Congratulations! ....to Our Students of the Month

September Students of the Month                      October Students of the Month

David Price, 9th grade                                              Jacob Ruff, 9th grade

Rebecca Moorman, 10th grade                                 Sidney Silver, 10th grade

Kimiko Utsunomiya, 11th grade.                               Alex White, 11th grade

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Conferences

At the end of the first quarter (Nov. 1) students will receive their quarterly grades to hand-carry home. Although these grades will not appear on their transcripts, it is important that you review the report with them, sign it, and have your student return it to his or her advisor.

As part of our effort to broaden communications with parents, we issued detailed progress reports for each course in early October. In addition, we will schedule conferences again, as we did last year, on Nov. 26 after school. While we would like the chance to meet with every parent, there won’t be enough time, so this year’s conferences will be scheduled for students who are struggling academically. A letter indicating available conference times will be mailed early in November.

Parents are urged to take advantage of this opportunity to meet with teachers and to be active participants in their student’s education. Of course, we always encourage all parents to stay in contact with their student’s teachers throughout the year, either through e-mail, telephone calls, or a personal conference. We believe that students learn best when the adults in their lives are working together to support learning.

TEACHER PROFILE

Ben Wheeler, Humanities

Ben Wheeler is a Southeast Seattle native. He attended John Muir Elementary, Mercer Junior High, and Franklin High schools along with his four siblings. His parents still live in the house where he grew up, and three of their five children have returned to live in Seattle.

Mr. Wheeler earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Philosophy from Yale University. He also minored in Music and History. He earned his teaching certificate in Social Studies and a Master of Arts degree in Education from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Before coming to The Center School he spent 12 years teaching middle and high school History and English. For seven years during that time he also directed two middle schools. He dedicated six years to being a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and also experienced life as a professional classical guitarist.

"I consider it a great privilege to be part of The Center School, one of Seattle’s important school reform efforts," Mr. Wheeler said. He recognized the opportunity for TCS to "implement many of the ‘best practices’ in education, while many public schools struggle for years to make even one structural change." He especially values "the opportunity to work closely with teaching colleagues, students and parents in a human-scale community."

Mr. Wheeler’s other interests include cross country skiing, fly-fishing, classical jazz, folk guitar, and art history. He is married to Gilda, a curriculum writer and program manager for Facing the Future.

NEWS FROM OUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

The CSCA board welcomes student representatives Mollie Price (11th grade) and Anna Talvi (10th grade). Our first meeting of the school year, scheduled for Oct. 7, was cancelled because of a power failure. We finally met on Oct. 17. Our agenda was very full. We discussed many issues, including class schedules, the ski program, the P.E. requirement and intramural sports, outside meetings, and fundraising. We made the following decisions:

We awarded $500 to the after-school Theatre Sports program,which was organized and is advised by parent volunteers Grace Reamer and Kevin Boze. The $500 is needed to pay for coaching provided by Unexpected Productions, and for competitive matches with other schools, which are coordinated by the theatre company.

We have been approached about putting paid ads in this newsletter. Mollie and Anna had several good ideas, one of which was to include a student insert in the newsletter, beginning with our next issue. The CSCA voted to have a "no ads" policy.

Detailed minutes of our meeting are available at the school and on the TCS website.

— Teru Lundsten, CSCA President

CENTER SCHOOL INFORMATION MEETING

An information meeting about The Center School will be conducted for parents of eighth-grade students currently enrolled in private schools who are considering a public school for ninth grade. The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at The Center School.

COUNSELING

Early Release Wednesdays

Do you every wonder what the staff does during early release Wednesdays? I want to dedicate my column this month to addressing that issue. Early release days have two major components: tutorial and professional development.

TUTORIAL

Every Wednesday from 1:15-2 p.m. staff is available for individual and/or small group tutorials. Students can meet with teachers for any number of reasons, such as to gain better understanding of subject material, get caught up on missing assignments, study for tests, take make up tests or work on group projects. We encourage all students, especially those who are not doing well, to take advantage of this opportunity.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

From 2-4 p.m., staff work on different things depending on the Wednesday

STUDENT ADVISORY SENATE

Advisory representatives to the Senate have had a busy month planning the first dance of the year on Oct. 25, celebrating Halloween. Because we met only once a week, our agendas were always full of details about the dance:  decorations, refreshments, music, room, ticket sales, etc., but everyone helped, which made the dance a success. To encourage attendance, we kept the price low and even offered a rebate for those who came in costume, and it was great to see so many students dressed in a wide variety of colorful costumes. We had great attendance from students in every grade. Thanks go to our chaperones who gave up a Friday night to help us:  Kathleen Brose, Donna Taylor, Kim Mullen, Wyn Pottinger-Levy, Melissa Woods, Simone Hart, Sherri Estep, Norma Howard, and Renée and Hoyt Morris. My apologies if I have omitted someone!

In November we will work on an amendment to the Senate bylaws that will provide for class officers (President, Secretary, and Treasurer). This amendment will be voted on by all students. In addition, we will be reviewing new club applications.

— Anne-Marie Talmadge, Secretary

FESTIVAL of NAVIGATION

Ahoy all ye ninth and tenth grade parents and students! Your Science and Humanities classes will sponsor a Festival of Navigation on Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 7-8:30 p.m. at The Center School. All ninth and tenth grade students are required to attend. This festival will be the culminating event for an interdisciplinary unit on navigation and exploration that showcases many interesting student projects. Refreshments will be served. Any parents who are interested in volunteering to help with this event should contact us at 252-9866 or send e-mail to  crdrajem@seattleschool.org.

— Christopher Drajem, Humanities teacher

REFLECTIONS

The National PTA Reflections program invites all Center School students to participate in this celebration of art. The 2002-2003 theme is "Signs of Courage." New and original art, inspired by the theme, is accepted and will be judged for local and national recognition. Students may submit works in any of six categories: Literature, Music, Photography, Visual Arts, Film/Video, and Theatre. A student may submit an unlimited number of entries, as long as an entry form is included for each submission. This program is designed to encourage and recognize each student’s individual creativity. Each entry must be the work only of the student without assistance from others. Guidelines:

Literature may be submitted in the form of works of fiction or nonfiction, in prose, poetry or drama. Music may be submitted as original musical compositions with or without lyrics. An entry must not exceed five minutes and must be the work of one student only. Photography has several categories, including prints, collage, montage and computer-generated art. Visual arts entries may include prints, drawings, painting, collage, photographic collage, metal etching, fiber work, or computer generated art. Film and video productions can be entered with or without sound, including animation, narrative, documentary and experimental. Theatre entries include individual storytelling, mime, monologue, and one-act plays not to exceed five minutes. Students perform their work on video and are not required to perform live.

The Center School staff and parents are invited to encourage their students to pick up a packet of information at the office. The deadline for submission is Dec. 2, and finalists will have their work displayed in the Seattle Center House on Dec. 16. If you would like more information please contact Debby Lierman at lierman@spu.edu.

DIRECTORY COMPLETED

The school directory is now complete. Copies are available in the office. We are asking a donation of $1 per copy to help defray costs.

THEATRE SPORTS

The Center School’s Theatre Sports team won its first match of the year on Oct. 28. The seven-member team traveled to North Bend to face the Mount Si High School team. The Dragons edged Mount Si by one point in a 48-47 finish. Coached by Paul Levy of Unexpected Productions, the team meets for improvisational theatre practices twice a week after school.

Congratulations to the winning team members: Juniors Helga Brose and Peter Stone, sophomore Sara Medlicott, and freshmen Erik Moen, Chris O’Dowd, Shaun Libman and Justin Campbell. The next match will be a home competition at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, in the Theatre Puget Sound studio at the Center House. The visiting team is from Ballard High School. Come support your team!

JUST CURIOUS

Q. What is the racial composition of the freshman class?

A. It is 23% minority, an increase over last year’s freshman class, which was 16% minority.

SPRING TRIP TO COSTA RICA

A meeting regarding the Spring trip to Costa Rica will be from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 14 in Room 355 ( Ms. Sobieralski’s room). This meeting will include discussion about the trip and a slide show. Please attend if you are interested (even if you didn’t turn in the yellow form).

THE OFFICE CORNER

Quick Reminders

Fees: Be sure that you have paid all fees: Day planner $5, Spanish workbook $10, Spanish magazine $6.75; Art fee $15 (10th/11th) or $10 (9th), chemistry fee $10.

Paperwork: Make sure all paperwork is signed and turned in (photo consent form, computer access form, etc.).

Emergency contact: If you have moved or have new contact information, please send it to school with your student or email it to me.

Absences and tardies: Please send a note with your student or e-mail me regarding absences or tardies. It is not necessary for you to call the school.

Phone messages to students: Because of limited office support, we will only contact students for you in case of an emergency.

— Rebecca Anderson, Administrative Assistant (randerson@seattleschools.org)

STAFF APPRECIATION

Are you interested in helping with Staff Appreciation this year? It’s a lot of fun! Please e-mail me for more details at kbrose@attbi.com.

— Kathleen Brose, Staff Appreciation Committee

                        Calendar

Nov. 11 - No school - Veteran’s Day Holiday

Nov. 14 - Costa Rica trip meeting, 7 p.m. Room 355

Nov. 20 - Festival of Navigation, 7 p.m.

Nov. 26 - Parent Conferences, 3:15-7:30 p.m. (Note: All students will be released at 2:50 p.m.)

Nov. 28, 29 - No school - Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec. 2 - CSCA board meeting, 5 p.m.

Dec. 2 - Reflections submissions due

Dec. 11 - Information meeting for Private School Parents & Students, 6:30 p.m.

Staff E-Mail Addresses

Judith Peterson japeterson@seattleschools.org

Brian Vance brvance@seattleschools.org

Eileen Bullinger ebullinger@seattleschools.org

Rebecca Anderson randerson@seattleschools.org

Elizabeth Aguilar emaguilar@seattleschools.org

Christopher Drajem crdrajem@seattleschools.org

Jon Greenberg jtgreenberg@seattleschools.org

Kim Mullen kjmullen@seattleschools.org

Joe Murphy jmmurphy@seattleschools.org

Molly Pritchard mmpritchard@seattleschools.org

Julie Reeder jmreeder1@seattleschools.org

Carolyn Reynaud careynaud@seattleschools.org

Denise Sobieralski dmsobieralski@seattleschools.org

Bethany Spinler baspinler@seattleschools.org

Erin Byrnes eabyrnes@seattleschools.org

John MacDonald jdmacdonald@seattleschools.org

Donna Taylor dtaylor@seattleschools.org

Ben Wheeler blwheeler@seattleschools.org