PA Meeting – 9/2/22

8:30am, Egan Hall

*Classroom Parents: Please feel free to use this information in your communications with parents. Copy and paste or tailor to your classroom’s needs as you see fit.

Allan and Sara, PA Co-Chairs

Welcome back! The Parent Association met for the first time in person since February 2020 and had record-setting attendance. Our PA Co-Chairs, Allan Quiaoit and Sara Dean, welcomed us back with a big thank you to all parents who have supported St. John during the challenging Covid years. We hope this year will feel closer to pre-Covid times.

PA Roles: We are building out PA teams at each grade level right now and would love your help. There are four PA roles at each grade level with varying commitments. You can see PA role descriptions here and sign up for a role here. With the current state of the pandemic, PA will be returning to many pre-Covid activities with safety in mind.

Back to School BBQ: Join us at the Back to School BBQ Friday, September 9th, 6-9p.m. featuring a performance from School of Rock, activities from Greenwood Scouts and Kong Academy, as well as music from DJ Allan Spins and DJ Robin Burrowes. Try to carpool, bike, or walk to the BBQ. Our neighbors will appreciate it. And don’t forget to sign up to volunteer before, during, or after the event to help make it a success.

Parent Support of St. John: Pablo reminded us of a few ways we can support our kids and our school community – become active in the Parent Association, remain up to date on all school-related information and communications, and volunteer to help events and activities be successful.

Traffic Safety Reminder for Drop Off/Pick Up: Let’s remember to be respectful of the neighborhood when dropping off or picking up our kids. Refer to the Traffic Safety and Driver Etiquette information for more details.

St. John on Social Media: Make sure to follow St. John on Facebook and Instagram for up to date information as well as fun photos. Throughout the year, you can email photos from school activities or events to Jonna Skokan to share with our community.

CYO Sports Update:

  • Soccer: This year we have 430+ kids participating in soccer. We are looking for a volunteer to help with uniform distribution. If interested, contact Jonna Skokan.
  • Cross Country: We are looking for volunteers to ensure practice runs smoothly and safely. If interested, contact James Bozsa.
  • Basketball: Coming soon! We will be looking for coaches and volunteers to help with coordination and communication. If interested, contact Jonna Skokan.

Bump It Up: Our Adult Volleyball Tournament is returning this October! Get a grade-level team of six players together to compete against other grade-level St. John/St. Al’s teams as well as alumni and teacher teams. More information to come. If you have questions, contact Jonna Skokan.

Jog-A-Thon will be September 21st-23rd! Jog-a-thon information packets will be sent home on September 6th and fundraising will begin September 7th through 99Pledges. We will be looking for volunteers so please consider supporting the event in this way.

The Endowment Dinner will be in person on Saturday, October 22nd in Egan Hall and will include a cocktail party and sit-down dinner catered by Ethan Stowell Restaurants.

Greenwood Scouts: If you think your child might enjoy an opportunity to get outdoors, meet new friends, and participate in an activity other than a sport, consider joining the Greenwood Scouts. The first meeting will be Wednesday, September 14th, 6:30-7:30p.m. in Egan Hall. For more information, contact Alan Byars.

Our theme for the year, We walk in the Light of God, is one we can live every day. Consider walking or biking to school!

Next PA Meeting: Friday, October 7, 2022, 8:30 a.m.

PA Meeting – 5/5/22

Thank you to everyone who was able to show up for our last meeting of ’21-’22. Here are some time stamps and notes for you:

THANK YOU!!!

Covid update – We’re seeing an uptick in infections in our community right now. Please do what you can to limit the spread.

Construction update – No significant news on this, as permits are forthcoming and negotiations are ongoing.

Art for Ukraine – Veronika told us a little more about how she plans to distribute our kids’ artwork to Ukrainian refugees in Poland. We hope to host one more of these very special opportunities very soon.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day, May 11 – We could use a few more volunteers to help us make this event even more special for our guests. Please consider signing up to help pick up artwork for display, help setting up Egan, and/or hosting on the day of.

School’s Out Grills Out, June 10 – The school is designing a huge BBQ bash for us for the end of the year. Chef Michael and ESR will be cooking, and more details are on the way. The school will definitely need volunteer support to scale this event for what we think will be an immensely popular celebration.

End of Year Gifts – Your grade is invited to send End of Year Gifts to the entire faculty and staff to whatever scale is appropriate for your team. Hospitality Chairs, if you’d like to do this in the form of Scrip, please contact Maggie Lazzeri lazzerma@gmail.com.

Welcoming Committee – Events are happening for new families, including meetups and welcome parties. Thank you to everyone who signed up to be a Buddy Family! If you’d like to join Julia’s team, please contact her julia@thesakigroup.com.

New PA Leadership Roles – We’re expanding our leadership structure to include an Event Lead and Communications Lead! Many of you have talents that would help us make our events even more memorable and ensure that our messaging is inclusive, accurate, and succinct. If you have questions about what these roles would entail, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re starting with these descriptions, but we hope that whoever steps into these roles will help us define them further, to reflect their interests and talents, and so that all roles function cohesively with each other:

Event Lead: 
– Work with PA Co-Chairs to design community focused events. 
– Coordinate with PA Reps to produce events.
– Create event committees as needed.
– Identify volunteer needs for events.
– Participate in monthly meeting with PA Co-Chairs.

Communications Lead:  
– Act as liaison between PA Co-Chairs and Room Parents.
– Support Room Parents in communications with their classes, which may include help in determining cadence and prioritizing content.
– Take meeting minutes for monthly All-PA Team meetings.
– Communicate volunteer needs to PA and Room Parents as needed.
– Submit PA related news and needs to Newsviews as needed.
– Coordinate with Admin team as needed to maintain school aligned verbiage on correspondence.
– Participate in monthly meeting with PA Co-Chairs.

PA Surveys – Please help us craft the vision for next year’s PA by taking this survey before June 10!

100-Year Kick-Off BBQ, September 9 – We’ll be hitting the ground running when we return from Summer Break with a Back to School BBQ, celebrating our school’s 100-Year Anniversary.

End of Year Volunteer Happy Hour – We’re so grateful for you. Please let us thank you in-person with a Wine and Cheese Party in the Courtyard. Date/Time TBD. Thank you!

Jasmine Bradshaw, First Name Basis

Jasmine Bradshaw joined us to talk about The First 3 Steps to Becoming an Anti-Racist Family

Jasmine is a researcher, anti-racist educator, and podcaster who believes that creating a more loving, inclusive, and just society starts within the sacred walls of our homes. Her podcast, First Name Basis, exists to give parents and caregivers the tools they need to raise anti-racist families. Jasmine invites her audience to wrestle with hard questions and use the answers to create the world we want: a world where every single child can be exactly who they are and reach their full potential. She hopes her community makes parents feel empowered and gives them the confidence they need to create lasting change in their sphere of influence.

In this conversation about The First 3 Steps to Becoming an Anti-Racist Family, Jasmine covered:

  • What it means to be “anti-racist”
  • Where the anti-racism journey begins for parents
  • How to talk to your kids about race in developmentally appropriate ways
  • How to give your kids accurate language about race and culture
  • Specific steps you can take as a family in your anti-racist journey 
  • How to engage in uncomfortable conversations abour race with your kids
  • How to reframe Black History Month to center Black excellence

Resources Jasmine shared:

PA Meeting – 4/1/22

Thank you to everyone for coming and thank you to Stephanie Glassburn for these concise and super-clean notes.

– Covid Response Team: The Covid Response Team (Pablo, Dora, and Lee) shared the current state of covid at our school and the changes that are being made as we move from a pandemic to endemic phase. For full details, see the Covid-19 Update published in NewsViews on 3/31. The main changes discussed were 1) A dashboard on the Covid Response website will replace individual classroom communications of positive cases (unless there is a cluster of 3 or more cases in a classroom); 2) PCR tests will be reserved for students who become ill during the school day and students who are unable to secure an appointment in the community. Rapid test kits are still available through the school and other sources highlighted on the Covid Response website*Room Parents* Please encourage families to use rapid tests when they feel it is appropriate. Families are especially encouraged to rapid test prior to attending the auction and on Monday, 4/25 before returning to school from Spring Break.

– Auction Update: The auction is just a few days away! We are excited to gather,, celebrate, and give. *Room Parents* Please highlight the following for parents. The online auction will be run 4/4-4/10 and includes both online items and previews of live auction items. We are especially excited for the Fund a Need auction item this year that will support a new fire alarm system and gym bleachers for Egan Hall. The classroom art projects can also be previewed at Greenwood Library. If you’re wondering how you can be more involved, you can sign up to volunteer here and purchase desserts for the Dessert Dash here. And don’t forget to turn in your sold and unsold raffle tickets by 4/8 – it’s what you need to do and your kiddo will earn a free dress day!

– Centennial Celebration: Our school will turn 100 in February 2023! A committee has formed to support activities and 10 volunteers are already at work planning some great ways to celebrate. Please reach out to Sue Pierce sp496761@gmail.com if you would like to be involved. The next planning meeting is on 4/29. 

– Speaker Series: The next speaker will be announced shortly. Save the date – 4/28 at 7p.m. 

– BBQ: Set your calendar for June 10th! We will gather to celebrate the end of the school year and the ability to be together in person!

– Welcome Committee: The next meeting will be 4/26 at 7:30pm in the Admin Building. Currently the group is looking for volunteers. Activities underway include summer play dates, buddy families (more information in NewsViews), and how best to get information to new and current families. 

– Support St. John: *Room Parents*: Please remind parents of these easy ways to support our school. If you haven’t already, consider setting up Amazon Smile to support our school with purchases you are already making. Search for St. John the Evangelist Church & School in the list of charities. Giving through Scrip is easier than ever by using the new app. Check out instructions on the Scrip website. 

PA Meeting – 3/3/22

Masks

  • Optional mask wearing at school starting 3/14. Updated mask guidance from our Covid Response Team can be found here and we encourage everyone to become familiar with it, but to also be prepared for guidance to quickly change.
  • School (including performance art and sport events) is following local, archdiocese, CDC guidance.

Fall 2022 Enrollment

  • More applicants than spaces for Fall 2022, though some space still available in 3rd and 5th grades (2022-2023) so share the news with neighbors and friends who are interested in attending St. John.
  • Acceptance letters will be sent out next week.

Annual Fund
Great response from community. Raised over $350K+, a record!

Auction

  • Volunteers still needed! You can sign up here.
  • If volunteering during auction, no sit down dinner and no ticket needed.
  • Buy tix before March 18 for early bird rate. Find information and buy tickets here.
  • PA Auction item:
    • PA is donating a VIP experience for the end-of-year BBQ, co-hosted with ESR and Chef Michael.
    • Thank you, Julia T., for leading the subcommittee for this package again this year! More volunteers will be needed. Please email Allan Q. and Sara D. if interested.
    • BBQ VIP experience includes: tented area at BBQ, drinks.

Speakers
We are postponing our next Speaker Series conversation around how our community can be inclusive and supportive of our LGBTQ+ community members.  After getting some feedback at the Archdiocesan level, we need to reimagine this conversation a bit.  We look forward to sending out an update soon. 

Ski Bus
No specific plans yet but starting discussion with community and Admin. If interested, reach out to Allan Q. and Sara D.

Upcoming events

  • Mary Poppins student musical March 18, 19, 20!
  • End of Year BBQ – stay tuned for more details.
  • PA Happy Hour – Thursday, 3/24 at 6PM @ Conor Byrne in Ballard. Live music starts at 8PM. Please join!
  • Grandparent and Special Friends Day is planned for May, for K-1 students. Special day is expected to include Grades 3-5 in Fall 2022; PK-2 in Spring 2023.

PA Meeting – 2/4/22

Thank you to Lee Rolfe and Karen Bombino for their hugely important updates. Also, thank you Stephanie Glassburn, for these notes!

COVID Check-in with Volunteer Nurses: Thank you to Nurse Practitioners Dora Hall and Lee Rolfe for the incredible support of the school’s COVID Response Team. Their efforts have been invaluable during the Omicron surge to make our school’s response most effective. During this time, we have seen an increase in cases at St John but the case rate has been consistent with community spread throughout King County. Most importantly, as of Friday morning (2/4/22), we have no evidence of cases spreading within the school. Great job with our mitigation efforts and keeping our kids in school! Keep up the good work as we continue to see high case rates in the community, despite cases currently declining. Things to be aware of:

  • Parents, send any questions or feedback to covidresponse@st-johnschool.org. This is your resource for all things COVID-related. 
  • Students are most protected by wearing a high quality mask to school.
  • If a student tests positive for COVID, we have a test to return policy in place. If you have any questions about sending your child back to school post-Covid, please feel free to email our Covid Response team. Dora and Lee are working tirelessly to advise families using current guidance to ensure a safe return.
  • More information is available at the Covid Response website.

Auction Procurement: We are still hoping the auction will be in person on April 8th but a contingency plan is in place to hold it virtually. The deadline for all procurement items and sponsorship is February 11th.

Parent Association Speaker Series: We are excited to announce our next speaker will be Francis DeBernardo from New Ways Ministry on March 16th. He will speak about the LGBTQ community and Catholicism. In April, Jasmine Bradshaw will share about communicating with our kids about race and culture. 

Catholic Schools Week has been a great success in part thanks to our wonderful volunteers. Thank you to our lunch monitors, 4th grade for the teacher and staff appreciation lunch, those who supported the celebration of our 8th graders and many more. 

Remember to Register for the ’22-’23 school year by February 9th!

Inclusive Language: Parents have reached out to us with suggestions about updating language to be more inclusive throughout school correspondence and school forms. Language is an important part of creating an inclusive community. If you notice a place where we could be more inclusive in St. John communications, please reach out to Allan Quiaoit or Sara Dean. As a reminder, PA isn’t a policy-creating body, but your concerns are our concerns, and we can certainly raise these questions to the appropriate parties on your behalf.

PA Meeting – 1/6/22

Thanks to Rachael Groark for taking such clean notes. Our next virtual meeting will be on Friday, 2/4, at 8:45am.

Time Stamps:
St. John’s Updated Response to Covid and Our New Protocols
State of the School reminder
Catholic School’s Week – Opportunity to Volunteer
Happy Hour Postponed
Short Auction Update
Ongoing PA Discussions on Various Topics

Updated COVID guidance: Please familiarize yourself with the updated quarantine and isolation guidelines provided by Public Health and communicated by Ms. O’Leary in  NewsViews.

Catholic Schools Week will be 1/31 through 2/4 and planning is in the works! There will be Mass and perhaps some kind of a virtual open house on 1/30 for prospective and current families. This is traditionally a week that PA would show up in force to help and it would be great to give the teachers full breaks by volunteering for lunch duty. On Friday, 2/4, the Kitchen will likely need a little more help and communication will be sent out soon for Vocational Talks, should you be interested in virtually presenting on your careers.

Lunch Volunteers: Help our teachers by volunteering at lunch time. Don’t worry about it if you can’t consistently make it in or are unable to do a full session, just sign up whenever you’re available for as long as you’re available. Give our teachers the breaks they need!

State of the School: Come celebrate what has been accomplished and gain an understanding of St. John’s Fair Share philosophy and the predicted tuition for next year. Attendance at State of the School is required for all families intending to enroll a student(s) in grades K-8 for the 2022-23 school year. This year the event will be offered virtually on Tuesday January 25 and Thursday January 27. 

PA Meeting – 12/3/21

Thanks for being so active on the last call, everyone. We covered a lot of material. Thank you to Stephanie Glassburn for the great meeting notes! Here are the time stamps:

Pablo updates on Construction (79th and Greenwood) and Accreditation.
Construction (79th and Greenwood): This is an active work zone. Remember the sidewalk is closed around this area and students/parents must find other routes. Please follow all signs to keep everyone safe and make sure all caregivers who are dropping off/picking up are aware. We expect this to be a 17+ month project and will require patience and flexibility. 
Accreditation: We are making good progress on the self-study. Thank you to parents who have participated in the mission and philosophy working session. An update is coming soon. Additionally, the survey closed on Friday and will inform the self-study. 

Karen lets us know how we did for the Endowment, and we did GREAT!
The Endowment: The video was a great success and helped encourage giving to this important cause. We raised more than $70,000, surpassing the goal of $50,000. The endowment money is invested with the Archdiocese; a portion each year is withdrawn to be included in the operating budget. 

How is the Endowment invested?

Maggie runs down the process for Christmas Scrip this year.
Christmas Scrip: The deadline for ordering Scrip to include in our teacher appreciation efforts this Christmas season is Wednesday, 12/8/2021. The process is streamlined to ensure we are not carrying extra inventory on our books. Visit the Christmas Scrip site for more details. 

HELP OUR TEACHERS! VOLUNTEER TO MONITOR CLASSES AT LUNCH!
Lunch Volunteers: Help our teachers by volunteering at lunch time. Don’t worry about it if you can’t consistently make it in, just sign up whenever you’re available. Give our teachers the breaks they need!

Checking in with Chris and Hospitality.

Christmas Program going virtual this year.
Christmas Program will be virtual this year. Look out for videos from our music teachers coming your way with our kids. 

Thinking about Catholic Schools Week.
Catholic Schools Week will be 1/30/2022 through 2/5/2022 and planning is in the works! There will be an in person open house on 1/30/2022 for prospective and current families. 

Discussion about Celebrating 8th Grade.

Sara updates us on the PA Speaker Series.

Christmas Scrip

Our amazing Scrip Team has informed us that they’re open for business this Christmas season. However, the process will be much more streamlined than previous years.

  • Parent reps (usually, Hospitality Chairs) may choose to order holiday Scrip to give to teachers/support staff.
  • All orders must be submitted via email to stjohnscrip@st-johnschool.org
  • Deadline to place orders is Wednesday 12/8
  • Checks, payable to St. John Scrip, delivered to Parish Office before 12/8
  • Scrip gift cards are available from either Amazon or VISA
  • Order amounts must be in denominations offered individually or in combination by designated vendors: Amazon ($10, $25, $100); VISA ($50, $100, $250)   
  • Parent reps are requested to collect purchased Scrip cards and distribute to teachers/support staff. All orders that meet 12/8 purchase deadline will be ready for pick-up on Monday 12/13.   

Example Work-Flow:

  1. Homeroom X has $300 in holiday funds, already collected, to be gifted to teacher/support staff
  2. Parent rep contacts Scrip via email, before 12/8 deadline, and requests the following: 1 x $100 Amazon, 6 x $25 Amazon, 2 x $50 VISA (total $300)
  3. Parent rep delivers check payment to parish office before 12/8 deadline
  4. Scrip gift cards are available for pick-up on Monday, Dec. 13.
  5. Parent rep distributes gift cards to individual teachers/support staff. Sealed envelopes can be delivered to Mrs. Q in the main office and she can distribute to teacher mailboxes if this is best.

Jessica Sinarski, Brave Brains

Thank you all for joining us! If you’d like to skip straight to the discussion, go to 2:38.

We recently invited Jessica Sinarski of Brave Brains to speak to us about kids and mental health.  
Jessica is a highly sought-after therapist, author, and speaker. Extensive post-graduate training and 15+ years as a clinician and educator led her to create the resource and training platform, Brave Brains. She makes brain science practical, helping parents and professionals become healers for hurting children.

Jessica taught us about brain development in kids, as well as brain function in all humans in a way that was easy to understand and remember – so we can support our kids (and ourselves) in moments of big or hard feelings.  
In this conversation, Jessica shared:

  • The state of our children’s mental health after enduring 20 months in a pandemic
  • How you can be supportive of your child’s emotions and mental health as they navigate big and hard feelings during tough times
  • What anxiety looks like in children and how you can support your child if they are seeming anxious
  • How to use play in small, simple and fun ways across all age groups
  • Simple tools to ground and connect with your kids when they are having a hard time managing emotions
  • The surprising parenting power tool that nurtures healthy brain development
  • Five practical resilience-building strategies