"Our Lady of Guadalupe School fosters Gospel values, inspires academic excellence, and develops service and leadership. We face this as a sacramental community united and empowered by the Holy Spirit."
April 6th Newsletter
April 6, 2017
Dear OLG Families,
Holy Week
It’s hard to believe that Holy Week is upon us! We’ll be continuing our tradition of gathering in the hallways on Monday for prayer, followed by ringing prayer bells to signify five minutes of silence to start the day Tuesday – Friday. On Tuesday, the 7th graders will lead our community in the Stations of the Cross, with a focus on immigration. Come join us in the church at 2:00 pm! We hope to see you Thursday evening, starting at 5:30 pm in the School Hall, for the annual Soup Supper, hosted by the school staff. It’s a great way to come together for a simple meal before the Holy Thursday service at 7:00 pm. Bring your Rice Bowls to church that evening.
Seventh Grade Garden Project
Progress has begun on the 7th grade garden project on the south side of the church. So far, students have leveled out spaces for raised beds, put up posts for the arbor, and installed irrigation, working with professionals who have generously volunteered their time. Students have ordered seeds and supplies and are eagerly awaiting their arrival to begin phase two. One of their grant applications, a Rice Bowl grant written by Sofia P., was recently funded, bringing in an additional $450 for the project. Thank you to our generous students, families, parishioners, and local businesses, for your generous support of time, talent and treasure. Stay tuned for a full report and to see the garden take shape!
Registration
Most of our families have completed the re-registration process for
2017-18! If you have not yet completed the process, please help us to wrap up before Easter break. Forms and the registration link can be accessed through our website “Admissions Documents” page. If you need any help with the re-registration process, contact any of us in the school office (206) 935-0651 or email Laura Wong. Thank you!
Jog-a-thon
Forms for the Cinco de Mayo Jog-a-thon were sent home in today’s FCE. See the Parent Org section for more information!
Seventh Graders are wrapping up their coding language arts unit. Yes coding, yes language arts. Using MIT’s coding language SCRATCH, students have immersed themselves in creative computing: design-based computational thinking and communicating. Drawing upon students’ interests and imaginations, they first learned the basics of this coding language, where they put their computer skills to work as creators, versus consumers, of technology. Over the course of a month’s lessons and activities, students built their computational thinking and programming skills in ascending layers of complexity, dynamicity, and interactivity. Such concepts as sequencing, parallelism, conditionals, and loops were developed, all while practicing the skills of debugging, testing, remixing, and collaborating. They explored the various components required to digitally tell a story or create a video game. Here are some snippets overheard while working:
This is actually really cool when you can do something! – Lauren
It worked! I can’t believe it actually worked! I thought for sure it wouldn’t work! I’m so happy. I did it! Now I can fine-tune it. – Ben, upon successful creation of an interactive maze game
Their culminating project tasked them with becoming experts in environmental problems and solutions by incorporating research skills including determining credibility of online sources and effectively employing all stages of the research cycle. Students then used the steps of the writing process to plan, design, create, revise, and publish, via coding, a Public Service Announcement to teach their expertise.
Five years ago, a group of OLG parents gathered together to create the 5 year vision. Out of one of the sub-groups came the idea of an OLG Day of Service for the entire parish. We wanted to take the Service projects beyond the classroom to have families serve together. We also want to provide an opportunity for school families and parishioners who are not school families to serve together. On Saturday, March 25th, we held our 4th OLG Day of Service. Guadalupens young and old went out to serve our community through the OLG Day of Service. We had over 170 people sign up…a new record! We served at 10 different sites, with 4 of them being new additions this year.
Thank you for all that you did to make this day possible. You impacted the lives of so many people here and the lives of the people they were able to serve.
Thank you to all those that participated. Thank you to those who were unable to participated but held us in your prayers. A very special thanks to our project leads, planning committee members and speakers: Rita Gazewood, Lucille Van der Hagen, Lauren Hobbs, Colleen Duffy, Jennifer Ibach, Samantha Depue, Nicole Monroe, Dani Flannigan, BenMarre, Carolyn Woodhouse, Erin and David Pedras,Kelley Mackenzie, Sofia Pedras and Carl Buher.
Here are what people said about what they look away from the experience:
It was our family’s first time to volunteer for something like this together. It was eye opening and we all felt really good we could interact with the community in this way and to give them.
Greater awareness of what life is like for prisoners
How a few people can do mighty things.
How joyful everyone was to be doing something for someone else.
Great getting to kn
ow other OLG families that I hadn’t talked to before
The struggles faced by refugees resettling in this country.
The need of people for food bank support and the range of services which the food bank provides its clients and area, from food to advocacy.
Music Class is an adventure every day! Here are some highlights from my spring lessons:
CHORUS recently performed two separate Lunchtime Flash Mobs: “Mean” and “Fight Song” – empowering songs! Next week, we get to perform a song from “Moana” with the Kennedy HS Choirs when they come to showcase their music program. Last autumn, I submitted to Music Express Magazine a video of Chorus singing and dancing to “Be A Friend”. We were included in their mash-up video with many other choirs around the nation and I think we looked particularly energetic and rehearsed!
“Be a Friend” Mash-up Video
5th Grade has music class only once per week this year. I think they enjoyed the recent Soundtrack/Comic Strip lesson: we learned about John Williams’s movie soundtracks (Superman, in particular) and then we created our own Comic Strip to match a short epic soundtrack.
4th Grade focuses on recorders every other Thursday. We’ve learned to play the notes G, A, and B to several songs along with a full band backing track. Music Express Magazine is a terrific resource; it helps make everything just a notch more engaging. We also had a lesson with xylophones: playing along with a Blues Band. I only hope the kids are having as much fun as I am!
3rd Grade enjoyed learning about how woodwinds are made in this “House of Sound” video. We then attempted to replicate the drinking straw trick! Hilarity ensued! This Third Grade class is full of good dancers and we enjoy dancing to songs like “Theme from Spiderman” and Moana’s “We Know the Way” and Zootopia’s “Try Everything”.
2nd Grade did well on the Bird Call lesson. Next to a bird’s image, we made sonic maps of several spectacular bird calls around the world. We then quizzed ourselves, referring back to the sonic map.
1st Grade had great success on my Music Painting Lesson. We watched this beautiful video and then, on a long piece of paper with double staves, we added our own random notes and rests. We then embellished the score and each child brought their new song to the piano, where I did my best to play every little notation!
Kindergarten enjoyed a virtual trip to the orchestra with the muppet, Bleeckie. We also learned about the country of Japan, sang a traditional Japanese song called, “Ame, Ame’, and learned about the beautiful pentatonic scale. We also played many, many of the Orff musical instruments as accompaniment to a Sound Poem about St. Patrick of Ireland.
Preschool and PreK get to move around a lot. We dance to songs like “Spring In My Step” (a lot of swatting bugs at the end), “Cha Cha Cha Boogie” (sliding, stomping, gettin’ up and gettin’ down!), “Step and Skip”, and “Sun and Moon.” We also spend quiet time coloring on worksheets that help us seek out the shapes of music notation to discover pictures and patterns.
I’m looking forward to a little sunshine over Spring Break but I’ve gotta say, greeting our OLG students each day is like greeting the sunshine itself. Happy Spring!
Put on your “zapatos de correr y corre! corre! corre!”
The Cinco de Mayo Jog-a-thon is on Friday, May 5th! It’s going to be a Mexican fiesta! Please save the date!
Check your FCE today for your runners pledge form, prize information, donation instructions and important dates. This is the last major fundraiser of the year, and our goal is $30,000. We know that our “fiesta” runners are up for the challenge. Ask parents, friends, families and grandparents to pledge a per-lap challenge or flat dollar amount for your runner. All pledges are 100% tax deductible. Challenge your runner to beat last year’s laps – one year older, one year stronger! We will be utilizing the OLG events webpage for donations and payments this year. This is our preferred method of payment. The website is now open for donations! Pledge forms are due the morning of the jog-a-thon, Friday, May 5th.
Maracas, sombreros, serapes and zapatos de correr encouraged!
Box tops earnings were $599.30 this year. Thanks to everyone who has participated! These funds will be used to supplement our library collection.
Labels for Education earned 2040 points this year. These points are used to purchase recess equipment.
Thanks so much to Laura Wong, coordinator, and our 8th grade office helpers, as well as EDC students who helped us clip the box tops!
Thriftway Program for Schools Announcement
Want to donate to our school just by shopping at your favorite grocery store? West Seattle Thriftway will refund 1% of all purchases through their 1% Cash Back for the Community program. Save your receipts and bring them to the collection box in the office. That’s all there is to it. Get your family and friends involved too! Thanks for supporting our school!
Other News
April Meeting: Tuesday, April 11th at 6:30 pm in the Math Lab
All are welcome!
Volunteer Hours for the 2016-17 academic year end on April 30th. You have until May 15th to get those entered. Hours for the next academic school year begin on May 1st.
Please help the Preschool/Pre-K and 3rd grade classes support West Side Baby, which will end on April 7th.
The class that brings in the most will win a Free Dress
Day. This drive is for diapers and hygiene products only. Diapers in all sizes – even loose diapers are ok. Baby shampoo and wash, baby brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc., are also needed!
Loop the Lupe
Be sure to register for this fun community run on June 4th. Discounted early registration runs through April 15th! Bring your friends, family and neighbors! This event is open to all.
Youth Migrant Project: Summer Mission Trip for Teens
The Youth Migrant Project is back! Once again we’ll be teaming up with St. Mary’s and St. Anne’s for a fun and life-changing week. Jennifer Ibach and JC Santos will help lead the trip, which is open to all graduating 8th graders (or 14+ years old) through graduating high school seniors. We stay at St. Charles in Burlington and work in a variety of migrant ministries in the Skagit Valley, including distributing food and clothing, creating a fiesta for the children in a camp, and attending Mass in a camp. In addition to serving, we will learn about migrant life and reflect on our faith in light of these realities. There are two mandatory preparation meetings on May 21st and June 11th, both at 5:00 pm at St. Mary’s. The cost of the trip is $200 but partial scholarships are available. Because there are three parishes participating, space is very limited. If you are interested in attending or have questions, contact Jennifer Ibach at (206) 935-0358 ext. 120. Applications are available in the parish office and online and are due Monday, May 8th.
CRS Rice Bowl: Encounter our Neighbors
We encounter Jesus this week in Jerusalem, a community he knew well. We prayerfully enter into our own communities too, encountering those who are hungry and thirsty, and others who need our help. How does our Lenten journey motivate us to serve those we meet in our daily lives? Did you know that 25% of the funds we raise through Rice Bowl stay in our Archdiocese for
local hunger alleviation projects? OLG has received Rice Bowl grants for our parish gardens as well as the Community Meal program. To Learn more about how CRS uses donations. Remember to bring your Rice Bowls to Mass on Holy Thursday! Please convert your coins to cash or check (our counters thank you!).
Our Lady of Guadalupe School & Parish acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.
Progress has begun on the 7th grade garden project on the south side of the church. So far, students have leveled out spaces for raised beds, 
put up posts for the arbor, and installed irrigation, working with professionals who have generously volunteered their time. Students have ordered seeds and supplies and are eagerly awaiting their arrival to begin phase two. One of their grant applications, a Rice Bowl grant written by Sofia P., was recently funded, bringing in an additional $450 for the project. Thank you to our generous students, families, parishioners, and local businesses, for your generous support of time, talent and treasure. Stay tuned for a full report and to see the garden take shape!
2017-18! If you have not yet completed the process, please help us to wrap up before Easter break. Forms and the registration link can be accessed through our website “
students have immersed themselves in creative computing: design-based computational thinking and communicating. Drawing upon students’ interests and imaginations, they first learned the basics of this coding language, where they put their computer skills to work as creators, versus consumers, of technology. Over the course of a month’s lessons and activities, students built their computational thinking and programming skills in ascending layers of complexity, dynamicity, and interactivity. Such concepts as sequencing, parallelism, conditionals, and loops were developed, all while practicing the skills of debugging, testing, remixing, and collaborating. They explored the various components required to digitally tell a story or create a video game. Here are some snippets overheard while working:
Their culminating project tasked them with becoming experts in environmental problems and solutions by incorporating research skills including determining credibility of online sources and effectively employing all stages of the research cycle. Students then used the steps of the writing process to plan, design, create, revise, and publish, via coding, a Public Service Announcement to teach their expertise.
4 of them being new additions this year.
ow other OLG families that I hadn’t talked to before
play the notes G, A, and B to several songs along with a full band backing track. Music Express Magazine is a terrific resource; it helps make everything just a notch more engaging. We also had a lesson with xylophones: playing along with a Blues Band. I only hope the kids are having as much fun as I am!
collection.
