August 28th Newsletter

It was great to see so many of you on Wednesday evening for classroom visits, ice cream, and music by the Starry Crowns. Our staff is gearing up and excited for the new year! Please see below for some important information and updates.

After 17 years of loving service to our OLG School community, Miss Clare is moving on from her role as administrative assistant. She will be very greatly missed, and OLG is better off for her kindness, caring attention to recess injuries and stomach aches, gracious ability to maintain a smooth-running office, and much, much more. Through the years, she has helped new families apply and make the transition to OLG, assisted OLG families with applying for Fulcrum tuition assistance, kept accurate records of attendance and meeting minutes, assisted with accreditation every six years, ordered books and supplies, maintained student files, provided expert logistical help and warm hospitality for special events, answered thousands of phone calls and questions, kept communication flowing between school and home, and provided many small touches that have brightened our day and work space – from flowers by the Mary statue in the office to helping teachers with many day-to-day tasks. She has brought a loving spirit and care for each of your children to her work every day!

We wish Clare wonderful times with her lovely family, relaxing days in the garden, and fulfilling and enjoyable new adventures! We are grateful for her time at OLG School. We will be collecting cards at the school office to put together a surprise basket for her. Please send them in during the first two weeks of school. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for her!

Shelley Bradley has graciously accepted the position of administrative assistant, starting September 1st. Many of you know Shelley as parent of Wyatt (5th) and Garrett (1st), along with her husband, Jeff. Shelley stood out as someone who will carry on the tradition of gracious welcoming and OLG spirit in the front office and will be calmly and efficiently able to juggle the many demands of a busy school office. In addition to raising two wonderful children and volunteering at OLG, Shelley brings a background in marketing and finance – as well as experience as an OLG recess monitor! Welcome, Shelley!

In addition, Erika Morin will be leaving her position as Pre-K instructional assistant to devote more time to working with her husband, Jon, in their family construction business, West Seattle Design Build. Erika has worked closely with Janet McClelland to welcome many three- and four-year-olds to their first school experience. Her ability to work with Pre-K students with calmness, humor, and positive consistency will be missed, as will her willingness to dive in and lend a hand when needed around the school. We wish her all the best and look forward to her continued involvement in OLG School as a parent of Maali (6th) and 2015 graduate, Matthew.

Jeanine Morley will be moving from the role she has held as kindergarten instructional assistant back to Pre-K, where she started her career in education. Jeanine has been helping in Pre-K from 2:15 – 3:00 pm each Wednesday in recent years. She will bring great skill and experience working with young children and a first-hand experience of the kindergarten program and readiness expectations, further enhancing an already smooth transition upstairs for students! We are currently seeking and considering candidates to fill her shoes in the kindergarten instructional assistant position and are confident that we will find the perfect fit! In the meantime, Kathleen Dedon – one of our wonderful OLG substitutes – will be assisting in kindergarten for the first couple of weeks. She has worked closely with Ms. Zbaracki in the past and is very familiar with the kindergarten classroom and school routines.

OLG’s new lunch program , “No Junk,” will be available starting Wednesday, Sept. 2nd, 2015.  Register here and find out how to order lunches. Only pre-ordered lunches (by midnight the night before) will be delivered to the school.

Milk will be available for order separately (white milk only, 1%). The first day that milk is served will be Tuesday, September 8th (2nd week of school). This year, we are taking orders for milk for the entire school year. The cost will be $60, which can be paid by check when placing the order or billed to your account in October. Students who purchase milk will have milk available to them every full day of the school year, starting September 8th. There will be no refunds for sick days, etc. Please send your order to the school office using this

For those of you with balances with Queen Ann Catering, please email Ann Wenzel between Sept. 1st and Sept. 30th, 2015 to get a full refund. This offer is only good during the month of September!

Join us in the Walmesley Center after 9:00 Mass on the first day of school for coffee, refreshments, and a chance to reconnect!

Remember, commitment hours accrue from May 1st through April 30th. So, if you worked at Jog-A-Thon, Field Day, New Family Night or have done anything else since May 1st that qualifies for commitment hours, make sure to log your hours using our NEW “Commitment Hours Form.”

It’s easy! Just follow the prompts to answer the questions, enter your hours, and you are done!

We are no longer using VolunteerSpot to record and log hours. So, if you have signed up through VolunteerSpot to work an event from May 1, 2015 on, you still need to log your hours using the new form, which can be found on the school website both on the homepage and also under the “PARENTS/Commitment Hours and Volunteering” section. VolunteerSpot may still be used at the discretion and preference of an event chair for organizing volunteers only. VolunteerSpot will no longer track hours.

To log your volunteer hours, click HERE !

Questions? Email Erin Stampe, Parent Org Chair, or Laura Campbell, Commitment Hours Chair, for answers.