WOH For Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020
Welcome Back! By Sally Heit, Admissions Director
Welcome back from your Labor Day weekend! First, I want to take this moment to welcome all our new families and students to Hope! I think all of us can agree that starting a new school is stressful enough without being in the midst of a pandemic, so I thank you for patience and grace as we worked together through the admissions process. I look forward to getting to know you and your student(s) throughout the year. We are blessed to have new students in every grade, and I encourage our returning families to reach out and say hello to our newcomers and welcome them to the Hope community.
Over the weekend as I reflected on our first few days of school I was amazed at how well it really went. That sounds funny to say because you certainly don’t want things to go poorly, but when you have spent so much time and effort planning for something like the reopening of school after six months off and during a pandemic, you sort of anticipate that there will be problems. I can’t properly convey just how many hours have been spent planning for the first day of school; everything from major events such as how each learning model would work, to as mundane as figuring out how we’d pass out milk and lunches safely to students every day. It’s all in the tiny details which is why I appreciated working with Mrs. Okabayashi through all of this. Along with the reopening task force, she walked us through many scenarios and situations so we would be prepared. And when we finally opened our doors it felt as if it was a now-or-never moment, and we said a prayer.
Even with all the preparation we did had some hiccups which we laugh about now. Zoom randomly changed Mrs. Meyer’s password, leaving her students in limbo for a bit (how does that even happen?). Some applications didn’t load to iPads, and for some reason Mrs. Hartley had multiple technology failures. Fortunately, tech director Mr. Davenport to the rescue! However, even with all that we all got through our first few days of school healthy and unscathed. I want to congratulate you and your students for hanging in there with us through all of it. The kids have been doing a fantastic job of adapting to their new routines and classrooms, both online and in person, as well as wearing their masks all day long! It is not an easy task and they have risen to the occasion beautifully.
I predict that this year will be anything but boring despite our new procedures, missing our many extracurriculars, and limiting our parent volunteers and visitors. You have trusted and put your faith in us during a time of uncertainty, and we do not take that for granted. We will be doing our best to show you what is going on in the school and individual classrooms with our weekly emails, photos, and videos. For those who don’t know me well, I love taking photos of our students! I encourage you to regularly check out the school web site and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay informed and connected. There is also a Hope PTH (Parents and Teachers of Hope) Facebook page that can help you meet parents and be updated on what our parent group is planning for the year. Finally, if there is one thing that we can learn from this experience is that we can adapt, we can regroup, and we will get through this next year together united in community and in Christ Jesus. Now, let’s do this!
Parent Information Packets
At our back to school events we handed out 3 paperwork packets from the office. The first is our usual parent handbook, which includes all our normal policies and procedures for the school year.
The second item is a brand new pandemic handbook. This handbook details our specific changes in policies and procedures, as a result of opening up school in a pandemic. This is a live document and is expected to change slightly throughout the year, but this gives us a good starting point.
The third item is a smaller packet of information from the Department of Health related to COVID-19. These handouts contain very helpful information about when to keep your child home from school, and protocols to follow if the school or a family has someone with symptoms or who tests positive for COVID-19.
Please take some time to familiarize yourself with these documents and contact the school office if you did NOT receive any of these packets.
Wed. 9/9: 8:40 AM Online Chapel Led by Mrs. Mueller
Wed. 9/16: 8:40 AM Online Chapel
Tues. 9/22: Curriculum Night via Zoom
School Milk Available
School milk is offered for students in Preschool – 8th grade. Forms can be found online through K12 using your students ID & access key with payment made through K12 webstore.
Hot Lunch Program – Offered Full Days for 1st Trimester
Our NEST Hot lunch program is now available 5 days a week during our 1st trimester to all PS – 4th grade families. Lunches will also be available for those students on our Hybrid schedules Monday/Tuesdays or Thursday/Fridays. The registration form is on NEST’s website: http://www.cafestellinacatering.com/NEST-School-Lunch-Program.html orderable and payable on a month-to-month basis. You can also find monthly menus and registration information on our website here. Forms may be filled out and scan/email it back to them or send it via snail mail and feel free to contact them with questions at cafestellinacatering@gmail.com. Please note the Hope School does not register or bill for this program.
Tuesday Newsletter & Communication Envelopes
Our newsletter is sent via email every Tuesday and will also be posted to our website at www.hopeseattle.org. Please notify the school office at 206-935-8500 if you require a hard copy. Our weekly newsletter is used for general announcements, calendar date changes or reminders, Parent Involvement Program (PIP) opportunities, sports, and much more! Other communication tools we utilize are Vertical Response, which goes out via email, and SchoolMessenger, which goes out via phone. Please ensure that your information is up-to-date for your family in our K12online portal. Each kindergarten through 8th grade homeroom will also send home a bright yellow communication folder with important school forms. Please sign the outside of the envelope, remove the contents and return the folder to your child’s homeroom. Do not place forms inside this envelope; instead, attach any forms returning to the school to the outside of the envelope.
Door Access System
We use a door access system to improve the safety of our campus, however during our 1st trimester we will not be issuing parental access to this system. Please use our door bell located to the left of doors to alert the front office you need assistance. Paperwork and other items can be dropped in our drop box located to the left of our front doors. If you have questions you may contact the school office at 206-935-8500.
Yearbooks From 2019-2020
Yearbooks have arrived! We will update you on our plan for distribution as soon as we can. Again we thank you for your patience.
Hope Church Food Drive – Sept 19, 2020
Hope Lutheran Church is hosting a drive-thru collection on Sat. Sept. 19 from 10:00 AM to Noon. All proceeds benefit The Welcome Table which is run by WIN Westside Interfaith Network. This is a free community event that happens every Saturday at Body of Christ Church in White Center. They serve neighborhood families that are low income or homeless. Each week a meal is provided. Other items are also offered such as used clothing, personal toiletries and food. Many families use this “pop up food bank” each week to help ends meet.
Please consider donating these items (Please no expired items)
Cereal, Cartons of shelf stable milk- regular, soy, almond, rice, oat, Canned fruit, vegetables, meats, Canned meals such as SpaghettiOs’s, ravioli, Cup of noodles, Pasta, Peanut butter, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Toilet Paper, Hand sanitizer, Antibiotic ointment, Laundry detergent pods, Dish soap, Underwear- new or clean used, sizes M, L, XL, Men’s shirts/pants used, in good condition all sizes, Blankets, Backpacks or Duffel bags, Coats large, XL, 2X.
Cash Donations also accepted.
Enter our parking lot by turning in on 41st Ave SW and exiting to SW Oregon street. NO CONTACT DONATION – Volunteers will be on hand to unload your backseat or trunk so you don’t even have to get out of your car. Thank you!