Things are definitely Up & Coming. This has been a busy month for our board, capital campaign planning team, site committee and everyone associated with Bridges Seattle. It is an exciting time and everyone feels the possibilities and potential in accomplishing more in the 2e space.
Perhaps, though, the most important up and coming items are the community social events now in the planning stage. The Bridges Academy Los Angeles Parent Association is planning an online chat to get to know Seattle parents and answer a question or two.
In addition to a parents-only event, Ty Trumbo, our Alumni Coordinator, is setting up a Bridges student panel for you to meet former Bridges students and ask questions. No dates are set yet, but they will be very definitely up and coming.
Watch this space for dates, times and details on the Zoom links!
Best,
Carl Sabatino
Head of Schools
Bridges Education Group
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Finding a great school space is critical. Bridges' inclusive, intellectual, and social inquiry-focused community model does not lend itself well to the "micro-school" model. While Bridges is by design on the small side of independent schools, sufficient space and a variety of spaces are important to the model. We are at all times flexible and creative — it is our brand and joy — so the search continues.
The site committee has been busy. Carl flew to Seattle at the end of April to visit two sites and scout neighborhoods. We located a wonderful seven acre property with a structure that would have worked very well - it ticked just about all the boxes and land that size is a great find. Unfortunately, its location just south of Everett was less than ideal. Two other sites in Seattle and one in Woodinville are currently being seriously explored.
We have received a few leads from our readers last week and will pursue them all. We encourage you to continue sending your ideas to our Site Committee Chair, Pete Godwin. A two-site model, one for grades 4-8 and the other for high school, was suggested by one reader and coincidentally by one of our board members. It certainly is intriguing and not out of the question, but we will save that for a future discussion.
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Quick Survey!
Tennis? Basketball? Gymnastics?
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Every year, Bridges Robotics Team 4019, “Mechanical Paradise,” participates in the FIRST Robotics Competition. In the 2019-2020 season the team advanced to the semifinal round of the Los Angeles Regional competition where they lost a heartbreaking bout to end the season just a hair away from advancing to nationals. Shortly after the competition, the pandemic took full effect, and the 2020-2021 competition was thus completely different than any other year. The team was tasked with inventing something that could improve people’s mental and physical well being through active play or other forms of movement.
After surveying team members about the pandemic’s mental and physical effects and their new daily routines, the team brainstormed and agreed their product would combine a fun and familiar game everyone has played with modern technology and an iconic theme. The team believed that playing a socially-distanced, in-person game was still possible. By utilizing new sensor and app technologies the team would be able to create how the game works and allows for socially-distanced gameplay.
In just under two months, the team had to actualize their innovation by creating a business model, develop a business pitch and advance their skills by using groundbreaking technology in their solution design. While team members are used to long days of designing, modeling, and refining their work against a tight deadline, the business model and pitch were new wrinkles in the FIRST Robotics competition. It was important for the team to adhere to an eight week schedule to work on research and development, create a business model and plan, and be prepared for their pitch and subsequent Q&A session with professional engineer judges. Simultaneously, the team had to develop their game, utilize sensory technology, create 3D modeled hardware, develop software and enhance user experience with visual graphics and sound effects.
The team successfully completed their project and presented their game at the FIRST Robotics Competition. Their product, which we cannot share in full at this time for copyright purposes, includes an invention that might soon be receiving a provisional patent.
Stay tuned for more Mechanical Paradise updates and, who knows, maybe you will be playing their game in the not too socially-distant future!
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Up & Coming:
Next Issue of Variations2e Magazine
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This June issue focuses on the experiences of peoples of color in the 2e space.
By registering at 2eNews.com you will be able to download the digital PDF version of Variations2e. Print copies will also be available.
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2e Acceleration with Dr. Susan Assouline |
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In 2019, Dr. Susan Assouline was inducted into the 2e Hall of Fame at the Bridges 2e Center for Research and Professional Development.
Dr. Assouline is the director of the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa and recipient of several federally funded grants. Her work provides research-based information on characteristics and identification criteria and has created awareness of the twice-exceptional population for educators, counselors, and psychologists. Belin-Blank is now leading research into genetic commonalities among twice-exceptional learners.
Dr. Assouline sat down with Tom Ropelewski to discuss the appropriateness of acceleration for twice-exceptional students.
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Every June, Bridges hosts a month of summer courses where teachers create courses of personal interest. Every course offers students a fun, educational, and social environment and there is a range of topics that will interest any student!
Below are a couple of featured online courses!
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Are you looking for a new way to grow your art skills? Branch out and learn plant anatomy in the context of making your plants and landscapes more realistic. This class will field general plant anatomy, plant interactions with other objects, and landscape composition. We will cover real plants, cartoon plants, and how to make fantasy plants believable.
This class is recommended for students who already have a general understanding of art fundamentals and would like to refine their skills in this area. Either traditional or digital art tools will be needed for class.
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Italian Language and Culture for Beginners |
This is a two-week class that is designed to introduce students to many fun and fascinating aspects about the Italian culture and language.
We will cover basic grammatical aspects and will learn useful phrases for travel and conversation. We’ll practice pronunciation and even learn about the meanings behind Italy’s most popular form of communication: hand gestures!
Italy is of course known for its food, and we’ll learn about how to order food in restaurants, the variations of regional cuisine, and even the history of some of Italy’s most popular dishes and ingredients.In addition, we’ll watch some classic examples of Italian movies, learn about Italian art, music, and much more!
Caroline Maxwell teaches art and photography in the Bridges High School program. She has studied Italian for over 20 years, and has lived and studied art in Italy. She even guided a group of Bridges students on a two-week trip to Italy, so even if we’re unable to be there in person this summer, she’ll make it come alive for all of the students in this course!
Sign up today! Perché no?!
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- September - November, 2021
- January 1, 2022
- January 31
- February - June 30
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- Division and Grade Meetings; Open Houses
- Board meets to approve 2022-23 preliminary budget and set tuition
- Application opens
- Early application deadline
- Regular application is rolling -admissions open until filled
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Beginning in July, Kayla Waesche will join the Admissions and Marketing team full time and has been assigned to support the Seattle Admissions processes. Below is her bio. |
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Kayla Franklin Waesche (WAY-SHE) joined the Bridges community in 2018 after a career in the entertainment industry. Kayla has become dedicated to the 2e mission and to changing the lives of 2e students and their families. In addition to providing every kind of support for the middle school students, teachers and parents every day, Kayla is the liaison with the admissions office, organizing visit schedules and supporting visiting students through their day on campus.
Her education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Film and Television from Boston University, and joined the Bridges Graduate school in 2020. She will be completing her graduate certificate in Cognitive Diversity in Education this June and is looking forward to an eventual doctorate degree in education.
Kayla has a love of all things food and nutrition, and enjoys listening to National Public Radio while cooking, especially Chinese and Indian cuisines, and baking. She currently lives in Sherman Oaks with her husband and two precocious daughters, ages five and six.
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Karen Breslow, J.D., Vice Chair, Bridges Board of Trustees
Karen received her B.A. from Cornell University and her J.D. from Columbia University. As a litigation attorney, she practiced in New York at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; in California at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown; and Irell & Manella, and was Vice-President of Litigation and Assistant General Counsel for Sony Pictures.
She is married to Robert Schwartz, a partner at Quinn, Emanuel, Sullivan and Urquahart. Their son, Ben, graduated from Bridges in 2017. She has been a trustee of Bridges since 2014.
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Robin Schader, Ph.D., Bridges Board of Trustees
Robin received her Ph.D. in Gifted and Talented Education from the University of Connecticut, where she was an Assistant Research Professor. Her work and research focus on talent development, particularly with respect to the role of parents. She served as Parent Resource Specialist for the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) for ten years.
A Bridges trustee since 2014. Robin has also served on the boards of several public and private institutions, including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education Advisory Board, and was honored with the 2020 Outstanding Professional Award from the Neag Alumni Association.
With Susan Baum, Robin co-authored the 3rd edition of To Be Gifted and Learning Disabled: Strength-Based Strategies for Helping Twice-Exceptional Students with LD, ADHD, and More, which received NAGC’s 2018 Book of the Year Award. She has been an invited speaker at numerous state and national conferences including NAGC, National PTA, and National HeadStart.
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Kevin Yoder, J.D., Treasurer, Bridges Board of Trustees
Kevin is a senior strategic marketing and research executive with over 25 years of experience in branding, business development, and marketing focused on entertainment. Most recently, he was the Executive Vice President of Marketing Research and Strategy at 20th Century Fox Studios, and is currently an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University for their Master of Entertainment Industry Management program. Prior to that, Kevin served as both managing director of MarketCast LLC and as the Chief Operating Officer of Nielsen NRG.
Kevin earned his MFA in Film from USC's School of Cinematic Arts and took his J.D. from the USC Law Center. He is a member of the California bar, and practiced mergers and acquisitions in both New York and California. Kevin is married to Jeff Hall, and they have two children, one of whom will be a Bridges graduate in May of 2021. Kevin joined the Bridges Board in 2018.
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Head of Schools
Director of Admissions
Assistant Head, Director Bridges H.S. Online
Seattle Parent Coordinator
Site Committee Chair
Admissions Liaison
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