HOME OF THE TIGERS
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 experience and knowledge. Projects covered a broad spectrum of STEM topics, including ecology, architecture 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 design solution to an everyday problem. The keynote speaker for the Expo was Marco Matos, a Seattle-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 Foundation (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: Sar ah Alter , Ar iani Sandoval Castellano,
Nalani Hall, Alisha Carza, Kevin Vo and Elizabeth Stramer
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
Ketter r a J ohnson,
CREATIVITY AWARD: Cr ystal Mor ales, 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 Per ez,
Evann Cade, Abigail Marshall, Char Coulbert, Trinity Fowler, Breanna Pham, Morgan Washington, Nancy Velez-Regalado and Moriah Blake
SUSTAINABILITY AWARD: Nicolas Colin, J ulio Miramontes-Jimenez, Aubrie Cheatham,
Anisha McCune, Jovan Cisse, Saida Ddungu, Xaimen Lopez Magana, Arshdeep Kaur, Andres
Leyva, Dennis Styles and William Eagling
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
Office Manager
Juli Ciotta
[email protected]
253-945-5190
Secretary
Luisa Vargas
[email protected]
253-945-5187
Attendance Phone Line
253-945-5187
School Closures/Emergencies
www.schoolreport.org
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HOME OF THE TIGERS
Dear TAF Academy Families and Friends,
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, participate in an event and to continue our partnership in behalf of supporting each and every one of our scholars.
Congratulations to all of our scholar s and families for a ver y successful STEM EXPO on Febr uar y 4 th at Saghalie Middle
School. What a great day of engagement and exposition, showcasing the amazing work of project-based learning and STEM education at it’s best. I was so proud of our students and appreciative of everyone who invested time and support for this outstanding 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 EXPO 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 questions, 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 certain that every senior has all of these requirements met or in the process. Several of our TAF Academy Team can provide guidance 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 actually 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
www.fwps.org/taf
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HOME OF THE TIGERS
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 independent, 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 students 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.
SCHOOL CALENDAR
MARCH
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1
1
8-9
10
13
15
18
22
24
25-27
31
SAT Testing—Junior Class
EARLY RELEASE @1:15
Student Led Conferences for EVERY TAF Academy Scholar
Teacher In-Service—NO SCHOOL
ELPA 21 Assessment for ELL scholars
ELPA 21 Assessment for ELL scholars
TAF Academy Mentor Group (by invitation only)
EARLY RELEASE @1:15
Health exam for Juniors & Seniors during 2nd period
Skills Showcase
End of 3rd Quarter
February Snow at TAF Academy
APRIL
 3-7
 12
 15
 26
 27
Spring Break—NO SCHOOL
EARLY RELEASE @1:15
TAF Academy Mentor Group (by invitation only)
EARLY RELEASE @1:15
3rd Quarter Exhibitions 6:00-8:00
MAY
 12
 15-June 9
High School Awards Banquet and Dance, Des Moines Beach Park Event Center
Smarter Balanced Assessment, MSP Assessment, Biology EOC Assessment and Math EOC Retakes
 www.fwps.org/taf
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
DIRECTORY
Carlito Umali
6th Grade Humanities
STEM Integration
[email protected]
253-945-4073
Wilson Chin
6th Grade Math
STEM Integration
[email protected]
253-945-4072
Beth Sims
7th Grade Humanities
STEM Integration
[email protected]
253-945-4071
Raisa Reyes
7th Grade Math
STEM Integration
[email protected]
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 5 year at this school and I can tell you that it positively
impacts students.
th
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! Students 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 project over the past 2 months. It was not the easiest
process, but they consistently 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 destination, investigating sustainable travel
options, streamlining and targeting paragraphs, and (as always) composing and creating a written piece for a
specific audience.
We are in it to win it!
www.fwps.org/taf
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CLASSROOM NEWS
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:
ator)
Feliciana and Vannary (Mini-hydroelectric gener-
Top Scientific:
tennae)
Ketterra, Nalani, and Alisha (A mateur radio an-
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:
makeup)
Ana, Magdaly, and Lesly (Acne preventing organic
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 picking 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.
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 behind 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 product. Some of the topics that we will cover will include-- chemical reactions, solubility, molarity, and advertising techniques.
www.fwps.org/taf
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CLASSROOM NEWS
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 become responsible consumers and producers of news and information. Using the events in Ferguson and the shooting of Michael
Brown as a guide, we will explore the media coverage and protests 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].
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 making their own creations!
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 different 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 pushing 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 earlier this year. Students also included a painted mural that includes 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.
www.fwps.org/taf
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
[email protected]
253-945-4066
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
[email protected]
253-945-4068
Emily Orillion
Japanese Teacher
[email protected]
253-945-4069
Shawn Fox
Student Support
[email protected]
253-945-4065
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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 F TC 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 improvements and experiences gained from attending the competitions and events this year, the teams expect to be quite competitive next
season.
www.fwps.org/taf
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