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HOME OF THE TIGERS

www.fwps.org/taf

MISSION: TAF Academy is a fully

accredited 6th – 12th grade public

school model with a mission to

prepare underserved students for

college and for life through a

science, technology, engineering and

math (STEM) focused curriculum

26720 - 40th Ave. S

Kent, WA 98032

Office: 253-945-5197

Fax: 253-945-5191

Visit us online: www.fwps.org/taf

Planning Principal Pam Tuggle

[email protected]

Dean of Students Kelley Schottle

[email protected] 253-945-5183

Counselor

Elaine McDonald [email protected]

253-945-5136

Office Manager Juli Ciotta


Secretary

Luisa Vargas [email protected]

253-945-5187

Attendance Phone Line 253-945-5187

School Closures/Emergencies www.schoolreport.org

STEM EXPO 2016 With over 160 student projects on display, over

300 students and their families attending, this

year's TAF Academy STEM Expo was a record

breaker for sure!

The STEM Expo, an annual event for the TAF

Academy community, was held for the first

time at Saghalie Middle School, the future site

of TAF @ Saghalie. Not only did students get

to show off their STEM projects to their families and friends, they also had an audience of 65

greater Seattle-area STEM expert judges, who ensured our students' access to real-world experi-

ence and knowledge. Projects covered a broad spectrum of STEM topics, including ecology, ar-

chitecture and design, materials science, biochemistry, mechanical engineering, civil engineering,

and agriculture.

Current Saghalie 8th graders, who may be joining TAF Academy as high school freshmen next

year, participated in the Saghalie Innovation Challenge, where they had one hour to invent a de-

sign solution to an everyday problem. The keynote speaker for the Expo was Marco Matos, a Seat-

tle-based product marketing manager at Facebook.

The event was sponsored in full by Google, and featured kick-off presentations from Google

spokesman Adam Gardner, TAF Academy Principal Pam Tuggle, and Technology Access Foun-

dation (TAF) co-founder and CEO Trish Millines Dziko

Thank you to all staff, students and parents for a well-attended, well run STEM Expo full of great

projects. Congratulations to the winning projects!

GRAND GOOGLE PRIZE: Chelsea Gichohi, Lesley Orantes, Miguel Rojas, Vannary Sou,

Felciana Ra’oof, Jack Ellis, Ravi Khampradith, Allison McIntyre, Christopher Calimlim & Eve

Coco

TOP ENGINEERING PRIZE: Camilia Bryant, Brayan Sanchez, Brisney Mendoza, Isabel

Wolfe, Max Birkeland, Andy Duong, Nagelli Soltero, Cody Small & Juan Garcia-Bucio

TOP SCIENTIFIC PRIZE: Sarah Alter , Ar iani Sandoval Castellano, Ketter ra Johnson,

Nalani Hall, Alisha Carza, Kevin Vo and Elizabeth Stramer

CREATIVITY AWARD: Crystal Morales, Angela Patt, Magdaly Sanchez, Lesly Ramos,

Ana Aparicio, Johnny Heredia, Austin DeZeeuw, Vadim Usach and Serhiy Smirnov

RISK TAKER INNOVATOR: Peyton Washington, J ames Vo, Sonu Khunt, Angel Perez,

Evann Cade, Abigail Marshall, Char Coulbert, Trinity Fowler, Breanna Pham, Morgan Washing-

ton, Nancy Velez-Regalado and Moriah Blake

SUSTAINABILITY AWARD: Nicolas Colin, Julio Miramontes-Jimenez, Aubrie Cheatham,

Anisha McCune, Jovan Cisse, Saida Ddungu, Xaimen Lopez Magana, Arshdeep Kaur, Andres

Leyva, Dennis Styles and William Eagling

HOME OF THE TIGERS

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I trust this letter finds you all safely managing the winter weather with the hope we have seen the last of it as we move forward to

spring. As always, there is a lot of learning, fun and excitement planned for all of our TAF Academy scholars for this second

semester. Please check our school calendar regularly, because we do not want you to miss any opportunity to volunteer, partici-

pate in an event and to continue our partnership in behalf of supporting each and every one of our scholars.

Congratulations to all of our scholars and families for a very successful STEM EXPO on February 4 th at Saghalie Middle

School. What a great day of engagement and exposition, showcasing the amazing work of project-based learning and STEM edu-

cation at it’s best. I was so proud of our students and appreciative of everyone who invested time and support for this outstand-

ing day. And, a very special expression of gratitude to the many judges who volunteered and provided meaningful feedback

about the projects. Once again, I was delighted to see our students display their knowledge and talents at the District STEM EX-

PO night on February 23rd. We had a 6th grade team, both our high school and middle school robotics teams and our FAB LAB

group demonstrating their knowledge and talents. Simply amazing!

Our seniors are in full force with their senior projects and preparing for their BIG DAY of new beginnings; graduation day on

June 17, 2017. It will be at the Tacoma Dome in the Exhibition Hall. 5:30 p.m. is the start time and anyone choosing to park in

the Dome parking lot must be prepared to pay $10 cash. More information about graduation is forthcoming, but if you have ques-

tions, please contact our main office at 253.945.5187. All seniors that graduate from TAF Academy are required to complete

their senior project, which meets the state required standard of “High School Plan and Beyond,” but also meet state standards on

assessments for reading, writing, math, science and Washington State History in addition to earning the required credits in their

content and elective classes. I have met with many seniors to assure they are on track for graduation. Now is the time to be cer-

tain that every senior has all of these requirements met or in the process. Several of our TAF Academy Team can provide guid-

ance and support. Please contact Ms. Juli Ciotta in the front office and she can answer questions or direct you for support. This is

not something to take lightly or wait until the last minute. If you have concerns, you and/or your senior should take action now.

LET’S GO SENIORS 2017!

Now for an update on our merger with Saghalie, which we call TAF@Saghalie. First of all, I want to congratulate Ms. Christina

Spencer, current principal of Decatur High School, as the new principal of TAF@Saghalie, with the official start date of July 1,

2017. And, as you may or may not be aware, I have been selected to be the principal of Saghalie, so Ms. Spencer and I will actu-

ally be co-principals of the entire school. This really excites me because as the principal of Lakota Middle School a few years

back, I worked closely with Ms. Spencer as the Assistant Principal of Decatur in the transition process of our 8 th graders to high

school. I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Ms. Spencer since she joined our district quite a few years ago. I

honestly believe we can be a “dynamic duo” in leading this transition process with the support of both Federal Way Public

Schools and the Technology Access Foundation. Exciting times are up ahead…that is for sure! In an effort to provide you with

up-to-date information about the transition, I am proposing to start a monthly “coffee with the Principal,” here at TAF Academy

beginning the end of March, then in April, May and the final meeting in early June. No agendas, just open conversation about

current events and what’s up ahead. Hopefully, Ms. Spencer will be able to join us for a couple of them, as well. Please complete

this brief survey to give me an idea of the best time to schedule these table talks. It will take less than two minutes. Thank you

for your feedback. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YGB7PLR

Looking ahead with great hope and a bright future! Thank you for your continued partnership with us at TAF Academy.

All the best,

Pam Tuggle, Principal

Dear TAF Academy Families and Friends,

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YGB7PLR

HOME OF THE TIGERS

www.fwps.org/taf

OFFICE UPDATES

Report Cards are available on Parent Vue.

Below are instructions on how to download the report card. If you need a hard copy, please call Luisa @253-945-5187

Open Parent Vue

Select “Report Card” on the far right

Under the students name there is a hyperlink that says, “Click here to view Report Card for Semester 1”. Click on that link to

open the document.

After School Activities

Any student remaining on campus after the end of the school day needs to be involved in a supervised activity or club. There

is no afterschool activity bus on Wednesdays. Please contact the office if you have any questions.

Attendance:

We have noticed a rise in attendance and tardy issues this month. Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s

academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Even as children grow older and more inde-

pendent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so

important for success in school and in life.

We realize some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. But, we also know that when stu-

dents miss too much school— regardless of the reason – it can cause them to fall behind academically.

.

Dress Code Reminders

Thursdays—Dress for Success. Please no jeans, sweats, jeggings (unless worn under a skirt). Mr. Diaz has a wide assortment

of clothing, donated by his wonderful friends and family. If you need clothing, do not be shy, we will help you out.

School appropriate sweats and shorts can be worn on Fridays only.

Jeans with tears, cuts and holes in them are not school appropriate.

February Snow at TAF Academy

MARCH

1 SAT Testing—Junior Class

1 EARLY RELEASE @1:15

8-9 Student Led Conferences for EVERY TAF Academy Scholar

10 Teacher In-Service—NO SCHOOL

13 ELPA 21 Assessment for ELL scholars

15 ELPA 21 Assessment for ELL scholars

18 TAF Academy Mentor Group (by invitation only)


24 Health exam for Juniors & Seniors during 2nd period

25-27 Skills Showcase

31 End of 3rd Quarter

APRIL

3-7 Spring Break—NO SCHOOL


15 TAF Academy Mentor Group (by invitation only)


27 3rd Quarter Exhibitions 6:00-8:00

MAY

12 High School Awards Banquet and Dance, Des Moines Beach Park Event Center

15-June 9 Smarter Balanced Assessment, MSP Assessment, Biology EOC Assessment and Math EOC Retakes

SCHOOL CALENDAR

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MIDDLE SCHOOL

DIRECTORY

Carlito Umali 6th Grade Humanities

STEM Integration [email protected]

253-945-4073

Wilson Chin 6th Grade Math


253-945-4072

Beth Sims 7th Grade Humanities


253-945-4071

Raisa Reyes 7th Grade Math


253-945-4070

Ashleigh Shoecraft 8th Grade Humanities [email protected]

253-945-4063

Sam Rise Algebra 1

STEM Integration [email protected] 253-945-4062

Cait Engels Graphic Art

6th Grade STEM [email protected]

253-945-5165

Gabriel Diaz Gateway to Technology

Lighthouse [email protected]

253-945-5164

CLASSROOM NEWS 6th Grade – Mr. Umali and Mr. Chin

Thank you for all the help you have given our kids through the

STEM EXPO process. We had 99% attendance from families

and students. This is so crucial to doing project based learning

work. In PBL, there are three phases: 1. integrated learning, 2.

strong purpose-connection to learning, and 3. lastly authentic

audience. There is no better audience than professionals in

STEM and families. Your presences says to the kids: value

your learning, you matter, and we love you!

This is my 5th year at this school and I can tell you that it positively

impacts students.

Thank you as well to the families who get their students to school

on time. Three unexcused tardies become an absence. We have

noticed that student often are late or are absent on Thursdays. This

can be trying to avoid Dress for Success. Please talk with your

students about this wonderful TAF Tradition. It is about preparing

our students for professional life. Mr. Diaz has a wide assortment

of clothing, donated by his wonderful friends and family. If you need clothing, do not be shy, we will help you

out.

STEM EXPO was an example of full integration in our classes. Mr. Chin and I were laser focused on getting

students to achieve at their highest and best levels. The best part of doing this integration is that students were

able to learn valuable skills and choose a project that they were interested in.

7th Grade—Mrs. Sims & Ms. Reyes

We are growing and so are their math skills! Stu-

dents have been continuously working on their

knowledge of Pre-Algebra so much they have voiced

their enjoyment of math stations. They have been

working hard and together to understand our current

unit of linear functions and making connections to

our previous unit of linear equations

Congratulations to the 7th graders on their 2nd STEM

Expo! They put much time and effort into their pro-

ject over the past 2 months. It was not the easiest

process, but they consist-

ently pushed through it!

As a whole, we are happy with its success and are moving into our next Earth and

Space Science Unit: The History of the Earth. Students will discover Earth’s age

through lessons, videos, pictures, activities, labs, and so much more!

Our students are currently working on essays for the World Affairs Council 2017

Student Writing Contest and this year's prompt deals with the theme of Sustainable

Travel. This is a statewide contest and WAC will award 3 grand prizes of $300 to

middle school students. The students are

busy researching their subject destina-

tion, investigating sustainable travel

options, streamlining and targeting para-

graphs, and (as always) composing and creating a written piece for a

specific audience.

We are in it to win it!

HOME OF THE TIGERS

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9th Grade

Bio: Students have learned about the cell cycle and cancer, and have compared this to the process of meiosis, which creates sex cells.

Students breezed through protein synthesis, so now we are extending our knowledge

by learning about RNA interference and DNA microarray.

10th Grade:

The 10th grade had an impressive showing at STEM Expo where

many students were able to exhibit projects they chose to continue

from last year. Moving forward, the 10th grade will begin working on their 3rd quarter exhibitions, which will tackle the ethics be-

hind warfare. In Chemistry, they will discuss the science behind weaponry that changed the social structures of the world and in

Humanities; they will discuss the historical climate that leads to war as well as the ethics behind historic choices. The 10th grade is

also thrilled to have Mr. James Tracy as the chemistry teacher for the remainder of the year.

In 10th grade chemistry, we are currently launching our new unit that will pertain to beverage production and marketing. Students

will responsible for learning the complex processes involved in mixing different substances in order to make a consumable prod-

uct. Some of the topics that we will cover will include-- chemical reactions, solubility, molarity, and advertising techniques.

8th Grade:

The 8th grade class had a very successful showing at the annual TAF Academy STEM Expo, and their projects really show cased

what they are capable of. Projects from both the scientific and engineering categories impressed the judges, and choosing just a few

of the projects to recognize from the entire class was difficult. However, at the end of the exhibition, the judges chose the following

projects as their prize winners:

Top Overall: Feliciana and Vannary (Mini-hydroelectric gener-

ator)

Top Scientific: Ketterra, Nalani, and Alisha (Amateur radio an-

tennae)

Top Engineering: Isabel, Andy, and Max (Electro-magnet hand)

Sustainability Award: Aubrie, Anisha, and Jovan (hydroponic farming)

Innovation Award: Abby, Eveann, and Char (Self-centering bridge)

Creativity Award: Ana, Magdaly, and Lesly (Acne preventing organic

makeup)

Congratulations to all the groups. Mr. Rise, Ms. Shoe, and Ms. Kait all commented on

how improved the projects become each year.

The 8th graders are currently moving on in their STEM class into App Development

and Entrepreneurship. Using MIT’s App Inventor, students are learning how to design

and develop apps and test them on Android phones and tablets. The students are pick-

ing up the computer science principles quickly, and are engaged with the designing and

coding. Additionally, they are learning entrepreneurial skills, which will help them

with their 3rd Quarter Business Expo. Students will design and build an app, then

pitch their app as a business venture. This exhibition will take place at the end of April.

CLASSROOM NEWS

HOME OF THE TIGERS

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HIGH SCHOOL

DIRECTORY

Denise McLean 9th Grade Humanities

Instructional Coach [email protected]

253-945-4067

Andy Lang 11/12 Humanities [email protected]

253-945-5192

James Tracy HS Science


Brandon Carlisle HS Science/Math [email protected]

253-945-4074

Thuy Dang HS Science/Math [email protected]

253-945-4066

Justin Geib Pre Calc/Calculus [email protected] 253-945-4064

Finny Philip

Biology [email protected]

253-945-4075

Shan Steinmetz Chinese Teacher


Emily Orillion Japanese Teacher


Shawn Fox

Student Support [email protected] 253-945-4065

CLASSROOM NEWS

World Languages A dough figurine, a traditional Chinese craft that is easy to make yet has very

high artistic value, is a small sculpture that uses flour and glutinous rice as the

main raw materials. This year, our Chinese students had opportunities to learn

how to make dough figurine from a volunteer arts & crafts teacher from Taiwan.

Our students had so much fun mak-

ing their own creations!

11 & 12th Grade Humanities:

In Humanities, we are embarking on a two-week unit attempting

to enhance our understanding of Media Bias and how we can be-

come responsible consumers and producers of news and infor-

mation. Using the events in Ferguson and the shooting of Michael

Brown as a guide, we will explore the media coverage and pro-

tests that followed and learn to become informed and effective

civic participants in today’s digital landscape.

12th Grade ESR:

ESR: Seniors have spent most of the year researching their project topic, but now they are doing their

projects. Parents should have received a letter that contains updates on their child’s progression through

the course. If not, please contact Finny Philip at [email protected].

ENGINEERING & FABLAB Engineering:

During our class, a7th grader came to teach the 10th graders on alternative methods in 3D printing. It

is important that students are learning from each other across dif-

ferent grade levels.

Conversations around the difference between our Ultimaker and

Tiko were important because the printing process is not the same.

This young student has been experimenting with some methods at

home that include the exploration of various materials. 10th graders

were very impressed with how knowledgeable this young man was.

He has used his 6th grade engineering education to continue push-

ing his ideas forward outside of that classroom in other projects.

FABLAB:

Fab Lab Group at TAF Academy came together to rejuvenate

their interactive installation "A Guide to Survive" for the STEM

Exploration Night at Federal Way High School. This project

included coding for Arduino robotics and laser cutting and was

previously presented at the 9e2 event at King Street Station ear-

lier this year. Students also included a painted mural that in-

cludes LED lights to represent certain constellations. There are

plans for the group to design the next prototype with an end goal

of finishing a game that resembles a pinball machine.

mailto:[email protected]

HOME OF THE TIGERS

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ASB ASB General Announcements:

Our ASB has been very busy this year! So far, they have organized 4 dances and 3 assemblies and they are currently planning more

great activities. The school’s culture has been positively impacted by these wonderful youngsters. If interested, the ASB General

meetings are Thursdays from 2:50—4:15.

Robotics:

The middle school and high school robotics team performed some outreach work at the FWPS 1st Annual STEM Exploration

Night. The high school team brought their FTC competition robot, and gave demo drive sessions on the show floor for all who

were interested. The middle school teams brought boxes and boxes of LEGO NXT robotics parts and hosted a building session at

the event for hundreds students of all ages in the district. It was a hectic event, and the teams stayed busy for the entire 2 hours.

They did a great job advertising their clubs at the event, and had many students interested in enrolling in TAF@Saghalie just so they

could join the robotics teams!

After spring break, the teams will re-assemble with the goal of building skills for the competition next year. With all the improve-

ments and experiences gained from attending the competitions and events this year, the teams expect to be quite competitive next

season.

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