WOH, Tuesday September 27, 2022
Rest for Your Souls by Kristen Okabayashi, Hope Principal
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The past 2-3 years have been difficult for many of us. Decisions, plans and procedures needed to be made without any precedent for them. For me personally, I had to make some very difficult decisions with very little support or guidance from the Department of Health regarding the pandemic over the past two and a half years, in addition to serving as principal at Seattle Lutheran High School last year along with Hope. It has been a challenging time for many of us, and certainly for me personally.
After working most or all of the summers in 2020 and 2021, I found myself leaning on some people who are dear to me for guidance on taking time this past summer for recovery, rest, and healing. One of those dear people is our Hope Church Family Life Minister Patra Mueller, who was a prayer warrior for me all last year and encouraged me to release my stress to God. I love the verses from Matthew posted above to support that, and I’ll remind all of you also that rest is so important for our minds, bodies, and souls!
Patra also encouraged me to seek out a bible verse that I would turn to for recovering and resting, and so I wanted to share that with you, in case it is helpful to anyone else. When I read it as I was looking for a verse, it spoke to me. Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs…and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” That verse never fails to soothe my soul.
As I continue to practice resting more this year, I will be taking more scheduled time off than I normally would during the school year. When I’m out of the building, we are blessed to have our former assistant principal Jennifer Neafcy in charge of the school. Mrs. Neafcy is teaching kindergarten and serving Hope as Head Teacher this year; she has extra planning time in her schedule each day to assist wherever is needed. Additionally, retired veteran teacher Roselyn Newton will be here on certain days to help. Mrs. Newton taught at Hope for years and retired about five years ago after teaching middle school for over 40 years. With years of experience between the two of them,and me just a phone call or text away, Hope School is in good hands.
Calendar of Events
Friday 9/30 1:00pm: Fall Olympics – wear your team’s color. Event held in the Seattle Lutheran Gym.
Friday 10/7 6:30-9:00pm: Free dress day, Tall and Small Family Ball
Tuesday, 10/11: Picture Day – Individual, Class & Fall Team Sports Pictures taken by LifeTouch at school
Friday, 10/14 6:30-8:30 pm: Family Game Night & Pagliacci Pizza. Event sponsored by Hope Church in the Commons
Fall Olympics: Friday, September 30, 2022
Come cheer on your students at the Fall Olympics. It is a fun-filled afternoon of friendly competition between teams that are a mixture of all grade levels, Kindergarten through 8th grade. Parents are welcome to join us. It is a great student-body activity that we are excited to welcome back. Event will be held in the Seattle Lutheran High School Gym.
Picture Day: October 11, 2022
Picture day is coming up! Paper order forms went home last week in the Tuesday envelope or you may order online at mylifetouch.com with our school Picture Day id: EVT7S6TNM. See below for a volunteer opportunity on picture day.
Important Drop-Off and Pick-Up Reminders:
Please do not drop off any students prior to 8:05 AM. If you arrive prior to the first bell (8:10 AM for K-3, 8:15 AM for grades 4-8) please keep your student in the car with you or remain with them out front, as we do not have staff supervision prior to 8:10 AM.
At pickup time, please remember to remain in your car and pull forward until your student gets in the vehicle. Additionally, if you park across the street from the school, do not jaywalk across 42nd Ave, which can be very busy at that time of day, but instead utilize the crosswalk on Oregon Street. If your child needs assistance exiting or entering the car, you are also welcome to park in the lowers parking lot across the alley from the school or use other street parking and then walk up to school.
Thank you for your support of keeping everyone safe and expediting drop-off and pick-up times!
Student Council Returns to Hope
Hope Student Council is returning after a 2 ½ year hiatus! Student council is an opportunity for students to learn about student government, to organize service projects and activities for the students, and to serve as representatives for our school. Students in grades 3-8 may run for student council. Two representatives are elected in grades 3-7, and four officers are elected in grade 8. More information is going home in the yellow envelopes today for students in grades 3-8. If you have any questions, reach out to Mrs. Neafcy (jneafcy@hopeseattle.org).
MAP TestingUpdate
For the coming school year, Hope School will again complete a standardized testing assessment for all K-8 students, MAP® Growth™ test from NWEA® . During the month of October and two more times throughout the year, your child will take a MAP® Growth™ test from NWEA® on a computer or tablet. We give students MAP Growth tests to determine their instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year (and from year to year) in math, language and reading. More information will be in next week’s Tuesday communications; assessments will begin next Wednesday, October 5 and run for two weeks.
PTH EVENTS
PTH Hosted Tall and Small Family Ball: Friday, October 7th from 6:30-9:00pm.
At Seattle Lutheran High School : 4100 SW Genesee Street Seattle, WA 98116
Come one, come all, to the Tall and Small Family Ball! We’ll dance the night away remembering old dances and maybe learning some new ones. There will be a DJ light show, photo booth, and refreshments. Tickets will be $20/family. Please register/pay here: https://hopeseattle.ejoinme.org/tickets. Questions? Email PTH@hopeseattle.org.
Sign up to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0545ADA823AAFA7-tall1
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Substitute Teachers Needed: We are currently looking for Substitute Teachers. Please visit the Hope School website, please click here to fill out an application or share this opportunity with others. Feel free to pass on this opportunity to others if you know of people looking to sub.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES (PIP hours apply!)
Picture Day Volunteer: Tuesday, 10/11. We need one more volunteer to help usher classrooms to and from the Commons on picture day, collect payment envelopes, and keep students organized. Duties begin at 8:30am.
Hope Church Reader Board Changer: We are looking for an individual who can change and update the Reader Board for the church and school either weekly or bi-weekly, depending upon the need. it is an important part of our communication to the community. PIP hours apply! Please contact Patra Mueller @ patramueller@hopeseattle.org
2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? Our Coaches!
Spirit/Cheer Club: 10/1/2022 – Last Day to sign-up.
It has been a couple of years since our Spirit/Cheer Club could perform at basketball games and compete at LEST (Lutheran Elementary Schools Tournament). Many students are interested in starting it up again and we’d like to see if we have enough students to create a spirit/cheer club. You may sign up your students (Grades 5-8) by emailing Cheerclub2022@gmail.com. The club is also looking for a few volunteers/parents to assist the students. It is a great way to earn those PIP hours, as well as support our students and show our school spirit.
Cross Country Assistant Coach or Parent Volunteers: – Attention runners, joggers and walkers! We’re looking for an assistant coach or parent volunteers to help Coach Lana with pace groups once a week from 3:15-4:45 during the Cross Country season, September – October. You don’t need to be a strong runner – joggers and walkers welcome. This is a great opportunity to support student athletes and double down on your workout by getting PIP hours at the same time. Reach out to Lana at lana.zumbrunn@gmail.com for more info.
HOPE CHURCH EVENTS
Hope Lutheran Church Membership:
HOPE 101- Interested in becoming a member of Hope Lutheran Church or finding out more? The Hope 101 class will begin soon. Please fill out this form if you would like to know the details.
For more information about Hope Lutheran Church CLICK HERE
