Last Friday Letter of this School Year!! May 31, 2013
8th Grade Graduation & All-School
Luncheon
Monday, June 10 - Graduation at 10am,
Lunch to follow
This year, we are requesting that all families
contribute cash ($10 donation suggested) or bring a
fruit or dessert dish (enough to serve at least 10
people) for our all-school graduation party.
The SMASH PTSA will provide the lunch, cake, drinks
and paper goods.
Please bring your cash donation to Janice or Wende in the SMASH office any time.
If you are bringing a fruit or dessert dish,please bring it the day of the graduation,
pre-cut and ready to serve (including utensil).
Please bring your cash donation to Janice or Wende in the SMASH office any time.
If you are bringing a fruit or dessert dish,please bring it the day of the graduation,
pre-cut and ready to serve (including utensil).
***********************
Dear
SMASHing Families,
Thank you for
the special SMASH blend of enthusiasm, confidence, curiosity, and patience
we’ve all shown while waiting for 2013-14 staffing news. I am thrilled to
announce our teaching teams for next year. Thank you to the Site Council
Representatives (Sabine, Molly, Amber), PTSA Executive Board Member (Ofer),
teachers (Chrysta, Tamara, Genie, Darwin), and upper school students (Cole,
Aurora) who served on the interview panel with me to make sure Cores 1-4 lenses were well represented. Our
Core teams for next year are full of outstanding educators!
Core 1 (K-1-2 Graciela, Chrysta, Christian,
and Nadja)
·
Graciela
returns to her previous Kindergarten teaching experience to be the Partners’
Workshop teacher
·
Chrysta
returns as the Bigs’ Workshop Teacher
·
We
welcome Christian Carter as the Mentors’ Workshop Teacher. Christian has been
teaching since 2004. He brings training and experience with the methods and
curriculum SMASH uses (Responsive Classroom, Reading and Writing Workshop, and
TERC Math). He has a heartfelt commitment to nurturing the whole child, to
cross curricular projects, and to accessing students’ multiple intelligences.
He is eager to collaborate with teaching part-ners, students, and families, and
to share his love of gardening and soccer.
Core 2 (3rd-4th Jayme, Tamara, and Malaika)
Core 3 (5th-6th Genie,
Erin 5 days a week, and Laura)
·
Thank
you to Mimi for being on the Core 3 team this year making math interesting and
meaningful, helping students find
personal connections to health and nutrition and instilling such enthusiasm
around scientific investigations! While Mimi leaves the Core 3 role, we do not
say goodbye because she will continue to be a
guest teacher (aka substitute
teacher) in all Cores next year.
Core 4 (7th-8th Darwin and Pam)
·
We
welcome Pam Dresher as a Core 4 teacher. Pam has been teaching since 2002 in
K-7th grade classrooms. Pam brings her
team-teaching experiences, Master’s degree focus on project based learning,
philosophy of assessment that includes student self-reflection and project
culminations, strong content knowledge, real world connections to
non-profits/universities, and a heart for seeing kids as individuals with their
social and academic needs.
As we get
ready to welcome the wisdom and strengths that Pam and Christian bring to
SMASH, don’t forget to mark your
calendars because next Thursday, June 6 at the Ocean Park Playground
4:00-6:00pm we honor the commitment and instructional magic Candis has
brought to SMASH. And Saturday, June 8 at Mother’s Beach 11:00am-3:00pm we
honor the dedication and real world learning Kurt has brought to SMASH!
Truly
yours,
Jessica
***********************
All –School Beach Day and Last Day of
School, Tuesday, June 11 - 1:30 Dismissal
(See Beach Day Rules)
ORDER YOUR SMASH YEARBOOK NOW - $20
EACH
***********************
Join us in an
Appreciation Circle at the Beach
As we honor
CANDIS
And her 9 years
Of dedication to our
SMASH Community
Thursday, June 6. 4:00-6:00pm
Families are invited to bring their
blanket and their picnic-style dinner to enjoy
on the grassy beach lawn adjacent to
the playground at Ocean Park Blvd.
You may also want to bring a jacket,
a kite, and your wheels.
***********************
Sail on Sailor:
Beach Party for Kurt
Saturday, June 8, 2013, 11-3
Pot Luck Picnic on the Beach
Mother’s Beach, 4101 Admiralty, Marina del Rey
Potluck sign-ups are at: Kurt Beach Party:
Potluck Sign-Ups https://docks.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?
key=0ArfOozrUrQcFdEVFdzlYajZnMDk1
NHRNMjllakd5aVE&usp=sharing
***********************
DATES TO REMEMBER
Mon-Tues-Wed,
Jun 3, 4 & 5 - 8th grade San Diego trip
Tue-Wed-Thurs,
Jun 4, 5 & 6 - 7th grade Fulcrum Trip
Wed, Jun 5 -
6:30pm - PTSA Mtg
Thurs, Jun 6 -
4:00-6:00pm - Ocean Park Playground (End of Ocean Park Bl at the beach) -
Farewell to Candis
Sat, Jun 8 -
11:00am-3:00pm - Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey - Farewell to Kurt
Mon, June 10 -
10:00am - SMASH 8th grade graduation
Tues, June 11
- Last Day of School Beach Day
Thur, Aug 22 -
First day of school!
***********************
SuperSMASH Raffle Events
6/7/13
event
Movie
(lucky winners choice), a milkshake from Johnny Rockets, and a treat from the
candy store and ride the Big Blue Bus to the 3rd St Promenade* hosted by Coach Tony
Friday
6/7/2013 1:30pm - TBD
Juliette R.
(c1) Lily T.(c3) Giulia T. (c3) Liliana M.(c2)
*students
need money for movie snacks
6/29/13
event
Go to
Dodgers Stadium with Candis to watch the Phillies play hosted by Candis
Saturday
6/29/2013 6pm - 9:30pm
meet at
SMASH - game starts at 7pm
Lily T. (c3)
Ajax H. (c1) Marielle R. (c1)
***********************
Cafeteria Barbeque Lunch - Friday,
June 7
All Beef Hot Dogs (no vegetarian dogs) on Whole Grain
Bun Baked Fries, Fresh Fruit,
Variety of Milk Condiments: relish, mustard, ketchup,
onions and jalapenos
***********************
Terracycle All Summer Long
Join the Terracycle Summer Newsletter email list by
emailing mimilichterman@yahoo.com.
Find out how to drop off your Terracycling during the
summer.
***********************
PARENTS
PLEASE REMEMBER TO PICK UP ANY MEDS
YOUR CHILD MAY HAVE IN THE NURSE’S
OFFICE
***********************
Santa Monica Festival
Experience an eclectic mix of live music and dance,
DIY art workshops with recycled and repurposed materials, guilt-free shopping
featuring earth-friendly artistic wares and local services offered by City,
environmental and local non-profit organizations.
Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica
Saturday, June 1, 11am - 6pm
*****************
Build it
Fairview Library at 2101 Ocean Park
Blvd.,
Saturday, June 1, 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
Ages 4 and up can participate in building with LEGOs
as a part of the monthly LEGO club.
For more information, visit smpl.org.
*****************
CelebrateLA!
CelebrateLA! is a free, family-friendly festival to
honor the City's diversity, creativity, and innovative spirit through a wide
range of activities and performances including music, art and food. Join
President Bill Clinton and other special guests as the city bids farewell to
Mayor Villaraigosa and welcomes Mayor-Elect Eric Garcetti.
Grand Park and Spring St. between 1st
& Temple
Friday, June 7, 5pm - 10pm
*****************
Getty Family Festival
Celebrate the Gardens of the Renaissance in this free
daylong family festival. Create a garden of your very own or fash-ion a floral
wreath at one the interactive workshops. Delight in the sounds of madrigals
from the 15th and 16th centuries or listen to tales of distant kingdoms with
renowned storytellers.
J. Paul Getty Museum
Saturday, June 8, 10am - 6pm
*****************
Paws 4 Reading
Ocean Park Library - Thursday, June
20 3:30-4:30pm
Practice reading to a furry friend. For ages 6 and up
Registration required. Sign up for a 15-minute slot
beginning June 1 310-458-8683
****************
CicLAvia - Iconic Wilshire Boulevard
No cars, open streets and the opportunity to explore
one of the most legendary boulevards in Los Angeles by foot, bike, skates and
other non-motorized transport marks the June 23 CicLAvia - Iconic Wilshire
Boulevard... the most walkable CicLAvia route ever!
Wilshire Boulevard between Grand
Avenue (Downtown) and Fairfax Avenue (Miracle Mile)
Sunday, June 23, 9am - 4pm
*****************
30th Anniversary of National Night
Out
Tuesday, August 6 - 6:00-9:00pm
Civic Center Parking Lot
Food, Entertainment, Games, Raffles, Police Vehicles,
Fire Truck
For info call SMPD Community Relations at 310-458-8474
***********************
SMASH Beach Day Guidelines for
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Students may not stay at the beach
with anyone other than their
parent/guardian without a written note received
before we depart for the beach in
the morning!
This will be strictly enforced!
You may bring sand toys. Bring a
snack, sack lunch and water
Apply sunscreen and wear your
swimsuit on under your clothes.
Bring a towel and a change of
clothes.
Core 3 and Core 4 may NOT bring
Boogie Boards or Surf Boards.
Core 4 students MAY go get food at Perrys
- go in pairs or groups and eat there -
they may not bring the food back to
the beach!
We will be leaving SMASH for Life
Guard Station #26 - end of Ocean Park Blvd.)
beginning at 8:45 a.m. Stay
together on the walk down to the beach.
Cores will “camp” on the sand—sit
together, please, and take care of your stuff!
No going in the water
until the lifeguard tells us about
water conditions and the boundaries.
Cores may go in the water during
group times:
Cores 1 and 2 together - Cores 3
and 4 together
In the water, stay between the
cones and only go in as far as the lifeguard allows
(knees or waist). Swim with
friends!
Go to the bathroom in pairs or
groups
Tell an adult before you go and
tell that same adult when you return.
Play safely and respectfully
respond to all/any adults.
Follow these guidelines or get escorted
back to school.
We will leave the beach at 1:00 to
return to school by 1:30.
Have fun!
Look for additional Beach Day
guidelines in the Core letters
***********************
SMASH Camping / Cabin Trip
At Camp Josepho Fri. Sept. 20 - Sun. Sept 22, 2013
3000 Rustic Canyon Road, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
SMASH invites you to join us for a fun community building outdoor event
CABINS ARE LIMITED AND FIRST COME FIRST SERVED
TENT CAMPING WELCOMES THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
It is so close you can come for the whole weekend or just for one day
Bring: Sleeping Bags, FOOD and Charcoal.
BBQ pits are provided.
FRIDAY 2:00 PM Check in (please
arrive before 7:30 pm)
9:30
PM Quiet Time
SATURDAY 10:30 AM ARCHERY / Games (details being
finalized)
1:30
PM Group HIKE
6:30
PM Campfire w/ S’MORES
9:30
PM Quiet Time
SUNDAY 10:30 AM Group HIKE
1:00
PM Check Out
Pre-registration is required to receive the Gate Code.
e-mail: snowwht@gmail.com
Last minute call Snow Lam-Hansen 561-985-5222
______________________________________________________________________
detach and return to Janice or Wende in the office
Children must be accompanied by their parent or guardian, unless
specifically pre-arranged
Parents:
________________________________________________________________
e-mail:___________________________________________phone: __________________
SMASH Children / Core:
___________________________________________________________
We want to stay FRIDAY
______ and/or SATURDAY _______ night(s).
We want to share an 8
person CABIN ____ (friend
request: ______________________________)
# people ______ * # nights
______ * $14 (per person per night) = $________
We will bring our own
tent(s) ____ (pre-K children don’t count if in tents)
# people ______ * # nights
______ * $9 (per person per night) = $________
We just want to come for
the day _____ # people ______ * $4 = $________
WRITE
NON-REFUNDABLE DONATION TO SMASH PTSA
PAY
BY JUNE 10, PRICE GOES UP IN FALL
***********************
CORE 1 NEWS
LAST CORE 1 NEWS OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!
Beach Day will
be so much fun if we agree to be safe. Because water safety is involved, we
encourage all Core 1 parents to join us, if possible. We would love for you to
join us as chaperones promoting safety and fun. Please read the guidelines with
your child and complete the questions below.
·
Play
safely and peacefully.
·
Respond
to safety reminders.
·
Let
an adult know if something is unsafe.
·
Be
sure not to get sand on people around you.
·
Play
on the sand until Core 1’s Water Time.
·
Apply
sunscreen and wear your bathing suit under your school clothes.
·
Write
your name on all your clothes, towel, and sand toys.
·
Bring
your lunch to school with you in the morning. Parents: please do not purchase
food for your child from Perry’s that day. (You could always visit Perry’s on a
different day).
·
Talk
about your Beach Day pick-up plan, as a family, in advance.
o
All
children will walk to the beach and back with their teachers, unless you give
us written notification that your child will be picked up or remain on
the beach with another adult. If you plan to pick up your child from the beach,
check-in with your child’s teacher when you arrive. It will be easier
for you to find us than it is for us to find you. If you are late (after 1:00)
your child will have to walk back to school with the group.
o
Phone
calls at the beach will not be accepted. (Remember that we are trying to keep
your child feeling safe and secure with a plan.)
·
Promptly
pick-up your child from the Small Yard at school 1:30 p.m. Your
child doesn’t want to wait for you in the office on the last day of school.
PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHILD’S FRIDAY
LETTER AND RETURN YOUR
“PICK-UP PLAN” and “VOLUNTEER FORM”!
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!
Upcoming
Core 1 Events
-Mentors’
Writing Share & Celebration Tuesday, June 4 during Morning Meeting, 8:40-9:00
-Bigs’
Writing Share & Celebration Thursday, June 6, during Morning Meeting, 8:40-9:00
-July
Birthday Bash will
be celebrated on Friday, June 7, from 11:45 to 12:15
-Portfolio
Share come and enjoy
your child’s portfolio before 8th Grade Graduation. We will have a Portfolio Share at 9am on Monday, June 10 in Circle Groups.
-Beach Day
& Last Day of School Tuesday,
June 11
-Early
Dismissal Monday June
10 and Tuesday June 11
Reminders
*Pick up your
child’s clothing from the lost and found. Your child may not be able to
recognize their clothes without your help. Clothes left at school will be
donated to a charitable organization. Please contact us if you would like to volunteer
to take on this task.
*Return books
to school. You may have books that belong in Core 1. These may have a color
dot on the spine or on the top right-hand corner or they may have our names
written in them. School library books have a barcode on the inside cover.
Candis, Chrysta, Graciela, Nadja & Laura
Candis: cberens@smmsud.org Chrysta: cwyse@smmusd.org Graciela: gbarba-castro@smmusd.org
***********************
CORE 2 NEWS
Aloha Core
2 Families and Friends,
As we wrap up
our last unit for this school year, we have the opportunity to share some of
our most recent learning and hard work. Core 2 has been really focused on our
current units in Science and Theme and will be presenting to each other next
week on Monday and Friday. Parents are welcome to drop by any
time from 8:45-9:45am on either day to see what the kids have been so excited
to complete. Monday’s sharing will be an expo style, in that all the
work will be displayed in Jayme’s room and the kids will be explaining their
projects (Shelters and Regions of California) to each other. On Friday, the
kids will be teaching each other, in Tamara’s room, through varied
methods, about groups of people that have come to California for new
opportunities.
Core 2 will be
sending a lot of work and projects home on Friday, June 7. We will offer
paper shopping bags to the kids, but to be more environmentally conscious,
please send your child with a reusable shopping bag to hold all their work.
Summer is
right around the corner! Our 4th
graders are preparing to
head up to Core 3 and the 3rd
graders are geared up to
welcome new Core 2 friends for next year. We’ve learned so much and practiced
lots of new skills during the year. Keep that learning fresh by READING every
day for at least 30 minutes. Writing in a daily journal will help practice
skills AND keep your summer experiences alive for a while longer. Use any extra
pages in your Literacy Journal to continue a story you’ve been working on or
start a new one! Math skills can be practiced through cooking and measuring,
figuring out the change needed after a purchase, and working towards remembering
those addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts.
We’ve had so
many wonderful experiences this year in Core 2 and can’t wait to hear all about
your family adventures when we return in August! Have a safe, fun-filled
summer!
Beach
Day
One of the
unique and special community events at SMASH is our annual Beach Day! Core 2
will be walking to the beach on Tuesday, June 11 around 8:45am, so WEAR your
swimsuit and sunscreen, have your snack, lunch, and water ready, and bring a
towel and/or change of clothes. We will wait until after the Lifeguard tells us
about the water conditions to enter the water with Core 1. Kids are allowed to
stay at the beach with their family after we leave at 1:00pm, yet make sure to check
in with your child’s advisor if you plan to leave early. If you plan to
have your child stay at the beach with another family, we need to have
WRITTEN PERMISSION before we leave for the beach that day.
Parents are always welcome to walk down with us or join us on the beach for a
SMASHing good time!
Upcoming
Events
Monday, June 3
8:45-9:45 Science Sharing
Friday, June 7
8:45-9:45 Theme Sharing
Monday, June
10 - 10:00 8th Grade graduation and luncheon. 1:30 Dismissal.
We are requesting
$10 donation or a dessert for 10.
Tuesday, June
11 Beach Day (See Guidelines) 1:30
Dismissal
Have a fantastic weekend!
Jayme, Tamara, & Nadja
Jayme: jwoldflorian@smmusd.org Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org
***********************
CORE 3 NEWS
~Tanaka
Farms Field Trip,
Monday, June 3rd, 8:30-2:15. We will take the first 7
chaperones! Unfortunately Tanaka Farms has had a disease destroy their
strawberry crop! Local neighboring farms will provide strawberries but no
picking. The main reason we are going is to learn about their organic farming
practice and about small scale farming so the majority of the kids voted to
still go on the trip and support their farm! Slips and $10 bus$ due on Mon!
~Core 3 Fun
Day, Friday 8th! 10:15-1:30! Chaperones needed, please volunteer! This
involves walking to picnic tables near the beach. Students are welcome to bring
food to share in addition to their packed water and lunch. We will have pizza
delivered to the park as well. Students are welcome to bring/wear a shirt
they can get signed with fabric markers at the park.
6G Math
with Mimi: This
week, we had a little fun with some menu math. Each table made a pretend order
from a pizza restaurant menu. After totaling the bill, they had to calculate
tax, tip, and each person's fare share. This is a great example of real life
math that families can do together! Calculating costs at a store, taking into
account percentage off discounts, coupons, and tax, and baking/cooking at home
are also another excellent real life math exercises! Try to estimate before
calculating exact numbers. As adults, a close estimation is all we need most of
the time! These get at many of the major math concepts we have covered this
year: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions and
decimals!
6G Math
with Erin: Another
short week of math due to the holiday and Planned Parenthood. We are attempting
to wrap up our data project by the time school ends. Students are working in
groups to organize and graph the data they have collected.
5G Math
with Genie: We
worked on various multiplication and division strategies as well as Skyped with
an elementary school in South Carolina who 'walked' to Santa Monica this past
year! All students walk on their new track field the equivalent miles over the
school year and they celebrate by finding out what Santa Monica is really like
so they asked us questions and we asked them questions!
Science
with Mimi: Students
continue hard at work on their projects. The steps they completed this week
include organizing their facts, creating/finding a graph/chart that shows
important information, drawing a sketch of their final product, and creating
their Works Cited sheet (bibliography) with at least two citations. We will
have a double block of Science on Tuesday during which students must finish
their projects. Please check in with your student to make sure that, by
Tuesday, they will have less than two hours of touch ups left to complete their
project. Also, make sure your student brings all of their project supplies back
to school Tuesday morning. All projects are due by the end of school on
Tuesday. If you have any questions, please e-mail Mimi. Thursday 6/6
celebration at 9am for Blue and 9:40am for Orange.
Social
Studies with Erin: Students
are working hard to complete their Ancient Rome projects. Each group is
creating a few pages of text with images and an activity or two. All of these
sections will come together to make our Core 3 Ancient Rome Activity Book.
Students will ideally spend a little time putting the finishing touches on
their work over the weekend. If they have more than "finishing
touches" to work on, they will have a hour of time to complete their
section next Wednesday.
Reading and
Writing Workshop with Genie: Thursday 6/6 celebration at 9am for Orange and 9:40am for
Blue. "How in-dependent are our workshops?" Is a question we ask. We
have learned about how to get ideas, structure and plan writing, re-vise and
edit and meet deadlines. When I check in with students many of them understand
this process and have adapted to the one many of us use—we plan but then draft,
revise and edit all along. Some students are still learning this process and
may just turn in their first draft. They may not have used their class time
wisely. You probably know where your child lies between these two types of Core
3 writers. The reading process allowed us to learn how to always have a book to
read, how to connect with characters, read between the lines, find big ideas,
support our thinking from the text, how to talk about books, grow our thinking,
read lots of pages, and know that reading nonfiction and fiction are important.
When I check in with students all of them have read this year. Some read
because I told them to and many read because they love to. You probably know
where your child lies between these two types of Core 3 readers. I hope that
you share your summer reading and writing lives with your child! Be explicit,
tell them 'I'm on the computer writing an email to a coworker who I'm working
on a project with and was thinking I could ask a question like this or like
that, I think this way sounds better because…' or 'Last night after you fell
asleep I read on the news that… and a confusing part was…' Your process in your
head should be shared! You will always be your child's first teacher!
Homework:
5G math:
Packet #36 Due 6/7/13—LAST ONE! Read and Write every day! This never stops
being 'homework'!
**********************
CORE 4 NEWS
Dear
parents and families,
We would like
to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support this school year.
The growth of the
children in
Core 4 would not have been possible without your partnership. We will miss all
of you who have given many years of dedication to SMASH and are going to solely
be high school parents next year. Your future high school is lucky to have such
wonderfully involved families. Thank you.
8th Grade
For summer
reading information please visit http://www.samohi.smmusd.org/reading/, I think
this has already been circulated by email. You could also continue to preview
geometry or revisit algebra by going to http://my.hrw.com/. Username:
samohimath, Password: vikings
7th Grade
For summer
reading, please have your child read as much as possible. If you do not have
any ideas for books, here is SMMUSD’s summer reading recommendation list:
http://www.smmusd.org/reading/2013/Grade8.pdf. A daily journal would also be a
good way to practice writing. Students can also check out an algebra book over
the summer if they would like to preview the book or get ahead.
Upcoming
Events
June 3 - 5 8th
Grade Graduation Trip to San Diego
June 4 - 6 7th
Grade Fulcrum Trip
June 8 -
Kurt’s Farewell Beach Party at Mother’s Beach
June 10 -8th
Grade Graduation beginning 10am. 1:30pm dismissal
$10 donation
or bring dessert enough for 10 people (grades K-7th)
June 11 -All
school beach day, 1:30pm dismissal. Last Day of School
Darwin
Mendinueto - dmendinueto@smmusd.org
Kurt Holland - kholland@smmusd.org
***********************
