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A CSCA Publication

What's HOT the week of September 19, 2022

The Beautiful Changes

by Richard Wilbur

One wading a Fall meadow finds on all sides

The Queen Anne’s Lace lying like lilies

On water; it glides

So from the walker, it turns

Dry grass to a lake, as the slightest shade of you

Valleys my mind in fabulous blue Lucernes.

The beautiful changes as a forest is changed

By a chameleon’s tuning his skin to it;

As a mantis, arranged

On a green leaf, grows

Into it, makes the leaf leafier, and proves

Any greenness is deeper than anyone knows.

Your hands hold roses always in a way that says

They are not only yours; the beautiful changes

In such kind ways,

Wishing ever to sunder

Things and things’ selves for a second finding, to lose

For a moment all that it touches back to wonder.

New in This Week's Dragon's Fire

• Welcome from (and to) the CSCA
• College & Financial Aid Information Meeting for Families
• New Items on the Bulletin Board

Welcome from (and to) the CSCA

There's no doubt it's been a tough few years. We're all struggling to figure out a new normal as we emerge from the pandemic. Many of us are looking to this school year as the beginning of that normal for our kids. As we all hope that our kids can settle into a high school routine with a healthy balance of academics, activities, and social events, it's important to take a moment to reflect on the role we all play in making a school like TCS a supportive environment where our kids can flourish.

The Center School was founded by a group of parents and educators who wanted a different type of academic, social, and emotional environment for students. While some of TCS's focus has shifted by necessity over the years, it remains true that our school is unique because of its placement within the Seattle community and because of the community that supports the school. That's why our PTSA is called the Center School Community Association (CSCA).

It's been a tough few years for the CSCA too. Our last class of prepandemic students and families will be graduating at the end of this school year. That's a whole lot of institutional memory to lose all at once. Those of us who started at TCS in the fall of 2019 still remember the quirky traditions, the energy in the school spaces, and perhaps also the sense of hope that our kids had finally landed in place where their unique personalities would be embraced and nurtured. The last two and half years have chipped away at that unified sense that we all chose to be here together. We need to rebuild that, and we can't do it without your participation.

Why is the CSCA important? Well sure, we do all the things a PTSA does. We raise funds to support our staff with classroom needs, curriculum supports, and appreciation and to provide educational and social opportunities for our students. We're a big part of making high school at a small school feel like high school. But, equally importantly, we're the primary way that we foster a sense of connection and investment during the last years when we can directly influence our kids' daily experience.

High school is a time when we are helping our kids become independent adults. That's exhilarating, but it can also be lonely and baffling. CSCA provides a way to connect with other parents and with school staff about how best to support our kids (and each other) through this time. We also provide a way to understand what's happening inside the school building from multiple perspectives, information that can be really hard to get from a teenager.

As we start this somewhat normal school year, we ask you to think about being a little bit more involved just as you are letting go of your kids. There are several ways you can do this:

• Join the CSCA! Joining is quick and easy. Your membership dues go to support the parent organizations (Seattle Council PTA and Washington PTA) that advocate for us with the city and state. We also know that dues can be stretch, so please reach out to member chair Monica Payson at monica@paysley.net if you need support with dues.
• Come to CSCA parent/guardian meetings and board meetings. We try to provide family specific programming at our parent/guardian meetings and we'll be having a dinner get together later this month. But come to our monthly Zoom board meetings too. We always start our board meetings with an update from Dr Casey. Board meetings are open to all and are a great way to connect with staff and parents, ask questions, learn what's happening at our school on the ground level and in relation to the district, and voice your needs and wants.
• Volunteer your time and skills. You have so much to bring to our community and we are grateful for any amount of time you can give. When you fill out your membership form, be sure to tell us how you'd like to help.
• Join our board. That's not really as big a commitment as it sounds. There are board roles that don't require ongoing work but are really key to our mission. But we really do need some parents/guardians to join the board to take the CSCA into the future. Four of our key board positions are filled by senior parents who will be leaving at the end of the year. Please reach out to CSCA acting president, Erika Borges, if you would like to help build our community.
• Donate to support the work we do for our school. We have to major fundraisers every year, our direct drive and our auction, but you can donate any time the mood strikes!

College & Finanacial Aid Information Meeting for Families

It's never too early to start thinking about college. Ninth and tenth grade families can get a head start on their post high school planning. Eleventh and twelfth grade families, every minute between now and graduation counts. And TCS is here to help your student with this exciting process.

Join us Wed, Sep 28 at 7 pm via Zoom for an information session about college and financial aid planning. Renowned local college choice authority Teri Thompson, test prep expert Greg Smith, and local college aid consultant and radio host Albert Israel CFP, will be the speakers at this free virtual informational workshop addressing college financial aid, how that aid is assigned to individual families, how that aid can sometimes be increased, what role test prep plays in these times, and how to pick the right college for your student to hopefully avoid the fifth year.

The workshop is designed for parents of college bound high school students. All speakers are Seattle based, and there is no cost or obligation to those who attend. Advance registration is appreciated.

RSVP here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkcOuorTkqE9CscMi5zroUrz1xMvAfE15A

Thank you Mr Rho for putting together this event.

Understanding the Block Schedule

What?! Different classes every day? It's actually not that hard. Mon and Thu are odd days (periods 1, 3, and 5). Tue and Fri are even days (2, 4, and 6). Wed are all classes and early dismissal. Sometimes the Wed scheduled is changed on weeks with a Mon holiday so that all classes get equal time. See, that wasn't that hard! But just in case, we're providing the graphic below (thanks, Ms Neel!).

Getting to School

There are nine bus stops and 18 bus routes in easy walking distance of Seattle Center. You can find bus stops on Queen Anne Ave N, 1st Ave N, 2nd Ave N, 5th Ave N and Denny Way. The Seattle Center is also served by the monorail, which runs from Westlake Center right to the Armory building. If your student is planning to bike, there are bike racks all around campus.

• Read more about getting to the Seattle Center
• View a printable map of Seattle Center
• Use King County Metro's trip planner to plan your bus route

TCS is aware of transportation challenges for West Seattle families. On Tue, Aug 24, CSCA parents, SPS transportation, SPS board member Erin Dury, and Dr. Casey participated in a problem solving meeting to discuss solutions for students coming from West Seattle and White Center. We will provide information from that meeting in upcoming issues.

Key Dates

Running Start families, please keep in mind that SPS schedule changes do not affect Seattle College dates. Below are key dates for RS students. You can also download the full year calendar. 

• Sep 26: Fall quarter begins
• Oct 31: Winter quarter registration begins for returning students (get your enrollment verification form signed and returned to your RS office well in advance)
• Nov 7: Winter quarter registration begins for new students
• Dec 15: Fall quarter ends

General Information

Running Start can be a great way for high school students to push themselves or to take classes beyond those offered at TCS. But it is also easier to feel disconnected from school. Scheduling can also be confusing students taking classes at both TCS and RS. We'll do our best to run information and reminders to get you through the year smoothly. Parents and students who want to connect with a peer about their RS experience can contact Monica Payson at monica@paysley.net.

The Bulletin Board section publishes information about art, photography, film, theater, writing, and other programs and competitions outside of TCS that might be of benefit and interest to our students. If you know of an opportunity that our students might want to hear about, contact the Dragon's Fire at dfsubmitarticle1@gmail.com.

Listings in the Bulletin Board section for any specific commercial or organizational product, process, or service, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by The Center School or the CSCA.

Dragon's Fire wants to hear about what's going on in our school community. Please submit articles and images to Dragon's Fire by 5 pm Friday afternoon for inclusion in the next newsletter. Read our submission guidelines.

If you have comments, corrections, or additions to Dragon's Fire, please contact the editor at dfsubmitarticle1@gmail.com. We welcome your feedback!

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