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Inside Billings
March 26, 2026
| | 🎒 What's Happening at Billings? 📚 | | Cherry blossoms, sunshine, and the sound of students’ laughter filling the courtyard can only mean one thing—spring has arrived. As our campus comes to life with renewed energy, we are excited to share the moments, milestones, and meaningful learning that continue to shape our community this season. | | |
Mike on the Mic 🎤
Mystery and Mayhem is here! We are excited to see the richness of the Billings community come together this weekend including current families, alumni, and their families enjoying what makes Billings so magical. Reminder that our show times are 7:00 pm Friday, March 27 and 7:00 pm Saturday, March 28.
Remember that we have no school on Monday, March 30th for teacher in-service.
Thank you for your support,
Mike
| | ☀️ Billings Summer Program 🎣 | | |
We have so many exciting adventures planned this summer! Check out the offerings in detail here, then click the button below to register by Monday, April 20.
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Exploring the Backcountry | June 15-18
- Billings Backpacking Adventures | June 22-26
- GeoloG&D: Journey to Mt. St. Helens | July 7-10
- Gone Fishin’! | July 13-17
- Survival Showdown: Innovate, Create, DOMINATE! | July 13-17
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In our all-grade meeting this week, 6th graders shared appreciations related to all of the amazing effort and preparation for our upcoming Arts performance. It was wonderful to hear students recognize their peers and teachers who have supported them in various ways during this long creative process. We’re so excited for the shows this weekend! Students will be enjoying some outdoor reading (we started The Outsiders, in ELA) and exercise time today at Hubbard Homestead Park. Soccer, frisbee, and basketball are all on the docket.
As we finish up the winter term this week, 7th graders are setting their sites on the spring semester and the upcoming Central WA trip. Ian and Nathan have started the belay certification process for the students in PE/GO in anticipation of our trip to Frenchman’s Coulee and the Feathers. Here, the students will climb, belay, and back up belay (under the supervision of our trusty guides from Kaf adventures, of course).
| | Last week 8th graders were joined by guest speaker Karen Treiger as a part of their ongoing social studies Holocaust unit. Karen shared her invaluable stories and first hand experience with the subject. Students have also been hard at work at the end of Winter Term. Students are working on their 8th grade projects in ELA, taking assessments in their classes, and gearing up for the Winter Production this coming weekend. We are proud of all of the leadership that the students have displayed throughout the Winter Production process. Please support the students who will be performing, singing, playing in the band, and directing in the show by attending on Friday or Saturday night. | | |
✒️ Deans on the Scene 🎓
Teachers are working on winter term progress reports, which will be published by next Friday. You will receive a notification from the Alma platform for your child’s report. Progress reports share a brief assessment of your child’s academic status, work completion, suggestions for improvement, or options for honors and challenge. Arts classes for Winter Performance are not included in the reports. Please let April know if you do not receive a report by Friday, April 3.
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Have you started yet? We are looking for donation items for the ExpEd closet: ADULT-sized jackets or rain gear. Our kids are growing! Please drop the items at the Front Office labelled "EXPED".
Thank you,
EXPED
| | 6th and 7th grade ELA classes recently completed presentations. Students explored a wide range of topics, including The Domestication of Cats from the Ancient Near East to the Present, The Success of the Early Apollo Missions, The Accuracy of the Depiction of Dinosaurs in the Jurassic Franchise, all the way to the Impact Sharks have on the Ocean Ecosystem and the Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence, and much else in between! Next, students will deepen their understanding by further researching their subjects and writing persuasive essays. | | |
6th graders are starting our next novel, The Outsiders, and participated in several writing and class activities aimed at getting them to think about social identities, labels, and belonging.
7th grade ELA and Social Studies classes have teamed up for an Artifact Project that explores the historical significance of an object, person, or event in Washington State History. Students will write “executive summary” style one-pagers for Social Studies, and eventually, persuasive essays later in the Spring for ELA. 7th Graders will also start their next novel in the first few weeks of the Spring Term.
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Over the past week, Algebra 1 dove deep into exponential functions - mastering how to evaluate and graph a given function, along with creating an exponential function when given a representation. It is awesome to see the students take the learning in their own hands. Classmates are quick to provide alternative explanations for various growth and decay factors. In Pre-Algebra, we have pivoted from Exponents and Scientific Notation to Pythagorean Theorem. The students crushed each lesson they worked through and did an excellent job of referencing their practice problems to recall information from the previous day. I would encourage families to go through Google Classroom with their students. Any zeros are missing assignments.
6th graders took their first Science test of the year last week. Students then completed test corrections to improve their scores and to demonstrate their knowledge from this unit. Overall, the students scored very well on the exam. Check out their scores on Google Classroom or ask your student how their test went. As Winter Term ends, students are at the end of our Weather and Climate Unit. Our next unit, starting in Spring Term, will be Geology!
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In 8th grade Science students recently created egg car crash projects. Students had to apply their physics knowledge to keep an egg safe as it crashed into a heavy wall. Their cars had to have clear windshields, safety restraints, and easy access for the eggs to enter and exit. In the end, students went above and beyond and created several creative vehicles. While not all of the cars were perfect, all of the eggs ultimately survived this project.
Upcoming in Science: 8th graders will have their Forces of Motion Unit Test on Friday April 3rd in class. Please support your student at home by reminding them to study next week. We will be completing a review session and a study guide in class as well.
| | Billings Family Association | | |
Help Needed with the School Performances!
We’re excited to see our students shine on stage this weekend! To help everything run smoothly, please consider volunteering a little time during tonight’s dress rehearsal or the performances. Whether you can arrive early to assist with setup or stay a bit later to help with cleanup, your support would make a big difference. Thank you for helping Billings’ fantastic arts faculty create a wonderful experience for all of our students! Questions? Please email Gillian.
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Upcoming Events: 📅
- All-School Production: March 27 & 28 at 7:00pm
- NO SCHOOL: Teacher In-Service Day, March 30
- 7th Grade Central WA Trip: April 8-10
- NO SCHOOL: Spring Break, April 13-17
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Holy Names Academy
Walk & Talk Tour for 7th Grade Parents
April 14 from 9:00-10:30am
HNA Walk & Talk Tuesdays are 90-minute events specifically for parents of 7th grade students. Parents have the chance to meet our administrative team, learn more about the high school application process, tour our beautiful campus, and see classes in action. Click here to sign up.
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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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