DON’T FORGET!
Wednesday, October 30 - SMASH
is in session. NO enrichment classes on 10-30. Playground Access will be available.
REMINDER: If your child is
picked up after school (by Broadway gym, Boys & Girls Club, etc., you must
let them know SMASH has a regular school day.
Thursday, October 31 -
MINIMUM DAY 1:30pm DISMISSAL - NO Halloween costumes - Crazy Hair/Hat Day
*********************
Dear SMASHing Families,
1. Fitness
2. Social
Justice
3. Real World
Project support for SMASH upper school teachers and students
These are 3 great reasons to register for The
Walk for Education that will be held in Central Park in Pasadena on November
16, 2013 at 9:30 AM.
Let’s create a team of SMASH walkers who pre-register
and collect donations. Then on November
16th, walk laps around a designated area in Pasadena Central Park.
The walk serves as a symbol of support and solidarity for the programs that Collective Voices
Foundation is providing LA area schools including SMASH this school year.
Please sign up to pledge and to participate!
SMASH Team Page link:
http://walkforeducation.collectivevoices.org/teamsmash
Want to know more about our SMASH work with Collective
Voices this year?
SMASH and the JAMS STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics) team are partnering with Collective Voices in
planning, implementing, and reflecting on a cross-curricular project that
includes weekly coaching and community embedded experts.
Our primary objectives are:
·
To engage middle school students more in
curricular content in meaningful, timely project based learning (PBL)
·
To provide teachers with continued
professional growth and experience in PBL
·
To develop students’ abilities to engage
in problem solving in a manner that is meaningful to them and makes a positive
contribution to the community
·
To strengthen connection to the community
with projects that address real world problems and solicit community experts to
assist in student learning and project development
·
To heighten students’ lifelong learning
skills that support them as they transition through middle school to high
school and beyond
Looking forward to the collaboration with Collective
Voices and JAMS STEM, and
Hoping some of you are able to participate in the
November 16 walk-a-thon-
Enthusiastically yours,
Jessica
****************
DATES TO REMEMBER
October:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30 - SMASH WILL BE OPEN
·
Other
elementary schools will be closed. SMASH
will be taking the secondary pupil free date of January 6, 2014
·
Lunch
for Wed, Oct 30 will be bean and cheese burrito
·
No
CREST Enrichment classes. Playground
Access will be available
Thur, Oct. 31 - MINIMUM
DAY - 1:30 DISMISSAL - NO HALLOWEEN COSTUMES
Thur, Oct 31 - SMASH/JOHN MUIR CRAZY HAIR/HAT DAY!
November:
Fri, Nov 1 – Santa Monica ICE
tickets
Sun, Nov 3 - Daylight Savings
Ends - Set your clock 1 hour back and sleep in!
Wed, Nov 6 - 8:30am - PTSA
Mtg
Mon, Nov 11 - Veteran’s
Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Wed, Nov 13 - 3:30pm - Site
Council Mtg
Wed, Nov 13 - 6:00pm -
Yosemite Trip Parent Mtg
Fri, Nov 15 - School Picture
Make-up Day
Sun, Nov 17 - 7:00pm - Comedy
Night at Magicopolis - 1418 4th Street, downtown Santa Monica
Tickets are available at www.smashcomedynight.eventbrite.com
Mon, Nov 18 - 9:00am - SMASH
School Tour
Wed, Nov 20 - SMASH
restaurant fundraiser night at El Cholo’s Restaurant –details to come
Fri, Nov 22 - Family Dance
Wed, Nov 27 - 1:30pm -
EARLY DISMISSAL
Thurs, Fri, Nov 28 &
29 - Thanksgiving Holiday - SCHOOL CLOSED
December:
WINTER BREAK - December 23 -
January 6. School resumes on Tuesday,
January 7, 2014
*********************
SMASH COMEDY NIGHT
a PTSA "Adults Only" Fundraiser
Sunday, November 17 at 7pm
Magicopolis
- 1418 4th Street, downtown Santa
Monica
Tickets are available at www.smashcomedynight.eventbrite.com. This is the most convenient way to purchase tickets
but if you prefer not to buy online you can leave a check or cash with Janice
in the office. Please fill out the requested information on the sheet she has
so that we can confirm your purchase and hold your tickets at the door. Tickets
are $40 each - a bargain for this show. Checks made to Smash PTSA.
SMASH Dad Jake Johannsen is
hosting this night of laughs - he has appeared on the David Letterman Show 43
times (more than any other comedian!) and has done specials for Showtime and
HBO. Jake has put together a talented group of comedians and magicians
including Laurie Kilmartin, Owen Smith and Derek Hughes.
This promises to be a great night of fun and good times. This promises to be
one of the best nights of comedy that Santa Monica has ever seen. Visit www.smashcomedynight.eventbrite.com to purchase tickets. Thanks for supporting SMASH!
Hope to see you there!
Nina Furukawa, SMASH Comedy
Night Event Chair nina@smdp.com 310-922-2060
*********************
Notes from your PTSA. . .
.
SMASH can EARN UP TO $5,000 from Santa Monica Place
and Westside Pavilion, but we need your help.
Every time you shop at Santa
Monica Place and Westside Pavilion between September 1, 2013 and May 15,
2014
you can support SMASH by
bringing your receipts to the Concierge at Santa Monica Place, or Guest
Services at Westside Pavilion. Each dollar spent is worth five points. Be sure
to turn in your receipts within 7 days of purchase!
The schools that earn the
most points, will receive up to $5,000 in gift cards!
Bring your wallet and the whole family to the OP Café
and help support the Vision for Student Success!
The OP Café will be offering
tacos and aqua fresca for a minimum donation of $1 (aqua fresca)
and $2 (tacos) from October 23 to 25, 4pm to 7pm. All proceeds go to the
Education Foundation to support the Vision! You have the choice of chicken, carnitas
or vegan soy-rizo tacos, as well as cantaloupe mint aqua fresca. OP café is located at 3117
Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica.
Are you up to the Challenge? Take the D&B Matching Gift Challenge!
Now through December 20,
Dun & Bradstreet will match, dollar for dollar up to $150,000, your donation to the Education Foundation in support of the
SMMUSD Vision for Student Success. Every
gift, no matter the size, will double
the impact at your Child’s school and every school in our district, $50 becomes
$100, $500 becomes $1,000!
Make your gift online at
www.smmef.org/donate
Or mail your donation to: Santa
Monica-Malibu Education Foundation; 1645 16th St; Santa Monica, CA 90404
We have lots of great SMASH events coming up this year
and we need your help to pull them all off!
Below is the link to the volunteer sheet with lots of
fun ways to chip in.
There are jobs big and small. Good for one, good for
all. You can see it is purely win-win
Check it out here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dFRJQU9sNTBEQ3poNnc0YTJlTXMtWVE6MA
FREE COMPOST
Saturday, October 26
7:00am - 2:00pm while supplies last
City Yards at 2500 Michigan Avenue
Residents may fill 5 large burlap sacks with compostFor
info: 310-458-2223 or www.smgov.net/re
SMPD Is Taking Back Unwanted Prescription Drugs
Saturday, October 26, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Rid your homes
of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
Bring your medications for disposal to the Public Safety Facility (front curb)
at 333 Olympic Dr. The service is free and anonymous.
GREEN UP HALLOWEEN!
All empty candy wrappers and candy bags/packages can
be recycled or upcycled via Terracycle.
Pink Terracycle Collection bins are located in the small yard,in the
Core 2 breezeway and in front of Genie’s
room.
For questions, email mimilichterman@yahoo.com
BRING A BOOK, TAKE A BOOK FRIDAYS
Our Library Coordinator, Diane Greenseid, has been
hosting Free Book Fridays, where
families can take home a free book. She would like to instigate “bring a
book, take a book” Fridays where families will be able to donate a book (or
two) and take a book. Of course,
children may take a book even if they do not donate one. If you have several
books, please consider donating some of them to the blue box on the sidewalk in
front of school so that they can be shared with all students in the district. Thanks Diane!
OPERATION GRATITUDE
Drop off all or some of your Halloween candy and we will send it to our troops
overseas via
Operation Gratitude. Look for the
candy drop off box here at school on November 1 &; 4.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,Jr.
Santa Monica Morgan-Wixson Theatre
November 9 - December 14
Saturdays & Sundays at 2pm
Adults $20 Children 12 and under $15
310-828-7519 - www.morgan-wixson.org
******************
SANTA MONICE ICE!!
SANTA MONICE ICE!!
SMASH
8TH GRADE STUDENTS WILL BE SELLING $20 ICE TICKETS
ON
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1
BEFORE
& AFTER SCHOOL
AT
THE MAIN GATE AND IN THE SMALL YARD
Dear SMASH Families,
Every year we eagerly await the return of the Downtown
Santa Monica ICE skating rink. This
year, the season runs November 1 through January 20, and we have an
amazing opportunity to have fun and raise funds for SMASH trips
scholarships.
ICE will create a SMASH punch card that you can
purchase for $20. It can be used like cash for Admission, Skate Rental and/or Concessions. Admission and
skate rental at ICE is $12, and the additional $8 left over can be used at the concession/food stand or 'saved'
for the next trip to ice where it can again be used toward admission or for food and beverage. The cards can be used all season long (except
New Year’s Eve) so stock up!
For every $20 card
sold, the SMASH Trips Scholarship fund will earn $8.
ICE cards can also be
purchased in the SMASH office (check or exact cash amount only).
Questions? Contact Lori Nafshun at gettalife1@gmail.com
Thank you for
supporting our students!
ICE: November - January 20
Mon-Thurs 2:00-10:00pm
Fri 2:00-Midnight
Sat 10am - Midnight
Sun 10am - 10pm
*********************
CORE
1 NEWS
Creating A Safe Space to Play
As you know, Core 1 has been
working to create a safe yard to work and play in. Thus far, spaces have been
designated for specific types of activities--dramatic play, handball,
basketball, and playground structure work. To continue our efforts in creating
a safe yard, we ask that students and families use only safe equipment while
using this space, especially during morning drop off. We prefer all hard
balls--tennis balls, vulcanized rubber balls, and any balls that are hard to
squeeze--remain at home as they can lead to injury in such a limited space.
Moreover, we ask that students refrain from playing any games that require
throwing objects at one another, such as dodge ball and "Butts-Up."
Again, this is intended to maintain a safe and friendly drop-off and pick-up environment.
We are in need of the following as supplies for the
small yard: Foam noodles, jump ropes, lightweight balls, beach balls, scarves,
bubble wands, cones, pop-up soccer goals.
We greatly appreciate any contribution you can make to this endeavor!
Identifying Your Child's Clothing
As cooler weather approaches, your child will be wearing more sweaters
and jackets. To help ensure that their clothing returns home, we ask that you
write their names, first and last, near the neckline of all winter clothing.
Crazy Hair Day
Next Thursday, October 31st, is "Crazy Hair
Day." We ask that all Halloween costumes and accessories stay at home on
this day.
Thank You!
Thank you to all families who were able to join Core 1 on our walk to
Main Street on Friday, October 25. Not only was it a fun way to celebrate the
day, but it was also a positive way to build community among teachers,
students, and parents.
Thank you for your continued partnership.
Graciela (gbarba-castro@smmusd.org Chrysta (cpowell@smmusd.org) Christian (ccarter@smmus.og) & Nadja
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
October 30 -
SMASH is in session
·
other elementary schools are having pupil
free day. SMASH’s pupil free day will be January 6, 2014
·
There will be playground access - but NO
enrichment classes
·
If your child is picked up for after
school care, please contact them to let them know SMASH is in session
October 31 -
SMASH Minimum Day - 1:30 Dismissal
·
NO Halloween costumes or makeup
·
SMASH crazy hair/hat day
*********************
CORE
2 NEWS
It’s Halloween season! Ghosts, ghouls, and haunted things are coming
out of Core 2 these days! Check out some
of our 3rd grade scary story ideas and quotes:
Aiden- “Fine, I will,” said Owen. “I will go into the rainforest to find a
clouded leopard.”
Luca-Characters: Luca, Matthew, Quillen, and Aiden Setting-abandoned
house and a haunted graveyard
Marielle- Lola screamed out, “Theres a fashion emergency!”
Keera- We were going to spend Christmas at a hotel.
Quillen- In the morning, it was quiet, very quiet.
Dominic- A vampire cut his head off.
Stella- Characters: Max and Lizie Setting: abandoned kitchen
Katell-Characters: Bob and Karen Setting:
abandoned, haunted graveyard.
Tali- Boom! A gun shot.
“Aaah!” said Quillen.
Simone- I picked up the mail and I saw a gold envelope.
Owen- On a peaceful night, a boy and girl were walking in
the park.
Kai-“I don’t want to go,” I whined. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” mother said.
Genevieve-Characters: Peter, Hope, Dominic, Violet, and Jack
Violet-Characters: Grace, Genevieve, Luca, Alani, and
Malaika
Keira- Characters: Fionnula, Ivy, Liv, James, Ty,
and Lola Setting-abandoned town
Alani-Characters: Rosie, Violet, Genevieve, and Erin
Matthew-Settings: a haunted house and the farmers
market
Taj-“Welcome,” said the stranger. Lizzie trembled with fear. She knew something was wrong.
Violeta- Characters: Tasha, George, Annie, and Lucas Setting:
abandoned middle school
Marlee-“Run!” they all screamed.
Aurelio- Characters: Mad scientist Setting-
scientific lab and a haunted graveyard
Micah-Then a giant piece of poop came.
Sadie- There was a note on a knife.
Fionnula-She picked up a pocket watch and there was a note
inside.
Have a spooky weekend!
Jayme, Tamara, and Malaika
Jayme: jwoldflorian@smmusd.org Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
October 30
- SMASH is in session
·
other elementary schools are having pupil
free day. SMASH’s pupil free day will be January 6, 2014
·
There will be playground access - but NO enrichment
classes
·
If your child is picked up for after
school care, please contact them to let them know SMASH is in session
October 31 - SMASH Minimum Day - 1:30
Dismissal
·
NO Halloween costumes or makeup
·
SMASH crazy hair/hat day
*********************
CORE
3 NEWS
CRAZY Hair Day Thursday 10/31! It is
also a 1:30 dismissal day! We do have school on 10/30!
TRIPS:
~Fri,
11/1—UCLA weather station chaperones: Jamee, Sandy, Marni, Kathleen, Marsha
Leslie
(Andre's mom) has found a person to donate beautiful shelves for our Core 3
Library but we need a truck and human power to move the shelves from their
current location to Core 3. Please let Genie (ghwang@smmusd.org) or Leslie
(lesliezuczek@gmail.com) know if you have a truck and can help! Thanks!
6th gr
Math with Erin: This
week students reviewed and then took a final assessment on our Factors unit.
Please ask your child how confident they felt with the material that they
learned. Next week we will begin work on Fractions.
5th gr Math with Genie: We are using the number line as a tool to add and subtract large numbers. We know that when we are figuring out 10,000 - 5,489 = x we may turn it into 5,489 + x = 10,000 to use the strategy to count up. Students often use place value and landmark numbers to solve answers. Some like to use large chunks first (5,489+4,000=9,489+500=9,989+11=10,000) and some like to use smaller chunks to then make the big jumps (5,489+11=5,500+500=6,000+4,000=10,000). We are also playing the game Close to 1,000 which is similar to Close to 100. If you have digit cards at home, you can play with your child.
5th gr Math with Genie: We are using the number line as a tool to add and subtract large numbers. We know that when we are figuring out 10,000 - 5,489 = x we may turn it into 5,489 + x = 10,000 to use the strategy to count up. Students often use place value and landmark numbers to solve answers. Some like to use large chunks first (5,489+4,000=9,489+500=9,989+11=10,000) and some like to use smaller chunks to then make the big jumps (5,489+11=5,500+500=6,000+4,000=10,000). We are also playing the game Close to 1,000 which is similar to Close to 100. If you have digit cards at home, you can play with your child.
Social Studies/Science with Erin: On Monday we took an exciting field
trip to the zoo. We were fortunate to get fourteen docents which allowed the
students to get small group attention and learn a lot of new information.
Students were able to learn about where various animals live around the world
and place them on the world map to connect to our world geography unit. Thank
you to all the parents chaperones who came along on this trip. Our visit to the
zoo sparked an interesting discussion on Tuesday. Students pondered and debated
about whether zoos are helpful or hurtful towards animals. This also brought up
ideas of what does it mean to "live well" for both animals and humans.
The rest of the week students continued working on their country research. For
the most part students have investigated their way through Geography, Religion,
and Arts and Architecture and are moving on to Politics. Students will continue
working for a few more weeks on their research and then will begin work on
their presentation.
Reading
and Writing Workshop with Genie: Thanks to the families who came and helped us celebrate our
Memoir Unit! We had our 3rd debate in class this week and next week
we will begin preparing for our 4th and final formal debate.
Students have made connections to how debate helps them in discussions, think
about essays, and to be aware and empathetic to the other side's opinion and
reasons. Our final debates will take place in November. We will announce the
debate dates and times so you can plan to come watch your child debate. We are
also thinking about how essay writing is different than story writing and where
in the world we see this type of writing since most of our just right books are
story writing (chapter books that are usually fictional). Some essays take research and some, like the
ones we are embarking on, are personal and require no research. Try and read a
news article out of the paper or online with your child and think through the
point/main idea, reasons and examples that support, and what the opposing view
may be.
Visual
Art with Julianna: This week we began testing our filming on our
stop animation using the cameras on our computers, Photobooth and iMovie
software. If you have an Apple computer
at home, ask your child to show you how they can use these tools to create stop
animation videos.
Homework:
5G math:
packet #9. Due 11/1/13
RW: read
every day for 30-40 minutes (around 100 pages a week)
Nonfiction
reading sheet—complete front and back by Wednesday (10/30)
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
October 30
- SMASH is in session
·
Other elementary schools are having pupil
free day. SMASH’s pupil free day will be January 6, 2014
·
There will be playground access - but NO
enrichment classes
·
If your child is picked up for after
school care, please contact them to let them know SMASH is in session
October 31 - SMASH Minimum Day - 1:30
Dismissal
·
NO Halloween costumes or makeup
·
SMASH crazy hair/hat Day
*********************
