Calendar
November
22: After School Theatre Social Sunday, 3 pm
23- 25: Conferences - No School
26 - 27: No School
December
2: PIE Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm
3: FOSB Meeting/ SED Event, 7 pm
18: Lantern Festival (during Friday Sing), 8:30 am
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Dear Salmon Bay Families & Community Members,
This year, the Black Lives Matter at School movement has invited educators and schools to participate in a Year of Purpose, with monthly focal points and teaching opportunities that link to the Black Lives Matters at School movement’s principles. Regrettably in the chaos and strangeness of this school year, we did not participate as a school during this first quarter, but plan to going forward.
This month’s focus for the Year of Purpose is the Black Lives Matter Principle: Transgender Affirming. Today, November 20th is Transgender Day of Remembrance and we honor the intersectionality of gender and racial identities in deepening our understandings of the challenges and often violence faced by Transgender BIPOC individuals.
It is important not to spread any misinformation about transgender people. Being transgender just means that your gender identity does not match the gender you were assigned at birth. For example, you could be assigned female at birth but know deep down that you are in fact male. This would mean you are a trans man. This also means you are a man. It does not mean you used to be a woman (the correct phrasing would be “assigned female at birth”) or that you are a woman dressed as a man. You could also be assigned female at birth but feel that you are not female nor male or that you are both female and male. This would make you non-binary. A lot of non-binary people identify as transgender.
At Salmon Bay we strive to be a welcoming place for all families and students. We work to honor your child’s choice of pronoun, preferred name, gender expression, and identity expression.
Last year, middle school students attending the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) lunch group shared they have occasionally heard negative comments, but they don't feel it's systemic and that they generally feel safe to express their gender and sexuality here at Salmon Bay. We want to continue to grow in our ability to support students in their identity and expression and appreciate your partnership in that.
It is well known that having supportive adults at school, peer allies, and support from parents makes a huge difference in kids experience who don’t fit neatly into the binary gender stereotypes.
Linked here is more information about gender supports at Salmon Bay and resources for our community to be informed of the issues and support their children. I’ll offer my recommendation for the Netflix Documentary, DISCLOSURE. I watched it this week and found it powerful in deepening my lens and understanding of the challenges being faced by trans and non-binary members of our community based on media portrayals and the stereotypes and tropes they perpetuate.
To Healthy Identities, Safety and Love for all those in Our Community,
Neil
he/him
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Seen Online: Puppet Project |
Glyde and Trevor worked together with the K-2 Teachers to create a puppet unit. With Trevor, students made theatres out of paper bags, drew backgrounds near and far, and made puppets out of found objects. With Glyde they worked on puppet stories, puppet characters and voices, and acting in front of a camera.
Glyde and Trevor are very pleased to see the results of the student work. Thanks to the teachers and parents who helped with this complicated, long-term project. And to the kids for creating such wonderful pieces. We look forward to seeing MORE!
You can view three of these puppet shows by clicking the links below!
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Seen Online: Salmon Bay Staff |
All of our team at Salmon Bay wish students and families a restful and safe break next week! |
Behind the Scenes with Teacher Ben
Since it's book fair week, we decided to ask Teacher Ben a little more about the role books have played in his life.
Did you always like to read when you were a kid?
I loved to read when I was very young. I was lucky to have parents that read to me, and who I saw doing their own reading in the living room. I stopped reading almost entirely from about fifth grade to tenth grade. I didn’t know of any books that spoke my true concerns in life at that time. I wish someone would’ve handed me some Howard Zinn or Ram Dass back then. This a personal reason I am committed to finding books that are genuinely relevant to kids’ lives.
What were your favorite books?
When I was very young I loved the Berenstain Bears, Boxcar Children, and Hardy Boys. I was pretty obsessed with Big Joe’s Trailer Truck and Hiram’s Red Shirt. A little later I got very into fantasy choose-your-own-adventure books, such as the Lone Wolf series. I also loved comic books. My first career aspiration was to be a mad scientist, but I later decided I wanted to be a comic book artist instead.
What made you interested in becoming a librarian?
Books have helped me in so many ways, it would be impossible to explain. For me, a book cover is really like a door to another world, and when you come back out you have new treasures to help make life in this world better. I love being able to work with every kid and grownup in whole school. I love that the library is for student-directed learning and all value is intrinsic, with no pressure from grades or standards imposed from outside. I’m also an extremely curious person, and I love being a true companion in kids’ research on all topics.
Is there a book that you’ve reread multiple times?
I have read the Frog and Toad stories countless times. They are very simple but heart-warming, with all kinds of lessons from their friendship. We get to dig through Toad’s subconscious by analyzing one of his dreams, and we see Frog’s example of taking quiet time to feel his gratitude for life. Simple stories have such rich meaning if we take the time to patiently reflect on them and their implications for living well. On the grownup side, I enjoy rereading Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield and Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse.
If you couldn’t be a teacher/ librarian, what would you want to be?
I would like to make a living from art and writing. That’s the closest thing to being a mad scientist that I can imagine.
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Did you know that we have our own Little Free Library in Panther Passage (our school alley)? You can leave books to share with others and look for books you might want to take home to read. The Little Free Library is positioned next to the bins where student materials are picked up. |
Middle School Play Production Class
We hope you enjoy these animated powerpoints with audio tracks synched in, from the students of the Play Production class!
Radio News Podcast
Check out the latest Radio News Podcast here!
Media Lit Quiz Show
Don't miss this episode featuring Teachers Katie and Joel as contestants!
5th Grade Newspaper
Our 5th grade students are excited to share the latest edition of the 5th Grade Newspaper. You can read this issue, or catch up on any issues you might have missed, by clicking on this link.
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After School Theatre Classes
After School Theatre will have classes available this December for students in grades K-8. Registration is open now, click here!
We are also starting "Social Sundays," which will be Zoom meetings every two weeks for any Salmon Bay students interested in theatre. We'll play games, get to know one another, and more. Our first meeting is this Sunday, 11/22, at 3:00pm! Email Program Coordinator Biz Freebairn to receive a secure Zoom invitation. For more information about classes or programming, check out our page on the FOSB website, located here.
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This Weekend - Fall Book Fair |
Our book fair runs through Sunday!
Shop online or in person at Secret Garden Books.
Here are the details:
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You're welcome to shop Secret Garden’s entire website and store.
- If you don’t have an account, you will be asked to create one. Please enter SALMONBAY into the coupon box at checkout if it has not automatically loaded. This ensures your purchase counts toward the book fair.
- If you receive a coupon error message or have any trouble, please note "Salmon Bay Book Fair" in the comment section.
- Orders should be picked up at the store or you can choose to have items shipped directly to your home.
Every purchase benefits the Salmon Bay Library! We receive a percentage of sales back as a commission (10 – 20% based upon total sales) so that Teacher Ben, our librarian, can purchase new materials for our school library.
If you missed our catalog of staff and student book recommendations, you can find it here.
New Student Activity: Download a fun bookmark activity that Art Teacher Trevor has designed to celebrate reading here!
Thank you for supporting the Book Fair and our school library!
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Friends of Salmon Bay (FOSB) is our school parent teacher organization. All parents and guardians are members. |
Direct Giving
You may have heard Scott’s radio voice on your telephone today reminding you of our Direct Giving campaign. You’re not wrong, it sounds remarkably similar to his normal voice. We hope if you have the ability to give that you can make a donation.
We need help from artists. We’d like to show our progress in Direct Giving with a sketch, sidewalk chalk, or some other creative way. If you’d like to participate please email [email protected]. We’ll send you an update on Wednesday and you can send back a photo of your creation on Thursday to be included in the weekly bulletin on Friday.
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Donations are tax deductible and simple. Donate online today OR watch for your Direct Giving pledge card in the mail, write a check payable to FOSB and mail your donation to: FOSB, Attn: Direct Giving Campaign, 1810 NW 65th ST, Seattle, WA 98117.
Many employers match employees’ charitable donations. If your employer matches your donation, they could double or triple your contribution! Our Tax ID is 91-1622350.
December FOSB Meeting
Note the meeting is Dec. 3 (7:00pm), not the 10th as stated in last week’s bulletin. We have a short meeting planned and are tentatively scheduling an event around International People’s with Disabilities Day hosted by our Special Education Disability (SED) Committee following the meeting.
Topic: FOSB December Meeting
Time: Dec 3, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time
Meeting ID: 893 0574 7818
Passcode: 072967
PIE Committee Meeting
You are invited to join us for the next PIE (Parent Information Exchange) Committee Meeting on December 2nd at 6:30 pm.
Email Julie, our PIE Chair, to learn more or receive the meeting link.
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Calling All Artists!
As we do every year, there will be contests for the middle school and the K-5 yearbook covers. The only difference this year is that artists will have to send covers in via email and not hand them in in person. Easy! Instructions are below.
The expectations:
- Keep the content school appropriate.
- Keep your artwork related to Salmon Bay, our school, and our community. School pride.
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Full color.
- Original artwork only (no Disney princesses or Avengers superheroes!)
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Front and back covers. 8.5X11 inches.
- Only one entry per artist.
- Respect other people’s time, so make sure that your submission is serious.
- Do not disrespect others’ cultures, traditions or opinions. Not politically motivated.
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Deadline Friday December 11, 2020.
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Hello Salmon Bay Families!
I hope that you are doing well, that your family is healthy and you are finding moments of solace and calm. It’s tough being a parent these days and I (Rob) can use all of the help I can get. That is why I wanted to focus this week’s Counselor's Corner on a website I have come to value.
Child Mind Institute is a great organization that puts out a weekly newsletter with parenting articles that help me at home and with my job. The latest article that drew my attention focused on helping our children make decisions. For me, working from home and trying to manage my sons’ education at the same time is challenging me in new ways. I have found that I don’t want to dictate their daily routine to them or be overly punitive. This article lays out great ideas on when to offer support and when to step back. The middle school years are a valuable time for our children to learn what works for them and their education. Usually that means learning from mistakes which is what helps us the most.
Jenny and Rob are offering family and student appointments during Conference Week. If you would like to meet with either of them, please set up an appointment using their Bookings pages.
As always, if you need anything don’t hesitate to reach out!
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District News
Family Works Resource Center
To meet the basic needs of SPS families across the north end, FamilyWorks and Seattle Public Schools are opening a satellite family resource center, located at the south entrance of Nathan Hale High School each Wednesday from 12:45-3 p.m. Families will be connected to knowledgeable and friendly staff who can assist with rental assistance applications, enrollment in public benefits, and navigating a vast network of community resources. Services will be offered in English, Spanish, and Somali. To reach FamilyWorks outside of its hours at Nathan Hale High School, please call (206) 694-6727.
Seattle Public Library Free Virtual Tutoring
Seattle Public Library has launched free virtual tutoring in a variety of subjects for K-12 students. This service will be available 7 days a week in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese and help is available in math, writing, science, history, foreign languages, college essay writing, AP courses, and more. Sign up for Library Link using your SPS student ID and get access to thousands of free tutors today. Learn more here.
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Student Meals
Free & Reduced Lunch
The application for Free and Reduced lunch can be found here.
Student Meals Availability
SPS Food Services distributes meals for free at the following area schools from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. weekdays (full list here):
- Adams Elementary (Ballard)
- Catherine Blaine K-8 (Magnolia)
- B.F. Day Elementary (Fremont)
- Broadview-Thomson PK-8
- John Hay Elementary (Queen Anne)
- North Beach Elementary
- Viewlands Elementary (near Holman Road)
- Whittier Elementary (Ballard)
Download a copy of the meal site map here.
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