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Inside Billings
April 2, 2026
| | 🎒 What's Happening at Billings? 📚 | | |
With the arrival of spring comes a chance to reflect on a vibrant winter season and look ahead to the exciting experiences still to come. Our community gathered in inspiring ways—through memorable student performances, meaningful fundraising efforts, and the dedication of our parent volunteers, whose time and energy strengthen our school in countless ways.
A heartfelt thank you to our community for your time, efforts, and support of Billings. Together, we surpassed our fundraising goal for the school year—an incredible reflection of the commitment and spirit that defines our community. When we come together in support of our students and school, we truly grow together. If you would still like to contribute, visit our Giving page.
| As the season unfolds, students are preparing for upcoming expeditionary trips that will challenge them, deepen friendships, and bring learning to life beyond the classroom. | | Thank you to Amy Keljo (Ian, '26) for capturing the magic of the evening through her lens. Amy offers event photography and family sessions. For more information, visit her website. | | Congratulations to our student musicians, singers, set designers, props artisans, playwrights, actors, assistant director, assistant production manager, and stage managers that brought Mystery & Mayhem Act I: Band & Vocals and Act II: The Cavern of Crimes to life last weekend. Over the eleven weeks of Winter Term, the Arts Team led students through the process of mounting a full production from planning to designing to building to writing to editing to rehearsing to performing! We saw students challenge themselves in new opportunities and pull through to support unexpected changes up to the last minute. We are incredibly proud of the work that started with a blank page and resulted in the magic and memories carried forward past the performance. Congratulations to all! Gratitude extends to our Arts team and all of our parent volunteers! | | Trip season is here! As the days grow longer and the weather warms, our students venture beyond the classroom to apply their learning, strengthen their expeditionary skills in the field, and strengthen connections with their peers. | |
In a week, the 7th grade class will depart for Vantage, Washington, to complete their three-day, two-night front-country trip. Students will go rock climbing at The Feathers, in Frenchman Coulee – a classic climbing area in the state – and explore the geological make up of Ancient Lakes. This trip is a culmination of the students' frontcountry skills – pitching tents, cooking and cleaning for large groups, EGGS, and group-care – before transitioning to their first backcountry expedition a month later.
At the start of May, 7th graders will travel to Baker Lake for a 3-day, 2-night backpacking trip. Students will carry everything they need for the totality of this trip on their backs, as they hike in the shadow of Mt. Baker. This expedition is a big step up for students, but often shows the amount of group-care and connection the grade has for one another.
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Later that month, our 6th and 8th grade classes will journey out to their respective spring expeditions. The 6th grade class will head to Mt. St. Helens and Seaquest State Park for a frontcountry trip. Leading up to the trip, our students will investigate the geological phenomena of Mt. St. Helens before conducting a scientific investigation in the field. At the campground, students will begin to take ownership over frontcountry responsibilities – building and cooking over fires, pitching tents, and practicing Leave No Trace principles.
That same week, our 8th graders will finish off their expeditions at Billings with a weeklong backpacking trip on the Olympic Coast. Students must interpret tidal charts and come together to make decisions as they navigate the changing coastline. Every year, the comradery and care the students have for one another shines so brightly. This trip has a magical ability to make memories that last a lifetime.
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Spring is rolling in, and with it comes April showers—please ensure your student is coming to school prepared for a bit of rain! We will continue to hold lunch outside and take off-campus trips whenever possible, so please make sure your student has a raincoat ready to go.
Additionally, please double check that your student brings enough lunch and snacks to get them through the day, especially if they are staying after school for a club or sport. As students grow, they often need more fuel to stay full and focused throughout the day.
We will also be clearing out the Lost & Found over Spring Break. All lost items are located behind the Front Desk, and students are welcome to stop by to check for anything that may have been turned in. If your student is missing a jacket, water bottle, Tupperware, or even a single glove, please encourage them to take a look. During Spring Break, any unclaimed items will be donated to local thrift stores.
Need to get a head-start on planning for next school year? Our Preliminary Calendar for the School Year 2026-2027 is now available. Our main Community Calendar on our website has been updated and will be updated with additional information as events are finalized. Please email the Front Desk if you have any questions.
| Billings Family Association | |
Monthly BFA Meeting Tomorrow 4/3
The BFA meeting follows Friday morning coffee! All are invited to come grab a cup, meet other Billings family members, and get the latest school and BFA news.
All-Family Roller Skating Event Tomorrow 4/3
The Lynnwood Bowl & Skate is all ours for a private Billings roller skating party this Friday 4/3 from 5-7pm! (Thank you, 6th-grade parent Wendy Watson!) Billings students and their families (including non-Billings siblings) are invited. This is not a drop-off event. The cost is $12 for the roller skate rental. (No cost for non-skating spectators.) Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
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If you can make it, please add your name to the RSVP list. Feel free to stop by Friday evening even if you can't RSVP in advance.
**Note: We’ve had several questions about noise levels at the rink. Lynnwood Bowl & Skate says we can adjust the music volume as we wish, so don’t let that stop you from attending!
Planning Meeting for May Faculty Appreciation
Please join us next Friday, April 10 from 8:30–9:30am for a one-time planning meeting to organize faculty appreciation activities for the week of May 11th. If you’re unable to attend but would like to help, let us know.
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With the changing of the seasons brings the brand new Garden Club every other Friday during lunch in Frida! Students will help plan out the garden beds, learn how to test the soil for nutrients, start seeds, and plant starts. The first club meeting is this Friday the 3rd.
Fiber Club is back and will be moving to Mondays during lunch in Frida to accommodate spring sports. All are welcome to join and practice their sewing, weaving, and other fiber projects. The first spring club meeting is on Monday the 6th.
| | 6th graders settled into new sections this week and reacquainted themselves with their fall/spring schedules. Along with new themes in classes, we’re looking forward to our Mt. St. Helens exped trip in May and will be brainstorming ideas for spring field trips to explore different Seattle sites. In the past, 6th graders have visited Gasworks Park, the Fremont Troll, and Discovery Park. Please contact us if you have any ideas or connections! | | |
7th graders are reaching new heights…on the climbing wall! We’re so excited for the upcoming Central WA trip, and are spending lots of time practicing climbing and belaying in preparation for The Feathers! Please double check you have submitted your permission forms for our external partners at Wildhorse Wind Farm and KAF Adventures. If you have any updates about your child for the trip that would be helpful for adults to know, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your student’s advisor.
8th graders have started spring term with new class groupings for all classes other than math. With the arrival of spring, students and staff are beginning to think ahead to the upcoming Coast trip! Look for messages about important dates and preparation for this amazing, pinnacle outdoor experience at Billings.
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In Spanish, 7th graders will be starting their Home Vocabulary Unit, which will end with their “Dream Home Project”, where they will draw a blueprint of their “Dream Home” labeling all the rooms and items in Spanish. In 8th grade, students have just finished the novel “La Luna Embrujada” and will start a unit on clothing, shopping, and money. 6th graders will start a unit about school, school supplies, and schedules.
6th grade Social Studies students finished the Mesopotamia unit by arguing their court cases in front of Hammurabi’s court! Our focus for this term continues with more work with ancient civilizations. This week we begin the term studying the civilization and culture of Ancient Egypt.
| | 7th grade Social Studies students have been studying Washington State history, highlighting the period between Lewis and Clark expedition and 1900. Last week students were able to visit the Duwamish Longhouse as well as the restorative justice site Heron’s Nest. While students were at the Longhouse, we had the good fortune of meeting Cecile Hansen, Tribal Council Chair of the Duwamish people. It was a serendipitous moment! Ms. Hansen thanked the students for visiting and studying about the Duwamish people, remarking to them: “We’re still here!” | | |
8th graders have wrapped up their Propaganda projects with advertising posters and speeches! Our next unit, starting this week will be Christianity; we begin with Catholicism and will cover various Protestant faiths.
In 6th grade Math, we finished our unit on fractions and moved onto positive and negative numbers! Overall, students did very well on the final assessments for the fractions unit, and a not-insignificant number of them have been working on above-grade-level challenges with great enthusiasm and resilience. Our new unit on positive and negative numbers on the number line is already off to a very strong start, and given that number sign errors follow every student throughout their entire math journey this bodes very well for this group’s future as mathematicians! 7th grade FTAT (to Algebraic Thinking) is finishing their Circles unit, with a quiz upcoming before Spring Break, while Prealgebra has moved ahead into studying the volumes and surface areas of composite prisms.
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Upcoming Events: 📅
- BFA Meeting: April 3, 8:30-9:30am
- All-Family Roller Skating Event: April 3, 5:00-7:00pm
- 7th Grade Central WA Trip: April 8-10
- NO SCHOOL: Spring Break, April 13-17
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Spring 2026 BIPOC Voice Summit
The Art of Becoming: Reshaping Ourselves
and the Spaces We Lead
This retreat creates space for educators to step away from the daily demands of school life to pause, reflect, and reconnect with their leadership during challenging times in which we are caring for students in community with one another. Through community-building, guided reflection, dialogue, and creative practices, participants will explore how intentional, healing-centered leadership can deepen belonging in schools. Facilitators will lead experiences that reconnect participants to their purpose, strengthen relationships, and highlight their impact as educators and administrators. Participants will leave with new insights, resources, and a renewed sense of grounding for their leadership. Join us and learn more about our Presenters.
May 1, 2026
8:30am— 2:30pm
Hamlin Robinson School
1701 20th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144
Free for POCIS NW member schools
RSVP Here by April 20
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Hands-on, social, and screen-free.
Register at squirrellyworkshop.com (spots are limited, invite a friend!).
Located in NE Seattle at: 5414 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105.
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Executive Function Workout!
Join me (Greg: Director of The Learning Center at Billings) for a regular morning EF workout from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM on Mondays. Developing EF, or Executive Function, requires the exercise of the brain in specific ways. Drop in on any Monday morning to share stories and explore strategies for strengthening our EF muscles and by extension, that of our students.
Think of EF (Executive Function) as the CEO of the brain, helping us improve our self-regulation and aid our ability to make both short and long-term plans that enhance our performance in many aspects of our life. At a middle school pragmatic level this includes things like: doing your nightly HW, working on long term projects, or doing chores around the house. This is not a class. This is an opportunity to share collective wisdom. While 30 plus years as a middle school educator has certainly allowed me to garner some wisdom, I am really a facilitator on Monday mornings. Regular attendance is not a prerequisite. I don't need advanced notice. Drop in as you are able.
We will be meeting in person in Mercury during advisory and the beginning of first period. If you do not want to attend in person and prefer Zoom, let me know and I will send you a recurring Zoom link. Masks are not required but can be worn upon request.
And if Monday mornings are not a viable option for you but you want to learn more, don't hesitate to e-mail me, and let's find time to chat 1-1.
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