Words of Hope for Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013
The Miracle of Christmas by KristenOkabayashi
I love Christmas time… I love the decorations, the parties, the smells (cinnamon, peppermint, freshly cut greens), planning out gifts, getting together with family, Christmas cards, and Christmas carols; the list goes on and on, including my recently discovered Christmas treat of Mrs.Neafcy’s eggnog bread pudding. It is tasty!
Growing up, I attended church sporadically, with my Grandma serving as a spiritual guide to my siblings and me. Grandma is the one who taught us the Lord’s Prayer and we would always attend church when we stayed at her house. While I didn’t fully become a Christian until I was an adult, I really appreciate my grandma’s faith because it was deep and absolute. As an adult, I realize she was one of those inspirational Christians who “walked the walk” – she would teach us bible stories and pray with us, and she would also give generously of her time and money to help those who needed it. She was born in 1896, and yet she was one of the most open minded people I have ever met, believing that God taught us to love each other without exception. Her faith was real, practical, and not judgmental.
Grandma also taught us of the incredible miracle of Jesus’ birth, which seemed magical to me as a child and really, it’s still a bit magical isn’t it? Regardless of where you are in your faith journey, it is proven over and over that Jesus as a man did indeed walk the Earth. God created Jesus because He loves us, so Jesus could love us, and so we would be forgiven. Amongst all the wonderful signs of Christmas that I love, this is the best one of all! Merry Christmas from all of us at HopeSchool.
1 Timothy3:16“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”
Admissions by SallyHeit
In your communication envelope today, you will find two postcard invitations to our upcoming All School Open House, coming up on January 14th at 6:30. Thank you to my “little elves” for distributing the flyers around the community! We encourage you to share these postcards with friends and family that are interested in looking at Hope for their child’s education. During this holiday season of get togethers, please share about all the great things going on at Hope, such as our Sounds of Christmas concert on Wednesday, poignant chapel services, rigorous curriculum, spirited sports teams, and dedicated teachers.
As an incentive to invite others to the open house, we are offering a drawing for a $50 Metropolitan Market Gift Card. On your postcard is a sticker that says, “Referred by.” Simply write your name on the sticker, invite your friend or neighbor and have them bring the postcard to the open house. All postcards received will be entered into the drawing for the gift card! Thank you for your support of Hope school, and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Calendar of Events
Wed. 12/18: No Chapel / 7:00 PM Sounds of Christmas Concert – Middle School Groups & SLHS
Fri. 12/20: 8:40 AM Chapel with Kindergarten – Christmas Theme w/Chapel Band, Choir & Hand bell Choir / Noon Dismiss: Christmas Holiday / ESC “XTRA” Open / Free Dress Day
Dec. 23 – Jan. 3, 2014: School Closed for Christmas and New Years Holiday / ESC Closed
Mon. 1/6: School Resumes
Reminder – Christmas Spirit Day, Friday, 12/20
Student council is sponsoring a Christmas Spirit Day this Friday, December 20, 2013. Students may wear Christmas colors to show their Christmas spirit, including Santa hats or other apparel. This is a free dress day so students choosing not to dress up can still be in free dress. Merry Christmas from student council!
Sounds of Christmas Concert
Hope’s middle school musicians will perform in our annual “Sounds of Christmas” concert tomorrow, December 18, 2013 at 7:00 PM. The concert will feature our middle school chapel band, hand bell choir, and vocal choir performing with the Seattle Lutheran High School band. We hope you can join us for this festive event, held in the Hope Church sanctuary.
Hope Lutheran School Re-Enrollment to Begin Tuesday, January 14, 2013
Re-enrollment materials along with the tuition rates for the 2014-2015 school year will be coming home on Tuesday, January 14. Re-enrollment procedures must be completed each year for placement to be maintained for the following year. This is a 1 week period in which re-enrollment forms plus a $150 per student registration fee, $75 for preschool students, needs to be submitted to the school office by Friday, January 24. New family enrollment will begin January 27, 2014. We thank you for joining with us to help make Hope Lutheran School a great place for kids. We look forward to continuing our partnership with your family in the years to come!
Parent Involvement Program Opportunities
January 14, 2014 Open House Event
Prepare Baked Goods: Bring baked goods for our open house to the school office by noon on Tuesday, January 14th.
Night of Event Help: Assist with setting up refreshments, meet and greet our prospective families and/or help clean up.
Please contact our Admissions Counselor, SallyHeit at sheit@hopeseattle.org to volunteer for any of these opportunities.
Library Help: Help will be needed in the New Year to level books in the library. Contact our librarian, KarinRoney at karin@roneyfamily.net. Thank you!