Dear Families:
These past two weeks of experiencing the rightful protests demanding action to end long-standing racial injustice has taken center stage in our lives. I was so pleased to hear about a rally on Queen Anne this past weekend, where on very short notice, a significant number of our families came together, representing the St. Anne community to show their support. In addition, a parent-organized zoom roundtable with school parents of color sharing their personal stories of unfair treatment and bias drew a sizeable audience. It was extremely powerful and moving to view.
For almost one hundred years, St. Anne School, the daily reflection of our parish, has held Catholic Social Teachings at our core. Like all Catholic schools nationwide, our belief in upholding the life and dignity of each person serves as the bedrock upon which everything else we do takes root. The crucially impactful events of these past weeks, while sadly not new to our country and world, underscores the role our faith can play in leading the positive change that is demanded. That faith also requires us to stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers who continue to be marginalized and devalued by systems and a society that ignores and disregards. We need to commit to spending time listening, seeking understanding, and forming actionable strategies to help finally bring an end to racism and hate.
For this reason, Fr. Colin and I have already begun forming a parish/school task force on racial injustice in conjunction with activating our new strategic plan for the coming fall. I have had some volunteers already step forward to serve on this committee and I urge you to reach out to Fr. Colin or me if you would like to participate. There is so much that we can do together to move our community forward during this pivotal opportunity. Actions, instead of words, will once again demonstrate why the St. Anne community aspires to lead and not follow.
Please click here to read Archbishop Etienne letter on racism. I have also asked the teachers to include the grade lessons on racism from the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in their plans this week.
Congratulations to our 8th grade graduates! We were able to have virtual “Affirmations” and a Graduation Mass and ceremony last Thursday. We are so proud of this class. They have been amazing at adjusting to changes and cancellations to many of our traditional graduation activities. Students received scholarships from our Catholic high schools, Presidential awards and St. Anne School awards. Please click here for an entire list of awards and their “graduation picture”.
I can’t believe that we are in our last week of the school year. There is still much to be done. Just a reminder that tomorrow is our Materials pick-up and textbook drop off day. Personal items from lockers and desks will be available from your child/ren’s teacher. Yearbooks will also be delivered to those who ordered them.
Here is the schedule:
If your last name begins with:
A-G please come between 9:30am and 10:30am
H-P please come between 10:30am – 11:30pm
Q-Z please come between 11:30pm and 12:30pm
Our last day of school virtual Mass will take place at 10:00am on Friday. I will send you a link as soon as it is available. Please plan to join as we pray together to thank God for giving us the stamina to complete this year and to ask for his blessings as we head into the summer months.
Please continue to check your stannesea.org email accounts over the summer. I will provide updates on our re-opening as soon as they are available from the Governor. Our opening could look much different than Seattle Public Schools. We are not a large school system which should make it easier to reopen if allowed.
Finally, if you haven’t done so already, please get your Annual Fund payment in. Monica Flora has e-mailed those with outstanding balances. We really appreciate the funds raised through the Annual Fund. It helps keep operating costs down and helps grow the endowment to fund teacher salary raises and tuition assistance. If you have any questions, please contact mflora@stannesea.org
Have a great week and have a wonderful summer!
Mary
