Smash Friday Letter

SMASHing FRIDAY LETTER
www.smash.smmusd.org

Dear SMASHing Families,
I hope everyone had a rejuvenating Spring Break full of fun family moments. I return from my trip to Shanghai mindful of how exciting similar intercultural exchanges would be for our middle school students if possible in the future. I was overwhelmed by the warm welcoming from Principals Tony and David who shared 1) their wonderful families (who taught me to make dumplings, play Mah Johng, and understand the traditional tea ceremony), 2) their language (I can now say hello, thank you, my own name in Chinese, count to 10, and say eggplant which is what they say when taking a photo), 3) their incredible food, and 4) their welcoming schools. I visited 6 schools altogether (Kindergarten through University). Some school experiences and observations I found compelling include:
• Staffing ratios ~15:1 • Allocation of creative spaces so that there are dedicated spaces for museum-like displays of student work or rooms with art or building or fantasy play or scientific investigation materials
• Preservation of heritage and learning of history via cultural arts such as Chinese folk dance, olive pit carving, silk screening, calligraphy, or music
• Respect for adult and student mind-body well-being through morning meditation practice, eye exercises, family style hot nutritious meals full of vegetables, and electives open to staff and student joint participation
• School days from 8:30-4:30 200 days a year. When we expose ourselves to other settings and experiences, there is always important learning that occurs. I look forward to hearing your reflections whether your family made local or far away discoveries this Break.
 Truly yours, 
Jessica 

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REMINDER! 

We will have STATE TESTING for 2nd-8th graders April 23 through May 2.

 Any parent who does not want their child to take these tests needs to notify us in writing 

BEFORE TESTING BEGINS ON Monday, April 23. 

This opt out letter must include your child’s name, grade and birth date, and specify that you do not want your child to participate in the May 2012 California Star testing. 

Please remember to sign this letter. We cannot take your letter after testing begins.

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DATES TO REMEMBER 

Mon, Apr 23-Wed May 2 - CST Testing - 2nd through 8th Grade 

Tues, Apr 24 - 6:00pm - 8th grade parent meeting with SAMOHI counselors 

Wed, Apr 25 - 6:00pm - PTSA Meeting 

Tue, May 1 - 5:00 pm - Next year’s 5th grade Parent Meeting - Astrocamp information meeting
                     6:00pm -  Next year’s 6th grade Parent Meeting - Catalina information meeting
                     7:00pm - Next year’s 7th grade Parent Meeting - Yosemite information meeting
Wed, May 9 - Fri, May 11 - MINUMUM DAYS 1:30 DISMISSAL- K-6 grade Spring Conferences Mon, May 21 - 9:00am - SMASH School Tour
Wed, May 23 - 5-6pm - Site Council Mtg
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

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Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation FOR THE ARTS BENEFIT CONCERT - 

Saturday, April 21 

VENICE and FRIENDS with special guest, Glen Phillips 

Barnum Hall, Santa Monica High School - 

Tickets $35—$175 on sale NOW at www.smmef.org 

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FREE COMPOST - Saturday, April 21 from 7am to 2pm (while supplies last) 

City Yards at 2500 Michigan Avenue 

Residents may fill 5 large burlap sacks with compost (bags donated by Lamill coffee) 

For information 310-458-2223 or www.smgov.net/r3 

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Waterkeeper Alliance SPLASH Series Event to Benefit Santa Monica Baykeeper 1st Annual Stand-Up For Clean Water PADDLE RACE Saturday, April 21 beginning at 9am Santa Monica Beach, just north of the pier Pre-Registration $35, Onsite $40 For information 310-305-9645 x 114 or go to sup4cleanwater.org Enjoy the Earth Day Festival activities including: yoga on a board, kids education & fun booth, stand-up paddle lessons, interactive booths, raffle prizes, solar powered DJs and more ******************** 

TADASANA YOGA & MUSIC FESTIVAL Earth Day Weekend - 

April 20-22 at Ocean Park Blvd & the beach 

Speakers, Art, Eco-Friendly Marketplace, Evening Concerts Over 60 world class yoga teachers, 

30 bands, 30 speakers, 70 marketplace booths. Tickets available at www.tadasanafestival.com ******************** 

LAST DAY TO ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR A MEAL DEAL IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 17. 

Reminder: Negative balances must be paid in full in order to qualify for the Meal Deal. Meal Deal is 20 cafeteria lunches (not ala carte). Meal Deal credits cannot be used to pay negative balance. 

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 2011-12 will rollover to the 2012-13 school year. 

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CHANGES TO CREST ENRICHMENT CLASS SCHEDULE 

The Musical Theatre “Mary Poppins” has been moved to Mondays 3:00-4:00pm 

(Theatre 31, 4505.160), grades 1-5 Violin has been added to Thursdays: 1:50-2:50pm (SM Conservatory of Music, 4505.171), Kindergarten and 3:00-4:00pm (SM Conservatory of Music, 4505.172), grades 1-5 ******************** 

SMPD IS TAKING BACK UNWANTED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS 

Saturday, April 28 from 10am to 2pm - SMPD at 333 Olympic Drive The SMPD and DEA will give the public the opportunity to dispose of their expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to the front of the Santa Monica PD at 333 Olympic An officer will be available at the curb to make it easier for you to just drive up and drop off your prescription drugs. 

 The service is free, anonymous and no questions will be asked. 

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SMASH families are invited to a free concert— Sunday, April 22 at 4pm. Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, located on 11th and Santa Monica Blvd. All families are free to the concert if they RSVP with me at mckeownk@uci.edu. The complementary tickets are limited, so please respond immediately. Tickets will be picked up at the Will Call window at the Broad Stage. Anyone interested in purchasing tickets, the cost is $10 and that money goes directly to funding our ensemble. The concert is most suited for students who are around 4th grade and up, as the concert is recorded and it's important to not have too much "audience participation". :) Program Includes: Symphonic Metamorphosis (March) - Hindemith; Le Griffon (World Premiere) – Peter Senchuk; Variations on "Jerusalem the Golden" - Ives; Be Glad Then, America - Schuman; Letter from Home - Copland and La Mezquita de Cordoba – Giroux 

 -Kevin McKeown, Music Department 

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BENEFIT CONCERT WITH ROBERT ANDERSON AND FRIENDS 

Sunday, April 29 at 2:00- 3:30pm First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica; 1220 2nd Street 

Los Angeles's leading alternative strings teachers, Robert Anderson and Jacob Szekely, will perform a benefit concert for Elemental Strings. The two are co-founders of String Project LA, southern California's premiere creative strings program that teaches students to play music of all styles, from jazz to hip hop, and everything in between. Anderson and Szekely will be joined by the other members of Uncle Daddy for a musical experience that will surely delight you and expand your ideas of what string playing can be. Advanced Tickets: $20 Adults, $10 Students Tickets and information at www.elementalstrings.com ******************* 

 SANTA MONICA PONY BASEBALL LEAGUE ANNUAL SPRING CARNIVAL 

LOS AMIGOS PARK - SUNDAY, APRIL 22 - 11am to 4pm 

Come enjoy an afternoon of carnival games at Los Amigos Park, a home to baseball in Santa Monica since 1952. How fast is your fastball? Test your arm speed at the Radar Gun Pitching Booth. SMASH! CRASH! MASH! TRASH! Hop into a SM City Trash Truck and pick up and dump a waste cart. How far can you hit it? Find out at the Home Run Derby. Cotton Candy! Snow Cones! An amazing Bake Sale plus more fun games and lots of prizes! Enjoy food from the Los Amigos Snack Bar & Grill. Grab a hot dog, watch some baseball, play a few carnival games, win some fantastic prizes. Game tickets are inexpensive, prizes are terrific, and all proceeds benefit SMPL... helping pay for scholarships, new equipment, umpire fees, etc.

The Santa Monica Pony League is a non-profit organization that was created to provide all players between the ages of4-14 the opportunity to participate in baseball. We want to Protect Our Nation's Youth as they grow into young men and women and leaders of tomorrow.  The Santa Monica Pony Baseball is a community based program for everyone in the family to enjoy. 

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Getty Villa: Family Festival Saturday, April 21 10 am - 5 pm - free admission 

Join in a day celebrating Aphrodite and the Gods of Love. The goddess of passion, beauty and pleasure was one of the most widely worshiped deities of the ancient world. Engaging workshops, enchanting storytelling, and haunting performances of music and dance all re-imagine Aphrodite in the world of 21st century Los Angeles. Free, but tickets required.(310) 440-7300 - Parking $15 per car. 

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SMASH PTSA 

ptsa news president’s message 

Dear SMASHing Parents, 

Welcome back! We hope that everyone had an outstanding Spring Break. Now is the time to charge ahead and finish out this school year with energy and passion. 

If you have not already marked your calendar, please prepare and get ready for SuperSMASH, which will take place early this year on May 19, 2012. Preparations are moving forward to make sure that this year’s SuperSMASH is an outstanding success. Core Art projects are underway and silent auction donations are coming in. Don’t forget that SuperSMASH cannot take place without the participation of every SMASH family. All parents must volunteer for at least two hours or more. Please look out for the Google Doc volunteer sign-up sheet email link, which will be distributed soon. 

 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 and the 2012-2013 school year. Our SMASH community must still keep up our efforts to make sure that our SMASH kids have a great education. 

                                                                                           -Dan McGee

 ptsa annual family investment drive 

The SMASH Annual Family Investment Drive continues throughout the year. From teacher assistant salaries to underwriting the office copy machine to field trips, PTSA literally keeps the school moving. Your generosity is appreciated and makes a difference.. We want 100% parent participation and your donation brings us closer to our goal. If you have any questions, contact Marni Ayers Brady (marniayers@gmail.com). 

 SMASH bash • If you have not been able to enjoy a SMASH bash event, there are still some openings for some of the remaining parties, including the SMASH Poker Party, this Sunday at 6:00 p.m. If you missed last year’s, SMASH Poker Party, this is your chance to participate in a very fun event. Please contact Matia Wagabaza (mwagabaza@yahoo.com) or Matt Lombard (mlombard@lombardlaw.com) and let them know you are planning to attend. To find out what other upcoming events are still available, please contact Marni Ayers Brady (marniayers@gmail.com) at your earliest convenience. 

GREEN TIP FOR THE WEEK 

Make Everyday Earth Day: Celebrate Earth Day by making a commitment to make at least one more green addition to your lifestyle. Some easy changes: turn off your engine instead of idling to save gas, turn off the faucet while brushing teeth, eliminate meat from one meal per week, buy food with less packaging, leave your shoes at the door, Terracycle, recycle, walk more, drive less, only buy what you need. 

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 SMASH Site Council Agenda Wednesday, April 18, 2012 5:00 PM Core 2 

 In attendance: Toby Romero, Nathan Goldenberg, Candis Berens, Laura Sherman, Mimi Lichterman, Jessica Rishe, Jackie Boyd. Absent: Chrysta Wyse, Elizabeth Kramer, Nina Fresco, Graciela Barba-Castro, Aurora Delaney, Malaika Boyer, Izzy Strick, Shaquil Johnson. 

Moved by Mimi, seconded by Candis. Agenda adopted. 

Moved by Nathan, seconded by Toby. Minutes of last meeting approved. 

Community participation: None Reports and Announcements (regular agenda items) 

Principal’s Report: Congratulations scientists! Core 4 QuickScience team won statewide competition based on their science in action project about the watershed impact to Steelhead trout. State testing begins next week. 

Student Reports: Core 3 started teepee for SuperSMASH project. Moving into new segment on poetry. Beginning modern and ancient Egypt unit with Erin. 

 Community Organization Reports (to include but not limited to the following): PTSA: SuperSMASH auction donations needed. Executive Board elections next month. 3 SMASH alums at Samohi submitted scholarship essays. 

 Student Council: Community Group Morning Meeting coming up Friday. 

 Old Business: None 

 New Business Friday Letter invitation for a new parent council representative will be posted so that we can count ballots at our next May meeting. Meetings will be Wednesdays at 3:30 for 2012-13. 

 Draft Play Before Lunch Student Survey Possible questions for the survey: 

1. Which do you prefer? 

Circle One: Eating First                   Playing First                No Preference 

 2. Do you have enough time to eat? Do you have too much time to eat? How much time would you like dedicated for eating? This year eating time has been 15 minutes long. 

 3. Why do you have your above preference? 

 4. This year we only have SMASH students on the yard without overlapping with John Muir students. Are you able to enjoy your time playing? Are you able to get the equipment and yard spaces you need to play? 5. What do you see as the benefit of playing before eating? (Some ideas Site Council representatives discussed include: reduction of trash on the field, enjoying having all friends around you while eating, problem-solving for arguments happens at the benches instead of coming into the classroom for Magic Circle) 

6. What are your concerns, if any, about continuing playing before eating? Community participation (if applicable): SMASH has requested that the SMMUSD Measure BB office work with the city to change Tuesday street sweeping times on 5th Street and to adjust parking restrictions since we are losing the 6 spots on Ocean Park in front of the school. Moved by Mimi, seconded by Candis. Adjourned. Next meeting is Wednesday, May 23, 2012. 

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 BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SMASH SITE ADVISORY COUNCIL

It’s time again to think ahead and select the parents to represent you at the SMASH Council for next year. This group of parent, staff and students meet once a month to: 

A. To establish and oversee the use of the School Improvement (SI) funds as provided in Section 52012 of the California Education Code. 

 B. To oversee and assist in the development of the annual School Improvement Plan (SIP). The SC shall Identify areas of need and goals for improvement as mandated by California Ed Code 52014: “Each plan shall be based on an assessment of school capability to meet the educational needs of each pupil, specify improvement objectives, and indicate steps necessary to achieve those objections including intended outcomes.” 

 C. To maintain periodic analysis of implementation and effectiveness of the SIP. The SC shall analyze and draft an SIP ANALYSIS based on the actual outcomes of the improvement plan on reports from the SMASH community. The SIP ANALYSIS shall be utilized in development of subsequent School Improvement Plans. California Ed Code 52021 states the SC, “...shall have ongoing responsibility to review with the principal, teachers, other school personnel and pupils the implementation of the school improvement program and to assess periodically the effectiveness of such program.” 

 D. To provide a forum for all SMASH constituents to communicate their concerns related to the development of the annual School Improvement Plan including areas of need, goals for improvement, outcomes and effectiveness of School Improvement Plans. 

 E. To communicate the actions and goals of the SC to the entire SMASH community. 

 F. To ensure that the annual School Improvement Plan supports the goals, philosophy and vision of SMASH as established in the school handbook. 

 We will be electing 1 parent to serve a two-year term. Statements of interest must be 50 words or less. Please bring your statement of interest or e-mail to Janice at jwold@smmusd.org by 4pm on Thursday May 3 These statements will be published in the following week’s Friday Letter. 

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 CORE 1 NEWS 

Core 1 EARTH DAY HOMEWORK Please bring in fruit and vegetable “trimming” for our big compost bin by the tree (rather than the worm bin by the window). ****************************************************************************** BRAVO for THREEMENDOUSE SHADOW PLAYS Thank you so much for your support with our Threemendous Shadow Plays. We hope you enjoyed them as much as we did! If you ordered a SILLOUHETTE DRAWINGS created by Kristy Pace, it is going home in today’s Friday Folders. The DRAMA DVD is in production and will go home as soon as possible. Last minute orders for DVDs are being accepted until the end of day, Monday, April 23. All proceeds will go directly to our Spring Arts Budget. ****************************************************************************** TRIP TO THE FARMER’S MARKET Thanks to Kaila’s mom, Devorie, we have field trips planned to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. The Mentor’s trip was a huge success! The children will be touring the market in Workshop groups. Please note your child’s date. Bigs – April 25th , Partners – May 16th Permission slips for Partners and any missing Bigs are in today’s Friday Folder ****************************************************************************** APRIL BIRTHDAY BASH Children have a need to feel a sense of significance, belonging, and fun at school. Birthday bashes are one way we celebrate each child and invite him/her to share a favorite snack with others. If your child will be celebrating his/her birthday this month, you will be receiving a Birthday Bash Invitation Letter, with the food your child would like to share on this day. We will celebrate April birthdays on the 27th at 11:45am. Friends and family are welcome to join us! STATE TESTING Our 2nd graders participating in state testing will begin next week. Because of this we will end our morning meetings a little early. As always, all children need to arrive to school on time, well fed and well rested. ****************************************************************************** SMASH YEARBOOK PAGES Mariam Berlak (Juliette) is in charge of creating our yearbook pages this year. She has requested that all families submit to her their 5 best pictures that represent not just their own child, but the community and energy of Core 1. One email with their five best would be preferable and to send it to me labeled “Core 1 Yearbook Pictures” to mariamberlak@yahoo.com . ****************************************************************************** Wishlist: Empty spray bottles, Method anti-bacterial spray, Paper towel rolls. 

Have a GREAT weekend! 

 Candis, Chrysta, Graciela, Jackie, and Nadja 

Candis: cberens@smmusd.org 

Chrysta: cwyse@smmusd.org 

Graciela: gbarba-castro@smmusd.org 

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 CORE 2 NEWS 

 IMPORTANT PARENT MEETING FOR NEXT YEAR’S 5th GRADERS 

TUESDAY, MAY 1 - 5:00pm ASTROCAMP INFORMATION NIGHT 

 Advisory News: We are all very excited about our new Advisory Groups—everyone got at least one of their choices! The new groups have been busy this week revisiting the Core 2 guidelines and consequences, coming up with the perfect group name, and making their Advisory rooms their own. We know you understand how much time, thought, and care we put into this process—and we appreciate your support. Theme: The students are wrapping up their first independent research project: Animal Projects. Next week, they’ll organize their research information to show what they learned in a variety of ways: an essay, a hybrid-nonfiction book, a speech, a presentation, a fundraiser, a blog, etc. The emphasis of this work was on the gathering, learning, note-taking, and organizing of information (the process). We are putting much less time/energy into the presentation (the product). Up next, the Solar System—our science nonfiction reading unit—with Laura; Flight, Aerodynamics, & Gravity—our hands-on inquiry-learning projects group unit—with Jayme; and Non-Narrative Writing—our independent research unit—with Tamara. 

 Literacy: 

In Readers Workshop, we are beginning a Fantasy unit. Along with their usual Just Right Books, which they may continue to read at home for RW HW, the students will be choosing and reading fantasy books (alone or in small “clubs”) during independent reading at school. They may also choose to read their fantasy books at home for homework. We have LOADS of fantasy books for them to choose from—fantasy is a very popular genre. The kids are very excited about all the new books in our classroom libraries. 

In Writing Workshop, We continue giving the group lots of time for Free-Writing because they love writing comics, historical fiction, diaries and letters, realistic fiction “school drama” stories, and poetry. We have no doubt that they will enjoy writing fantasy stories. They’ll start by incorporating a fantasy element into a realistic fiction story (A fantasy element can be magic powers, an alternate world, a fantastic object, or a mysterious magical person or creature. Sometimes it might all have been a dream—think Wizard of Oz or Where the Wild Things Are. Or was it?). They will continue non-narrative writing in Theme with Tamara. The students will build upon the work they have done with “I think…because…” sentences to create an outline, with a thesis idea and supporting sentences, to write standard 5- paragraph essays about themselves, things they’ve learned, and in response to literature. 

 Math: 

Laura’s 3rd graders just started a fractions unit. They are working with halves/fourths and thirds/sixths by examining the relationships between them and the relative sizes. 

Tamara’s 4th Graders are wrapping up the 2-d geometry unit, Size, Shape, and Symmetry (measurement, polygons, angles, symmetry) by relating our work with arrays (multiplication) to calculating area. They also just started a fractions unit, which they will be doing concurrently. This unit focuses on halves/fourths/eighths and thirds/sixths/twelfths—studying the relationships, relative sizes, and basic addition. Both groups are reviewing a bit of the mathematical vocabulary and concepts they might encounter on the state tests. 

 CST State Standardized Testing starts Monday, April 23. The students who are participating in the state testing will be taking the tests between Break and Lunch (10:30 – 12:25) every day. The fourth graders will be finished Fri, April 27 and the third graders will finish on Monday, April 30. Please make sure your child is well-fed, well-rested, and well-informed: this test, which measures very specific information—some of which they will know and some of which they may not know—is just ONE measure. It has no bearing on how smart they are or the quality of their SMASH education. We want all students to feel confident about their intellect, skills, and learning. Please see the emails from Jessica and Core 2 for further information about the CST. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Tamara, Laura, or Jayme. 

 Welcome back and fasten your seatbelts—there are roughly 8 more weeks of school!!! 

Tamara, Laura, Jayme & Karin Laura: 

lsherman@smmusd.org 

Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org 

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CORE 3 NEWS

IMPORTANT PARENT MEETING FOR NEXT YEAR’S 6th GRADERS 

TUESDAY, MAY 1 - 6:00pm CATALINA INFORMATION NIGHT 

 Field Trip to the Broad Theater to see "Being There" part of the National Geographic series! Please sign the district permission slip and the Broad Theater Image permission slip before May 4th. Please contact Genie to chaperone (leaving at 9:00 and returning by 12:00). 

Comedy & Improv DVD is now available! Please have your child sign up for a DVD in class for a $15 donation! 

Core 3 Running Club: Some students expressed an interest in a running club after Jogathon. If your child signed up, they have an information/permission slip for you to read and sign. Contact Genie with questions. 

6th gr Math w/ Carrie: We did a little review of the fraction unit we completed before the break. Most students wanted to retake the assessment they took before the break so they will take it next week. We spent some time reviewing material for the standardized tests next week. We have solved almost all of the problems during our “warm ups” in class this year so that helped kids feel even more confident going in to next week. Next week we will launch into our next unit on decimals. 

6th gr Math w/ Erin:This week we reviewed our 2-dimensional geometry unit and previewed 3-dimensional geometry, some of which the students started with Amanda before break. Next week we will delve further into 3- dimensional geometry. 

5th gr Math w/ Genie: We have been looking at growth patterns and changes over time as we explore functions tables, graphs, and algebraic equations. We've also been taking a few minutes every day to look at released state test questions to see the best ways to solving multiple-choice questions. A short homework packet (#26) was given on Monday and is due today. Check backpacks today for a helpful letter to have family fun around change over time and patterns (algebra in our real life). 

Science w/ Carrie: Our unit on Energy began this week. We did some background research on different energy sources (renewable/nonrenewable) and we started to look at some ways electricity works by creating circuits with batteries, wires and light bulbs. This unit will have a lot of opportunities for hands-on activities (which we all love)! 

SS w/ Erin: Egypt! What an exciting time to be studying this country and area of the world. This week in social studies students brainstormed the answer to this question in groups: what comes to mind when you think of Egypt? Not unexpectedly, students wrote mostly about Ancient Egypt, although they were not instructed to do so. Our students know about many things from ancient times: Pharaohs, pyramids, Cleopatra, mummies, cats, specific gods, King Tut, hieroglyphics, Cleopatra, etc. and many things about the topography and climate: deserts, the Nile, heat, etc. Interestingly, only one student in each class mentioned a fact about Egypt today. As a teacher, this is of much interest to me. How do students get their ideas about certain places? How can we connect our knowledge of Ancient Egypt with the current political situation there? That is the goal of our spring unit. We hope to learn about the Egypt of yesterday and the Egypt of today. And with the elections coming up in May, perhaps we will be learning a little about the Egypt of tomorrow. This week we spoke briefly about the "Arab Spring" and former President Mubarak. We also touched on the related situations in Libya and Tunisia. Please ask you child what they recall of the conversation. Next week we will delve into the geography of this fascinating country and continent. RW/WW w/ Genie: We had our final discussion on Out of the Dust this week and our expectations of endings and how we see our lives progress with starting points and end points. We took a vote for our next read aloud, Lord of the Flies won. We started to draft our poems after we chose a theme and nurtured our poem ideas. We will be revising them next week. 

Homework: 6G Math: Optional - Standardized test practice. 

5G Math: A short homework packet (#26) was given on Monday and is due today. #27 due Friday, 4/27. Writing: finish drafting and begin revising their 5-10 poems using the Poetry Rubric. 

Reading: read every day for 30-40 minutes! 

Genie: ghwang@smmusd.org 

 Carrie: cferguson@smmusd.org

 Erin: ehaendel@smmusd.org

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CORE 4 NEWS 

DON’T FORGET! SMASH 8th GRADE PARENTS meet with SAMOHI counselors Tuesday, April 24 at 6:00pm 

(8th grade students meet with counselors on Wednesday morning) 

6th grade PARENT MEETING 

YOSEMITE TRIP INFORMATION MEETING FOR NEXT YEAR’S 7TH GRADE STUDENTS Tuesday, May 1 at 7:00pm 

CALIFORNIA STATE STANDARDIZED TESTING April 23 - May 2 

SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 19 APR 2012 

SMASH STUDENTS WORKING TO SAVE 

THE STEELHEAD TROUT AND MALIBU CREEK WATERSHED 

Over the past 6 months, student scientists from Santa Monica Alternative School House’s middle school participated in and won a science competition, competing with high achieving teams from across North America, Hawaii, and Guam. This competition is a national Marine Science contest, brought together by USC and QuikSilver, called QuikSCience. (The capital SC emphasizing USC’s involvement in the project).This contest is open to anyone grades 6-12. 

This student action team’s diligent work paid off on April 5th when a crowd of three hundred scientists and local conservationists witnessed Team Steelhead earn first place in the 2012 Middle School QuikSCience Challenge because of their tremendous efforts. The group was honored at the annual QuikSCience recognition event at the QuikSilver headquarters in Huntington Beach. They received a cash reward of $700. On top of that, Devin Dempsey, Emma Green, Fiona Story, Kayla Palleiko, Mackenzie Varner, Maya Reimer, and Naomi Miller-Altuner will experience a seven day educational trip on Catalina Island in June. 

There were many requirements to this project. Some of these are teaching lessons to students, reaching out to the community, as well as doing a service for the community. There are also many writing aspects to this project, including a lesson plan, environmental challenge and solution, and a written community service plan. The students learned a lot through doing these pieces, some of which was very helpful research knowledge. 

Throughout this project the SMASH students accomplished many tasks. Not only were these accomplishments academic, but also included involvement with the community. Through visiting the Malibu Creek, talking to people at local Farmer’s Markets, teaching lessons to other students, and writing multiple newspaper articles, this team reached out to over 169,000 people. One of the most rewarding experiences of this challenge was when the students got the chance to conduct surveys in Malibu Creek. This adventure offered a hands on experience for everyone. It was incredible for the team to actually see and conduct research in person. 

In addition, two of the students had the amazing opportunity to attend a high school writing seminar to learn how to improve their writing techniques. Writing a research proposal is a high school only requirement, however the middle school team wanted to go above and beyond. At this seminar, they were the only middle school students. They gained wonderful and helpful knowledge on writing a high school-style paper. At first they were a little confused because there were a lot of new concepts, ideas, and citing that needed to be done. However, the seminar members helped them out and supported them. In this experience they got to talk to the high school teams and really expand their project. 

Unlike the team’s initial intentions, the project did not go completely as planned. The team experienced many instances of procrastination. The students spent a large amount of time on the computers as opposed to getting out into the community and making a difference. Fortunately they recognized this issue, and were able to quickly work it out, in time to complete an award winning project. 

QuikSCience was a life changing experience for everyone on the team. It taught these seven middle school students invaluable life skills. From learning new writing styles, to cooperating in groups, these students learned, and are so thankful for this amazing experience. The team would like to thank their teachers, mentors, and everyone else along the way that encouraged these students to succeed. ********************