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Inside Billings
October 17, 2024
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🎒 What's Happening at Billings? 📚 | |
If you weren't able to attend Curriculum Night this week, feel free to view the curriculum guide on our website! Those of you who ordered physical pictures from Picture Day will be receiving them soon from us, and instructions for digital downloads should arrive to your email from Randy DeMoss. | |
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Mike on the Mic 🎤
Reminder that next Friday, October 25, is our fall conference day. Your child and at least one parent or guardian should attend the conference. We will not have any classes that day.
It filled my heart to see so many of you at Curriculum Night on Tuesday! Thank you for indulging me as an old science teacher about how Billings is truly designed around the five core tenets of the neuroscience of learning: diet, novelty, love (sense of belonging), productive struggle, and exercise. I know many were surprised that exercise is the most impactful by far!
Fittingly, Amelia Marckworth, Billings alum and Billings Board Chair, shared that her Billings experience changed her life and helped her to be a confident, productive adult. Time and again, we hear how our Billings experiences lead to confidence, resilience, and success in college and beyond.
Amelia shared why she serves on our Board of Trustees and how we need everyone in our community to make Billings great. Serving on the Board or on a Board Committee is a great way to use your professional and personal connection skills to serve the school and our mission. People with community engagement, marketing, financial, legal, educational, event-planning, fundraising, and “friend-raising” experience are always helpful! If you are interested in serving on one of the Billings Board Committees, please connect with Amelia.
A final thank you to Erika Wright for sharing the impact of a Billings education on Cash, helping him to be empowered to explore new things and to excel inside and outside of the classroom. She was very moving about the importance of families stretching to give to our Annual Fund to support our special school. If you would like to talk with her more about the Annual Fund, please connect with Erika.
Thank you for your support,
Mike
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✒️ Deans on the Scene 🎓
The i-Ready diagnostics are complete for Reading and Math in all grade levels. Results and information on interpreting results will be emailed to families later this week. We extended the testing window to accommodate students who were absent or unable to complete the assessments during the designated class periods. Please remember that the results are used internally as an additional data point for students’ learning and growth. While the tool is not in perfect alignment with our curriculum, it helps teachers identify potential areas of focus or support for instruction. We share this perspective in conversation and reflection with students, and we encourage you to join us in this messaging with your child.
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Break Camps at Billings - Steve & Kate's Camp
With Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks quickly approaching, we wanted you to know that Billings will be hosting Steve & Kate’s Camp on our campus for Fall, Winter, Mid-Winter, and Spring Breaks this year.
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Mike had the pleasure of touring a Steve & Kate’s Camp location this summer and it was a joyful experience where children planned their own days with all kinds of activities. As soon as we put up a flyer outside the main office this week, we immediately had staff and student interest and excitement about it!
Steve & Kate’s Camp is very flexible - families can buy any number of days to use whenever and drop off and pick up any time between 8 am and 6 pm. Many large companies like Microsoft provide Bright Horizons Enhanced Family Supports benefits that can be applied directly to Steve & Kate’s Camp.
For more information or to help spread the word, please visit their website and check out their Fall Break Flyer and Winter Break Flyer.
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Philanthropy at Billings
Week two is well underway and we have raised $51,000 towards our goal of $100,000. We have a big goal for the Annual Fund this year because we believe in the importance of empowering our students to explore and excel, and your donations help us do this. Below is a quote from Amy, 8th Grade Advisor, on how she hopes to empower, explore, and excel this year.
“Empower - I hope to empower students to find good, credible resources for their research.
Explore - I want to help students explore events in history, the importance of democracy, and ideas related to religion to find meaning for themselves.
Excel - I hope to inspire students to push themselves and challenge themselves to excel in their writing, analyzing, and class discussions.”
- Amy, Social Studies Teacher and 8th Grade Advisor
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Our teachers and staff truly believe in the mission of this school, and 100% of our full-time staff have made a donation to the annual fund. Help your grade achieve 100% participation as well by October 31st and get a free pizza party!
Participation standings:
- 6th Grade: 65%
- 7th Grade: 37%
- 8th Grade: 50%
Your donation to the annual fund will directly help make these hopes a reality. As with most private schools, tuition alone is not enough to keep Billings Middle School running smoothly. We rely on the generosity of our families and community to continue to offer a competitive curriculum, a fabulous team of teachers dedicated solely to middle school education, and the incredible hands-on programs that expand your student’s education.
Please consider making your gift today. Gifts of every size matter and each one has a huge impact on pushing us towards our goal! Thank you!
You can make a donation by dropping off a check at the front desk or by clicking here to make a donation online. You can also click here to make a pledge for a future donation. Don’t forget to check with your employer to see if they will match your donation! Boeing, Microsoft, Nintendo, Pokémon, and many other major employers offer an employee match program. This is a really great way to double the impact of your donation!
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Upcoming Events: 📅
- Friday, 10/25 - Fall Conferences
- Tuesday, 10/29 - Open House, 5:30pm-7:30pm
- Friday, 11/1 - BFA All Family Meeting, 8:30am
- [NO SCHOOL] Monday, 11/11 - Veteran's Day
- Saturday, 11/16 - Open House, 10:30am-12:00pm
- Saturday, 11/16 - Pinehurst Craft Fair, 12:00pm-4:00pm
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6th grade is currently working on their academic goals to present at their conferences on October 25th. They will be adding an academic and social or leadership goal to the overall goal that they prepared for Convocation.
7th grade have recently returned from their trip to Yakima! Students explored the culture, history, and environment of Yakima through several different experiences, while camping along the banks of the Yakima River in the evenings. There were two goals to this trip: first, for students to begin to develop an understanding of the history of the area through multiple generations and build connections between those stories; and second, for students to tap back into their camping knowledge and begin to step up for leadership roles as they are gradually preparing for the Baker Lake Trip this coming spring.
Highlights included hearing from a Yakama Nation elder at the Yakama Nation Cultural Center, packing 1,976 pounds of food at the Northwest Harvest Center, and fantastic camp life with delicious dinners prepared by advisories and volunteers. In just three days, 7th graders grew tremendously as they made connections with new friends, were quick to step up and help out around camp, and approached each service learning experience with reverence, curiosity, and respect. Well done 7th grade!
The 8th grade advisees have been focusing on our goals of leadership and stewardship. Students started to brainstorm their SMART goals for fall conferences and their individual academic and community goals. We discussed stewardship in our 8th grade meeting and got student feedback regarding keeping our environment clean. Students continued these conversations in advisory meetings all week.
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Students from each advisory participated in a Mummy Making Contest to see which group could collaborate the best to make a toilet paper mummy. | |
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6th & 7th grade ELA celebrated the end of their four day weekend by writing stories to celebrate the spooky season. Students created a ghost out of tissue paper and then wrote a story to go along with it!
8th graders just completed their first math unit of the year: transformations. To master this unit, students designed their own brands on graph paper that represented their own personal interests while incorporating our three key transformations: rotations, reflections, and translations.
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7th graders have been hard at work on their Native Plant Fact Sheets in science and even had the opportunity to find their plants on their hike at Snow Mountain Ranch with the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy. Students will be presenting their research to their peers in science class. |  | |
7th Grade Family Request! In 7th Design Lab, students will be working on projects in Fall and Winter that require the use of various recycled materials. If you are able, please send your students to school with any egg cartons, paper towel rolls, empty tissue boxes, clean milk cartons, clean plastic food containers, bottle caps, soda bottles, etc. There will be an ongoing dropbox in Bill where materials can be left. Thank you! Questions about what materials to send? Please reach out to Amira.
The 8th graders have been learning all about molecules and how elements bond together in science. They have been completing several activities and labs related to this topic. Students completed a PhET simulation lab all about building molecules and determining their structures. The 8th graders have their first chemistry test of the year on Thursday, October 24th! Please encourage your students to prepare and to complete the study materials posted on Google Classroom.
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The Winter Term Production has been announced!
THE NUT-BROWN GIRL
Cathy’s dying grandmother has transformed into a cat, but no one has noticed. Do the secret seashell messages and the pirates have anything to do with it? Who, exactly, is the Nut-Brown Girl, and is any of it real? Trapped between the ordinary and the terrible, Cathy just might need a little magic to guide her.
This YA show, originally produced by Seattle Public Theater and written by Gillian, features a live soundtrack (student vocals and band) with the opportunity for students to play extraordinary humans, mystical pirates, and the mysterious grandmother cat. Auditions will be the week of November 11th.
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From the BFA:
Helping with Upcoming Admissions Activities
Admissions Director Stephanie Hagedorn is looking for Billings parents and caregivers to help with the school’s open houses on:
- Tue 10/29 - 5:30-7:30pm
- Sat 11/16 - 10:30am-12pm
- Wed 12/11 - 5:30-7:30pm
She also has yard signs and posters for families to put around their neighborhoods. Please email Stephanie if you are interested in helping out!
Volunteers Wanted for Día de los Muertos
As part of the school’s Día de los Muertos celebration, Spanish teacher Kruthi Isola is looking for volunteers to bring in treats and help hand them out to students on Friday, November 1st. You can sign up here. In the coming days, Kruthi will also email families information on how we can help our students participate in creating an ofrenda.
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Theresa (Sam, Class of 2027) and Rebecca (Jake & Avi, Class of 2027) are hosting a 6th grade family get-together on Sunday, October 27th at 12:30pm at Phinney Station. Join your student's cohort to connect outside of school! | |
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Hello 8th grade families,
If your student will be considering private high school applications, click this link (English & Español) to learn about the test prep sessions Billings will be offering from September 9th through December 19th.
Executive Function Workout!
💡 FEEL THE BURN! 💡
Join me (Greg: Director of The Learning Center at Billings) for a regular Tuesday morning EF workout from 8:30am to 9:30am starting Tuesday, September 10th. 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 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 Tuesday mornings. Regular attendance is not a prerequisite. I don't need advanced notice. Drop in any Tuesday morning.
We will be meeting in person in Mercury, during advisory and the beginning of first period. Check-in at the front desk before heading down to Nadia. 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 provided upon request.
And if Tuesday 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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