May 20th Newsletter

What a treat it was to see our 8th graders perform in this afternoon’s school performance of Willy Wonka! They brought such spirit and talent to the stage; it was a very fun show. Congratulations to Ann Sager for pulling this show together so beautifully – directing, and creating props and sets (along with the talented Heidi Ehrenberg!), and to JC Santos for working alongside his students and Ann to put this incredible show on.

Earlier this week, 4th grade had a visit from local leaders of the VFW to present two awards to their teacher, Catherine Wilson! Not only was she named Teacher of the Year for the local post, but also for the district, for leading her class in year-long service to veterans and active members of the military. The next day, fourth graders and parents went to the VA Hospital to visit and play games with veterans!

This Wednesday, students from OLG and the other schools that participate in the Kennedy Catholic High School band program gathered for the annual spring Festival of the Bands. It never ceases to amaze me how Frances McKamey can pull together 5th – 8th grade students from many schools and guide them in producing a top notch performance! Here she is directing with her famous Star Wars baton. Congratulations to all of the student participants!

Around school, things continue to be busy! Just a quick glimpse into several of our classrooms…We said farewell to our salmon, as the 1st and 6th graders took them to be released in Fauntleroy Creek, and the 1st graders are preparing to celebrate their learning with their Salmon Chant presentation. Second grade took a trip to explore the arboretum to tie in with their science unit. Third graders are busy designing their rockets, in preparation for the big launch, and the 8th graders will start presenting their Guad Talks, the culmination of their year-long Juan Diego Graduation Service Projects on Monday.

Please join us this coming Thursday, May 26th, as we honor and celebrate four wonderful staff members who are moving on to new adventures: Susan Sutton, Debbie Bellia, Nathan Franck, and Barbara Zbaracki. In previous newsletters, we’ve shared what lies ahead for them, but they will certainly be missed here at OLG. Between 3:15 and 5:00 pm on the 26th, you’re invited to the Walmesley Center to celebrate their work at OLG, share your appreciation, mingle and enjoy snacks provided by the Parent Org.

While change can be unsettling, in the midst of our sadness to see these colleagues leave our OLG staff, we’re taking time to reflect on the positions they are vacating and to envision what our biggest priorities are as we move forward. We’ve spent time as a staff discussing this in light of our curriculum and student learning goals. As is the practice in the Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese, we have formed committees of staff members to interview and select candidates. I’m so impressed with the vision and professionalism of our staff and faculty as we engage in this work together! In fact, our new middle school science teacher shared that one of the strongest reasons that he selected OLG from multiple offers was the colleagues with whom he would be working!

We have also hired a new library/technology specialist, and we are thrilled with the expertise and incredible skills that she will bring! We want to give her time to share this news personally with her current school community, so we will have more to share in our next newsletter. On Monday and Wednesday of next week, we have candidates for our art position coming to teach sample lessons at several grade levels. We’ll keep you posted! As you know, Loretta Kramer is returning to the classroom where she began her career, as our new kindergarten teacher. Her experience this spring as our long-term substitute in 2nd grade has sparked a desire to get back into her own classroom, and she is already eagerly planning with the primary teachers!

Finally, we are actively searching for the ideal new math teacher. Our vision is to make this position a school math specialist position, which will include teaching middle school math, coordinating math curriculum and support school-wide, creating a culture of math through special events like a math club, participation in math competitions, a math carnival, etc. With the hire of a library/tech specialist with a strong technology coordination background, and the tremendous work that Susan Sutton did setting up our infrastructure and getting up connected with outside tech support, we feel that we will be able to make this shift in the math position. We think that it’s an enticing position and look forward to finding someone with the qualifications and passion to be a math leader at OLG.

The OLG Student Council is having their final school-wide fundraiser for the year. This time, we are focusing on the greater Catholic community to support Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) International. NPH currently cares for over 3,300 children in nine different countries, providing education, shelter, food and basic necessities of life, in a loving and caring environment. Donation drives such as ours will help to ensure that NPH International has what they need to continue their mission, caring for God’s children. Our donation drive will be going on through Friday, May 27th. If you would like to support an incredible organization and children throughout the world, please feel free to make a donation through the school’s front office, or with your children, and help the students reach their goal of $1000! For more information, visit their website. Students who donate $1 or more a day get a prize, and every $5 donation also gets a raffle ticket for prizes ranging from movie tickets and iTunes gift cards to Husky Deli and Free Dress! If every student donates at least $4, we will exceed or goal, and will be able to make a big difference in our Catholic community! Thanks to our Student Council for their wonderful lunch-time presentations about this important project.

As part of our 2016 focus on mental health awareness, the Life, Justice and Peace Commission of OLG invite you to join us for a NAMI walk on June 4th.  NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans impacted by mental illness. The walk begins at 9:00 am (8:00 am check-in) at Marina Park in Kirkland. There are 2.5K and 5K options. You can join our walking team or just support the cause through our team’s webpage . If you intend to walk, please let us know so we can meet up with you. Although part of this walk is to raise funds, it’s also about raising awareness and decreasing the stigma. If you aren’t able to do fundraising, you can still join us for the walk! Both will make a difference in the lives of the 43.8 million adults who experience mental illness in a given year. For more information, contact Jennifer at (206) 935-0358 ext. 120.

Update on WHEEL Women’s Shelter
Our WHEEL Women’s Shelter remains closed due to budgetary constraints for the SHARE/WHEEL non-profit who runs it. The organization is seeking additional funding from King County, the City of Seattle, and United Way, as well as private donations. They met with the Director of King County’s Department of Community and Human Services and are hoping for a meeting with the Council and/or the County Executive since they are the only ones who can release additional shelter funding right now. They have requested meetings with the City and the Mayor as well. Through private donations and several fundraisers, SHARE/WHEEL raised some funds but they are still $50K short and have a $12K monthly budget gap that requires sustainable funding. OLG stays poised to welcome the women back if/when the funding comes through.  In the meantime, over 200 homeless individuals from the closed shelter network have formed new Tent Cities near the King County Chinook Building and the Correctional Facility in downtown Seattle.  Find more information here.