Onward and Upward into our summer! Find peace, experience God’s grace, restore and renew!
June 13, 2023
Dear Families,
The last week of school is upon us and at the prayer assembly yesterday, the kindergarteners gave leadership advice to our rising 8th graders and then prayed a leadership prayer for them. They are ready to go! And all the classes are ready to move up!
Kindergarten Graduation will be on Thursday at 10:30am in Banchero Hall. Kindergarten families are invited to this ceremony in Banchero Hall.
End of year school Mass is at 8:45am on Friday, June 16th. Please join us! At the conclusion of Mass, we will welcome the students to their grade level for next fall and send them home to you after receiving their report cards. If you have an incoming PreK student, they are encouraged to join the fun. Ms. McDougall will be welcoming them too. Just send them to the area near the choir where she will be standing.
This post is full of lots of important information to share as we get ready to head into the summer. Take time to fill out the parent survey, read about graduation, thank our School Commission and hear about all the wonderful staff we are saying goodbye to and the new staff who will be joining our school community.
End of Year Parent Survey:
- Please take time to give us feedback!
- Here is the survey link.
We had a wonderful Graduation Week!
- The Graduation Dinner last Wednesday for graduates and their parents was hosted by the 7th grade families. A huge thank you to Ana Sainz for organizing a delicious and beautiful event! Four of our eighth grade students presented wonderful memories from each of their years at the school. In addition the St. Anne Spirit Award was presented to Kim Tossman & Sean Matt and Kevin & Ester Burkhart. This award recognizes parents that have been instrumental in forwarding the mission of St. Anne School throughout their time with us and whose youngest is graduating.
- On Thursday we had our Affirmations Assembly in the church. This is a time when the whole school comes together and the middle school teachers speak about the gifts each of the students has brought to the school. It is an opportunity to highlight how our students have become active people of faith, lifelong learners, globally aware and well balanced.
- 5pm Graduation Mass and Ceremony. The student speaker this year was Ethan Burkhart and the Parent Thank you speech was given by Ben Cunningham. The Top Scholar award went to Callie Fields and Ethan Burkhart. The Inspirational Award went to Ethan Burkhart and the T-Bird Friendship Award went to Camden Kiefer. The following students received the Presidential Academic Award: Noelle Boyd, Ethan Burkhart, Callie Fields, Macy Fields, Camden Kiefer, Ariana Levich, Kellen Matt, Laura Pelletier, Henry Pitts and Santiago Rodrigo Dermody.
- Thank you to our 6th Grade families for hosting a cake reception in Banchero Hall following Graduation!
Thank you to our School Commission and their work!
- The School Commission members serve in an advisory role to support the school mission and vision by consulting with the school administration and providing perspective to help the principal effectively run the school. They meet monthly throughout the school year to review the school financials, support the ongoing work of the Five Year Plan and provide perspective on school improvement initiatives.
- Thank you to our chair Kelly Kemp who is stepping away after two years in the role. Kelly has provided tremendous leadership to our work and will be staying one more year on the commission to provide ongoing perspective and leadership transition. Next year we are excited to have Lori Roozen step in to chair the Commission! Thank you Lori!
- Thank you to our members this year: Kelly Kemp, Sharon Cercone, Kathleen Gallagher, Rob Gillette, Amy Gulmann, Edna Maddalena, Brian Reisenauer, Lori Roozen, Ashley Rossman and Carmen Suazo.
- This year the Commission helped us navigate a new principal! They helped guide decision making as we moved through changing Covid protocols, began planning work for our 100th year anniversary, brought back our Gesell Observation of incoming kindergarteners, made plans to work for a full day PreK program and addressed the ongoing work of the Five Year Plan. This included the work to move to a one-to-one laptop program for our 5th through 8th graders, work on our Catholic Identity through researching Archdiocesan programs for diversity, equity and inclusion and kept conversations going around the campus master plan.
- Thank you to all of them for their hard work and dedication to mission!
2023-24 Staffing Updates–some goodbyes and welcomes:
- Ms. Brittany Parmentier: Ms. Parmentier brought her wonderful skills with children to our PreK in 2021. She is now leaving us to pursue her teaching certification and to find a teaching position closer to her home. We will miss her in the PreK, as an instructional aide in our intermediate classrooms and teaching some of our PE classes. I will keep you posted on our search for a successful candidate.
- Ms. Megan Lamb: Five years ago Ms. Lamb, an alumni of St. Anne School, returned as our instructional aide in Kindergarten. And now it is time to say goodbye as she heads off to a new adventure. We have been fortunate to have her calm and steady presence these last five years. We are excited to announce that we hired Ms. Madeline Cathey as the new aide in Kindergarten. She has been in a lead PreK teaching position at a local daycare center during the last few years and brings with her a passion for early childhood education. She also has deep St. Anne Parish connections. We welcome her!
- Mrs. Kelly Siderius: Mrs. Siderius has been indispensable on our staff over the last eight years as an instructional aide! She came in as a long term kindergarten substitute aide and transitioned to full time first grade aide without missing a beat! Her two children Emma and Nate have now graduated from St. Anne School and she is ready for something new! Her easy laugh and steady presence will be missed. We are excited to announce that we hired two candidates to share the first grade instructional aide position. Mrs. Jenni Condon will fill the role on Tuesday and Thursday. She has been a substitute teacher at our school; previous to that, was our school librarian and prior to that, the fourth grade teacher. We are excited to have her back in the building on a regular basis. We have also hired Ms.Gabby Reeves as a full time instructional aide. She will spend Monday, Wednesday and Friday supporting in the first grade classroom and we will use her for roving support on Tuesday and Thursday. She is a graduate of St. Anne School and after graduating from Marquette University spent the last year as an instructional aide. She brings with her a deep interest in supporting the needs of diverse learners.
- Mrs. Maura Dahlman: Mrs. Dahlman joined our staff ten years ago as our fifth grade teacher and in 2017 became our 1st grade teacher. She brought good humor and a love of learning to both grade levels! And now she and her family are returning to their family roots in Montana to embark on a new chapter. We will miss her so very much. We have hired Ms. Erika Dorney for the first grade teacher position. Erika has just completed her teaching program through the University of Washington and her student teaching at Hazelwood Elementary. She has experience working with differentiating instruction to meet the needs of a broad spectrum of learners and received glowing reviews from her cooperating teacher. We are excited to have her.
- Mrs. Danielle Meneses: Nine years ago, Mrs. Meneses brought her beautiful, spiritual leadership to the third grade classroom and never looked back. Her teaching has always been a calm inspiration to her students. In late November, Danielle and Nathan welcomed baby Isaiah into their family. And now she is stepping away from her classroom teaching and embarking on some focused family time with little Isaiah. We are excited for her and this new chapter. We are fortunate to retain her for a few hours a week to serve as a mentor teacher to our new incoming teacher Ms. Kaelie Dent. Kaelie has just completed her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Her recommendations highlight her passion for working with a diverse group of learners and ability to work positively with a team of teachers. We look forward to having her on staff.
- Mrs. Maureen Mastrobattista: The indispensable Mrs. Mastro has been the third grade long term sub while Mrs. Meneses has been on leave caring for baby Isaiah. She has carried the torch well but is now going to take some well deserved time off! She will be serving as a sub for us and we will continue to try and find ways to entice her back as an instructional leader. A huge thank you for her ability to pivot into all sorts of teaching positions through her years at St. Anne School.
- Ms. Emi Faltinson: Ms. Faltinson has been our music teacher for one short year but she has done so much. She helped support our 6th graders and the whole school in putting on a wonderful Christmas Pageant. She directed students in a Broadway Revue, organized the school talent show and so much more. Her spirit will be missed but we wish her the best as she embarks on her next adventure. We are in the process of interviewing for the music position and will update you when we have hired for the position.
- Ms. Claire Marr: Ms. Marr is pivoting to be our full time Educational Technology Lead for the coming year. She will be finishing her masters in Educational Technology and we are excited for her leadership in this area. Coming on board as our 7th Grade Homeroom and Middle School Social Studies teacher is Mr. Myke Folger. Myke comes to us from the Highline school district with over ten years of experience in middle school social studies and language arts teaching. We are excited to have him on board.
Upcoming Dates:
- Thursday, June 15, 10:30am: Kindergarten Graduation (Banchero Hall)
- Thursday, June 15: Noon Dismissal
- Friday, June 16, 8:45am: Closing School Mass (students dismiss from their classroom after Mass)
- August 30: Middle School Orientation
- August 31: PreK/K Open House
- September 5, First Day of School, Noon Dismissal
Have a blessed summer and stay well,
Heidi
