BRYANT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The Bryant budget for the 2010-2011 school year has been reduced and is a reflection of the state of our nation.  State and federal funding has been decreased throughout our country. The schools in Seattle are currently working hard on staffing and budget planning for next year. All elementary counselors have been eliminated for the upcoming school year. Each school has been provided with allocations for teacher staffing and supplies. In addition to our counselor, Bryant will be losing 0.5 of our librarian (currently funded at full time) and 0.5 of our reading specialist (currently funded at 0.8 FTE). The staff and PTSA are working together on the budget for next year. The reality is that all schools across our nation and district will be working with less funding. Therefore, participation in our upcoming school events such as the school auction will be vital to our students. 

Before mid-winter break I introduced a reading challenge to students to help our dragon grow. Every scale you see displayed represents 20-30 minutes of at home reading. As I hand out scales to students, I ask if they read more over break to earn a scale, and they said yes. Congratulations Bryant readers, and thanks for helping our dragon grow!

Read more about what's happening in the library:

• News from the Library—March 1: Read Across America
• News from the Library—February 22: Washington Children's Choice Picture Book

We need to procure many more items by our donation deadline of Friday March 26th!   We've had great support from local businesses and now we need your support.  More importantly, family donations of vacation homes, dinners, tickets, wine, desserts, food, gifts and services are always the most popular items.  Check out the Auction Website or the school hallways for donation ideas from previous years.

We ask that every family donate or procure 2 items.

Come join us at Top Pot Doughnuts on 35th Ave NE March 25 at 1:00 to discuss your concerns, successes, suggestions and ideas.  Or just have a doughnut! We are a group of Bryant parents interested in supplementing school resources to help our children overcome learning difficulties. We’ve found that parents talking to parents, creating an exchange of ideas and a source of support, gives us a greater sense of perspective and empowerment. Hope to see you there.

The Symetra Heroes in the Classroom program honored 23 Seattle Public Schools' teachers for excellence in the classroom throughout the Seahawks season. The teacher "Heroes" received several awards, including two tickets to a Seahawks regular season game, classroom supplies and school visits and program sponsor recognition. In addition, two schools represented by a teacher Hero, were selected to receive the MVP award, a $15,000 grant that provides funding to enhance and support learning at the schools.  Symetra and the Seahawks joined the Alliance for Education, Seattle Foundation and Seattle Public Schools to develop the MVP Award funding plans and select the winning schools. The teachers in the list below were selected as Heroes in the Classroom:

Julie Black
Bryant Elementary