Below are a few BIG Things to keep on your radar for the week(s) ahead ...

SLE Reflection - We are faith-filled servant leaders who . Black Excellence Happens on Purpose: James Meredith

1 - Mission & Advancement Updates: Registration for 2022-23; Staffing Update(s); Reminder about Upcoming Leave

2 - Academic & Culture Updates: Winter Conferences; Adults are Lifelong Learners; Building School Culture

3 - Student Activities & Community Engagement:

We know that the family that prays together...stays together.

“For the Lord does not see as humans see; for humans look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

“Please, God, forgive these people because even if they say those mean things they don't know what they're doing. So You can forgive them just like You did those folks a long time ago when they said terrible things about You.”

At age 6 and 7, Ruby Bridges reminded the world that God was and is and ever shall be within all of us. We all have our blinders, and sometimes it takes the courage, faith, and strength of a child to put all things back in perspective. As we strive to work for justice in our divided world today, let us remember to see as God sees. Let us look for the Divine in all we encounter, especially when our blinders suggest God is not present. It is not easy, but Mother Mary reminds us that “With God, nothing is impossible.” - Luke 1: 37

As of today, one week into our priority registration window, we have 23 families registered with 40 students securing the spots for the 2022-23 school year.

If you have not already registered for next school year, please act quickly to avoid an increase in your registration fee. What's next? REGISTRATION FOR ENROLLMENT for the 2022-23 School Year - our 95th year as a school community! Find the link below to register.

Reminder: Priority registration ends March 4, 2022. New families can register and claim open spots effective March 5, 2022, and there will be cohorts with competitive spots as we will not exceed 20 students in any classrooms outside of Preschool. Please don't delay - and help us plan for success!

This past Friday our teachers and support staff attended virtual training sessions hosted by our Seattle Archdiocese Office for Catholic Schools. Some of the classes included:

Our teachers will share their collective learning with each other during staff and GLT meetings in the coming weeks. We also held an on-site training for new staff to become better acquainted with our Catholic Identity as a school.

As our partners in this work, we trust that you are supporting our children's’ growth in living up to our school identity measures along with us. Below you will find our school culture framework that lists our mission, vision, root beliefs, and core values. You will also find our School-wide Learning Expectations (SLEs) along with our upcoming weekly focus indicators. Use these tools to help set your scholar up for success this spring.

If ever you hear about or see something that does not live up to these school norms and expectations please reach out to your classroom teacher and Mrs. Day, as this will allow us to work with students to reteach and support growth. 

Our auction season is now officially underway. We have adopted the theme, "We are FAMILY!" in honor of our 95th anniversary. This year, our auction will be a joint effort between our parish and school, but WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK! We shared our needs at the State of the School, so if you are interested in being part of the solution, please let us know at pto@stcaseattle.org or auction@stcaseattle.org. We will have our next planning session later this week - Procurement Forms and Sponsorship Letters will be available NEXT WEEK - stay tuned!

We are looking forward to the volleyball season upcoming. Due to the CDC qualifying Volleyball as a low risk, low contact sport, it should go as scheduled. Volleyball will be offered for 4th-8th grade, boys and girls. Similar to Basketball, practices will more than likely be held using Seattle Nativity’s gym. The registration deadline is this Friday, February 4th. At this time we finalize what teams we have. Register here: Volleyball Registration

We successfully ran two enrichment sessions this year. We are eagerly looking forward to starting our 3rd session on February 25th. We are gathering a collection of options such as: 

As you know, the Seattle Kraken are our new NHL Hockey team. While historically Hockey is small along the west coast, and even more so in the northwest, Kyle Boyd, the Kraken’s Public Relations Director has made it his number one priority to reach out to communities of color. There are a number of programs the organization is offering, starting as young as pre-school. This offer is for a community skate event in their northgate facility. We have an opportunity through the One Roof foundation to host specific groups to come and try skating at the Iceplex for free. The times that might work best on our end are Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30am – 1:00pm. In terms of weekdays we can also think about a Wednesday from 2pm – 3pm time slot or a specific weekday evening (depending on the night times differ). I will generate a school wide survey, and based upon the general consensus, we will look for a date in late February early March.

Lacrosse 

Who: All kids in 1st to 8th grade

Where: Brighton Playfield, Seattle

When:

STG AileyCamp 2022 will run from June 29 through August 11, 2022 from 8:30AM – 2:30PM at Beach Park Event Center in Des Moines, WA. This will be another wonderful summer of fun, learning, and growing!

They are still accepting applications and sharing the word about our FREE summer camp. In lieu of visiting you for presentations or tabling, we are reaching out with a video presentation for you and your students. 

Covid-19 testing has occurred on campus over the past two weeks. Big SHOUT OUT to Ms. Nicole for unofficially earning her "Nursing Degree" and taking on this monumental task of coordinating, facilitating, and reporting our data. In the first two weeks, we have distributed 58 PCR tests and 28 rapid tests on campus. 6 of these have come back positive, but only 2 of these were situations of new cases (others were suspected cases based on household exposures, previous positive tests, etc.). The rapid tests have been utilized when symptoms emerge and/or when returning after testing positive. The PCR tests have been used in situations with close contacts, household cases, and when symptoms arise. We have inventory to continue testing on campus - please contact the office if/when needed.

There is new guidance for COVID protocols at this time - please see our new COVID Response page on our website HERE.

In brief, there are different guidelines for students/staff based on vaccination status - so we need to have that verified for all community members. PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY! Pleases note:

Thank you for your partnership in these complex times! Please see the visuals below that seek to layout the current protocols. Know that the 5-day quarantine is a MINIMUM and we will require a NEGATIVE RAPID ANTIGEN TEST on Day 5 or later before allowing a student/staff member to return who has tested positive or needed to quarantine as a close contact.

GOOD NEWS: We now have both PCR and rapid-antigen tests on campus - we hope this provides all of us with a little more efficiency and a little less stress in the weeks ahead. In order to test on campus, we need a signed consent form - please download and sign/print and return from the link below!

We understand that many children have allergies, colds, sniffles and likely not COVID-19. However, when you child is experiencing one symptom from the list for more than 24 hours they will need a negative COVID test or a signed doctor's note attributing the symptom to something else in order to return. If you child has 2+ symptoms, for ANY amount of time we will also need a negative test or doctor's note for them to return to campus. With that negative test or a doctor's note your child can return when they are symptom free for 24 hours. If you have any questions please call Ms. Nicole at the front office.