Never Too Old To Learn by Mark Goodspeed
As the world starts to emerge (prayerfully) from COVID, it can be a time of reflection of “what have we learned” through this process and dealing with the implications of living a life under a pandemic. For me, I have been teaching for 16 years. When you teach that long you get into a routine and develop a plan of how you want your PE sports to go and how to teach students various sports during the school year. Fall is football and soccer, winter is basketball and volleyball, spring is baseball and hockey and so on.
With the pandemic and the restrictions that came with that last year, it forced me to adjust what material I presented to the students and how I was going to teach them while maintaining social distance. There are two ways to think about this challenge. I decided to look at this as an opportunity to adjust and grow myself in the creativity I was going to use in my classroom. This caused me to look outside of the “normal” sports and routines and find niche sports that still have a place in a school curriculum. Last year the students were introduced to pickleball (started right here in Washington State!), badminton, and cornhole. These are sports that I never thought I would teach to the students. They were fun sports to learn about and fun for the students. In fact, many of them started to play these sports with their parents after hours in the backyard, getting that fresh air and sunshine that is so vital in our lives. These sports will now be moved into the rotation of sports that are taught to students making for a better chance to harness something in a student that they love and want to continue well past their days at Hope Lutheran. At the age that I am, it made me realize that I am never too old to learn new things and to continue to challenge myself and my students.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and with my living eye on you.” Psalm 32:8
TODAY is Giving Tuesday: Support the Eagle Excellence Fund
Did You Know? A group of generous Hope families created a matching gift for gifts given to the Eagle Excellence Fund between now and December 31st.
We are aiming to raise $30,000 this year to support technology and academics at Hope.
It’s easy to give on our website today or by submitting a check to the school office this week.
Take a picture of yourself or your kids holding a sign that says, “I give to Hope because _______” and tag us at #hopeeagleexcellence. We’ll share the photos with our community.
Your gift TODAY will impact our ability to invest in technology and curriculum (coding, computer design) to ensure Hope students are prepared to be the innovators and leaders our world needs.
Thank you for your generosity!
Auction Meeting – Tuesday, November 30 @ 6:30 PM
If you signed up at the PTH General Meeting to be a part of the 2021 Auction Committee, or would like to be, please plan to attend our 1st meeting. This is a great way to earn those PIP hours for the year. Committee meetings will be held on Tuesday evenings in the school commons. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email your PTH members at pth@hopeseattle.org.
Calendar of Events – Click Here
Tues. 11/30: 6:30 PM Auction Meeting in Church Commons – Open to All!
Wed. 12/1: 8:40 AM Chapel for K-4 & 9:05 AM Chapel for 5-8 Led by Mr. Kopecky, Youth Minister
Fri. 12/3: Free Dress Day
Tues. 12/7: 6:00 PM – Kindergarten through Grade 2 Christmas Concert
Wed. 12/8: 8:40 AM Chapel for K-4 & 9:05 AM Chapel for 5-8 Led by 4 Grade
Athletic Events – Click Here
Drop-Off/Pick-Up Reminders
Thank you for your patience and support as we have been getting into the routine of drop-off and pick-up. A few reminders for you:
- Please do not block any crosswalks or intersections when waiting on 42nd. Safety is paramount as well as consideration for our neighborhood.
- Cars outside the school on 42nd should pull as far forward as possible to keep traffic moving.
- If you miss the car line, do not pull into an open spot. Drive around the block to reenter the line. This helps us keep traffic moving.
- When waiting on 42nd in front of the school, drivers, please pay attention so that you can pull forward as soon as another car leaves.
- Please do not double park outside the front of the school and ask your child to come to your car across the line of parked cars. This is very dangerous.
- If you park across the street, use the crosswalk when coming to pick-up your child and when returning to your car.
Giving Tree Game Drive Continues through December 3
We will be providing gifts for families in need from the public schools in West Seattle. We will be collecting NEW GAMES to be included in each family’s bag of gifts. You can help by sending your child’s favorite unwrapped game to school by DECEMBER 3rd. Other items needed are boys underwear and boys socks (all sizes). Thank you so much for your support!
Hometown Holidays Night Market 2021 – Student Service Hours Opportunities
The West Seattle Junction Association is excited to welcome back the Hometown Holidays Night Market in the Alaska Junction on December 4 from 3 to 7 pm. Hope and SLHS students will be serving hot chocolate and cider and supervising an ornament making station at the market. It is a very festive and fun night, and a great opportunity for each school to get back into the community! We REALLY need help with set-up and take-down tasks if there are any parents or students who like PIP or service hours. Sign up here. Questions? Contact Admissions Director, Sally Heit @ sheit@seattlelutheran.org
Winter/Christmas Performances
We have good news to share about Hope’s upcoming Christmas and winter performances….
The show(s) must go on! We are restructuring the concerts slightly and putting in place some parameters around attendance, but we are thrilled to add these performances back into our December schedules. Performance dates and times are:
- Tuesday, Dec 7 6:00 PM – Kindergarten through Grade 2
- Wednesday, Dec 8 6:00 PM – Grades 3-5
- Friday, Dec 10 6:30 PM – Preschool Sea Stars and Orcas
- Tuesday, Dec 14 7:00 PM – Middle School
Audiences will be limited to immediate family members only (household members) of the performing class to allow space for all our families to join us. Audience members age 3 and older must remain masked at all times and we encourage everyone to remain socially distanced in household groups as much as possible. Students are encouraged to wear Christmas apparel for the performances. We look forward to it!
2nd Annual Holiday Drive-Through Food Drive!
My name is Dominic, and I am a 7th grader here at Hope Lutheran. My brother, Atticus, and I are once again doing a Covid-safe food drive to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank during the holiday season. Just drive up and pop your trunk! Monetary donations are also appreciated. This year we are also collecting new or gently used coats of all sizes which will be placed by WIN (Westside Interfaith Network) at their welcome table, every Saturday in White Center.
Thank you once again for helping us support the members of our community during these times.
When: Dec. 11th from 10am to 3pm
Where: Hope Lutheran lower parking lot (behind school off of Oregon Street)
Hope Church GIVING TREE Volunteers are needed to help sort and package gifts. Sign up for a time slot (or a few) HERE. ALL volunteers helping during school hours MUST show proof of vaccination since we are using a shared space.
Volunteer(s) also needed to remove and re-string lights on our outside trees. Can be done anytime during the day. Please contact the school office if you have availability.
Hope Spirit Dress-up Days Coming
Hope School is excited to offer spirit days coming up December 10-17! Show your school and community spirit by dressing up in the theme for each day. Students not wearing spirit day apparel must be in school uniforms except for Dec 17 which is a free dress day.
Dec 10 – Seahawks Day/Blue Friday – wear Seahawks apparel and/or colors
Dec 13 – Christmas Morning (Christmas pajamas and robes)
Dec 14 – Christmas Mistle-toes Day (Christmas socks and tights with school uniform)
Dec 15 – Christmas Tree Toppers (hats and headbands, antlers, that type of thing with school uniform)
Dec 16 – Christmas Card Day (Christmas ugly sweaters)
Dec 17 – Christmas Explosion (all Christmas colors, themes, characters, etc.- go all out!)
