Community Bulletin 1/5/23
Community Bulletin 1/5/23
At-a-Glance Calendar
January 16 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday | No School for Students & Staff
January 19 | Winter Music Concert | 5:30 PM @ Aki’s Auditorium
January 20 | Theatre Arts Fieldtrip | During School Hours
February 1-28 | Open Enrollment for School Choice | See Announcement Below
February 9 | End of First Semester/Second Quarter | Second Semester Starts February 10
February 20-24 | Mid-Winter Break | No School for Students & Staff
Announcements
Open Enrollment for School Choice: 8th grade families, you may submit a school choice form for your child’s high school directly to the Seattle Public Schools central office between February 1-28.
If you do not submit a form, you child will be automatically assigned to your attendance area high school. We will be reviewing this information with our 8th grade students in advisory class near the end of January.
Free & Reduced Lunch Eligibility: Aki is part of Community Eligibility Programs which provides free meals for our students. In order to maintain this programming, we need families to complete the Family Income Survey digitally, even if you don’t think your family will qualify. You may also access forms in other languages and hand into Aki’s main office.
Aki PTSA – Aki PTSA usually meets every 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6pm virtually on Zoom. Please email for more information: akiptsaboard@googlegroups.com
Aki Swag Orders – If you ordered Aki Swag from the PTSA this fall, all orders are available in the main office. If you need help getting your order, please email Alena Ciecko at alenakc@gmail.com or akiptsaboard@googlegroups.com.
World Language Credit Program: During quarter 3 in semester 2, Aki will offer world language testing to 8th graders who not only can speak and understand another language that is not English, but also can read and write in that language. To all our multilingual families, please continue to help your child(ren) develop their language skills so they will have the opportunity to earn high school credits in 8th grade. Learn more about world language testing here. 8th grade multilingual students can register for a test in quarter 3.
Athletics Updates
Basketball Season is here – All Skill Levels Welcome!
Basketball Tryouts have ended! Please check that you’ve completed all REGISTRATION information on FinalForms. Information & QR Codes are in library & information and link is on the Aki Kurose Athletics website.
- parent/Guardian registers first
- Player signs-up
- Take a photo of physical.
- Upload the photo of physical to FinalForms.
Basketball Practices for Varsity
Basketball practices for Varsity have begun the week of Jan 3. Game 1 is Jan 14. PLEASE have players communicate to their coaches if they will be late or absent from practice!
- Girls Basketball Practice Days: Tuesdays & Fridays 7:10am – 8:30am
- Boys Basketball Practice Days: Tuesdays 3:55 – 5:20pm & Thursdays 7:10am – 8:30am
- First Middle School VARSITY Basketball Games – Jan 14 (NOT Jan 7)
- End of season – TBD
- Intramural Bball – Signs ups week of 1/9. Starts week of 1/16
If you don’t yet have a physical, please schedule one from your family doctor/clinic or make an appointment at the Aki Kurose Wellness Center 206-326-2141 or at the Interagency Clinic 206-326-2162
Intramural Basketball for JV at Aki
We are now planning for an intramural format for all other basketball players, playing after school during the weekdays. Sign-ups will be the week of Jan 9. Games will start Jan 16 after school. We encourage players of all skill levels to get registered, participate, learn basketball skills and have fun! Days & times to be announced. More information will be available on Instagram @Aki_Athletics & our website!
Questions? Email the Athletic Directors dlnelson@seattleschools.org &/or rkkirihara@seattleschools.org
Sports Information is on the Athletics Page | Instagram @Aki_Athletics | SPS Athletics Schedules
Reminders
Checking Grades on The Source: With first quarter complete as of November 17, teachers are working on finalizing grades and grade reports will be available on The Source in early December. As family members, you can also check their grades on your own.
Bathroom Hallway Pass System Revision: Taking into account our monitoring of student use of bathrooms and hallways during class time this first quarter of the school year, along with student, staff and family feedback, we have moved to an “as needed” pass system during class time. Each classroom teacher keeps a sign out/in sheet for students to use a uniform pass, one student at a time, and not during the first and last ten minutes of class time. As has always been the case, any health accommodations and emergencies will be handled separately on a case-by-case basis. We continue to focus on maximizing class time and student safety across our school day for all our students.
On Time to Class: We are working with our students on time management and purposeful movement between classes to ensure students are ready to go on time with their learning in each class period. Starting next week, we are hosting lunch tables in the cafeteria for students who are struggling to make it on time to classes to talk through improvement plans and reflect on the importance of being on time to each class.
Free Tutoring Service for Students – Tutor.com is a service that SPL subscribes to where students can get online help from 2pm-10pm every day. Tutoring is available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The tutors are background checked and subject experts. Students can upload papers for editing help, they can use the whiteboard to scribble math problems back and forth with the tutor and have access to the transcript of the session when they are done. Flyers for students:
- Virtual Tutoring with Library Link – English
- Virtual Tutoring with Library Link – Spanish
- Virtual Tutoring with Library Link – Vietnamese
- Virtual Tutoring with Library Link – Amharic
- Virtual Tutoring with Library Link – Chinese
- Virtual Tutoring with Library Link – Somali
Crane Cash – Our students can earn Crane Cash each day at school in all school spaces by demonstrating the Aki Core Four mindsets (academic, social/emotional, community and environmental), which have been introduced and continue to be practiced through our Wednesday advisory class time. We have raffles every other Thursday during grade level lunches to provide celebration and rewards for our students doing a great job each day at school! Families are welcome to donate raffle gifts and volunteer to help with prepping our Crane Cash tickets – reach out via phone or email!
After-School Program – The program started Monday, October 17th, and will run through January 19th, 2023. More information about the after school program. Feel free to email Mr. Browne at mlbrowne@seattleschools.org.
Student Needs Assessment – In order to serve our Aki Kurose student community, the counseling and student support team uses a variety of tools and data to develop programs and interventions specific to our students. One of the tools used is the student needs assessment survey. This short survey asks students how they are feeling about a variety of academic and social emotional topics. Students will be offered the chance to take that survey twice a year, mid-October through December, and mid-April through June. Based on survey responses, school counselors and school support staff may follow up with students individually to offer resources within the Aki community as well as the broader community. Ultimately, we want to remove barriers for our students and ensure that they have access to programs, activities, and support to help them feel safe, welcomed, and able to be successful within the school environment. Information collected through the surveys is kept confidential except for anything that would mandate us to report. Survey responses excluding personally identifiable student information are shared with administration to report overall student needs. Students will complete the brief needs assessment during advisory class, and participation is voluntary. Students and families can opt out of completing this survey. If you would like to review the survey, please let us know and we will make one available to you. If you would like to opt your student out of completing the needs assessment, please contact the main office at 206-252-7700. We look forward to a great school year with your students!
Student Laptops: All students should have received a laptop and charger. Support their learning by making sure it is plugged in every night, and that they bring their laptop and charger to school and that they restart it at least once a week.
Library Books – Winter Reading Challenge sheets are due Friday Jan 6! A drawing for prizes will be next week!
Please continue to support your reader turning pages! Talk to your reader(s) about what they are reading and ask to see their reading log! Also, please remind them to return their library books when they are done reading them so others can check them out! If you still have books from a previous school, bring them in & we’ll get them to the school so they can be checked in. You can check our Instagram for new titles at @aki_library. Go #AkiReaders!
Need Resources? Please check our Family Resources page for information about food, household items and financial assistance.
Please reach out to us with any questions using the following contact information:
For English, call Aki at 206-252-7700 or email akikurose@seattleschools.org
For Amharic & Oromo, call Guesh Wubneh at 206-252-7718 or email guwubneh@seattleschools.org
For Somali, call Abdi Geireh at 206-252-7718 or email afgeireh@seattleschools.org
For Spanish, call Amy Anderson 206-252-7748 or email alanderson@seattleschools.org
For Filipino, call Eden Tumbaga at 206-252-7748 or email ebtumbaga@seattleschools.org
For Vietnamese, call Quang Hoang at 206-252-7734 or email qvhoang@seattleschools.org