Friday Open Thread


Vanya Shivashankar, left, of Olathe, Kansas, and Gokul Venkatachalam of St. Louis hold up the trophy after being declared co-winners of the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Vanya correctly spelled the word "scherenschnitte" and Gokul correctly spelled the word "nunatak."After three long days, the National Spelling Bee ended in...a tie...for the second year in a row.  The judges ran out of words on their list.   In a fun twist, both contestants have last names that might be a challenge to spell - Gokul Venkatachalam and Vanya Shivashankar.  Vanya correctly spelled the word "scherenschnitte" and Gokul correctly spelled the word "nunatak."  The story from CNN is great and the recoiling of one contestant who lost from his mother's sympathetic kiss is priceless (we've all been there if you have boys).  Show the kids the story from CNN - many great moments.

Work Party at Hamilton Middle School on Sunday, May 31st from 10 am-noon.

The school needs to have regular weeding efforts in order to stay off the no-spray list with  Seattle Public Schools grounds crew. And as you know, many hands make light work!  We will have some work gloves and tools, but bring your own if you can. We'll also have water and light snacks.

More to come on the Sand Point Elementary issue over the City's Department of Early Education and Learning rescinding a grant from the Families&Education levy.  New updates make this story even more troubling.

Do fewer French kids have ADHD than American kids?  Apparently so but the difference is in how doctors in each country view it, according to Psychology Today.

The highest honor in Mathematics, the Fields Medal, won by a woman for the first time.  It's a great story from The Guardian.


Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian maths professor at Stanford University in California, was named the first female winner of the Fields Medal – often described as the Nobel prize for mathematics – at a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.

She did poorly at maths for several years at school because she was not interested in the subject. "I can see that without being excited, mathematics can look pointless and cold. The beauty of mathematics only shows itself to more patient followers," she said.

Friday Funny - a seismologist live-tweets during the disaster movie where an earthquake and tsunami hit California called San Andreas.  

Do you know what the newest words added to Webster's Dictionary mean?  They include clickbait, WTF and photobomb.

What's on your mind?

Comments

Watching said…
Do we know if W. Seattle's Middle College is definitely closing?

I believe so but I"m trying to get more clarity on it.
Anonymous said…
I thought I read in an earlier thread that the school board said something official in the last meeting regarding shortcomings of the SBAC. I can't find that post now and didn't watch the meeting. Does anyone have details or a link to the discussion?

Thank you.

SavvyVoter
mirmac1 said…
No. This was discussed during the Special Board Work Session last night re: Resolution on SBAC. The board made significant changes to staff's ambiguous and IMO self-serving draft.
Anonymous said…
Speaking of the Guardian, its intrepid editor and my hero, Alan Rusbridger is leaving after 20 years at the helm. I can only hope it'll be in good hands as the paper has been my go to news source post NYT Iraq war days. I'm not sure we have anything like it left in the U.S. Certainly not in our city - which for some weird reason likes to think itself as a progressive hip centric Amsterdam.

reader
Anonymous said…


NPR story on French teachers strike to protest cuts in middle school Latin, Greek, German and changes to the history curriculum.

Does less Latin mean dumbing down? France debates school reform.
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/05/28/410017058/does-less-latin-mean-dumbing-down-france-debates-school-reform

Wish we also had Latin, Greek and German in middle schools......instead we have SBAC, SBAC, and more SBAC.

-nh
TheGoodFight said…
Ron English has been on PAID administrative leave since Feb 11th.

That's 107 days! It looks like the lawyer lawyer-ed up! How is it possible nothing has leaked out about the reason for his suspension of duties.
Patrick said…
I haven't seen any Greek or German offered in Seattle high schools, let alone middle schools. Though, I did only check the four nearby schools.
Lynn said…
The Charter School Commission will have a special meeting next Wednesday for Dicussion and Action Regarding First Place Charter School.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2VjOLJflILFSWdaeU5ROXcxQ3c/edit
Anonymous said…
It appears that the Principal of South Shore is leaving. How many is that now as she was moved there from Graham Hill and now "leaving"...


-Southie
Lynn said…
The Superintendent is recommending naming the schools at Wilson Pacific Robert Eaglestaff Middle School and Cascadia Elementary School.
Anonymous said…
Is the reason Ron English is on administrative leave because he made errors on behalf of SPS regarding the Nature Bridge case?
NEmom
Anonymous said…
So what'd the board say about SBAC at that work session?
And when do we get a look at the opt out rates and scores by school? From what I've heard many SPS principals already have their school results.

DistrictWatcher
TechyMom said…
4th and 5th graders from Salmon Bay and McGilvra (and maybe other schools?) did a reenactment of the Oregon Trail today, walking miles in period costume, hauling food and water in wagons. Their knowledge about the period was pretty impressive, and I bet they will remember it for a long time. More of this, please!
Yes, I saw that special Charter Commission meeting. I'll be listening in.

Ron English? Who knows?

SBAC? I'll ask; I did not attend that work session.

Techy Mom, good for those kids and their teachers.
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said…
Reposting for anonymous at 7:24 - need short name

As a staff member at South Shore, we were shocked Dr Morrison would leave after a year. Things were moving in the right direction to figure out the middle school part and she is an expert in elementary. We are sad to go they another change but are getting used to it - five principals in twelve years. Glad we got her back (she used to be our AP) for the year - she is great to work with and cares about her staff students and families. She has a great opportunity to work on something that everyone knows she is passionate about. Hopefully we will find a new principal that cares about kids and teachers the same way and that can help stabilize our school - especially the middle school.

reader47
Wondering said…
The city yanked Sandpoints Family and Education Levy funding because the principal was leaving. Will the city yank Family and Ed dollars from S. Shore because the principal is leaving? Will the city be involved in S Shore's principal hiring?

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

Why the Majority of the Board Needs to be Filled with New Faces

Who Is A. J. Crabill (and why should you care)?