September 16, 2016

In this post...

• Coffee Talk
• Spring Journeys
• Certificate of Immunization Status!
• MS Performance Ensembles
• 6th Grade Trip to the Waterhouse Center
• Recycling & Composting on campus
• Messages in myAW
• What We Are Learning...highlights from Design and Language Acquisition

Coffee Talk

Next week, we will have our first round of MS Grade Level Parent Coffees! Each Coffee begins at 7:45am in the Dining Room and provides a chance for parents in a particular Grade Level to engage with each other, to hear about upcoming events, and to connect with Mr. Hulseman and other MS Faculty. For this first round of Coffees, we'll use two recent articles as a starting point for conversation - Sue Shellenbarger's "What Teens Need Most from Their Parents," a synthesis of research on the affective development of teenagers, and Eileen Torrez's "The myth of the Ivy League," a reflection on the author's own academic journey and what she didn't get along the way (spoiler: constant focus on achievement diminished her sense of purpose and self-worth). We'll have a few copies of each article available, at the Coffees, so no need to print them out!

6th Grade Parents Coffee: Thursday, September 22

7th Grade Parents Coffee: Thursday, September 29

8th Grade Parents Coffee: Thursday, October 6

Spring Journeys

Planning for the Middle School Spring Journeys is underway! Faculty are laying the groundwork for curricular connections, and our travel partners at Grand Classroom are already developing our itineraries. See below for a few starting points as we prepare for these exciting experiences and to register your student. Please register your student with Grand Classroom by October 16, 2016!

6th Grade Journey to California

• The 6th Grade will venture to San Francisco and Monterey Bay, exploring the natural landscape, the local culture and history, and engaging world-class museums like the Monterey Aquarium and the California Academy of Science. 
• This year, the group will depart early on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, and return late on Friday, May 5, 2017. 
• Shelli Strate is the Coordinator for the Journey to California. 
• To register your 6th Grader, click here.

7th Grade Journey to the Southwest

• The 7th Grade will traverse the terrain and culture of the Southwest, exploring the natural landscape of the desert and mesa regions of Nevada,  Utah, and Arizona and hiking some of the most beautiful canyons in the US. 
• This year, the group will depart early on Monday, May 1, 2017, and return late on Friday, May 5, 2017. 
• Kyle Price is the Coordinator for the Journey to the Southwest. 
• To register your 7th Grader, click here.

8th Grade Journey to Costa Rica

• The 8th Grade Journey to Costa Rica takes the group to the beaches, rainforests, and mountains of Central America! The experience includes exploration of the natural environment, the history and culture of Costa Rica, an opportunity to serve, and a chance for the Class of 2021 to bond one last time. 
• This year, the group will depart early on Monday, May 1, 2017, and return on Monday, May 8, 2017. 
• Students traveling to Costa Rica MUST have a passport that is valid until August 8, 2017 (3 months after the trip). International students must arrange for any appropriate visas to travel outside of the US and to Costa Rica, and they must plan to travel with original copies of essential documentation, such as I-9s. See the Costa Rica Embassy website for more details. 
• John Hunt is the Coordinator for the Journey to Costa Rica. 
• To register your 8th Grader, click here.

FAQs about the Journeys

What kind of information or payment do you need from us now?
We need you to register your student on the Grand Classroom site before October 16, 2016. You do not need to make any payment for this trip, as it's included in tuition. It is the expectation that all students participate in the Journeys, but if your student is not planning on traveling with the group for some reason, please notify Mr. Hulseman a.s.a.p. In late winter/early spring, we will prepare packets for students that include finalized itineraries and a variety of agreements and waivers that are essential for the trip. 

How do you keep parents up to date about the trip?
In advance of the trips, the Journeys Coordinators will keep parents up to date with any itinerary changes and other important information. During the trip itself, each Coordinator maintains a blog to share photos and updates about the experience as well as any last-minute travel changes, such as flight delays. 

Do you need chaperones? 
In addition to four AWS faculty members, for each trip we invite one medical professional, usually a current parent in the Middle School, to travel with the group, serve as a group chaperone, and tend to all medical needs of the group. If you are an MD, RN, PA, or NP and are interested in traveling with one of the Grades, please reach out to Mr. Hulseman or the Journey Coordinators. 

Can our family travel with or alongside the group?
We do not encourage families to travel along with the Grades, as it risks mitigating two important aspects of the experience - building community with classmates (students may feel obligated to spend time with family, or even feel torn about their families being present) and developing a sense of independence (this is their experience to tell you about, and each trip offers countless opportunities to make decisions, step out of comfort zones, self-advocate, and support others). While California, the Southwest, and Costa Rica are attractive destinations, we hope your student's stories about these places will inspire a family trip in the future! 

Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS)

All students must have a Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) or appropriate waiver on file to attend school. Students who do not have a CIS on file by October 1 may not attend school. We will be reaching out to families of students missing this and other important health information in the coming weeks. If you are uncertain of whether your student's file is up to date, reach out to Nurse Paula. 

MS Performance Ensembles

MS Orchestra rehearsals are already underway! And next week, Ms. Gettel will hold auditions for the MS Select Chorus and MS Band. Auditions for Select Chorus will be on Tuesday, September 20 during Flex; students planning to audition do not need to prepare a song. Auditions for the MS Band will be on Friday, September 23rd; students planning to audition should bring their instrument (a piano and keyboards are available). For more information, reach out to Ms. Elizabeth Gettel. 

6th Grade Trip to the Waterhouse Center

6th Grade trip to the Waterhouse Center: The 6th Grade will visit the Waterhouse Center on October 21 for a day of team-building activities and and ropes-course challenges. This will require an early departure and a late arrival. 6th Graders should arrive at school by 7:30am and plan for a 5:30pm pickup. The Waterhouse Center requires a Release of Liability and a medical form for all participants. Please download and complete these brief forms (or pick them up from the Middle School Office) and return them to the Middle School Office by September 30.

Recycling and Composting on Campus

It's not easy being "green." It takes a lot of coordination and the mindful actions of every member of the community (and our 4th Graders do an awful lot of that, taking out and sorting the compost bins after lunch every day). While on campus, please dispose of recyclable and compostable materials in appropriately marked bins. If sending food to campus with your student, either for lunch or for a special occasion, please consider sending compostable materials (napkins, plates, utensils) and reminding your student to dispose of these items accordingly. 

Messages in myAW

Please remember to check your messages in the myAW portal. When logging in to myAW, you will see the Messages icon at the top of the site if on a laptop or desktop, and in the drop down menu on a smartphone. The number of unread messages is highlighted in red. You can set up notifications about these messages by visiting your profile. For a quick tutorial on how to set up notifications, watch this short video. While email is often the easiest and fastest way to communicate, large distribution lists (like emails to a large group of parents) sometimes flag our server as "spam." We depend on the Message function in myAW for large group notifications, including some communications from Advisors and information about Athletics. 

What we are learning...

This week, we highlight our Design and Language Acquisition Programs!

We're doing Design...

Design is in its third year as a Middle School course at AWS. This is an ungraded course that challenges students to develop their skills in creative problem solving, developing empathy, time management, and rapid prototyping. Using the Design Cycle criteria - inquiry and analysis, developing ideas, creating a solution, and evaluating - each unit builds on concepts, focusing on the process rather than the end product. Whether your Sixth Grader is currently designing hamster habitats, or your Seventh Grader redesigning a client’s locker, or your Eighth Grader working as a team to design a new app, each student is developing skills that can be used across the board in all subjects. We encourage you to follow along with your child’s progress by reading his or her personal Design Blog and seeing the Design Cycle in action!

We're exploring Latin American culture...

Bienvenido (Welcome) to a new year of exciting Language Acquisition and cultural learning in the Annie Wright Middle School. Our students are getting back into the groove of meeting their goal of 90% target language while in the classroom. This year, opportunities will be given outside the classroom for students to enrich their personal experience with the spoken language and cultural observances. As opportunities become available, Senora Paco will send out an invitation for you to accompany your student to events in our community that are safe, fun, and will motivate your student to participate in a Spanish-speaking environment. Participation in the event is not required.

Our first event, Fiestas Patrias, will take place this Saturday, September 17th at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle. Sra Paco will be in attendance from 12pm-3pm and would love for you and your student to also come and enjoy the festivities and to celebrate Latin American independence. Please contact her either by email (jessica_paco@aw.org) or text/call 541-968-8999 with questions and/or to sign up. Hope to see you there!

We're learning Chinese...

There are 24 students in the Middle School Chinese program this year. We just moved to a “new” place. This is what our “new” classroom looks. We are so excited about the move. Now, this classroom is easier than the “old” one to access the Middle School lounge, and has less distraction and bigger size. While we lost the good view and the breeze on the 3rd floor, but we all like it.

I would like to welcome all my Chinese students, particularly the Sixth Graders Lauren Arnold, Kendall, Emma Holmes, Caleb Hyun, Tyson, Johnston, McKayla Jones-Bishop, Jonathan Lane, and Jack Montgomery; Seventh Grader Beatrice Gomlak, and Eighth Graders Emilie Haedt and Noelle Hwang. Sharing why they chose to study Chinese, some stated that they wanted to be ambassadors in the future or do business with Chinese as the economy in China is growing fast. Some told me that they were interested in Chinese culture because it is very old. Some wanted to learn Chinese in order to travel in China on their own, and others just simply like Chinese food.

I gave each of my Chinese students a Chinese name. They feel very cool. This year, we will try to speak as much Chinese in the class as possible and apply more authentic teaching materials. We will learn Chinese under the frame of MYP unit and may not exactly follow our textbooks. We will employ some good changes to the class to make the Chinese learning more effective and fun.