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It's the SCOOP for May 21, 2020
Your weekly news from Santa Barbara Middle School
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Dear SBMS family,
It’s hard to believe that June is just around the corner and that we only have two weeks of academic classes left before our final week of traditions and celebrations. While students decipher Navajo codes, test out their earthquake structures and learn to make their own soup stock with Chef P.A., we are working to make the next few weeks as memorable and celebratory as possible for our entire community. In these closing weeks, our focus is on cultivating a sense of pride and accomplishment in our students by recognizing their tremendous growth throughout the entire year and the contributions made by all over the last few challenging months. As we turn towards our year-end reflections and rituals, here is what you and your students can look forward to.
Car “Parades” will be held for
the 8th grade (Tues., May 26)
and for the 7th grade (Thurs., May 28) along with bicycle BOB trailer drop-offs. Songfest will bring us all together with the power of music on Saturday, June 6, to bust a move and cut a groove like we have never seen before. Adventure Days for 6th graders begin Friday, June 5, with a special virtual campfire that evening.
The final week leading up to Rites of Passage will be filled with more community and traditions. The rest of the grades will dive into their adventure days on Monday, June 8, with grade-level zoom fires concluding with a special glimpse into our culminating rites for our 8th and 9th graders. On Tuesday, June 8, all of our students will be invited to give back to our Santa Barbara community through our Community Service Day organized by our Community Action Council. Wednesday, June 10, is our last day of traditions, awards, bequeathals, and our 9th grade Prayer Flag tradition. While we are still working on a special 9th grade Rites of Passage for June 12 that we hope can be a small in-person event, we are concurrently planning for smaller customized ceremonies that will be held in stages of the week from June 5 - June 12. There will be more details and updates coming from each grade level dean and from the school over the coming days as we work creatively to end the year with gratitude and the highest regard for public health and safety. Please be sure to read through their emails in detail to comply with all social distancing and safety protocols.
To stay up-to-date at this busy time of year, join us for our PA meeting next Wednesday, May 27, to hear about our summer offerings and a preview of our models for reopening campus next year. Thursday's Cups and Questions has also been a great forum for exploring next year’s challenges and opportunities, and it gives you a chance to contribute to the discussion. Our next Scoop will be dedicated to laying out the models and efforts for the upcoming school year. Stay tuned!
Thank you for all your feedback, guidance, and support during this time. We are excited to make this end of year special for our students, especially our 9th graders, and could not do it without all of you.
With love and gratitude,
Bianca and Brian
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
LONG WEEKEND REMINDER
Reminder that tomorrow, Friday May 22,
there is no school (it will be an in-service day for faculty and staff). Monday is also the Memorial Day holiday. Get outside, enjoy time off the screens and have a great long weekend!
SBMS CARES
SBMS Cares is a fund dedicated to supporting our community through times of hardship. When we had to cancel our Auction this year, we asked you to instead help us launch this important initiative. And in just three weeks, we have raised an incredible $75,000, an achievement made possible through dozens of current and alum families, our board of trustees, and dedicated community supporters. We are honored to have your support.
We still have progress to make towards our goal, and will continue fundraising for SBMS Cares through the month of May. If your family is in a position to support, please consider a donation to this important initiative. Your contribution will help us transition to next year from a place of strength while ensuring our capacity to continue adapting to meet our community's changing needs.
Donations can be made online
, or email
Phoebe
for more information.
If your family has been financially impacted by COVID 19 to the point that you are at risk of not being able to afford enrollment for the 2020-21 school year, we encourage you to reach out to Maida at
maida@sbms.org
to receive an application for emergency assistance from the SBMS Cares Fund.
REQUIRED ZOOM UPDATE
As of May 30, everyone will be required to have the new version, 5.0, in order to use Zoom. Please update your app using the instructions below. During the install process, you will be asked for your computer password, so if you or your parents cannot remember your password, please have your parents
email Colin@sbms.org for the password.
To Update:
- Open Zoom App
- Click on zoom.us in the very top left corner of your screen (next to apple icon)
- Select “Check for updates” and follow prompts to download and install the update. Your computer password is required to install.
CUPS AND QUESTIONS
We love our Thursday morning Cups and Questions and want to thank each of you that joined. You can always catch up on the discussions with the
recorded meetings in the HUB here, and we would love for you to join us next Thursday, May 28, at 9am for our next meeting.
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BIANCA'S BLURB
I only really began to read on a Kindle (or the Kindle app) when I moved abroad. Although I love the smell and feel of real books, lugging heavy books in a suitcase/backpacking pack didn't seem like such a great idea. I don't know about you, but the thought of reading on my Kindle right now causes me to cringe. My eyes need a break from the screen. As an avid reader and looking to support local businesses, I have begun to hit up Chaucer's quite a bit! I assume many of you are doing the same. And just the other day, I caught myself staring at the magazine stands at my local grocery store and thought, I want to read real magazines! This made me think that our kids may enjoy this too. (I know I did when I was a teenager and it might provide a nice respite for the eyes.) Here is a list of books, book resources and magazine titles that may be of interest to your teenager. Stock up on some of these now and maybe they'll be a hit for summer...a little light reading at the beach, camping, or on your next road trip?!
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- Popular Teenage/YA Books of 2020
- One of Us is Next (sequel to One of Us is Lying)
- All the Days Past, All the Days to Come (conclusion of Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry)
- The Conference of the Birds (sequel to A Map of Days)
- Ashlords (from the author of Nyxia series- which is highly recommended!)
- The Queen's Assassin
- Ember Queen
- The Kingdom of Back (author of Warcross and Legend)
- The Vanishing Deep
- A Phoenix Must First Burn
- Dancing at the Pity Party
- The Gilded Ones (read this if you liked Children of Blood and Bones (which I loved!))
- Influence (co-authored by Pretty Little Liars author)
- Unravel the Dusk (sequel to Spin the Dawn)
- The Montague Twins: The Witch's Hand
- See the infographic for recommended Middle School aged authors and the genres they write!
- Websites and resources to find more books
- Commonsense Media - you can select by age and it will give you a sense of the content.
- Goodreads - Follow their recommended book lists for suggestions.
- Barnes & Noble and Amazon offer great recommended reading for teens as well. Follow their book clubs or book lists for suggestions.
- Join the Santa Barbara Public Library! You will receive amazing information in their newsletter with special events, classes, virtual book clubs, author talks, etc.
- Popular Teenage Magazines
- Sports Illustrated for Kids
- Boys' Life
- Girls' Life
- Teen Vogue
- ROOKIE magazine
- Affinity Magazine
- Teen Ink
- Seventeen
- J-14
Look back at all of Bianca's Blurbs
here
.
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THE WEEK AHEAD
Friday, May 22
No School! (Faculty/Staff In-Service)
Monday, May 25
Memorial Day - No School!
Tuesday, May 26
2:30 - 4:20pm 8th Grade Car Parade
Wednesday, May 27
4pm-6pm Lick the Plate (details below)
Thursday, May 28
9am Cups and Questions on
ZOOM
2:30-515pm 7th Grade Car Parade
Friday, May 29
Songfest Clips Due!
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FAMILY ACTIVITIES
PE and DT UPDATES
No Tuesday and Thursday afternoon PE next week due to the 7th and 8th grade car parades. Check the Hub for the latest DT offerings.
LICK THE PLATE WITH PA
Lick The Plate Update: No Session this upcoming Sunday! However, Wednesday we will be cooking up a storm. We will be doing one of my favorite eats - fried rice! Topping it off with a "sexy" egg (and yes that is a thing!). For a full list of ingredients please email
pa@sbms.org.
- Meeting ID: 931 0857 4721
- Password: friedrice
SKETCHING COMPETITION
Sketch at Home 2020
with the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara. Submit a drawing of your home by June 2, 2020 to be considered for their calendar!
CHALK FOR KIDS
Chalk for Kids will be held on Saturday, May 23 from 9am-1pm. The new “Chalk for Kids” event invites children to create drawings on their driveways and share their colorful work on Instagram using #ChalkOn2020. Sponsored by Village Properties Realtors, free chalk will be distributed on Saturday, May 23, between 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. at the drive-through parking lot at the corner of State and Micheltorena streets.
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PHOTO CONTEST
Cameron is our winner of last week's "food" photo contest! Looks like someone jumped on the bread baking fad!
This next week's topic is Pets! Photograph your pet. Make your chicken look handsome, make your lizard look dashing, catch the sassy look in your goldfishes' eyes, get an action shot of your ostrich herd. Who likes belly rubs?. Try photographing your pet from an unusual angle. Try a new perspective (lay on the ground or get an overhead shot). Be creative and have fun!
Here is the link to a
Google Drive folder to submit your photos. Upload your images with your full name and title by next Wednesday at 10:00pm. Good Luck!
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COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY HAVES + NEEDS
Thank you for all the great ideas that have built the community
Haves and Needs list
!
We'll continue highlighting ways for our school families to collectively make a difference for small businesses, individuals, and organizations needing support during this time. Please keep sending suggestions to
Phoebe
, and we'll do all we can to continue supporting our
Santa Barbara community.
Sing it once. Sing it twice. Sing the whole song if you like. JUST SING and record yourself in any setting or locale you like!
Do this with your phone (or digital camera), the phone
held or propped up horizontally
, while you listen to the Youtube track on a separate device over speakers or through headphones. Once you've shared the love,
upload your finished video/audio clip
to our
Google Drive U-2 Song Upload Folder
.
DO NOT EMAIL CLIPS! (Email compresses and ruins video clips.)
This year's online "virtual" Songfest is set to
broadcast on Saturday, June 6, 2020
, time TBD. So please try to get your clip(s) uploaded as soon as you can (or by
Friday, May 29
at the very latest).
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quaranTEEN VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS WITH YOUTHWELL
#1 STUDENTS:
May 20 at 3:15pm. The subject: Managing transitions in a difficult time with Just Communities. COVID-19 has forced us all to make a lot of changes in our lives, from spending our days at home to not being able to see friends and no longer being able to participate in school clubs, sports, etc. Our lives have changed dramatically. How are you dealing with those changes? This workshop will offer ideas for how you can better work through these changes and be a resource to the other people in your life by supporting them.
#2 PARENTS:
We also have a PARENT WORKSHOP coming up on Sunday, May 24, 3 to 5pm, with Just Communities. The subject: Managing transitions during a difficult time. This parent workshop will complement the student workshop on Wednesday giving both parents and students the same tools.
#3 STUDENTS:
May 27 at 3:15pm. Community leaders, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Assemblymember Monique Limón, and SB County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido will do a Q&A with students to talk about COVID-19 and what is next for our community.
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FROM THE PARENT ASSOCIATION
First of all, I am very excited to announce that Melissa Renda will be our new PA Chair for the 2020-21 school year! She has a 7th grader, Ella Payne, and is very excited to get more involved at SBMS. She is looking forward to leading our amazing group of parents next year. I will be staying involved and helping her with the transition and will continue to support her throughout the year. We have filled several of our PA positions but are still in need of more lead volunteers. Please see the
spreadsheet here
to see what positions are still open and need to be filled. Next school year will be evolving day by day, and we will need all the support we can from our parents. If you haven't been part of the PA in the past, now's a great time to get involved. Please reach out to me with any questions or if you are interested in volunteering for a position.
Join our last
PA Meeting
of the school year next Wednesday, May 27, at 9:15am.
At this meeting we will be hearing about some summer opportunities both on and off campus for our students. Brian and Bianca will also be giving us the latest update on what our year-end activities/events will look like. Hope to see you then!
Stay healthy and safe,
Debbie Popovich
PA Chair
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SBMS ACTS OF GRATITUDE
Here are a few stories from our school's do-gooders who have been spreading gratitude in our community. Check back weekly for more!
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A family I know made chalk art on their driveway. The dad, an 8-year-old, and a 5-year-old made fun drawings for everyone walking and driving by to see. The idea was to have fun and possibly inspire someone else to make chalk art as well. Overall, the small acts of kindness are great ways to spread joy in the community.
One random act of kindness that I saw was when my family was driving past the hospital there were people handing out masks, gloves, and mini hand sanitizers. There were also signs that said various inspirational quotes like: “Stay strong” and “Have hope.” I also noticed that we passed multiple people picking up trash all along the freeway and roads. The environment was super clean thanks to those people who took just a little time out of their day to clean up. - Kacy
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ON THE HORIZON
*Please note that dates and events are subject to change*
Tentative EOY Dates
Friday, June 5: Last Day of Academic Classes
Saturday, June 6: Virtual Songfest
June 8, 9,10: GRADE LEVEL End of Year Activities (More to come)
Wednesday, June 10: Final Student Town Meeting
Thursday, June 11: No School
Friday, June 12: Rites of Passage
Start Dates
August 31: Diamond Day for New and Returning Families
September 1: 9th Grade Orientation
September 2: First Day of School
September 3, 4: Orientation Trip
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