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Inside Billings
May 29, 2025
| | 🎒 What's Happening at Billings? 📚 | | It's hard to believe, but the school year is coming to an end! Take a look at this week's iNews to see what all is happening in the last few weeks of the 2024-2025 school year. Don't forget to have your student turn in $35 cash or check to the Front Desk for their yearbook, and encourage them to take one last look at the Lost & Found. | | |
Mike on the Mic 🎤
A reminder that we do not have classes tomorrow. We look forward to our individual portfolio conferences with students, advisors and families.
Last night, we held one of my favorite Billings traditions, the 8th Grade Family Dinner, where staff and families shared memories, appreciations, and laughs for each other in recognition of this very special middle school journey. It was amazing to reflect on the growth and love from teachers and families for the Class of 2025, who started as shy, tiny 6th graders wearing masks on their student visit day to young adults camping in the snow, acting on stage, and preparing to confidently present their 8th grade project presentation. We are so thankful for everyone who has been on this remarkable journey together. 8th grade families, we are excited for each student to shine during Graduation on Tuesday, June 10!
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We cordially invite all families to join us Monday afternoon, June 2 at 2pm, for both our 8th Grade Project Presentations and our Art Walk/Tiny Table Concert. All families are invited to participate and engage with our 8th graders with their culminating project, see the visual artwork, and enjoy musical performances.
And of course, a reminder that 8th graders will be dismissed at 2 pm on June 10 and the last day of school for 6th and 7th grade have a half-day noon dismissal on Wednesday, June 11.
Thank you for your support,
Mike
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Staff Update
Melissa let us know that she is moving to Portland, Oregon this summer to begin a graduate program and to be near her family and close friend network. Melissa joined Billings in the summer of 2023 and has guided our expeditionary learning program to great success, safety, and integrated learning, brought success to our Athletics Program, and trekked with your students in every environment and weather imaginable! Please see her farewell message and join us in wishing her the best in her new opportunity.
I am happy to announce that Nathan will be stepping into the role of Experiential Learning Coordinator next year, while continuing to teach math part-time. Nathan has impressed us with his background in experiential and environmental education, backpacking expertise, and his vision of further integrating our trips into our rich curriculum. We are working on hiring another great full-time math teacher that will allow us to increase our math differentiation as well as opportunities for creative, project-based learning. We hope to have an update for you soon.
In addition, Daniel will be stepping into the role of Athletics Coordinator, managing our athletics scheduling and communications platforms. Daniel has gone out of his way to connect with our students in sports, including visiting several away games, and we look forward to his thoughtful approach next year.
Koby recently let us know that she accepted a position with Outdoors for All and will be transitioning this summer. In addition to organizing our Annual Celebration, fundraising, and parent volunteer events, Koby has been a wonderful cross-country coach, brought joyful backpacking skills to 7th and 8th graders, and has brought such positivity and personal touches to every event and community gathering. Please see her farewell message and wish her the best - we hope we may continue to partner with her and such a great organization!
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Upcoming Events: 📅
- 8th Grade Project Showcase: Monday, June 2, 2:00pm
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Art Walk and Tiny Table Concert: Monday, June 2, 2:50pm
- BFA All-Family Meeting: Friday, June 6, 8:30am-9:30am
- 8th Grade Graduation: Tuesday, June 10, 6:00pm
- Last Day of School for 6th & 7th Grade: June 11, noon dismissal
- Summer Service & Social: July 12, 9:00am-12:00pm at North Acres Park
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From the BFA:
Sign Up Now for Our Summer Service & Social!
Join us at North Acres Park on Saturday, July 12, from 9:00am–12:00pm for a morning of service and connection! We’ll help clean up the park and take time to catch up with friends (and make new ones!), play lawn games, and enjoy some tasty donuts. Drop by or stay the whole time. We’d love to see you! Click here to learn more and sign up.
Family Camping Trip in October 2025
The cabins are all taken, but there are still individual and group campsites available. Snag yours before they’re gone! We’ll be at nearby Dash Point State Park from October 3–5, 2025. Check out this link for details.
Parenting Resources
Nurturing Resilience: Essential Coping Skills for Kids, with Janine Halloran, licensed mental health counselor and founder of Coping Skills for Kids
June 5, 2025, 12:00-1:00pm
Register here for this webinar from ParentMap
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🎓 Deans on the Scene ✒️
Students completed their third and final i-Ready diagnostics this month. Families will receive results by email later this afternoon. We are pleased to see growth across all grade levels in Reading and Math. We plan to share more details about this growth in an upcoming mailing.
Thank you for your support with i-Ready this year, and please check out the i-Ready Family Center for additional resources and tools to support your child with at home practice over the summer.
| | 6th graders showed a lot of collaboration, teamwork and resilience on the 6th grade Mt. Saint Helens trip! They asked detailed and insightful questions of the park ranger at the Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center, worked hard on two-voice poetry at the Trail of Two Trees (in the rain), and collaborated as a class to get through Ape Caves, supporting some classmates who were more hesitant to overcome and make it through the caves! Overall it was a wonderful trip for the 6th graders, who demonstrated a lot of growth since their last camping trip in September. Great work everyone! If you need the password to view the gallery of photos, email the Front Desk. | | 7th graders enjoyed their time in the spotlight last week while the other two grades were off campus, and this week they wrapped up their student portfolios! They are excited to share them with you all in the coming days. | | |
8th graders showed their resilience, strength, technical skills and commitment to service while navigating the literal ups and downs of the Olympic National Park. One Coast group, led by Dean Rob and Amy, hiked the trails and the beaches of the coast, backpacking in mostly good weather. The second group, led by Melissa and Hoover, camped and worked on service projects. Both groups cooked meals, filtered water, managed the terrain, their gear and the weather all while working together with their classmates. There were incredibly beautiful views, wildlife and priceless connections. We are really proud of this group of students!
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Yesterday, 8th grade ELA visited the Chinatown-International District to experience the Bitter and Sweet walking tour, which is based on our final novel of the year, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. The novel, set in Seattle in the 1940s and 1980s, tells the story of a Chinese American boy and Japanese American girl who develop a friendship right before Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. Students got to see some of the settings and context used in the novel such as Canton Alley, Japantown (Nihonmachi Alley), the site of a former jazz club similar to one that the main characters visited, and the Panama Hotel. The owner, Jan Johnson, who is represented in the novel by the fictional Ms. Pettison, just happened to be on site and paused to talk with students and take photos.
6th grade students are continuing their poetry unit in ELA, revising the two-voice poems they wrote on the Mt. St. Helen’s trip! Students then learned about rhyme schemes and began writing some seriously funny limericks. Students are wrapping the week up with their final ELA quiz on figurative language and point of view!
This week in Social Studies, 6th graders are exploring Mesoamerica for a mini-unit focused especially on the ancient Mayan culture. Students will work on mapping and vocabulary words. Ask your student about Mayan hieroglyphs or the concept of zero in this ancient culture.
7th graders will present their “Living History” project this week, showcasing their expertise about a significant person or artifact from Washington State history.
6th graders put their Geology knowledge to use by identifying rocks during our Mt St Helens trip. Students enthusiastically explored the Ape Caves lava tubes and were able to explain to adults on the trip exactly how the caves were created. Additionally, students put their field guides to use and worked on identifying plant and animal species throughout our trip.
| 8th graders continued their work with the Electricity Unit by completing more snap circuits and drawing circuit diagrams for each project in Science. Students worked in groups to turn on lights, create sounds, use switches, and spin motors with their kits. | | |
In celebration of the places we love to live, eat, shop, and play in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, The Seattle Times is presenting its annual Best in the PNW contest.
Voting will begin Monday, June 9th, so once it does be sure to go to their website and vote for us under Education > Middle School!
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KEY DATES:
Voting Opens: Monday, June 9
Voting Closes: Friday, June 27
Results Publish: Sunday, September 21
LEARN MORE
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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!
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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