Inside Billings
October 7, 2021
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PUMPKINS!
Thank you Jennifer Duncan (Maggie, 2023) for
donating 20 home-grown pumpkins for student activities, including this monster, Gourdzilla!
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Gourdzilla was so heavy, Malachi (2022) had to
roll it down the hallway!
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Looking for back issues of the E-News? They are archived here.
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Announcing the Billings Middle School Annual Fund 2021!
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Ed Abrahamsen and Maria Cho (Kai 2022)
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DROP-OFF PRO TIP!
Five minutes before you arrive to school, ask your students to make sure they have their backpacks, water bottles, and all of their stuff ready to go so they can exit the car promptly.
Remember, there is likely a car waiting behind you.
With all three grades dropping off at the same time this will help prevent backups.
THANK YOU!
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Drop-Off Pro Tip #2
Students sometimes register high temperatures during health checks - when they are not sick. Often it's because the student has gotten heated up in the car.
To avoid this we recommend taking off the knit cap or pulling down the sweatshirt hood five minutes before arriving to school. Consider turning down those heated seats and cracking a window!
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CURRICULUM NIGHTS!
10/11 - 7th grade Curriculum Night, 6pm
10/14 - 8th grade Curriculum Night, 6pm
CONFERENCES!
10/22 - Parent/Student/Advisor Goal Setting Conference.
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REMINDER - In order to enter the building you must be vaccinated against COVID. If you have not already, please upload your vaccination card to ALMA, or bring it with you.
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From Julie, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
ANNOUNCING THE DEI SPEAKER SERIES!!
The Equity and Inclusion Virtual Speaker Series is a program led by a number of independent schools (including Billings) to offer our communities and beyond the opportunity to connect, learn, and engage in topics around equity, inclusion, and antiracist education and action.
Detailed information on each speaker can be found here:
https://sites.google.com/meridianschool.edu/virtual-speaker-series/home
All speaker events are free to the community. Sign up links are below.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Julie!
2021-2022 Equity & Inclusion Virtual Speaker Series
SPEAKER: Gyasi Ross
TOPIC: Indigenous People, Race, and Education
October 14th 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
SPEAKER: Dr. Erika Lee
TOPIC: Asian Americans in America's History: A Look to Xenophobia and Racism
November 16th 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
SPEAKER: Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum
TOPIC: A conversation with Dr. Tatum about Race and Racism
January 13th 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
SPEAKER: Jason Reynolds
TOPIC: Racism and Young People's Literature
March 31st 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
SPEAKER: Dr. Bettina L. Love
TOPIC: We Gon’ Be Alright, But That Ain’t Alright: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom
May 5th 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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Girls in Grades 2-8, Come Play With Doublecrosse Girls Lacrosse
Registration opens November 1st
The Doublecrosse Lacrosse Club is a non-profit, volunteer driven organization dedicated to growing girls’ lacrosse in Northeast Seattle. We field teams for girls in grades 2 through 8 who live within the Roosevelt HS and Nathan Hale HS boundaries. We are a recreational program and welcome girls of all skill levels – no experience is required to be a part of Doublecrosse! We are committed to teaching fundamental skills, good sportsmanship, and teamwork. Our goal is to support players in gaining confidence and determination to excel on the field and in all aspects of life. We hope our players will want to play in high school, so we help them prepare for the next level.
Registration opens November 1st, with practices starting in February. Scholarships are available. See our website at www.doublecrosse.com for information about teams, practice days and times, and registration instructions, and email info@doublecrosse.com with any questions.
Note from Ginger - The Doublecross website appears to require updating. We recommend emailing the club for information.
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Executive Function Workout!
FEEL THE BURN!
Join me (Greg: Director of The Learning Center at Billings) for a regular Friday morning EF workout from 9am to 10am starting Friday, September 17th. Developing EF, or Executive Function, requires the exercise of the brain in specific ways. Drop in on any Friday morning, to share stories and explore strategies for strengthening our EF muscles and by extension, that of our students.
Think of Executive Function as the CEO of the brain, helping us improve our self-regulation and aid our ability to make both short and long-term plans that enhance our performance in many aspects of our life. At a middle school pragmatic level this includes things like, doing your nightly HW, working on long term projects, or doing chores around the house. This is not a class. This is an opportunity to share collective wisdom. While 30 plus years as a middle school educator has certainly allowed me to garner some wisdom, I am really a facilitator on Friday mornings. Regular attendance is not a prerequisite. I don't need advanced notice. Drop in any Friday morning.
We will be meeting in person in Mercury after advisory is over. There are no rooms available at 8:30am drop-off. Mercury will provide an external door for ease of access. If you do not want to attend in person and prefer Zoom, let me know and I will send you a recurring Zoom link. Because Billings requires proof of vaccination for all adults on campus, please send me an email indicating you will be attending so I can let Becca know in the front office. Becca will reach out if there is any issue with your vaccination record.
And if Friday mornings are not a viable option for you, but you want to learn more, don't hesitate to e-mail me, and let's find time to chat 1-1.
Greg Smith
Director of The Learning Center
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What Are We Doing in School?
We are playing sports!
From Anthony - BREAKING NEWS: The boys soccer team won against Brighton 3-1 on Monday. The team is now 2-0!
Do you have pictures of Billings sports? Please upload them here.
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From Lindsey - Prior to the 7th-grade Trip, in WASH, 7th graders completed a Question Formulation Technique (QFT) process to identify important questions to research their small group Washington Indigenous Social Justice issue. Many great research questions were created!
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Also From Lindsey - At Thursday's faculty meeting, teachers participated in a mini-lesson on the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) that students have experienced in Billings' HUM courses.
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From Abigail - Students are drawing objects from home! Students were asked to choose objects that tell us something about them - represent an activity they enjoy, or remind them of a special memory/person.
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From Amy - 8th Graders are beginning a study of Ethics for the World Religions class. We began this week with an activity about 'Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs'.
Here they are trying to decide where actions should be placed on the hierarchy.
Students are thinking, reading, speaking and writing about humanity, motivation, and ethical behavior.
We also read 'The Parable of the Long Spoons'.
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From Sarah - In 6th grade math, students created life size number mazes in connection with a branch of mathematics called Graph Theory.
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From Lindsey - Advisory Olympics! The top plankers from each advisory compete against each other. Three people went over 7 minutes! There are some serious young abs of steel.
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In case you missed it: Here is your handy guide to who's who at Billings. |
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For a quick reference you can always go to our website.
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CALENDAR
CURRICULUM NIGHTS!
10/11 - 7th grade Curriculum Night, 6pm
10/14 - 8th grade Curriculum Night, 6pm
CONFERENCES!
10/22 - Parent/Student/Advisor Goal Setting Conference.
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Billings Middle School | www.billingsmiddleschool.org |
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