Mark your Calendars - General Membership Meeting 

The Eckstein PTSA will be holding our general membership meeting on Monday, October 16th 7-8:30 PM. We will be voting on our standing rules and bylaws, the PTSA 2024-2025 budget meeting and will feature updates on school, district, and PTA advocacy work. 

Meeting Access

Join Meeting | Zoom

Meeting ID: 653 828 9256

Passcode: EMSPTSA! 

Renew or Join the PTSA Today

PTSA membership is essential to making sure the family community has a strong voice and an organized expression of support for our school and our kids. Last year we had over 400 members and we would love to meet or exceed that membership number this year. You can join online here. If the membership fee is a barrier, we have scholarship funds to cover the cost. Please contact president@ecksteineaglesptsa.org for information or questions.

Washington State PTA Initiative Positions

Washington State PTA has posted positions about two of the initiatives coming before us this fall. Talk to your friends and neighbors about these.

• NO - Initiative 2109 - would repeal the capital gains tax – a critical and significant source of revenue for education and school construction.
• NO - Initiative 2117 - would repeal and block the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) – our state’s most consequential policy to address climate change, and a significant source of our state’s budget allocations.

You can learn more about these positions here and here.

It's time for the Reflections Art Contest

Calling all artists, writers, filmmakers, dancers, photographers, composers! Do you have students who want to express themselves, share their artistic talents and ideas and have a chance to be recognized and celebrated at a local, state and maybe even national level? It’s time for the National PTA Reflections Art Contest.

Students can submit original works of art in the categories of Visual Arts, Literature (fiction and poetry as well as essays), Photography, Film Production, Music Composition and Dance Choreography. This year’s theme is “Accepting Imperfection.” We had a great group of original artworks last year, but we’d like to see even more submissions this year. If you would like to help encourage student submissions, and/or help select the winners from Eckstein that will move on to the next level, please contact Jen Song at reflections@ecksteineaglesptsa.org. More details and the rules for each category are included below:

• 2024-25 Accessible Arts Division Guidelines | en español
• 2024-25 Dance Choreography Category Guidelines | en español
• 2024 25 Film Production Category Guidelines | en español
• 2024-25 Literature Category Guidelines | en español
• 2024-25 Music Composition Category Guidelines | en español
• 2024-25 Photography Category Guidelines | en español
• 2024-25 Visual Arts Category Guidelines | en español
• 2024-25 Student Entry Form (fillable)
• 2024-25 Student Entry Form Packet (fillable) | en español

*The Accessible Arts Division is a category for students with disabilities who receive services under IDEA or ADA: Section 504 to have the opportunity and accommodations they may need in order to participate fully in the program.

More than 300,000 students from around the country submit original works of art for this 50-year-old contest. Despite all that competition, Eckstein Middle School has done really well in the past. In the 2021-2022 contest, eighth grade student Lekha Dhaka won first place for Outstanding Interpretation in the firm production category for her film Trash, an animation that explores the impact plastic pollution has on the Earth's oceans.

Please contact Jen Song at reflections@ecksteineaglesptsa.org with any questions or to learn more.

Parents Night at Ravenna Brewing

Thanks for coming out to the parents night at Ravenna Brewing!

We hope to see everyone at Multicultural night this winter and our next parent social in the spring. 

Library Information

Does your student like making things and/or talking about books and want to meet other friends during lunch? Eckstein Library’s Maker Mondays and Books & Bites just started this week and students can join any time!

Maker Mondays is a chance to use the Eckstein Makerspace and make everything from jewelry to cardboard crafts during each lunch in the library on Mondays. Books & Bites is for students to talk about books they’re reading and play games during each lunch in the library on Tuesdays. Students can sign-up on the library Schoology page or by emailing / talking to Ms. Sterling!

Do you have books published in the last few years that your student is no longer reading? The Eckstein Library takes donations!

A few popular titles that already have a lot of holds: One of Us is Lying series, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series, The Summer I Turned Pretty series, Heartstopper, OnePiece, Jujutsu Kaisen; authors Alan Gratz, Jennifer Nielsen, James Ponti, Jeff Kinney, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Raina Telgemeier,

A few genres/formats that are super popular: murder mysteries, dystopian, manga, World War 2, graphic novels, teen romance, books with LGBTQIA+ characters

Or you can check the Eckstein Library wishlist here!

Want book suggestions, events at the library, and middle school literacy information? Follow the Eckstein Library on Instagram (@ecksteinlibrary) or Facebook (Eckstein Middle School Library page).

Eckstein Library Eagles Read program is now live!

Every year, Ms. Sterling picks 50 books that represent a variety of genres and interests to encourage students to read. For every Eagles Read book students read, they receive a button of the book and every month 2 students are randomly chosen to win an Italian soda in a color-changing cup. If students read 10 Eagles Read books by the end of each semester, they will be invited to a pizza party.

Students can fill out the form if they read one of the Eagles Read on the library Schoology page!

Check out the library website for the list of Eagles Read books! Note: the books that are marked as YA are young adult books, which means that they may have more mature themes or language. Every student and family is different, so students are encouraged to read what they are comfortable with and there is no incentive to read ALL of the Eagles Read. Happy reading! 

Prevention Products Needed

Hello Eckstein PTSA! I’m Maria Torres, your new Prevention Interventionist here at Eckstein this year, coming from Mercer MS. I’m excited to join this amazing community and support our students. Since I’ve recently moved spaces, I’m in need of some resources to help create a warm and inviting environment for our students.

I’ve set up a DonorsChoose projects: https://www.donorschoose.org/mgtorres to get the essentials. Your support means the world to me and to the students who will benefit from a comfortable, safe space to grow and thrive this year. Thank you so much for helping make this possible!

Volunteer Opportunity 

Each Sunday volunteers assemble weekend food bags for @ 180 Seattle Public School students. These bags are distributed to Eckstein Middle School, Green Lake Elementary, and Wedgwood Elementary School, in addition to housing partners in the area. We would love your help!

When: Sundays, 3:00-4:00 PM

Where: St Stephen's Episcopal Church, 4805 NE 45th Street, Great Hall (accessible at the easternmost stairwell) 

Please sign up here: Weekend Food Bag Assembly and Delivery

Please contact Beth Cogan, bethbenbear@gmail.com, with any questions. Thank you for your ongoing support!

Intro to Lacrosse 

Learn the basics of lacrosse for both boys and girls. These clinics are free for anyone in 5th grade through 12th. No experience or equipment necessary! 

Come as many times as you want at 4:00PM Sundays (9/29, 10/6, and 10/13) on Jane Addams Middle School turf field 2. 

Contact nathanhalelax@gmail.com with any questions.