March 9th Newsletter

The annual Distinguished Teacher/Staff Award recognizes one teacher or staff member for excellence.  That teacher or staff person receives a stipend for summer travel and pledges to bring the fruits of that trip back into the classroom or school.

The award allows OLG School to showcase its indispensable faculty and staff, one individual at a time, and underscores the important roles of refreshment, experience and inspiration in the learning process. Anyone may nominate a teacher or staff member.

Thank you to those of you who have already submitted a nomination for this year. You may complete the nomination form online. The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 10, 2017, so don’t delay!

Rachel Hoch

In second grade, we recognize that Lent is a time to reflect and pray on ways we can become more like Jesus. We are already like Jesus because we are made in the image and likeness of God. But Lent calls us to be more like Jesus through our thoughts, words, and actions. Second graders are journeying through Lent with several activities. First, we have made Lenten Promises in which we have “given up” something in order to “make room” to do something that will help us be more like Jesus. Second, we are doing a new type of prayer, called Lectio Divino (Divine Word) with the Sunday gospel readings. In Lectio Divino, we listen to the reading three times: the first time, we just listen and get familiar with the story; the second time we listen for one part of the reading that stands out for us; the third time we ask Jesus what He wants us to learn from the reading and how He wants us to be more like Him in the coming week. We then draw an illustration of part of the gospel, and those illustrations are displayed in the hallway, on large crosses, as a reminder of this prayerful Lenten season. Finally, we are growing in our relationship with Jesus by learning the parts of the Mass. We are creating hand signals to help remember the parts and order of the Rite of the Liturgy/Mass.

Other fun happenings in second grade include lots of learning about Japan! We are using informational and literary texts, as well as iPads, computers, and the Seattle Public Library website to learn about Japan, while also meeting the Common Core Standards for Language Arts. We have learned about the people of Japan, traditional Japanese houses, and Japanese writing (using characters instead of letters). We have had lots of fun practicing writing our own names in Japanese characters using watercolor paints.

As we journey through Lent, we are also journeying towards First Communion, when we will be fully welcomed to the table of the Lord. We ask for your prayers during this preparation time, that we might experience God in new ways and that we will always have the courage to share our special gifts with the world around us.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

The winter months have been filled with volleyball and jump roping.

In keeping with Student Council’s fund raising for the American Heart Association, classes have been jump roping and learning about heart health. Some classes have practiced chest compressions on manikins and have learned what to do in an emergency. We are continuing with both activities for two more weeks.

Pre-K and K

Students are learning the beginning of

jump roping, turning the rope and jumping with both feet. Throwing and catching what they throw, underhand and overhand throws, and walking while throwing and catching are skills they always work on.

The classes are continuing with some basics, like K, and adding more refinements to the jumps. They try to jump low, with both feet, with arms close in, and continuing for one minute, restarting if they miss. They have worked on jumping in place as well as doing laps while jumping rope.

Classes have been jump roping while moving as well as stationary for three minutes or more.  They have also done long rope jumping, practicing turning, keeping in rhythm with their partner, jumping in and out, side to side jumping (watermelon), group jumping and continuous jumping. They are now working on tricks or different jumps and will be combining three different moves for individual  routines. They have great enthusiasm!

Volleyball, volleyball, volleyball! This is 6th grade’s intro to playing every PE class. Those who have never played are learning the game. Next they will practice being a ref. Seventh and 8th are used to playing each year, 8th grade brushing up on their game in anticipation of the annual 8th vs. teachers game in the near future!