The District is presenting Superintendent Nyland’s draft recommendation on bell time changes for the 2016-17 school year at community meetings through Mon, Oct 5. The proposal has most elementary schools, including Bryant’s, school day going 8am to 2:10pm. Preview the presentation and the proposed bell time changes and read up on the research and implementation timeline at the District’s website. Monday’s meeting is at 6:30 at Jane Adams Middle School. The Seattle School Board will be voting on the Superintendent’s recommendation in October or November. Email questions and comments to arrivaltimes@seattleschools.org.
*News
Green Team applications due Monday
Do you have a budding young environmentalist at home? If so, we hope you will encourage him or her to apply for Green Team! This is an important job in our community and we’re excited to be able to expand it to include students as young as first grade this year. In Ms. Salisbury’s absence, Ms. Pearson will be out in classrooms recruiting new members this week.
From the District: Advanced Learning apps due Oct 8
From Stephen Martin, Advanced Learning Program Manager
Information about Seattle Public Schools Advanced Learning program can be found at the District’s website.
Application Forms: Advanced Learning is making every effort to “go green” this year by shifting to less paper-intensive systems. Find the application process for testing your student on the District’s website. Submit your electronic form by Oct 8. Testing for Bryant students will be on Sat, Oct 17 at Cascadia at Lincoln. Read more
Welcome to DJ Wilson, our new Playground Supervisor!
Please welcome DJ Wilson as our new Playground Supervisor to help supervise morning and lunch recesses. “Miss DJ” comes to us from LASER, where she is a counselor. DJ’s own children attended Laurelhurst, Eckstein, and Roosevelt, and now that they are grown she enjoys watching football and spending time with her grand-dogs. She is excited to join the Bryant staff in this new role since it gives her a way to “get to know the students I work with even better.”
Join (or renew) with the Bryant PTSA today!
Top Five Reasons to Join the PTSA:
- Build a partnership between our school and our families.
- Vote on the Bryant PTSA budget, on resolutions, and for the Bryant PTSA Executive Board.
- Help fund PTSA scholarships and grants.
- Provide a legislative voice for our children in Olympia and in Washington, D.C.
- Get exclusive member discounts at businesses like at Great Wolf Lodge and Kinko/FedEx
Your PTSA membership needs to be renewed every year. Hit the ground running this year. Download your membership form today and have your membership ready to go.
Advocate for Our Kids
By Joan Crooks, PTSA Legislative Chair
One of the key roles of the PTSA is to advocate for our kids and our schools. Here are three things you can do as we start off the school year:
1. Learn about the candidates for Seattle School Board – The Seattle Council PTSA and the League of Women Voters are sponsoring a Seattle School Board Candidates Forum. The details: Thursday, October 8 from 7 to 8:30 pm, at Seattle First Baptist, 1111 Harvard Avenue. Registration is requested but not required. Read more
Playground Supervisor Needed: Paid Position!
The Playground Supervisor is primarily responsible for keeping Bryant Students safe and well during recesses. He or she coordinates playground volunteers, and oversees supervision and student safety on the playground at Bryant.
This position (funded through a PTSA grant) is paid hourly, with a daily time commitment between 10:15 and 1:45pm (3hrs paid, with half hour break for lunch.) This person will also serve on the Safety Committee, which meets one morning a month before school. If interested, please contact, Assistant Principal Julie Pearson.
Ask Us!
Unsure about something Bryant-related and not sure who to ask? Some especially knowledgeable PTSA folks will be wearing “Ask Me” pins the first few weeks around school. Stop them and ask whatever you want! If electronic communications are more your thing, drop us a line or send a Facebook message!
Seattle teachers set to vote on strike
Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association have been meeting throughout the summer to negotiate a new tentative contract for Seattle teachers. As of Tuesday night, no tentative contract had been reached.
On Thursday, September 3 Seattle Public Schools teachers will vote on whether to accept a tentative contract agreement. No tentative agreement has been reached, and they will vote on whether to strike, which would affect the scheduled September 9 school start date.
In advance of the vote, Seattle teachers picketed at the high schools, including at Roosevelt on Wednesday, September 2nd.
Welcome from Principal Sanger
Welcome Bryant Families!
I hope your summer was all that you hoped it would be! Mine was great! One highlight was attending a “Professional Learning Communities at Work” conference in Tampa. Research shows that when teachers work collaboratively and shift their thinking from “my “students to “our” students, everyone benefits. Grade level teams at Bryant have been developing a model for professional learning communities (PLCs) for a year now that has been closely aligned with the content of this conference. This grade level team work has developed around 4 essential questions that may sound simple but run deep. The questions are:
- What is it we expect our students to learn?
- How will we know when they have learned it?
- How will we respond when some students do not learn?
- How will we respond when some students already know it?