New in this week's Dragon's Fire

Synchronous? Asynchronous? Virtual learning? Live sessions? What???

By this time in most years, we all would have met in large groups on a weekday night in

classrooms at The Center School to say hello, exchange big smiles, and shake hands as we

reviewed expectations and content for all of our students’ classes.

This is not most years. Let’s meet anyway. This year’s Curriculum Night is now Curriculum Week

during which you’ll experience asynchronous (recorded) and synchronous (live) learning, just as

your students do every week. Join us the week of Oct 15–21 to learn about what's happening in your student's classes. Oct 22 (6:30–8:30 pm we'll hold live, virtual Curriculum Night sessions (links on Schoology) for you to meet your student's teachers.

Parents, please add yourself to the School Counselor HS Schoology Course using this access code: 7HXX-S3Z7-TMJFS

This course is loaded with helpful information about:

Ms. Hayes and Edward Rho also send updates through Schoology regarding upcoming events and opportunities.

This year 1st semester sculpture students will continue a long tradition of partnering with Pottery Northwest, a professional clay studio on the Seattle Center campus. For five weeks, students will be taught by a Pottery Northwest artist-in-residence and TCS Visual Arts Teacher, Mr. Alex. All required clay and materials are being provided to sculpture students, free of charge. The clay and materials are somewhat heavy so transportation via car would be best.

Your responses to this survey will help Mr. Alex plan and coordinate clay and other materials pick-up and drop-off with Pottery Northwest on the Seattle Center campus. The survey is a little complicated and full of dates and times. Mr. Alex appreciates your understanding as he works to create an engaging and meaningful sculpture class experience for students during remote learning and the many challenges remote learning presents for all of us.

Please reach out to Mr. Alex if you have any questions (ahng@seattleschools.org).

Pottery Northwest's address is 226 1st Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109. Their phone number is (206) 285-4421. They have front parking and side street parking for easy pick-up and drop-off.

If you would like to donate funds that go directly to Center School students, please consider donating to InvestED. To donate:

100% of donated funds go directly to student needs such as school supplies, test fees, household goods, etc.

Get the help you need navigating financial aid at one of our upcoming workshops:

The Seattle Promise Scholarship provides the first two years (up to 90 credits) of tuition, additional financial support for books, transportation, housing, and personal guidance for college success to those with financial need. Learn about the Seattle Promise Scholarship and how to apply for it at two upcoming workshops:

Upcoming Events:

Seniors and their parents are invited to attend one SPS's many upcoming financial aid events. Experts will be on hand to offer support with completing the financial aid forms required to access money for college. Multiple languages supported. Read more on the SPS College Preparation Events page.

Upcoming Events (all events are virtual):

More statewide events are listed on the flyer in English, Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, or Amharic.

DiscoverU is scheduled for Oct 12–16 and is a way for SPS students across the region to explore career and college options. Read more about this year's DiscoverU theme days.

TCS's Writing Center aims to support students as they tackle writing work across their classes. We do this by providing time with student tutors for collaboration about writing from brainstorming to final product. We are looking for student tutors!

Who: 10th, 11th, and 12th graders

When: Apply online by Oct 23

Contact: Gerardine Carrol at gpcarroll@seattleschools.org

The Henry Teen Art Collective is a group of young people who create art projects of their choosing, meet local and exhibiting artists, and gain behind the scenes access to the museum. We are a youth-led art collective that prioritizes community, talking openly about the issues affecting teens now, youth leadership, and creative expression. Youth get an option for volunteer hours or a stipend for their participation!

We highly encourage youth of color, LGBTQ+, and individuals of all abilities to apply. If individuals have any accommodation needs during the application process, or have questions about the program, please email: contact-teens@henryart.org. Read the flyer for more information.

Applications for the 2020–2021 school year are open now and can be completed online. Applications are due by Oct 15.

Be a pen pal with a resident at one of Merrill Gardens' many senior living communities in the Seattle area! Students can benefit from intergenerational relationships, contribute to the social and emotional health of an isolated senior, and earn service credits. Apply online.

To join online, go to MemberPlanet. Click "View The Packet" and then follow the prompts to log in or to set up your new account. It's easy to sign up and there are a lot of great member benefits!

 A great way to feel more connected to The Center School is to join the CSCA Board! We need new people to fill positions that are still open.

If you'd like to volunteer contact Molly Goldman at molly.goldman@gmail.com.

TCS families are welcome at all CSCA board and parent/guardian meetings. Please join us via Zoom!

Upcoming meetings are posted in the Important dates section at the top of the Dragon's Fire and on the TCS website. Zoom links will be sent out via the Dragon's Fire distribution list prior to each meeting. See the list of dates for the full school year.

Amazon donates .5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the CSCA. Donations allow CSCA to fund the programs that make TCS the amazing place it is!

I’m Shawna Murphy and I am your IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Advocacy) chair on the CSCA Board for the second year. My first year at TCS I served on the board as Advocacy Chair. From time to time I will bring you updates about SPS and local happenings, and this month I have 3, well 4, book suggestions.

Gender Queer, A Memoir by Maia Kobabe is a graphic novel published this year to much critical and popular acclaim. It is an autobiography about Maia’s path to identifying as non-binary and asexual and it has been highly recommended by my 11th grader, who said, “This is an essential piece of LGBTQIA+ media that every queer or questioning kid should read!”

Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon is a very short but inspiring work by a gender non-conforming performance artist who challenges the way we think about the way gender is presented. I especially love Alok’s Instagram feed @alokvmenon.

ACE by Angela Chen is an exploration of what asexuality, the A in LGBTQIA is and what it reveals about our society. This book is part memoir and part cultural commentary with a little science journalism thrown in from a member of the Ace community, who is also a journalist and speaker.

And last but definitely not least, the School District has put together a beautiful 100 page hardcover book called Our Students, Their Stories in collaboration with artist Nate Gowdy, sharing the stories of our Seattle Public Schools LGBTQIA+ students, staff, and families. Through a generous grant, all schools will receive 2 copies of the book. Several TCS folx appear in the book and there will be an opening event coming soon. Stay tuned.