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Tyee Family Newsletter

November 17, 2017

Greetings Tyee Families!

I recently had the privilege to travel to China for nine days with the “Chinese Bridge” Delegation for Principals and Educational Officials.  Each year, in partnership with the College Board, Confucius Institute Headquarters invites principals and educational officials  to visit China to better understand the Chinese language, culture, and educational system, and also to establish educational and cultural cooperation with schools in China.  I spent five days in Beijing and four days in the Henan Province visiting Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, and Dengfeng.  I had the opportunity to visit seven different schools and interact with hundreds a students.  It was truly the trip of a lifetime!

This is a reminder that we will be off school for Thanksgiving recess this Thursday, 11/23 and Friday, 11/24.  I wish you all a wonderful holiday.

Warm Regards,

Susan Thomas, Principal

SCHOOL NEWS

Date
Event
11/23 Thanksgiving Recess – No School
11/24 Thanksgiving Recess – No School
11/28 Vision Screening for 7th Grade Students – 8:00AM
12/1 PTSA Holiday Bazaar 5:00-8:00PM
12/12 Band Concert 7:00PM
12/13 Orchestra Concert 7:00PM
12/14 Choir Concert 7:00PM

TECHNOLOGY CORNER

What is digital citizenship?

January 22, 2016Delaney Ruston, MD

Are you a good Digital Citizen? Are your kids? How can you tell? Digital citizenship refers to the norms of appropriate behavior regarding technology use. The term has been used primarily in school settings where classes and workshops address issues such as email etiquette, avoiding online cruelty, device use during class, avoiding copyright infringement and other such topics.

As I was filming SCREENAGERS, I spent time with some wonderful private schools that were doing things like holding two-full day workshops devoted to digital citizenships. But sadly, I did not see this happening in public schools. Why not? Kids are on these devices 6.5 hours a day, not including school work or homework, and thus having some meaningful discussions seems more than appropriate, it seems essential.

We believe that all schools should be teaching digital citizenship to their students. There are many free wonderful curriculums online. The key is that the schools need to feel motivated to take on this important topic and to create platforms for it to occur. The more we as parents and teachers speak up about this need,  the greater the chance it will happen. So talk with your school administrators, teachers and PTA. Share with us as you move forward on this.

Learn more about what both you and your kids should know about Digital Citizenship from the sites listed below.

Common Sense Media This comprehensive K-12 curriculum provides lesson plans, student digital interactives and assessments, as well as professional development for teachers and materials for family education.

Edutopia: Digital Citizenship, Resource Roundup This collection of articles, videos, and other resources on Internet safety, cyberbullying, digital responsibility, and media and digital literacy offers a good starting place for understanding the challenge and practice of teaching Digital Citizenship.

Digital Citizenship: Using Technology Appropriately A website for teachers and parents that  includes resources, publications and an explanation of the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, as defined by site creator Mike Ribble. The Nine Elements include Digital Access, Digital Commerce, Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Etiquette, Digital Law, Digital Rights & Responsibilities, Digital Health & Wellness and Digital Security.

NetSmartz Workshop This interactive, educational program of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) provides age-appropriate resources to help teach children how to be safer on- and offline. The program, designed for children, parents/guardians, educators, and law enforcement uses videos, games, activity cards, and presentations to teach children how to recognize potential Internet risks; engage children and adults in a two-way conversation about on- and offline risks and empower children to help prevent themselves from being exploited and to report victimization to a trusted adult.

YouthSpark: Online Safety This Microsoft site targets teens, encouraging them to be aware of the role the Internet plays in their lives, both now and in the future. With a focus on safety, the site directs teens to “pay attention to what’s online about you and take steps to ensure a positive persona— both personally and professionally.”

Cyberwise CyberWise offers parents and educators a resource for helping youth to use digital media confidently and safely. In their words: “We help parents and educators understand digital citizenship, online safety and privacy, reputation management, and more so they can help kids embrace technology safely and wisely.” The site is packed with free videos, ebooks, news, blogs and research, all well worth your time.

ISTE: 9 resources for teaching digital citizenship ISTE, the International Society for Technology Education, in a nonprofit with a mission “to empower learners to flourish in a connected world.” This list of 9 resources if focused on the challenges teachers face in teaching students how to be responsible technology users. Modeling “ethical technology use” is an important element of ISTE’s prescription for success. Also included is an informative infographic that compares good citizen concepts with good Digital Citizenship.

Digizen This site include information on what digital citizenship is and encourages users to become responsible DIGItal citiZENS. Specific advice and resources focus on social networking

Interested in learning weekly technology?  Sign up for Tech Talk Tuesdays at this link: https://screenagers.squarespace.com/tech-talk-tuesdays/

ACTIVITIES & ATHLETICS

Find updated information about athletics and activities on our website: https://bsd405.org/tyee/thunderbirds/

We are kicked off our annual fall fundraiser on Wednesday November 15th! This year we are partnering with Equal Exchange, a worker-owned cooperative that offers fairly traded products produced by small-scale farmers around the world.

We are offering delicious and organic chocolate, coffee, cocoa, tea, gift boxes and more! The items are reasonably priced and our group makes 40% of the profit on every product we sell.

Our group’s fundraising goal is $8,000.

Together we can raise the funds to support:

  • Tyee After School Sports & Clubs
  • Socials and other fun events for students
  • Student orientations and graduation events

PTSA

The VERY FIRST Tyee Holiday Bazaar is Friday December 1st from 5-8 pm in the Commons.

Our PTSA goal is to bring Tyee & community/families together with live music from the Tyee music program and neighboring schools for a free family oriented evening of entertainment, food, mingling and shopping.

With over 30 vendors onsite, Tyee & community student vendors and outside vendors, the Tyee Holiday Bazaar offers a fun destination of gift and food options for holiday shoppers.

Help us make this a memorable and successful evening by lending us your help and decorative items for the event: holiday decorations (large bows, stars, décor, lights), poinsettias flowers, or volunteer your time to decorate, help with games or sell food.

Decorative Items for PTSA use during the event (Fri Dec 1st 5-8 pm) can be dropped off at school Monday Nov. 27 (before and after school) and picked up week of 12/4.

Sign up here for decoration items and volunteers:  www.SignUpGenius.com/go/60B0445ADAF2BAA8-holiday

DISTRICT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Who pays for public education in Bellevue?

Have you ever wondered how local schools are funded? Why do levies matter? How do PTSAs, Bellevue Schools Foundation and others fit in the funding picture?  And more importantly, how does this affect my student(s)? Get answers to your school district funding questions at any of the four meetings listed below.

Deputy Superintendent Melissa deVita will present facts about state funding changes and how the changes impact our school district.

These events are hosted by Bellevue Schools Foundation and Bellevue PTSA Council.

The Bellevue School District acknowledges that we learn, work, live and gather on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish and Snoqualmie Tribes. We thank these caretakers of this land, who have lived and continue to live here, since time immemorial.