad,
Fruit

TUES, SEPT 20
COOL LUNCH! w/Baked Corn Dog

WED, SEPT 21
COOL LUNCH! Orange Chicken w/Fluffy Steamed Brown Rice (this chicken is sold at Trader Joes)

THURS, SEPT 22
COOL LUNCH! w/+++Taco Bar Churro (featuring Jennie O turkey)

FRI, SEPT 23
PIZZA FRIDAY! Classic Wedge Cheese Pizza w/Fresh Mixed Salad, Fresh Seasonal Fruit

MON, SEPT 26 MEATLESS MONDAY
Cheese Quesadilla w/Whole Kernel Corn, Fresh Seasonal Fruit

TUES, SEPT 27 COOL LUNCH!
w/Baked Chicken Roundups, Whole Grain Roll

WED, SEPT 28 COOL LUNCH!
w/***Honey Rib Sandwich on Whole Wheat Bun, Veggie Baked Beans

THURS, SEPT 29 ADMISSIONS DAY HOLIDAY

FRI, SEPT 30 PIZZA FRIDAY!
Tony’s French Bread Cheese Pizza w/Fresh 3-Way Salad, 100% Frozen Wild Cherry Fruit Cup

*What is Cool Lunch? The combination of the best from our hot line and the award winning Farmers’ Market Salad Bar

*Lunch includes fresh seasonal fruit, farm-fresh vegetables and low fat and nonfat milk in addition to the hot entrée.

*Look for Big Daddy, SpruzzoAmeci and Papa John’s Pizza schedules in your school cafeteria.

*Save time and money prepay for: “The Meal Deal” September-June: 20 lunches $50.00
(a $10.00 Savings)

Second Choice Vegetarian Menu:
8/30-9/2-Bean Burrito
9/6-9/9-Yogurt & Pretzels
9/12-9/16-Cheese Sticks
9/19-9/23-Toasted Cheese Sandwich
9/26-9/30- Cheese Quesadilla

Students may choose the featured hot lunch, or salad bar, or the Vegetarian option.