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Inside Billings
January 23, 2025
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🎒 What's Happening at Billings? 📚 | |
Students got some fun in the snow last week and, with luck, will have more every week to follow! Please read on to hear about the first snowshoe expedition and check out the SmugMug gallery for our Winter program. If you need the code, please reach out to the Front Desk! | |
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Mike on the Mic 🎤
Though I’m sad that illness has kept me away from school this week, I am really excited about our Annual Celebration and Fundraiser Dinner on Friday, April 4 at Billings! While the fundraising that happens during the event supports the critical needs of the school, another primary goal is to bring you all together and celebrate a year of growth, learning, adventure, and community.
I am so pleased that Molly Countryman, mom of 7th grader Nora, and Laurie Alexander, mom of 7th grader Jack, will be our Co-Chairs this year. When I spoke with them about the event, they both shared that they are really excited about bringing families together in community and celebration. Molly and Laurie are a dream team! We know it’s going to be a great party to celebrate what’s so amazing about Billings, our exceptional faculty, and connecting with the families of your child’s friends. Adventure Awaits!
With appreciation,
Mike
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During this week’s All School Meeting, students read several quotations from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rob discussed the significance of MLK’s words, and asked each student to take some time this week to pick a quotation or message from him that feels relevant or significant to them!
Congrats to Avi for winning gold in the “gymnastics” portion of the BMS Winter Olympics, and a special shoutout to Jack for his “unique” approach to the perfect cartwheel.
If you haven't heard, we've launched a couple of new lunch clubs: Cheer Club, Culture Club, Yearbook Club, and eSports Club! If your child is interested in any of these activities, have them check with the staff member in charge!
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🌱 Philanthropy at Billings🪴 | |
We’d like to start by expressing our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has volunteered and helped build excitement for our celebration and fundraising dinner! As a quick reminder, we’re shifting away from the silent auction and raffle this year, and instead will be focusing on offering some exciting experiences in our live auction.
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the activities you’ll be able to participate in:
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Live Auction: Bid on incredible experiences and vacation packages.
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Heads or Tails: Join this fun, chance-based game involving a coin flip and lots of laughs.
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Dessert Dash: Team up with your table to race to the dessert bar and secure first pick.
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Raise the Paddle: Donate at a level of your choice to help us reach our goal!
If you have an item you’d like to donate, let us know! We’re also looking for event sponsorships. If you own a business or think your employer might be interested in supporting us, please reach out to Koby for more information on how to become a sponsor and gain exposure in the Billings community.
With so many exciting activities and even better company, it’s sure to be a fantastic evening. We can’t wait to celebrate with you at the Billings Base Camp!
Sponsorship Shoutout:
Thank you to Greenwood Ohlund for sponsoring our fundraising dinner this year!
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Upcoming Events: 📅
- UW Bowling Night: Saturday, 1/25 - 5:00pm-7:00pm
- [NO SCHOOL] Prospective Student Visit Day: Friday, 1/31
- 8th Grade Winter Immersion Trip: Thurs, 2/13 - Fri, 2/14
- [NO SCHOOL] Mid-Winter Break: Monday, 2/17- Friday, 2/21
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6th grade really enjoyed their first snow trip last week, and the 8th graders were wonderful student leaders and snow-trip ambassadors. Our main activities were building snow shelters, creating snow sculptures, and playing Red Light/Green Light in snowshoes. Our next trip is February 7th, and will include longer snowshoeing treks and sledding. During advisory meetings, we’ve reviewed expectations around keeping our hands to ourselves and being mindful of permission around other students’ belongings. We are also checking-in with backpack, locker, and other supply organization. Please remind students to charge Chromebooks at home!
The 7th graders set their Winter Term goals this week in advisory! This includes beginning a habit tracker challenge for each section, where students will mark their trackers anytime they complete a task that leads towards their ultimate goals. We shared a PDF of the habit tracker with families to try at home, if they are interested. Our next Snow Trip is Friday, January 24th! Please remember to review the Snow Trip Gear List with your students leading up to the trips.
8th graders led various stations to walk the 6th graders through snowshoeing and other winter activities that we do at Billings. A few students acted as group ambassadors and assisted the 6th graders all day while at the pass last Friday. A big shout-out to the students who ran the Red Light /Green Light station, which was a big hit with the 6th graders.
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All math classes will be doing i-Ready next week. Ensure your student follows general i-Ready preparations such as getting a good night’s sleep, fully charging their Chromebook, and eating breakfast. 7th grade FTAT is exploring percent difference and how discounts impact customer decision-making. They have a task to find the best discount deal at a grocery store over the next week. Families, please support your students with this homework assignment! | |
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7th grade has been hard at work learning all about the science behind climate change with great discussions about the carbon cycle and human impact, learning how to analyze climate graphs and simulations from NASA, and modeling the albedo effect with a fun lab! On Thursday, students will be taking a quiz covering what they have learned so far before moving into our Environmental Justice & Emotionality unit next week!
6th and 7th ELA students are completing their i-Ready assessments this week! When they are finished, 7th graders will continue reading My Name Is Not Easy and writing their mystery stories. 6th graders will continue reading Amal Unbound and working on comparing and contrasting characters.
Social Studies students from all grades were asked to do an act of service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Students turned in their statements of service that included making bags of necessities for unhoused people, picking up litter, bringing treats to elderly neighbors, and attending a march to commemorate Dr. King and his message of love and activism.
The band for the winter production of Nut Brown Girl has been busy digging into Scottish folk music learning songs like Skye Bonnie Boat and Wild Mountain Thyme, featuring flutes, ukuleles, pianos and drums. The show features a music box and we have a glockenspiel to imitate the sound. We’ve also learned a pirate song written by our instrumental teacher Birch.
In Spanish, students of all grades are continuing to learn about verb conjugation. We have studied-AR verbs and -ER verb conjugation, and have moved on to -IR verb conjugation. Students have been reviewing conjugation tables and practicing conjugation as a class and individually. Students will have a test on -AR/-ER/-IR conjugations on January 28th or 29th. Students will receive a study guide to help them review for this test.
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From the BFA:
Still Time to Register for UW Bowling Night This Saturday
Billings’ annual take-over of UW’s bowling alley is this Saturday, January 25th from 5-7pm. Register here to bring the whole family for bowling and pizza at UW’s student union (the HUB). Suggested donation is $15 per person. Families planning to join 6th-grade parent and architect Scheer Chan for a tour of the HUB will meet at 4:30pm inside the main entrance.
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Help Guide Neurodiversity Affinity Group’s Next Steps
We are seeking input on what activities would be most useful for this group’s members. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts via this short survey.
Parenting Resources
Have to Have the Best Semester Yet: Executive Function Tools, with Sean McCormick
Jan. 30, 2025, 12:00-1:00pm
Register here for this webinar from PNW Parent Education
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Crafting
We are looking for VOLUNTEERS! If you happen to be a sewist or builder, you are more than welcome to let Gillian and Sabrina know right away! If you are neither of these but have a lot of newspapers lying around, you can bring them to the Front Desk to be used for the sets and props. We pride ourselves on the Winter Production being an all-school event, and that includes the families and wider community! Your inclusion means so much to us and shows the students what a community really can do when it comes together.
Resources
Do you know of a local (or global) organization/person who is doing amazing work in the environmental field (science and/or activism)? Please send their info to Amira to have them featured on the list of possible research topics for the 7th Grade Environmental Justice Final Research Project.
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Check out these ParentMap articles:
For more support and resources surrounding the youth mental health crisis, screen time and social media, and the importance of play, visit ParentMap’s Antidote for the Anxious Generation page.
Speaker links
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Executive Function Workout!
💡 New Year, New Day!💡
We are switching to Wednesday mornings for our winter EF Workouts!
Join me (Greg: Director of The Learning Center at Billings) for a regular morning EF workout from 8:30am to 9:30am on Wednesdays. Developing EF, or Executive Function, requires the exercise of the brain in specific ways. Drop in on any Wednesday 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 Wednesday 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 provided upon request.
And if Wednesday 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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