Dear SMASHing Families,
SuperSMASH is tomorrow, and THANK YOU to
ALL who make the auction and carnival possible. I am always inspired by the ways everyone gets
involved. There is an extraordinary amount of SMASH parent volunteer hours to make this wonderful event possible!
On another note of inspiration, here is
entry number three from our SMASH alums now at Samohi seeking a $500 scholarship for college. Charlotte Biren
wrote an essay about how she was influenced by her time at SMASH andsubmitted a poem as her creative piece. I
know you will be touched by her poem!
Alternative Educere
(n. of or
relating to behavior that is considered unconventional and is often seen as a
challenge to traditional norms.)
an approach…
every step made with Wonder
Before I understand,
I
CHALLENGE
Before I
challenge,
I PERCEIVE
Praise be fore the education of
Freedom merged
with EMPOWERMENT
And for the student, like myself
who does what
the Latin work “EDUCERE” exhorts!
PULL OUT FROM WITHIN
SMASH was never
the reason I became unique
But…
It was the
reason I looked within to find the
True
individual within myself…
I celebrate the poet in Charlotte and in
each of our current SMASH students-
Jessica
*******************
DATES TO REMEMBER
Sat, May 19 - SUPERSMASH 11:30-5:30
Sat, May 19 - 9-11:30 - The Whole Child
Initiative - Lincoln MS Cafeteria
Mon, May 21 - 9:00am - SMASH School Tour
Wed, May 23 - 5-6pm - Site Council Mtg
Fri, May 25 - Deadline to turn in “Are you
returning to SMASH?” form
Mon, May 28 - Memorial Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Wed, May 30 - 8:30am - PTSA Mtg
Thurs, May 31 - Final day for SMASH
applications for grades 1-8
Thurs, May31 - 6:00-9:00pm - Spring Music
Concert
Fri, June 15 - 3:30-6:00pm - Marine Park:
Celebration for Laura & Jackie
*******************
SuperSMASH
’12
Tomorrow … Saturday, May
19 … 11:30 to 5:30
FEATURING
The SMASHing Middle
School Strings
Lydia Night
Core 5 Rock Band
The SMASHing String
Quartet
Kanoa Ichiyanagi, Ari Bone,
Sam Grossman and Liam Hayden
The Friday Night Players
SMASH ‘s one and only Jazz
Band
ALSO FEATURING
SuperSMASH Staff Raffle
Drawings
SuperSMASH LIVE AUCTION
3:00
The ever-popular Core Art
Projects will be going … going … gone!
Silent Auction
Auction opens at 11:30, and
closes in sections at 3:30, 3:45 and 4:00
Great Food
SMASHing chili (vegetarian
and not) … SMASHing Dave’s Famous Ribs
Wildflour Pizza … Pastries
… Coconuts … Shaved Ice
Great Fun
Water Slide, Goldfish Toss,
Wheel of Fortune, Plinko,
Paint My Ride, Bean Bag
Toss, Do-It-Yourself Tie-Dye, Splash Attack,
Candy Necklaces, Face and
Hair Dos, Yo-Yo Balloons, Spin Art
New Attractions
Tall Climbing Wall
Take Flight with a Kite
Make & Take Pottery
A Day at the Races
Back by Popular Demand
SMASH my Ride
*******************
A BIG HUGE THANK YOU!
To every single one of you who helped get us ready for SuperSMASH.
Thank you for …
getting donations,
logging and labeling them,
taking our auction online, stapling bid-sheets,
designing postcards and posters and distributing them,
buying food, donating to and creating Core Art Projects, placing
ads,
managing our staff raffle, bringing in canopies and coolers and
hoses,
buying prizes, organizing rides and games and activities, creating
a menu,
promising to cook, corralling volunteers, putting together the
live auction,
designing decorations, getting refreshments, handing out flyers,
getting us a car to paint and one to smash,
this, that and the other …
the list is endless.
And then there are those who have volunteered
to set up or run a booth or be cashier or help clean up tomorrow.
Thanks for promising to be there! We’re counting on you!
Come to school at least five minutes before you are scheduled to
work.
Can’t remember where you are supposed to be?
Come check the Volunteer Roster at the Main Entrance Ticket
Station,
and we’ll direct you.
And then …
HAVE FUN OUT THERE!
SuperSMASH…tomorrow…11:30 to 5:30…be there!
******************
Are
You on Facebook?
Well the SMASH Community is too! To
receive reminders about school-related events and chat with other SMASH parents and Community Members about
educational topics and news, join the "SMASH Family and Friends Facebook Group" today. The Facebook group is
mostly for current SMASH parents - but any SMASH family members, parent, alumni,
SMASH friends and SMASH supporters are welcome to join as well.
Remaining 2012 SMASH Bashes
There are still a few spots remaining for
the final 4 fun family SMASH Bashes of the 2012 school year. Sign up quickly - as space is (very limited)!
· SMASH
Music Bash - June 2, 2012
(5-7pm) $50/Family or $20/Person
(Hosted by Hayden, Fresco & Bone
Families)
· Backyard
Movie & S'More Cookout -
June 9, 2012 (6:30pm - ?) $30/Family or $10/Person
(HOSTED BY: Dempsey Family)
· Summer
Volleyball Beach Bash -
$30/Family or $10/Person
(Hosted by the Trevelin, Lovett and Brady
Families)
Further details - and sign-up sheets - are
available in the office. If you cannot make it to the office but wish to
reserve a spot in one of these events, please email Marni Ayers Brady ASAP for
a paypal link. Payment MUST BE RECEIVED TO RESERVE any SMASH Bash spots. REMINDER:
SMASH Bash events are hosted by SMASH families. All proceeds collected to attend SMASH Bash events go
directly to SMASH to pay for crucial student programs and supplies
Marni Ayers Brady, SMASH Bash Chair
*******************
Congratulations
to Audrey Burgomaster!
She is a grand prize winner in the 4th
Annual Sustainable Santa Monica Student Art Contest Celebration at the Santa Monica Festival. The winners will be
announced on Saturday, May 19 at 2:30 on the Ocean Stage at Clover Park
*******************
LAST
DAY FOR CAFETERIA LUNCH PAYMENTS BY CHECK IS FRIDAY, MAY 25
Food and
Nutrition Services will transfer meal credits or account cash between family
members only.
All
positive/negative cash & meal credit balances from the 2011-12 will
rollover to the 2012-13 school year.
ALL
NEGATIVE BALANCES MUST BE PAID BY FRIDAY, JUNE 15.
All
Negative and positive cash balances as well as meal credits will roll over to
the new school year.
*******************
WHAT IS
YOUR TEENAGER DOING THIS SUMMER?!?!
The Santa Monica-Malibu Education
Foundation is offering a Ceramics
class through it’s ED AHEAD program.This is a UCOP approved course,
students will receive 10 visual arts college prep credits with a passing grade.
Art-making instills in us patience and
creative thinking. Art education, specifically Ceramics, engages students in cognitive
learning, psychomotor learning, and affective learning. Your student will learn
and experiment with multiple techniques and concepts while gaining an
understanding of a complicated process.
Many students start the course claiming
that they aren’t artistic, however, these same students leave the course with
an interest or even passion for Ceramics and
three-dimensional design. Ceramics is an excellent class for a student who has
career interests in architecture, engineering, design, culinary arts or medicine.
A limited number of scholarships are
available for SMMUSD students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.
June 25 – July 31, Monday- Friday, 8:00 am
– 12:35 pm– Friday For information go to smmef.org
*******************
NOTE
FROM OUR LIBRAIAN, CLAIRE
The last
week for students to check out library books will be the week of May 21.
The last
week for classes to visit the library will be the week of May 28.
All books
must be returned to the library by Friday, June 1.
Lost books
must be paid for or replaced with a similar book.
*******************
ptsa
news
president’s message
Dear SMASHing Parents,
We need all hands on deck for SuperSMASH,
tomorrow. If you have not signed-up, please do it immediately. SuperSMASH
cannot function without the participation of our whole community pitching
in with at least two hours of work at one of the booths, activities, or helping
with set-up, clean-up and auctions or other areas that needs volunteers to
successfully run SuperSMASH.
Every
parent at SMASH, Moms and Dads, should sign-up for a two hour shift.
Please remember that SuperSMASH is
our biggest fundraising event of the year. The money raised from this event is
very important to sustain the programs, staff and other things, that we are fortunate
to enjoy at SMASH. Even though there will be changes to the fundraising by
SMASH PTSA, nothing will change for this or the 2012-2013 school year. Our
SMASH community must still keep up our effort and volunteer spirit to make sure
that our SMASH kids have a great education.
Dan McGee
SMASH green tip
BYOR: Wonder what you'll do with all those disposable plastic
utensils you feel too guilty to throw away? Try Bringing Your Own
Reusable utensils, napkins, cups, and/or plates when you know you'll be
dining somewhere that uses disposables. Some great examples are picnics, casual
parties, large events, and casual restaurants. Every effort counts!
*******************
SMASH
Site Council Agenda
Wednesday,
May 23, 2012
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
New Business
Introduce new
member
Review student
lunch survey results
Community participation (is applicable)
Adjourn
*******************
SMASH MUSIC BASH
Saturday, June 2 - 5:00pm to . . . . .
Same deal, new locale
730 Kensington Road, SM 90405
$20 per person, or $50 per family
Bring an instrument
RSVP: 310-399-5036 or freddycan@freddycan.net
Hosted by the families of Liam Hayden, Eli Fresco, and Ari Bone
*******************
The UCLA Family Commons
"Yes" is Now Spelled
"M.M.A."
Are you concerned about your child being
bullied in school next year? Do you want your child to be active this summer?
Are you looking for a way to increase your child's
attentiveness? YES is now spelled M.M.A. The UCLA Family Commons' Mixed Martial Arts program promotes strength,
discipline, character, and healthy activity in children. Find out why so many
parents trust Sensei Tom's unique training approach. Register for a martial arts class
today!A Few Things for Mom...
Mother's Week was a huge success and the
feedback has been great! Good news - the celebration isn’t over. We’re offering
a special 10% discount for all new registrations!
Interested in joining Mommy & Me class? Ready to enroll your child in
Summer Camp? Considering Family Coaching? Mention the "Mother’s Week
Discount" and enroll by May 31st to receive 10% off. View Mother's Week photos and
"Like" us on Facebook!
Words With Friends
C.S. Lewis once said, “Friendship is born
at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was
the only one” Give your child a summer camp
experience to enjoy with friends new and old. Register and Refer a Friend for
$100 off Camp Enrollment this week only! Spaces are
limited, so coordinate your calendars today and secure registration for your
child and their friend! View our camp calendar for available
sessions and register today!
Coaching Tip: Simplify & Plan by Rebecca E. Eberlin, Ph.D.
As the school year comes to an end and
summer begins knocking on our doors, we hear more and more parents reporting
that they are overwhelmed, stressed and
disorganized. It can be extremely difficult to keep track of not only what you
have on your plate, but also your children’s and even your
partner’s. At the Commons, we continually remind families to evaluate ways in
which they can simplify their lives while increasing
their well-being. An excellent tool to minimize disorganization and increase a
sense of control is a task list. When we take note
of what has to be accomplished it is not only easier to plan, but we are also
more accountable to get it done. Another suggestion is to
try developing an online family calendar. There are many platforms that can
assistyou in developing this easy to use tool
(i.e. Google Calendar) that each individual family member can access and edit
when necessary.
Learn more about Dr. Eberlin's Coaching
Programs for families.
1221 2nd St, Santa
Monica 90401 310-395-5650
www.uclacommons.com
*******************
CORE
1 NEWS
Thank you to the
wonderful chaperones who are making our trips so smooth and fun!!
Don’t forget your trip slips and $12 donation for our trips
next week…
Monday, May 21 – Mentors to the Ocean View Gardens
9:00-1:30
Tuesday, May 22 – Partners to the Ocean View Gardens
9:00-1:30
Thursday, May 24 – All of Core 1 to the Morgan-Wixson
Theater to see “How to Be a Pirate” 10:00-1:30
Chaperones are still needed. All children will need a
snack, lunch, and walking shoes for all trips!
MAY BIRTHDAY BASH –
Friday, May 25 11:45-12:15
Families are invited to celebrate your child’s birthday
with the entire Core 1 community! Expect an invitation next week, indicating
the snack your child would like to share at the Bash. Please bring the snack on
the morning of our celebration, and we will prepare it during projects.
PROJECTS NIGHT –
Wednesday, May 30th 6:00-7:00
Core 1 families are encouraged to visit our classrooms in
the evening to learn more about our year-long project studies. Interact with the children to learn about our inquiries and
celebrate our discoveries.
CORE 1 BBQ –
June 1st 11:00-1:00 – One of our favorite traditions!
Please join us in celebrating the end of the year at Core 1’s Pot-Luck Barbeque. Every family will receive a
food/drink/supply request in next week’s Friday Letter. We will need grills and coolers! If you can bring your
grill or cooler, please let us know. We’re also looking for cooks!
Please note that in the past, we’ve been able to
accommodate siblings from other cores. Unfortunately, since Core 1 has
expanded, we will not be able to invite older siblings to join us. They will be
participating in other end-of-the year celebrations with the peers. It will
help if you talk about this as a family ahead of time, so that there isn’t any confusion
during our celebrating!!
LIBRARY BOOKS – A message from Clair, our SMASHing
Librarian
The last week for students to check out library books will
be the week of May 21. The last week for classes to visit the
library will be the week of May 28. All books must be returned
to the library by Friday, June 1. Lost books must be paid for or replaced with a similar book. Thanks
for your help with this!
See you at SUPER SMASH!!
Candis, Chrysta, Graciela, Jackie, and Nadja
Candis: cberens@smmusd.org
Chrysta: cwyse@smmusd.org
Graciela: gbarba-castro@smmusd.org
*******************
CORE
2 NEWS
Advisory News: Thank
you to all the families for being such amazing, attentive, engaged participants
in the student-led conferences. We hope you saw and heard evidence of your
child’s learning that you could never glimpse in a narrative report card. The
narrative reports on reading, writing, and math will be sent home at the end of
the year. The end is definitely in sight—and we can all feel it. There are 19
school days remaining, and our goal is to make them enriching, celebratory, and
fun. The enriching part will come from the interesting learning activities we
have planned (read on). The celebratory part will (hopefully) come from
you—we’d love to have parents come in to cook, play music, share stories, and
celebrate the end of the year with us. Please contact Tamara or Laura with a
few dates if you would like to help us celebrate. The fun part is just an
integral part of SMASH, right?!
Theme: The students
have started their final independent research projects, Native
American/California Indians, with Tamara. The emphasis of this work will again
be on gathering, learning, and note-taking from nonfiction resources (the
process). Laura will continue helping the students explore the moon—the
atmosphere (oxygen, gravity), the phases (eclipses, the positions of the earth
and sun), and tides (the relationship between high/low tide and the moon) as
they work on their Lunar Landers. Jayme will be leading the hands-on
inquiry-learning projects group on flight.
Literacy:
In Readers Workshop, we are wrapping up our Fantasy
unit. The kids have gotten previews of a variety of Fantasy and Science-fiction
books, and it is exciting to see them reading old classics and new books in the
genre. We highly recommend many of the fantastic movies that have been made of
favorite fantasy books (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Tuck
Everlasting, The Series of Unfortunate Events, the Borrowers, Matilda, James
& the Giant Peach, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Bridge to
Terrabithia, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pippi Longstocking, and the Harry Potter
series, natch!). We’ll be ending the year with Historical Fiction book clubs.
In Writing Workshop, The students will be revising,
editing, illustrating, and publishing their Fantasy WW stories next week. Up
next we will be studying and writing Historical Fiction poetry, diaries, and
letters. They will also continue non-narrative writing (outline, thesis idea,
and supporting sentences) to write essays about themselves, things they’ve
learned, and in response to literature.
Math: Laura’s 3rd graders are creating Balobby Land!. They will be reviewing
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to get ready for next year.
Tamara’s 4th Graders are wrapping up their fractions unit. Next week they
will explore the relationship between fractions, decimals, and percentages.
They have also been doing additionand subtraction of large numbers without using
the US algorithm (stacking, borrowing, carrying). They don’t need to practice stacking, the do need to practice
understanding numbers, pulling them apart, and using a number line to see the
solution clearly. We’ll be ending the year with a review of multiplication and
division.
District Music: The
3rd graders went to a music concert and listened to the 5th graders play music
and get an introduction to the instruments. You and your current
3rd graders need to complete, sign and return the blue form before 6-8-12. The
4th graders also need to let their musical wishes be known. You and your
current 4th graders need to complete, sign and return the yellow
form before 6-8-12.
Media Center: It’s
time to gather and return all media center books. Please help your child be
responsible for their books. Lost books will need to be replaced or paid for.
Have a SuperSMASHing
Weekend!!!
Tamara, Laura, Jayme &
Karin
Laura: lsherman@smmusd.org Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org
*******************
CORE
3 NEWS
I want to apologize to all the families
who were planning on coming to the incoming Core 4 meeting that was on the Core 3 Google Calendar for Thursday
evening. I promise I will keep it updated! Genie
It's not too late to volunteer for
SuperSMASH! We need everyone to help out!
Please mark your calendars for a parent
wine and cheese evening with Kurt and the Santa Monica Aquarium Staff, 6:30-8:00 on Tuesday, June 12 at the Santa
Monica Aquarium (beneath the SM Pier on the Boardwalk). Kurt will be sharing
with incoming 6th and 7th grade parents about the Core 4 science curriculum and
the 6th and 7th grades QuickScience Afterschool Program. Please rsvp
to Genie and Kurt if you can attend. ghwang@smmusd.org and kholland@smmusd.org
6th gr Math w/ Carrie: This week we focused on multiplying decimals.
We will launch into dividing decimals next week.
6th gr Math w/ Erin: We are continuing our second geometry unit
and continuing to focus on finding the area and perimeter of circles and
triangles.
5th gr Math w/ Genie: Story problems can be challenging because
you have to think through first what math you even need to do and then you have
to solve the problem! It is real life math. Please find real life math problems
you are trying to solve and involve your child in solving them with you.
Multi-step ones are great!
Science w/ Carrie: Our final unit on Energy will culminate in
a debate on Thursday, May 31. The children will find out on May 24 whether they will be arguing
"Pro" or "Con" for their energy source. Until then, we are
all focusing on learning as much as we can about our
topics to be prepared for all sides of the argument.
SS w/ Erin: Students are busy working on their Ancient
Egypt projects of choice. Please ask your child what they are writing about/building. Some students have
big plans but have yet to bring in any materials. Posterboard, glue, and markers
are being provided, but beyond that students should bring their own supplies.
We are looking forward to seeing and learning from these presentations the
second to last week of school.
RW/WW w/ Genie: We are half way through our Read Aloud, Lord
of the Flies, and the protagonist Ralph has just realized that the rest of the boys don't
have to follow the rules the group set up at the beginning. They have a choice to follow the rules or not. At the
beginning, they all were diligent to follow the rules the group set up, but
things have changed. Ralph also realized he really
misses the maturity and direction of grown-ups and is nostalgic for parental order.
Ask your child, would they want to have an experience without adult
supervision? For how long? In writing, the Independent Writing Projects are
moving along and your writer should be drafting so the week of the 28th they
will be able to revise/edit and publish the week of the 4th to be ready for the
publishing celebration on Tuesday June 12.
Homework:
6G Math: Multiplication of decimals sheet.
5G Math: Packet #31 due Friday, 5/25.
Reading: read every day for 30-40 minutes!
Is your child really reading every day for 30 minutes? Please find time for your child if they are not. Reading is the
key to all other learning and the practice in any book that is just right for them
makes the difference.
Dear Incoming 7th and 8th Grade Families,
I apologize for the late email
clarification and any confusion about a parent meeting on Wednesday, May 16.
Again, I appreciate your commitment to
being part of our parent evenings and am sorry for any scheduling inconveniences
caused for you this week. - Jessica
Genie:ghwang@smmusd.org
Carrie: cferguson@smmusd.org
Erin: ehaendel@smmusd.org
THE
WHOLE CHILD INITIATIVE
COME,
LISTEN, AND TALK WITH YOUR SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AND COUNSELORS AT A LIVELY
FORUM
ABOUT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
Principals:
Jessica Rishe, Dr. Mark Kelly, Eva Mayoral, Suzanne Webb
Counselors:
Laura Check, Liz Cowgill, Katie Dehope, Stacy LaDuke, Aimee Stauffer
Saturday,
May 19 - 9:00am-11:30am Lincoln Middle School Cafeteria (1501 California Ave)
Why your
middle school child is supposed to make you crazy.
What’s the one thing you
would change about our middle school?
Safe,
Healthy, Engaged, Supported, Challenged
******************
CORE
4 NEWS
Both the 7th graders and 8th graders are
completing a project led by Bailey called The Geography of Hope. In this project,
everyone chose a country to research. We wrote a two page fact sheet, a poem
about our country, a thematic map, and we presented an oral report on our
country’s government. The two page fact sheet focused on general information about
the country. The poem is a 25 to 30 lined poem about our country. The Thematic
map was a hand drawn map and the type of map was our choice. Examples include a
political map, physical map, and etc. Finally, the oral report is a report
about your country's government that we presented to our grade level. The 7th
graders will continue with this project as the 8th graders focus on their exit
project. The 7th graders will form issue groups and pick a topic of their choice.
The issue could be one of the following: Education access and equality, peace
keeping and terrorism, nuclear proliferation, fresh water access, climate
change, and many others. The assignments will include researching the issue,
creating a digital presentation about their issue, drafting a resolution
proposal in a persuasive essay format, bringing in artifacts pertinent to the
issue, creating map and graphs to support their issue, and presenting the
resolution to the class. All these assignments will be set up in booths on May
25th for our culminating event called the “Global Summit.” We are also planning
to celebrate our work by having a “Foods of the World Lunch.” We would like the
student (with the parents’ help) to sign up with Bailey to bring a dish from
the country they have chosen to research for this project. We invite all
parents to join us to view the booths at 11:00 and continue to join us for the
feast at noon.
Schedule for
the Global Summit:
9:15 -
7th graders set up booths
10:30-11:45 -
7th graders at booths; 8th graders visit, vote as an "ambassador" on resolutions,
and
evaluate booths (we will still have our break at 10:15)
-
8th graders make written evaluations of booths
11:45 - Core 3 visits
12:00 - FOODs of the
world Lunch on Core 4 Patio.
1:10- 1:30 - Announce
resolutions voting results!
8th Grade Exit Projects,
The 8th graders are making 8th grade
presentation on their smashing experience or how SMASH help with our growth academically and socially. This will be
presented on the week of May 21st. We will have 20 minutes to present, which includes an activity. We have been getting
ready for this for this all year and we have put in a lot of effort into this
project. We are being evaluated in our public
speaking skills, our presentation organization skills, and the language of evaluation.
We are excited and ready to celebrate our accomplishments.
Written by
Diego and Laird
Dear Incoming 7th and 8th Grade Families,
I apologize for the late email
clarification and any confusion about a parent meeting on Wednesday, May 16.
Again, I appreciate your commitment to
being part of our parent evenings and am sorry for any scheduling
inconveniences caused for you this week. - Jessica
Kurt: kholland@smmusd.org
Darwin: dmendinueto@smmusd.org
Bailey: baileyfield@mac.com
THE
WHOLE CHILD INITIATIVE
COME,
LISTEN, AND TALK WITH YOUR SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AND COUNSELORS AT A LIVELY
FORUM
ABOUT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
Principals:
Jessica Rishe, Dr. Mark Kelly, Eva Mayoral, Suzanne Webb
Counselors:
Laura Check, Liz Cowgill, Katie Dehope, Stacy LaDuke, Aimee Stauffer
Saturday,
May 19 - 9:00am-11:30am - Lincoln Middle School Cafeteria (1501 California Ave)
Why your
middle school child is supposed to make you crazy.
What’s the
one thing you would change about our middle school?
Safe,
Healthy, Engaged, Supported, Challenged
******************
