Some of our Families’ Orca Art!
April 23, 2024
Dear Families,
Last week I attended an excellent workshop by Dr. James Knight for school leaders on creating culturally safe and responsive environments. Back in January, Dr. Knight spoke to our fifth through eighth graders on using their voices and actions to create a just world. He was in town last week to talk to local business leaders and schools. In the workshop he explored with us the impact of cognitive biases on judgment and the role of cultural humility in mitigating these inherent biases. At its core, cultural humility involves an openness to learn and not assume.
At our prayer assembly yesterday I talked about the virtue of humility. With humility we remind ourselves that we know some things but not all things. We are strengthened when we can be curious about another person’s experience or point of view. I read a small part of Sunday’s Gospel in which Jesus tells us that he is the Good Shepherd to all of us, not just some of us. He reminds us that we all belong. These are important things to think about and work on.
Volleyball Congratulations: to all our volleyball teams who played in finals this last weekend! And a special shout out to our 5th grade girls who ended their season in First Place! Go Celtics!
SLE Drawing Winners for this Month!
- Active Person of Faith: Remy Thompson (2nd)
- Lifelong Learner: Sarah Doyle (1st)
- Well Balanced Person: Jensen Tran (2nd)
- Globally Aware Person: Maggie Dwyer (3rd)
Gratitude for Rice Bowls!
- We appreciate the work and service students did during Lent to contribute to their Rice Bowl and learn about the beauty of almsgiving.
- Students brought in a total of 168 Rice Bowls!
- And we were able to send in $3,004 to support the work of Catholic Relief Services!
Congratulations: We wish to congratulate Addison Levich! She was the recipient of a high school scholarship award from the Knights of Columbus! Nice work!
Earth Day Project: Last Friday all twenty School Families met. They learned about a carved cedar log art piece of five orca whales created by local artist Odin Lonning. Each whale has traditional symbols that represent a Northwest coastal nation. Each school family worked together to design their own symbols for their family whale. These orca whales will be put on display as a collective piece of artwork! And thank you to all the students for their work on making their home orca friendly! Their work to support our local orca pods and clean water in the Salish Sea is appreciated! Feel free to view this slide deck for more detailed information.
Earth Day Gratitude: Thank you to the volunteers who showed up on Saturday for the St. Anne Parish Campus Clean-up Day. The gardens and grounds look beautiful. What a difference you all made!
Century Club Auction is almost here!: Thank you to our hardworking auction chairs and all who are doing behind the scenes work to make our auction a success! Next week is Auction Week! We will have a special launch to the week at prayer assembly on Monday and an auction free dress on Friday followed by a late afternoon preview party for everyone!
EF Bootcamp!: We had an excellent session last week on “Planning and Prioritizing”. Thanks to all who came as we can build our collective understanding of these important learning tasks! If you were unable to attend, here is a link to the slides. Mark your calendar now for our final session to be held on Wednesday, May 22 on “Attention and Motivation”.
Bookkeeper Opening: Please let me know if you know of anyone who might be interested in a part time bookkeeping job with St. Anne School!
Annual Catholic Appeal: The Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) has just begun! I want to wholeheartedly encourage your generous donation to this campaign. As the principal of St. Anne School I know firsthand all the ways we directly utilize the programs supported by the ACA from the practical to the faith-filled. We benefit from the Property and Construction department as we work to maintain and upgrade our school building. And the Office of Catholic Schools provides us with leading edge educational and faith formation resources. Our 7th graders have learned from the Missionary Discipleship Program about service learning in our Catholic community. I have been consistently impressed by and thankful for all the programs at the archdiocese that help us meet our mission. Your support of the ACA directly helps our students by faith filled, life-long learners, globally aware and well-balanced. Thank you for doing your part. More details with this link!
In Our Neighborhood: I received a letter for our SPD, West Precinct, Crime Prevention Coordinator, Barbara Biondo with news about two upcoming events:
- National Drug Take Back Day is coming up on Saturday, April 27th from 10AM to 2PM at 3 locations. This bi-annual event, sponsored by the SPD and DEA, is set up to be a convenient, drive thru experience where you can also participate in a Shredathon to safely dispose of your important documents, thanks to a partnership with Iron Mountain. More information can be found in the linked event flyer;
- It’s also the time of year for the annual Micro-Community-Police Dialogues. Share your ideas, concerns and vision with fellow community members and Seattle Police West Precinct staff during virtual forums hosted and facilitated by Seattle University’s Crime and Justice Research Center Director and Professor Dr. Jacqueline Helfgott. West Precinct forums are scheduled Mondays between 5:30-7:30PM on June 3rd, July 8th and August 26th. Sign up for the dialogue here: https://seattleux.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6rr2yLIaGn8VESW. More information can be found on the linked flyer.
Uniforms!
- Thank you for ensuring that your student comes to school in uniform.
- Some students’ skirts are noticeably too short. Students have grown and uniforms do not fit as well as they did at the beginning of the school year. Please take time to lengthen hems as needed or take time to get items that fit and meet the uniform requirements.
- Please check the Family Handbook for details on uniforms.
Dates for your Calendar this month and next!
- April 24-26: 5th Grade at Naturebridge
- April 28: First Communion Mass and Reception
- May 4: The Century Club Auction at Fremont Studios
- May 10 and 11th: Upper School Drama production of Addam’s Family
- May 16, 1:45pm: Talent Show
- May 17, 8:45am: May Crowning Mass
- May 23: Broadway Revue
- May 30: Learning Celebration (No School)
- May 31: Field Day
Regards,
Heidi
Earth Day Prayer:
Gracious God, your amazing love extends through all time and space, to all parts of your creation, which you called good. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
