Smash Friday Letter

Come to the
SMASH Family Dance
NEXT Friday, February 10
6-8 PM
WE’LL HAVE MARDI GRAS FUN!

LIVE MUSIC by The CRAWFISH WRANGLERS
SNACKS! * CRAFTS! * RAFFLES!

Bring $5 for admission and extra $$ for the raffle and mask making!!

FAMILIES: PLEASE BRING THE FOLLOWING SNACKS

Core 1: Cheese and Cracker Platters, Chips, Pretzels, other salty snacks and carbs
Core 2: Cut up Fruit and Vegetables. Dips and Salsas
Core 3: Desserts - easy, single serving desserts - cookies, brownie bites, chocolates, etc.
Core 4: Desserts - easy, single serving desserts - cookies, brownie bites, chocolates, etc.

Laissez les bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)

Sponsored by the SMASH Student Council Krewe
************************
DATES TO REMEMBER
Wed, Feb 8 - 6:00pm - PTSA Meeting

Fri, Feb 10 - 6:00-8:00pm - SMASH Family Dance

Sat, Feb 11 - 7:30pm - A Night of Love Songs & Poetry to benefit the SMASH Middle School Music Program

Mon, Feb 13 - 9:00-10:30am - SMASH School Tour

Fri, Feb 17 - 8:30-9:30am - Parent Ed - Creating Upstanders: Anti-bullying efforts at SMASH/John Muir

Mon, Feb 27 - 9:00-10:30am - SMASH School Tour

SAVE THE DATE!
Fri, Mar 9 - SMASH Jog-a-Thon. Sign up now to volunteer

Tue, Mar 13 - 6:00pm - SMASH Talent Show

Fri, Mar 16 - 9:15am - Astrocamp assembly

Fri, Mar 30 - Last day to apply for SMASH for September (ALL siblings MUST have their applications in)

Sat, May 19 - SuperSMASH. Sign up now to volunteer.
*********************
SANTA MONICA HIGH SCHOOL’S CAFÉ SAMO
Friday, February 3 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, February 4 at 3:30pm and 7:30pm
Humanities Center Theater, 2nd floor, English Building
$10 at the door. Food, desserts and drinks are for sale before shows and during intermission
Café Samo is a cabaret style show produced annually by the Samohi Choir Program, featuring dozens of talented student performers who create and produce their own musical acts.
For information: www.samohichoir.org or 310-395-3204
*********************
A night of
LOVE
SONGS & POETRY
special guest artists share passions in a pre-valentine’s day
Benefit for the SMASH Middle School Music Program
Saturday, February 11 at 7:30
1939 Westridge Terrace, Los Angeles, 90049
$15
rsvp liamjack1@mac.com
Or 310-471-4718
desserts and something bubbly
*********************
Sign up - Stay informed.
A new service from the city of Santa Monica
Visit SMAlerts.net
In the event of an emergency, get important text, email or voice messages sent to your mobile phone, your work email, your home or anywhere you need to receive important safety messages. It’s easy and free. For more information, visit SMAlerts.net or call the Office of Emergency Management at 310-458-2263
*********************
WHAT IS GOING TO BE ON THIS YEAR’S JOG-A-THON T-SHIRT?
Lola Libby-Bleser’s Popsicle Design
Lilly Chertock’s “It’s all about the Popcicle” slogan
*********************
The SMASH Jog-a-thon t-shirt needs you!
Deadline Extended: Tues, February 7
T-shirt sponsors make it possible for all students and teachers to take home a Jog-a-thon t-shirt. Sponsorship is tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. Sponsor names adorn the back of the t-shirt. As a token of appreciateon for their generous support, t-shirt sponsors receive a complimentary t-shirt.

Fill out the form below and drop off in the office by the deadline above.
Make your check payable to SMASH PTSA.

Become a Corporate Sponsor
(donations of $150, $200 or $250)
or
Become a SMASHing Sponsor
(donations of $25, $50 or $100)


Questions?

Contact Lillie Schlessinger (213) 742-3394 – lillie.schlessinger@transamerica.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sponsorship: Corporate ___$250 ___$200 ___$150

SMASHing ___$100 ___$50 ___$25

Name (as you would like it to appear on the t-shirt):_______________________________

Child’s name (so we know who you are!):_______________________________________

Size preference for complimentary t-shirt: ___XXL ___XL ___L ___M ___S
(All sizes are adult sizes since all students will already receive a complimentary t-shirt. If you specifically want your complimentary tshirt to be a child’s size, please note this.)
*********************
SMASH Site Council Minutes
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 5:00 PM Core 2
In Attendance: Laura Sherman, Jessica Rishe, Aurora Delaney, Nathan Goldenberg, Toby Romero, Malaika Boyer, Jackie Boyd, Candis Berens
Absent: Chrysta Wyse, Elizabeth Kramer, Nina Fresco, Shaquil Johnson, Izzy Strick, Mimi Lichterman, Graciela Barba-Castro
Moved by Aurora. Seconded by Toby. Agenda Adopted.
Moved by Nathan. Seconded by Toby. Minutes approved from last meeting with correction that Candis Berens was in attendance, NOT absent.
Community participation: What was the total ice skating fundraising amount? Approximately $300. Student concern about John Muir PE using the basketball court during SMASH lunch. This happens on Wednesdays only.
Reports and Announcements (regular agenda items)
Principal’s Report: SMASH was positively recognized at the State of Our Schools address for our work in mathematics instruction.
Student Reports: Core 3: Moving out of our unit on Apartheid. We have a field trip Tuesday to see Romeo & Juliet. Elective group visiting LACMA tomorrow. 5th graders are going to Astrocamp. Started Journalism unit of study. Running a newspaper or tv talk show. We will be visiting the Santa Monica Daily Press. Core 2 had the Camp Josepho sharing today. Core 1 and 2 visited the Aquarium this week.
Community Organization Reports (to include but not limited to the following):
PTSA: Multicultural potluck was delicious and fun. SuperSMASH carnival and auction planning is underway. Arts & Letters Sale will take place in 2012-2013.
Student Council: There is a Family Dance Assembly this Friday and the theme for the February 10 dance is Carnival, Mardi Gras.
Old Business: Dan McGee will be on the Superintendent Advisory Group elementary subcommittee, Jessica Rishe will be on the middle school subcommittee.
New Business: 92 respondents from SMASH to SMMUSD Homework Survey included comments. Site Council representatives reviewed comments and created a Friday Letter entry using comments notable to them. Nathan wants to know what percentage of students complete 100% of the homework.
Community participation: None
Moved by Nathan. Seconded by Candis. Meeting Adjourned.
Next meeting is Wed, March 7.
*********************
CORE 1 NEWS
Optional100th Day of School Homework
1. List things you and your family could easily collect in quantities of 100.
2. Choose something from your list and gather 100 of that item. It may be a collection that you already have or a new collection. Please be sure that it is not too valuable (i.e., if one of the pieces of the collection gets lost, it will not be a huge disappointment).
3. Bring your collection to school on Monday, February 6 which is our 100th day of school! We count the objects in the collection during our 100 Day Celebration.

Appreciation
Thank you to the wonderful volunteers that joined us on our field trips on Monday and Tuesday. We had afantastic day of learning and fun on our field trips to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. For some childrenthe highlight of the trip was riding the Big Blue Bus, for others it was digging for creatures in the sand, butfor most it was seeing and touching sea animals inside the aquarium. The children participated in a lesson onocean habitats and animal adaptations for surviving in their homes. You kept children safe and engaged. We appreciate that you took the time to spend a day with us!

Celebrating Friendship
Core 1 traditionally showers their friends with valentines in a celebratory Magic Circle on February 14. If you wish, your child may bring 25 Valentines for all of the children in his/her circle group on the 14th.
Please don’t address the cards to specific children. You’re encouraged to write From: _______ or Love, ________, but please DO NOT write To: _________. This can get extremely confusing at our celebration. Remember: No sweets please! Your children’s love and kindness are sweet enough!

Birthday Bash
We will be honor children with their birthday in February at our next Birthday Bash on February 17 at 11:45 AM in the Magic Garden. If your child has a birthday in February, s/he will be taking home a note regarding birthday bash snacks.

Wishlist
Band-aids
Tissues
Hand Sanitizer

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!
Candis, Chrysta, Graciela, Nadja, and Jackie

Candis: cberens@smmusd.org
Chrysta: cwyse@smmusd.org
Graciela: gbarba-castro@smmusd.org

SMASH FAMILY DANCE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 - 6:00-8:00PM
CORE 1 FAMILIES - Cheese and Cracker Platters, Chips, Pretzels, other salty snacks and carbs

*********************
CORE 2 NEWS

The Friday Letter is Core 2’s main form of communication, and we want to keep that home/school connection going strong. We put a lot of time and thought into the articles, student quotes, calendars, and curricular updates we prepare for the Friday Letter each week. We also enclose math information, articles, field trip slips, and other important papers in your child’s Friday folder. We have noticed that families aren’t getting all of these papers—since students frequently ask for additional copies that have been lost, recycled or thrown away. Please make time to go through your child’s Friday Folder and read the Friday Letter/Core 2 page together each week as your child develops his/her independence and responsibility in this area. (Note: we admire your efforts to help SMASH be more green, so thank you for reading your Friday Papers via email or the SMASH website. If you would prefer to read a hard copy of the Friday Letter, please let us know and we promise not to hold it against you ;-)

Our field trip to the Star Ecostation has been rescheduled for Monday, 2/13 (As you no doubt heard, the bus was stuck behind an accident on PCH). And, yes, you will need to sign another trip slip (see next week’s Friday papers). Thanks for supporting all of our opportunities to get out into the real world. Ask your child about our recent adventures at the aquarium and UCLA’s Royce Hall. Speaking of amazing trips…

Thank you to those of you who were able to join us for our Camp Josepho sharing. If you couldn’t make it, have no fear—Oisin’s mom, Kathleen, is making an extended version of the slideshow for as a keepsake of the trip (and to raise money towards next year’s Core 2 overnight experience!). If you have any photos of the trip you would like to add, please send them to Kathleen (whitebloom@verizon.net) asap!

The 100th day of school is on Monday, February 6. This year, Core 2 will be holding a low-key celebration during math class. Your child does not need to bring a collection of 100 objects to school.

Valentine’s Day in Core 2 is on Tuesday, February 14 and we could all use a little love and appreciation. Core 2 traditionally delivers “Mail” to their classmates during our Valentine’s Day celebration. Your child may bring in 25 Valentines for all of the children in her/his Advisory group. It is optional to bring in enough Valentine’s for the entire Core (50). If your child would like to address his/her cards to individual students, please make sure he/she has a card for every student in his/her advisory or the entire core. Otherwise, he/she may simply sign the cars From: _________ or Love, ___________. NO candy please! The kids’ love, kindness, and appreciation for each other is sweet enough! If you would like to donate a special treat for the whole advisory (50 kids) to add to our celebration, please let Tamara or Laura know.

We hope you received and read the articles on the importance of reading and writing. There will not be a homework half sheet until ALL the writing homework “pledges” have been signed and returned. This month’s article is about…Math Homework:
Expect Your Child to Work Hard and be Able to Learn Math
Many adults leave school thinking that mathematics doesn't make sense. The way they learned math did not always enable them to efficiently solve problems in ways that made sense to them. When working with your child, keep in mind that children can make sense of mathematics if given the opportunity and support. Encourage your child to stick with a task even if it seems challenging. Be sure to talk through what the problem is asking and discuss some of the strategies that might be used to solve the problem. Help your child learn that there are many ways to solve problems.
"When parents and teachers alike believe that hard work pays off, and when mathematics is taught and learned by using all the strands of proficiency, mathematics performance improves for all students." Kilpatrick, J. & Swafford, J. Helping Children Learn Mathematics. (2002, p. 21).
Please enjoy the rest of this article enclosed in your child’s Friday folder.

Laura: lsherman@smmusd.org
Jayme: j.wold@smmusd.org
Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org

SMASH FAMILY DANCE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 - 6:00-8:00PM
CORE 2 FAMILIES - Please bring Cut up Fruit and Vegetables. Dips and Salsas
*********************
CORE 3 NEWS

Field Trip to Morgan-Wixson Theater a Modern Romeo & Juliet Tuesday, February 7. Chaperone's needed (departing at 10:15 and returning by 2:00). Please contact Genie if able to join us! We could use a few more chaperones!
Field Trip to Santa Monica Daily Press! Orange Advisory-Tues Feb. 14; Blue-Advisory Tues Feb. 21! Trip slips went out today for this last minute planned trip to our local newspaper as we are writing our own news articles and columns in Writing Workshop. Thanks to our very own SMASH family, The Furukawa family, for making this trip available to us. We need chaperones for these trips (departing 11:30 and returning by 3:00).
Please contact Genie if you are interested! We can't go without 1 chaperone for each advisory and would ideally like 2 chaperones with each group.

Valentine's Day and its celebrations are in the month of February!
Traditionally Core 3 does not have students distribute cards to each other. We will honor the day but the kids will not need to bring anything.

AstroCamp is Feb 22, 23, 24. Thank you for turning in your paperwork on time! Please go over the attached paper with your child so you can make sure you have what you need from the packing list and to go over what they will experience while they are away from home.

Dramatic Arts with Kristy: We were busy acting, laughing and improvising the past two weeks! We've learned new improv exercises like "Movers and Shakers", "Slide Show", "The Room Game", and "Interrogation". Ask your child about how to play them and what makes them funny and fun to play. Next time your family wants to play charades, try one of these activities!

Homework:
6G Math: Assignment 12B is due 2/9/12
5G Math: Packet #19 due Fri 2/10.
Writing: Collect 3 entries in their notebook (3 full pages), anything they want, can include ideas for their improv and comedy work with Kristy, newspaper column or article ideas, anything! Ask your child if they completed last week's writing homework?
Reading: read every day for 30-40 minutes! Don't forget to get in some nonfiction reading!

Hi Parents,
Today, Friday, February 3 will be my last official day of work before I begin my maternity leave. The baby is due in two weeks, but from recent doctor's visits, it seems like she might come sooner. I thought it best to get off my feet so I don't have the baby at school! I will continue to be around SMASH a bit next week (if I don't have the baby this weekend). I will be in class on Monday and Wednesday for math to help conclude the UCLA Math Games study and I plan to be at the Family Dance on Friday (again, unless I have a new baby) as well. I hope to see you there! I know that Core 3 will be in great hands with Genie, Carrie, and Amanda while I am gone. Amanda is planning an interesting, hands-on unit on life in Ancient Greece and I know the students are looking forward to delving into a different historic time period. I am excited to return to the classroom after Spring Break and already planning out our studies of Ancient Egypt.
I will send photos along in an email blast when the baby arrives. Thank you for all of your kind words and your great
children!
All the best, Erin
dodgers44@hotmail.com
ehaendel@smmusd.org

SMASH FAMILY DANCE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 - 6:00-8:00PM
CORE 3 FAMILIES - Please bring easy, single serving desserts (cookies, brownie bites, chocolates)
*********************
CORE 4 NEWS
Upcoming Events
February 7, 2012 - Field trip to Morgan-Wixon to watch Romeo and Juliet
February 10, 2012 - Family Dance
February 14, 2012 - Core 4 Dance begins
February 17, 2012 - Field trip to the Broad Theater
February 23, 2012 - Field trip to the Skirball Center

8th grade
This week in science, we started our teenage brain project and we dissected sheep brains.
We started chapter 7 (Exponents and Polynomials) in Algebra.

7th grade
We finished Our Yosemite projects last Friday! This week we will start our new science projects on a place or animal.
We took a spirit walk, to think of something we are interested in, so remember to have something in mind.

Language Arts/Humanities
Next week, students are will switch Language Arts/Humanities groups

QuickScience
Team Steelhead
In two weeks our QuickScience projects are due! Wish us luck! In case you didn't know our project is about Steelhead trout. More specifically Steelhead in the Malibu creek. These trout are being affected by a various number of things, such as pollution in the water, that includes High oxygen levels, Chemicals, oil, and sewage. On top of that there is a dam blocking their passage to spawn. Their population is continuing to drop with numbers that have gone down from 42,000 to 50 in the last 6 years.
Help us save the steel head trout by:
1. Liking us on facebook- Damn That Dam
2. Visit our website - www.damnthatdam.com
3. Follow us on twitter at - @ohdamthatdam
4. Visit our blog - damnthatdam.blogspot.com
5. Read the Santa Monica Daily press and look out for our article!
6. Email us with any questions regarding our project- troutymouth.qs@gmail.com
Thank you so much!
The Steelhead Team- Fiona, Naomi, Devin, Maya, Emma, Mackenzie, and Kayla

Team Mercury
Our projects are due on feb 13th. Our project is about the poisonous metal mercury. Mercury is mostly in fish and can damage their brain cells. Mercury poisoning can also result from being exposed to water soluble forms of mercury (such as mercuric chloride or methyl mercury), breathing mercury vapor, or eating seafood with tainted mercury. Mercury in a lake or a river, is converted to methyl mercury by bacteria and other processes. Fish absorb methyl mercury
from their food and from the water that passes over their gills. Mercury is tightly bound to proteins in all fish tissue, including muscle. There is no method of cooking or cleaning fish that will reduce the amount of mercury in a meal. Nationwide, mercury is represented in more fish consumption advisories than any other chemical.

QuikSCience: http://www.usc.edu/org/quikscience/
Our blog: http://teammercuryqs.blogspot.com/
Follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/teammercuryqs
For questions email: teammercuryqs@gmail.com

Written by William and Devin

SMASH FAMILY DANCE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 - 6:00-8:00PM
CORE 4 FAMILIES - Please bring easy, single serving desserts (cookies, brownie bites, chocolates)
***************