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On Wednesday, December 14, Middle School students enjoyed a day of service. The 6th grade helped out feeding the homeless at the Compass Center with Operation Sack Lunch. The 7th grade sorted food for needy families at NW Harvest and the 8th grade helped Woodland Park with grounds keeping. SCDS families generously donated canned food and assorted clothing and toiletries items. 

It’s where a dozen students, some of the brightest Seattle has to offer, take inquiry-based learning to new heights. The classroom has rows of desks and lab stations behind them, but on the periphery are scrap PVC pipes, tape, plastic wheels, rubber bands, toilet paper tubes, wire, cardboard, plastic forks, tape-measures, spools of tubing and boxes of random junk. The scrap marks the starting point where students begin developing their experiential, spatial, problem-solving, creative and fine motor skills.

Continue reading at http://www.queenanneview.com/2011/11/09/engineering-a-scientific-historic-connetion/

 

FAR-OUT! Despite a damp and dark morning on October 21, our parent community still showed up in force for this year's Annual Giving Day. In just over an hour, we collected $81,723...and counting! We surpassed last year to break yet another record!

A huge thank you to everyone who got into the SCDS spirit and brought in their contributions or made pledges. We're well on our way to making our $375,000 goal, having raised a total of $212,000 thus far. Special thanks to our fabulous Chairs, Elle Lyons and Greg Jones, and to our swingin' Annual Fund Leadership Council volunteers for making this such a fun and fund-filled morning!

SCDS joined in the nation-wide celebration of  "Mix-It-Up Lunch Day" on Tuesday, October 18th for the second year in a row. The  Mix-It-Up Lunch Day goal is to break down boundaries between students, whether it be age, economic, race, religion, popularity or any other types of divisions that can keep peoples from understanding and respecting each other. Students and grade levels were "mixed and matched" and ate lunch at small tables in various classrooms. A few impressions:

Mix-it-Up Organizer, K-3 art teacher Winnie Young:  "I heard from a quiet kindergartener that he is quite taken by Alice Baggett after having lunch with her and other students in her tech room. He worked on a beautiful portrait of her during art class."

Librarian Debbie Pearson: "We had a great time in the library. A first grader very apologetically interrupted someone to point out a beautiful raptor circling just outside the library window. We all gazed in awe until the bird flew off. It was a worthy interruption of our table conversation."

K-3 Division Head Jackie Bradley: "As one of the kindergarten students left from eating lunch in my office she turned and smiled and said, 'This is the best day ever!'"

 

With the assistance of SCDS Emeritus faculty member JoAnn Sims, co-director of the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima, SCDS Head of School Michael Murphy brought nine paper cranes from SCDS (representing one for each grade level) that were formally installed at the Children's Memorial at Hiroshima Peace Park, August 4.  A statue of Sadako ( from the book "Sadako and a Thousand Paper Cranes") whose death from leukemia or "A-bomb disease" at age 11 galvanized a peace movement in Japan, sits on top of the memorial.  Each year, thousands of paper cranes are sent to the Peace Park from around the world, many from schoolchildren.

Last school year,  SCDS students folded 3,500 origami paper cranes as a fundraiser bringing in $9,000 for Japanese relief from last spring's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Through dedicated parent volunteer leadership, the 2011 Annual Fund reached over $410,000 with 92% participation from our generous community.This is the most successful effort in the school's history. Donors' commitment to SCDS plays a big part in making our school a truly powerful place to learn. From teacher salaries and professional development, to classroom supplies and financial aid--community contribution truly made a difference.

Happy participants in 2011's Annual Giving Day.

SCDS students, parents, and staff collected 1,500 books to make the 1st Annual SCDS Book Swap a huge success! Each K-3 student selected and brought home up to eight books and teachers brought books back to the classrooms to share with students. In addition to fostering sharing and a love of reading within our community, the school donated 155 books to the Seattle Seven, a writer’s group that creates pocket libraries for homeless women, men, and children.

The first-ever Middle School Media Festival was hosted at SCDS on May 13, 2011. Festival organizer, SCDS Tech Specialist Ethan Delavan, reports that nine schools from Woodinville to Portland participated:

•    Eton School
•    Open Window/Vista Academy
•    Billings MS
•    Whitman MS
•    McClure MS
•    Seattle Academy
•    Woodinville Montessori
•    Catlin Gabel
•    SCDS

There were over 120 entries, 55 of which made it past a panel of 5 judges to be featured in the festival. These were mostly videos, shown in 3 screenings. But they also included websites, games, photos, posters, brochures and electronic music.

Some 50 students visited SCDS to join in the festivities. 14 of the entries, voted on by the attending audience, will go on to be shown in the lobby of the Cinerama during the Northwest High School Film Festival. One of these pieces, “Cyberbullying” from Whitman, won Vicki O’Keefe’s “Upstander Award,” which honors films that encourage respect for others.

There was a panel discussion with five young media makers. Two of them were high school filmmakers. One was a high-level game designer from Airtight Games. One was a film publicist from the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. And one was a photographer and teacher.

Click the link below for a wonderful video of the rocket launch involving 3rd grade and middle school students. Thanks to "rocket dad & expert" Roger Ressmeyer for the video!

Please be patient, the video takes a few minutes to load.

SCDS Rockets Video>>

4th Grade - Graham Certain, J.P. Reddy, and Hayden Ratliff
5th Grade - Ben Hachamovitch, David Zobel, and Aidan Dobson
6th Grade - Hiro Schmidt, Amelia Henry, and Brigitte Harbers
7th Grade - Lindsey Gibbons, Nathaniel Errez, and Sophia Jung
8th Grade - James Sensensey, Cole Stephens, and Mark Mockett.

From the list of finalists above, three students participated in the final championship rounds. They were very exciting, with many difficult questions being asked.

3rd Place - Tie: Graham Certain and Amelia Henry
2nd Place - Hiro Schmidt 
1st Place -  Lindsey Gibbons

As the 1st place winner, Lindsey then took a 70-question test in hopes of qualifying for the state bee to be held at Pacific Lutheran University in April. The winner of the state bee with go on to the national finals in late May in Washington D.C. at the National Geographic Headquarters.

Congratulations to Lindsey all of the finalists for their fine performances!