Olympia South

Use real-life examples to help kids understand how people can view the same situation with totally different perspectives. One child might experience a game on the playground as fun, while another might feel like the rules are unfair. Sibling conflict can be a great example of how two people can have wildly different opinions about the same event. With older children, talk through controversial subjects and take turns arguing for different sides to help kids understand various viewpoints.

Third graders at South combined math and football fun to get ready for the Super Bowl!

Fake News has been around for a long time. Track its history from 63 B.C. through present day in this infographic. Where do you see Fake News today (AI anyone!?)? How does it impact your life? Does it impact the type of media you consume, or where you consume it?

On Friday OSE celebrated our Super Spartans for January. These leaders show us responsibility every day. Great job Super Spartans! Watch video of our Super Spartans getting ready to enjoy a donut party by clicking the clink: https://bit.ly/3SRAy1n

Early release Wednesday means STEM time for Olympia South Elementary. Thank you to State Farm for your support and to Mrs. Tibbs for making these opportunities possible. Our high school STEM Club students have been amazing mentors and facilitators to our elementary students that are learning Block coding to program robots.

https://youtu.be/mh1dLvGe06Y - BBC video When we get news from our social media feeds, it often only tells us part of the story. Our friends -- and the website's algorithms -- tend to feed us perspectives we already agree with. Check out these ways to escape the filter bubble and make sure your ideas about the world are being challenged.

Early voting begins today! Check out details for your county at www.olympia.org/vote #MaintainRetainInnovate #TaxSwap #VoteMarch19

When you see advertising on TV or on a billboard, ask your children to figure out what the ad is selling. Sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes it's not. Help them explore why certain pictures, sounds, or words are used to sell certain products. Could AI be being used in the ad?

Well-crafted headlines benefit everyone. They help readers digest information and publishers sell news stories. But what if the headline is misleading? What if it's crafted just to get clicks and not to inform? "Clickbait" headlines may benefit advertisers and publishers (think $$$), but they don't benefit readers. And when they go viral, they can badly misinform the public. This week, look for clickbait headlines in the media that you consume and discuss them with your family. How many can you find before Sunday rolls around!?

Video: bit.ly/OlyNMV2 All media comes with an author and an agenda. Help kids think critically about any media they view with critical questions that dig below the surface. And to really empower kids, have them create their own media with these same questions in mind.

Help your children analyze the info around them, from toy packaging to Instagram posts to news headlines, and question the purpose of the words and images they see. Teach kids how to use fact-checking tools like Snopes and FactCheck.org.

For up to date referendum news throughout February and March, please follow our district social media pages. #MaintainRetainInnovate #TaxSwap #VoteMarch19

Elementary families Spartan @ the Movies is only one week away!

NHS is sponsoring a Princess Tea Party on Sunday, February 25 from 1-3 pm. Come enjoy snacks, games, crafts, face painting, bouncy house, the Royal Runway along with photos with the Princesses! The event will be held in the high school media center. All proceeds will benefit Toys for Tots and St. Jude Children's Hospital. Reservations and pre-payment is required. Email amanda.hapgood@olympia.org to reserve your spot.

A class that reads together, stays together.

With so much media and information coming at us through the television, phones, social media, and more, it's more important than ever for kids to understand the basics of media literacy. When kids can identify different types of news and media and the methods and meanings behind them, they're on their way to being critical thinkers and smart consumers. Throughout the month, we will be sharing a set of five tips to help your children become critical thinkers of news and media. Here is a short video to get those conversations started! bit.ly/OlyNMV5

Families, mark your calendar for our next session on depression! February 20th at 8:00 PM via Zoom. Sign up for the link to show up in your inbox!

Elementary Families, Spartans @ the Movie returns Friday, 2/9 at 6:30 PM

Spartan Swim this Sunday! Elementary families join us.

Mrs. Grays first graders love their daily morning tubs! Each day, we begin by creating with various materials such as Lincoln logs, legos, squigs, straws and more! The tubs are rotated each day and materials are switched out regularly. Students can build independently, in pairs or as a group. This morning, we focused on working cooperatively and using appropriate group communication as they completed a challenge to "build a house".