Thursday, December 15, 2022 Volume 17 Issue 13
Each fall, winter and spring, our 3rd-5th grade students take a district climate survey to give us insight into how students are feeling about our school. Our staff reviews the data and we set goals as a school for areas of improvement. The areas we set goals in may be chosen because they relate to other school initiatives we are working on, because our percentage rate has dropped, or because the percentage is lower than we feel it should be. We also consider the areas that closely relate to our school mission and vision.
As a reminder, here are our mission and vision:
Mission: Our teaching is rooted in research-based best practices where learning experiences are differentiated for the unique needs of all learners. We prioritize collaboration, compassion and building a sense of belonging through strong relationships.
Vision: At Thurgood Marshall, we are Resilient, Empathetic, Accountable Lifelong Learners. We embrace the responsibility of closing the opportunity gap so that our children will create a more just world.
At the start of the school year, we chose 3 area of focus for school climate based on students’ responses from our spring climate survey.
Adults take action when students are being mean. (78% answered positively, but this was a drop of 11 percentage points from our last survey).
If someone is treated unfairly because of their culture or background, adults here take action. (82% answered favorably, but this was a drop of 9 percentage points from our last survey).
At school, I learn how to speak up for what I need (76% answered positively, but this was again a drop of 9 percentage points from our last survey.
Our Levy Team and Building Leadership Team worked to develop action steps in each of these areas to move us closer to our improvement goals. This fall, our 3rd-5th grade students were surveyed again. Here are our current results in these three areas:
Adults take action when students are being mean. (89% answered positively, an increase of 11 percentage points from Spring 2022 to Fall 2022).
If someone is treated unfairly because of their culture or background, adults here take action. (91% responded favorable, an increase of 9 percentage points from Spring 2022).
At school, I learn how to speak up for what I need (84% responded favorable, an increase of 8 percentage points from Spring 2022).
A few other highlights from the survey:
I can talk to adults at my school when I have a problem – 92% responded favorably
Adults at school care about me – 93% responded favorably
My teacher believes I can do great things – 97% responded favorably
This school is a safe and welcoming place for people of all cultures and backgrounds - 97% responded favorably
At school, I learn how to make good choices for myself and my community – 95% responded favorably
I enjoy reading – 94% responded favorably
It is exciting to see the growth in these scores! Now we need to continue to support our students in ways that are meaningful to them so we can maintain this growth throughout the year.
LIST OF HOLIDAY SUPPORTS FOR FAMILIES
Emergency Feeding Program presents:
Tre Simmons + the Seattle Seahawks Christmas Toy Give away
When: Dec.18, 2022
Time: 3-6pm
Where: Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club
4570 MLK Jr Way S, Seattle, WA 98108
Free toy give away, no registration needed, just show up and receive gifts for kids. Be early this event is very popular.
Urban family Presents:
WHOVILLE TOY GIVEAWAY
When: Dec. 15, 2022
Time: 4-7pm
Where: Urban Family Center
746 Industry Drive, #16, Seattle, WA 98188
Must be registered, use this link for registration: https://form.jotform.com/Urbanfam/HOLIDAYGIVEAWAY2022 Free for ages 1-12, providing holiday gifts and household essentials.
The Fatherhood Accountability Movement Presents:
The 8th Annual Holiday Hang-Out
When: Dec. 24,2022
Where: Rainier Beach Community Center
8825 Rainier Ave S, Seattle WA
Contact info: Cortez Charles
Name, email address, phone number, family size, gender, zip code will need to provided or emailed to Cortez Charles (contact information provided above).
Activities of event include: Youth Vs. Adult basketball game Free gifts for kids Free hair cuts Community dinner Pictures w/Black Santa Madden23/NBA2k23 tournament Arts and crafts Much more
Mount Zion Baptist Church – Jesse Owens Fellowship Hall
1634 19th Ave Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 322-6500 https://mountzion.net/events/
Christmas Day of Caring. This charity has a holiday celebration, lunch and free Christmas toy giveaway in King County for children ages 12 and younger.
Catholic Community Services – Annual Holiday Gift Shop
4250 S. Mead St. St. Edwards Parish, Seattle, WA 98118 (206) 445-5669 https://ccsww.org/view-contact-information-by-county/
The gift shop is for pregnant women, including single moms. For kids under 12 to just born. They can shop toys as well as free Christmas gifts. It is for low income and working poor families.
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul – Council of Seattle Area & local churches
The charity and its churches administer the Christmas Family Assistance program for King County residents. Free food, toys, hot meals, gifts and clothing may all be offered.
Salvation Army – Seattle Temple Corps
1101 Pike St, Seattle, Washington 98101,
There are a few social service offices in King County that run holiday programs. Please see below. Toy ‘n Joy can distribute free toys, vouchers, and food cards to income eligible families. Another resource known as Christmas Gift Bags For Seniors assist the elderly and homebound, and some delivered meals and gifts may be offered in King County too. The Giving Tree and Toy ‘n Joy, or Angel Tree, is also in the region.
https://migration.salvationarmy.org/king_county/king-county-toy-and-joy-information?random=832 Are you looking for Christmas assistance this holiday season but not sure where to start? Apply for assistance online or contact one of our local Salvation Army Corps via the information below:
Register for Angel Tree assistance online via this website: saangeltree.org
GENERAL INFO FOR RENTERS
WHEN: Wednesday, December 14, 2022, 3-4:45pm WHERE: Zoom. Register for link. WHAT: Learn some Landlord-Tenant Law basics, including…
how to navigate housing search
tenant screening applications
how to get your security deposit back
how to document things with your landlord
dealing with repair issues
other landlord-tenant issues
A visiting attorney from the Tenant Law Center will also be on hand to help with answering questions.
TO REGISTER: Go to Rent Smart: General Information for Residential Tenants on the King County Library System website.
QUESTIONS? Contact Julia Gibson at jgibson@kcls.org.
FAMILY RESOURCE NIGHT
WHEN: Tuesday, December 20, 2022, 3-7pm WHERE: VFW Post 1263, 416 Burnett Ave A., Renton WA 98057 WHAT: Get connected to resource for counseling, legal support, youth mentorship, support groups, and more. MORE INFO: Download the Project Be Free Family Resource Night flyer or email ProjectBeFree@outlook.com
Thurgood Marshall Day @TME
12/09/22
We need your help! Please Complete the Family Income Survey
Thurgood Marshall is a Title 1 school. This has many advantages for our students including free breakfast and lunch for all students this year, extra reading intervention for students who need reading help, free books and resources, and reduced price or free field trip opportunities. In order to maintain our Title 1 status, we need every family to fill out the family income survey. The district is asking for every one of our families to fill this out, even if they do not think their family qualified for free or reduced-price lunch.
Please help us maintain services for our students.
We ask that ALL FAMILIES complete the family income survey at this link: https://freeandreducedmeals.com/lfserver/Seattle_HHS_22-23_English .
Currently the online form is only available in English. SPS is working to add digital versions of the form in the most common SPS languages.
Translated paper copies of the family income survey can be downloaded and printed out in the following languages:
English
Cambodian
Chinese
Korean
Punjabi
Russian
Somali
Spanish
Tagalog
Vietnamese
We have paper copies available in other languages available upon request and are happy to make a computer available to you at school to complete the survey. Let us know how we can help you with this!
Prospective Family School Info Sessions for the 2023-24 school year will begin in January 2023.
If you are considering the Highly Capable Cohort Program(HCC) for your child, be sure to join us for our HCC Info night on Feb 9. If you are a current TM family, please feel free to share these dates with neighbors who have children starting Kindergarten and any prospective families you know will be joining us next year. Thursday, Jan 12 – 9-9:45 AM General Info Session and Tour Thursday, Feb 9 - 4:30-5:00 PM General Info Session - 5:00-5:45 PM – Highly Capable Cohort Info Session Thursday, Feb 16 – 9-9:45 AM General Info Session and Tour Thursday, May 11 – 9-9:45 AM General Info Session and Tour Open Enrollment for Seattle Schools takes place in the month of February.
Volunteers needed to host the school tour, please sign up at this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080d4da4ab2aa3fd0-thurgood1
