Billings iNews: September 24, 2026

Inside Billings

September 24, 2026

🎒 What's New? 📚

Announcements

Chat with Nick

Informal, small-group gatherings for parents to get to know Nick and talk about Billings.

Monday, September 28th, 8:30-9:30 am, at Billings
Monday, September 28th, 6:00-7:00 pm, via Zoom (link sent after RSVP)

Please RSVP to frontdesk@billingsmiddleschool.org. We'll aim for 5-10 participants at each chat. I'll announce additional dates in an upcoming iNews.

Clubs

We are excited to offer three after-school clubs starting in October. Please see the attached flyer for information about the experiences and the sign-up process! If you have any questions, please reach out to Dean Rob.

Sign-Up Form

Admissions

Billings Admissions Events

Help Spread the Word! We’re excited to share our upcoming Admissions events with our community! Please help us spread the word by sharing this announcement with friends, family, and others who may be interested. If you would like to be a parent volunteer at the event please contact Stephanie.

Open House Dates

Thursday, October 15, 5:30-7:30 PM

Saturday, November 14, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Contact Admissions or visit our website HERE

Student Life

High School Admissions Events

It was great seeing many of our 8th grade families at the high school informational event on Wednesday evening. If you’d like a copy of the recording of the event, please reach out to Rob directly. As discussed, we have a few high schools visiting with our 8th graders throughout the next month!

October 1 - UPrep (2:30pm)

October 8 - Downtown School (2:30pm)

October 15 - Holy Names and O’Dea (9:30)

Additionally, Ingraham HS asked us to distribute this notification about their International Baccalaureate program. We have a few alumni in this program who really like it:

Are you interested in learning more about the IB Diploma Program at Ingraham High School? Join us on Wednesday, October 21 from 6:30-8:30 in the Ingraham High School Library. The program coordinators will talk about the IB Program, and you will have a chance to talk to IB teachers, and meet some Ingraham IB Alumni, and get your questions answered. Adults and middle-school students are welcome. This info session will be specifically tailored for 7th and 8th grade families.

High School Admissions Events

Holy Names Academy

SAAS

UPREP

i-Ready

Students will take their first of three i-Ready diagnostics for the year starting with 7th Grade Math on Thursday 9/23. 6th graders will take their Math diagnostic on Monday 9/28 during 1st and 2nd periods. For new families, i-Ready, is an online assessment that provides teachers and parents with another means to measure student growth in reading and math.The program helps teachers meet your child where they are, and provides data to inform instruction. At Billings, we use the diagnostics only, not the instructional components of the i-Ready program.

i-Ready is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions based on student responses. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give students a score or grade, but to determine how to best support their learning.

Math diagnostics cover the following domains: Number and Operations; Algebra and Algebraic Thinking; Measurement and Data; and Geometry.
Reading diagnostics cover the following domains: Vocabulary; Comprehension: Literature; Comprehension: Informational Text.

We administer the diagnostics in the fall, winter, and spring terms, with staggered dates in ELA and Math classes. We allot time in two class periods and offer additional sessions for students who are absent or who require more time. Teachers will introduce i-Ready to students in their classes, and provide information about why we’re using the tool. To prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, please encourage them to try their best on each question, help them understand that they will not know the answer to every question, and ask them to avoid rushing.

Teachers will help students understand how to use the results to set goals for their learning. Students and parents will receive interpretive results and suggestions for continued personalized practice at home. To learn more about i-Ready, please visit i-ReadyCentral.com/FamilyCenter.

Please contact me if you have any questions about i-Ready.

Thank you,

April

Billings Family Association

Family Camping Trip on October 2-4

We hope you’re excited for the Billings family camping trip at Rasar State Park October 2-4. Plan to stay for the whole weekend or stop by for daytime activities or an evening potluck. This is a parent-organized event, and all Billings families are welcome. Check out this link for details.

Family Contacts Directory

The school is putting the finishing touches on a secure family contacts directory for current families. It will include each student's name and grade, as well as their parents/caregivers' names, email addresses, cell number, and home address.

If you do not want any or all of this information to be included in the secure directory, please notify the Front Desk by Wednesday, October 1.

October BFA Meeting

The next monthly BFA meeting will be on October 5th at 6pm via Zoom. Our special guest will be Rob Heavner, Dean of Student Life. This will be a great chance to meet Rob who was on paternity leave at the beginning of the year. We’ll be discussing what caregiver-focused content we would be interested in this year.

Keep up-to-date with our calendar below:

Community Calendar

In the Community:

If you are involved in any community events coming up that you'd like us to publish here in the iNews, please send any information and (optionally) posters or graphics to the Front De sk!

Community is at the heart of the Billings experience—and it extends beyond our campus. This month, we’re highlighting some of the local activities, organizations, and businesses that help bring people together and create meaningful connections.

Looking for violin lessons? Katie offers personalized instruction in violin, electric violin, fiddle, music theory, and more. Contact Katie for more information.

Just around the corner from our campus is the Mosaic Room. Mosaic Room is a space that offers fun classes and activities of all sorts, kind of like a community center. When you're looking for something to do in Seattle aside from the same old roller rinks and movies, check Mosaic Room and you're sure to find a fun activity for you and your friends and family.

Check out Index Cabins for a family, pet-friendly cabin experience!

Executive Function Workout!

FEEL THE BURN!

Join me (Greg: Director of The Learning Center at Billings) for a regular Tuesday morning EF workout from 8:30am to 9:30am starting Tuesday, September 15th. Developing EF, or Executive Function, requires the exercise of the brain in specific ways. Drop in on any Tuesday morning, to share stories and explore strategies for strengthening our EF muscles and by extension, that of our students.