Week of April 29, 2018

Upcoming at AWS...

Sunday, April 29
Spring Music Recitals 
10:00am 5th/6th Lacrosse on James Field

Monday, April 30

E DAY

8:00am Morning Meeting

10:00am All Schools Chapel
10:30am Break and Snack in the MS Office

3:30pm All Schools Faculty Meeting in the Library: Reporting out from CaP Topic Groups

Tuesday, May 1

F DAY

8:00am Advisory
10:05 Break and Snack in the MS Office

10:20am Flex & MS Chorus

2:15pm Journeys Chaperone Meetings 

3:30pm Track & Field @ Chief Leschi

Wednesday, May 2

A DAY

8:00am Advisory
10:05 Break and Snack in the MS Office

10:20am MS Meeting in the Library (Tech Updates) NEW! 
2:00pm Symphony Tacoma Quintet performance in the Kemper; Orchestra and Grade 6 Strings students will join the performance after 2:10pm dismissal from Period 5 and not go to Athletics)
3:00pm Golf @ Meadowpark GC

Thursday, May 3

B DAY 

6:30am Grade 8 Meeting Time at SEA, departure for Costa Rica
8:00am Advisory

10:05 Break and Snack in the MS Office

10:20am Long Advisory: Journeys Prep

Friday, May 4
C DAY
Grade 8 in Costa Rica
8:00am Advisory
10:05 Break and Snack in the MS Office
10:20am Flex
1:20pm Guest Speaker for Grade 6

Sunday, May 6
Spring Music Recitals
10:00am 5th/6th Lacrosse on James Field

Kudos...

...to Liz Gettel and our student cast and crew of "Tale of Tales" for an extraordinary theatrical experience!
...to our music teachers and student performers for recitals this weekend!
...to John, Kyle, and Shelli who have once again provided wonderful coordination of the Journeys, which are about to launch!
...to the Blue House for contributing the most items to our Blanket Drive for Nativity House!

Elsewhere in the building...

IB Exams have begun in the USG. Please remind students to be mindful of testing spaces, including the Great Hall.

Updates to this week's schedule

A few changes are now reflected in the schedule for the week, including:

• Tuesday Grade Level Team Meetings: These are now meetings for Journeys chaperones. 6th: in Strate's room; 7th in Price's room; 8th in Hunt's room.
• Wednesday Chapel: In lieu of Chapel, we will have a MS Meeting in the Library so that Erik and Eric can walk students through Outlook updates. Student Recognitions will resume after we return from the Journeys. 
• There was a handful of typos in the blog this morning - apologies for mistakes and confusion! The schedule (above) should be up to date. 
• Power in the MS Design Wing: Mark's team identified a fried circuit dating back to the construction of the building! It sounds like power will be down for a day or two more while they resolve the issue. In the meantime, please feel free to move your class to a different space if light and/or wifi are needed. If you need help identifying an open space, let me, Clare, or Neil know. Since phones are out, too, please keep your cell phone on you (if you have one) in case of emergency. Anelisa has a list of numbers for folks who teach on that side of the building and will call or text your cell if she needs to locate a student or communicate any emergency instructions. 

Journeys

Substitute plans: if you require coverage while on a journey, please be sure to let Bill or Clare know by Tuesday, and we'll coordinate coverage with Anelisa.

Follow the journeys...

• Grade 6 Journey to California: https://aws6thjourneytocalifornia.wordpress.com/
• Grade 7 Journey to the Southwest: https://southwesttrip702919193.wordpress.com/
• Grade 8 Journey to Costa Rica: http://awscostarica2018.blogspot.com/

Maintenance, Furniture, Updating, etc...

This is the time of year that Mark and his team set their schedule and priorities for maintenance and updating that happens over the summer. If you have any ideas or requests, please log them on MS Space Ideas and Requests 2018. These requests could range from absolute necessity to pie-in-the-sky ideas. Please take a look around your classrooms and other spaces - if you see a need or an opportunity for updating, please put it on the list!

Faculty Meetings...

Updated All Schools Meetings for the remainder of the year...

• Monday, April 30 AS Faculty Meeting: Reporting out
• Monday, May 14 AS Faculty Meeting: Reporting out
• Monday, May 21 AS Faculty Meeting: Reporting out

Absences & Substitute Teachers

Absence Protocols and planning for Substitute Teachers: 

• Faculty Absence Coverage Protocols
• MS Faculty Substitute Plans

Ordering & Supplies

Just a reminder - please direct all requests for supplies and special orders through the form the Neil created. The form is also linked in the Important Links list on this blog.

A little further down the road...

• Thursday, May 3: Grade 8 Departs for Costa Rica
• Friday, May 4, Period 5: Guest Speaker Michael Hemp for Grade 6
• Saturday, May 5: edCamp Puget Sound at AWS
• Monday, May 7: Grade 7 Departs for the Southwest
• Monday, May 7: Special Schedule for Grade 6 (Journey Prep and 5th to 6th Transition Day)
• Tuesday, May 8: Grade 8 Departs for California
• Thursday, May 10: Grade 8 returns from Costa Rica (no classes for Grade 8 on Friday)
• Friday, May 11: Grades 6 & 7 Return
• Wednesday, May 16 7:00pm: All Schools Orchestra Concert
• Friday, May 18 7:00pm: MS Dance in the Kemper Gym
• Tuesday, May 22: Grade 6 Medieval Day
• Thursday, May 31 2:15pm: MS Spring Athletics Awards
• Friday, June 1: May Day
• Friday, June 8: Milk Boat Regatta on American Lake
• Monday, June 11: Grade 6 Design Exhibition, Grade 8 Retreat
• Tuesday, June 12 9:00am: Eighth Grade Chapel, 10:30am: Oral History Project Exhibition; 1:00pm Open Mic
• Wednesday, June 13 10:00am: MS Closing Ceremony

Upcoming religious and cultural observances

• Sunday, April 1 marked the beginning of Autism Awareness Month, National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and National Poetry Month. 
• Sunday, April 29 is the Buddhist observance Visakha Puja (vee-sah-ka POO-ja), also known as Vesak (VAY-sak), which commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Siddhartha Gautama (SID-ar-ta GO-ta-ma), the first Buddha.
• Monday, April 30 marks the beginning of the New Year for Theravada (TARE-uh-va-da) Buddhists. 
• Tuesday, May 1 is the Muslim observance Lailat al-Bara'ah (LIE-lat ul-BAR-ah-ah), also known as the Night of Forgiveness which occurs about two weeks before the start of the holy month of Ramadan. It also marks the beginning of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, and Haitian Heritage Month. 
• Thursday, May 3 is the Jewish holiday Lag b'Omer (LAHG buh-OH-mayr).