Preschool Online, What? By Christina Figgins, Preschool Sea Stars Teacher and Director
Teach Preschool online? What?! If you had asked me that one month ago I would have thought you had lost your mind. Then this became my reality, and I went a little crazy myself figuring out how to do it. There was a big learning curve figuring out technology, apps, and worst of all taking videos of myself. I can’t even take a decent selfie! Slowly but surely I invited my class to an app called Seesaw. After many attempts it worked. And then the videos of story time, songs, science experiments, writing, drawing, painting…it all began to pour out of me. Each time I added a video to the app, the kids responded back with their creations. They showed me how they made forts, they showed me their favorite stuffies, and they showed me how they are practicing writing their name! That’s a big deal for a 3 year old!
To go along with the online learning I send home a weekly bag of crafts and art supplies, science experiments, work sheets, and a treat. It’s been fun getting pictures and videos back of the kids working on their homework.
For social/emotional growth the Sea Stars are even using Zoom video conferencing. The first attempt was pretty funny! I just watched them all look at each other and say “hi” over and over. On our second attempt I figured out the “mute all” button. Then each child had a chance to share their Easter “show and tell”. We are figuring this out together, our Sea Star family. Huge kudos to the parents – this is a wild journey and I am overwhelmed with their support, patience and love!
I miss running around the playground with my Sea Star students, laughing with them at circle time, and watching them figure out how to navigate friendships, but I’m so thankful we are still in each other’s lives, and can’t wait to see them!
April 14-20: Hope Spirit Week!
May 4-8: Teacher Appreciation Week
May 22 & 25: Memorial Weekend – No School
Hope Spirit Week – April 14th – 20th
We’ve got the spirit, yes we do! Show your school spirit and show up to your Zoom class meetings all dressed up! This is totally optional, but we encourage you to participate if you can. Just use whatever you have around the house. You can email a picture to your teacher or Mrs. Heit (sheit@hopeseattle.org) and we’ll post them on our Facebook, Instagram, and website.
April 14: What do I want to be when I grow up?
April 15: Bring your pet or favorite stuffy to school!
April 16: Dress up as your favorite Disney or Super Hero character
April 17: Eagle Spirit! Dress up in Hope sweatshirts, hats, beads, or even your UNIFORM (gasp!)
April 20th: PJ Day!
Yearbook Orders from LifeTouch
Thank you Hope parents for alerting us about Lifetouch emailing about yearbook purchasing. Hope yearbooks are included in registration fees this year; each student will receive a yearbook at the end of the school year. We are working with Lifetouch to stop the notifications being emailed to parents. Please do NOT order or pay through LifeTouch. We apologize for this confusion!
Facebook LIVE!
If you are currently on Facebook, please follow the school and church page for the latest updates and news plus a morning announcement to start off the day. If you are not on Facebook you can view the posts on our website homepage in the weekly blog post.
Registration and Tuition Contracts for Fall 2020
If you have not registered for Fall 2020, now is the time to do so. You may register your student(s) through the K12Online Portal using each student’s i.d. and access key (contact the office if you need this information). Tuition contracts will be sent out at the end of April to those families that have registered, including financial assistance letters. Please make sure to apply for assistance no later than the end of April.
We realize that this is a tough time financially and emotionally for families. Your family’s well-being and continued involvement in the Hope School community is important to us, so please reach out with any questions or concerns to Admissions Director, Sally Heit at sheit@hopseattle.org.
Financial Aid Information for 2020-21 Academic Year – Deadline April 30
We partner with School and Student Services (SSS) for our financial aid process each year. Instructions for applying for financial aid at Hope Lutheran School are available by visiting sss.nais.org/parents. Our school’s SSS code is 179833. The final deadline to apply for aid is April 30, 2020.
Church News & Activities – Click Here
Visit our website https://vimeo.com/hopeseattle/videos to watch live video church services.
