"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."
OLG Newsletter – Sept. 25th
September 25, 2014
Dear OLG Families,
An update from members of our OLG Library Committee…
The changes to the Langen Library, funded by the 2013-14 School Fund Drive, are quite dramatic and almost complete! Students have been so impressed with our new library space and have wondered if we’ve made the room bigger! Gone is the clunky cabinetry that greeted everyone as they entered the library, and a welcoming open space with bright walls, calming shades, new shelves, tables, chairs and carpet greet each library patron. Our Langen Library has entered the 21st century in style, and students are excited about our new space!
With a new library almost in place to start the school year, the Parish Ice Cream Social seemed a perfect place for a Barnes and Noble Book Fair to help replenish our library collection. Parishioners and school families purchased $1200 worth of books at the kick off event in the Walmesley Center on August 27th. The teachers kindly generated book recommendation lists for their respective grades, and Sr. Joan Gallagher provided a wonderful selection of Religious and Spiritual titles. Thank you to all of them for their time and commitment. Barnes and Noble Book Fair revenue from the five days of sales will provide the school with funds to purchase books to round out our collection. In addition, seven wonderful coffee table type books were purchased by individuals and families at the event and donated to the library. The students will love gathering around the new round tables to browse these books together in a comfortable and welcoming library environment. Thank you, thank you to everyone who helped make this wish come true!
A portion of the donations gathered by the Fund Drive last fall was used to upgrade the wireless network system at the school, allowing students and staff to better access information online throughout the building. In August JohnsonCN installed new hardware that allows devices to seamlessly move through the school and stay connected to the network. What is unique about the JohnsonCN is their dedication to providing technology services at very reasonable prices to parochial schools. The new wireless structure means we have expanded coverage on the campus, cloud-based management of the access points, and a structure that supports more devices and users. The next phase is to bridge coverage to the gym for classes and special events and upgrade wiring in the building.
Many thanks to Jeannie Barei for organizing the successful Barnes and Noble Bookfair, Susan Sutton for overseeing the wireless network system upgrade, and Loretta Kramer, Chantille Henry, Kathleen Sullivan, Dani Flanagan, Rita Gazewood, and Shannon Hieger, for serving as members of the Library Committee, to Architect and Parent J. Crone, Jon Morin of West Seattle Design Build for overseeing the remodel, and to Frank Handler Mark Plummer and Sal Pagan for staff facilities expertise and support.
In the next phase of our library focus, we will continue to target the research and information gathering skills that we want our students to master at each grade level and to explore how to continue and expand the ways in which we integrate those library skills, and the supporting technology, into our curriculum at all grade levels. Interviews with librarians and faculty at the high schools our graduates attend have affirmed that OLG students are well prepared for the rigors of high school; we want to continue to build on that success and are thrilled to have a space that is so conducive to research, collaboration, and encouraging curiosity and a love of learning! Thanks to our 2013-14 School Fund Drive donors for making this important upgrade possible.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
2014-2015 School Fund Drive Off to a Great Start!
Thank you to those of you who were able to come to the Leadership Dinner last Saturday. We had the best turnout ever with just over 100 people. The night was a success attendance-wise and also with pledges! Our current pledge total is $41,000, which includes pledges at registration, GiveBIG and the dinner last Saturday.
If you have not already pledged, we ask you to do so. This important Drive funded the launch of improvements and programs not included as part of the operating budget, such as middle school Spanish, the music room and major improvements to the library program.
We are off to a great start, and now we need you! Please be sure to complete your pledge card now!
Welcome back, OLG families, to our last installment of the Fundraising FAQ.
How much does the school expect me to give?
As a Catholic institution dedicated to service and community, we hope all school families give charitably to various worthy causes. While your children are here, please make the school a top giving priority – and not just because our Catholic parish school depends on it. Excellent values-based education cultivates happier, healthier people, who become better workers, citizens and family members. You’ll be helping your child and other children now, and building a better world for years to come.
OLG is neither a very poor nor a very affluent community, so we really depend on everyone to give as they can. If the most your household gives to any one organization is $30, please consider giving at least $30 to the school. If it’s $275, please consider at least that amount. And if you’re one of the few households that can afford a $1,000 gift or $5,000 gift, please consider that level of giving.
You can decide how to distribute that amount among the various fundraisers. We’d appreciate meaningful gifts from every family for the Fund Drive and the Auction.
I don’t have big bucks. Does my contribution even matter?
Emphatically yes. Only a handful of our families can afford gifts in the thousands. The school absolutely depends on the many households who contribute $25, $100 or $750. High participation also helps our case when we seek grants or other outside help, because we can show we’ve done our best to help ourselves.
Beyond material benefits, though, is the gift of solidarity. We give what we can, support each other and share ownership of our community.
Can I use matching funds from my employer?
Maybe! Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks and other employers provide matching gifts for donations and even volunteer time. Please check with your employer for specifics, and contact OLG Development Coordinator Chantille Henry for help!
That’s all the money talk for now. Got another question about OLG finances? Send inquiries to Donna Ramos or Chantille Henry and look for another round at a later date.
We need volunteers ASAP for our Jefferson Square and Admiral Safeway e-Scrip events this weekend! This is such an important fundraiser because it’s “free” money for our school community – so let’s get out there and ASK Safeway patrons to assign their cards to OLG as a beneficiary! We’ve been successful in the past with these events, but we can’t do it without your help. Please volunteer this weekend and help OLG earn e-Scrip money!
This is a great way to start accruing those volunteer commitment hours for the school year and if you sign up to help at this particular event we will give you double the hours. That’s right; you read that correctly! So, if you sign up for a 2 hour shift, you will earn 4 commitment hours. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Dates: September 27 or 28
Times: 9:00 to 11:00am,
11:00am to 1:00pm,
1:00pm to 3:00pm,
3:00pm to 5:00pm
Locations: Admiral and Jefferson Square Safeway
Can your children help? Yes, but you must work with them, and they should come in uniform.
Can I sign up for more than one date or 2-hour shift? Why, of course you can. We would love to have you there as many hours as you want to give.
How do I sign up? Please follow the following links to sign up. Contact E – scrip Co-Chair Page Garcia at with questions.
Saturday, September 27th – Come join us for an evening of family fun and socializing! This Saturday, the OLG Parent Organization will be hosting BINGO in the school hall from 6:30pm to 9pm. This is a fun evening for the entire family! The Parent Org is proud to host events that bring our community together. So please join us and meet new families and catch-up with old friends. Food will be available for purchase, and BINGO cards are only $1. We hope to see you there!
Next Parent Org Meeting
Tuesday, October 14th – Parent Org Meeting at 6:30 PM in the school math lab (located across from the front desk on the main floor). Everyone welcome! This is a great platform for the Parent Org Committee to share with you the latest happenings and also hear your thoughts and opinions. Please join us!
Thank You
A big thank you to Susie Stanley-Jones and Mindy Ursino for organizing our awesome Fall Fundraiser this year! It was wonderful to have the wrapping paper back, plus much, much more. The time and organization you both put into the Charleston Wrap campaign is greatly appreciated!
Halloween Carnival: Calling all Volunteers & Bakers & Costco/Target Shoppers!
Cakes – This year, we are asking each class to provide 11 cakes (homemade or store bought) to share. You can sign-up for as many as 2 cakes (each counts as 1 hour volunteer time) or 24 cupcakes, or a combination of the two. If you decide on making cupcakes, please package in groups of 6.
Volunteers – Thank you to all those who have signed up to volunteer at the Carnival over the past few weeks. We need more help! There are still various shifts, set-up and clean-up spots available for each class, so please contact your PO class representative, Gretchen Hill or Chloe Nichols to sign-up today.
Costco/Target “Asks”
We are in need of:
Bags of Halloween Candy (or any large bag of individually wrapped candy will do)
Goldfish crackers in large quantities (bulk or giant bag).
Reimbursement is available for your purchases with receipt.
Coming Soon – Volunteer invitations by email for each class. Even if you’ve already signed up, please confirm that you were added in the position you requested. A lack of information in some cases may have caused your request to be inadvertently missed.
Watch your FCE envelope in the coming weeks for more information on advance purchase wristbands and tickets.
Check out the display case by Miss Clare for a sneak peek at posters and prizes.
News From the Band!
Our instrumentalists are off to a wonderful start! The veterans (gr. 6-8) are returning in full force and ready to learn! Equally exciting are our VERY enthusiastic fifth graders! What fun to work with them as they discover the gift of music within themselves!
My thanks to our band demonstrators, Beginning Band parents who attended the rental meeting, and to our wonderful school for supporting the Arts!
Let the music begin!
Miss McKamey
Click here to Find out the latest CYO News and more information about the CYO ANNUAL ITALIAN DINNER – November 15, 2014.
BINGO September 27, 2014
Saturday
6:30 – 9:00 pm
School Hall
NO SCHOOL
Archdiocesan Teacher Excellence In-service
October 3, 2014
Friday
Wednesday Early Dismissal Begins
October 8, 2014
Wednesday
2:15 pm
All-School Mass
October 9, 2014
Thursday
4th grade leads
Math In Focus Parent Information Night
October 16, 2014
Thursday
6:30-8:30 pm
School Hall
Childcare provided
NOON DISMISSAL
October 17, 2014
Friday
Staff Solar Energy Education Training
OLG Halloween Carnival
October 25, 2014
Friday
NOON Dismissal
October 29, 2014
Conference Prep.
NO SCHOOL
October 30 & 31, 2014
Conferences
Please continue to keep Brianna Nelson, 2014 OLG graduate, and her family, in your prayers. Brianna has been diagnosed with leukemia and is undergoing chemotherapy at Children’s Hospital. We pray for speedy healing for Brianna and strength and comfort for her family at this difficult time.
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.
