WOH Tuesday, January 3, 2023
New Years Resolutions – Family Style by Kristen Okabayashi, Principal
At this time of year, many of us seize the opportunity to start afresh with new beginnings. These new beginnings and resolutions are often geared towards us personally, such as focusing on healthy eating, working out at the gym, prioritizing time with family, more time in prayer, etc. In addition to your resolutions as an individual, it can also be a good time to reset your family practices.
My own four boys are very close in age to one another – including a set of twins at the end, the 4 of them are only 4 ½ years apart. When our boys were younger, my husband and I were often focused on actual day to day survival versus stepping back to think of how we would intentionally structure our family life. That being said, we stumbled on some practices that worked well for us, partly based on traditions we experienced as children ourselves. You might ask, what are some family practices that worked well for the Okabayashi family? While each family is different, here are some ideas from me as a parent:
- Show up for your kids. Go to their school events or extracurricular activities as much as you can. Your kids will feel valued and that they are a priority to you. During the middle school years, they may act like they don’t care that much if you are there, but deep down, they do care. As they get older, my kids have said over and over how much they appreciated us showing up for them.
- Eat dinner together. As a child myself, this was really important to my own mom, and it used to bug me because I would want to do something else. And yet, bonds form between family members when you take time to eat a meal together, so I followed this tradition with my own family. I also irritated my own kids (and sometimes my husband too) by insisting that we eat together at least half the time, but it is time well spent.
- Listen. As an extrovert, this is something I sometimes struggle with as a mom, as I want to impart my words of wisdom or share my thoughts. And yet, it is important to actually listen to what your child is saying, and not just to figure out how you will respond – it shows them their feelings and thoughts are valued.
- Pray together as a family. There is an intimacy that forms through praying together within the family as we invite God into our lives. When our family prays together, sometimes prayers come up that are surprising and it gives you an idea of what your child might be concerned about and what they need support with.
- Have fun! This has always been a high priority for us as a family. Board games are probably our most frequent method of having fun together, but this could be anything you enjoy big and small – fun vacations, movie nights at the theater or at home, cooking together, playing sports, etc. My family loves video games, which I really don’t play, but over break somehow my kids talked me into playing Mario Kart with them which was surprisingly fun. We are a goofy family, and laugh a lot with each other and sometimes at each other too.
Many of these practices I value as a parent carry through to my role as principal as well. As we kick off 2023, I feel very optimistic for Hope Lutheran School and the community around us and I am glad you are part of it! Blessings to you all.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Tues, 1/3/22: Auction Meeting 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm in the Commons
Tues, 1/10/23 Preschool Open House – 6:30pm
Mon, 1/16/23 NO SCHOOL – M L King Day – all closed
Tues, 1/17/23 General PTH Meeting 6:00 pm- 7:00 pm
1/23/23-1/27/23 National Lutheran Schools Week
Wed, 1/25/23 Donuts with Grownups Event -7:45am-8:25 am
Sat, 2/4/23 7th/8th Grade School Dance – details TBA
SCHOOL NEWS
We Made Our Goal!
THANK YOU so much to everyone who donated to The Eagle Excellence Fund in support of our teachers and staff! We are so grateful for your continued support of the great work we do here at Hope Lutheran School and the talented, dedicated people that do that work tirelessly. A total of 65 donors along with the help of company matching helped exceed our goal of $60,000 for a grand total of $61,270! Amazing! Words cannot express how grateful we are to our current families, alumni, church members and friends of Hope for supporting Hope School in this way.
Thank you from the School Office
We would also like to extend our warmest Thank You for all of the lovely cards, words of appreciation and gifts, both for the office staff, as well as for our awesome Teachers. We are so blessed to be a part of such a caring and thoughtful community!
ADMISSIONS
Our Preschool Open House for prospective families is January 10th at 6:30. We’ll be welcoming new families to our preschool classrooms and showing them what we do in our play-based preschool program. Please feel free to invite families in your neighborhood to attend. They can register to attend through this link. If you are a current family and have a child that will be ready for preschool next fall as a new student but haven’t applied yet, please do so through this link. It is important that we receive your application by January 31st at the latest as new family applications will be assigned open spots after January 31st.
Re-enrollment for current families for Fall 2023 will begin January 16-31, 2023. Current families will re-enroll for the following year through GradeLink and submit the $200 registration fee/child at the end of the registration process. If you need to enroll a sibling new to Hope, please fill out an application for them through this link. This would include students entering preschool or new to the elementary or middle school programs. Beginning February 1st, new applications will be processed and placed into programs, so in order to secure a spot for your child next fall, please make sure to apply or re-enroll them before January 31st.
PIP VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Volunteers Needed! 5/6th grade Basketball Coaches & Track Assistant
We are looking for both a 5/6th grade Boys Basketball coach and a 5/6th Grade Girls Basketball coach; the season runs from mid February through the end of March. We are also looking for individuals with some track experience to join and help the coach in the spring. Please contact Mark Goodspeed at MGoodspeed@hopeseattle.org. Earn PIP hours.
Volunteers Needed! Pacific Science Center on Wheels school visit January 20, 2023
The Science Center exhibit will be set up in the Fellowship Hall on Friday, 1/20/23, for our students to visit and interact with. We are in need of six adult volunteers for the school day to assist with the visit – 2 to unload the items, 2 to assist during the day & 2 to help pack up the items. If you can help, please email the school office at office@hopeseattle.org.
EAST COAST TRIP FUNDRAISING
Basketball TO-GO snack packs for all AWAY games!!! Order yours now for easy game day prep for games on the road. A quick snack ready for your player for before or after the game! Please fill out your form and turn into the office by January 4, 2023. ALL Home games at SLHS gym will have a concession stand. See you out on the court! Looking forward to a fun and competitive season! Lets GO EAGLES! All proceeds from this fundraiser go to the Hope 7th and 8th Grade East Coast Trip! Print Order forms from this website. If you have any questions please email ectfundraising@hopeseattle.org
PTH EVENTS
Tues, 1/3/22: Auction Meeting 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm in the Commons
Tues, 1/17/23: General PTH Meeting – 6:00 pm- 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary. All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend. Earn PIP hours for your attendance.
Fri, 1/20/23: Pacific Science Center on Wheels visiting school
Sat, 3/4/23: Celebrate Together Auction – the Hall of Fauntleroy
SIGN UP TO HELP WITH THE AUCTION– PIP Hours apply!
Classroom Art Project – Volunteers needed
Do you know someone artistic?
We are looking for a parent or family member to help with your child’s classroom art project for the Celebrate Hope Dinner and Auction!
*Please email Diana@tricomwebdesign.com or call 206-579-4222 Diana Palmer
*You’ll enjoy working with all the kids to create a fun and beautiful art piece to be auctioned off at the Spring “Celebrate Hope Dinner and Auction”
Donuts with Grownups Event – Wednesday, January 25th, 7:45am-8:25 am
Kid(s) and their Special Grownup will gather to socialize and enjoy donuts/refreshments before their class start time. Located in the Commons. Grownups are invited to stay to attend Wednesday Chapel service after the event.
