NewsViews

October 9, 2014

I shall live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life.

from Psalm 23

October Saints: PK-2, St. Martha; Grs. 3-5, St. Jerome; Grs. 6-8, St. Augustine

October Virtue: Faith - Believing in God and all He has revealed.

Principal's Letter

Dear Families,

We opened this week with prayer over the intercom led for us by a group of Eighth graders. They reminded us that October is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. Later this month, at our all school Mass, we will honor Mary, Undoer of Knots. Look for more information on this.

During October, our students are learning about and practicing the virtue of Reverence. When you go to Mass, model reverence in the church with the children. At home, discuss with them how we show our deepest respect for all things of God.

Tomorrow, we celebrate the success of the Jog-A-Thon! Thank you all for your participation and generosity! Together, we broke a record with $56,743.59 raised! Terrific teamwork! It's a free dress day for all. The first graders will challenge Señor Pablo and me in the Silly String Showdown around 9:30am. The 134 students who raised $250 and over will participate in the Grabbin' Gecko during lunchtime.

Standardized testing for grades 2 - 8 will start next week. The testing window opens on October 15. You will receive information from your teachers regarding your child's class' testing schedule. For more information regarding the IOWA Assessments, please see the attached letter. Simply encourage the children to do their best at school always! Student-parent-teacher conferences will take place on October 29, 30 and 31. You will receive a sign-up email soon. Please make every effort to make an appointment and attend the conference to talk about your child's achievement at school.

Thank you to all the primary parents who came to the coffee hour this morning. It is very invigorating to chat about all that is going on at St. John School and to hear your ideas about how we can go from good to great! It takes a whole community to make it happen!

Beannacht,

Bernadette O'Leary

Principal

Dates To Note/Action Items

Tomorrow! Friday, October 10 - Jog-A-Thon Reward - FREE DRESS DAY!

Thursday, October 16 - Progress Reports home with students, Grs. 3-8

Thursday, October 16 - Sign Up for Student/Parent Teacher Conferences - watch next week's NewsViews for links

Be sure to check the online calendar - updated regularly - for changes to the draft calendar distributed in July.

JOG-A-THON

WE EXCEEDED OUR GOAL!!!
Thank you, donors!

Total Raised to Date - $56,743.59

Thank you for your dedication and commitment
to your community.

Let's celebrate tomorrow, Friday, October 10

Free Dress for all students
Cash Grabbin' Gecko for students securing $250 in donations
Silly String Showdown with Grade One

Let your supporters know, they can continue to donate!

Donate here

Auction

Mad for St. John?

Your Auction Needs YOU!

Preparations are underway for this year's annual school auction and your Auction Team is looking for some fabulous volunteers to help out. Specific needs at this time include:

Class Liaisons - work with the Procurement team to assist fellow parents find great items for the auction and help brainstorm & plan larger items like sign-up parties, event packages and Live Auction items (minimum of one parent per class).
Class Art Project Leaders - Tap into your creative side and work with your child's class parents and the children to create the amazing art projects for the Live Auction (minimum of one parent per class).
Art Project Coordinator - Work with grade parents & Class Art Project Leaders to organize and facilitate all the fantastic student made class art projects that are part of the Live Auction.
Photography Coordinator(s) - Work with the photographer, class parents, and teachers to plan & organize the charming candid style photos of the students that are sold as part of the auction festivities each year (minimum of one volunteer, could be shared by two).

These and many other opportunities to support your Auction Team in making this year's auction a huge success abound. Please contact Katie Sawicki, auction@stjohnsea.org, if you are interested in any of the above positions or if there is some other way you'd like to contribute.

CYO Basketball

Students in Grades 4-8, sign up now to play
CYO Basketball for St. John School!

Practices begin the last weekend of October or the first week of November. The season is scheduled to run through the end of January. Registration forms and fees are due by Wednesday, October 29. Please contact Richard Myers (rdmyers@rcmcorp.com) or Pat Daly (tpatrickdaly@hotmail.com) if you have any questions. See you on the court!

Download and return the attached Registration Form, to the school office.

Volunteer Opportunities

Play Chip Party! We are having a load of play chips delivered for the Eagles' Nest and we need your help in getting them spread into the garden. Our work party is Saturday, October 18, from 10am - 12pm. No experience necessary, but please bring shovels, rakes, wheel barrels and work gloves if you have them.

If you are a 7th or 8th grader, or know one, this is a great opportunity for service hours! Link here to sign up!

Greenwood Library

Now that school is well under way, we are getting homework and research paper questions every day. Did you know you can access free chat tutoring with a library card and PIN? If you do not have an updated card or PIN, go into any library to get a new one. We will also be hosting two NEW educational support programs for families this month.

Database of the Month: The Seattle Public Library purchases access to tons of databases, many of them specifically helpful for students. With your library card and PIN number (call us if you need to update either), you can access all the databases for free 24/7. Databases are as authoritative and accurate as books, so you can trust these sources for homework. We have databases that are great for both children and teens. You will know you are using a database and not a website if you have to type in your library card and PIN.

Free online homework help: Tutors in math, science, English and social studies offer free homework help (you need a Library card and PIN). Tutors are not available on holidays but you still have access to online resources and tests. Available in English seven days a week from 1pm - 10pm. Link here.

After-school S.T.E.A.M. Games 1st Wednesday of the month! (Kindergarten+) Wednesday, October 8 @ 3:30 - 5:00pm Have fun with science, technology, engineering, art, and math board games and activities. This is not a drop-off event, you must accompany your child if they are too young to be in a library program alone.

Greenwood Family Forum, Wednesday, October 29 @ 6:30 - 7:30pm

Learn about the Library's freeschool support resources for youth of all ages. 826 will also talk about their youth tutoring and writing programs. Co-ponsored by The Seattle Public Library and 826.

As always, please call me if I can be of service anytime at Jennifer.Bisson@spl.org.

Jennifer Bisson, Youth Services Librarian, 206-684-9234

NoJunk

LET'S LEAD YOUR CHILD IN A GOOD DIRECTION!

Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is a progress, working together is a success!

FOOD FACTS! Most store bought bread contains a lot of ingredients. It only takes maximum 4- 7 ingredients to make good bread! Our bread contains: Butter, Milk, Honey, Yeast, Eggs, Salt & Flour

PLACE YOUR ORDER HERE WATCH THE VIDEO HOW TO ORDER

If you have issues ordering and the FAQ does not answer your question, please contact Jeff Duncan at 206-910-2274 and he will be more than happy to help.

Thank you for your continued support,

Bente Oestergaard

Founder/CEO

Scrip

Grandma. Grandpa. Aunt. Uncle. Cousin. Good friend.

These are just a few people who can buy St. John Scrip cards.

Since the majority of our cards are from national vendors, the gift cards can be used anywhere in the country.

If you are lucky enough to have family members in Seattle and the surrounding area, they can use the local and national vendors.

If you want to order cards for them or yourselves, please contact your Scrip team at scrip@stjohnsea.org. Scrip is a wonderful way to support St. John by using your own buying power!

Please ask questions or place your orders at
scrip@stjohnsea.org.

Cheers, Karen

Using Scrip is part of your Fair Share Commitment to St. John School!

Questions? Contact Karen Bombino and the Scrip Team at scrip@stjohnsea.org

Neighborhood Bites

Interested in hosting a student from Japan? North American Nippon Education Services is looking for host families for March 7-22, 2015. Students will be busy much of the time, stipend provided to the family for expenses incurred. Contact Megumi Kanzaki, Director, 206-484-1972.

Made Sewing After school classes available to students in grades three through eight. Staff will escort your child from St. John School; pick up at Made Sewing in Greenwood. For more information and class schedules, visit www.madesewing.com.

Seattle Lutheran High School will hold open house for students and parents interested in offerings on Thursday, October 23, 7-8:30pm. SLHS is located at 4100 SW Genesee Street in Seattle. Visit the website at www.seattlelutheran.org.

Thank You Corner

The Auction Team would like to thank Wilo Dietrich for her great work designing this year's fantastic new auction logo.

Want to thank someone publicly? Send your "thanks" to Diane Crockett at dcrockett@stjohnsea.org for publication in NewsViews.

"The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition."
Thomas Edison