Sacajawea PTA News
The happenings around Sacajawea
Heritage Potluck Community Cookbook - LAST CALL
View the first draft of the Heritage Potluck Community Cookbook. Find your recipe or have a chance to add your recipe. Hurry before its too late!
Thank you to all the families that have contributed to the cookbook.
Here’s a sneak peek of the Heritage Potluck Community Cookbook.
There is still time to add your family’s recipe to the cookbook! Sacajawea Equity Team is accepting recipes until 2/17. Please give them to the school office or your students teacher.
If after viewing the sneak preview you would like to have your child’s (or your family’s) name on the recipe, please let Lori Phipps (lphipps01@gmail.com) know which recipe is yours and what name you would like displayed. We would really like to know where some of these fantastic recipes are coming from.
There are some yummy recipes try!
BLM at School: International People's With Disabilities Day
We highlight International People’s With Disabilities Day by shining the spotlight on two famous figures who are not generally recognized as part of the disability community: Harriet Tubman and Fannie Lou Hamer.
We’re highlighting International People's with Disabilities Day by shining the spotlight on two famous figures who are not generally recognized as part of the disability community: Harriet Tubman and Fannie Lou Hamer. Why leave out this part of their identity in our shared stories of them? It's important to see a person’s full life, celebrate their differences, and learn from their challenges and accomplishments.
Harriet Tubman
Known as the “Moses of her people,” Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland around 1820 as an enslaved person. After being struck in the head by a 2-pound weight as a teenager, she experienced narcolepsy, epileptic seizures, and severe headaches for the rest of her life. In 1849 Tubman escaped to Philadelphia and made at least thirteen trips back into Maryland’s slave territory to free 60 to 70 enslaved people. She later freed hundreds more in South Carolina as the leader of an armed expedition for the Union Army. Tubman was skilled as a scout, soldier, spy, and nurse, serving as the first Black woman in the U.S. military.
Fannie Lou Hamer
Born in 1917, the youngest of twenty children to sharecroppers in the Mississippi Delta, Fannie Lou Hamer later raised her own family not far away, working in plantation fields and serving as timekeeper to the plantation owner. In 1962, she went with a small group of volunteers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to register to vote, but failed an unfair literacy test given by courthouse officials, though she could read and write. When she returned home, the plantation owner was angry because he did not think Black people should have the right to vote. He fired her and made her leave her home of 18 years. SNCC leaders asked Hamer to work as a field organizer, visiting people in her community, teaching them to read, and encouraging them to learn about their voting rights. The next year, Hamer was on her way home from a training program with co-workers when the bus stopped at a lunch counter. The white server refused to serve them, though segregated rest stops were illegal. Police arrested the group, took them to jail for days, and brutally beat them. Hamer was permanently injured afterwards; her sight was weakened, her kidneys suffered damage, and the limp she’d had since childhood polio worsened. Despite these disabilities, she remained determined to push for political change. In 1964, Hamer helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, providing representation for the state’s Black people. Hamer gave important speeches and sang at civil rights meetings, inspiring Black people to run for political office. She helped Black people register to vote, protested police brutality, and increased awareness of racial discrimination. She did not let fear stop her from fighting for what she believed in.
What can you do and how can you learn more?
If you have four minutes, watch Smithsonian Channel - Fannie Lou Hamer Risked Her Life for the Right to Vote
If you have five minutes, watch TED-Ed - The Breathtaking Courage of Harriet Tubman, by Janell Hobson.
Dig deeper with these resources:
Disability Visibility Project: blog and podcast by people with disabilities from many professions
Rooted in Rights: blog and storyteller videos intended to amplify the perspectives of the disability community
Check out some books from the Seattle Public Library:
Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter by Nadia L. Hohn (Ages 4-8 yrs)
Fannie Lou Hamer: Civil Rights Activist by Duchess Harris (Ages 7-11 yrs)
Social Justice Book list on Disability (all ages)
Seattle Public Library Deaf Awareness Book list (all ages)
SPS 2022 Levy Votes on February Ballot
There are two ballot propositions on the February 2022 ballot that will ask Seattle voters to renew two different levies that support Seattle Public Schools.
There are two ballot propositions on the February 2022 ballot that will ask Seattle voters to renew two different levies that support Seattle Public Schools.
On Thursday, January 13th, join us at 6:30pm on Zoom for a presentation regarding these levies from Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance, JoLynn Berge, as well as Director of Capital Projects and Planning, Richard Best.
The two levies up for renewal are:
Educational Programs and Operations Levy (EP&O)
From SPS:
If approved, the levy continues funding for day-to-day operations, staffing positions, academic programs and student opportunities that are not fully funded by the state.
School staff: Helps pay for teachers’ salaries and support staff, like school nurses and custodians.
For instance, the state funds nine nurses, but thanks to the levy we employ 68
Supports and programs: Continues funding for special education, advanced learning, child nutrition programs and social-emotional health, as well as programs such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
For instance, the state funds $82 million for special education, but thanks to the levy we can fund our special education program at $180 million — a $98 million gap.
Opportunities for students, including funding for athletics, arts, drama, and music
For instance, the state provides zero dollars for athletics, but the levy funds $4 million toward athletic opportunities for students.
BTA V Capital Levy
From SPS:
Capital levies are the main source of funding to ensure that every student has a safe, welcoming learning environment. School districts receive limited state or federal funding for improvements to school buildings.
Seattle Public Schools relies on voter-approved capital levies to fund school construction and renovations, safety and security upgrades, building systems improvements, and major maintenance.
Capital levies provide most of the funding for important classroom technology and support for student learning, district technology systems, and technology infrastructure. Report on recent levies.
B stands for Buildings: This portion of the levy includes projects that improve our school buildings. Examples of projects include roof replacements, small renovations, safety improvements and upgrades, heating and ventilation improvements, major maintenance, and critical maintenance.
T stands for Technology: Capital levies provide the primary funding source for making strategic investments in technology for learning and teaching in the classroom; delivering services to students, teachers, staff, and families; and improving efficiency in business processes. Projects and services fall into three major categories: student learning and support, district systems and data, infrastructure, and security
A stands for Academic/Athletics: This portion of the levy pays for modifications needed for academic program changes, playground improvements, athletic field improvements and equipment, and art and science equipment. In addition, SPS owns Memorial Stadium, and the levy includes funding to invest in new grandstands so it can continue to be used for high school athletics, for graduations, and by the community.
Meet Principal Barry Fisk
Dana Robinson Slote, a PTA Board Member and Sac parent, sat down for a quick getting-to-know-you session with Mr. Fisk. Enjoy!
Principal Barry Fisk is replacing Principal Friesen while she’s away, and he started at Sacajawea just a few weeks ago. Although he joined us at our November PTA Board Meeting, we thought that it would be helpful for everyone in our community to hear more about Mr. Fisk from Mr. Fisk himself.
Dana Robinson Slote, a PTA Board Member and Sac parent, sat down for a quick getting-to-know-you session with Mr. Fisk. Enjoy!
Heritage Potluck - Community Cookbook (Deadline 12/16th)
Heritage Potluck Reimagined. Share with the school community your favorite recipe.
Each year the Parent Equity team organizes the Heritage Potluck. This event would usually have been a time when we gathered after school bringing a favorite family recipe to share. We would chat and get to know each other a little better and experience each other's lovely recipes. Gathering is still not allowed so we thought we would try a little something different.
The Parent Equity team would like to put together a community cookbook of your favorite recipes. Your student received a Recipe Sheet before Thanksgiving break. The Recipe Sheet isn't only for a recipe, it could be a shared memory, and a drawing related to a recipe or making of a recipe. The sheet tries to give kids of all ages a way to share a little of themselves and their families with the whole school community. We encourage family participation! If we get enough participation we will then create the cookbook and share it with anyone in the school community that would like one.
If you need a new Recipe Sheet or would like to submit more than one you can download one here:
Once you have completed your Recipe Sheet(s) please give them to your teacher or email them to Lori Phipps at lphipps01@gmail.com. Deadline for submitting a Recipe Sheet is December 16th.
We look forward getting to know you one recipe at a time.