Thanks to all who participated in our summer camps! We hope it was a blast to learn about bike mechanics and new instruments, paint serene watercolors daily, and find a passion for photography.
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It's the SCOOP for July 2020
Your summer news from Santa Barbara Middle School
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Dear SBMS families,
We appreciate your understanding, flexibility, and support as we all work together to be as responsive as possible to the challenges and opportunities, and ultimately, to the needs and safety of our students, families, and staff. As you know from our
last email
and from Governor Newsom's recent announcement, both public and private schools in Santa Barbara County have been restricted from opening on campus until our county’s COVID numbers improve to meet new thresholds. As our county works to meet these new thresholds, SBMS will continue to prepare for the safest return to on-campus instruction as soon as possible, while simultaneously working on the rollout of our upgraded Digital Learning Program 4.0.
In addition to our nationwide health efforts to reopen schools and the possibility of some of these statewide benchmarks being adjusted, SBMS is exploring the possibility of applying for a waiver to begin school on campus, which may be extended to junior high and secondary schools in the coming weeks. When we are allowed to return to campus by meeting the latest guidelines, our COVID Response Committee will collaborate with our local health experts and officials to continually reassess our community risk factors, trends and the strength of our on-campus learning plan to make sure we can deliver our unique Middle School program in the safest possible way.
If we can not begin on-campus with orientation activities
the week of August 31st
, we will launch our DLP 4.0 during that time with creative options for beginning our school year online for the first few weeks, with the intention of students returning to campus later in September or as soon as we are allowed. This new SBMS launch date will give us time for our county to meet the public health thresholds, while we explore other paths for reopening and work to roll out our DLP 4.0.
As we make decisions over the coming months, our first consideration will always be the health of our community, followed by pursuing the best ways to engage our students, prioritizing direct, in-person instruction whether it be through on-campus classes and electives or getting outdoors into nature on our bikes again soon.
COVID-19 Preparations
With the latest public health announcements and state mandates, we are working 24/7 with our committee of doctors, health workers, and local public and independent school leaders to update our COVID-19 handbook to share next week. If you have not had the chance, we hope you
read through our last email
with a brief overview of ongoing upgrades we have made to our campus and program to ensure a safe reopening.
Calendar Updates
As mentioned, our new launch date for on-campus and/or DLP 4.0 orientation will be the week of August 31st. As we respond to the latest conditions and guidelines, we may have to adjust our calendar throughout the year to maximize opportunities for on-campus, in-person instruction, which may include extending our school year from June 11 to June 18 as well as adjusting Presidents’ Day and Spring Break. The latest calendar can be found
here
. Thank you for your understanding as we flex our calendar to have the best teaching opportunities we can.
Our timing may have changed but our goal remains the same: get as much in-person time as possible with our students and expand our Distance Learning Program to be the best online program it can be.
Communications
Please look out for upcoming invitations to Cups and Questions starting the second week in August and the following communications as we gear up to begin another wonderful year at SBMS.
- A COVID-19 Supplemental Handbook V1 - next week
- Cups & Questions - TBD the week of August 10-14
- Cohorts release, calendar & schedule updates - the week of August 17-21
- The Weekly Scoop & Email updates - continuing next week and throughout the year
As challenging and uncertain as the year ahead will be, we are grateful for the strength and support of this community of students, families, and staff.
To the journey ahead and beginning again with you all,
Brian, Bianca, & the SBMS Faculty and Staff
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BIKES FOR INCOMING FAMILIES
We have heard from Bruce at Hazards and other cycle shops around town that bikes are in high demand and are hard to come by! We are currently setting up an effort to receive bike donations from older middle school families, do some tune-ups and pass them down to incoming students for a low cost or on a donation basis. If you are interested in obtaining a used bike, please email
Jesse K
. and the
office
with your student's name, grade, and height. We will see if there is a match to the bikes we receive. Used bikes are a great option for your first year at SBMS and will be perfect for our first few rides when we can go on them. We will keep you updated on this initiative!
INCOMING FAMILY DEAL MEETINGS
TRANSCRIPT RELEASES
If you have a child that will not be returning to SBMS next year, please make sure to let us know where your student is attending next year so we can release their transcripts to their new school. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to
Lilli or the
office.
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WELCOME MANDY
We invite you all to join us in officially welcoming our new
Director of Admissions, Mandy Westerman, to the SBMS family! Here is a bit more about Mandy:
I was lucky enough to grow up in Santa Barbara and knew that wherever my path took me I would always end up back here. After graduate school at UC Davis, I taught for 6 years in the San Jose area (Kindergarten and first grade) and then was an Academic Dean for my district for a year. But long-distance love brought me back to SB. My heart is in education and working with young minds, but I wanted to continue to work outside of the classroom. I was lucky enough to work as the Associate Director of Admissions at Dunn School for five years. This last year I married my love (an SBMS alum!), had a baby (sweet Piper), bought a house, and switched jobs. To say it has been a whirlwind of a year is an understatement, but I am so blessed to have so many wonderful things happening in my life. I have also worked on and off in the wine business for the last 15 years and it is definitely a passion of mine. My biggest hobby, however, is cooking. My perfect afternoon would be listening to some music, cooking a slow meal, while sipping on some local wine and playing outside with my daughter and husband. I love to be outside as much as possible--sunshine is my best medicine and I often refer to myself as a lizard. I am so excited to be at SBMS and can't wait to get to know you all better!
Mandy has been working hard on Admissions updates all summer (while enjoying time with her adorable daughter Piper) and we could not be more excited to have her at our school.
ADMISSIONS OPPORTUNITY FOR INCOMING 8TH GRADERS
Do you know any 8th graders that may be interested in SBMS? Word of mouth is always the best way to find new, awesome students. We are looking for incoming students who are, among other things, academically at grade level, kind, intrinsically hearty and responsible.
We would love your help in finding the very best fit for our open enrollment spots. If you know of any eligible candidates who may fit the SBMS profile, please put them in touch with
Mandy
or
Sue
.
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ARTISTE WINE
Wine release with sales benefitting SBMS!
Artiste has released a
one-of-a-kind summer Sauvignon Blanc, "
Riviera
" that features the imaginative work of SBMS Artist-in-Residence Richard Wilke. This delicious wine will pair perfectly with your favorite summer foods. This offer is a limited run and EXCLUSIVELY available to the SBMS community.
We will be donating $15 to SBMS for every bottle sold to help support this amazing school and team of teachers! Cheers! - Anna and Bion Rice
*Because this wine is for fundraising purposes, no Artiste discounts apply. Thank you for supporting SBMS!
WRITTEN OUT LOUD SUMMER PROGRAM
Written Out Loud is a fully virtual, Hollywood-powered storytelling studio that teaches kids of all ages how to find their voice through the timeless craft of storytelling. Their summer program runs from Monday, July 20 - Friday, August 21 and is a great way to get your child's creative juices flowing. For more information, visit
https://www.writtenoutloud.org/.
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ON THE HORIZON
*Please note that dates and events are subject to change. We will communicate any event updates or date changes.
August 2020
Monday, August 31 - Friday, Sept. 4: Orientation Week One
September 2020
Monday, September 7: Labor Day - No School
Tuesday, September 8: Classes Resume
See the remainder of the calendar
HERE
.
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