Newsletter for Tuesday, July 6, 2021
July 6, 2021 Newsletter by Kristen Okabayashi
As we kick off July, we are pleased to sharing some hiring news for our elementary school! One benefit of all the changes over the past 16 months is that we are very flexible as a school, and so the two open positions created an opportunity for current teachers to carefully consider if they would like to move to a different grade level. I’m pretty excited to share that out of the six classrooms, four teachers will be teaching in new or different grade levels, which will mean a lot of fresh and dynamic teaching next year! Here are the K-5 teacher placements for the fall:
5th Grade – Lucy Kuhn (moving up from 4th grade)
4th Grade – Erika Alba (moving up from 1st grade)
3rd Grade – Mary Norton
2nd Grade – Julie Hartley
1st Grade – Anna Zetzsche
Kindergarten – Elonna Visser
Ms. Zetzsche completed her student teaching last year with Mrs. Alba in first grade, and just completed her Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Seattle Pacific University. She has been a substitute teacher and has years of experience as a camp counselor, leading at Vacation Bible School, and serving as a cadet teacher over the years. She is one of the most naturally gifted new teachers I have seen, and brings a calm but energetic presence to this fun age level.
Ms. Visser has volunteered and taught part-time in our Hope art program for the past two years, and has extensive experience prior to that with Sunday School teaching. She is a certified teacher with a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Seattle Pacific University. Elonna lives near Hope Lutheran School and has felt God’s call to work here for years, and so we are thankful to have her finally join us in a full-time capacity.
Please join me in welcoming and praying for Ms. Zetzsche and Ms. Visser, along with our two other teachers who are shifting positions. We are still finishing up the hiring process for the open middle school position and expect to have more news soon.
Lastly, we welcome Jennifer Neafcy officially to her new position as assistant principal. Mrs. Neafcy’s job responsibilities will include coaching teachers and overseeing the curriculum and academics at Hope. I have started my position overseeing both Hope and Seattle Lutheran High School and look forward to strengthening the relationship between the two schools.
Yearbook Reminder
Our year books have arrived and are ready to pick up! All students in grades preschool through 8th grade for the 2020/2021 school year will receive a yearbook. We have them outside in front of the school Mondays through Thursdays between 9-3 so please stop by and pick yours up.
Hope Summer Camp
Our Hope Summer camp is in full swing and will run through July 23. Enrollment in our summer camp is by online registration only; sign up here! Summer camp currently has limited space for the week of July 6-9 and July 19-23 and is full for the week of July 12-16.
Office Hours
Summer office hours are 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Monday through Thursday. We welcome visitors this summer so feel free to call 206-935-8500 and make an appointment prior to coming in for a visit. Thank you!
Calendar of Events – Click Here
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