Just for Parents
Educating a gifted child — let alone keeping up with one — requires energy, creativity, and support. Seattle Country Day School offers a number of resources, including learning sessions, meet-and-greets, and more, for enrolled families.
GENERAL RESOURCES
The Friday Flyer
While school is in session, parents receive a weekly email called the Friday Flyer. It contains valuable updates: everything from health-related policy changes to event invitations from the Parent Council. It’s a great way to stay informed about and involved in the school.
The Parent Portal
The parent portal on Veracross, the school’s internal website, is a central location for information on school events, getting involved, and more. Current parents and guardians can visit the portal here.
Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
SCDS has accounts on all three of these properties. We welcome all readers to join us!
SCHOOL-BASED WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS
Cafecito & Conversation
Cafecito & Conversation is a series designed for parents interested in providing at-home support for the DEI-related concepts their students explore at school. Sessions help parents work with their children to help establish a healthy sense of pride in their identity, to celebrate differences, and more.
Courageous Conversation
The school partners with the Pacific Education Group (PEG), a racial equity organization based in San Francisco that works with our families, faculty, and students to help them engage, sustain, and deepen conversations about race. Specifically, SCDS offers the group's Courageous Conversation seminar yearly to employees, parents, and Middle School students. Through Courageous Conversation, the SCDS community develops its own racial literacy and consciousness and examines the impact of race on the lived experience of people of color in the U.S. — allowing for better conversations about race and racism. We ask new families to participate in a Courageous Conversation workshop during their first two years at SCDS. Similarly, we ask returning families who have not already taken part in a Courageous Conversation workshop to set aside time to do so. In both cases, we ask that at least one parent or guardian (preferably both) take part in the conversation. Parent participation is central to our goal of becoming a more culturally aware and inclusive community.
Decoding the Language of Today's Social Activism
SCDS offers a series of stand-alone parent workshops called Decoding the Language of Today's Social Activism. Through the exploration of the history and meaning of terms such as "Black lives matter," "white privilege," and others that are widely used by social activists, the media, and popular culture, the workshops provide the context needed to develop culturally competent communication and parenting. These monthly workshops also deepen participants' understanding of the issues that have moved many in our country to work for racial equity and social change.
Families of Color Socials
In these meetings, parents and guardians who self-identify as people of color — or whose family members self-identify as such — come together for a relaxed, casual, and supportive series of conversations.
Rainforest Parenting for Your Wildcat Child
Parenting gifted children can pose unique challenges. These sessions, held regularly throughout the school year by school counselors, help SCDS parents and guardians embrace the extra challenges parents of gifted children encounter.
RIPPLES
RIPPLES (Race in Parenting Learning Circles) is a parent-led group at SCDS, founded in 2020, whose mission is to facilitate open, honest conversations among parents about race and racial equity — both to promote their own understanding and to keep pace with what their children are learning at school and from a rapidly changing society. Sometimes, these conversations center around a shared resource, such as a book or article; others are informed by the exchange of ideas. Central to all RIPPLES discussions is the participants’ willingness to share their lived experiences, to accept hard truths, and to truly listen. Ultimately, RIPPLES aims to create ripples of reflection and growth in the school community by encouraging all parents to join in these enriching, growth-oriented, and deeply connective conversations. For more information, explore RIPPLES’ online FAQ or contact ripplesinformation@gmail.com.
THE PARENT COUNCIL
The Parent Council (PC)
The Parent Council’s mission is to support the school and the school’s objectives, and, with the help of several PC committees, the council sponsors a variety of fun and educational activities for the SCDS community. Parents are warmly welcomed to attend the council’s formal meeting, which occurs approximately once a month while school is in session, and to volunteer. Current parents can learn more about the council and volunteer opportunities in the parent portal.
The Parent Education Committee
This committee is part of the Parent Council, and it invites informative, lively speakers to converse with parents on a regular basis. Recent topics have included using dinnertime for family bonding and parental resilience.