Hello Evergreen Friends and Families,
This week our 8th grade scholars took the state science test. They we were very focused and on task. After they completed their testing they were able to take the afternoon off and socialize with their peers. All students will take all of the state test starting in May. Some of our music students went on a field trip to Benaroya for the Seattle Symphony Open Rehearsal. They enjoyed themselves.
I wanted to thank everyone who participated in using the USAgain bins in our parking lot. The donations you all made helped us raise funds for the school and helped support our Evergreen Community. Unfortunately, the bins have been vandalized several times. Since they were vandalized we are having to have the bins removed. Thank you again for supporting EVG through those donations.
We have started our last sport season for this year. Athletes have been practicing and games start next week. Let’s all come out and cheer them on.
Like athletes running a long race, students may lose steam toward the end of the school year. Try these ideas to motivate your child to dig deep and keep working hard so he can overcome any hurdles and sprint across the finish line! Hurdle: Self-doubt How to overcome: If your middle grader isn't sure he can do well on his social studies test or finish his English paper, remind him of times he stuck with something even though it was tough. ("Remember when you thought you couldn't play the guitar? You kept practicing, and now you can! ") Hurdle: Lack of motivation How to overcome: Knowing what he's working toward can make putting in the effort easier. Encourage your tween to list goals for the rest of the school year (ace his science project, participate more in class). Then, have him think about extra benefits of reaching those goals (having a cool story to share at science camp, getting to know teachers and classmates better). Hurdle: Difficult material How to overcome: When your child runs into a challenge. like learning a tough math concept, suggest that he ask himself, "How can I get this done?" Answering the "three Ws" can guide him to a solution: WTO can help? (A study buddy or teacher.) What do I need to do? (Extra practice problems.) WIIOI will I do it? (Twice a week for 30 minutes.)
Math in daily life When will your middle grader use math outside the classroom? Every day! Here are just two examples. I. Cooking. Can your tween halve or double a recipe for you? (She'll need to divide or multiply fractions.) Convert the oven temperature in an old family recipe from Celsius to Fahrenheit? (She should multiply the Celsius temperature by*and add 320.) Figure out how many baking sheets are needed for 48 cookies if each cookie is 2 inches in diameter and there are 2 inches between cookies? (She has to find out how many cookies fit along the length and width of a sheet, then multiply the two numbers.) 2. Shopping. Ask your middle schooler to help you find the best deals. Can she compare the cost of one coffee maker marked at 15 percent off S25 and another 40 percent off $38? If you join a store's frequent buyer club for $25 per year and earn 10 percent off each purchase, how much would you have to spend to recoup your S25?
Our first-ever Attendance Cup competition is kicking off from April 8 to May 31! We're all about supporting you and your success, and that starts with showing up for school!
Our theme is "Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!" We want to make coming to school not just important, but also fun and rewarding for everyone involved! Regular attendance isn't just about being present – it's about setting yourself up for a bright future! But wait, there's more! We're setting up a friendly competition between our schools in our district! The schools in each group with the best attendance and most improved attendance overall will take the top honors award at the end of the school year. Plus, there will be weekly challenge awards as well! Help your school earn the FWPS Attendance Cup!
As always, please let us know how we can best support you and your student. The education and well-being of our students are the utmost importance to us and we will continue to do everything we can to meet the needs of all our students. We are here to support, encourage, partner together, and engage students in their learning. Thank you for partnering with us! I appreciate you and truly believe that we will finish this school year Grizzly Strong with your unwavering support. Thank you for being a part of the Grizzly family.
Your Partner in Education,
Mrs. Collins
253 945 5100
Practice makes permanent
As Evergreen’s instructional coach, I challenge myself to stay up to date on the most current research on learning and cognition. While there are many questions about how the mind works that researchers have yet to settle, there is one finding that is scientifically unchallengeable: Practice is important for learning.
This might seem obvious to us adults, but it is often not so obvious to young people. Our scholars regularly ask me “why are we doing this again?” or tell me, with a bit of exasperation in their voice, “but we did this last year.” I remember being their age and asking my sports coaches why they insisted on making us do lay-up drills (basketball) or juggling drills (soccer) at the start of each practice. “Why can’t we just scrimmage?” I’d ask.
Their answer? Because practice makes perfect!
The science of learning tells us that my coaches were right. Each time we learn something, it immediately starts to fade from memory. However, each subsequent time we revisit that skill or piece of information, we embed it deeper in memory so that it is easier to retrieve again in the future. Teachers know this, and so we set up our classes so that scholars have enough opportunities to practice with the material until they simply cannot forget it. So, maybe the old adage of “Practice makes perfect” doesn’t tell the complete story. Maybe instead we should arm kids with the powerful understanding that “Practice makes permanent.”
Zach Groshell, Ph.D.
Instructional Coach
Evergreen Middle School
