Hello Salmon Bay Families!

Wow!! The middle school theater program put on an amazing production of "The Cinderella Complex." The cafeterium was full of family, friends and community for the second night of the show - what a joy to sit in the audience and enjoy the results of all the weeks of hard work! Truly, everyone involved in this production created an exceptionally enjoyable evening. Thank you!

Whether you are staying home or celebrating the long weekend with family, we wish you a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming Events:

Note: if you would like to publicize an event here, please reach out to fosbnewsletter@gmail.com with relevant details.

May 28, 6:30-8 pm: Interrupting with Care: Navigating Identity Based Harm

"It was only a joke." "I didn't realize what that meant." "My friend told me it was okay." Young people use derogatory language and perpetuate harmful stereotypes as they test boundaries, repeat what they hear in the media, attempt off color humor, and more. How do you navigate if your child is found to be using microaggressions - those words and actions that offend and hurt, even though they may be unintended - and racism towards others? Learn some ways to have authentic conversations about race and privilege, as well as practical strategies for dealing with when microaggressions or racism happen to your child, to their classmate, friend, or if they are the ones who have used the language. Discuss and practice how to “call in” privately, interrupt in the moment publicly, and receive interventions gracefully. 

Please join us on Tuesday, May 28 from 6:30-8p for a community learning event with Rosetta Lee. We have booked the school library for those who are able to meet in person (Ms Dixon plans to!) and are hosting this event as a hybrid so if you can’t make it to campus you can join virtually. Joining virtually will require registration. We will be providing childcare for those who would like to attend in person and have potty-independent children - please sign up here - childcare registration is not required but is very helpful. Also, we could use some hands to help with the day-of execution of this event… please reach out to Julie & Caitlin if you’re able to help!

May 29, 6-7pm: 6th Grade Welcome Night

Join us at school for a meet and greet social event for incoming sixth grade families.

June 7, 6-8 pm: 5th Grade Trivia Night

5th graders and their families are invited to join us for a kids vs adults trivia night on Friday, June 7, 6-8pm in the school library. Sign Up to Bring Food Here Questions? Contact Katie Roberts at katieqroberts@gmail.com.

June 14th, 5ish-8ish: 3rd Grade End of School Year Picnic

We hope you can make an end of the year celebration! This will be a casual gathering at Golden Gardens, beach games, lawn games, quiet games/art.....The details of food, exact location at the park, how to contribute etc will be coming. Keep an eye out in our Facebook group, class emails and paper invites.

Bike to School Month:

May is Bike, Walk, Roll Month and we are so excited to celebrate all the ways our community moves our bodies at Salmon Bay. Come celebrate with us on Bike Everywhere Day on the playground before school with snacks and stickers for everyone in celebration and some bike related goodies at the bike racks for students who ride their bikes to school.

Throughout May elementary students can keep track of how many minutes they move whether it’s walking, rolling, running, biking, dancing, or however they choose to move. Students received tracking calendars in their class, but more are available at the front office. At the end of May students can turn their calendars into their teachers. If the student body collectively logs 63,000 minutes in May (close to 10 minutes-a-day per student for five days each week in May), the elementary school will win an EXTRA RECESS one day in June!

Hope to see you out there moving this May!

Questions? Reach out to Heather Darval.

For a complete list of bike laws in Washington, check out the Washington bike’s website.

School Advocacy:

School Closures Advocacy

Here's an open letter to consider signing regarding school closures created by the folks at All Together for Seattle Schools. They are gathering signatures of those who support their recommendations to the district and Board. In this letter, they urge them to:

• Work with the community to create and share alternative proposals
• Focus proposals on addressing student needs and outcomes
• Show detailed analysis to the public

All signatures collected will be shared with Superintendent Jones and the SPS Board of Directors as endorsing the position of the letter. You can be anonymous.

Information from All Together Schools can be found here.

The letter can be found here. Please consider signing.

School Closures - Message From SPS

Our upcoming well-resourced schools community meetings begin next week. If you haven't already, RSVP or send us your questions using this form.

Please note, the meeting at Garfield High School has been rescheduled for Thursday, May 30.

During these meetings, senior leaders will share information about the proposed plan for creating a system of well-resourced schools serving kindergarten-5th grade students. Learn more here.

Advocacy Roles - Researcher, Videographer

All Together for Seattle Schools is looking for someone who can help with each of these two pieces. Are you that person? Or know someone who could be? Reach out so Julie and Caitlin can put you in touch.

Videographer:

Can you create a video that tells the story of the importance of option schools? How has attending Salmon Bay made a difference to your student? Or, maybe you aren’t the videographer, but can help with some of the logistics?  We could use some leadership around this task.

Researcher:

One narrative that is circulating is that option schools were created as a response to white flight when bussing was mandatory in SPS. A counter narrative is that they were created with social justice in mind. We have been told that the Seattle Times, the paper of record, archives might offer an answer. Are you able to dive into this topic and share what research you find?

District Two School Board Director

Salmon Bay is represented by newly elected School Board Director Sarah Clark. Her email can be found here. Please reach out to her if you have concerns regarding the current conversations surrounding school closures and/or waitlist movement.

Do you know someone on the waitlist for Salmon Bay next year?

Space is available!

If you know someone on the wait-list to attend Salmon Bay next year, have them contact Ms Dixon. The district does NOT give her your names and she cannot advocate for you until she knows who you are and what your exact scenario is. She is open and waiting for your contact! There is room in nearly every grade level at SB - even though the district is telling parents differently. She is advocating for parents wanting to get in and for the waitlist to be moved. Email Principal Dixon here.

We also encourage families to contact the district themselves and explain that the Salmon Bay principal has said there is space at Salmon Bay. Get information back in writing from them.  Email SPS enrollment here.

Also, if they’d like to please keep FOSB posted on their situation and progress, we are hoping to figure out wider messaging to the district. Having real info (not hypotheticals) helps with crafting language around the bigger picture issue - we won’t include specific names in our messaging. Email FOSB Chairs here.

Announcements:

Teacher Snack Shack

We could use a few more volunteers to help stock the teacher lounges with snacks and coffee through the end of the year. Highly requested items include: protein bars, small bags of chips, fruit, chocolate covered espresso beans, sparkling waters and coffee pods of non-flavored coffee. Sign up here if you can donate some snacks!

Upcoming Sixth Grade Important Dates:

Wed, May 29 6-7pm: Welcome Night

Thurs, Aug 29 5:45-7pm: Orientation

Tues, Sep 3 - morning: Orientation

Incoming sixth grade families, please save the above dates! May 29th is more of a meet & greet social evening. The official orientations are Thursday August 29th (evening) and the WEB Orientation on Tuesday September 3 (morning). More details to come!

Lost & Found

The lost & found is FULL! Plans are being made to sort, clean and donate items in mid-June. Would you like to help with this huge, yet oddly satisfying job? Please email Erin if you're interested!

Please stop by the lost & found or send your kids to look before the big sort happens.

School Reminders & News:

The following dates, activities & announcements pertain to the school and come from information provided by school staff/teachers/admin. We are pleased to include them as reminders to our community, but this may not be an exhaustive list of everything the school has planned. Please check with your student’s teacher(s) or office staff for more information.

News from Principal Dixon:

School will be closed on Monday, May 27th in observance of Memorial Day.

2024-25 School Year Middle School Families; last week exploratory choices were released. If you have not completed the form, please be sure to sit down with your student and select 5 choices total. We ask this is completed by Friday, May 31st, so we may have all the information needed before summer vacation. The link has been attached for your convenience or feel free to complete through last week’s email.

Lost & Found is overflowing once again. We have numerous jackets, hoodies, t-shirts, lunch boxes, helmets, water bottles, hats, umbrellas, and even a headphone! Please stop by and look through the racks and boxes. If you can’t make it to school, please remind your kids to do so. They can always ask for help from office staff if they cannot reach the upper racks. 

Elementary School News:

Our third graders went to Camp Colman and first graders went to Camp Indianola this week.

Middle School News:

Congratulations to 6th grade Ultimate Frisbee team on winning their championship! 

Library News:

Congratulations to the following students for winning the in-house "Battle of the Books" challenge in the library this week: Sophie Walton, Sumika Buehler, Penny Hager, William Goldsmith, Enzo Rawat, and Adrian Roselander. These students will be going onto the final challenge next week at TOPS K-8 School. This will determine who will win the trophy for the year. Way to go 6th graders! 

Note From Music Room:

Dear Salmon Bay Music Parents/Guardians,

Greetings! I hope this letter finds you well as we approach the end of our school year, and the beginning of summer. I’m happy to announce our Spring Concert is just a week away! The students have been working hard to prepare their music and I know you will appreciate their efforts!

Our Spring Concert is next Thursday, May 30th in the Salmon Bay auditorium. The Premier Band and Concert Band will each be performing selections for your listening enjoyment. The music will begin at 7:00pm. Musicians should dress nicely for the concert—black bottoms and white tops are preferred.

Please plan to arrive with your musician by 6:45pm in order to find a seat and for the music begin on time. And after the concert, your help packing up chairs and equipment is always greatly appreciated!

The musicians are excited to perform for you and we’ll be looking forward to seeing you at the show! If you have any questions, please email me and I’ll be happy to answer them for you. I look forward to seeing you in the new year.

Warm Regards,

Mark Oesterle

Music Director, Salmon Bay K-8 

School Calendar Dates: 

May 27: Memorial Day (No School)

May 29: 6th Grade Welcome Night

May 30: Middle School Band Concert @ 7:00 pm

May 30: Incoming Kindergarteners Popsicles on Playground @ 5:30 PM

June 3-5: 4th Grade at Camp Seymour

June 4-7: 8th Grade at Camp Orkila

June 5-7: 7th Grade at Camp Naturebridge

June 7: Kindergarten Camp Day

June 11: Elementary School Talent Day

June 12-13: 2nd Grade at Camp Indianola

June 13: Middle School Marimba Concert

June 14: Elementary School Field Day

June 17: Middle School Graduation Ceremony and Ingram High School

June 18: 5^th Grade Promotion

June 19: Juneteenth (No School)

June 21: Last day of school 

Ongoing Announcements:

Lunchroom Volunteers Needed:

Volunteers needed in the elementary lunch period from 11:10-12:05 daily. Please check that your volunteer paperwork is up to date and sign up here. Ms A appreciates any days you can come in to assist her during lunch! She shared during our last FOSB meeting that lunch time is a great time to get to know and connect with the students at school!

School Spirit Wear

Want to show some school pride? Salmon Bay apparel is available for purchase online! You can choose from a variety of shirts and sweatshirts and have them delivered straight to your door. Both Youth and Adult sizes are available. Use this link to order.

School ID Cards: Families can now purchase an ID card online for $5. ID card orders take about 7-10 business days to arrive to the home.

2023-24 Salmon Bay K-8 Picture Days

Online Code: SPS student ID number

Get to know the PTO (that's FOSB!):

Stay Connected & Get Involved!

While you automatically receive emails from Salmon Bay K-8 administration, staff, and teachers on all things school-supported and classroom related, it doesn’t always include FOSB-related events, opportunities, and information. Tap into these information pipelines to stay connected and find ways to get involved.

• FOSB Calendar
• FOSB Friday Bulletins 
• FOSB Facebook
• Grade Google and Facebook groups (request to join)
• FOSB Committees
• Monthly Board Meetings
• Monthly Community Coffee (held before the first Friday Sing of each month)

Everyday Ways to Give

You can support Friends of Salmon Bay in everyday ways, like shopping at a merchant of your choice or searching online. Details about programs offered by Fred Meyer, Bing, and Office Depot/Office Max are on our website. Consider signing up!

Community Announcements:

SPS Safe Schools Hotline: 206-252-0510.

The Seattle School District Safety and Security Department is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.