New in this week's Dragon's Fire

 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.

It's never been easier to attend our monthly CSCA meetings. Last week's Parent/Guardian meeting with the CSCA board, Dr. Casey, and TCS teachers had a fantastic turnout and a lively and informative discussion. We hope we'll see and hear from more of you at our upcoming monthly meetings. Everyone is welcome at both the board meetings and the parent/guardian meetings.

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.

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!

Note: Even if you choose not to join the CSCA at this time, please put your information in the database so we can keep you in the loop about what is happening at TCS.

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!

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.

One of the ways TCS stands out from other schools is the community we build: one which many students have been seeking throughout all their years of school. During this time of remote learning, we need to build our community virtually. And MS Teams is our way to do just that!

Everyone at TCS is part of the “TCS – All Community-O365” Team. This is our central communication hub outside of classroom meetings. It serves as a virtual community allowing for general announcements and channels for more targeted non-classroom conversations (career and college readiness, interfacing with administrative staff, etc.), faculty-sponsored clubs, and even a space to share student-created media (which is so important to us as an arts-based school). Basically, if the discussion would “normally” happen on campus, it can now happen in Teams!

Please make sure your student can see the TCS – All Community team. If not, have them go to the “Join or Create a Team” option and enter the code c1fhhh0. Be sure to download the Teams desktop app for full feature functionality.

In the TCS – All Community team, students will have access to all kinds of channels. They are welcome to explore! Here are some highlights:

Encourage your student to join in and help create a TCS virtual community!

Attendance will be tracked for online classes. If your student will have an excused absence or tardy, please follow the regular attendance procedures by calling or emailing Kathy Webb in the attendance office:

Email: kawebb@seattleschool.org

Phone: 206.252.9785

Parents will continue to receive robo calls notifying them of tardies and absences just like during regular school.

The deadline to update the Student Verification Form has been extended to Oct 8. In our remote learning environment, it is important parents/guardians verify their primary contact information and make sure all of the form fields are accurate. School and district communication with families are dependent on the accuracy of this data.

Please log in to the Source to update your student's information. Read directions on how to access the Source and Student Verification Form. For questions, contact sourcesupport@seattleschools.org.

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.

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.

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.

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.