Weekly Newsletter 11/3/23

Welcome to our first newsletter!

Hello! Welcome to our FOSB newsletter! Friends of Salmon Bay is the parent/teacher organization for Salmon Bay. We look forward to connecting with you every week and sharing events, activities & conversations that are happening in our community.

While we are excited to be starting a new newsletter for our community, we also recognize that it might take some time to get the entire community signed up for these emails. Please share these emails with friends & encourage them to sign-up if they haven't already.

Thanks for being part of our community! We look forward to connecting with you this year.

FOSB Co-Chairs

Caitlin Collins and Julie Schneider

Upcoming Events:

FOSB Engagement Meeting - Tuesday, November 7 at 9:30am

Some important work we’re doing this year in our FOSB Board Meetings is centered around serving all families in our community. We spent the first portion of our 10/19 FOSB Board meeting going through the Membership rubric on page 2 of this PTA DEI rubric.

Part of that discussion included the idea of surveying our community. Further exploration of this started this past week and will continue on Tuesday, November 7 at 9:30am at Mabel coffee shop on 24th and 70th. We invite you to join us as another parent, Erin Dury, helps us generate ideas and sketch up a plan for reaching and engaging the full Salmon Bay community. Please contact co chairs Julie and Caitlin (fosbchair@gmail.com) with any questions or ideas.

2nd Grade Movie Night - Thursday, November 9th at 6:00pm

Movie night and chill? 2nd Graders come hang with your crew and watch a flick. Questions please contact Kim, kimkaino@yahoo.com.

PIE (Parent Information Exchange) Committee meeting - Thursday, November 9th at 6:30pm

Hello! You are invited! To eat pie with us! The PIE (Parent Information Exchange) Committee is hosting a meeting on November 9 at 6:30pm. We will meet at A la Mode Pies in Ballard.

Who is PIE? We are a group of parents and guardians who want to share, collaborate, and support each other in raising our kids. We sponsor parent education events throughout the year, including hosting guest speakers, film / documentary screenings, panel events, book discussions, and more. We have gathered a library of books on parenting-related topics. This library cart is located in the school’s front lobby. We have begun collecting an online library of resources as well. Topics that we delve into include: substance use, gun violence, racial equity and justice, physical and emotional health. Other topics that we would like to raise are: environmental justice and menstrual awareness. We will discuss topics of interest and programming for the remainder of the school year. Please email fosbpie@gmail.com with any questions.

Middle School Parent Meet-Up - Sunday, November 12 at 4-6pm

Salmon Bay middle school parents and caregivers, come gather over a beer, cider or NA beverage of your choice to connect with other middle schooler-wrangling adults. Let’s meet up at Urban Family Brewery Sunday October 12th from 4-6pm. We’ll continue this on a monthly basis, so if you can’t make it this time, try again later! Hope to see you there!

Contact Angela at angncodi@hotmail.com with any questions.

November FOSB Meeting - Thursday, November 16 at 7pm

Join us in the Salmon Bay Library for our November board meeting. Board meetings are open to all FOSB members - if you have a student at the school, you are automatically a member and have a vote! Come learn about the work being done by FOSB in support of our school, and ways YOU can get involved as you are able. The November meeting is when we are able to add any new directors who are interested in serving in this capacity.

Childcare is available for potty independent children through COHO (Boys & Girls Club); childcare rsvp’s are helpful but no longer required. Childcare costs are covered by FOSB.

If you are unable to attend in person, you may join via Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83636497160?pwd=ZzhjZXJuVFdPdzJ3UE9VamIzVUJ5UT09

Meeting agendas and previous meeting minutes are posted on our website here.

Please email Fosbchair@gmail.com with any questions.

Announcements:

School Board Meeting: Budget Cuts

The Seattle School District is currently in a budget crisis, with a $105 million dollar deficit. Chandra Hampson, a school board member, talks specifically about option schools such as Salmon Bay during the October 17 school board budget meeting here. Chandra Hampson starts speaking about option schools at 1:24:10. Your school board rep is based on your home address, with most of Salmon Bay’s families being served by Lisa Rivera Smith. The map and more information about contacting school board members is available here.

Have your kids outgrown their Voom bikes?

Mr G is running his bike unit and he is looking to add bikes to his inventory. He is particularly interested in Voom bikes. If your child has outgrown their bike you would like to donate it, please talk to Mr. G or contact fosbchair@gmail.com.

Volunteer Opportunity: Teacher Snack Shack

We are hearing lots of gratitude from the teachers who are enjoying the snack shack at school. We are looking for more volunteers to bring snacks, drinks and Keurig pods to school on Fridays. Feel free to drop snacks in the front office or the Volunteer Coordinator office.

Sign-up for snack delivery here.

Join us at a Kraken Game!

Salmon Bay has been offered discounted tickets to Seattle Kraken games throughout the year. Take this opportunity to cheer for our rock star hockey team and enjoy a good time with other Salmon Bay families at Climate Pledge Arena! Ticket prices depend on game and seats, purchase your tickets here. We do not have specific seats or sections reserved for Salmon Bay so the tickets listed are what is available for the rest of the season. We recommend families who want to sit together to purchase tickets as a group. We had no applications for any scholarship tickets after previous announcements of this event and unfortunately timing has expired to now offer it. No scholarships donations are needed - but thank you and stay tuned for future opportunities.

School Crossing Guard Needed

Seattle Schools is hiring crossing guards at multiple locations including Salmon Bay! Crossing Guards work 2 hours per day/ 10 hours a week, starting at $18.69 an hour. You can find out more by clicking on these links: Crossing Guard Brochure and Crossing Guard Flyer. The flier is also available in the school office. Interested individuals can contact Yvonne Carpenter, Field Staff Supervisor at ylcarpenter@seattleschools.org or call 206-252-0907.

Also, at the October FOSB Meeting SB parent, Otto Loggers, put forward the idea of delivering a flier to each door within a couple-block radius announcing the position opening. Otto has pulled names and mailing addresses into a spreadsheet, and is hoping that someone else is able to take the baton from here. Are you that person? Contact fosbchair@gmail.com.

Reminder to 7th/8th grade families: Fall Connections Fees are Overdue

Typically the school handles all payments and scholarship requests for school based programs like Fall Connections. This year the payments ran through FOSB for various reasons. Because of this, the typical levers aren’t yet in place for following up with families who have forgotten to pay and there are an astounding number of unpaid students. FOSB Treasurers will be working with the 7/8 teachers to send out a targeted email next week. Payments can be made via the School Pay system here.

Once you are logged in, the default view is for School payments; you will need to navigate to NONPROFIT GROUPS in the upper left to find the Fall Connections payment. If you need to request a partial or full scholarship, please email your homeroom teacher and let them know. We are also looking at a more anonymous way to request a scholarship.

Stay Connected

Set yourself up to stay aware of FOSB events this school year! Sign up here to receive FOSB emails as they are released. Go to https://www.friendsofsalmonbay.org/events/, click Subscribe to Calendar at the bottom right, and select the type of calendar you use (Google Calendar, iCalendar, Outlook, etc). Or follow us on FaceBook for more info about meetings and events.

Resources:

Regarding Mugging Incidents in the Neighborhood

Several parents from various Ballard area schools are working together to build and maintain anonymous data regarding the recent crime spree of youth muggings to aid in parent advocacy. If you or someone you know has been a victim, please put them in touch with bhsparent3@gmail.com. This email was created just for this purpose so as to keep privacy concerns low and make sharing easier. This is the map that has been compiled from self-reported incidents.

If you are interested in supporting parent advocacy around this, please reach out to fosbchair@gmail.com. We are starting with creating a list of interested parents and will reach out with additional info as it’s available.

School District information regarding community violence

Included here are some resources that may be useful in talking with your student about personal safety.

SPD North Precinct
SPS Safety and Security Personal Safety for Children and Families
Talking with Children About Violence
Car Prowl Prevention (for high schoolers and staff)

Additional Safety Tips for Students, Families, and Staff:

If you see or experience a crime, call 911 immediately.
Stay alert to your surroundings. Always plan your route.
Avoid uninhabited locations. Stick to well-lit areas.
Avoid going into “automatic pilot” when walking or riding the bus. Consider putting away cell phones while walking.
Develop a plan before you see trouble.
Crossing a street or entering a store may get you out of a potentially bad situation.
If a car follows you or beckons you while you are walking, do not approach it. Instead, turn and quickly walk in the opposite direction.
Consider wearing clothing and shoes that allow you to move freely and quickly, especially when walking or waiting for the bus. Make sure all electronic gear is out of sight, and jewelry is worn discreetly.

Learn more about creating or joining a walking group at your school.

Students may be feeling sad, scared, confused or angry. Students are encouraged to reach out to their counselor or a trusted adult on campus if they need to talk.

SPS Safe Schools Hotline

One piece of maintaining student and community safety is creating a see-something-say-something culture. We are sharing the SPS Safe Schools Hotline for you to consider adding to your and your kid’s phones. 206-252-0510. The Safety and Security Department is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. To learn more about the district’s safety and security efforts, click here.

School Reminders:

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.

Order School Photos

School photos are available for viewing/purchase for your student(s). You will need your child(s student ID number. Follow this link to view.

Salmon Bay Holiday Community Giving Program

Our sixth annual Salmon Bay Holiday Community Giving program is here! For families new to the school, this program provides a way for our families to support each other during what can be a very challenging time of year. From November 17th through December 13th, our community will be collecting gifts for those families in our school who could use some help this holiday season. We’re forwarding this message from the school so everyone who would like to participate, either as a recipient or a donor, has the details.

To Get A Gift: Please return a request form to our school counselor Rob (rabright@seattleschools.org) or our school social worker Allie (aeash@seattleschools.org) by November 10th. Your information will be kept strictly confidential.

To Give A Gift: We will send out a Sign-up Genius on November 16th with all wishes listed. Simply purchase what is noted and return the unwrapped, labeled item one of three ways (direct ship/drop off/porch pickup) no later than December 13th, and we’ll handle the rest. Full details will be available on the Sign-up Genius. If you have any questions, please contact Jacqueline Anderson (jacqueline_anderson@outlook.com) or reach out to our school counselor Rob or social worker Allie.

School Calendar Dates

• November 5th: Daylight Savings

• November 7th: MS Veteran's Day assembly

• November 8th: End of First Quarter

• November 9th: Elementary Veteran’s Day Assembly

• November 10th: Veteran's Day (no school)

• November 20th– 22nd: Parent Teacher Conferences (no school)

• November 23rd-24th: Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day (no school)

Community Announcements:

Supporting Gender-Diverse Youth: What can our Community do?

November 7 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Whittier Elementary is planning to host Sam Cristol (they gave a workshop at Adams in March, and they joined the Salmon Bay community for an informal gathering in June.) Sam supports gender-diverse youth in our community as the Project Program Coordinator Coordinator in Health Education at SPS. Find out more here.

Community Art Camps

Creativity camps for everyone at In The Making studio in Ballard. A fun, freeing space dedicated to finding joy in the act of creating in community with others. Work past “I can’t…” and “I’m not…” and embrace “yes” and “I wonder” when you play with color and materials. Currently offering after school camps for kids on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, adults on Fridays and all ages on Sundays. You can find more information here.

Seattle Police Department Personal Safety Class,

Thursday November 9th

At the request of the community, we have changed the virtual Personal Safety Class time to 6:00pm-8:00pm, still on Thursday, November 9th. We hope to encompass more folks after work and students after school.

If you, or someone you are aware of, wish to participate in this compelling training session, please register at the link below.

Reminder: This class is open to individuals of all ages and most appropriate for those who are at least 14 years of age or older.

Class information can be found here.

Salmon Bay Halloween Parade

So many fun costumes this year!

Volunteer Project

Volunteers recently repainted elements on the playground. Thanks to all involved!