Happy late February! I hope you and your family are enjoying all the special things about this month and finding all the ways love surrounds you!
At Thornton Creek, February has brought meaningful experiences for our students and community around Black History Month, Black Lives Matter at School, Expeditionary Learning (EL), the artifacts project with Dr. Felder, and the Dragonfly Bazaar.
The daylight hours are getting longer as we reach toward spring, and I find myself reflecting on the little things I observe growing at our school gates, on the playground, and in the hallways. I am inspired by all the ways I see our community continually showing up in small, often overlooked ways for one another. Celebrating, uplifting, reflecting, listening, and activating around continued progress to be better for one another. And nowhere is this more apparent than in our kids. They are engines of curiosity and joy, demonstrating all the time how to meaningfully be in an intentional community.
The Expeditionary Learning projects at TC this year are in full swing. Beyond the important learning around salmon, birds, and whales, we wanted to share this excellent resource by EL Education to continue the celebration of Black History Month. Black History Month serves as a crucial reminder of our commitment as a community to make progress on equity and social justice. Black History Month is one month in the year, but the history, community-building, and learning opportunities are year-round. Black History is American History.
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) selected Black Resistance as this year's Black History Month theme and interviewed EL students and teachers on what Black Resistance means to them and its role in education. Please enjoy their stories here: https://eleducation.org/new/black-joy-as-an-act-of-resistance
As we wait out the remaining days of winter and look forward to the renewal of spring, may your family find moments for joy, reflection, and fun. Please reach out if the TCPG board can support your family or if you have ideas for our collective work.
Hope to see you at our in-person TC Community Meeting on 3/15 at 6:30 pm at school (it's been quite some time since we've done that!).
In Community,
Erin MacDougall (she/her)
Thornton Creek Parent Group Chair (2022-23 School Year)
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NOTE: Gmail may clip the content of this newsletter. View the full version on the web HERE. |
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Parents Night Out/Kids Movie Night at TC!
Saturday, March 4 from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
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Ready for adults only night out? If the response is yes(!), please consider bringing your K-5th grade kids to school on Saturday, March 4 from 6-9 pm while you enjoy a date night out! Supervision will be provided by TC parent volunteers and school staff. G-rated movie (TBD). Cheese pizza and popcorn will be provided. Space is limited, please sign up early. All students must be pre-registered by March 3rd, no day of registration is available.
All TC students are welcome. Our goal is to make events like this as inclusive and accessible as possible; if your child has a disability and would need staff support to participate in this event, please contact your child's case manager.
Nothing would make us happier than to have a group of TC parents out on the town together, growing our community. The recommended donation of $50/child will go to TCPG Fundraising. We hope you'll enjoy this opportunity to go and have fun!
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TC Community Meeting
Wednesday, March 15 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm (in person)
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This month's TC Community Meeting will be in person at school (the first in a long time)! Please come for family-friendly activities, learning about classroom expeditions, and parents group business. |
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- SAT 3/4 - Parents Night Out/Kids Movie Night - 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
- TUE 3/7 - TC Meet-up for parents of students with disabilities - 7:00 pm - (Zoom ID: 831 7973 5067)
- WED 3/29 - End of 2nd Trimester
- TH 3/30 - Class Picture Day
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Yearbook Creation!
We're looking for a small and mighty team of volunteers to support yearbook development through Spring with our project lead, Sarah Tien. Activities will include cover art and page design, recruitment of photos, and a special section for the 5th grade. To learn more, contact Sarah at yearbook@thorntoncreekparentgroup.org
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Support the TC Pantry
Sponsored by the TC PTA, visit here more information
We appreciate your support and donations to keep our Pantry available! To volunteer to keep the pantry stocked, email pantry@tc-pta.org, or donate to the TC Pantry through Paypal or our Target wish list.
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Get excited! Thornton Creek Spirit Gear is coming back! Show your love for Thornton Creek by sporting a green hooded sweatshirt in the community! Kids and adult sizes will be available! We'll also have MiiR tumblers for all your coffee and tea transporting needs. Stay tuned for more information!
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Back from Midwinter Break, we are on the hunt for Skimmy at Thornton Creek! Read the riddle for clues as to where Skimmy is hiding at school!
From atop my perch, I see veggies to help you grow. Plus books, books, books, all lined up in a row.
Happy hunting!!
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We are lucky to be bringing you another fantastic interview about our wonderful staff, conducted by our very own students. Enjoy! |
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Interview #9 with Kaity Cassio |
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The Interview Squad interviewed Kaity, our wonderful music teacher!
Kaity grew up in Gig Harbor, WA, with her two younger sisters, mom, and dad. Her grandparents lived nearby. Her favorite food is "peanub bubber" (peanut butter). Her favorite movies are The Godfather and A Room with A View. Another one of her favorite pastimes is reading, and her favorite book is The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran. Kaity also likes books by Ursula Le Guin, NK Jemisin, and Roberto Boalño's short stories. Her favorite colors to wear are red and black, but she always says, "Green leaves on blue sky." Her favorite sports are biking, rock climbing, paddleboarding, running, and other outside things like hiking with her dog. Kaity played soccer when she was little but wouldn't stop crying, so she replaced soccer with piano - she even became a competitive pianist - and she loves to make music with her friends and family. She even majored in music in college. Kaity says her secret talent is loading a U-Haul, and her superpower is being brave, and one of her biggest dreams is to go kayak camping. Kaity's favorite part of Thornton Creek is the students! She is an amazing teacher, musician, and person, and we love having her at our school!
Thank you for being at Thornton Creek, Kaity!
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Interview Questions
1. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
It would be a scholar named Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz (1943-2012) because I really like her work. She was a feminist scholar and studied ways that women can work together to make the world more socially just. I would like to meet her because she was very smart and she was also doing things to change the world.
2. What is the hardest thing you have ever done?
The hardest thing I have ever done is living by myself. Moving away from my family and out of my own apartment and figuring out how to be a grownup all by myself.
3. If you could choose another job besides teaching, what would it be and why?
I would be one of those kelp researchers that stays in their kayak all day going up and down the coast measuring the kelp. I love the idea of being out on the water all day long and not having to wear fancy clothes to work.
4. What did you want to be when you were in 5th grade? Why?
When I was in fifth grade, I wanted to be an architect, because my dad and my grandfather were contractors, and so they carried around graph paper all the time for their projects. They would give me some, and I would sketch houses that I wanted to design, and floor plans. I liked all the straight lines.
5. What is the best thing you ever learned from a student?
I learned lots of great things from students. One of them showed me how to do a nose trick where it looks like your arms are twisted up on your nose and then they magically untwist. "Yes! That" (Marisol showed that trick!) That's the best funny thing I ever learned from a student. But the best teaching thing I ever learned from a student was when I used to teach 5th grade, before I taught music. One of my students made me a stack of notecards with suggestions of how to make school better. My favorite one was that she wanted what we taught in history or social studies class to be relevant to their real lives. I've always remembered that.
Respectfully submitted,
Thornton Creek Interview Squad
Gwen
Marisol
Emaan
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The Dragonfly Bazaar this year was a roaring success! The students made SO many beautiful crafts and functional items. Their pride was evident and there were so many truly happy, smiling shoppers at the event. Thank you to the teachers, students, and parent volunteers who contributed to this wonderful community event. Enjoy a few images representing the joy and creativity in the school that day! |
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We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas about what went well and how we may improve the event next year.
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Gratitude for Our Incredible Community! |
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Thank you to our volunteers for your hard work and support during this year's Dragonfly Bazaar. With your help, we were able to make the day fun, engaging, and successful for the students in all aspects of the event. We couldn't have done it without you THANK YOU! |
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We want to thank our 1st - and 3rd-grade teams - Tammi, Jennifer, Erica, Jenny, Shawn, and Jen - for their absolutely amazing, professional, informative, inspiring presentations at our Community Meeting on 2/15 about their expeditions. Their energy and all they shared about their students' enthusiasm were inspiring and powerful. |
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Our Open Enrollment tours were a success! We welcomed approximately 175 people who visited to learn about our school. Thank you to all our volunteer tour guides (including students!) for your valuable work representing our school and sharing your experiences with prospective parents! We appreciate it more than you know.
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If you have any questions about the newsletter please email: communications@thorntoncreekparentgroup.org |
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