Please find the orientation week schedule below with ZOOM links and details about each day. Parents, we look forward to seeing you at 8:30am on Monday and then your students at 10am! We want to ensure all our new families out there have an understanding of our "lingo" for school events and culture, so please read through the blurbs below.

This is an optional information and orientation meeting designed for parents to meet the deans and SBMS teachers, learn about the Parent Association and community events, hear from our Director of Outdoor Education and prepare to dive into Distance Learning. Typically this event is held in person on campus, so this will be our first ever virtual Diamond Day kick-off meeting! Attendance is recommended for new parents and encouraged for returning parents, but there will be a recording available for those who can't make it.

Last year when the pandemic hit, PA started Lick the Plate, a Zoom cooking class for SBMS families to hone skills and learn the tricks for simple delicious cooking. Each week, PA would send out a recipe and families would gather ingredients and meet him online to cook. Food brings us together and these cooking sessions were a highlight of the week. So we're starting off the year with full stomachs and Lick the Plate evenings for each grade so you can get to know other families and share a delicious meal together. Here is the ingredient list for each grade-level Lick the Plate. Make sure to gather all your items and set up your cooking space before the class starts so you are ready to dive right in. Even if you are not cooking, we encourage you to join this community event just to chat, meet new families and experience the magic of P.A.'s class.

Every Friday we reserve time for our school to come together after lunch to celebrate student accomplishments, witness performances, learn what our alumni are doing in the world, listen to a guest speaker, and/or address school-wide news and topics. During the start of school, we typically kick-off the school year with an all-school town meeting.

Time to get your student ready for distance learning! By now we hope your student has their computer, has received Gmail login information, and is getting set up to start on Zoom next Monday morning. We are continuing to add videos to the YouTube playlist “Digital Starting Line 2020”, with tutorials for setting up a new SBMS computer, activating an SBMS Gmail account, using Zoom, and more to help you and your child navigate the technical world of distance learning. Zoom links for the start of Orientation week can be found in the orientation schedule above. If you have any questions or need assistance regarding technology, please email Colin and David.

Academics - Bianca or Grade-Level Deans (Jenna, Marco, Wren, Jesse W.)

Business and Tuition - Maida and Brandi

Magnus Health and the HUB - Anne

The Main Office - office@sbms.org or (805) 682-2989

Electives - Erik

Tech - Colin and David

Head of School - Brian McWilliams

Don't forget to read through the Distance Learning 4.0 program that was shared last week. It lays out the general schedule, guidelines for Zoom and much more.

We'll be plugging students into their rotation of the general schedule next week. Each student will be able to find their individual schedules in the HUB by next Wednesday, September 2. During orientation week, teachers will be showing students how to find their schedule in the HUB and where to access Zoom links for the academic week. Thursday and Friday of next week will follow the daily academic schedule structure to walk students through their classes and get them into the flow of their day.

There will be a separate follow up email to this SCOOP with your child's specific cohort. Cohorts are based on math classes and Brian, Bianca, and deans reviewed each cohort carefully for optimal social dynamics and gender balance. Please note that while we are in Distance Learning, students will take math with their cohort and their other four classes will be mixed with students outside of their cohort, so everyone can get to know each other. Students will be taken through the Hub resources and their individual schedules next Wednesday.

Electives Please meet Erik Edwards, our Electives Coordinator and Athletic Director, who is here to give you a quick rundown of how electives will run during Distance Learning.

We would like to introduce Emily Eccles to our counseling team consisting of Jazzymn Ward and Steve Smith.

Hi everyone, my name is Jazzmyn Ward and I am currently a Clinical Psychology doctoral student at UCSB. Prior to attending UCSB, I double majored in Psychology and Criminology at UC Irvine. I then went on to complete my master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at California State University, Northridge where I studied community violence and its psychological impact on adolescents and families. I am excited to be returning to Middle School to continue to be a source of support for students under the supervision of Dr. Steve Smith! Feel free to contact me at jazzmyn@sbms.org. 

Hi, I'm Emily Eccles (she/her/hers)! As a California native, I am so happy to be back in the Golden state! My path to psychology is non-traditional as I earned a B.S. degree in Zoology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. My goal was to become a veterinarian, but it changed when I realized that I wanted to help people and animals. For the past year, I worked as a therapist in the counseling center at Central Washington University. Now, after receiving my doctorate in clinical psychology from Fielding Graduate University, I am excited to be working under the supervision of Dr. Steve Smith as a postdoctoral fellow. My experience includes work with people of all ages and diverse mental health concerns, in particular, exposure to physical and psychological trauma. Two of my specific interests are Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Self-Compassion Focused Therapy. In therapy, I enjoy helping people connect with their values in the service of living meaningful lives. My outside interests include studying Spanish, volunteering with rescue animals, and enjoying nature. I live with two large dogs, Asia and Sasha, who love Hendry’s, Parma Park, and Douglas Preserve. Please feel free to reach out to me at emily@sbms.org. 

I’m Dr. Steve Smith (PSY20096) and I have worked with SBMS students and families since the mudslide tragedy in 2018. My primary role is as faculty and Chair of the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology at UCSB. I’m also the Director of the Hosford Counseling and Psychological Services Clinic at UCSB. I’m excited to continue to oversee the counseling services at SBMS and I’m pleased that we have a team of talented and experienced therapists ready to help during these really confusing and stressful times. Please don’t hesitate to reach out: steve@sbms.org.

Book: Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship

Where: Zoom link here

We are so excited to bring back the parent book club this September. Our first read is a beautiful memoir of race, inequality, and the power of literature told through the life-changing friendship between an idealistic young teacher and her gifted student, jailed for murder in the Mississippi Delta. The Seattle Times calls it "Powerful" and it deals with a very timely social issue - the inequity of education (and so many other things) between races in our country today. We hope you will join us in a few weeks. Happy Reading! 

Tuesday, September 8: Ninth Grade Lick the Plate

Thursday, September 10: Eighth Grade Lick the Plate

See the remainder of the calendar HERE.