From Billings:

Ms. Tudor will share her expertise around the topic of “Identity Development in Early Adolescence, or Becoming You in the Tortuous Temperamental Middle School Years”. Hosted by the Billings Parent Association, this Parent Education Night is free and open to the public.

Ms. Tudor will provide a brief explanation of how we form our sense of self, and the risk factors and strength practices that can affect a child’s emotionally healthy identity development. She will also discuss the unique developmental challenges and emotional tasks required of children from multicultural, multiethnic, and minority households. Children, from majority or minority families, who are in the gender identity minority, must master tasks of individuation and autonomy, differently, in order to develop a healthy sense of self.

Darcia Tudor was a trial attorney for twenty years before she changed her practice emphasis to collaborative conflict resolution and helping families heal from unexpected or undesired life transitions, manage and regulate emotions, and reduce family conflict, she works with children, and adolescents suffering from adjustment and mood disorders, emotional deregulation, impulsive behaviors, and assist in development of functional family systems, identity development, and healthy self esteem in children and adolescents.

The mother of four adolescent girls, and a parent of an adopted child, Ms. Tudor has weathered the storms of every developmental stage. She enjoys most sharing the life lesson’s she has experienced along the way in humor and humility. She is a frequent lecturer at seminars, and workshops on topics such as, enhancing the resiliency of children and families through education, collaboration, and the reduction of conflict; raising professional awareness of the importance of cultural competence in our global world; and psycho ‒legal subjects involving incapacity, alienation of affection, and how to co-parent after divorce, legal separation, or the end of a domestic partnership.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Classes will be 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. for kids aged 5 – 8 and 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. for ages 9-12. Offerings include J’aime Paris, Animals, Sculpture and Sea Life.

“Students will learn a variety of techniques and mediums,” Rob Harrahill of Studio 9 Arts says. “The instruction is guided, yet every child’s work is absolutely unique. The instructor, Clay, has many years experience working with children and everyone has a great time. Class size is limited so that all students get the attention they deserve.”

For more information, contact Clay at clay [at] studio9arts.com or (206) 240-2982.

Click to enlarge

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Donations from the community are welcome. They can be left in the lobby of the school at 7217 Woodlawn Ave N through Friday, Feb. 18, 2011.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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The “Billings Beta” tech blog presents students’ schoolwork, class projects, experiments, and discussions.

The Edublog award is an international competition determined by an online poll.  In the past week, the Billings Beta site has received visitors from North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, and Eurasia.

“At Billings,” a press release from the school reads, “the study of technology creates both real and virtual environments for students to apply their skills.  Young people learn to focus on how society uses technology for communication, productivity, and personal expression.  For example, 7^th grade students use various media to complete team-based and individual projects that illustrate and extend learning in an Integrated Course in Language Arts, Science, and Technology (iCLAST).”

The Edublog award was presented by Classroom 2.0 and Edublog Campus.   Gathering support became a technology lesson for Billings students, who mobilized to gather votes using communication tools as a real-world experiment to study the impact of social networks.

“At Billings we are paying attention to the international disposition for understanding how to learn, to collaborate, and to design technology.  Schools need to look for every learning opportunity for their students of all ages,” commented Ted Kalmus, Head of School, in the press release. “I’m so proud of our kids for their remarkable achievement with the tech blog award.”

The Billings Beta tech blog is managed by Jac de Haan, a faculty member who focuses on technology integration throughout the curriculum. He teaches sixth- through eighth-grade technology classes, including co-teaching the sixth-grade STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) curriculum. He is a Google certified teacher.

Mr. de Haan is a member of the TechShare Curriculum Planning Committee for the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools (PNAIS).  He was appointed by Mayor Mike McGinn to the Citizens’ Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB).  He earned a master’s degree in Digital Media Communications from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Congrats, students of Billings and Mr. de Haan!

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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The program, which runs from July 12 to August 13, 2010, includes a variety of classes, including Contact Juggling, Circus Arts, and Girls Rock!, which was recently highlighted in The Seattle Times:

Girls Rock! Seattle starts Monday and runs through Friday at Billings Middle School in Greenlake. Besides music classes, the day camp features workshops on stage presence, zine making, jewelry, self-defense and the history of women in music. The girls also form bands and write songs to play at the showcase. [...]

Artists Natalie Walker and Holly Houser created the Seattle camp two years ago, and registration doubled this year. There are around 40 Girls Rock! nonprofit camps around the world, first established in Portland in 2001. The local program costs $350 for a week, but over half the students get financial assistance, made possible through grants.

“It’s a safe space for girls to express themselves,” said Houser, 32. “It’s not about being a maestro at their instruments. … A success story at camp is maybe somebody who is really quiet and reserved, who has a hard time opening up to her peers, but at the end of the week, onstage, is completely belting out on her instrument and just feels like a rock star.”

Eighty Girls Rock! participants will be hosted by Billings Middle School this week, July 26-30.  Have fun, girls!

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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The event is a dedication ceremony for the school’s new “Steps to Green Lake.”  There will be music by The Shed Boys, refreshments, campus tours, and presentations by Board Chair Art Vertner, Head of School Ted Kalmus, and two alumni students.

The “Steps” are the fulfillment of an idea by the students of the Class of 2007. In recognition of the unique role of Green Lake Park in the academic, outdoor and athletic experiences of a Billings Middle School education, the students envisioned the steps as a visual connection between the school and the park. The students’ vision created a congenial gathering place for students and teachers throughout the school day, as well as a more welcoming entrance to the school for parents, visitors and the local community.

Beginning with the Class of 2007 and continuing with the Class of 2008 and Class of 2009, an Alumni Legacy Campaign was conducted on behalf of these graduating students to help fund the “Steps to Green Lake” project. With additional support from the Building Billings Capital Campaign, the project became fully funded in 2009.

The Building Billings Capital Campaign is a $1 million facilities improvement campaign that includes three components: 1) the East Village Campus, which was completed in September 2009; 2) The “Steps to Green Lake” project; and 3) the conversion of the Billings garage into a Community-Gathering Hall, which is targeted for completion in September 2010. The hall will be used for all-school meetings and lunch time, as well as space for rehearsals, academic needs, and community-wide events and activities.

Billings Middle School – an independent sixth-through-eighth grade school – is a dynamic academic community intentionally focused on early adolescent education. Located in the Green Lake neighborhood, the school is committed to socio-economic diversity, annually providing tuition assistance to 33% of students. Established as a middle school in 1996, the school was originally founded as The Intermediate School by Luanne Billings in 1979. Billings Middle School is an accredited member of the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools (PNAIS).

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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All members of the community are invited to to support this neighborhood school by bidding on a wide variety of items.  The school, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, awards more than $250,000 annually in financial aid to the 20% of Billings families that receive tuition assistance.

To access the online auction, go to Billings Middle School’s home page and click on the yellow auction banner at the top left corner of the screen.  The auction began yesterday (Monday, April 12, 2010) and runs through April 25.

Items up for bid include several donations from the Green Lake business community, including:

• Greenlake Bar and Grill Gift Certificate

• Tour of the Mighty-O Bakery and a Dozen Free Donuts

• Super Jock & Jill Gift Certificate and Mesh Cap

• Chiropractic Care at Lifestyle Chiropractic

• Six Month Membership at American Athlete

• Bottega Italiana Gift Certificate

• Revolutions Coffee Package

• Little Red Hen Gift Certificate

• Basic Bicycle Tune-Up at Gregg’s Greenlake Cycle

• YogaLife 5-Class Pass

• Literary Tween Basket from Mockingbird Books

________________________

Read about Billings Middle School’s Summer Program, open to all kids entering grades 5-9.

Read about the recent fire that impacted Billings Middle School’s computer lab and an adjacent small business.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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The program runs from July 12 to August 13, 2010 and includes both full- and half-days between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.  Scholarships are available.

Classes include:

Girls Rock!  Seattle – A week-long crash course for girls in playing an instrument, songwriting, zine making, self-defense and more.

Vocal Music: Unveiling Your Voice – Using playful, effective old world and contemporary techniques, participants will discover their own vocal style.

Vocal Music: Performance Vocals – Participants will learn how to transition from a vocalist to a performing vocalist.

Guitar Workshops – Ready to learn guitar this summer?

Circus Arts – Learn juggling, tumbling, acrobatics, tightwire, and rolling globe.

Lego Robotics – Students will build LEGO Mindstorms robots, such as a Mars rover and diverse robot animals.

Parkour – Participants will learn the physical skills and fun of Parkour, the art of overcoming obstacles as swiftly and efficiently as possible using only your body.

Contact Juggling – Explore mindful movement and positive flow states.

Billings Middle School Summer Program display

Note:  This past weekend’s fire at Billings Middle School did not affect the main school campus.  Damage was limited to an auxilliary classroom across the street from the main campus.

________________________________

There’s more to read on My Green Lake about what’s happening in Green Lake for teens.  Find information about the many events and classes for teens at the Green Lake Community Center and Spring Break Drama Camps at the Seattle Public Theater at the Green Lake Bathhouse.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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Copyright Katie Johnson, used with permission

Yesterday (Sunday, March 14, 2010), we told you about a fire at 7212 and 7214 Woodlawn Ave NE which impacted both a local business and school.  The fire, which was caused by by an overheated power cord, did not cause any injuries.  The unfolding story and pictures of the fire can be seen here.

Since then, we have visited the site of the fire and confirmed several details.

7214 Woodlawn Ave NE, on the left, and 7212 Woodlawn Ave NE , on the right

We spoke with Ingrid Hurlen, Community Development Coordinator at Billings Middle School, which is primarily located at 7217 Woodlawn Ave NE.  Billings used 7212 Woodlawn Ave NE, one of two adjoining spaces that was impacted by the fire, as an auxillary computer classroom space.

Ms. Hurlen explained that when the heat built up in 7214 Woodlawn Ave NE, the space that was on fire, the front windows blew out.  Many people saw and heard this, and called 9-1-1 right away.

Happily, the Billings Middle School computer lab was not severally damaged in the fire.  When Billings retrofitted the space, they put in a fire wall and fire doors.  These additions likely saved the classroom.  However, fire fighters did have to break in through the back door of the Billings space, in order to access the fire next door.

In addition to the damage to the door, the Billings classroom suffered from smoke damage.  Several textbooks and teaching materials need airing out. While no computers were affected, the electricity has been turned off in the building and the machines are currently unusable.

At this point, it is unclear how structurally sound the space is, and Ms. Hurlen was not yet sure if Billings would be able to once again use it as an auxilliary classroom.

Billings Middle School computer lab

The space adjoining the Billings space, 7214 Woodlawn Ave NE, appears to have been compltely destroyed by the fire.

A small independently-owned business operated out of this space.  While we don’t have the name of the business, we did learn from commenter Kelly that it is a family-owned computer business, and that the family lives a block from the site of the fire.  Ms. Hurlen confirmed that it is a computer business.

“We’re all devastated by this,” said Ms. Hurlen.  “The gentleman that runs the business in that space is just devastated and we really feel for him.  We’ve told him, anything we can do to help, we’ll do.”

7214 Woodlawn Ave NE

Update, Tuesday, 8 a.m.: Green-Lake-based visual journalist David Ryder has posted some heartbreaking photographs that he snapped at Sunday’s fire.  David writes:

Taylor Stage, who works next door at Mockingbird Books, described the scene: “We ran out the door, looked to our left, and all we saw was glass exploding out of the building.” The cause of the fire was an overheated power cord in a small computer-related business owned by Green Lake resident John Powers.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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15 emergency units were called to 7214 Woodlawn Ave NE at 4:04 p.m.

This address once held Green Lake Dry Cleaners, but is currently vacant.

From My Green Lake tipster Carol (thanks Carol!):

6 fire trucks, 4 fire SUVs and a police car [were at the scene].  They seemed to put it out pretty quickly but there was a lot of black smoke.  I did not see an ambulance so I hope that means everyone is okay.

Update, 4:50 p.m.: This may not be a vacant storefront.  From tipster scocoa: “Heard this was used as Billings Middle School‘s Computer Lab.”

Update, 6:20 p.m.: From commenter Willow: “That red door on the right side of the building, just next door to the fire, is part of Billings Middle Schools Campus.”

Update, 9:30 a.m., Monday: From commenter WoodlawnMan: “The two occupants are a hard working business and a school.”  We haven’t determined the nature of the business yet, but we will let you know as soon as we do.

Update, 5:20 p.m., Monday: We visited the site of the fire today.  Read all about it here.

“Rositas workers watching the blaze.”
Copyright scocoa | Used with permission

“Billings Computer Lab Fire.”
Copyright scocoa | Used with permission

“Billings Computer Lab Fire.”
Copyright scocoa | Used with permission

“These guys were trying to bust in”
Copyright scocoa | Used with permission

A picture from Carol:

Fire at 7214 Woodlawn Ave NE

Thank you also to twitter tipster Billy Duss.

Update, 8 p.m.:  Some more information from Helen Fitzpatrick of the Public Information Office at the Seattle Fire Department:

When fire fighters arrived, there was heavy smoke and flames coming from a one-story commercial building with adjacent commercial buildings on either side.

Fire fighters were able to keep the fire contained to that one business.  No one was in the business at the time, and there were no injuries.

Fire investigators have determined that this was an accidental fire that was caused by an overheated power cord and the damage estimate is $130,000.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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Post tags: billings middle school, fire, schools