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SPIN Girls Monthly Newsletter | October 2021
Welcome New SPIN Girls!
If you just joined SPIN Girls this year, welcome to the SPIN Girls newsletter! You'll receive this newsletter once a month. In it, you'll learn about what we did the month before and what we have to look forward to this month. We'll also provide resources to help you with schooling, mentoring, and life. If you ever have any questions about the newsletter, feel free to reach out to me!
In this month's newsletter, you'll find a recap of our activities in September and what your students can look forward to in October. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. - Jaira
SEPTEMBER RECAP
Orientation/Welcome Back: Students, mentors, & families had the opportunity to meet virtually, learn more about the program, and start getting to know their mentor and fellow mentees.
RESOURCES
The application for the ’21-’22 Henry Teen Art Collective can be found here and will be due by October 14, 2021.- The Henry Teen Art Collective is a group of young people who collaborate on art projects, meet local and exhibiting artists, and gain behind the scenes access to the museum. We are a youth-led art collective that prioritizes community building, collaboration, youth leadership, and creative expression.
The deadline to apply is October 25th at 5:00 p.m. Youth can learn more and apply at tinyurl.com/SeaSJYouthGrant. The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is thrilled to announce that applications are open now for the Youth-Led Social Justice Mini-Grant! DEEL is proud to support our City’s brilliant, passionate young people who are advocating for anti-racism, anti-discrimination, and positive change.
Youth Mental Health First Aid Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders in youth.
Teen Mental Health First Aid Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders in Teens.
LOOKING FORWARD
Lab Day #1 on October 16th at Tukwila Community Center: 12424 42nd Ave S, Tukwila, WA 98168
Breakfast snacks and lunch provided.
Epic Cohort (8th Grade): 9:30AM-1:30PM
Luminous Cohort (9th Grade): 9:30AM-1:30PM
Stellar Cohort (10th Grade): 12:30PM-4:30PM
*8th and 9th graders, feel free to arrive at 9:00AM for extra mentor-mentee hangout time.
SPIN Girls Monthly Newsletter | September 2021
Happy Back to School!
As most of you prepare for in-person learning, I hope you have an amazing start to the school year! Please let me know if there's anything SPIN can do to help you with your in-person or virtual learning experience.
In this month's newsletter, you'll find a summary of program changes, the schedule for September, a welcome to our new cohort, and some resources to help you out. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
- Jaira
AUGUST RECAP
Welcome 2021-2024 Epic Cohort! We will be meeting all of the newest and returning members of SPIN Girls (from all cohorts) at the Orientation/Welcome back event.
Student Feedback. Here's a summary of feedback we received from students during the 2021 Summer Retreat and our response:
Students acknowledged that their mentors did the best they could with the virtual circumstances. In addition, students would like more mentor hangouts outside of SPIN and more opportunities to job shadow. To facilitate this, we are encouraging more mentor-mentee hangout scheduling (can be in-person as long as guardians/students/mentors permit). We are also emphasizing the importance of offering job shadow opportunities to potential mentors before they commit to the program.
Students expressed that the zoom lab days were hard. In response, we have planned for the 2021-2022 program year to be mostly in-person. However, if things change and we have to go virtual again, we will plan for more simplified yet interactive zoom sessions.
Students enjoyed most of the curricula but wanted something a little bit more challenging than the App Development curriculum. So, instead Luminous will be learning a new Robotics curriculum (if the students like it, we will keep it for future cohorts).
RESOURCES
Seattle Public Schools Fall 2021 Resources Includes resources on health/wellness and important information regarding the transition back to in-person instruction.
King County Free COVID-19 Test Sites and Rite-Aid Free Test Sites includes a list of free test sites (including sites with language interpretation available)
Smithsonian Magazine is announcing Museum Day on September 18, 2021. Check it out for FREE tickets.
LOOKING FORWARD
I have sent out registration links for Connect to our new students. The email was sent from "STEM Paths Innovation Network" with the subject "Online Connect Access". Please use the link to make an account and fill out the assigned paperwork before the start of our program, September 25th 2021. If you are having trouble accessing these documents please let me know.
Orientation/Welcome Back on September 25th. More information will be emailed within the next few weeks.
Lab Day #1 on October 16th in-person at Tukwila Community Center.
Epic Cohort (8th grade): 9:30AM-1:30PM
Luminous Cohort (9th grade): 9:30AM-1:30PM
Stellar Cohort (10th grade): 12:30PM-4:30PM
For the entire schedule, visit https://www.stempaths.org/spin-girls under the Frequently Asked Questions section.
SPIN Girls Monthly Newsletter | August 2021
Big Changes Coming to SPIN Girls!
SPIN Girls funding is up for renewal on the ballot tomorrow, so vote YES on Prop. 1! You can learn more about Best Starts for Kids in the resources section below.
In case you missed the email, this will be my last week at SPIN. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you all and I'm excited to see what you all do next!
In this month's newsletter, you'll find a recap of our activities in July. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. - Nell
MONTHLY RECAP
Summer Retreat The students solved the case of Jurassic Bark during summer retreat in July. They learned how to analyze handwriting, fingerprints and hair and how to apply deductive reasoning to a set of information.
RESOURCES
Learn more about KC Prop 1 - Best Starts for Kids! Every kid deserves a strong start in life. We can help by renewing Best Starts for Kids– maintaining and expanding programs that support kids as they grow, with high quality childcare, homelessness prevention, and social and emotional youth development programs. We know that prevention and early engagement is the most effective, and least expensive way, to ensure positive outcomes for our kids and community. We also must support children and youth of color to overcome racial injustice and have the best opportunity to thrive. That’s why voters adopted the Best Starts for Kids Levy in 2015, to invest in healthy pregnancies, positive development for children and youth, assistance for at-risk youth, and school and community-based programs to support kids as they grow into adulthood. Now it’s time to renew these proven investments in King County’s kids. Vote YES on KC Prop. 1 to renew the Best Starts for Kids Levy and promote happy, healthy, safe, and thriving kids, families, and communities.
How should funding support Black youth in Seattle? Youth ages 10 to 21 are invited to fill out this quick and easy survey to inform future programs benefitting Black girls, young women, and Black queer and transgender youth. Youth who complete the survey will get free pizza! This survey closes on August 5th at 10:00pm.
DEEL's Youth Survey for Future Projects on Social Justice: Youth ages 12 to 24 are invited to fill out a survey to help develop a mini-grant that funds youth-led projects - by youth, for youth - that speak out against racism and other forms of bias and hate. Up to $8K will be available for each project funded! This survey closes on Friday, August 6 at 6:00pm.
COVID Masking Guidance for King County: Given the CDC’s recent recommendations, King County recommends everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask when indoors. Please stay safe!
LOOKING FORWARD
Enjoy your month off in August. We look forward to seeing you in September!