Nathan Eckstein Middle School PTSA
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Eckstein Weekly News

The Weekly is distributed on Thursdays during the school year. Please send submissions by *Tuesday at 5PM. Inclusion is at the discretion of the Eckstein PTSA. Your 2020-21 Eckstein Weekly is edited by the PTSA Communications Team.
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The Eckstein Weekly ~ June 1, 2020

6/1/2020

 
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A Message from Your PTSA
Dear Families,
We hope this finds you healthy and safe. These are difficult and scary times and we hope the Eckstein community is a benefit and balm to you and your family.
In this week's newsletter you can find information about: Recognizing a school or community volunteer who deserves attention and celebration, deadline June 8!! (see Golden Acorn Award, below); A PTSA meeting (virtual) on June 15th; Signing up to help power the Eckstein community by volunteering for the PTSA board; Helping provide summer meals (see Call to Action); and providing the Eckstein garden with love over the summer.
Also, scroll down for information on school-provide student emails, using Zoom, SPS tech support and virtual town hall meetings with Superintendent Juneau.
Thank you, as always, for your attention and involvement!
Stay safe!

PTSA News
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Vote Now!! Who Went Above and Beyond?
The Golden Acorn Award is a PTSA Award presented to a school or community volunteer in recognition of their dedication and service to children and youth.
Please use this link to nominate and celebrate an Eckstein teacher, staff, or volunteer that you feel deserves the Golden Acorn this year.
  • Recipients receive a certificate, a pin, and a contribution is made in their name to the Washington State PTA Scholarship Program that benefits students. Recipients are also publicly acknowledged for the important work they do at our school.
  • Since the beginning of the program in the 1930s, more than 54,000 Golden Acorn Awards have been presented to volunteers throughout Washington State.
  • Please only nominate one person per survey. You may submit multiple surveys if you have more than one person you'd like to nominate.

A Call To Action
Washington was the first state in the country to face widespread school closures because of COVID-19, and OSPI acted fast by submitting many critical waiver requests to USDA to help ensure no child would go hungry. With so many families facing new financial challenges, school meals have kept many from food insecurity.
Though USDA has extended several waivers through this summer, USDA has not yet granted OSPI an extension of Washington’s area eligibility waiver, which would allow nonprofits and school districts to continue providing meals to all students. Time is running out! 
Please contact your elected legislators through this action alert, asking them to sign a letter of support by Monday, June 1, to ask USDA Secretary Perdue to extend this critical waiver.
You can also take it a step further by asking your school board and local elected officials to send the letter, found here. They can sign on to the letter via this form.
Click here to participate through The Action Network. You can customize the message, if you have a personal note to share.
Thank you for advocating for the children of Washington state.
Visit our website for more information on WSPTA’s legislative priorities. If you would like to receive WSPTA Action Alerts directly, please sign up for the Action Network here.

June 15th PTSA General Meeting - Date Change!
Eckstein PTSA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. 
  • Eckstein PTSA General Meeting 
  • June 15, 2020, 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) 
  • Join by clicking this link.
  • Meeting ID: 906 321 0890 
  • Password: Eagles 

Join the Eckstein PTSA Board!
Help build a successful and healthy community at Eckstein! There are several open positions for 2020/21. If handling one position on your own seems like too much - grab a friend and share the role!
Open positions:
Treasurer: All finances are managed in QuickBooks
Membership: Position starts in summer to ensure membership forms get into the 1st-week packets; helps promote PTSA membership at school events (or get someone to do it for them).
Building Leadership Team (BLT): Attends two meetings a month as representative of the PTSA and reports information back from the teachers to the board.
FUNdraising Chair: Coordinates fundraising AmazonSmiles, Script, box tops. Planning other community building-events (like speaker series) is optional and would be great.
Reflections: Runs Eckstein Reflections program
Volunteer Coordinator: Manages and coordinates volunteer positions

Please help our school continue to be a place for our kids to learn, be supported and be safe. Contact Shelley Prosise at sprosise@gmail.com to get involved.


Eagle Life
Help Our Garden Grow!
In order to keep the Eckstein garden alive and well during the summer, we need volunteers to help water. The garden can be watered in the morning or evening.
Please help us fill up as many slots as possible by committing to a week or two of watering if you can. Please sign up here. Thank you! 
Support Eckstein Middle School while you shop! 
If you shop at Amazon, please consider creating a bookmark smile.amazon.com (or adding the amazon smiles app to your phone or iPad). It's easy and makes money for Eckstein while you do your shopping. Learn about AmazonSmile
Thank You for Your Donations!
The Eckstein PTSA would like to thank Wagner Dental, the Resolution to End Homelessness and all the individual families who donated enough oral hygiene and feminine hygiene products to provide more than 100 students with the personal care supplies. Way to go Eagle community!
8th Grade Promotion Celebration - Save the Date!
Please save the date of Wednesday, June 17th from 5-6 PM for our 8th grade Send-off Parade on 30th AVE NE (the street directly to the west of our school).
  • Staff will line up on 30th AVE NE - 6 feet apart, masked up.
  • We will hold celebratory signs for our 8th graders.
  • Music will be playing.
  • Staff will wear Eckstein gear.
  • Our Eagle mascot will be dancing.
Stay tuned form more details!!
Yearbooks
Yay! Yearbooks will arrive at Eckstein in early August. Stay tuned for plans on distribution to our students.
Locker Clean Out - Week of June 8-11th
Eckstein will be creating a schedule for student pick-up during the week of June 8-11th. We will send out specific times in the coming weeks.


Academics and Creativity
Student Email and Meeting Tools for Students
All SPS K-12 students were issued student email accounts on May 26, 2020. The student email accounts will be used to support expanded online meeting tools: Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Student login names can be found in The Source. For more information click here.
ZOOM Enabled for School Use
In addition to Microsoft Teams, Zoom is now enabled for students and teachers as an option for student/teacher collaboration. Students using Zoom for school meetings should use their SPS email to log into the app or website (https://seattleschools.zoom.us).
Need SPS Tech Support?
Get help for the most frequently asked tech support questions here. If you can’t find the answer on our website, please contact us
  • Helpline for high school and middle school students with district laptops is 206-252-0100 or laptops@seattleschools.org, 7am – 4pm.
  • Volunteer-run helpline for personal computers or elementary students with laptops is 206-413-2700, 7:30am – 7:30pm.
Summer Learning Opportunities 
Please visit this website to learn about summer learning opportunities for our middle school students.
We encourage families to register next week.
Drive-In WiFi Hot Spots 
Washington has WiFi hot spots located around the state to support anyone without broadband wifi at their homes. Click here.


Mental Health
A Note From Our Eckstein Counselors
We are hearing from more and more of you that your kids are really struggling with the difficulty of staying at home. They are missing friends, feeling alone, struggling with online learning, getting stir crazy or bored. As parents, we are juggling work, worry about our kids & the dual role of parent/teacher all in the midst of so much uncertainty.

These are very trying times and there are no easy answers, but here are a few resources that may help. Know you are not alone in your struggles.
How to Help your Teenagers if They're Having a Tough Time during the Pandemic: Seattle Times
Coping during COVID-19 Resources for Parents: Childmind.org

Remember to breathe… and make time for yourself! These are extremely challenging times for all of us and we are having to call on all our personal resources to deal with the stresses of trying to balance work, supporting our kids, being both parent & teacher, and worrying about our own health or the health of those we care about.


Other News
Virtual Town Halls with Superintendent Juneau
Superintendent Juneau is hosting weekly Virtual Town Hall Meetings through the end of the school year via Facebook Live on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m.
Join the conversation on the SPS Facebook page.


Keep on Reading!
Ms. Sterling's Reading Suggestions
Check out the 2019 end-of-the-year lists she put together!
Sports Suggestions
Sci-Fi Suggestions
Romance Suggestions
Realistic Fiction Tough Issues Suggestions
Realistic Fiction Lighthearted Suggestions
Nonfiction Suggestions
Mystery Suggestions
LGBTQ+ Suggestions
Horror Suggestions
Historical Fiction Suggestions
Graphic Novel Suggestions
Funny Suggestions
Fantasy Suggestions
Biography/Memoir Suggestions
Author of Color Suggestions
Adventure Suggestions

The Weekly is distributed on Fridays during the school year. Please send submissions by *Wednesday at 5PM* to Eckstein Weekly Inclusion is at the discretion of the Eckstein PTSA and Administration. Your 2019-20 Eckstein Weekly is edited by the PTSA Communications Team. Sign up for the Eckstein Weekly here!

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  • Translate
  • Support Eckstein
    • Volunteeer Opportunities! >
      • Secretary
    • Donate >
      • Eckstein Annual Campaign
      • Other Ways to Donate
    • Become a member
  • Eckstein Weekly News
  • Calendar
  • Resources
  • Community Supporters
  • PTSA Board Members
  • PTSA Bylaws
  • Contact