Seattle Schools Community Forum

From SPS Communications: Halloween reminder: Toy weapons or anything that resembles a toy weapon are not allowed in Seattle Schools. Students must be identifiable in their costumes, so no full masks allowed. Costumes shouldn't get in the way of school activities, including P.E. and recess. Each school has the discretion of making additional rules around Halloween costumes and activities. Check with your school for further information. One artist dad's idea of fun with his daughter (apparently she thought so as well).  Note: creepy photos with small child.  Not for small children.

Did you know the district has an extensive archive (complete with a trained archivist)?  They do and it's a valuable resource.  They have all manner of memorabilia - bound volumes of School Board minutes, uniforms, yearbooks, letters to the School Board, newspaper clippings - you name it.  Archivist Aaren Purcell would be more than glad to look at what any school, group or individual has to offer the archive.  I asked her about limits and she said, "I'll look at anything."  She recently received boxes of materials from Ingraham that had been sitting in some closet for years.   I myself helped to organize the archives at Roosevelt High and they have some pretty amazing artifacts. I put out this information for a two-fold reason.  One is that rarely are these items being stored properly at schools and will deteriorate much more quickly if stored improperly.  Two, you have no idea how important any one item might be historically. Even thoug...

There are no Director community meetings this weekend. What are your kids doing for Halloween? Saw this funny article in the NY Times. Apparently they have created a costume so you can be...the BP oil spill. Or, dress up in Lady Gaga's "meat" dress. As I've said in the past, I love Halloween. No presents to buy, no relatives, you get to dress up however you want and...candy. Also, FYI, today Whole Foods is starting a Green Halloween Costume Swap . They'll collect gently used costumes and accessories at all their locations on Saturday, Oct. 1. You'll get a ticket to come back on Saturday, Oct. 9th from noon to 3 p.m. and you can pick out a costume from the drop-off day. (For every costume or 5 small accessories you turn in, you get a ticket.) Good idea if you're wondering what to do with that too-small costume from last year. Also, Value Village is a great option for Halloween stuff but get there early in the month.