PSCS Community Publications

We send out a monthly eNewsletter via email on the first of each month. If you'd like to be added to our eNewsletter list contact pscs@pscs.org. To see our past editions, click on the links below.

Also available is a PDF copy of the 2005-06 PSCS Annual Report.

Family Login

This section of the site contains information for PSCS families and community members. To protect the privacy of our community members, a password is required to access this material. If you are a member of the PSCS community, follow this link to continue.

If you are a member of the PSCS community and need or have forgotten the password, please contact the office at 206.324.4350 or pscs@pscs.org.

Community Partnerships

Part of PSCS's curriculum has always been community involvement. It is important for students to experience and respect the greater community and come to recognize that they are a vital part of its success. Starting in Fall this year, students and staff have participated in community service projects and partnerships with several organizations:

Arboretum Foundation: Working at the Washington Park Arboretum and its foundation office, students and staff helped pack tulip bulbs in preparation for the annual bulb sale, organized and cleaned the warehouse, weeded, mulched and lent a hand in the office.

Giving Tree: The Giving Tree is a wood shop where handcrafted toys are created. A portion of the toys are donated to charities serving children in the greater Puget Sound area. Students cut, sanded and assembled and painted toys alongside seniors, former and current homeless individuals from the greater Seattle area.

Hamilton House: PSCS now has an on-going partnership with members of the Tallamadge Hamilton House Senior Activity Center in the University District. In the Fall, students and staff are worked on a wide range of activities including ground maintenance, knitting, cooking, computer set up, recreation, and a short story class. The short story class got so popular that, staff member Andy Smallman continues to facilitate weekly sessions that include both youth and elders. Another group cooks for the seniors on a monthly basis, while yet another is working on a mural to decorate one of the retaining walls.

Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition: Education at PSCS comes in umpteen flavors. For the group that created a video on toxins in cosmetics, this meant working in a client partnership to understand the impact of using specific cosmetics and then scripting, casting, staging, shooting and editing a public service video on the topic.

Oxbow Farm: Seven students and a staff member spent a whole week in February working on this organic farm in Duvall. The group cleaned up damage from November's floods, built a greenhouse, prepped for the planting season and built a partnership with the farmers through conversations on organic farming. The partnership will continue as the group returns on Mondays to continue the working alongside the farmers.

Hilltop Children's Center: Hilltop Children's Center is a pre-school founded on much of the same philosophy as PSCS. 4 PSCS students visited the center and engaged with pre-schoolers in storytelling and play activities. The students also spent time with long time Hilltop staff member Sarah Felstiner watching videos on the Reggio Emilia approach to project-based learning that is practiced at Hilltop.

Volunteer Highlights

Every year PSCS is fortunate to have volunteers who bring their unique expertise and energy into the school. Students receive the benefit of various teaching methods and styles, the personal experience of the facilitator, as well as an additional lens through which to learn about and explore their world.

Students flip for parkour with Tyson Cecka
The first slate of Parkour tutorials ever offered at PSCS began in September and is quickly becoming a favorite session! Twelve students regularly attend volunteer Tyson Cecka’s class and take part in a mix of Parkour specific conditioning, drills, and techniques. Tyson Cecka is a student at the University of Washington. PSCS Students learn the technical breakdown behind each roll, vault, spin and jump. And though these basic movements are a critical foundation for all Parkour activity, the "sport" cannot be grasped by looking at the physical aspect alone.

Parkour practitioners, also known as traceurs (trace-ers), believe that by challenging yourself physically, everyday life situations become easier to deal with. When an "obstacle" or difficult situation arises in daily life, a traceur can see this as any other obstacle and apply the same skills and techniques to overcome it quickly, efficiently, and without disruption to their intended path. As Tyson, a former gymnast and martial-arts student says, " The world is our obstacle course. You see things other people do not."

Parkour, much like PSCS, is not about competition, breaking records, or battling for approval, but rather independence, self-knowledge, and the ability to adapt. Unlike other sports where the aim is to triumph over a competitor, in Parkour you are competing only against yourself. "Instead of rivalry", says co-founder Sebastien Foucan, "there's a real sense of community amongst those who take part."

Melissa Brown, a current senior was so taken in by the sport that she has chosen to make it the focus of her senior graduation project.

Lindsey Owen brings science alive
Talented volunteer Lindsey Own is facilitating three popular science classes this quarter: Comparative Anatomy, Human Physiology, and Force and Motion. There is a fun and enthusiastic feeling surrounding these offerings, and students are clearly benefiting from the passion and creativity Lindsey brings to each class. Due to Lindsey’s wide range of knowledge, discussion in one week can range from the principles of the Cartesian Triangle, to the inner workings of the human digestive system, to fish dissection (a recent smelly but educational event that drew the noses of the school’s landlord – in a good way!).

Students say the best part of these classes is Lindsey herself. When asked about her experience, student Kat Gwinn says, “Lindsey doesn’t talk down to you. She talks to you like you’re an adult,” a sentiment echoed by several students. Certainly, there is mutual respect for both the subject and the participants (including those scaled brethren sacrificed in the name of science and education).

Lindsey comes to PSCS with three years of teaching science to middle school students in Evanston, Illinois.  During that time, she worked with researchers at Northwestern University developing inquiry-based curriculum materials, and later worked as a full-time research assistant at Northwestern.  Upon arriving in Seattle last summer, she took a position as a program supervisor for Washington State LASER (Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform), as well as continuing with her curriculum development work remotely with Northwestern.  She says she was drawn to PSCS because of the school’s, “powerful philosophy of promoting independence and an intrinsic love of learning in its students.”

Thanks to our volunteers!

Volunteers play an essential role in our community: they allow us to engage more subjects, go more places, and meet more inspiring people. We appreciate the following individuals and organizations for contributing their time and generosity to the school recently. (Want to add your name to our list?)

Read articles that feature PSCS in the Seattle P-I and Seattle's Child.