Eckstein MS: Recent News Stories

Update on Eckstein Annual Campaign: Goal Surpassed!

Congratulations, Eckstein community, you contributed generously to the Eckstein Annual Campaign and surpassed this year’s fundraising goal! You donated a total of $84,476 this year to support many of the essential school programs that help Eckstein students succeed.

Your generous contributions are benefitting each child and the Eckstein community in many ways, including:

• supporting many academic departments at Eckstein, impacting every student at the school;
• supplementing Seattle School District funding so that those dollars can be used to ensure reduced class size;
• purchasing supplies and curricular materials, including technology equipment, science lab materials, library books, art supplies, foreign language textbooks, computer programs, musical instrument repairs and more;
• keeping students safe by providing important emergency preparedness supplies;
• funding needed capital improvements;
• helping to keep the school running smoothly by sustaining important support staff positions.

Eckstein students are fortunate to attend one of the top schools in the state where they are surrounded by inspired teachers, interesting curriculum and a commitment to educational excellence, and your contributions to the EAC are helping to make that experience possible for them. So thank you, Eckstein families, for supporting Eckstein in such an important way!

Eastern Hemisphere Museum is March 13 at 6pm

On Thursday, March 13th, we will be hosting our annual 6th Grade Eastern Hemisphere Museum night at Eckstein. Each year, students on all three sixth grade teams work to create or draw an artifact from the ancient world. Depending on their team, students have been focusing on Africa, China, ancient Egypt, Greece, or Rome. We cordially invite you to come and experience the wonderful work your children have created.

The Eastern Hemisphere Museum will take place from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 13th. The event is hosted in all six sixth grade Language Arts and Social Studies classrooms.

Families and students are encouraged to attend, and we ask that you ensure your students and any other young children are accompanied by an adult during their time at the museum—teachers will have to stay in their respective classrooms and cannot provide supervision for children as they travel from one classroom to the next.

Update on Beef Recall

Beef has returned to the menu of the Seattle Public Schools. Click here to read the official announcement from the Seattle Public Schools.

Seattle Schools Hold on Beef

The information below is being provided to all parents/guardians in the Seattle School District regarding the “Hold on some United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Beef”. USDA issued the “hold” after receiving news on Thursday, January 31, of serious allegations concerning the treatment of cattle processed at the Westland Meat Company in California.

For more information, you can read the official announcement from the Seattle Public Schools. Information about school lunches is available at the Seattle School District's Nutrition Services web site. There is a story about the announcement in The Seattle Times.

Drug Free Homes Parent Pledge Form

Click on the link for the Drug Free Homes Parent Pledge form. Drug Free Parent Pledge Form

The NE Seattle Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking is asking parents/guardians to sign this Drug Free Homes Pledge. By signing the pledge, parents/guardians will let other Eckstein families know that they intend to supervise their child’s social gatherings in their homes to ensure that they are alcohol and drug free. It also indicates that they can be contacted by other parents about parties and get-togethers.

This pledge sends a clear message that as parents and as a community we believe that underage drinking and drug use is unacceptable.

Inga Manskopf, Community Coordinator

Annual Campaign Update 1/16/08

Happy New Year from the Eckstein Annual Campaign! THANK YOU to all donors who have already contributed to the campaign---our new total is $77,329! This means that we are closing in on our goal of $82,000--we just need to find the next round of donors who can help us raise the final $4,700. Are you one of the parents who can help us reach our goal? Checks payable to the “Alliance for Education—Eckstein” can be sent to: Eckstein Annual Campaign, Eckstein Middle School, 3003 N. E. 75th Street, Seattle, WA 98115.

One of the educational areas that benefits from the Annual Campaign is the writing program at Eckstein. Some of the funds raised through the campaign contribute to hiring writing assistants and reviewers, so that students can receive timely feedback on their writing. Several Eckstein teachers are also participating in the Writers Workshop curriculum that was developed by Columbia University. The Seattle Times ran an article recently that describes some of the benefits of this writing program. You can see the article at this link: NW Source

Here’s to a great 2008 for all the students at Eckstein! We look forward to new donors joining the Eckstein Annual Campaign.

Eckstein Annual Campaign Update

Keep Eckstein’s Computer Network Running -- Please Donate to the Eckstein Annual Campaign Today!

Each of us depends upon computer technology, and it’s especially critical at Eckstein Middle School. One of EAC’s larger allocations ($10,000) is for the technology program at Eckstein. That’s really no surprise: Our 1,200 students and 115 teachers, administrators and support staff depend on Eckstein’s computer network to be in working order on a daily basis. Without your donation to EAC, the technology program at Eckstein would not be able to function.

Although Eckstein does have access to a part-time computer network analyst employed by the Seattle School District, his time is divided among many other schools, so the amount of help he can give Eckstein is limited. Hence, EAC funds a part-time computer technician from the technical support service “U-Wired” to help with Eckstein’s technical support. U-Wired is a group of university college students in computer engineering courses who intern on campus and at local schools like Eckstein. Eckstein currently has one U-Wired resource who works about 20 hours per week.

The U-Wired resource does the majority of the hands-on, maintenance work necessary to keep the technical tools in the classrooms and labs running for the teachers and students on a daily basis. He manages student accounts, resets passwords, un-jams printers, analyzes hardware failures, repairs/replaces hardware (e.g., hard drives), installs software, and recovers files. There are approximately 300 PCs and Macs that the students use and 100 that the administrators/teachers use including desktops in the mini labs. Each administrator and teacher has a printer in their area or classroom. It’s incredible that there are so many devices that are supported by only one 20-hour per week resource along with a part-time network analyst. Not all requests for service or assistance are able to be completed on a timely basis. Compare this to the information technology support normally found in a company with 400 employees!!

At Eckstein, there are two servers located at the school.
• The District provided one of the servers which hosts and stores teacher/admin work and applications on it. Schools need to provide funding for additional services.
• In 2000, the EAC purchased a second server, called the FP server, which is used to store student academic work. The FP server is a critical server resource as students can work on a document in one class, say Social Studies, then access the same document in another related class such as Language Arts, and also again in the Homework Center. By spring, the student server typically reaches its maximum storage capacity. Several years ago, the EAC purchased a replacement server which is expected to last another year or so. As this equipment ages, more and more support is needed to maintain it and support the students who use and rely upon it for their academic work.
Outside of the current EAC allocation for technology, there are two additional areas in need. The EAC would like to support these needs in addition to the current technology allocation -- it’s dependent upon the generosity of people like you:
The server that hosts the Eckstein website has a very limited life left in it. Eric Miller, the teacher advisor for Eckstein’s technology program, recommends moving the data on that server to a hosted environment which would cost $100 per year. There are no funds allocated to support this. There is also no incidental budget available to replace keyboards, mice or network printer cartridges in the lab printers. An initial $500 per year should be allocated to an incidental computer equipment and supplies replacement fund.

Please help make sure that our students and teachers are supported with the technical help they need. Please send in your contribution to EAC today. Send your check payable to the “Alliance for Education—Eckstein” to the Eckstein Annual Campaign, Eckstein Middle School, 3003 N. E. 75th Street, Seattle, WA 98115. Thank you!

Letter from the Principal

Dear Eckstein Families:

Time is going by quickly and the holiday season is rapidly approaching. This time of year is full of excitement and anticipation for the new year. Remember to take a few minutes to talk with your children about school. Ask them how things are going, what they’re learning, and who they had lunch with. They are truly amazing kids and I am lucky to be able to spend the days with them.

I would like to take a moment to share with you all the wonderful things that are happening at Eckstein. Our teachers have been working closely together to ensure that students are experiencing the best that teaching has to offer. Science teachers have been participating in the Observing for Evidences of Learning pilot program for their professional development focus. This program allows them the opportunity to plan a lesson together, see it implemented in a classroom, and then reflect on what they will take back to their own students. Math teachers are also spending time planning and observing with peers from other middle schools across the district. Our language arts and social studies teachers are working on aligning essential learning requirements and skills. This experience will allow them more opportunities to collaborate on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Language arts teachers have really focused on writing this year and the amazing results are posted in the hallways for all to read. I notice students stopping during lunchtime to read the work of their peers. Eckstein’s music program is in full swing. Bring the family to the Winter Concert on Thursday, December 13th beginning at 7:30. Our hallways are bright with the artwork contributed by talented students. There are so many wonderful things happening and I invite you to share them with your kids.

Please join me in giving a special thank you to the Eckstein Annual Campaign (EAC) arm of the PTSA, the organizers of the magazine drive, and to the Friends of Eckstein Band. The EAC provides Eckstein students with the many supplies and tools that enrich their learning. The funds support classes with books, lab equipment, art supplies, emergency preparedness supplies, musical instruments, after school drama and music opportunities and much, much more. The money from the magazine drive goes to support Eckstein’s ASB and non-curricular items and activities. The Friends of Eckstein Band have identified the long term needs of the band and are in the midst of a three year fundraising campaign. There is no doubt that Eckstein has one of the strongest music programs in the state and we want to make sure we provide our students with the equipment they need to support their goals. Eckstein is a large school and we wouldn’t be as good as we are without the support of our families. So, thank you.

Best wishes to all of you during the holiday season,

Kim Whitworth, Principal

Dec. 14 and 15: Princess and the Pea!

Enjoy an evening out with the wonderful 7th and 8th grade Eckstein cast in Princess & the Pea. Full of humor, fast-paced action, laughs and great costuming, this classic tale is set in a kingdom somewhere on the Eckstein Royale Isle. However, not all things appear as they truly are and getting a good night’s rest proves to be more complicated than eating your peas.

Performances: Friday and Saturday, December 14 and 15 at 7pm.
Where: Eckstein Middle School auditorium
Donation: $5 suggested donation at the door goes toward supporting this and future OST drama programs at Eckstein.

Annual Campaign Update

Exciting news from the Eckstein Annual Campaign!!!! The Eckstein Annual Campaign (EAC) has just reached the 67% mark toward its goal of $82,000! This means that 215 donors have contributed $55,000 toward our outstanding programs at Eckstein Middle School. We thank all of you who have already made your donation. Now we’re looking for the next wave of donors who can help push this campaign to its goal. If you can make a financial contribution, we need your help, at a giving level that is comfortable for you. Everything helps! Donations can be made to the “Alliance for Education—Eckstein” and sent to the Eckstein Annual Campaign, Eckstein Middle School, 3003 N.E. 75th St., Seattle, WA 98115. Remember, if you would like to receive tax credit for 2007, we must receive your donation in the school office by Dec. 20. More news about how the EAC contributes to quality education at Eckstein can be found on this website and the EAC Home Page. Thank you!

Yearbooks on Sale Now!!

As of Tuesday, October 23rd, students will be able to order their yearbooks. We are encouraging ALL students to order a yearbook with their name on the cover this year. The reason for doing this is that yearbooks with names on the cover are much less likely to get lost or stolen.

All yearbooks this year will be sold for $27.00. If a student orders a yearbook from Tuesday, October 23rd through Wednesday, December 5th, his/her name will automatically be engraved on the cover. However, if a student waits until after December 5th to order a yearbook, the cost will remain $27.00, but his/her name will not appear on the cover. We have to meet the December 5th deadline in order to get names printed by the publisher.

Yearbooks will be sold in the Main Office during lunch only. Checks should be made payable to Eckstein Middle School. A receipt will be issued for each order.

Support Eckstein’s Library –Donate to the Eckstein Annual Campaign!

Why is Eckstein’s school library important to all students? Good libraries help kids succeed in school! Just ask our job-sharing librarians, Rebecca Wynkoop and Julie Pierce, who serve our 1200 plus students at Eckstein. They site studies that show how students benefit from quality library services: Schools with well staffed, well stocked and well funded library programs generally have higher academic achievement scores than schools that do not, according to a recent study by Scholastic Library Publishing. Another study by Colorado’s Library Research Service found that state achievement test scores averaged 18 percent higher in middle schools with well-developed library programs.
How important is Eckstein Annual Campaign financial support to the school’s library? EAC funding is critical to Eckstein’s library program, because all library funding this year will come from the Eckstein Annual Campaign – there is no district money budgeted for the library, other than funding one salaried librarian position. That means books, supplies and a part-time library assistant are all funded by EAC, not the district. Your EAC contribution is crucial to provide basic support to our library!

How, specifically, will your contribution to the EAC be used in the library?
Your contribution to the EAC will support the library in many important ways, including the following:
- EAC funding will help to update the non-fiction and reference materials that students use for research across the school’s curriculum.
- EAC will fund the purchase of new books to build the library’s very popular and widely used fiction section. Many of the current books date to the early 1980’s, well before any of the school’s students were even born!
- EAC funding will provide a library assistant, enabling the librarian to spend time collaborating with teachers. Collaboration between librarians and teachers is important to our students-- the Colorado study mentioned above found that state achievement test scores averaged 18 to 21 percent higher in middle schools when library specialists collaborated with classroom teachers.

The Eckstein library’s mission is to create “a sophisticated 21st century learning environment that offers a full range of print and electronic resources that provide equal learning opportunities to all students…..the library is a place of opportunity that offers students access to a collection of classic and contemporary print resources, as well as the chance to explore technology that they can integrate into their learning,” says Rebecca. “It’s important for the library to be a contemporary 21st century learning environment that is real and relevant to all students.”
We need your help to make this happen! By donating to EAC, you can ensure support of the library and all the students who use it. If you have not already done so, please consider sending in your donation today (check payable to Alliance for Education—Eckstein) to the Eckstein Annual Campaign, Eckstein Middle School, 3003 N. E. 75th St., Seattle, WA 98115. Your generosity is needed and appreciated!

Help World Languages Department: Donate to EAC

Your child, at one time or another, has been exposed to World Languages at Eckstein. Their first exposure was through IWL—the Intro to World Languages class during their sixth grade year. Out of approximately eight hundred 7th and 8th graders, 640 (80 percent) have continued on to study one of several world languages offered at Eckstein. Due to limited district funds, textbooks for world languages programs have been made possible only through EAC donations every year.

We are fortunate to have some wonderful world language teachers at Eckstein: Kurt Thompson, Department Head, Japanese; Trina D’Angelo, French; and Sharon Stevenson, Apollonia Guerra and Margot Gilliam, Spanish. As a group, they teach a total of 25 World Language classes everyday, but unfortunately, have a district budget of only $500 to work with between them. As an example of what it takes to purchase textbooks, the individual cost can be up to $50 or more. Multiply that by the numbers of students, and it’s pretty clear that without EAC funds, our students would be at a disadvantage.

Like most parents here at Eckstein, you probably value your child taking a second language as an important component of their curriculum. You probably know that completion of two years of a second language is still a requirement for admission into many colleges. Students like the option of having early exposure to a second language during the middle school years, so they can have a head-start in high school. Students who complete two years of a second language at Eckstein can move into a more advanced high school class as a freshman and have room for other electives later. Besides, as studies have shown, the earlier a child is exposed to another language, the better chance they have to learn it!

By donating to EAC, you can ensure support of the teachers and students who are part of the World Languages department at Eckstein. We thank you for your support! Please send in your donation (check payable to Alliance for Education—Eckstein) to the Eckstein Annual Campaign, Eckstein Middle School, 3003 N. E. 75th St., Seattle, WA 98115.

Language Arts Program Benefits From Your EAC Donation

If your child is enrolled at Eckstein, he or she is taking a Language Arts class and benefiting from Eckstein Annual Campaign donations. EAC funds for the language arts department are directed in large part towards improving each student’s writing skills. As the WASL assessments have demonstrated, writing skills are important in all subjects, including math, where students are increasingly asked to explain their answers in narrative.

Your EAC donation funds composition books and other supplies, items for special projects, and books which support the L.A. curriculum. It also pays for theme readers---trained professionals who review and correct papers so that teachers can turn around written assignments more quickly. Typically, theme readers are retired teachers who can provide an unbiased assessment of each student’s writing.

Timely feedback is the most important thing for students, so they can see what they need to improve on, and have grades posted quickly to the Source. For example, if a teacher has 150 students, and it takes an average of 15 minutes per paper to correct and offer positive feedback, it could take a teacher 37.5 hours to grade just one assignment for every student—well outside the contracted school day! Theme reading cuts the time it takes to score papers by half. As teacher Tammy Moon notes, “For me, having theme reading money means students can have more thorough writing assignments, because I know I can get the 6-10+ pages per student graded in a timely manner.”

EAC funds have also helped make possible Eckstein's participation in an innovative writing program called Writers Workshop, which was developed by the Teachers College at Columbia University. Launched as a pilot program in 2004, it has continued to be used by several of the Language Arts teachers. As one teacher described: “Happy with what we have observed in student work, we were excited to keep (the program) going. Students are generating their own ideas and purposes for writing, and they are tracking progress in their writer’s notebooks. We also like the format of the mini-lesson, writing time, and peer conferencing. Students engage in more detailed and writing-focused discussions with each other.”

Please help support our Language Arts Department by donating to the Eckstein Annual Campaign today! Send your donation (payable to the Alliance for Education—Eckstein) to Eckstein Annual Campaign, Eckstein Middle School, 3003 N. E. 75th St., Seattle, WA 98115. Thank you!

Attention Jazz and Band families

Just a reminder that we still need donations for the raffle baskets to be auctioned off at the Winter Concert on December 13. Have your student bring your donation to the Band Room. We’ve been getting some donations, but really need more. Remember, if you don’t like to shop you can drop off a check made out to Eckstein Band (write baskets in the memo line); we have a committee of people who LOVE to shop! IF you prefer to send in a check, have your musician put it in the band mailbox in the band room.

To view the entire letter with a list of basket categories, click on the link: Jazz and Band Letter

Thanks for supporting Eckstein Band!