It’s a squirrelly, worrisome time, those middle years between the childhood security of elementary school and the teenage liberation of high school. Boys’ limbs lengthen and girls’ angles turn to curves seemingly overnight. Friendships form and dissolve with lighting speed. New subjects at school — what’s algebra? — loom large.

Middle School is a huge decision and finally there is a community event that will help families navigate the many choices Seattle has to offer. 

On Nov 1, 2011, Hamlin Robinson School will host a special evening which will help to demystify middle school, the middle school process and how to begin your search.

You have questions about Middle School, they’ll have answers.

The Evening’s Agenda…

• 6pm Event begins: visit schools’ information tables and the “Cyber Cafe” 
• (available all evening!)
• 6:15 Welcome from the Heads of Schools
• 6:30-7:15 Speaker Karin Kallander: Adolescent Brain Development and Middle School 
• Student panel
• 7:30 Speaker Rosetta Lee: Priming Your Student for Learning
• Q&A

 Participating schools include:  Hamlin Robinson School, Seattle Girls School, Hyla Middle School, Billings Middle School, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Explorer West Middle School and Seattle Public Schools

Have you ever faced a larger community issue and wanted to do something about it? Well, the students at Hamlin Robinson School did!

T.T. Minor Playfield, the park neighboring HRS, is home to many wonderful community activities including the school’s Ultimate Frisbee team practices, running, catch and dog walking. However, as you come onto the field, you might find something you didn’t want to find – dog waste. This has been a neighborhood concern for many for quite a long time – so HRS 6th graders took notice and acted!

They recently kicked off a campaign to encourage the neighboring community to scoop-up their dog’s waste. The students created a plan, called STEP:

S= Supply bags
T= Teach the lower grades about the environmental impacts of dog waste
E= Educate the community
P= Promote

This campaign first started earlier in the year when the 6th graders complained about stepping in dog waste. In response to this, the students wrote persuasive letters to the Seattle Parks Department asking if they would be willing to install a dog bag dispenser. A representative came to the class and read each letter explaining why individual students letters were impactful. Then, agreed to install the dispenser. The students discussed having a voice with a choice: to be heard you need to choose to approach the problem in a manner that both parties win.

Then 6th graders passed the torch to the 7th graders asking them to create enthusiasm within the school and the community spirit to change dog owners behavior. The 7th graders formed task groups: one was to collect bags, another was to promote the concept with the neighborhood, and another group was to educate the neighbors by making flyers.

The students decided to have a poster contest in which 60 posters were collected, winners were chosen and all the posters were displayed on the fence surrounding the playfield creating a powerful reminder. They also included a poster with 10 reasons to scoop-up dog waste listed. The students hope that their campaign will raise awareness and create a better place for the whole community.

Now that’s nothing to bark about!

On  Tuesday, May 17th at 6:30pm Seattle Girls School and Hamlin Robinson School will present  a screening of ‘Race to Nowhere‘ at HRS.  A panel discussion will be held immediately after the movie.

A concerned mother turned filmmaker aims her camera at the high-stakes, high-pressure culture that has invaded our schools and our children’s lives. Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace; students are disengaged; stress-related illness and depression are rampant; and many young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

Race to Nowhere is a call to action for families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens. This film has been said to be…

  “Culture changing” Rachel Simmons, Author, The Curse of the Good Girl
  “A growing grass-roots phenomenon.” Washington Post
  “Must see movie” NY Times
  “Another inconvenient truth” George Lucas Educational Foundation
  “Compelling” Diane Ravich, Author, The Death and Life of the Great American School System

Tuesday, May 17
6:30-9:30 pm
Hamlin Robinson School
1700 E Union St
Seattle WA 98122

Tickets are available online: http://rtnseattlegirls.eventbrite.com/

Clock hours available for educators