TOPS K8 Weekly Update
October 31st, 2022
TOPS Vision
Vision: We are creating a school that empowers students to be active participants, leaders, learners, and contributors to social justice.
Native American Heritage Month
Falcon Families,
Hope you all enjoyed the shift to fall weather this weekend. Saturday was a gorgeous fall day with crisp fall weather and sunbreaks. We were out at Magnuson watching Finn's soccer game and then D & I caught the Falcon C team ultimate frisbee match. It was great to see our students and families out enjoying the competition and having fun. Huge shout out to Coach Souma and Assistant Akiko!
I know many of our students and families are looking forward to Halloween tomorrow. Reminder that TOPS is a costume free school (no costumes at school please)! I know that this is disappointing to some of our students & families. As we continue to focus on equity within our school, we recognize that there are numerous students from a variety of cultures, backgrounds, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic status that do not feel part of our school community on this day.
"November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges."
- https://americanindian.si.edu/developingstories/
- https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/student-programs/distance-learning#indigenous-peoples-day
This week we are highlighting the following individual, Jim Thorpe.
Jim Thorpe: "Describing Jim Thorpe as a great athlete would be doing him a severe injustice. A better description would be calling him the greatest athlete of the 20th Century. This label will probably be debated by many, but Thorpe’s accomplishments speak louder than words. King Gustav V of Sweden told Thorpe: “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.”
James Francis Thorpe was born on May 28, 1887 in a one-room cabin near Prague, Oklahoma. Although there is much confusion on Thorpe’s date of birth, this is the date according to his estate. He was born to Hiram Thorpe, a farmer, and Charlotte Vieux, a Pottawatomie Indian and descendant of the last great Sauk and Fox chief Black Hawk, a noted warrior and athlete. Jim was actually born a twin, but his brother Charlie died at the age of nine. His Indian name, Wa-Tho-Huk, translated to “Bright Path,” something that Thorpe definitely had ahead of him."
DHH News and Links
Upcoming Events
Fall Festival
- Monday, October 31st
- Kindergarten students!
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead "Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) is a two day holiday that reunites the living and dead. Families create ofrendas (Offerings) to honor their departed family members that have passed."
- Tuesday, November 1st-Wednesday, November 2nd
- https://dayofthedead.holiday/
TOPS Auction Meeting: We are excited to start planning for the annual TOPS fundraising auction!
There are so many fun ways to volunteer. Come to the first meeting and find out!All levels of volunteer commitment are welcome, and appreciated.
- Tuesday, November 1st
- 7:30 pm on ZOOM
- https://grouphealthfoundation-org.zoom.us/j/83015154147?pwd=YkNNVnNrd2x1Tko4ZTJMYStpTGZRZz09
- ID: 83015154147, passcode 077448
Early Dismissal
- Wednesday, November 2nd
- School is out at 2:10 pm.
Picture Make Up Day
- Friday, November 4th
Fall Book Fair
- November 7-14 in the TOPS library, with times for students to purchase Scholastic books before, during and after school to raise funds and books for our school library.
- More details to follow. Email volunteer@topsk8.org if you would like to join the Book Fair team.
November Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences
Thank you to everyone who has completed the family survey. We have received 124 responses!
We are completing the conference schedule based on your feedback, we will work to get times set up on Sign-up Genius, and will get an email out to you all by early next week.
Linked below is a family survey. https://forms.office.com/r/UCvh5r7wvC
Resources for You!
Middle School Athletics
- Lost 0-2 against Pathfinder on Saturday. Next game Saturday, November 5th at 8 am against Broadview Thompson at Jane Addams Middle School.
TOPS Ultimate Frisbee:
- The A team lost to Jane Addams Middle School/
- The C team lost to Hamilton Middle School
Reporting COVID Cases
- External CIC Health Self Reporting Link (Families may self-report using this portal) https://covid.cic-health.com/s/Self-Report?RRAccount=0014R00003F4mur
- Isolation is about the same as last year. Day of positive test/symptom start is day 0. If symptoms mostly gone, returns day 6 wearing well-fitting mask days 6-10.
What I am Reading:
Fiction:
- Reading Extasia by Claire Legrand. "All you must know is that today she will become one of the four saints of Haven. The elders will mark her and place the red hood on her head. With her sisters, she will stand against the evil power that lives beneath the black mountain--an evil which has already killed nine of her village's men."
Non-Fiction:
- Cultivating Genius by Gholdy Mohammed
- Start Here, Start Now by Liz Kleinrock
- Street Data, by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan
- Leadership for Increasingly Diverse Schools, Edited by George Theoharis & Martin Scanlan
Videos of the Week:
Joke of the Week:
A: The ICU.
TOPS K8
Email: alschwentor@seattleschools.org
Website: https://topsk8.seattleschools.org/
Location: 2500 Franklin Avenue East, Seattle, WA, USA
Phone: 206-252-3510