WOH For Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020
Thankfulness by Kristen Okabayashi, Hope Principal
At my house, we celebrated Thanksgiving dinner without my oldest son for the first time ever, who lives up in Bellingham. We missed him a lot but he did drive down and back for a quick 15 minute visit outside which helped a lot. In addition, we discovered on Thanksgiving that our main sewer line at home had a break. During this challenging time, sometimes it’s easy for me and probably many of us to focus on what is negative and what we miss. Thanksgiving was a good opportunity to focus instead on what we remain thankful for.
I’m thankful for all of YOU – for supporting our school, for supporting your children who we love too, for your encouraging emails and notes, and for your endless appreciation of our incredibly hard-working teachers and staff at Hope.
I’m thankful for my four kids and my incredible husband Scott! Since COVID hit, we have hardly socialized with anyone outside our own family, which is hard for me as an extrovert. I am so grateful for sons and a husband who I truly like in addition to loving, which makes the social isolation much more bearable.
I’m thankful that we live in a gorgeous place where we can easily walk or drive to visit God’s creation immediately! We are surrounded by His beauty on all sides – the water, the forests, the mountains.
And, I’m so thankful for pets! We have a 3 ½ year old golden doodle dog Jasmine. She adds so much joy and enthusiasm to our home, and allow us a chance to get some exercise (sometimes we even argue about who gets to go walk the dog again). And on November 20, we added a sweet little mini doodle puppy to our house, Hiro! He has been such a source of light for me. We often say we would be in a tougher spot mentally without our sweet dogs.
Happy belated Thanksgiving, and I hope you had time to focus on what you are thankful for. May that continue!
Giving Tuesday – Raise Resources for Hope
It’s Giving Tuesday, and we have a unique opportunity to raise resources for Hope today!
A group of generous Hope families has stepped up to provide a matching gift for our Eagle Excellence Fund. Gifts will help us purchase technology that supports virtual learning; invest in academic excellence by training teachers to adapt curriculum to new contexts; and implement every cutting-edge practice for keeping campus sanitized and our kids and staff healthy.
Will you help us maximize this gift by making a gift online today or sending a check to the school? You can download this mini poster here and tell us why you support the Eagle Excellence Fund.
Thank you for helping to ensure that Hope remains the best and safest place in our region for students to receive a Christian education.
Calendar of Events – Click Here
Wed. 12/2: 8:40 AM Online Chapel led by Mrs. Mueller
Fri. 12/4: Free Dress Day
Wed. 12/9: 8:40 AM Online Chapel led by Pastor Mueller
Dec. 11 – 18: Christmas Spirit Dress Up Days
Wed. Dec. 16: 8:40 AM Online Chapel led by Deacon Dan Jackson
Scholastic Book Fair is Here! – Online Now through Dec. 13
Hope families you’re invited to shop our Scholastic Book Fair online November 30-December 13, 2020. All purchases benefit our school and connect kids with new books, favorite characters, complete series, and more.
You’ll love the NEW option to shop for Book Fair exclusives directly from the interactive booklist and enjoy these special online shopping features:
- Over 6,000 items, including new releases, best sellers, and value packs
- All orders ship direct to home
- FREE shippingon book-only orders over $25*
- All purchases support our school and earn 25% in rewards
Happy Reading! https://www.scholastic.com/bf/hopelutheranschool
Hope Kindergarten Information Night – Tonight December 1, 2020 @ 6 pm via Zoom
Kindergarten is a big milestone for your child, and there are many educational options to choose from. We want to help you with that decision by giving you information regarding kindergarten readiness and what to expect that first year. Join us December 1 to learn more about how ready your child is for kindergarten and what kindergarten looks like at Hope School. To attend this virtual event, please register using this link: https://forms.gle/mmRdnsvH3rhjt5A86. The Zoom meeting link will be emailed to participants the day of the event. Questions? Please call the school office at 935-8500 or email admissions@hopeseattle.org for more information.
Note From Admissions
As we dig into the Christmas season and many of our students are learning from home, it is important that our Hope community remain connected. If your student(s) are at home zooming into class, snap a picture and email it to Sally Heit at sheit@hopeseattle.org to share with the community of Hope. We want to see what fun projects they are working on. And, spirit days are coming so we want everyone to participate in the fun!
Drive-through Food Drive – December 12 – 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
My name is Atticus and I am an 8th grader here at Hope. I am organizing a COVID-safe, drive-through food drive to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank during the holiday season. Please drop off unexpired cans and packages of food. Cash and check donations for the food bank will also be accepted. Thank you for your support for people in our community during these times.
Where: Hope Lutheran Lowers (parking lot off Oregon Street)
When: December 12 from 10 AM to 3 PM
Hope Spirit Dress-up Days
Hope School is excited to offer spirit days coming up December 11-18! Show your school and community spirit by dressing up in the theme for each day, whether you are learning at school or learning at home. In-person students not wearing spirit day apparel must be in school uniforms except for Dec 18 which is a free dress day.
Dec 11 – Seahawks Day/Blue Friday – wear Seahawks apparel and/or colors
Dec 14 – Christmas Morning (Christmas pajamas and robes)
Dec 15 – Christmas Mistle-toes Day (Christmas socks and tights)
Dec 16 – Christmas Tree Toppers (hats and headbands, antlers, that type of thing)
Dec 17 – Christmas Card Day (Christmas ugly sweaters)
Dec 18 – Christmas Explosion (all Christmas colors, themes, characters, etc.- go all out!)
Shop with Scrip this Holiday Season and Fundraise for Hope
Do you have a difficult-to-buy for person on your Christmas list? Looking for stocking stuffers? Or would like to participate in the Hope Church Giving Tree, but don’t know what to get? Want to treat a teacher? We have Scrip for that! Scrip are gift cards that you purchase at full value that Hope Lutheran School purchases at a discount. Hope keeps the difference to help fund school extras.
There are many ways to order:
- shopwithscrip.com(Enrollment code: 1C27LC3812L43)
- RaiseRight App (Enrollment code: 1C27LC3812L43)
- Paper order from (available at Hope’s website under Parents, then Scrip)
NEW! If you order physical cards online or through the app, your order may qualify for shipment directly to your home. Even if your order of physical cards doesn’t qualify, orders for Christmas will be placed on 12/10 in time for Christmas Break if we don’t already have that card in stock. Contact Scrip Coordinator Sonjia Barker at sonjiabarker@hotmail.com with questions or special requests.
Seattle Lutheran Drama Performance – December 4 & 6
This fall, Seattle Lutheran Drama is proud to present a rare holiday-themed
performance! It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry.
Streaming two days only! Friday, December 4th and Sunday, December 6th
Church News & Activities – Click Here
Human Care Ministry Giving Tree 2020
As you know, our Giving Tree looks very different this year. We have had to change many things about the way we are helping kids this year. We are looking for people to come and help us process our gifts. Please click on the signupgenius here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080C45AAAE2BABFD0-hcmgiving
Review the available time slots to see if you can help us out! If you see a time that works for you – click on the button to sign up. The location will be in Renton and the address will be given once you are a confirmed member of the church or school. We will be following the current CDC guidelines regarding health protocols and screening. Please call the church office at 206-937-9330 if you have any questions. Thank you!