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Inside Billings
December 4, 2025
| | 🎒 What's Happening at Billings? 📚 | | Even as the days grow shorter, the energy on campus has not slowed down. Students have been busy working on class projects, out on field trips, adding final touches to their art pieces and making it to the top of the climbing wall! | | |
Mike on the Mic 🎤
Every week during our faculty meeting, we share the Billings ritual of “Appreciations” for faculty and “Moments of Joy” that students provide for us. Without fail, each week we share laughter, inspiration from our amazing teachers, celebrations of student growth, and heartfelt reminders of what makes this community such a transformative and amazing place. It is an absolute privilege to lead such an exceptional community. I am filled with gratitude for our students, families, faculty, alumni, and Board. Thank you!
We understand that the 75 Metro bus rerouting has created an unexpected hardship for many students. On Tuesday, I got an update from Drue Nyenhuis, the Public Engagement Lead for the City of Seattle Department of Transportation. Although he advocated for us for a route change for the 75 bus to come closer to school, unfortunately, it is not possible. He shared that Metro plans to keep Route 75 on the Snow Route until construction is complete in Fall 2026.
Our primary concern is always prioritizing student safety, which includes getting to and from school. Drue provided Safe Routes to School Walking/Bus Maps from University District and 15th Ave NE/NE 125th Street towards the Northgate Light Rail Station and from Northgate Light Rail Station towards 15th Ave NE/NE 125th Street and University District. We are starting to explore whether we have the capacity to offer a Billings bus shuttle service to the Northgate light rail station, while being mindful of the additional time commitment on our small staff, the need for daily consistency with staff absences, and appropriate compensation. I am still awaiting an answer regarding potential grant funding from the City of Seattle that I had hoped for this morning. We will be exploring staff capacity in the next week.
Thank you for your support,
Mike
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Philanthropy at Billings
SAVE THE DATE! Billings Base Camp Annual Celebration and Fundraising Dinner on Friday, March 6!
It is with great excitement that we announce that our 23nd Annual Billings Celebration and Fundraiser Dinner will take place on Friday, March 6 at Billings Middle School. This fundraiser is a celebratory community event that supports the critical needs of the school and the robust financial aid that we provide to many of our students.
We look forward to celebrating with you on March 6th!
| | We had a fantastic time on our field trip yesterday! Students explored a variety of exhibits at the Pacific Science Center (physics, spiders, makerspace) before enjoying Deep Sky, an IMAX documentary about the creative (and painstaking) development of the James Webb Space Telescope. Ask your child about this amazing film and the other space themes they’re exploring with Emily in science classes. After lunch, we visited Seattle’s iconic Pike Place Market. Students explored a variety of sights and shops, including a magic shop, bookstore, the famous fish-throwing stand, and the infamous gum wall. It was a great day in our beautiful city! | |
This week in advisory, 7th graders have been discussing kindness! They have identified what kindness can and should look like at Billings, what kindness looks and feels like to them, and models of kindness in our community.
With the end of the semester closely approaching, 8th grade students were reminded during class meetings to diligently work on addressing any missing assignments and prepare for the many assessments they have in their classes over the final few weeks. Advisors are taking the time to check in with students during the advisory period to ensure that students are aware of any missing assignments and their present grades for the semester. During Class Meeting, the students randomly selected names for 8th Grade Secret Snowflake. For this activity, the students are asked to bring in a gift for one of their classmates the Wednesday before break (December 17th).
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In PE/GO!, 6th graders had their first climbing class using the auto-belay, helping to take them straight to the top!
6th and 7th grade ELA classes are deep into our Dystopian Societies Unit, wrapping up our close readings of The Giver (6th) and The Hunger Games (7th). In the lead up to Thanksgiving Break, students in both grades practiced annotating key passages, analyzed themes, symbolism, and metaphors. Additionally, students in 6th grade participated in their very own mock Ceremony of 12 where they were each assigned a career (similar to what happens to the protagonist Jonas in The Giver), while the 7th graders created pro-Capitol or pro-Hunger Games propaganda posters, glorifying the Games. This week, as we conclude each book, students are gearing up for analytical, evidence-based essays in both grades.
In Science class the 6th graders have been hard at work learning about Astronomy. As a part of this unit, students took a field trip to the Pacific Science Center this week. While at PacSci, students explored the various exhibits and saw the IMAX documentary Deep Sky. Students got the chance to interact with live specimens, test out physics machines, and learn more about space from the various space exhibits. We will be learning about deep space and space anomalies for the rest of fall term.
| | 8th graders will complete a debate next week to answer the question “Is nuclear power a positive or negative energy source for our community”? Students have watched Meltdown: Three Mile Island in preparation for this debate. Students will conduct further research into how nuclear energy works, the pros and cons of its production, and the local and global impacts that nuclear power can have. | | |
As we near the end of Fall, students in each grade are putting the finishing touches on their final big art projects of the quarter. 6th graders have finished up their wire stocking sculptures and will be ready to take them home on Winter break, alongside "inspiration journals" they'll be creating in the next few weeks while we learn about inspiration and what to do when they feel "stuck". 7th graders are putting finishing touches (and coffee!) on some incredibly detailed and imaginative fantasy maps they've been dreaming up and working on for a month now. 8th graders have researched ancient artworks they feel inspired by, and designed original works of art with their inspiration in mind. They'll be sharing their works-- and the cultures, periods, and artworks that inspired them-- with each other in upcoming classes.
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🎓 Deans on the Scene ✒️
8th Grade Families: High school application season is in full swing. Teachers have received many recommendation requests and are in the process of completing them! Many teachers will work over break and in the new year to complete these forms, but please know that we will get everything completed with time to spare. Becca and Rob will ensure all updated report cards get sent to the high schools as soon as they are completed. Additionally, if you are considering open enrollment for public schools, please know that SPS has updated their application window and moved it forward one month. The window will now open on January 5, as opposed to February. If you have any questions, please let Dean Rob know.
| | Billings Family Association | | |
Planning Meeting for Mid-Winter Faculty Appreciation
The event team planning our month-long faculty appreciation series will hold a kick-off meeting next Friday 12/12 from 8:30-9:30am at the school. During Mid-Winter Faculty Appreciation, we celebrate our amazing faculty through a series of weekly events like on-site massages. If you can’t make the planning meeting but would like to help out with this event, just let us know.
Join the LGBTQ+ Affinity Group
Are you a parent/caregiver in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, or raising a child who is? You're invited to join the LGBTQ+ Affinity Group at Billings. Led by a queer Billings parent, this group brings families together for potlucks once or twice a year. Members stay connected between meet-ups via a private message board to ask questions, share invitations, and offer support. Sign up here. We hope you’ll join us!
Mark Your Calendar: Family Bowling Night on 1/24
Our annual Billings family bowling night at UW will be Saturday, January 24th from 5-7pm. More info coming soon!
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Upcoming Events: 📅
- BFA Meeting: Friday, December 5, 8:30am-9:30am
- NO SCHOOL: Teacher In-Service Day, December 19
- NO SCHOOL: Winter Break, December 22-January 5
| | Need to grab one last gift for the holiday season? Head over to the Billings shop and take advantage of the extended Cyber Monday sale and get 20% off Billings swag! | | |
SQUIRRELLY WORKSHOP:
Teens & 'Tweens: Holiday Gift Making Series (4 Fridays)
Sign up your Teen or 'Tween for a Squirrelly Art Class where they can get creative with art in a safe and fun space! Squirrelly offers diverse art experiences every day of the week in our bright, woodland studio on Sand Point Way.
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Our favorite series starts tomorrow, November 14th, Surprise Holiday Gift Making. Register now at squirrellyworkshop.com to secure your child's spot!
- Squirrelly has after-school art for kids, art for adults, and art for preschoolers, too! Come enjoy an adult evening out learning watercolor or print-making, sign your elementary school aged student up for after-school art class or bring your mini-artist for our Friday morning preschool open studio!
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Learn more and register at squirrellyworkshop.com! Financial assistance and scholarships are always available.
| Bring your friends and family to the ECS Holiday Gift Market December 13 & 14! | |
Looking for something to do as a family? Check out the Mosaic Room which is located just around the corner from the Billings campus. The Mosaic Room offers family friendly classes from Yoga and Salsa dancing to Yo-Yo tricks! Scan the QR Code to sign-up!
All Billings families will receive 10% off with the code: BILLINGS10
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Executive Function Workout!
Join me (Greg: Director of The Learning Center at Billings) for a regular morning EF workout from 8:30am to 9:30am on Mondays. Developing EF, or Executive Function, requires the exercise of the brain in specific ways. Drop in on any Monday morning to share stories and explore strategies for strengthening our EF muscles and by extension, that of our students.
Think of EF (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 Monday mornings. Regular attendance is not a prerequisite. I don't need advanced notice. Drop in as you are able.
We will be meeting in person in Mercury during advisory and the beginning of first period. If you do not want to attend in person and prefer Zoom, let me know and I will send you a recurring Zoom link. Masks are not required but can be worn upon request.
And if Monday 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.
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