We are pleased to introduce some of our new staff to you in the upcoming weeks. We’d like to warmly welcome Molly to the front office as our new volunteer coordinator! Please stop by the office and introduce yourself if you’re in the building.

Welcome to Salmon Bay, Molly!

Hello Salmon Bay Community! My name is Molly, and I’m so excited to be the new Volunteer Coordinator for Salmon Bay! My background is in marketing, but I discovered my love for working in schools through volunteering. After completing my post-grad at UW, I subbed within Northshore School District for a few years, teaching everything from Pre-K to High School. In my free time, I love to travel, bake, and camp around the PNW. I’m looking forward to getting to know the Salmon Bay community!

Direct Giving:

Direct Giving Update:

We have one week left in our fall Direct Giving campaign! We have raised $53,520 which is over two thirds of the way to our goal of $77,000.

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed.

The money raised in this campaign will be spent this school year on staffing, teacher grants, yearbooks, scholarships for camp, field trips and the Spring Enrichment Program (fka: WEP) and much more. If you are able, please consider donating. No gift is too small. Donations are tax deductible.

Click here to get more information, and to see our progress in real-time!

Background:

The Direct Giving campaign is the fall fundraising event for Friends of Salmon Bay (FOSB), our parent teacher organization. Instead of asking you to buy cookie dough, wrapping paper, or popcorn, we ask you to contribute directly to our efforts to support Salmon Bay School. 

FOSB works with Salmon Bay to close the gap between the programming that is funded by Seattle Public Schools and the support our students need. Your contributions to our Direct Giving campaign help FOSB support education at Salmon Bay in many ways: staffing; teacher grants; yearbooks; scholarships for the spring enrichment program (SEP), field trips, and camp; and much more. 

Ways to Donate:

If you are able, please consider donating to the Direct Giving campaign. No gift is too small! Donations are tax deductible. This year we are trying something new: Text2Fund.

• To donate by phone: Text FOSB to 71760
• Donate by check: Write a check payable to FOSB and deliver it to the school office, or mail it to FOSB Direct Giving, ℅ Salmon Bay School, 1810 NW 65th St, Seattle, WA 98117.
• Ask your friends and family to donate. Give donation information to others you think would be willing to support our school in exchange for never being asked to buy cookie dough, wrapping paper, or popcorn.
• Ask your employer to match your donation. If your employer matches employees’ charitable donations, they could double, triple, or even quadruple your contribution! FOSB’s tax ID is 91-1622350. 

Upcoming Events:

Note: if you are planning a class, grade band, or all-school event that is not currently listed in the FOSB newsletter, online calendar, or FOSB FB events and would like for it to be added, please reach out to fosbnewsletter@gmail.com with relevant details to have them added.

TONIGHT! 6th Grade Winter Event - Cocoa, Games and Ballard Food Bank Drive! Friday, December 8th from 7- 9pm

All 6th graders and their families are invited for an evening of community in the cafetorium on Friday, December 8th from 7-9 PM. We will have coco and cookies, do a few crafts and play board games. Students are invited to bring a game their family enjoys or simply join in with others. Siblings welcome. 

We will also do a collection for the Ballard Food Bank. Families are encouraged to check the list of most needed items ahead of time, from food and hygiene products to pet and children specific needs, and bring what you would like or are able. Any questions please reach out to FOSB's Building Community lead Jackie Thai (jackieraethai@gmail.com) or 6th grade parent rep Andrea Althauser (AndreaAlthauser@hotmail.com). Hope to see you all then!

FOSB Budget Meeting - Sunday, December 10th at 7pm

Sunday, December 10th: FOSB’s Finance Committee will be meeting at 7PM over Zoom. This is the kick off meeting for developing the FOSB budget for the 2024-25 school year. We will go over the budget timeline, expectations, and the draft of a community survey to better understand our communities’ priorities.

Agenda: December - 2024 FOSB Budget Planning Meeting Agenda. 

Join our zoom Meetings using this link.

Meeting ID: 469 595 1579

Passcode: budget

Please contact fosbtreasurer@gmail.com with questions.

FOSB Board Meeting - Thursday, December 14th at 7pm

Join us in the Salmon Bay Library for our December 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.

We are planning for childcare to be 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.

Meeting agendas and previous meeting minutes are posted on our website here. We are hoping to gather community input on how to respond to the request from Ms Dixon about funding a facilities repair. Please plan to attend the meeting if providing input about this is important to you.

Please email fosbchair@gmail.com with any questions.

Evening Lantern Festival - Friday, December 15th at 6:30pm

Volunteers have come together to plan an evening together in the park - all are welcome! This year both Mary Kay and Mark (the school music teacher) will be leading families in song. For many years Salmon Bay families have gathered at Salmon Bay park (the one with the zipline) in the evening to sing songs by lantern light, and we look forward to continuing this tradition.

The evening is rather simple and sweet: show up with your lantern and singing voices, find the group gathered in the middle of the park, and join as you're able. The elementary kids have been working on the songs during the school day, and if we are able to find recordings we'll post them on our FOSB Facebook page and on website calendar this coming week. Reach out to fosbchair@gmail.com with any questions.

Related: the Elementary grades have an annual in-school lantern festival during the last Friday Sing before winter break, December 15, open to the community. Please see Principal Dixon's 12/8 newsletter for ways to volunteer with the in-school festival.

Holiday Giving Opportunities

Adopt-the-Family Gift Drive (Middle School homerooms): 

Once again, Salmon Bay Middle School homerooms are participating in our annual Adopt-the-Family gift drive for the Broadview Emergency Shelter & Transitional Housing Program. The parents and children at Broadview shelter are all experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence and rely on the shelter for basic necessities and transitional services. Your donations help to give the parents a joyful holiday and provide those necessities and gifts they would otherwise struggle to supply for their children. 

The Amazon wish list link of our adopted families will be available in the Homeroom Schoology page in first week of December.  Please look out for the information from your child’s HR teacher. If you have any questions, feel free to contact your homeroom teacher or Victoria (vpschurman@seattleschools.org).

Salmon Bay Holiday Community Giving Program

The Community Giving program is now in full swing!  To give a gift to a family in our community, please visit this link to sign up for a wish. 

Unwrapped and labeled gifts can be hand delivered to the front office. Should you wish to have the gift(s) directly shipped to us, drop them off with us outside school hours, or have us pick them up from your residence, please contact Jacqueline Anderson by phone/text at 206-529-7781 or by email at jacqueline_anderson@outlook.com. For timely delivery, please ensure gifts are received no later than Wednesday December 13th at noon.

For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Jacqueline Anderson or reach out to our school counselor Rob at rabright@seattleschools.org or our school social worker Allie at aeash@seattleschools.org.

Thank you all for coming together to support one another this season!

Announcements:

Salmon Bay Community and Engagement

Some important work that our FOSB executive team is doing this year is centered around serving all families in our community. We would like this exploration to be open to all ideas of what ‘community’ and 'engagement’ mean to folks. More info is captured in the November board meeting shared on our website here. Please contact Erin Dury to get involved, or reach out to FOSB Chairs Julie and Caitlin.

Safety Skills (Self Defense) Classes

Safety Skills Classes are being offered in Salmon Bay School in January. Classes are facilitated by FOSB After School Committee but will be run by Strategic Living, LLC, (Safety and Self-Defense Training). Classes are aimed at teaching students to recognize “red flags”, plan safe exits from iffy situations, practice physical moves (just in case), and learn to find supportive self-care. All in age-appropriate language and concepts. The K-3 class has a significant part geared towards parent education. Please register for the relevant class below, and fill in Parent/Guardian emails/phone numbers. 

Grades K - 3 - Safety Skills for Children + Parent/Guardian

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 · 3:45 - 5:15pm

Child must be accompanied by an adult. A significant part of class is geared towards parent education. Cost $55 (+$4.02 fee) per child (adult is free). Financial assistance is available. Further information and to register please click here.

Grades 4, 5 & 6 - Safety Skills for Children + Parent/Guardian

Friday, January 19, 2024 · 3:45 - 5:45pm

Child must be accompanied by an adult. Cost $65 (+$4.57 fee) per child (adult is free). Financial assistance is available. Further information and to register please click here.

Grades 7 and 8 - Empowerment Self-Defense 

Wednesday, January 17, 2024 · 2:30 - 5pm 

Students only. Self defense and safety skills for students ONLY. Cost $75 (+$5.12 fee) Financial assistance is available. Further information and to register please click here.

Any further queries please contact fosbafterschool@gmail.com

An Opportunity To Empower Girls!

Girls on the Run, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a physical activity-based positive youth development (PA-PYD) program designed to enhance girls’ social, emotional and physical skills and behaviors to successfully navigate life experiences. The program’s intentional curriculum places an emphasis on developing competence, confidence, connection, character, caring and contribution in young girls through lessons that incorporate running and other physical activities. The life skills curriculum is delivered by caring and competent coaches who are trained to teach lessons as intended.

A couple of SB parents are interested in offering this program to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in the spring. We need A COACH OR TWO! You don’t have to have any running experience! We would also like to GAUGE INTEREST IN THE PROGRAM. Please email Cindy Goering (cbgoering@gmail.com) with questions, interest, and inquiries. Please check out the Girls on the Run website here for more information.

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.

From the PIE (Parent Information Exchange) Committee

What is PIE? We are a group of parents and guardians who want to share, collaborate, and support each other in raising our kids and building community. 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. 

Ways that you can be involved:

1. Volunteer to disperse info on our meetings and events to your parent friends, cohorts, and grades. We’ll provide the blurbs with details, so all you need to do is copy and paste or share at in-person gatherings.
2. Donate books or share online resources that you find supportive and helpful.
3. Take on one task related to an event. Examples: pick up food or drink at a local vendor, email admin to confirm dates and spaces for events are available, arrange spaces prior to events. 
4. Share ideas, resources, and expertise for events.
5. We welcome other offerings that you can think of!
6. Please email fosbpie@gmail.com.

Ongoing Announcements:

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.

School Crossing Guard - Still 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 this link.

Stay Connected

Set yourself up to stay aware of FOSB events and news this school year! Sign up here to receive FOSB emails as they are released. Subscribe to our web calendar at this link, or follow us on FaceBook for more info about meetings and events.

Additionally, there are GoogleGroups and Facebook groups for most grade bands. If you’re looking for a way to connect with other Salmon Bay parents and caregivers, consider joining the relevant Google and/or Facebook Group for community building amongst parents and caregivers in the same grade levels and classes as your kid(s)! To be added to the appropriate email list(s), send an email to sb-join-email@googlegroups.com, and let us know which grade group(s) you would like to join.

More Info on FOSB Committees:

Please check out our website for more information about FOSB’s existing committees and ways to get involved!

Resources:

Resources shared by our community members:

In light of ongoing, casual racist and homophobic comments and incidents among students at Salmon Bay, and particularly in the middle school, a parent shared these resources in our community Facebook group. Please, have ongoing conversations with your kids about racism and homophobia. We are all a part of this community and must contribute our values to keeping it a place of belonging for all. Here are some resources for talking to your kids about these issues if you need them.

For all families:

10 Tips on Talking to Kids About Race and Racism

How Parents Can Challenge Unintentional Homophobia.

For families of kids of color:

Racism in the Classroom: What You Can Do About it

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.

Lost & Found:

The lost and found is overflowing - please be sure to check for missing items before winter break!

Middle School Transcripts:

Parents of Middle Schoolers who need transcripts sent to other schools (transfers, High School, etc.) must have a transcript request sent to Salmon Bay from the respective school, or go through Ravenna Solutions. 

Elementary Progress Reports:

Progress Reports for Elementary students will be available to view on The Source starting on December 18th. 

School Calendar Dates:

• December 15: Friday Sing Lantern Festival (Elementary students; held during Friday Sing)
• December 15: 1-hour early dismissal 
• December 18 - January 1, 2024: Winter break (no school)

Community Announcements:

Ballard Food Bank Donation

Salmon Bay Troop 46252 (Girl Scout Juniors) is collecting items to donate to the Ballard food bank. All items are welcome but the troop wanted to focus on helping the women, children and cats in our community so we are especially trying to collect the following top needs from the food bank:

-menstrual pads

-tampons

-size 4, 5, and 6 diapers

-baby wipes

-dry cat food

If you would like to help, donation boxes are located outside of the 5th grade classrooms and on the first floor. We will be packing up and delivering items after school on Monday (12/11/23).

Swap & share! Kids' toy and clothing exchange: Everything free!

Time: Saturday, Dec 9th, from 10am*- 2pm

Location: St. Paul's Community Room, 6512 12th Ave NW

What: Build community, share resources through the neighborhood, and do a good turn for the environment: go second hand this holiday season!

To contribute:

8:30 AM - 10 AM.

Sort and swap items with fellow contributors! We welcome kids' clothing: gently used, cleaned, and sorted by size. Also, toys, books, puzzles: gently used, packaged for easy shopping.

To shop:

10 AM - 2 PM

Join to shop all donated items. All are welcome, no donations necessary, all items FREE

Any remaining items will be donated to local charities (Mary's Place, Westside Baby, and Goodwill).

Please consider a donation to your local Food Bank if you would like to help spread abundance through our community.

Community Book Project:

Introducing Community Book Project, founded by a Seattle mom on a mission to eliminate book deserts. A former school librarian, her passion for connecting kids with the perfect book fuels our goal to break barriers, especially for vulnerable children who lack basic access to high-quality literature. Here's how we're making a difference:



1. Book Distribution to Kids and Teachers: Providing brand new books to children without easy access to literature, positively impacting their educational journey. We also boost teachers' classroom libraries, fostering a love for reading.
2. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Collaboration: Expanding reach to kids aged 0-5 city-wide. So far we've sponsored over 2,200 children since June, with 350+ in the 98117 neighborhoods alone. Each month, registered children receive a new, high-quality book by mail.

Learn how to enroll your child here. If you share in the belief that all kids deserve access to great books, consider getting involved! We welcome volunteers and appreciate monetary support of any amount. Donating is simple. Text GIVEBOOKS to 53-555 or visit us here.

Ballard Basketball

Winter Camps & In-House Leagues

Camps: December 18-21 & December 26-29

Leagues: January 2 - March 24

• For 3rd-9th grade beginner & intermediate
• Leagues divided by gender and grade
• Scholarships available so fees aren't a barrier to participation
• Play with buddies & make new friends

More info and registration here. Questions? E-mail Sara Wetstone at ballardbasketballinfo@gmail.com

Loyal Heights Teen Programs

Please click here to see the current Loyal Heights Teen programs offered for the month of December. More information can be found on their website here.

SPS Board Proposal Information

A group of SPS parents/caregivers from across the city have come together to share information about upcoming SPS Board proposals, and to figure out actions to support our schools and students. The group formed a group called All Together for Seattle Schools. Find out more on their website here.

Seattle JazzED

Click here to learn more about the mission of Seattle JazzED! Here is more information about upcoming events: 

Open Enrollment for Winter Programs:

Winter registration is live! In addition to new seasons of JazzSprouts, Foundations, and Connections, students in grades 8 to 12 can sign up for new Exploration ensembles, including Drumline and New Works. No auditions are required. 

Youth Hosting Jam Session:

On Thursday, December 14, students participating in our Jazz Lab: Gigging and Mentoring program will be hosting a jam session open to peers in the community. Middle and high school musicians are invited to join for the evening are encouraged to RSVP.

MOHAI Field trip!

Fourth graders visited MOHAI on Thursday and explored exhibits.

Seen Around School

This bulletin board in the southeast staircase had some beautiful illustrations.

Donation Box for Ballard Food Bank Drive

This one is located on the front floor, outside the teachers lounge. See above for details!

First Grade Field Trip

First graders saw a performance of The Steadfast Tin Soldier by the Fremont Dance Company.

We'd love to include photos from in & around the school!

If you have one you'd like to share, please submit it to fosbnewsletter@gmail.com.

Have something to add?

To add any updates, news or events to the newsletter, please email fosbnewsletter@gmail.com.

Did a friend forward you this email? Click here to sign-up yourself! 

Past emails will be archived here.

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.