Virtues in Practice

The Dominican Sisters of Nashville developed a wonderful program which helps Catholics to understand the reasons for their faith and actions. This program is the Virtues in Practice program (follow hyperlink for more information). Each year has a different overarching theme and this year’s theme is Charity Within the yearly theme, there is also a monthly Virtue that students will be focusing on in their classrooms and which they can also practice at home. This month our virtue is: Charity- loving God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Teachers will be on the lookout for students displaying the virtue and those students will be recognized as Virtues in Practice "VIP” winners at a mass at the beginning of the following month.

As a way of making learning fun, we pair the Saint of the Month with a Guessing Jar, which is located outside the main office. Inside the guessing jar are items that in some way relate to the saint. Students get to guess the number of items inside the jar for a chance to win a prize at the end of the month. At the end of the story about the Saint, which accompanies the guessing jar, is a question which students in grades 4-8 must answer in order to make a valid guess about the number of objects in the jar. Our saint who exemplifies charity is St. Vincent de Paul. Check out the story about St. Vincent de Paul here, and you can practice the virtue of charity at home with these At-Home Projects. 

We have a St. Vincent de Paul Society here at our own parish. This group helps the poor by distributing food and other essentials to the needy. They also collect gifts for needy families in our parish and community through the Christmas Giving Tree. Feel free to contact them to find out how you can be like St. Vincent de Paul and help the needy in our own community. Thank you, St. Vincent de Paul, for being such a wonderful model of Christian love and charity!

If your child wore his/her uniform to Mass this weekend, please turn in the confirmation slips to your child's teacher to earn a free dress day on Wednesday, September 21. 

Our school picture day will take Tuesday, September 20. These photos will be used for the yearbook and will be available for purchase. Students may be in either uniform or free dress for these photos (your preference).

Families can start purchasing their picture packages now. Pre-Order School Photos through Yuen Lui Studios Now!

You will have to complete a separate transaction for each child.

Photo retake day will be November 10. 

The Department of Health (DOH) provided updated guidance for Preschool and K-12 schools on 8/5/2022. Below is a summary of the protocol that will be in place as teachers, staff, and students return to school. The full document from the DOH can be found here.

St. Brendan continues to communicate wit King County Public Health and will adhere to their guidance for Preschool-12 schools. Currently, King County is at a low transmission level. The school continues to employ multiple mitigation strategies keeping in mind student and staff safety.

Masking

• Masking will be optional for students, staff, and volunteers 
• While masks are not required, there will be situations when the use of a well-fitting mask will be temporarily recommended
• If your student shows signs of illness during the school day, we will have them put on a mask before being sent home 
• Masking and/or testing will be encouraged for a period of time if there is a cluster of cases in a classroom/cohort. Masking may be required if the Department of Health deems it a necessary mitigation strategy. 

Isolation of Positive COVID Cases 

• An individual who tests positive for COVID-19 is required to isolate at home for 5 full days (Day 0 is the date that symptoms started or the date of positive test) 
• A student may return after 5 days of isolation if they have been fever free for 24 hours and symptoms are mostly resolved. Students are required to wear a well-fitting, high-quality mask (KN95) during days 6-10.

Reporting COVID-19 Cases and Outbreaks 

• The school will continue to update the COVID Data Dashboard with information about COVID cases in real-time 
• The DOH defines a suspected COVID outbreak as at least 3 cases within a specified core group 
• A suspected outbreak must be reported to Public Health, and additional measures such as temporary masking and/or testing may be required 

Staying Home When Sick and COVID Testing 

• Students who show any signs of illness are required to stay home and should be tested for COVID-19. Report any absence to the school.
• Rapid test kits will continue to be available to students and staff 

COVID Weekly Data Dashboard (9/7-9/14)

• Students and Staff who have tested positive: 2

What should I do if my student has a sibling and/or household family member who tests positive for COVID?

For students who have a household member who tests positive for COVID, there is no requirement to quarantine, and the student(s) can continue to come to school. However, the following is recommended:

• Test with a rapid antigen test every 24-48 hours until 5 days after the positive household member’s isolation has ended
• Monitor for symptoms
• Keep student(s) home if they develop any symptoms
• Masking is not required.
• However, masking is recommended for 10 days after exposure IF the student spends time indoors with anyone who is at risk of getting very sick with COVID-19.



Update on the Vaccine Mandate for Volunteers

The State The mandate still requires vaccination for all volunteers who work with children indoors at schools unless they have an accommodation. The Archdiocese has developed a new accommodation process to allow unvaccinated individuals the opportunity to volunteer. This will be managed at the school level through a signed Volunteer Agreement. 

For students in 5th - 8th grades, we use PowerSchool as our student information system. All parents and students were provided login information to PowerSchool. There, you can access grades. In addition to the PowerSchool website, there is a PowerSchool App you can download on your android device. When you set it up, it will ask for a school code. Our school code is KHDH.

Do you have a 7^th or 8^th grader who is possibly interested in joining us on our trip to WA DC & Philadelphia over Easter Break? Then you’re in luck! Please join us for our informational meeting on October 5^th at 6pm in Mrs. Compton’s classroom. Hope to see you there!

Calling all 5^th grade parents. We will have a mandatory info meeting at least one parent needs to attend to learn about Environmental Education Week (EE Week). This meeting will be held on September 29^th at 5:30pm in Mrs. Compton’s room. Please note that this is a parent meeting only, no students please.

Hello from the St. Brendan School Lunch Program!    

The lunch menu is located on the school website and will be updated monthly. You can reference it here: Lunch menu.

Lunch this Week:

Thursday 9/15: Pizza Day

Friday 9/16: Cheesy Quesadillas w/refried beans

Monday 9/19: Chicken w/Pita and Hummus

Tuesday 9/20: AUCTION WINNER Happy Birthday Sarah W.

Beefy Burritos w/refried beans

Wednesday 9/21: Baked Potato w/Toppings Bar

To add money to your child's account, https://www.schoolpaymentportal.com/

Who do I contact for questions?  

Please contact Eileen Warner at: lunch@school.saintbrendan.org .

Thanks to funds raised at last year's fun run and school auction, the school was able to purchase new social studies curriculum for K -8. We were also able to purchase a new dishwasher for the lunch program. Thank you for your support!

Our school office also got a makeover this summer. We are excited for the new look and layout. 

School Office Before

School Office After

WANT TO JOIN ST. BRENDAN

STUDENT STORE CLUB?

♦ What is Student Store?

A fun and rewarding club for Students in 5^th- 8^th grade

♦ What do we do?

Sell products to students to raise money for our school, parish and community

♦ When and where do we meet?

·      Monthly in 5^th Grade Classroom at lunch recess for planning meetings

·      Monthly to sell items at Student Store

Club members will…

♦ Work in all aspect of the store (planning, setup, selling and clean-up).

♦ Advertise upcoming events (make/hang signs, loudspeaker announcements, class announcements).

♦ Have a voice in what is sold and how profits are spent!

SIGN UP IF THIS SOUNDS FUN TO YOU!

First Meeting – This Friday, 9/16/22

12:30 PM in the 5^th Grade Classroom

Our first Spirit Day & Student Store of the school year will be Friday, September 30th. Students can wear their St. Brendan Spirit Wear or CYO Jersey in place of their uniform.

The Student Store is an opportunity for students to purchase fun items including pens, pencils, notepads, toys, and popcorn. Items range from $0.50 to $3.00.

Preschool - 5th Grade usually spend about $5 per student

Middle School Students spend about $5-$10 per student

Profits from the sales benefit our school and an outside organization selected by the Student Store Club.

Student store is CASH ONLY. Please send cash with you child in a Ziploc bag with the child's name and grade clearly labeled.

St. Brendan is starting the St. Brendan Youth Choir. Girls in grades 3rd - 12th, and boys who sing soprano/alto, are invited to join the choir. The first rehearsal is Thursday, September 15 at 4:30 pm in the church, and we would rehearse every week. 

Contact Miss Sims for questions or more information: marys@school.saintbrendan.org

Our students lead Mass during the school week on Fridays, and we have extended our student-led Masses to one Sunday a month for the whole parish and school community. This is one of the ways we are working toward community building and engagement, and growing as a faith community. One class each month will do the readings and will also sing at Mass with a student-only choir. This will be for the 10 AM Mass. 

Please save the dates for the student-led Masses this school year:

Sunday, September 25 (10:00 am)       4th grade

Sunday, October 23 (10:00 am)            5th grade

Sunday, November 13 (10:00 am)         6th grade

Sunday, December 11 (10:00 am)        7th grade

Sunday, January 22 (10:00 am)             8th grade

Sunday. February 26 (10:00 am)            3rd grade

Sunday, March 26 (10:00 am)                 4th grade

Sunday, April 23 (10:00 am)                    5th grade

Sunday, May 28 (10:00 am)                  2nd grade

Ms. Sims will prepare each grade to sing and the teachers will prepare the students to do the readings. 

Thank you to our fall soccer and cross country coaches and volunteers! We are blessed to have you supporting our students and CYO sports!

Calling Parent Photographers - Pictures Wanted

Please send any CYO soccer or XC pictures to christenl@school.saintbrendan.org. Photos will be used on social media and in the yearbook. Thank you!

Adult Volleyball

St. Brendan Parish CYO has registered a team for Adult (21+) Co-ed volleyball. Registration is $65 and must be completed before Thursday September 15th. Games will be once a week Monday or Wednesday. The coach and coordinator like to get the team together on none game days so players should plan on getting together twice a week from September 12th through the end of season tournament on Saturday November 5th. Please contact Athletic Director (Tony Fletcher) at cyoad@saintbrendan.org or Volleyball Coordinator (Bobbi Buendia) at bobbyb6686@aol.com.

SIgn Up Here: https://www.teamsideline.com/seattlecyo  

Parents, parishioners, alumni, and friends of St. Brendan are invited to attend the 2022 St. Brendan Golf Tournament on Saturday, September 24th at the serene Golf Club at Redmond Ridge. 

Golf for a Cause - Click Here to Register

18 holes with cart, shotgun start, bucket of range balls, professional scoring, putting contest, longest drive contests, closest to the pin contests, raffles, door prizes, and awards banquet. 

Golf Tournament Volunteers Needed

We need volunteers at the golf tournament to work the registration table, sell raffle tickets, run contests, and help with the banquet. If you are available to volunteer between 7:30 AM and 1:30 PM on September 24, please contact: christenl@school.saintbrendan.org. This will count toward your volunteer hours.

Volunteers for Picture Day

We are looking for 4 volunteers for Picture Day on Tuesday, Sept. 20. We would like 2 volunteers in the morning and 2 volunteers in the afternoon. Volunteers will make sure students are looking their best prior to photos - hair in place, collars straight, etc. 

8:30 - 11:40, morning shift

12:15 - 3:00, afternoon shift

If you can volunteer part or all of the day, please e-mail secretary@school.saintbrendan.org

Elective Speakers Wanted

Our elective "10 Weeks Around the World" needs you! The elective is designed to teach students about different countries and cultures. Each Friday we would like a different parent/volunteer to come and speak to our class and share about a native country or culture. Some ideas would be to teach the students a few words and bring a snack that students enjoy from the country/culture. Please let Miss Shelley know what Friday you'd like. We are excited to learn from you! Contact dianes@school.saintbrendan.org. 

Student Store Coordinator - Shadow Year

We are looking for a volunteer to shadow the current Student Store Coordinator, Theresa Loughlin, with the plan to pass on the job to a new parent volunteer.

The Student Store Coordinator will work with Student Store Club members and teacher liaison to select and order merchandise, coordinate order forms, manage inventory & distribution for Spirit Days (once a month) and for a Christmas Store day in December.

Student Store Helpers (many positions, shift length varies): Assist with sales at lunch recesses on Spirit Days and/or on the Christmas Store day in December.

Contact Theresa Loughlin if you would like to shadow and, eventually, take on the coordinator role: loughlint@hotmail.com

Student Store Helpers

Friday 9/30 from 11:00-1:00pm

Friday is the first student store of the year and I am in need of 3 parent volunteers to help with set-up, selling toys, and clean-up. This is a fun way to earn some volunteer hours and see your little one at school. - Theresa Loughlin, loughlint@hotmail.com

Speech Club Coordinator

Middle School Speech Club is in need of a Coordinator

We have the Speech Club Coordinator’s Binder that has a lot of helpful resources for the coordinator. Some of the things the coordinator will do is:

• Collect registration and payments
• Host the meetings/practices after school once a week
• Sign students up for competitions at the local high schools
• If competitions are in-person, coordinator food during the competitions
• Help recruit coaches and judges

Please contact the main office for more information about this position.

Recess/Lunch Volunteers

Come earn volunteer hours and help the playground attendants keep our students safe. If you can volunteer between 11:20 - 1:10 (even if it is once a month) we can use your help! Please contact Eileen Warner at lunch@school.saintbrendan.org for more information. Volunteers must be up to date with Safe Environment requirements.

Teacher Wish Lists

If you are looking for additional ways to support our St. Brendan teaching staff, here are some of their wish lists for the classrooms. Be sure to use AmazonSmile for all your Amazon purchases: smile.amazon.com/ch/91-0805463. If your teachers are missing from this list, you can ask them if they have any classroom wishes. Thank you for your consideration!

Preschool (Ditter)

Preschool (Deitch)

• Teachers Pay Teachers and gift cards

Pre-K (Stevenson)

Pre-K (Bartra)

Kindergarten, Ms. Playter

1st Grade, Mrs. Carlton

1st Grade 

2nd Grade, Mrs. Weatherbie

·   Gift certificates for: Teacher Pay Teacher, Amazon

3rd Grade, Ms. Bell

4th Grade, Ms. Streicher

5th Grade, Mrs. Compton

5th Grade wishlist 2

Mr. Langston, MS Science

Mrs. Deehr MS Math

• Teachers Pay Teachers and gift cards

Math Specialist, Mrs. Rooney

• Teachers Pay Teachers and gift cards

Reading Specialist, Mrs. Roughton

• New Parishioner Welcome Dinner—Sep. 24/Sat./after the 5PM Mass
• KofC Pancake Breakfast—Sept. 25/Sun./after the 8AM/10AM Masses



Confirmation Classes - 7th & 8th Grade Students

• The Sacrament of Confirmation classes will begin on Monday, October 10th.
• Both the registration form(s) AND baptism certificate need to be turned in for the student to be registered for classes this year. Please drop off paperwork at the parish office and email Margaret at youthminister@saintbrendan.org with the name and age of your student.
• Students can only miss up to two classes.
• Classes are on Mondays from 6:30PM to 8PM.

First Reconciliation & First Communion

2nd grade is a very important year for your child's faith development - it is the year for first reconciliation and communion. Mrs. Weatherbie and Ms. Finch (Children and Family Ministry) will be leading the students through this process in class, however, all formal preparation for first reconciliation and first communion is done through your local parish. Even if a child attends St. Brendan Catholic School, he or she must still register for sacramental preparation through their home church.

Please contact your church to find out how to register for these classes. St. Brendan Parish, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton all begin in October.

Click here for the registration form for St. Brendan.

PURIFIED

GENDER and the THEOLOGY OF YOUR BODY

with Jason Evert

Double Feature!

We are excited to announce an incredible event for families, ages 13 and up, that will take place on Sunday, October 9th, at St. Brendan Catholic Church in Bothell and will feature international speaker and author, Jason Evert, who has spoken to more than one million teens on the topic of chastity.

The event will include a presentation for teens and parents about dating relationships and God’s plan for human love, followed by a time for adoration and Reconciliation:

• 4:00PM—6:00PM - Purified for teens & families 13+
• 7:00PM—8:30PM - Gender and the Theology of Your Body for everyone 13+.

One Evening - Two Great Events - Come to One Event or Both! We strongly encourage you not to miss this INCREDIBLE opportunity! Parents, reserve your tickets here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5Z6RYRQ

Blessing of Animals

On October 4th, we celebrate the feast day of St. Francis.

At 3:15 p.m. on Monday, October 3rd, Fr. Wichert will do a blessing of animals on the grassy area in front of the church. This is a parish event, not a school event, but school families are welcome to participate.

If you are interested in bringing your pet to participate, a parent/guardian should be waiting with the pet on the grassy area by 2:55 p.m. For students who will meet their parents at the blessing, please email your child's teacher with permission to be walked over to the Church after school. Only students who have sent an email to the teacher will be escorted to the grassy area at 2:55 p.m.

Please park in the church parking lot. Pets will not be permitted inside the school building.

We are looking forward to celebrating St. Francis of Assisi!

1st - 5th Grade Curriculum Night

Wednesday, September 14th

6:30 - 8:00 PM

Middle School Orientation/Curriculum Night

Thursday, September 15th

6:00 PM on Zoom

School Mass led by 6th Grade

Full-uniform dress for 2nd-8th grades

Friday, 8:30 AM

Mass Uniform Weekend

Students who wear their uniforms to Mass can earn a free dress day

September 17-18

XC Meet

September 18 at 3:15

Woodland Park

Youth Choir Practice

Thursday, September 15 at 4:30 

St. Brendan Church

School Picture Day - free dress or school uniform

Tuesday, September 20

Free Dress for Mass Uniform Weekend

Wednesday, September 21

10th Annual Golf Tournament

Saturday, Sept. 24 at 8:00 AM

EE Week Parent Meeting

Thursday, September 29, 5:30 PM

Spirit Day & Student Store

Friday, Sept. 30

Blessing of Animals

Monday, Oct. 3

Washington D.C. Trip Meeting

Wednesday, Oct. 5

Purified and Theology of the Body Retreat

Sunday, Oct. 9