HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Dear
SMASHing Families,
As we close the holiday season, the staff
and I want to express our sincere THANKS for the lovely cards, the
delicious treats, the handmade crafts, and
the personally selected, thoughtful items. Thank you for gifting us with your appreciation and the envelopes that
allow us to fulfill our own definitions of abundance. We are lucky to be part of such a giving, collaborative, dynamic
community.
As we begin 2013, we have the opportunity
to share the gifts of our music and cooking with each other as we come together Thursday, January 17 at 6:00pm for the SMASH/Muir Music Concert and then Wednesday,
January 23 at 6:30pm for SMASH Multicultural
Potluck/Diversity Night.
As I have shared before, to me, abundance
is good health, caring relationships, generosity toward others, and
intellectual
pursuits. May we all have an abundant New
Year!
Jessica
*******************
SMASH
and John Muir Elementary Winter Concert
Thursday,
January 17
6:00pm
4th Grade
Violin – Music Room
4th Grade
Viola, Cello – Cafeteria
4th Grade
Chorus – Library
4th Grade
Flute and Clarinet – Computer Lab
4th Grade
Trumpet and Trombone – Bungalow 1
7:00pm
5th Grade
Band, Chorus, Orchestra – Cafeteria
8:00pm
SMASH Middle School
Orchestra, Chorus, Winds,
Jazz Band – Cafeteria
We are looking forward
to sharing this evening with you!
Ms. Bersch, Ms. Cruz, Mrs.
Ouiroz, Mrs. Spike-Gravelle,
Mr. Hyziak, Mr. Muñoz, Mr.
Anderson
Students: Please arrive 15
minutes before your performance time
And wear nice clothes
*******************
DATES
TO REMEMBER
Mon, Jan 14 - 9am - SMASH school tour
Wed, Jan 16 - 3:30pm - Site Council Mtg
6:30pm - PTSA Mtg
Thur, Jan 17 - MUSIC CONCERT - 6:00pm -
4th Grade; 7:00pm - 5th Grade; 8:00pm - Middle School
Mon, Jan 21 - HOLIDAY - Martin Luther King
Birthday - SCHOOL CLOSED
Wed, Jan 23 - 6:30pm - SMASH MULTICULTURAL
POTLUCK/DIVERISTY NIGHT
Wed, Jan 30 - 6:00pm - Dialogue On Race,
Part II - SMASH Library. Childcare available
Tues-Thur, Jan 29-31 - PE mile run. See
schedule in today’s Friday Letter
SMASH JOG-A-THON!! Friday, March 5
T-Shirt design submissions due by February
1. Sponsorship to have your name on the t-shirt due by February 8.
See form in today’s Friday Letter
CREST ELEMENTARY ENRICHMENT CLASSES BEGIN
JANUARY 14
Info: 310-458-8540 Website: www.smgov.net/crest Register online: recenroll.smgov.net
*******************
SMASH Multi-Cultural Potluck Dinner
Wednesday, January 23
6:30-8:30pm
Please bring your favorite salads, appetizers, and main courses from your culture
We will provide dessert
Questions?
Lori Nafshun: gettalife1@gmail.com
Barbara Williams: liamjack1@mac.com
Wednesday, January 23
6:30-8:30pm
Please bring your favorite salads, appetizers, and main courses from your culture
We will provide dessert
Questions?
Lori Nafshun: gettalife1@gmail.com
Barbara Williams: liamjack1@mac.com
*******************
Run for
your lives! The SMASH
Jog-a-thon
is coming Friday, March 15
·
Submit
a t-shirt design by 2/1.
Open to all students.
Simply
draw your design (black/white or color) on an 8 ½ by 11 piece of white paper.
Include
your name on the back and turn it into the office by February 1.
- Save the date. The Jog-a-thon takes place Friday, March 15. Come run with your child and/or cheer on the rest of the runners.
- Volunteer. We need lots of volunteers to help with refreshments, donations, accounting, etc. both before and the day of the event.
·
Become
a t-shirt sponsor by 2/8.
T-shirt sponsors defray the
cost of the t-shirts so that all students get a free Jog-a-thon shirt.
Become a Corporate sponsor
by donating $150, $200 or $250
or a SMASHing sponsor by
donating $25, $50 or $100.
Donations are tax
deductible to the extent allowable by law.
As a token of appreciation
for your generous support, your name will adorn the back of the shirt.*
Questions?
Contact Lillie Schlessinger
– lillie.schlessinger@transamerica.com
*Please use the form below
for making t-shirt donations and return to the office with your cash or
check made payable to SMASH
PTSA by no later than February 8.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 t-shirt to be a child’s size, please note this.)
******************
CAFÉ SAMO
Cafe Samo is the delightful annual cabaret
produced by the Samohi Vocal Music Program. Cafe Samo features dozens of
talented student performers in acts ranging from a
cappella classics to original compositions. Delicious food and drink are
available for purchase before the shows and during
intermissions. This is the most light-hearted Samohi singing event of the year;
don't miss it, and please spread the word.
WHEN: Friday, January 25, 2013 @ 7:30 pm; Saturday, January 26,
2013 @ 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm
WHERE: Humanities Center Theater, 2nd floor, English Building (Santa Monica High School campus)
DONATION: $10 (at the door). Food, desserts and drinks are for sale
before shows and during intermission.
CONTACT: www.samohichoir.org; 310-395-3204
******************
ALL
STUDENTS GRADES 1-8 WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE PE MILE RUN
Tues, 1/29: Core 2, Core 3 blue, Core 4
boys
Wed, 1/30: Core 1 grades 1 and; 2
Thurs, 1/31: Core 3 orange, Core 4 girls
Please
make sure your child is properly dressed for this PE activity
*******************
LAST CHANCE! PURCHASE THEM IN THE OFFICE
$20 ICE BUCKS
punchcards for Santa Monica Ice Skating Rink
support SMASH Trips Scholarship Funds by purchasing a $20 punchcard
Spend same as cash at the ice rink and are good for skate rental and concessions thru Jan 21
*******************
Sustainable
Works Green Living Workshops
Did you know it takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to
produce a pound of beef?
You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than by not showering for 6 months!
You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than by not showering for 6 months!
Join a FREE Sustainable Works Green Living Workshop
and learn how information like this will help you
save money and positively impact your family, community,
and ultimately the planet!
When: Tuesdays: Jan.
15th, 22nd and 29th, Feb. 5th, 12th and 19th • 7-8:30pm
Tuesdays: Mar. 12th, 19th and 26th, Apr. 2nd, 9th and 16th • 7-8:30pm
Where: Santa Monica
Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd. SM 90401
Encourage your friends to join you for this fun,
educational opportunity.
•Reduce
your Water & Energy usage
•Save $ on Utilities
•Cut landfill Waste
•Reduce your Family's Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
•Reduce
your Transportation Impact
•Make more sustainable Shopping & Food choices
Receive FREE resource saving tools
Water saving hose nozzles, Energy saving light bulbs,
Reusable shopping bags, safe cleaning supplies,
healthy energy bars, and more…
Visit www.sustainableworks.eventbrite.com
to reserve your space at an upcoming workshop.
*******************
String Project Los
Angeles Presents - An Afternoon with
Eugene Friesen
Join us
for a workshop with one of the world's preeminent improvising cellists.
WHEN: February 2, 12pm - 2:30pm
WHO: For Violinists, Cellists and Violists ages 13 and up. All skill
levels welcome (teachers, professional musicians, students).
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church 1220 2nd Street, Santa Monica,
90401
ADMISSION: $25 Reserve your spot by Jan 20th at
http://stringprojectla.wufoo.com/forms/m7x2p1/
More information on Eugene can be found
online at: http://www.eugenefriesenmusic.com
*******************
3rd,
4th and 5th Grade GIRLS SOCCER ACADEMY with COACH REGGIE
Hello SMASH Families,
This is Coach Reggie; I am the Physical
Education Teacher at John Muir Elementary School. I am proud to announce that we are officially beginning our after
school girls soccer academy program for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade Tuesday, January 15. Our program will be facilitated
directly after school on the playground on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to
4pm.
My overall goal is to create a positive
learning environment where our students can stay active while improving their health and physical fitness through
playing soccer. During our practice sessions students will focus on
strengthening their skills through participating in a
series of fun and exciting soccer exercises which are specifically designed to enhance their fundamentals and understanding
of the game of soccer.
If you are interested in having your
daughter attend our program please feel free to contact me via email at muirsoccer@ gmail.com or by phone at (310) 728-0985. Thank you very much for your
time and consideration. I hope to see you all out there soon.
Sincerely,
Coach Reggie
Applications
available in SMASH office
*******************
CORE 1
NEWS
Welcome back after a long
Winter Break!
Core 1 Art
This week we began our new art study with our Artist in Residence,
Julianna. Every Wednesday, the children visit one teacher and explore concepts around new
materials.
Graciela’s group will be introduced to fabric and fibers
with sewing and weaving techniques.
Chrysta’s group will be looking at paper art and design.
Candis’ group will explore wire and sculpture.
Julianna’s group will be using recycled materials with
wire, paper, and fibers.
While each group will be using a different material, the
children will be revisiting the same concepts with
each teacher. In the next few weeks, you may observe your
child thinking about:
Weaving Twisting Moving Over and Under Puncturing
Creasing
Creating Lines &
Making Shapes Dividing Sculpting Wrapping
Threading Pushing & Pulling Scrunching Wrapping Coiling
ART IS EVERY WEDNESDAY 9:00-10:15. Parent Volunteers are
welcome!!
Upcoming Field Trips:
To follow-up September’s excitement and wonderings about
the space shuttle Endeavor, we have two field
trips coming up soon. We will be going in two groups to
accommodate our entire core.
SANTA MONICA MUSEUM OF FLYING –
We will be taking the #8 Big Blue Bus to the Santa Monica
Airport to tour their new museum and visit the
outdoor viewing area as the airplanes land on the runway. Children
will need to bring snack and lunch –
and VERY COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES. Expect an email with
sign-ups for chaperones.
Friday January 18 9am – 1pm (GREEN permission slip)–
Candis’ Circle Group and ½ of Chrysta’s Circle Group
Friday, January 25 9am – 1pm (YELLOW permission slip) -
Graciela’s Circle Group and ½ of Chrysta’s Circle Group
** Please look in your
child’s Friday Folder for a permission slip
and a list for which day
your child will be going. $5 donation requested.**
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE MUSEUM – details to come
Tuesday, January 29 9am – 1:30pm & Tuesday, February 5
9am – 1:30pm
PE Running Tests: Wed, January 30 - Bigs & Mentors.
Please make sure your
child is properly dressed to run.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!
Candis, Chrysta, Graciela,
Nadja & Laura
*******************
CORE 2
NEWS
PE Running Tests:
Tuesday, January 29. Please make sure your child is properly dressed to run.
THANK YOU, SMASHing
families, for your generosity, words of appreciation, and goodies to carry us into
the Winter Break. We hope your holiday was full of relaxing, fun family time.
We are looking forward to an exciting New Year here in Core 2. For a sneak peek
read on…
Advisory News: Your
child has a new advisory group. Our motto is make new friends, but keep the
old… as we revisit CARES, review Classroom Guidelines, and reestablish
Core 2 Consequences to help us get reacquainted and
remember how to work together successfully with a wide variety of classmates.
Literacy:
In Reading Workshop, we’re getting back into our Just Right
Books. For the month of January, anything goes
(well, almost…). Students may read fiction or nonfiction, chapter or picture
books, and any genre they choose—as long they can read and understand it all by
themselves. The best readers read the same book at home and at school. Please
support your child in finding interesting books to bring back and forth to and
from school each day! *RW HW ~ Read for 30 minutes at home every day.
In Writing Workshop, we’re working through our hand cramps
on various writing assignments.
Jayme’s group has started collecting ideas for personal
narrative stories. The students are learning that authors frequently use
people, places, and things from their own lives as seeds to grow story ideas. Tamara’s
group is learning how to put facts from a nonfiction, informational book into
their own words using an introduction, transition words, and citations. Ask
your students about their Fart Facts Essay. These kids love Free writing, so
light that fire at home by making time, space, and inspiring supplies for writing.
*WW HW ~ Write for fun!
Math:
In Math, both groups
continue learning, practicing, and mastering a variety of strategies for
building their
basic math skills. Third graders need to be fluent with
addition and subtraction—and be able to utilize the
relationship between those two operations. Fourth graders
need to fully understand multiplication and division—and be able to confidently
utilize the relationship between those two operations to solve a variety of
problems. Advanced math work is dependent on this solid
foundation. That foundation is strongest when it includes visual, numerical,
verbal, contextual, real-life, procedural, and abstract knowledge. Studies have
shown that additional time spent practicing math outside of school improves
math skills. *Math HW ~ Math packets due Friday, 1/18/13. As always,
“Start with what you know, do what you can, bring it in for help.” And
we mean it. Your child should be able to do the homework independently for the
most part. We need to know if they are confused or need additional instruction/practice.
Theme:
Both Advisories are embarking on thematic units that will
involve reading, writing, science, research, and students’ interests. Jayme’s
group is pursuing questions related to our visit to the California Science
Center.
Tamara’s group is drawing inspiration from the book
Winter’s Tail, the true story behind the movie Dolphin Tale. We are
looking for any/all copies of the book Winter’s Tail and a dvd version of the
movie
Dolphin Tale. Thanks!
Wish list: scratch
paper—lots and lots of scratch paper! 2 large refill bottles of hand sanitizer
(so we can do
our best to keep cold and flu season out of Core 2)
Happy New Year!!!
Tamara, Jayme, and Nadja
*******************
CORE 3
NEWS
PE
Running test Tuesday,
January 29: Core 3 - Blue Thursday, January 31: Core 3 – Orange
6th Grade
Math with Mimi: Our new
math unit will focus on more fraction skills. Math HW will now be a small
collection of logic puzzles and problems. The HW problems will get increasingly
more difficult over time. Some of the skills that logic problems help us
develop are: finding patterns/relationships, understanding numerical/ word
clues to place items in order or categories, using the logical process of trial
and error. The more you use logical thinking skills, the more skills and
strategies you develop which in turn help you find solutions to all kinds of
problems.
6th Grade Math with Erin: The 6th grade mathematicians have
completed their drawn-to-scale floor plans for their dream rooms. They are now
working on furnishing their rooms with a $25,000 budget limit. Students have been
gaining an understanding of similar figures, scale, and proportion to
practicing area and perimeter and the multiplication, addition and subtraction
that comes with figuring out how to furnish on a budget.
5th grade
Math Workshop with Genie: I
hope you had a chance to read the email blast attachment math letters!
They are a good source of what your child
is learning in math right now. We are using the clock to help us see
fractions in twelfths so we know that 1/12
= 8.3% so 7/12 would be 50% (6/12) + 8.3% (1/12) = 58.3%. We are also playing a
game called In Between. Ask your child how to play it!
Science with Mimi:We have begun our Food and Nutrition Unit.
We will continue to emphasize CARES, especially in regards to following directions and
proper handling of science tools. This week, we conducted an experiment to
measure the fat content in a variety of foods. Ask your student about some of
the food samples we used and how they ranked in the results. Next week, we will
continue our discussion about fat as a nutrient in our daily diets. The week of
1/29, we will need some samples of various kinds of cereals for another
experiment. Students are invited to bring in a 1/2 cup sample of cereal in a
labeled zip top bag. Samples must be brought in by Thursday, 1/24.
Social Studies with Erin: The countdown has begun towards our Social
Studies unit presentations. The students will be presenting their
research/action projects on "Election Related Issues" on Monday, Jan.
28, Wednesday Jan. 30, and Friday, February 1. The final
schedule of when your child's group will be sent out next week. The students
continue to work diligently, by now moving on from the research stage to the
action and presentation portions. Next week alone we have a group of students
volunteering at an animal adoption event and another group delivery things from
our household items drive to Upward Bound House in Santa Monica. Other groups are
pondering starting a GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) on campus and pondering how to
teach the class and our visitors about the complicated situation in Syria. I am
looking forward to seeing all the presentations in a few weeks!
Reading & Writing Workshop with Genie:
We have been busy
revising our fantasy stories looking carefully at the heart of our story to really draw it
out and put in lots of details as well as thinking about our character. We are
learning that making our hero suffer helps our readers have empathy and keeps
them engaged. In reading we are continuing our book clubs as students are
learning how to have engaging and ongoing conversations around books. Also we
have discussed the importance of dialogue and mixing action, internal thinking,
and setting with the dialogue. We briefly talked about the convention that each
new speaker gets a new paragraph. In reading we began a new read aloud, Breadwinners
by Deborah Ellis who really puts her readers right into the life of 11-yr old
Parvana, the main character. We feel her frustration with her older sister and
the typical sibling issues. Yet we don't know what life would be like to hide
your ability to read or to have home after home bombed or to be the only one in
the family who can manage to carry and fill the water containers up the 3
flights of stairs. Ask your child what they think of the book!
Homework:
5G math: packet #18. Due 1/18/13
RW: If your child took a break from reading over break, please
help them to get back into their daily reading habit.
WW: Please remind your child to finish their fantasy draft.
*******************
CORE 4
NEWS
Humanities Reading and Writing Workshop
This past week in humanities reading we have been working
on leaving tracks on thinking and working on text symbols such as !=surprising
or exciting information, ??=confusing information, a star = important
information, C or R= connection or reminder, and many other ones. We have also
been working on reading articles to practice working with the text symbols, and
getting more comfortable with them, so we can put them to use in the future
where we will have to take many notes and this will make it easier.
Science
This week in science we have been looking at formulas and
three step equations, On Monday, we went to the beach to learn how to care for
and use certain instruments, such as handheld wind gauges, thermometers, GPS
units, handheld graphing devices, and various assortments of other instruments.
We will be continuing to look at these three step formulas in future weeks,
some of the formulas we learned distance =speed, and times=distance.
The 8th graders are starting their egg baby project next
week.
Math
In math for 7th grade there will be a notebook check next
Tuesday, 1/15/13, so be prepared. We have also been working on our math plans
for January. Students have been working on chapters ranging from chapters 4 to
7.
Upcoming events
January 17 - Middle school concerts at 6pm
January 21 - MLK Holiday
January 23 - Multicultural Potluck at 6:30 pm
January 29 and 31 - PE running test (boys 1/29, girls
1/31). Make sure your child is properly dressed.
February 1 - Get into the groove because the Family Dance
is coming up!
Written By:Sam Grossman & Nathan Meadows
Darwin Mendinueto - dmendinueto@smmusd.org
Kurt Holland - kholland@smmusd.org
*******************
Santa Monica Family YMCA
YOUTH BASKETBALL LEAGUES
WINTER '13
Skill based co-ed teams forming for play from January-March in three divisions
Skills Evaluations (ALL must attend)
Mon, Jan 14 - ages 5-7 at 5pm
Tues, Jan 15 - ages 8-11 at 6pm
Wed, Jan 16 - all ages make-up at 5:30pm
Parents meeting: Thurs, Jan 17 at 6pm at the Y
For information contact: Peter Arbogast at ysports@ymcasm.org
Youth Basketball Coordinator 310-2721 x 137
*******************
SANTA MONICA GIRLS FASTPITCH SOFTBALL
No experience necessary
Sign up now for Spring 2013
online registration at SantaMonicaGirlsSoftball.org
Questions: please e-mail janbradshaw11@gmail.com
or bill.hepler@smantamonicagirlssoftball.org
