Our first All School PTSA meeting takes places on Wednesday, October 16th from 6:30-8pm at the school! We'll be in the Chiilzone/cafeteria area!
It's a great way to hear about what's going on at the school, including the PTSA's plans for this year—we’ll check in on plans for community event this year, elect new board members and more. All are welcome, would love to you see and hear you at the meeting. Games Club will be available during the meeting. Reserve a space here: https://qaeptsa.wufoo.com/forms/october-16-ptsa-meeting-games-club/ It's beginning to feel a lot like Fall! Perfect for our QAE Community Harvest on Saturday! Come to the QAE school garden at the QA P-Patch for bobbing apples, building a scarecrow, scavenger hunts, seed collecting, autumn nature crafting, pumpkin carving, sharing food and playing outside.
When: Saturday, Oct. 19th, 12-2pm Where: Queen Anne P-Patch, 301 Lynn St Find out more about our celebration... PS - we could use a few more volunteers to help with crafts, games and activities. Journalist Brandon Macz from the Queen Anne & Magnolia News visited QAE during the Jog-A-Thon and wrote a fun little story (with photos from the run)! Check out the article here...
And a big thanks to every family member, friend and neighbor who donated to support our children! Thank YOU to all the parents for making it happen! Together we raised more than $36,000 to support the school. A big hooray to Ms. Hartmann, Ms. Dickersen and Mr. Backman's classes for each raising more than $4,000! Passing along a message from Ballard High School:
Students in grades K-8 are invited to join the Ballard High School Dancers for an afternoon of dancing. All participants will learn choreography (taught by the BHS Dance Team members) and receive a BHS Dance T-Shirt. We'll have arts & crafts, face painting, and other fun activities. Costumes are encouraged! A small snack will be provided (gluten, dairy, and nut free). Join us on Sunday October 27 from 2:00 - 4:00pm in the Ballard High School Gym. Click here to register or email us at [email protected] for more information. This Friday, October 11th, is a district-wide In Service Day. There will be no school. We'll see you on Monday bright and early (hopefully at Monday Morning Meeting).
Saturday, October 19 12-2pm at the Queen Anne P-Patch
All QAE families and friends are invited to the QA P-Patch, where our school garden is located, for some fun! Expect, cider pressing so bring your growlers! Get ready for bobbing apples, building a scarecrow, scavenger hunts, seed collecting, autumn nature crafting, pumpkin carving, sharing food and playing outside. Encourage your ghouls and goblins to wear Halloween costumes for fun. We'll also be collecting non-perishable item that will be donated to NW Harvest. Sounds so fun that you want to help out? Volunteer to help with crafts, games and activities via the Sign-Up Genius form here. QAE PTSA Garden Coordinator and parent volunteers in collaboration with the QA P-Patch gardeners and orchard keepers bring you this event. We hope you can make it! If you don't already have a special QAE Growler, buy it now! There is a limited quantity. Check out the QAE Garden Blog for more form last year's Harvest event. Here's a few photos: Community Harvest Festival (October 19th)
Volunteers needed for crafts, games, and activities that celebrate the season! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094dabad2ba2fa7-qaecommunity Mini Books for home reading Assemble and staple mini books for beginning readers (Can be done at school or at home). Contact [email protected] Makerspace Helpers (during Kindergarten classes) M/T/Th/F at 12:45pm Contact [email protected] or speak directly to Ms. Appel Playground/Recess Supervisor Not quite a volunteer position! The school is in need of a Playground/Recess supervisor for Monday through Friday approximately 2.5 hrs a day (9-11:30am). This is a paid position $16 an hour. If you're interested, contact Karen Alvarez in the office at [email protected] The new date for our annual Curriculum Night is this Thursday, Oct. 10th from 6:30-8pm. It's an opportunity for parents to hear from our teachers! They'll share their vision for how Project Based Learning, Social Emotional Learning, how QAE handles homework, volunteer opportunities and, importantly, some of the nuts and bolts details of classroom life.
Schedule for Curriculum Night There will be two different sessions for those families with more than one child at QAE.
The MakerSpace, library and gym will be open during this time. Stop by and meet our specialists! Curriculum Night is for parents only. There are a few spots left for Games Club during the event. It's almost time for the Jog-A-Thon! We're going strong but need your help hitting our goal of $40,000. Head to the PledgeStar site to make your personalized donation message for your kid which is so easy to share! We'd love to have 100% participation and check out the leaderboard to see how your class is doing. So much of what we love about our school and school community is supported by PTSA resources and funds raised through the Jog-A-Thon. Did you know the PTSA has been behind the funding of so much good stuff?
#1: TEACHERS - Supporting teachers to get their National Board Certification (by subsidizing their testing) - Training for all new staff and annual refresher courses for the entire staff in Positive Discipline - Project Based Learning professional development - Support for training including skill sets such as working with gender diversity, cultural competence, and mindfulness in the classroom #2: CLASSROOM & ACADEMIC SUPPORT - Kindergarten aide for each class - Resource room tutors - Dedicated reading specialists #3: COMMUNITY - Family Games Night - First Day Welcome Coffee - Back to School Night - Talent Show - Summer Playdates #4: CURRICULUM & CLASSROOMS - Zones of Regulation (Social Emotional Learning Curriculum) - Positive discipline tools - Support with class parties - Snack (and other) supplies for teachers - Calm Body Spots and materials to support self-regulation #5: EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS - Book-It Theatre plays at the school - Author visits - Whale Watching field trip scholarships - IslandWood expedition in 5th Grade Thanks for supporting the Jog-A-Thon and QAE! We hope to see you at the school on Friday! A message from 3rd Grade Teacher Thruelsen:
İFelíz Mes de la Herencia Hispana! İHola amigos de QAE! I am taking it upon myself to share some information about Hispanic Heritage Month, which falls between September 15th and October 15th. This is incredibly important to me as I have Hispanic family members and spent many years working in Spanish immersion in Los Angeles, where 47.5% of the population is Hispanic. Though we have a smaller Hispanic and Latino community at Queen Anne Elementary, we have a substantial one within Seattle and it’s important our children know and celebrate their Hispanic neighbors! Here are a few FAQs about Hispanic Heritage Month that I think you might find helpful in talking about with your students. Please reach out if you’d like ideas on how to incorporate this in your teaching over the next month! Preguntas Frecuentes: Frequently Asked Questions What’s the difference between Hispanic and Latino? Hispanic refers to a linguistic lineage, from Spanish. Latino refers to those who come from Latin America. Therefore, many Latinos are Hispanic, but not all (I.e. Brazilians), and many Hispanics are Latino, but not all (I.e. Spaniards). Many people identify as both and will use the terms interchangeably, but not all choose to do so. Why the dates Sept. 15-Oct 15? Why not a full calendar month? September 15th is an incredibly symbolic day to many Hispanic countries in Latin America. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua all declared independence in 1821 on September 15th. In addition, September 16, 1810 was the day when Mexicans gave el Grito de la Independencia (the Cry of Independence) to declare the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain. Mexicans and Mexican-Americans traditionally celebrate El Grito starting at midnight on the night of the 15th of September. Many Hispanics celebrate this day within our city in September. There is a Fiestas Patrias at the Seattle Center this weekend if you’d like to explore! Details here: https://www.mygiraffe.com/Home/Detail/47459 Who should the kids absolutely know about? There are thousands of influential Hispanic men and women who have made phenomenal differences in our country’s growth, progress, and success. However, oftentimes I find that students don’t know even the most significant leaders. Every child, by the time they leave elementary school, should know at the least the following influential leaders: (it’s killing me to only write down three names here): Cesar Chavez: (SAY-sar CHA-vez) devoted his life to assisting thousand to receive better wages and safer working conditions, specifically agricultural workers in California. Hero to many Hispanic families throughout our country. Dolores Huerta: (Do-LOR-es WUER-ta) was a leader on behalf of farmworkers, partner to Cesar Chavez in many ways. Obama’s campaign slogan, Yes we can! Was an echo to Dolores’ slogan, Si, se puede! Sonia Sotomayor: (SON-ya So-to-my-or) was the first Latina and Hispanic Supreme Justice in our country. (also fun fact: type one diabetic like me! ) I so appreciate everyone’s efforts to make our classrooms welcoming spaces for all. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, even on a smaller scale in our classrooms, helps us fulfill our mission to include and celebrate every single student in the Seattle Public Schools system. Sinceramente, Srta. Thruelsen Our school nurse, Kim Chin, let us know that she needs the following items for our health room:
If you're able to donate any of these items, please bring them to the office. Thank you! Dear Queen Anne Elementary Family, Welcome! What an amazing 3+ weeks of school with an incredible QAE school community of students, families, teachers and staff. The QAE PTSA vision is to support this community and to support each other to help make our child’s potential become a reality and to help provide a powerful voice for our children. QAE PTSA is a volunteer-run organization and we appreciate all of your volunteering efforts! Before I jump in, I wanted to remind you that our first big event and fundraiser of the year is this Friday--our beloved QAE Jog-A-Thon! We're at $22,000 towards our goal of raising $40,000 and need your help to meet that goal and support our kids. Setting up a PledgeStar account is a snap — take a few minutes to set it up now. Whether you post your PledgeStar link to your social media or dial up your grandparent for a donation — every dollar raised helps! And we'll see you on Friday at the school! If you are new to QAE or back again I wanted to share the focuses we have this year. These were built on parent and staff feedback the Board received at the end of the last school year: Funding staff positions. The PTSA assists in funding our in-class tutors for Kindergarten and 1st Grade, playground supervisor, additional math specialist time, allocation for someone to help with particular paperwork and a Social Emotional Learning focused tutor. Providing staff and classroom support. Funding staff professional development, training days for learning new curriculum and positive discipline, and discretionary funds teachers can use to enhance their classroom or curriculum. And math curriculum for the 4th and 5th grade classes. Bringing in special guests for assemblies and events. Families of Color, which seeks to create a welcoming community for children and families of color, and to integrate cultural competency at QAE. Gather in the Garden, which uses the QAE Learning Garden to integrate basic earth sciences and community stewardship for our students and families. Classroom Coordinators, who keep you connected to what’s happening academically and socially in the classroom. In addition, we sponsor a host of additional support to build community and have fun through events, support Project Based Learning, and generally make QAE the most fun elementary school in Seattle! This is all made possible through the hard work of volunteers and through funds raised each school year. How does PTSA pay for the above initiatives: The PTSA holds fundraising events just three times during the school year. Our estimated total fundraising goal this year is $250,000. Jog-A-Thon – Powered by our students by reaching out to our family and friends for pledges. Explorer Fund Drive – Powered by our parents to help answer a call by our school, teachers and students. Auction – Powered by the whole community. A social evening that helps bring together our parent and teacher community to socialize and raise the dollars needed to fund this year’s operating budget. (Save the Date – Friday, March 13, 2020) Here’s how you can get involved: Complete the back to school checklist! This includes ensuring we can contact you for all of these great events, among many other things. qaeptsa.org/checklist. Volunteer. Whether you volunteer in your child’s class, in campus groups, or through the PTSA, there are many ways to be involved. We are looking for a team to plan our annual auction but there are opportunities on every level of time commitment and interest. Start at the PTSA volunteer page or reach out to [email protected]. Attend a PTSA event. We organize community events (Family Games Night, Jog-A-Thon, etc) throughout the year, so please join us. We keep all school and PTSA dates on the calendar. Donate. Fundraising enables us to support our students. We organize three annual fundraising events: Jog-A-Thon (October 4, 2019), Explorer Fund Drive (Dec. 2020), and Auction (March 13, 2020). Read the Rocket Reader. Our weekly e-newsletter publication includes essential school and PTSA information and important dates. The email address you provide through the Directory will be added to our distribution list courtesy of QAE PTSA. Please contact [email protected] if you are not receiving the Rocket Reader. Look for more information at qaeptsa.org, in the Rocket Reader, and in your student’s orange folder in the coming weeks. We look forward to meeting you and thank you for your support. Sincerely, Sandra Nanney QAE PTSA President Frequently Asked Questions How do I get information? Do I need Facebook?
We try to communicate in different ways to reach all parents – Rocket Reader emails, weekly Class Coordinator emails, student orange folders and Facebook postings. Some forms of communication will reach you faster than others. Facebook – I see two QAE facebook accounts. What’s the difference? There are two pages that shares school information. Queen Anne Elementary PTSA – primary posts are the official dates and to-do's pushed by the PTSA and the Board initiatives. QAE Community Discussions – closed group of QAE community family members where all individuals are welcome to post questions, discussions and support each other. The after-school enrichment registration process is different this year – why is that? After many years of running the enrichment program with a team of volunteers it was brought to the Board that the program had gotten larger than the parent volunteers could manage. The after-school program is now being run by Kids Co. It does look similar because we provided them all our previous providers for them to contact for set up. QAE PTSA Board Meeting vs. General Meeting –What is the difference? PTSA board meetings occur once a month for committee updates, discussions on ways to improve, execute, and vote on upcoming requests and needs of the communities. All are welcome but only board members have a vote on motions during the Meeting. General Meeting – PTSA holds three all school meetings each year to share with the community financial updates, committee updates or any motions that require an all membership vote I.e. the main PTSA Budget requires a general membership vote. All are welcome and usually kids club is available for students. I have an idea and want to start something new? Great! We are open to new ideas and parent led initiatives. Please reach out to [email protected] and we can figure it out. What’s coming up?
Other questions? Email [email protected] and we'll do our best to help. Online registration is now available for 20 different after school enrichment classes offered this Fall at QAE! KidCo is running our enrichment program this year, but you'll see many favorites from previous years. Classes begin the week of Oct. 14th, with options for every grade level!
Get more information about After School Enrichment and register here. Hurry — many classes fill up quickly! Comb that hair and button up that shirt—QAE Picture Day is on Tuesday, Sept. 24th!
You should have received a printed order form in your child's orange folder. You can order by returning that form by Tuesday or by placing your order online via the Yuen Lui site. Make sure it's in prior to Picture Day. If your child is absent during Picture Day, our scheduled retake day is November. 15th. Come on over to QAE on Wednesday evening for Family Games Night. It's our first fun family event of the year! Please RSVP here to help us plan.
With the help of Blue Highway Games, we'll be playing games for all ages from 5:45-7:30pm. Come by anytime. Dinner will be easy — a food truck have soft tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos available for purchase! Get more details about Family Games Night here... We're also looking for adult volunteers to sit near games and teach other the rules. Easy and fun! Grab a volunteer slot here... |
Welcome to the Rocket Reader blog! The PTSA's collection of news & information relevant to QAE Families. This is also shared weekly in the Rocket Reader e-newsletter. Use the form below to sign up!
E-News Sign-UpThe Rocket Reader newsletter is sent weekly by the PTSA. Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
|
CONTACT |
SCHEDULE2024-25 On-Site Schedule
7:55am - School Day Begins 2:25pm - Dismissal Wednesday Early Release 1:10pm - Dismissal |