Welcome to another fantastic year!
I am very excited to have your student in my class this year and am looking forward to a year full of learning, growth, and development.

Steve Bertrand
425-385-6052

Update - 5/23/20 - Dear PE Students:

Please come to Cascade High School on May 28th or 29th from 8am to 2pm & pick up any clothing left in your lockers.  We have the items bagged up for you.

Mr. "B" 

Update - 5/4/20 - Dear Level 1, 2 & 3 Guitar Students:

Greetings!  I hope you are all doing well & staying safe.  That said…  After much deliberation as to what to do with some of you not having your guitar books or guitars, & some of you having both, I have come up with the following “game plan” to provide each of you with a challenging & enriching music experience.

First of all, to those of you without books or guitars…  If you go into the Guitar 1, 2 & 3 Google Classroom (Remember our code is pvpgasa), you will find a slide presentation with a number of activities designed to challenge & enrich your music experience.  Please take time to review this thoroughly.  What I am asking you to do is engage in as many of these activities as you can.  I will continue adding new learning opportunities as the quarter progresses. 

However, to meet the requirements for this course, you will need to write five papers related to some aspect of music &/or guitar.  The assignments you can choose between are high-lighted in yellow.  Simply complete the assignment, & send it to me via email.  My email address is:  sbertrand@everettsd.org.  With a little over six weeks left in the school year, I would aim to complete one essay per week.  If you have any questions, you are welcome to send me an email.

Remember, from an attendance standpoint, you need to keep in contact with me weekly.  Simply send me an email letting me know what you are working on in guitar, what enrichment activities in guitar you have completed, &/or if you have any other comments, questions or concerns. 

For those of you who have both your book & guitar, you are to do a combination of songs from your section of the book, &/or essays high-lighted in yellow from our Google Classroom.  You may video yourself playing a song & email it to me for evaluation.  You will need to do at least one song &/or one essay.  For instance, you could do four songs & one essay, or four essays & one song, or any combination of these assignments.  But, I should have at least one song & one essay from each of you.  Make sure you simply get me five song/essay assignments. 

You will also need to keep in touch with me on a weekly basis.  Send me an email or assignment.  Bottom line – KEEP IN TOUCH!  I will expect some form of communication from you.

Ok.  Now…  Stay safe & let’s get going!

Mr. Bertrand

 Update - 4/20/20 - Dear Level 1, 2 & 3 Guitar Students:

What I would like to see you do is work through all the material in your section of the guitar book between now & May 19th.  Set a goal to play through all the songs in your section of the red book.  I will then be discussing the accountability for these songs.

Mr. Bertrand

Update - 4/18/20 - Letter To My Seniors

Dear Senior Physical Education & Guitar Students:

First of all, I would just like to say I hope all of you are doing well & keeping safe.  That is priority #1.  These are interesting times we are living in.  Believe me, you will have ample stories to share for the rest of your lives!  The fact I had to walk uphill both directions in snow every day to school when I was a kid pales in comparison (kidding).  I’m sorry you are missing the last portion of your high school careers.  We miss you.  That said…  Don’t think that this will be the last challenge you ever face in life.  It is important that we learn to handle life’s “curveballs” to the best of our abilities.  I like the old adage – “Function in disaster, finish with style!”

So, in whatever form is decided for your academic accountability down the homestretch, we need to account for this last portion of the semester.  I have posted information on my staff website, as well as in Google Classroom.  It’s very important that you do not simply blow off this work.  As mentioned, there will be some form of accountability.  If in one of my p.e. classes, I would encourage you to look over the program outlined in Google Classroom, get going on participating in daily physical activity, &, make sure you are recording your workouts in the Focused Fitness Log. 

If you are one of my guitar students, & you have a guitar & book, please continue to work through material in your section of Book 1.  You can use book 2 & my supplemental material for enrichment.  If you don’t have a guitar or book, I want you researching favorite guitarists, bands &/or music that interests you.  I want you listening to songs.  I want you watching short guitar tutorials centered around skills you need to develop as a guitarist.  What I’d really encourage you to do is see if you can’t borrow a guitar for the rest of the school year.  Then, play a bit every day.  Plan on some form of accountability by mid-May.  Remember…  The only way to get to Carnegie Hall is…  Practice!  Practice!  Practice!  

Instructions &/or expectations are posted in numerous locations for you – this e-mail, my district website, Google Classroom, LMS, etc.  I expect you to go to work on this starting Monday, if you haven’t already.  Familiarize yourself with our district Learning Zones & periods of engagement.  You are really encouraged to use our district student commitment schedule for each day; as well as any time needed outside this schedule.  During your assigned class time, I will be available should you have any questions.  Simply e-mail me at:  sbertrand@everettsd.org.  You may also contact me outside my office hours.  What you are getting right now is a taste of adulthood.  In other words, you need to take charge of your own lives.  You must learn to exercise your mind, body & spirit every single day.  Seek positive ways to deal with frustration &/or disappointment in your life.  “Doing beats stewing!”

I will tell you this…  The following are ways I deal with stress in my life:  Running, writing, listening to music, movies, reading, gardening, playing guitar, etc.  You must find your own things you are passionate about.  The bottom line…  Seek positive things, not negative.  Be the hero in your own story.  Helping others is also a great way to keep the focus off yourself. Just do it from six feet away. 😊  If you need a motivational incentive, there’s a diploma waiting for you in the near future.

Ok.  Enough from me.  Time to roll up your sleeves, go to work, & finish strong, Bruins.  Go get em! 

Mr. Bertrand

Update - 4/14/20 - Dear Students:  I hope all is well with you.  I wanted to provide more information as we conclude the school year utilizing on-line learning.  First of all, to my physical education classes - make sure you log into Focused Fitness & thoroughly read through the expectations for p.e. classes.  There will be accountability of.  Whether or not that will be a letter grade or pass/fail has yet to be decided.  However, you will need to account for your time & efforts.  I will keep you updated when I have further information.  Seniors - Do not blow this off!  Everyone should go to work accounting for a minimum of 60% of the remaining 39 days of school.  You will need to log your workouts in the Focused Fitness Log.  I check these regularly.  Some of you need to get on board.  Guitar students - Regardless of whether or not you are level 1, 2 or 3, you need to pick five songs from your section of the guitar book that you have not previously tested on & be ready to test on those five songs.  I will have more information coming on how we will account for those five songs.  Hopefully, you all have a guitar & your book. If not, see if you can't borrow one for the remainder of the school year.  Should you need to contact me...  please use sbertrand@everettsd.org.  I wish you the very best.  Stay safe &...  let's get to work!  :)

I want to wish you & your family good health & safety during these trying times.  I want you to know I am still excited about having an opportunity for learning during our physical closure of school.  Students &/or parents can e-mail me direct at sbertrand@everettsd.org with any comments, questions &/or concerns.  Below will find a "general" breakdown of daily involvements in my classes.  Right now, you are getting a taste of adulthood.  What I mean by that is - You must take responsibility for your own learning.  In reality, your whole life should be about finding ways to pursue the exercising of your mind, body & spirit.  Challenging times provide us with opportunities to rise to the challenge.  Make the most of this time.  You own your learning! You may also contact me with any school-related matter at:  sbertrand@everettsd.org.  In the meantime, as the old adage goes, let's all do our best to "Function in disaster, finish with style".  :)

Mr. Bertrand

Physical Education Classes - Please put in a minimum of 20-30 minutes of cardiorespiratory fitness each day (walking, jogging, swimming, biking, etc.).  You should also work on some endurance strength (pushups, situps & pullups), if you don't have access to weights.  I would encourage you to work on preparing for our end of the year Fitness Test as well (pushups, situps, sit-&-reach, pace test).  Also, I would encourage you to keep that Fitness Log we handed out on the last day of school & turn it in upon return.  Remember...  A good workout consists of the "4 W's" - warm-up, workout, warm-down & weight training.

All PE 101, Team Sports, Court Sports, & Flexibility & Fitness Through Martial Arts classes can access weekly suggested fitness activities using Google Classroom; & students can record their involvement in the Focused Fitness website Behavior Log.   Please see the Student/Parent/Guardian letter for the Google Classroom access code.

Specifics:

Introduction To Physical Education - You should be setting goals & striving to improve your level of fitness from the beginning of the semester.  This will be evaluated through our fitness testing.  So... be working to improve your fitness in the designated areas mentioned above by working toward your goals daily.

Court Sports - Anything you can do to improve your skills through play in volleyball, badminton, pickleball, wallyball, soccer, tennis, etc... go for it!

Flexibility & Fitness Through Martial Arts - You should be reading the manual you were given in preparation for your upcoming written exam & physical belt test.  Material you will need to know for both includes - Opening Creed, Reporting, Hand Techniques, Foot Techniques, Form, Self-Defense, Breaking Techniques, 7 Principle Kicks, 9 Principle Steps, Theory of Release, Sparring (Jab, Cross, Hook & Uppercut, Fitness & Closing Ceremony.  Work on it a little each day & you should be ok.

Guitar 1, 2 & 3 Classes - The only way I know to get to Carnegie Hall (besides a taxi) is...  Practice!  Practice!  Practice!  That said...  I would suggest you put in a minimum of 30-minutes per day. Watch lessons on UTube or Facebook.  If you need to download songs, go to this reliable site - www.sunhawk.com.  If you want to work on your rhythm playing, try the Chordify site.  Until we are together again, continue working on material in your book(s) for upcoming tests.

Specifics:

Level 1 Guitar Students - You are responsible for all material between pages 6 - 51 in your Beginning Guitar Superbook, plus...  Minute in G (Part 1), Picking Patterns, Major Chords, & a song of your choosing for part of the Final. 

Level 2 Guitar Students - You are responsible for all material between pages 54-76 in your Beginning Guitar Superbook, plus...  Minute in G (Part 2), Picking Patterns, Minor Chords, Blues handouts, & a song of your choosing for part of the Final.

Level 3 Guitar Students - You are responsible for all material between pages 80 - 143 in your Beginning Guitar Superbook, plus...  Minute in G (Chords), Picking Patterns, 7th Chords, Blues handouts & a song of your choosing for part of the Final.