Words of Hope for Tues. Feb. 25, 2014
LEST Perseverance by Kristen Okabayashi
Some parents of our younger students are probably a little tired of hearing all the fuss about “LEST”. This will be my last reference to LEST for now, I promise, but I do want to share some highlights from our school’s recent trip to Portland for our annual Lutheran Elementary Schools Tournament.
LEST 2014 was my favorite in seven years of attending this event for a couple reasons. The first reason is because so many families travelled down to Portland this year! We had close to 90% of our 5th through 8th grade families attend, either as competitors in one or more events, or to cheer on their friends. All our events had great turnouts by fans, and it created so much great energy and spirit! I was sitting across from the stands keeping track of the boys statistics, and at one point in our middle school boys basketball game, I looked over and at least 100 Hope fans were cheering, yelling, and stomping in support of our players. It gave me goose bumps then and still does now! Our boys ended up winning a very close game, and the fan support absolutely made a difference in the outcome.
The second reason I loved LEST this year is because I felt our kids gave each event everything they had. From the drama team pulling off their best performance this year, to our girls basketball team scrapping it out despite losing one of their top 8th grade players the weekend before, to our Glee Club singing beautifully despite their leader being out sick, I was so proud of and impressed with our students. It is not easy putting yourself out there in a competition, whether it is sports, chess, piano, or spelling, but our kids came through. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.” I felt that our students did work at their events with everything they had, and it showed! It was a wonderful LEST and thanks to so many of you for being part of it. I hope you enjoyed it too!
Calendar of Events
Tues. 2/25: Grades 5-8 only – QTR 3 Midterm Reports Sent Home
Wed. 2/26: PTH General Meeting – 5:30 PM Potluck, 6:15 PM Meeting
Fri. 3/7: Knowledge Bowl 4:00 PM / Free Dress Day
Thurs. 3/13: Noon Dismiss – Parent/Teacher Conferences / ESC “XTRA” Open
Fri. 3/14: No School – Parent/Teacher Conferences / ESC Open
PTH General Assembly – Tomorrow – Feb. 26th
You will earn double PIP hours for this meeting! On Wednesday, February 26th the school body and the P arents and T eachers of H ope (PTH) are having the second of our General Assembly Meetings. General school business is conducted and these meetings are for all parents. The event starts at 5:30 pm in the Commons with a potluck (bring a favorite dish or dessert) and our school business will begin at 6:15 until 7:00 pm. For those with younger children, childcare will be available from 6:15 pm to 7:00 pm.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Sign up forms for our optional parent-teacher conferences are coming home today in the Tuesday envelopes. If you would like a conference or your child’s teacher requests a conference, please fill out the sign up form and return it to the school office by this Friday, February 28. This year, our teachers will attend training on Common Core Learning Standards in Tacoma on Friday, March 14, and so conferences will be limited to Thursday, March 13 or by appointment.
Auction Meeting – Tuesday, March 4th
Wow! Three weeks until the school auction! We are having another auction meeting Tuesday March 4th in the Church Commons at 6:30pm. Everyone is welcome. We are looking for businesses and individuals willing to match our “Make a Difference” auction donations. It will make a difference! We also have volunteer opportunities for day of the auction. To volunteer for these needs or any other auction related tasks, please contact Sally Heit at sheit@hopeseattle.org or (206) 851-5990. PIP hours apply!
If you are planning on using the childcare offered when you attend the auction, please be aware that we can only accept children preschool age and up.
New Door Access Control System
A new door access control system has just been installed at Hope. This system allows access to the building by use of a pass code through four different exterior doors on campus and includes an intercom at the school main doors; it is not an alarm system. The system will allow us to keep our school doors locked throughout the day while allowing visitors to enter via intercom or passcode. These systems have become common in the wake of school tragedies that have occurred across the nation in recent years. We are thankful that this system was approved to be funded from a large memorial donation we received. Information on how to use the system will be shared in the near future as we finish up the installation process.
Knowledge Bowl Update
We typically hold a league Knowledge Bowl which is scheduled for Friday, March 7. Due to late communication, we do not have enough schools to compete this year. We apologize for this and definitely plan to hold Knowledge Bowl next year once again. On a related note, if anyone is interested in helping out next year with Knowledge Bowl both at LEST and for our league, please let us know in the school office. We could use a volunteer or volunteers to lead this fun academic event for grades 5-8.
Talent Show Forms
Our talent show is coming up on Wednesday, March 26 at 1:30 PM (notice the date change, as previously announced). K-8 students are invited to show off their talents or potential talents in front of the whole school. The venue will be Seattle Lutheran High School’s gym, so we will not have a piano available but we do have access to a keyboard. Sign up forms go home today so be sure to get yours in by next Friday, March 7.
Track and Field Coaches Wanted
Are you short on PIP hours? Do you have a lot of energy and enjoy working with children? We are looking for individuals to help us with our track team this year and no experience is necessary. Practices are held during the week 2 to 3 days after school with Track meets usually on Saturdays. If you are interested please contact Mr. Kapels at Bkapels@hopeseattle.org.