Please join our QAE community for a fun, festive event with hors d'oeuvres, dinner, and wine and support our great school.
Friday, March 23, 7pm at Shilshole Bay Beach Club.  Go to the Auction site for more info and to buy tickets, only $65 until Feb 29.

_Way to go QAE Families!  Almost half of your students returned their QAE Cafe Kale Handouts since the January 30 Monday Morning Meeting where First Graders brilliantly presented the Superfood to the entire school.

Congratulations to MRS. LECKIE'S SECOND GRADERS, who returned the highest number of handouts (17!) and have won a smoothie party!!!!!
All families should take a look at the wonderful photos on the Garden Web Page, which features many of our children enjoying Kale. **THE PASSWORD FOR THE PHOTO PAGE IS: tomato.

Thank you once again to the families who prepared the Kale Chips that we all enjoyed at the QAE Cafe last Friday, and to those parents who worked the Cafe and took the beautiful photos.

_Please join us Thursday Feb 9 at 6:30pm in the QAE cafeteria for the PTSA General Meeting.

Childcare (walk-in, no reservations required) will be available at QAE KidsCo, in the portables near the white building. Cost is $5 per child, cash or check payable to QAE PTSA at drop-off. Children ages 4.5 and up, potty-trained only..

We'll be talking about upcoming events as well as 2012-13 PTSA board position & committee opportunities, Principal Elliott will join us and give an update on the school.

Hope to see you there!

Please join other QAE families in Olympia as we rally with other PTA groups across the state in support of education. Even though the Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that the Legislature needs to increase-not decrease-funding for education, it is still important to remind legislators that K-12 education and kids matter; our annual Focus Day does just that. The day will be informative and entertaining for children and adults.

The day starts at 9:00 am at the Urband Onion, with opening sessions and children's activities. The parade starts at 11:35, with the rally at noon on the Capital steps.

Contact Jenice Lee at jenicelealee@hotmail.com to register (the event is free but registration helps with planning materials).

As you may know, Seattle Public Schools uses a computer-based test called Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) to provide schools and families with information about student achievement.  Schools administer MAP tests in math and reading two or three times a year to many of our students. (The fall MAP test is optional.) Teachers and principals use information from the MAP tests to monitor students’ academic progress and to design their instruction to help every student succeed. You have likely received your student’s MAP scores and percentile in the mail. These scores are also available online, via The Source, the online resource for families and teachers at http://source.seattleschools.org

As part of its ongoing efforts to follow best testing practices, the MAP test’s vendor, Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), recently recalibrated the percentile results associated with our students’ MAP scores, to better measure how Seattle students perform relative to students across the nation. This practice of recalibrating percentiles is common in standardized testing, and happens every several years.

The recalibrated percentile rank scores provide a more accurate snapshot of your student’s performance compared with other test-takers, since they are more representative of the national school-age population.

In order for you to be able to see your student’s academic growth over time more accurately, Seattle Public Schools has updated your student’s percentile scores for the past three years to reflect the recalibrated percentiles. You can find the new MAP scores online at The Source at http://source.seattleschools.org. You may notice only a slight change or a very significant change, depending on how your child scored compared to the larger national average of students taking MAP tests.

A student’s MAP results are reported using both percentiles and a RIT score. The RIT score shows what students are ready to learn rather than what they have already mastered, and is used to show a student’s current achievement on a scale that is independent of grade level. This percentile update does not change your child’s RIT score.

The recalibrated percentiles do not change eligibility for advanced learning (Spectrum or APP) students. Original scores from the Spring 2011 MAP test will still be used for eligibility for advanced learning for 2012-13. Next year, eligibility will be based on the recalibrated percentiles. If you have any questions or concerns about the updated percentiles or the MAP test, please contact research@seattleschools.org.

_QAE GARDEN MEETING: Monday, February 13, 5:30-7pm, at Bustle on the corner of McGraw and 6th West.  It's the first meeting of 2012!!  As our garden continues to grow and expand throughout QAE, we have much to do before Spring-- and you don't need to be a gardener to do it!!!   Whether you like to get your hands dirty or you'd rather talk nutrition or composting or garden structures or kids' curriculum and other programs, we need your help to make this work.   2012 is an important year for the garden-- our first Spring actually at the school-- and it's going to be magic. Please join us, and please drop a note to Elizabeth Kruse at emdowell@comcast.net if you can be there.
 
News Flash QAE parents!   Your kids LOVE kale. Some of you had already discovered this, but we got to witness first-hand during lunch on Friday when the QAE Cafe served up some delicious fresh kale and kale chips for the kids to try. The kale chips were the biggest hit with kids coming back for 3rds and 4ths.  Photos will be posted on the Garden web page by the end of the week-- PHOTO PAGE PASSWORD is: tomato.  Fresh kale was also gobbled up and some kids told us they could feel their superhero powers coming on. We have a fun and adventurous bunch of kids that really are interested in healthy foods. We hope you can keep up the momentum at home and make kale a frequent fixture at family meals. The kale chip recipe is on the garden website along with another kale salad recipe that will become a family favorite.   The classroom who returns the highest number of Kale Handouts will get a smoothie party.  If you haven't submitted yours yet, please do so by Tuesday, February 7.  Thank you to all parents who made kale chips and helped out at the lunch.
 
Mr. Jeffrey is the best school librarian in the world.  He is assembling a garden section in our school library that includes books for both kids and adults who want to learn more about SCHOOL GARDENING.  Parents, please come and browse-- it's the section right at the main desk and includes some really exciting materials that will help us move our garden forward.  Thank you Mr. Jeffrey!!!
 

The QAE PTSA General Meeting will be held this Thursday, 2/9 at 6:30.  Please join us in the QAE Cafeteria to hear about the state of the school, upcoming events, and more.

_Do you wonder how QAE supports and teaches your kids about the internet, social media, and all that is available at their fingertips?  Your kids all know what voice threads, glogster, and weebly are, but do YOU?  Have you been wondering how to support and guide your children's use of technology to share and express themselves?

Mark your calendars for the evening of February 29!  Our dynamic librarian and technology guru, Jeffrey Riley (assisted by a few of QAE's most tech savvy 5th graders), will be presenting our next PTSA-sponsored parent education evening: "Creating and Collaborating: A Learning Shift."  

It will be an evening of learning, lively interaction, connecting with other QAE parents, and delicious refreshments.  Save the date: February 29, and stay tuned for more information.

The PTSA board is planning their 2012-2013 board and they need your help. 

If you are interested in being on the Nominating Committee, we need a few people to help identify QAE parents who are qualified for and interested in the open board positions.  If you would like to be part of this committee, please contact Jill Gallagher at jillga@me.com.

In addition, if YOU are interested in a board position for the 2012-2013 school year, please don't be shy about self-identifying.  A full list of open positions will be available soon but some of the leadership spots we need to fill are: Co-Presidents (2), Co-Treasurer (1), Website, and more.  If interested, please contact Jill.

School ends at 1:30 this Wednesday, Feb. 1.