February 28, 2014

READ BELOW TO GET INFORMED ABOUT 

THE NEW COMPUTER-BASED STATE

STANDARDIZED TESTING 4/23-4/29 at SMASH for 3^rd-8^th graders!

If you would like to opt your 3^rd-8^th grade child out of the CASPP, you need to write a letter by Friday, April 4 at 4:00pm (before Spring Break begins) to Jessica Rishe with your child’s name, birth date, and grade level. You need to state that you want your child to opt out of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CASPP) for math and language arts for 2014.  [And if you have a 5^th or 8^th grader and wish to opt your child out of all state testing this year, you also need to list that you want your child to opt out of the California Standards Test in Science.] Then sign, date, and print parent name.

All schools in California will be administering a field test known as the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CASPP) for math and language arts.  (This replaces the CST.)  CASPP are     computer-based tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards that SMASH will administer on laptops 4/23-4/29. In addition, SMASH 5^th and 8^th graders will take the CST Science Friday, 4/25/14.

This year, California recognizes that Districts will be trouble shooting the technical capabilities to meet the demands of the computer-based assessments so no scores will be recorded or reported to the state, District, or families. 

If you want to see what types of questions students will be asked or how the test will be presented, there is a

practice test available online at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/practicetest.asp. 

Go to “Take the Practice Test”

Enter guest, guest, guest

Select a grade level

Select math or language arts practice or performance tests

You will see the many computerized tools students will need to be able to use and make sense of in order to take the test, and you will experience the test problems that are all non-multiple choice format.  

Please contact me if you have further questions about your child’s participation in testing.

Jessica

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REMINDERS!!

TALENT SHOW - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5.  6:00-7:30PM

JOG-A-THON - FRIDAY, MARCH 7.  GET THOSE PLEDGES IN!

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The SMASH Jog-a-thon is next

Friday, March 7^th!

Only one more week to get pledges!

The Jog-a-thon schedule is as follows:

9:00 – 9:25 Core 1 (Graciela) and Core 3 (Green) Warm up for 5 minutes & Run at 9:05

(9:00 - Chrysta and Core 3 Pink come out to cheer)

9:25 – 9:50 Core 1 (Chrysta) and Core 3 (Pink) Warm up for 5 minutes & Run at 9:30

(9:25 - Mimi and 7th graders (Pam) come out to cheer)

9:50 – 10:15 Core 2 (Mimi) and 7th graders (Pam) Warm up for 5 minutes & Run at 9:55

(9:50 - Christian, Tamara and 8th graders (Darwin) come out to cheer)

10:15 – 10:40 Core 1 (Christian), Core 2 (Tamara) & 8th graders (Darwin) Warm up & Run at 10:20

(10:15 - Graciela and Core 3 come out to cheer)

Come and cheer for our amazing athletes!

Don’t miss out on this action-packed, fun-filled day at SMASH. 

We still need volunteers.  To volunteer, contact Lillie Schlessinger at

lillie.schlessinger@transamerica.com.

Runners, please remember to

apply sunscreen and wear athletic shoes!

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DATES TO REMEMBER

Wed, Mar 5 - 8:30am - PTSA Mtg. 

Wed, Mar 5 - 11:45 - Visiting author, Elizabeth Wolfe

Wed, Mar 5 - 6:00-7:30pm  -  SMASH Talent Show. 

Fri, Mar 7 - SMASH JOG-A-THON!!

Sun, Mar 9 - Daylight Saving Time begins - Set your clocks 1 hour ahea

Fri, Mar 14 - 8:30am - Core 1 Leprechaun Traps

Fri, Mar 14 - 9:45 am - AstroCamp Assembly

Tues, Wed, Thurs, Mar 18, 19, 20 - 1:30 EARLY DISMISSAL - CONFERANCES

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Tidbits From SMASH PTSA

Join Us For The MOST IMPORTANT PTSA Meeting of the YEAR!!

Wednesday, March 5 at 8:30am in the school library

We will be voting for the PTSA Board that will be representing SMASH for the next two years!

CONGRATULATIONS to Arati Desai and Siridyal Shilo and Marni Gittleman

on another fantastic Arts and Letters event.

The success is a result of months of diligence, creativity and hard work.

SMASH appreciates you and your team for everything you did to pull off another fun evening.

THANK YOU to Lori Nafshun & Mai Ichiyanagi

For a fantastic and fun Multi-cultural Potluck!

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The SMASH Alumni site is now up and running

Anyone that wants to stay connected to SMASH and upcoming events, including the 40th Anniversary Celebration

is encouraged to sign up so you can get the emails and updates! Hope to see you all in May for the family event at

SuperSMASH and then the adults only celebration on Main St! Please share with everyone that you are in touch with that are alumni! Cheers! www.smashalumni.com

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We have lots of great SMASH events coming up this year, but we need your help to pull them all off!

Whether you volunteer 2 hours or 100 hours - everything is appreciated. Click here to volunteer!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dFRJQU9sNTBEQ3poNnc0YTJlTXMtWVE6MA

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40th Anniversary of SMASH, SUPERSMASH and SILENT AUCTION

You may not believe it, but we are already working on putting together SuperSMASH and the SMASH Silent Auction - May is just around the corner!

            Plus, we are going to be inviting all SMASH Alumni to attend the event this year to celebrate our

40TH Anniversary - which means lots of people and lots of fun.

            To pull it all off, we need you to help in any way you can. There are many small and large tasks that can be done off campus, leadership roles, and ways you can help during the actual event. Please contact the Chairs for these 3 events to see which jobs are available and if there is one that is a good fit for you.

Silent Auction Chair: The fabulous Sabine Werk visionwerk@mac.com

SuperSMASH Chair: The marvelous Naren Desai narendesai@icloud.com

40th Anniversary Co-Chairs: The awe-inspiring Summer Germann summergermann@aol.com

STORAGE SPACE NEEDED:

We are looking for some space close to school to use for Silent Auction Storage. If you have space available or know of someone who might, please contact me: jameetenzer@gmail.com. We might even be able to pay a small rental fee!

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Join SMASH on FACEBOOK

If you have a Facebook account be sure to:

“Like” the Santa Monica Alternative School House - PTSA Page - A public page that provides information about our school and any events, opportunities and fundraisers that are open to the public. Posts/Likes/Messages on this page are visible to ALL. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/SMASH.PTSA

“Join” the SMASH Friends and Family Facebook GROUP – A closed, permission-only group for current SMASH  families and alumni families to receive school event reminders and share information about local happenings that may be of interest to SMASH families. Posts/Likes/Messages within this closed group are ONLY visible to the group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/82414520641

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**SMASH Bash UPDATES: Poker BASH Added & Art BASH Updated**

POKER BASH - NEW:

The SMASH Poker BASH is back! WHO will take home the Trophy THIS year???

Sign up yourself AND friends (who do NOT have to be from SMASH).

This year our hosts are Mitch Lichterman and Matt Lombard.

DATE: March 16 (Sun) 2pm-6ish

LOCATION: Lichterman Residence, West Los Angeles

COST: $40 Buy In (Multiple Buy Ins Allowed)

DETAILS: Join our 4th Annual Poker BASH Tournament! All levels welcome - and the winner takes home the SMASH Trophy (for one year ;-).  Chili, cornbread and drinks provided.

Bring friends!

ART PARTY FOR GROWN-UPS - UPDATED:

The "Art Party for Grown-Ups" (hosted by Mei Lisa and Kip Thompson) is now NOT just for pairs/couples. All are welcome - come alone, or with a friend. One lucky person will win the coveted group painting at the end of the night. Only $30 per person to attend. (May 31)

The following ADDITIONAL bashes still have some availability (but ARE filling up):

Hands-Only CPR and AED Training (March 23)

Afternoon Card Bash (March 30)

Cocktails and Kvetching with Local Officials (April 26)

Recycled Racecar races (May 4)

Core 2 and 3 Obstacle Course Mystery Adventure

To sign up to attend a SMASH Bash, please do the following:

1)  Look through the SMASH Bash folder in the office and pick the events you want to attend (that still have space)

2) To claim your spot, write your name on the page of the event(s) you will attend.

3) Take a "Registration Form and Receipt" from the front of the SMASH Bash folder, mark the events you will attend and total your payment.

4) Leave payment (check or cash) with Janice.

5) Take the yellow copy and leave the while one in the folder-- along with the necessary

   signed waivers

QUESTIONS? Please email SMASH Bash Co-Chair Mari Ayers Brady (marniayers@gmail.com)

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Author Visit: Elisabeth Wolf

Dear Parents:

We are pleased to announce that 3^rd-6^th grade students from both Muir and SMASH will have the opportunity to meet children’s author Elisabeth Wolf. Mrs. Wolf will visit students on Wednesday, March 5.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of her book, LULU IN LA LA LAND, please fill out this form and return it with your payment to Ms. Greenseid in the library by Tuesday, March 4. Please make the checks payable to “Elisabeth Wolf”.

Student’s Name________________________________________________________

Teacher/Class:_________________________________________________________

Desired inscription in book:___________________________________________

Cost of book: $7

About the author

Elisabeth Wolf is a bit Lulu. She lives in Los Angeles where she grows fruits, vegetables and native flowers. She has two children, Philip (15) and Emmeline (13). Her inspiration for writing Lulu was based on their growing up in Los Angeles and seeing how fast childhood can zoom by. She bakes her children’s birthday cakes and eats spicy Mexican food. Each year for her birthday, she asks her children to give her the same present: “Turn off the lights to help save the earth”. But make NO mistake: she loves a good shopping trip and pedicure!

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Samohi Theatre  presents

“PIPPIN”

A mysterious performance troupe, led by a Leading Player, tells the story of Pippin,

 a young prince on his search for meaning and significance.

Performed with a live orchestra in historic Barnum Hall

March 7, 8, 14 & 15 at 7:00pm

March 16 at 5:00pm

Students $10

Adults $15

Purchase tickets at: http://samohitheatre.org/tickets.html

For information, e-mail: info@samohitheatre.org

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ARTS & LETTERS

This past Saturday, the community came out in force to the SMASH Arts & Letters Sale in support of   elementary school arts programs throughout the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. We want to thank you for being such an impactful part of it!

Thanks to you, over 5,000 children in eleven elementary schools will have increased access to the arts   in the scope of their learning. Thanks to you, over 5,000 children will have direct opportunities to explore and expand their capacity for self-expression, and will develop divergent competences and confidence to communicate ideas, thoughts and feelings through varied mediums and materials. Thanks to you, we can continue to nurture next generations of artists.

You each made an individual difference that, collaboratively, make a communal difference for all of our children. Thank you again for your support; we look forward to seeing you at the next event!

View the event photos on Facebook: 2014 SMASH Arts & Letters Sale.

We are very grateful for the generosity of our sponsors:

Streetcraft LA (2912 Main Street, Santa Monica -- www.streetcraftla.com)

une petite fête, a catering company specializing in cocktail parties (www.unepetitefete.com)

Holy Guacamole (2906 Main Street, Santa Monica)

Phoenix Bakery (969 N Broadway, Los Angeles -- www.phoenixbakeryinc.com)

Cut+Run LA (www.cutandrun.com)

Positive Existence Printing (www.peprinting.com)

Nick Toren Photography (nicktorenphotography@gmail.com)

Whole Foods (225 Lincoln Blvd, Venice)

Bob's Market (1650 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica)

Trader Joe's (3456 S Sepulveda Blvd, West Los Angeles)

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From Nurse Sandy Cano

Parent(s)/Guardian(s)

The presence of Scarlet Fever has been noted in our school.  Since your child may be exposed to this illness, it is   important you are aware of the symptoms, treatment procedures, and your role in the prevention of the spread of this contagious disease. 

Scarlet fever is caused by an infection with group A streptococcus bacteria. The bacteria make a toxin (poison) that can cause the scarlet-colored rash from which this illness gets its name. Not all streptococci bacteria make this toxin and not all kids are sensitive to it. Two kids in the same family may both have strep infections, but one child (who is sensitive to the toxin) may develop the rash of scarlet fever while the other may not. Usually, if a child has this scarlet rash and other symptoms of strep throat, it can be treated with antibiotics. So if your child has these symptoms, it's important to call your doctor.

Symptoms of Scarlet Fever:

The rash is the most striking sign of scarlet fever. It usually begins looking like a bad sunburn with tiny bumps and it may itch. The rash usually appears first on the neck and face, often leaving a clear unaffected area around the mouth. It spreads to the chest and back, then to the rest of the body. By the sixth day of the infection the rash usually fades, but the affected skin may begin to peel. Aside from the rash, there are usually other symptoms that help to confirm a diagnosis of scarlet fever, including a reddened sore throat, a fever above 101°F (38.3°C), and swollen glands in the neck. The tonsils and back of the throat may be covered with a whitish coating, or appear red, swollen, and dotted with whitish or yellowish specks of pus. Early in the infection, the tongue may have a whitish or yellowish coating. A child with scarlet fever also may have chills, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. When scarlet fever occurs because of a throat infection, the fever typically stops within 3 to 5 days, and the sore throat passes soon afterward. With antibiotic treatment, the infection itself is usually cured with a 10-day course of antibiotics, but it may take a few weeks for tonsils and swollen glands to return to normal.

Preventing Scarlet Fever:

The bacterial infection that causes scarlet fever is contagious. A child who has scarlet fever can spread the bacteria to others through nasal and throat fluids by sneezing and coughing. In everyday life, there is no perfect way to avoid the infections that cause scarlet fever. When a child is sick at home, it's always safest to keep that child's drinking glasses and eating utensils separate from those of other family members, and to wash these items thoroughly in hot soapy water. Wash your own hands frequently as you care for a child with a strep infection.

Please notify the school nurse if your child develops scarlet fever or any strep infection.

Sincerely,   

Sandra Cano, RN, MN   

School Nurse

310-396-2640 x 64-105

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CORE 1 NEWS

Spring Conference Information

We are looking forward to celebrating your child’s growth with you at our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences     that will be held the week of March 17^th.  You will meet with your child’s Workshop Teacher (Graciela-Partners, Chrysta-Bigs, Christian-Mentors) for a twenty-minute conference.  Our conference schedules are in the office.  If you are unable to stop in the office to sign up, please call Janice or Wende at 310-396-2640 x 77-0. Please return your   questionnaire before the conference.  This will allow us to maximize our time together.  Core 1 conferences are for the teacher and parents - no children please.

Appreciation

We couldn’t have had a successful field trip to the California Science Center without our amazing parent volunteers! Our volunteers made sure that all the children were safe, cared for, and engaged.  We also want to thank the families for their generous contributions.

Reflections

The children were delighted to be surrounded by swarms of three-dimensional flying butterflies.  They stood on their feet, stretched their arms, and out to tried to catch the monarch butterflies in their hands.  The learned the scientists who studied their migration patterns, they developed concern for their declining population, and processed information about their life cycle. 

Here’s what the children had to say:

Gabrielle - Butterflies can be very delicate.  The third one that is laid can fly more than the rest of its family. 

Razz  - The super monarchs can fly longer and last longer than just the monarch.

Lucy - They get stressed when loud noises get near them.

Brando and Dean - They lay eggs under a plant—under the milkweed- so they can eat milkweed.  And there’s an egg right at the bottom and when it grows out, it eats it. After 22 years it gets bigger.  They travel to Mexico and some other places.

Ajax and Jules - They migrate millions of miles.  They look super awesome when all of them are hanging from the trees. They eat milkweed only and if a bird eats them, except bluejay or desert birds, then they get poisoned by milkweed.  If any animal eats it then it gets poisoned because the milkweed has poison in it.  But the caterpillars can eat it. But if any animal tries to eat it then it gets poisoned.

Reminders-Leprechaun traps should be brought to school on Friday, March 14. They will be taken home on Monday, March 17.

Wishlist-Pencils

Have a great weekend!

Graciela (gbarba-castro@smmusd.org             Chrysta (cpowell@smmusd.org)         

Christian (ccarter@smmus.og) & Nadja

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CORE 2 NEWS

Dear SMASHing Families,

3G Math:  We have been working on arrays and their relationship to multiplication.  Homework for the next two weeks is making Multiplication Cards and practicing with them.  We have made a set at school as well.  Please keep the home set in a designated location and use them to practice regularly.  For most of us, we know 2x2 is 4 without much thought at all. Our goal is to practice with the cards until all or almost all of the multiplication combinations come just as quickly and easily. 

Gray Group Update:  In Science this week, we continued learning about nutrition by exploring food ingredient lists of some common snack and food items.  Students searched for foods with whole grains and five or less ingredients.  Students will take home a Snack of Champions that they created.  If you have time, try it out at home this weekend!

We are learning to be aware of what we eat as well as how it affects us.  Thank you to Marni Gittleman for coming in to share information on how different foods can affect our mood.  Idea: Pay careful attention to specific foods you eat (maybe keep a log) and how they affect your energy and/or mood.

We are well into our Fantasy Writing Unit. Last week, students have brainstormed different elements of Fantasy       stories, tried combining different elements to create interesting story ideas, and drew detailed setting maps.  This week, students developed story mountains, tried a variety of ways to begin their stories, and began their drafts.  If your Gray Group student is absent next week on any day please make sure to check in with Mimi regarding their Fantasy story progress.   Drafts must be finished before Friday, 3/7. 

Drama with Kristy:  This week, we began rehearsing our scripts.  Scripts will be recorded as an audio recording.  Some groups have chosen to have silent actors act out scenes as a recorded narrator tells the story.  Other groups have chosen to have a narrator and/or actors use their voices to tell the story on an audio recording.  Through rehearsals, we are learning the subtle skills of using tone, volume, and different character voices to convey meaning. 

Jog-a-thon!  Please help your student get sponsors for the Jog-a- thon!  It is next Friday!  Gray Advisory will run 9:50-10:15. Orange Advisory will run 10:15-10:40.  Please help your student by making sure they get plenty of sleep the night before, eat a balanced breakfast, and that they wear appropriate shoes and clothing for the Jog-a-thon.

Have a Great Weekend!

Tamara, Mimi & Malaika

Tamara: tmugalian@smmusd.org                                                                     Mimi:mimilichterman@yahoo.com

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CORE 3 NEWS

Jogathan Pledges!  Collect them and gear up for Jogathon March 7!

Thanks for preparing your children for Astrocamp! And thanks to Marsha, Melanie, Kathleen, Bailey and Ofer for    being outstanding chaperones and being moms and dad away from home!

Astrocamp Assembly Friday March 14, 9:45-10:15.  The slideshow and all the photos will be available—just have your child bring in a thumbdrive and we'll load it with the fun memories!

ANYONE INTERESTED? PLEASE CONTACT GENIE. KRISTY, AND MARNI WILL BE THERE.

Theater by the Blind, the only entirely blind theater troupe in the country, will be performing "Sit" an original play based on the life of a cast member.  @the Promenade Playhouse, Feb 21-Sun 2 (right in Santa Monica!). $15/tickets but we can get a group discount for the March 2^nd 7:00pm show More info@ http://www.creoutreach.org/ For tickets for the March 2^nd 7:00pm show:  Visit: http://tinyurl.com/sit-play, enter discount code: smash

6th gr Math with Erin: The 6th graders continue to work on their Geometry Dream House unit. Most students have finished with our practice measurement and floor drawing of the classroom. Those students have moved on to brainstorming what sort of dream house they want to design with the 5000 sq. foot limit.Once they have a rough draft     created, they will begin work on their final architectural style floor plan and from there created their scale model.      Because we are spending much of our class time working on our dream houses, students are going to be bringing home more regular math homework to practice the geometry math concepts. Please make sure that your child completes the work and feels comfortable with the material. Those who don't have time to complete it in class will spend some of class time working on it instead of their dream houses.

5^th gr Math with Genie: Kids said, "I forgot how to do math." Even though we did math thinking at Astrocamp. We refreshed our memories about how multiplying fractions work, took an assessment and moved onto dividing fractions. We also found some fun games to practice our fractions.  If you scroll to the bottom you can choose for 5^th grade and fractions.  The website is: www.hoodamath.com

Interdisciplinary Project:  Medical Issues: Knowledge of Diseases, Conditions, and Syndromes and their  Inclusion within Society: Students continue to work on bettering their Prezis. This week we previewed two of the   further along Prezis in each class. Students gave praise and constructive criticism so that both the group and the class as a whole could see what is working. From looking at the Prezis underway, we thought about what order the slides work best. We also talked about even if you think your work is, "done" it can always be fleshed out and improved upon.   In addition, looked at creating compound and complex sentences (longer sentences strung together by conjunctions) to help make our essays seem sophisticated and mature.  Your child is working on finishing their own essay on their topic and on their group Prezi Presentation.

Reading/Writing Workshop with Genie: We have a new student teacher, Dylan Ross.  He is in his masters program at Pepperdine and will be spending the next 6 weeks with us until spring break.  We will start up the nonfiction sheet  for next week.  We spent a day reading and discussing our Read Aloud and a day working on our science fiction short stories.

Dramatic Arts with Kristy: We practiced our scripts and critiqued each others to make sure the scripts make the most sense.  We will record them the next two weeks to edit them into an iMovie, putting all of our adapted chapters in order.  We will share our work during the day on May 2 and in the evening at Open House May 2.

Homework:

5G math: packet #21. Due 3/7/14

Nonfiction sheet due Wednesday!

Reading 30 minutes every day! 

WW: collect 2 entries (full pages) in writing notebook each week.

Enjoy the weekend

Genie, Erin, and Laura

Genie:ghwang@smmusd.org                                                                              Erin: ehaendel@smmusd.org

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CORE 4 NEWS

8th Grade

Important Reminders for 8th Grade Parents:

1.      Laura Simone from Santa Monica High School will be meeting with the 8th grade class on Wednesday, March 12  at 8:45am to talk about Samohi and begin the process of choosing classes for 9th grade.

2.      Laura Simone will also conduct  a parent meeting at SMASH that night, Wednesday, March 12 at 6pm to discuss transitioning to Samohi.  We hope to see 8th grade parents there.                       

3.      Samohi is currently working on finding a date for our 8th graders to visit their campus.  This will likely happen after spring break.

     4.  A flyer about Project Lead the Way Engineering Pathway that is starting at Samohi in the fall was sent           home today with your 8th grader.

     5.  Core 4 traditionally does not hold parent conferences for 8th grade students in the spring. Parent                   attend the Samohi transition meeting instead.  However, if you have any concerns about your child,               please email us.

Humanities - Most students are about halfway done with reading The Secret Life of Bees. We talked about the reading zone, epigraphs and had an introduction to the civil rights movement. Students are starting to formulate questions for a research based action project around the topic of bees. We will be bringing in experts and hopefully taking a few field trips related to current issues.

Science - We have moved into the study of evolution. As a foundational biology concept, evolution will tie together the learning students have experienced in their study of cells, genetics, and ecology.

Math - All 8th graders worked on constructing the largest box (in terms of volume) using a single sheet of paper. We debriefed the process and their conclusions about which design held the most volume. “The Algebros” took a test on Exponential Functions and Polynomials (Adding, Subtracting, and Multiplying). “The Variables” are continuing their work with Systems and we had lessons on Applying Systems and Solving Systems of Linear Inequalities. “The GUFs” reviewed Inequalities.

7th Grade

Humanities - We talked about the reading zone, work on identity charts, and the majority of the students started reading The Giver. Students are starting to formulate questions for a research based action project around a current science related topic of concern to them.

Science - We have moved into the study of evolution. As a foundational biology concept, evolution will tie together the learning students have experienced in their study of cells, genetics, and ecology.

Math - “The B.L. Broskis” and “The 42% Mathecols” worked on Two-Dimensional Geometry which includes perimeter, circumference, and areas of triangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, circles, and irregular shapes. “The Mathemagicians worked on the coordinate plane, functions, and graphing linear functions.

Important Dates

March 7th - Jog-a-thon

March 12th - Laura Simone from Samohi meets with 8th grade students at 8:45am

March 12th - 8th grade parent meeting about transitioning to Samohi

March 24, 26, 31 - Aquarium Field Trip for 7th grade

Darwin Mendinueto - dmendinueto@smmusd.org                              Pam Dresher - pdresher@smmusd.org

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