We can't wait to spring back into action next week! |
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It's the SCOOP for April 1, 2021
Your weekly news from Santa Barbara Middle School
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Dear SBMS Families,
We are excited to wrap up DLP week (Spring Reopening Phase 1) and welcome your students back to campus. From a parent’s perspective, next week will be business as usual while we wait to see if there is any fallout from a potential post-spring break surge. Temperatures will be taken and the Magnus Health survey will be checked at drop-off as we continue to follow COVID protocols. From the student’s perspective, there will be a new electives schedule with added sports, including small goal soccer, volleyball and ultimate Frisbee, with some outdoor cohort v. cohort competition. We are thrilled to give students an opportunity to move more and interact with other grade-level cohorts in safe ways. Some other new electives this quarter include Gardening with P.A., Songbook and SBMS Music Culture with Whit, and 6th-Grade Theater Production with Big E.!
Following our return to in-person classes next week, we will start Spring Reopening Phase 2 by adding off-campus electives options in the mornings and Friday afternoons. We can’t wait to introduce these electives to your students and will be releasing them in next week’s Scoop. As we mentioned last week, this may call for more parent involvement with transportation to drive students to different locations to support our expanded offerings. With all these exciting new activities, adventure days, and virtual Songfest coming up at the end of April, there is much to look forward to.
In May, we hope to move to Spring Reopening Phase 3 with overnight trips and end-of-year ceremonies, traditions, and Rites of Passage. This means longer bike rides, full days with evening ceremonies, and overnights for all the grades if the pandemic conditions continue to improve. We are working hard to design these trips with multiple contingencies built-in for changing COVID conditions and guidance, so we can celebrate the resiliency of this community with some quintessential SBMS adventures and campfires to end the year. These trip weeks are currently planned to be staggered by grade the last two weeks of school before Rites of Passage. We will share more details with you next week at the Cups and Questions on Thursday morning and in the Scoop.
We are grateful for all the hard work of our COVID Team and SBMS Staff and for all the support of our parents that have made it possible for SBMS to stay open since October. We can’t wait to hit the bike trails and beaches and get back out on the road again with our students.
To the journey,
Brian, Bianca and the SBMS Staff
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CUPS AND QUESTIONS
Brian, Bianca, and team will be hosting a Cups and Questions on Thursday, April 8, at 9am. Please join us at the Zoom link here as we discuss Spring Quarter opportunities, electives and plans for our end-of-the-year expeditions.
APRIL ADVENTURE DAYS
Save the date! We will be heading out on adventure days towards the end of the month.
- Tuesday, April 27: 8th Grade Adventure Day and Retreat (more details to come!)
- 6/7/9 Grades Staggered Adventure Days on Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30
More activities to be announced before end-of-year trips as well, so stay tuned for specific details for each grade and cohort!
RITES OF PASSAGE
We look forward to celebrating our 9th Grade class on Thursday, June 10, at the beautiful Godric Grove. Like last year, we will be following COVID guidelines and protocols and there will be a limited guest list. More to come on the event in the coming month.
YEARBOOK CLUB
Next week, Colin McNulty and Sophie will have Yearbook Club on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:30-4:15 on Sophie's Zoom. Students will have a chance to put together our unique and awesome 20/21 yearbook in this class. They will work with pictures, backgrounds, art, page layout, text, and design. Interested students may email Sophie@sbms.org to sign up and join in. |
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SONGFEST 2021!
Thank you to all that signed up for Songfest and contributed incredible performances. Songfest is always a highlight of the school year whether it is live in the park or "live" online, and we can't wait to share the superstars who are participating this year.
If you have not done so already, make sure to check out last year's INCREDIBLE show! Click the link to get inspired and let's all mark our calendars for Saturday, April 24, to watch SONGFEST 2021 together live, online!
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THE WEEK AHEAD
Monday, April 5
Return to campus
Tuesday, April 6
Wednesday, April 7
Thursday, April 8
Friday, April 9
11:55am Town Meeting
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⚠️ WEEKLY SAFETY UPDATE ⚠️ |
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We look forward to everyone’s safe return to school after what was hopefully a fun and relaxing break. We ask that everyone take the appropriate steps and precautions to ensure that you are returning to school healthy and in line with our COVID Safety Plan protocols, including the Magnus Health screening in the mornings, social distancing and mask-wearing.
The California Department of Public Health has just updated the Travel Advisory for the State. While out-of-state non-essential travel is still discouraged, the quarantine following that travel can be shortened to 7 days with a negative PCR test taken on the 3rd to 5th day after traveling. Be sure that you start counting days after the day you return and that you quarantine through the 7th day (If you return on the 1st you would take your test on the 4th - 6th and be out of quarantine on the 8th). If you do not take a test, you still need to quarantine for 10 days.
If you have any questions about your child’s return or the need to quarantine, please email erik@sbms.org so we can properly contact trace and get your child back to campus as soon as possible. Thank you. |
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A MESSAGE FROM PYP
DONATE TO PRESERVE THE SAN MARCOS FOOTHILLS FOREVER!
Our community has an opportunity to save 101 acres of the San Marcos Foothills. These native grasslands are home to rare bird species and other wildlife, and also have ancestral sites of the Chumash people. This land, however, may be lost to development forever if we do not act now.
A deal with the developers has been reached and we must raise $20 million to preserve this land. The next $5 million donation milestone is due on April 13.
Thank you for your commitment and generosity.
Pyp Pratt (7th-grade SBMS student volunteer for Save the San Marcos Foothills)
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SBMS BOOK CLUB
Our next book club meeting will be on Monday, May 17, at 9:30am. The next book will be "When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir" by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele.
Following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, three women – Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Khan-Cullors – came together to form an active response to the systemic racism causing the deaths of so many African-Americans. They simply said: Black Lives Matter; and for that, they were labeled.
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YOUTHWELL WORKSHOP
Simple strategies to manage anxiety & build relationships
DATE: SUNDAY, APRIL 11
TIME: 4:30PM-6:00PM
**SPANISH INTERPRETATION IS PROVIDED**
Things are changing rapidly with students heading back into classrooms, with college acceptances starting to come in, and with summer around the corner. After a year of so much stress and isolation from the pandemic, this is a great time to improve our connections with others and develop positive coping skills.
Youth (ages 10-25), parents, teachers, and community members will learn strategies to...
- actively listen
- ask for what you need
- connect after a year of social-distancing
- use your breathing to develop self-awareness, manage emotions, and decrease stress
This series of mindful and compassionate listening workshops with speaker, Dave Mochel, are an opportunity to build empathic listening skills to better interact with youth, family, friends, and co-workers.
SPANISH
estrategias simples para manejar la ansiedad y construir relaciones
FECHA: Domingo, 11 de abril de 2021
HORA: 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Se proporciona interpretación al español.
Los jóvenes (de 12 a 25 años), los padres y los miembros de la comunidad están invitados a aprender...
- escuchar activamente
- pregunta lo que necesites
- connect after a year of social-distancing
- conectar después de un año de distanciamiento social
Esta serie de talleres de escucha consciente y compasiva es una oportunidad para desarrollar habilidades de escucha empática para interactuar mejor con los jóvenes, la familia, los amigos y los compañeros de trabajo.
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FROM THE PARENT ASSOCIATION
April Parent Association Meeting
Thursday, April 22 at 7:30pm
PA meeting #8:
*Family Friendly! - Invite the whole family to watch and prepare to be riveted!*
As we move full steam ahead into 2021, we are all looking at ways to reconnect, be inspired, and define what's next to make the year the very best it can be!
The PA Association is thrilled to be able to bring the SBMS family a big dash of inspiration, joy and laughter as we welcome Mitch Lewis to share inspiring highlights from his epic global adventures summiting the world's highest mountains as well as running marathons on all seven continents.
Please save the date and plan to join us April 22, 2021, for an interactive session with Mitch. He has opened up the presentation to include a Q&A session to dive into details and ask any questions. And Mitch has generously offered up a 15% discount on all of his publications via the website, simply enter code SBMSPA21 at checkout!
Mitch has dedicated his life to helping individuals of all ages reach new heights through inspired leadership, heart-led motivation and sincere advocacy. A world-renowned athlete, celebrated author and business leader, Mitch has been inspiring people from the stages of TEDx, YPE and Mobile Future Forward for the past 10 years helping to bring joy and inspiration to his audiences.
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ON THE HORIZON
Please note that dates and events are subject to change and updates will be communicated. **Subject to SBMS COVID-19 Committee & Public Health Guidance**
April 2021
Thursday, April 22: Parent Association Meeting
Saturday, April 24: Songfest
Monday, April 26: No School / Faculty In-Service
May 2021
Monday, May 17: SBMS Book Club
Thursday, May 20: Parent Association Meeting
Monday, May 31: Memorial Day - No School
Monday, May 24 - Friday, June 4: All-School Staggered Expeditions
June 2021
Monday, June 7: Normal School Day
Tuesday, June 8: Last day of school for 6/7/8
Wednesday, June 9: No School, Media Night
Thursday, June 10: Rites of Passage**
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