WOH For Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015
Deflated not Defeated by Kristen Okabayashi
This weekend was a roller coaster of emotions for me, and I’m not just talking about the Seahawk game. I was blessed to attend the celebration of life service for JB Lusher on Saturday, the young football coach who passed away unexpectedly last week. His service was sad, touching, and even funny at times, as different speakers paid tribute to this complicated and caring young man. I laughed at the funny stories and cried several times, and it was healing just to gather together as a group.
Later that night, we had my sister over for dinner for a joint birthday celebration, as my oldest son and my sister have birthdays just several days apart. My eldest son turns 17 this week, which I can hardly believe and my much older (haha) sister just had what I like to call a “big round” birthday. I’m enjoying my son becoming older but seriously, where does the time go? My sister and I both basically feel the same as when we were in our 20s.
And then there is the Seahawks game, wow. The ups, the downs, and everything-in-betweens. From the joy of Marshawn’s touchdown and Kearse’s phenomenal pass reception, to the grief of that last play. From the incredible commitment of Richard Sherman playing through what sounds like a significant elbow injury to the pain of losing Jeremy Lane. It was a great game to watch!
Some of these emotions are minor but some of them are really painful and raw! Some of you know that I became a Christian as an adult, and so I have managed these heavy emotions both without and with God. Let me tell you, it is much easier to manage with God! He helps us see the bigger picture, both in the tragic loss of someone we lose, but also in the crazy emotions of what is probably a trivial game to Him but really means a lot to us. As important as these moments are at the time, in God’s grand scheme of our lives, they are small, and God carries us through them, thankfully! I am grateful.
“God is our refugee and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1
Calendar of Events
Tues. 2/3: Quarter 2 Report Cards Sent Home / PIP Statements Sent Home
Wed. 2/4: 8:30 Chapel w/2nd Grade / Pizza & Teriyaki Order Deadline
Thur. 2/5 – Wed. 2/11: LEST Spirit Week
Fri. 2/6: Free Dress Day
Sun. 2/8: 4:00 PM LEST Review in Commons
Wed. 2/11: 8:30 AM Chapel w/Mr. Kunkel / 2:00 PM PEP Assembly @ SLHS Gym / No PTH Meeting – Date change to 2/25
Thur. & Fri. 2/12 & 2/13: No School – LEST / ESC Open
Mon. & Tues. 2/16 & 2/17: No School – Mid Winter Break / ESC Closed
*Attention* Pizza and Teriyaki Patrons
If you have not renewed your order for the 2nd half of the school year, please do so if you wish to continue. If not, your child(ren) will no longer be on the list to receive these lunches. 2nd half orders start on Feb. 20th & 23rd. Order forms are due tomorrow. Thank you for supporting the 7th and 8th grade Washington DC trip!
2nd Quarter Report Cards
Your students’ 2nd quarter report cards are coming home today, February 3rd. Please keep your copy, sign the envelope to verify receipt and return to your student’s homeroom teacher. Please contact your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns. Honor roll students will be recognized during chapel tomorrow, February 4th.
LEST Spirit Days
All students in preschool through 8th grade are invited to join us in spirit days as we gear up for LEST!
- Thursday, Feb 5 – Western Day – deck out in your best western gear
- Friday, Feb 6 – Gender Wars – boys in blue, girls in pink
- Monday, Feb 9 – Pajama Day – roll out of bed and come in your PJ’s
- Tuesday, Feb 10 – Hawaiian Day – Mahalo! Break out that Hawaiian shirt and grass skirt and practice that hula dance
- Wednesday, Feb 11 – Blue and Gold Day – wear our school colors, show your school pride! (Hair and face painting OK this day.)
With the exception of Friday, Feb. 6th, these are optional spirit days and students not participating will need to come in school uniforms as usual.
Lutheran Elementary School Tournament (LEST) Review – Sunday, Feb. 8!
February brings our annual LEST down at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. Hope 5th through 8th grade students will compete in a variety of events including basketball, drama, spelling bee, math, and music. On Sunday, February 8, you are invited to join us for our “LEST Review” beginning at 4:00 PM in our Commons. This event provides an opportunity for our fine arts LEST competitors to perform in front of a live audience before LEST, and gives a chance for family and friends who are not traveling down to Portland and our church members to preview our events. The audience will hear our Glee Club directed by Sara Kunkel, pianists and vocalists directed by Thad Franklin, and our Drama team will perform “Cave Dream” directed by Sandra Scragg and Mary Norton. This is a “fun for the whole family” event so feel free to bring a friend. Hope to see you there!
LEST Gear
Show your school spirit and get ready for LEST (Lutheran Elementary Schools Tournament)! We have seat cushions to save your bum from those hard bleachers for $2, slap bands for $1, Hope Lunch Bags for $12 and reusable Hope bags for $1 ea. If you ordered t-shirts for LEST, those will be in soon. We do have five youth medium shirts available for $10 and a bunch of adult extra-large shirts for $10. We will be doing another order of navy t-shirts in the spring and if you would like one, put your name down on the signup sheet at the LEST table across from the second grade classroom. You can make all purchases in the school office.
Afterschool Activities – Click Here
New Yoga classes for grades 2-8 starting February 17th & 19th.
Parent Involvement Program Opportunities – Click Here
PTH Mid-Winter Dance – Friday, February 27
PTH is hosting their first ever Mid-Winter Dance for the 7th and 8th grade students of Hope, Holy Rosary, OLG, Holy Family, St. Bernadette, and St. Francis. As such, PTH has multiple PIP opportunities in the late afternoon and evening:
Chaperones, Clean-up, Coat check, Dance set-up, Student check-in
To sign up, go to http://www.SignUpGenius.com/go/9040C4FAAA92BAB9-midwinter
Recycle Shopping Bags
Do you have extra shopping bags lying around? Instead of putting them in your recycling bin for biweekly pick up with your garbage, why not donate them to the PTH and know that they are going to be reused! A recycling container is conveniently located in the school lobby.