Art from Sophie's nature drawing class, PA's first Lick the Plate culinary creation and Cainan running his water around the neighborhood for human geography class.
|
|
It's the SCOOP for May 8, 2020
Your weekly news from Santa Barbara Middle School
|
|
|
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dear SBMS Families,
In a normal Middle School year, the month of May gets a little crazy as we race to achieve all of our learning targets, attend auctions, plays and Songfest, and prepare for one last outdoor adventure. Our year-end expeditions have many valuable goals and rewards, but at the core, they are designed to be deep dives, master classes in the cultivation of resilience. The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and “spring back into shape” are two of the greatest skills we can help our children develop on their journeys through life. While we may not have departed on our spring expedition nearly two months ago, we
did begin a totally unexpected journey facing the new realities, steep climbs, and uncharted waters of the coronavirus pandemic...
Read the rest of Brain's letter here.
DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM 3.0
Check out all the new updates and upgrades streamlined for the last month of school. DLP 3.0 kicks off on
Monday, May 11 with classes starting at 9am.
SBMS CARES
To prioritize the health of our community, SBMS made the decision to cancel this year's Auction benefit. In its place, we are fundraising for
SBMS Cares
- a fund designed to support the SBMS community through times of hardship. Gifts to
SBMS Cares
will go directly to supporting the greatest needs of our school, with the main focus of sustaining our diverse community by providing greater tuition assistance for families facing new financial constraints.
Our gratitude to the many donors who have already stepped up and supported this important initiative! If you are in a place to contribute, we would so appreciate a gift of any size to help us meet our community's 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.
TENTATIVE EOY DATES
Friday, May 22, 2020 Faculty and Staff In-service Day (no school for students)
Monday, May 25, 2020 Memorial Day (no school)
Wednesday, May 27 PA Meeting at 9:15am
Friday, June 5, 2020 Last Day of Academic Classes
Saturday, June 6, 2020 Potential Virtual Songfest (TBD)
Monday, June 8, 2020 Final Student Town Meeting
June 8, 9,10 2020 GRADE LEVEL End of Year Activities (TBD)
Thursday, June 11 No School
Friday, June 12 Rites of Passage
CUPS AND QUESTIONS
We had another great Cups and Questions this week and can't thank all you current parents enough for your valuable feedback and guidance. You can watch our discussion in the
recorded meeting video here. See you next Thursday morning at 9am!
|
|
BIANCA'S BLURB
On Tuesday, Brian and I met with our grade level reps to share our DLP 3.0 rough draft, gain some feedback and make any necessary improvements. During this meeting, Siouxsie (Mack's mom) mentioned that from now until the end of the school year feels like it's a sprint to the finish line. I agree. We might be running a marathon in relationship to this pandemic, but the end of the school year is definitely in sight. As a staff and faculty, we are discussing ways to re-energize and re-motivate for this final sprint. At home, I personally feel like I needed to engage this mindset as well. Here is a list of ideas of how you might find the energy to sprint to the end of the school year.
- Sue Carmody shared with staff and faculty the "30-Day MAY Challenge." Set a goal (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) goal for yourself-Maybe you want to run 20 miles per week, finish 2 books in a month, or just focus on being present. Whatever your goal is, make it, visualize success, and let your family know about it!
- Set a goal as a family, too. Perhaps you all want to complete 1 family hike per week or watch 1 new documentary each week. Talk to your kids, get buy in, and get excited!
- Start an easy new routine! Have you heard about PA's Lick the Plate?! Maybe your family joins in each Wednesday or Sunday afternoon for this new opportunity. In my household, I decided to ask my mom for her "rocks" (biscuits) recipe then started baking them for my kids. It has become a Sunday morning ritual for the whole family- something we look forward to and...gasp, my 7 year old son is going to make them by himself this Sunday!
- Start a family competition or tournament. Maybe it's time to break out that badminton, corn hole, or ping pong set for a family tournament. Siblings against parents? Parents and kids team up? Each person for themselves? My family growing up held regular card tournaments. Our game of choice was Speed. Try UNO, Rumi-Q, Crazy 8's, poker. etc. What about backgammon, checkers, or dominoes?
- Normally I'm not a fan of external rewards and incentives, but I think in times like these you just have to do what you have to do. As Dave Mochel said, "I don't know about you, but this is my first pandemic." So nobody should be judging how we get through it! Throw in some rewards for the kids when they make it through 2 weeks or 3 weeks of the rest of the school year. Maybe a Rusty's pizza and root beer float night? A Target purchase? An order from Chaucer's? As more businesses begin to open up for curbside pickup, you can get out there and support small businesses and keep your kid motivated through the end!
- Add themes to your days and weeks! Did you eat Mexican food for Cinco de Mayo? What's up ahead for May? According to my sources, May 9 is Sleepover Day and Minigolf Day. Maybe your kid can build a minigolf course for the whole family to try and then you all "sleepover" in the living room? Having special events to look forward to helps get everyone grooving and moving through the weeks.
We will finish strong!
Look back at all of Bianca's Blurbs
here
.
|
|
THE WEEK AHEAD
Monday, May 11
Start of DLP 3.0 - Class starts at 9am
Tuesday, May 12
Wednesday, May 13
Thursday, May 14
9am Cups and Questions on
ZOOM
Friday, May 15
Sunday, May 17
|
|
|
FAMILY ACTIVITIES
CARPE DIEM BUCKET LIST 3.0
We have streamlined and improved our Bucket List and added brand new activities to keep your students engaged, active and outdoors.
Check it out here
! We will also be sending out grade-level Bucket List challenges with prizes for those who check off a select number of activities. Stay tuned!
DIAMOND TIME OFFERINGS
8:15am - 8:45am
We will be adding Diamond Time to each student's schedule in the HUB where they will be able to access these offerings and the zoom links.
- Breakfast with PA (Monday)
- Monday Morning Movement with Kara (Monday)
- 7th Grade Life Skills (Tuesday)
- PE (Tuesday / Wednesday)
- Yoga (Wednesday / Friday)
LICK THE PLATE WITH PA
Lick The Plate will be opening up a new day to participate - Wednesdays! This upcoming week we will be learning one of my favorite preparations of Chicken Breast & Roasted Potatoes. If you are wanting to participate
either Sunday or Wednesday from 4pm - 6pm
please email me at
pa@sbms.org
for the list of what you will need to cook alongside me. To join, click on the
Zoom link here
. (Sunday PW: yum ; Wednesday PW: yumyum) To follow along on what we are cooking up on Lick The Plate
check it out on Instagram
.
|
|
PHOTO CONTEST
Ella Payne
is our winner of last week's B&W photo contest! The lighting on "Holding a Rose" is stunning.
Next week’s theme is
Details
. Choose a subject and and then capture a close up image of one small part of your subject. Look for interesting or unusual angles, lighting, or color. Keep an eye on your background, and try to keep it simple or ‘clean’ so that nothing detracts from your subject. Subjects might include, your bike, your siblings, your dog, some cool corner of your house or garden, parts of plants or trees. You are welcome to submit more than one image each week, so go out, be creative and shoot, shoot, shoot!
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!
|
|
COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY HAVES + NEEDS
SBMS is continuing to update our
Haves and Needs list
,
highlighting ways for our school families to collectively make a difference for small businesses, individuals, and organizations needing support. This list will be continuously updated, so if you have suggestions to add, please send them to
Phoebe
. Thank you for all you're doing to support the Santa Barbara community!
AHA! ONLINE GROUPS AND SUMMER OFFERINGS
AHA! inspires communities to feel safe, seen, celebrated, and emotionally connected. They continuously work to promote mental well-being, self-care, creativity, and social-emotional intelligence vis the expansion of online offering.
Check out their weekly Zoom groups for teens, monthly parent zoom groups (Spanish/English) and their
Summer offerings.
|
|
FROM THE PARENT ASSOCIATION
We are confident we will be opening up in September and have lots of work and planning to do, which means we need a strong PA to play an important role in this upcoming school year. That includes forming the 2020 - 2021 Parent Association Leadership Team.
We are currently working on assembling
a group of parents to step up and assist with the many functions of the PA. We need help in areas such as Grade Representatives, Committee Chairs, and more.
See the full list of jobs available here.
If you are interested in getting more out of your time at SBMS,
please contact me
to hear about all the great job opportunities. Most positions require only a small time-commitment, so do not hesitate to step up and join us!
In the spotlight this week is Kelsea Vallance (’20). She learned this great bubble glazing technique in her ceramics studio that she put together in her garage after school closed. She has been throwing pots after zoom classes and at lunch. Check out these beautiful pots!
|
|
If you have an activity or challenge that you have started in your house during quarantine, we’d love to hear about it! Email me at
debbiepopovich@hotmail.com
and we will share it in the scoop (feel free to include pictures).
Our next PA Meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, May 12
th
will be moved to Wednesday, May 27
th
at 9:15am.
At that meeting we will be hearing about some summer opportunities for our students.
Dave Mochel spoke at our last PA meeting on Tuesday, April 21st about tools and practices we can use to stay grounded amidst all this uncertainty. If you weren’t able to attend, see the
slides from the presentation
. I apologize, but we unfortunately aren’t able to resolve the problem with the recording of the meeting so won’t be able to provide you with the video.
Some additional resources are:
Stay healthy and safe,
Debbie Popovich
PA Chair
|
|
SBMS ACTS OF GRATITUDE
Here are a few stories from our team of Community Action do-gooders who have been spreading gratitude in our community. Check back weekly for more!
Our neighbor's gardener stopped us as we pulled out of our driveway. He could not speak english very well but with hand motions and from what we could understand, he wanted us to wait while he grabbed something. He came back to us with a large container of fresh and ripe strawberries. We were shocked, we didn't even know his name, even though we saw him everyday, I'm not sure we had ever spoken a word to each other before. And here he was, smiling and handing us a crate of strawberries. We tried to show how appreciative we were, and he seemed to understand, gratefulness is universal. It's funny how such a small action can brighten your whole day, how being recognized by someone you hardly know can give you a whole new perspective. Though everyone is going through something different, and we feel alone, it is important to remember that we are alone together. - Chloe W.
My family did a couple of things to help and give back to the community. I decided to make signs to put next to our mailbox. Both signs were bright and colorful and had supportive messages or ideas, like, “Go for a hike or a run!” Then my brother put notes in the mailbox to give thanks to the mailman. Finally, my mom made masks to donate to an organization that sends fabric to community members that have a sewing machine so they can make masks to give them to people who need them. Simple things like these can make this time easier and it also gives you something to do.
|
|
ON THE HORIZON
*Please note that dates and events are subject to change*
Tentative EOY Dates
Friday, May 22, 2020 Faculty and Staff In-service Day (no school for students)
Monday, May 25, 2020 Memorial Day
Wednesday, May 27 PA Meeting at 9:15am
Friday, June 5, 2020 Last Day of Academic Classes
Saturday, June 6, 2020 Potential Virtual Songfest (TBD)
Monday, June 8, 2020 Final Town Meeting
June 8, 9,10 2020 GRADE LEVEL End of Year Activities (To be Determined)
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
