Whittier WildChat
January 17, 2018
Whittier School photo
We show respect. We make good choices. We solve our problems. It's what Wildcats do!
Upcoming Events
RULER Parenting Night
We would like to invite you to join us on Thursday, January 18th, for our Mood Meter RULER Parenting Night.  RULER is the social/emotional approach to learning that we teach at Whittier.  During this second Parenting Night, you will learn about the Mood Meter and how to use it in your home.  Please note that this is a parent-only event.   

Join us for an interactive workshop where you will learn to recognize your feelings and the feelings of those of your family. The Mood Meter is a RULER Anchor Tool that can help children and adults strengthen their emotional intelligence skills.

RULER Mood Meter Parenting Night
Thursday, January 18th
6:30pm-8:00pm
Whittier Elementary Library

We hope to see you there!
If you have any questions, please contact us at events.whittierpta@gmail.com

PTA Information
Catucky Derby
Procurement donations for the Auction are due January 18th!! Think not just "things" but also experiences! We're gearing up for an amazing event and the more items for the online and live auctions the better.  The auction will be held on Saturday, April 28th.  Mark your calendars now! 

Are you still wondering what you could donate to the Whittier PTA Auction? Here are the top five items we are currently looking for: 

Gift cards to favorite  restaurants
Hand-made items
Gift Baskets (get your class together to create a big one, or find a friend and build one together)
Experiences such as tickets to shows, games, etc.
Cabins/Getaways

The Whittier PTA auction takes place every other year, and provides necessary funding for important school-related programs such as outreach, safety patrol, extra nurse time for our children, school day enrichment programs, and scholarships for students.
 https://wildcats.schoolauction.net/derby2018/

For additional information or questions, please email  whittierauction@gmail.com

PTA Budget Committee Looking for a Volunteer
The PTA Board is forming a Budget Committee to formulate the PTA Budget for 2018-19. This Committee works mid-January through March. If you're interested in how the PTA supports our school financially and would like to participate in that conversation, please contact Kate Mathews, Whittier PTA Treasurer, for more information: treasurer.whittierpta@gmail.com.
 
School News
Whittier Reflections Contest Results
Thank you to ALL the Reflections participants. It was not easy for the judges to select the winners. The winners are:

K-2nd grade category:
-First place: Zachary Wesner 
-Second place: Noemi Okun
-Tied for Third place: Rory Moran and Lucy Riney

3rd-5th grade category:
-First place: Zoe Dahlen
-Second place: Teagan Moran
-Tied for Third place: Nia Clark-Thompson and Margaret Zahorjan

The Whittier Judges advanced three total pieces on to the Seattle PTA Council level (entries of Zachary Wesner, Teagan Moran and Zoe Dahlen) and the Seattle PTA Council chose to advance the piece by Zachary Wesner to the Washington State PTA level.
The Whittier Reflections entries are now on display in the school lobby for the next two weeks.

Committee on Positive Behavioral Interventions
and Supports
Our school has a new committee this year working on PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) in which we will work on identifying what it means to be a Wildcat and how we teach into expected wildcat behaviors. This is a several year process we are involved in with central office support staff and are in the first phase. This is where we identify our current reality so that we can then get eventually design our desired state. It is important that all stakeholders share input in each part of the process.

P lease take a few minutes to complete this very short survey (only one question!) on what you identify as misbehaviors in your home. Your input is extremely important as we develop our school-wide values for next school year. The PBIS team will be grouping misbehaviors identified by both staff and families to find common themes. We will then select 4 values that target our school's specific needs. We are asking that you respond by January 24th so that we can begin this work. Thank you so much!


Sign Up Now for After School Programs with Mr. Buck!
*See Mr. Buck for a sign-up form or you may also email him at BCBuck@seattleschools.org. Space in each program is limited.

Tuesday Comic Club, All Ages- 10 sessions. Come and develop skills in comic design and illustration and learn how to create characters, scenes and comic strips.
WHEN: Every Tuesday, January 23 - April 3 (No Mid-Winter session Feb. 20)
WHERE: Room 103 (Art) *Students will meet in the gym after school and walk down with Mr. Buck at 2:45.
TIME: 2:45-3:45
COST: $35 Please contact Mr. Buck directly to inquire about scholarships. BCBuck@seattleschools.org

Thursday Gamers Group, Grade 3-5- 10 sessions. Bring your favorite board, tabletop, card games to share and play with friends or learn and play new games with Mr. Buck.
WHEN: Every Thursday, January 25 - April 5 (No Mid-Winter session Feb. 22)
WHERE: Room 103 (Art) *Students will meet in the gym after school and walk down with Mr. Buck at 2:45.
TIME: 2:45-3:45
COST: $40 Please contact Mr. Buck directly to inquire about scholarships. BCBuck@seattleschools.org

Brennan Buck
Whittier Elementary School, Visual Arts (K-5)
bcbuck@seattleschools.org

Girls on the Run
The program will run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30pm to 4pm
Please contact Julie Childers by email or phone (206.252.1684) for more information!
District News
Snow and Winter Weather Notification Information
Snowflake graphic
From time to time, winter weather may change the normal schedule at your student's school.
As winter approaches, now is a good time to review how you will receive urgent weather information from Seattle Public Schools and how to manage your communication preferences.

For more information, please visit the  District Website .

2017-18 District Calendar 
Notes From the Front Office
Wacky Hair Day is this week..... THURSDAY 1/18/18!

  In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, please take a 'dream bubble' and write in your dream. Make sure to sign your name and turn it into the office so it can be added to our bulletin board!

Help Wanted: Lunch & Recess Volunteers
Lunch and recess times provide important social, emotional and physical breaks for our students. We are at lunch and on the playground with your children everyday but can always use extra help to:

·  Monitor play to ensure safety
·  Help students with playground equipment
·  Assist students who are learning new games and social settings
·  Referee sports games on the playground
·  Encourage kids to eat
·  Remind students to stay in their seats
·  Open food containers
·  Assist students with cleaning up and putting away their lunches
·  Grant bathroom permissions

Volunteering at lunch and/or recess is a fun way to help out, and a great way to be involved in your child's school day!

~~~~~IT'S GREAT TO BE A WILDCAT~~~~~

-Miss Monica & Miss Rebecca
   
Community News & Events
We are Game Changers: A Workshop to Prepare Women to Coach Youth Sports - Urban Horticulture Center, University of Washington - February 3, 2018, 9am - 12:30pm PST

The workshop is for women who have a couple years or no experience coaching. The aim is to help address the gap-- 78% of you sport coaches are men, which means there is a lot of space for women to bridge that gap. It's Saturday, 2/3, 9am-12:30pm at Urban Horticulture Center at the University of Washington. Here is the link to more information.


Northwest Little League
Attention all Baseball, Softball, and Tee-Ball players!   Northwest Seattle Little League ("NWSLL") opened for registration on December 1st!

Whittier kids who live north of 85th and east of 8th avenue, and north of 90th and east of 8th avenue live in the NWSLL boundary.  You have the option of using your home address to play in NWSLL or using the Whittier Elementary address to play in Ballard Little League.   
 
NWSLL serves our local NW Seattle neighborhoods and is chartered through Little League Baseball, offering a variety of divisions for baseball and softball as well as numerous volunteer opportunities.
 
On-time registration runs from December 1st to January 15th.
Please visit  http://nwsll.org/ to learn more and register online.
Questions? Please send email to  info@nwsll.org 

PLAY BALL!

Ballard Little League
2018 Ballard Little League Registration Now Open!
Spring Baseball & Softball registration is now open. Sign up your player today and get a free T shirt while they last.

Click here to register!!

NC Little League
Serving Whittier families who live between 6th ave. and 8th ave.  Our own Whittier parent, Hugh MacMillian, is a coach for his son's team....The Cheetahs!!  

Click here to register and mention MacMillion to get on a Whittier team!

Join Cub Scouts NOW!
Ballard Elks Lodge 
6411 Seaview Ave.  

Do you have a son or daughter in the first through fifth grades, 7-10 years of age, or friends with kids? Get the adventure started. Whittier's First Grade Parent, Alex Osenar, is our Tiger (1st Grade Level) parent leader. Contact Alex at: 206-313-6948 or email  alexosenar@gmail.com  for more information. 

Monthly Pack meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of the Month.
Visit the BSA Website for more information:  https://beascout.scouting.org

BHS Gymnastics Kids Camps 
Due to popular demand, the Ballard High School Gymnastics team is hosting 1 more Kids Camps!! 

BHS Gymnastics Kids Camps for Grades K-5 will be held on the following dates at the Ballard High School gym. Tickets are $45 per date, per camper (additional campers from the same family are $40 per date). No gymnastics experience is needed!
  • Camp 2: Saturday, January 27th from 1pm to 4pm
Please follow this link to make registration and payment easy:
Feel free to contact Kimball Mullins (Kids Camp coordinator) at  kimball_mullins@yahoo.com  with questions.

Thanks,
Stephanie Gundel
Ballard High School Gymnastics Head Coach

Thank You!!
Want to thank someone at Whittier? Send your submissions.
   
Lunch Menu
View the January lunch menu here.
Calendar
Thurs., Jan. 18th
-Wacky Hair Day!

Thurs., Jan. 18th, 6:30-8pm
-RULER Night, Whittier Library

Sat., Jan. 20th, 10am-2pm
-Option School Choice Fair, Mercer International Middle School cafeteria

Wed., Jan. 31st
-Day between semesters, No School

Tues., Feb. 6th, 6:30-8:00pm
-DANDI Mtg., Whittier Library

Thurs., Feb. 8th
-Global Reading In-School Challenge (4th and 5th grade), Whittier Library

Thurs., Feb.8th, 6:30-7:30pm
Whittier Elementary Tour for Prospective Families

Email us  with upcoming event details.
Shopping for Whittier
Support our Wildcats by shopping! (Really!) These retailers donate a % of your purchases to Whittier...
 

-AmazonSmile - Select "Whittier PTA Seattle Council" during the easy set-up at smile.amazon.com. Bookmark it and click it every time you shop! (Tech support tip: Amazon Smile only works on browsers, not the Amazon app.)


-Fred Meyer - 
Link your Fred Meyer Rewards card to Whittier PTA (NPO# 85919). You keep your Rewards points!


-Ballard Market - 
Look for the jar labeled Ballard Market receipts on the table in the lobby and stuff your collected receipts inside.

Get Involved

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