Reminder: join us on Thursday night at QAE for this special community discussion with guest speaker Christina Chang. Childcare is available! We hope to see you there.

Hello from the Auction Team! We can't believe it's the end of January already, which means 7 weeks and counting til Auction Night!! We've had a diversity of fun items come in this week from U-Village to Queen Anne (and some sunny destinations!), so please join us Friday, March 13th to come bid on your favorite items! 

We still need some helping hands in some areas, so please consider donating a few hours to help make this night a success! Where you can jump in:

• If we want some tasty treats at the Auction, we need some help gathering them! Please sign up to help reach out to businesses, or if you like to bake, submit your own for our Dessert Dash! Write to maryjrea@gmail.com if you're interested in helping with the sweets!
• Please dig out some photos of your favorite QAE moments and submit them to your Class Coordinator before Mon. Feb 17th! And for the older grades, we're looking for some great blast-from-the-past photos too to help celebrate our school's 10 year anniversary this year! Thank you everyone for sharing your moments of joy to create a memorable video!
• Wine! Bubbly! We'll take it all! We need some bottles for our Wine Grab and Games! Please donate your favorite $10 or up bottle to be won for fun at the Auction. Please deliver in a sealed bag to the box in the Front Office. 
• And we could use a few folks to help with wrapping up procurement asks. If you have an hour to write a few emails, make a call, or stop in to a couple of businesses, we'd love the help! 

Thank you and mark your calendars for a fun night in March! 
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Our third FRI-YAY fun is coming up on Friday, Feb 7 right after school for 20 minutes (rain or shine) outside by the gym. We are looking for popcorn helpers to spread a little joy on Friday! Tasty, fresh-made POPCORN will be for available for a suggested donation of $1 a bag. For our bus riders, Kids Co. and Enrichment students we’ll have popcorn sign ups available in the classroom before lunch which will be delivered to their backpacks before end of day (please remember to have your kiddo bring $1 suggested donation on Friday). We’ll munch popcorn and celebrate the weekend ahead.

To help support animals in need, 50% of the proceeds will go to support the Australian Zoo Wildlife Hospital for new enclosures to house koalas and flying foxes injured or displaced by the fires. Thank you to our very own QAE students Ryan and Lachlan Forrest for their initiative.  (Remaining proceeds to go to the QAE Community Events Fund)

Can you lend a hand making popcorn or delivering it on Friday, Feb. 7th? Sign up for a volunteer slot here...

The QAE supply room is in desperate need of pants for kids ages 5–7. Sweats and leggings preferred. If you have any you could donate, please drop them by the office. Contact Catie Coyle at cmcoyle@seattleschools.org with any questions. Thanks!
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We're happy to collaborate with Green Seattle and Friends of Green Lake for an earth stewardship service project. Much like our Fall stewardship gathering, our school will help this time at Green Lake; pruning, removing invasive plants and planting native ground covers and shrubs in the forested edge of the lake. All community members are welcome, and no experience is necessary! This event is family friendly and open to all ages.

​When: Saturday, February 8th, 9am-12pm
Where: Meet at 5900 West Green Lake Way North

You don't have to register but we want to give the site leader an idea of the number of people to prepare supplies for. Please email garden1@qaeptsa.org with "Green Lake Clean-up" in the subject line and the number of people you are bringing. Look for our school garden coordinator, Andrea Hildebrandt, who will be wearing our school colors, at the site when you arrive. Hope to see you there QAE Community. It's a great way to give back! 

What to Bring
Gloves and tools are provided, but bring your favorite work-gloves if you prefer. Bring water to keep hydrated and a snack to keep energized.

Where to Meet
5900 West Green Lake Way North
We will meet on the south end of the lake near the concrete bleachers of the old Aqua Theater, across from the Pitch and Putt golf course. Look for wheelbarrows and tools and orange vested stewards. If you arrive late, follow the Green Seattle Event signs.

Where to Park
5900 West Green Lake Way North
There are parking lots on West Green Lake Way N around the Small Craft Center.

To learn more:
Visit Green Seattle for more information:
https://www.greenseattle.org/get-involved/green-seattle-day/
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Visit Friends of Green Lake:
www.friendsofgreenlake.org

Queen Anne Garden Blog:
https://www.qaeptsa.org/garden.html

Our Annual Auction is coming on March 13th and tickets will be available soon! In the meantime, our QAE Procurement team is looking for donations of all types.  We'll take everything from cruises to crotchet classes. Have a skill to share?  Consider hosting a party.  Enjoy making flower arrangements?  Perhaps donate a year's worth of monthly floral delivery. Have a babysitter at home? Many restaurant and entertainment items would be much more appealing with babysitting hours.  

Of course, we'll take a week at your vacation cabin as well!  Please get creative and contribute to making this year's 2020 Vision a smashing success.

This week's procurement updates come from QAE parents' generous donations:

• Fine Art Appraisal from Clark Priftis Art
• Life Coaching from Aligned Yoga LLC
• Fresh Baked Cookies for a year by the Lovin family bakers
• 10 Night Stay in Kailua, Hawaii by the Sanford family

If you have anything to donate, big or small, you can fill out the donation form online here or just write to donate@qaeptsa.org

The procurement team could also use a hand with ongoing donation requests. Please get in touch with Jenn Lovin at donate@qaeptsa.org if you would have time to email 10 local businesses with a template request form.

Other ways to get involved include:

• Call for all! We need photos for our Auction video! We're looking for your favorite QAE memories, both old and new, to put together the heart-warming watch during dinner. Please send submissions to maryjrea@gmail.com. And we need a few hands to help organize and put the video together. If you're savvy in this area, let us know!!
• 2-3 people to help with Dessert Dash! We need help procuring tasty treats for after dinner at the Auction! If you want to help gather, want to donate, want to bake, we can use your help!
• Join the procurement team!
• Volunteer to help with Day-of needs!

Thank you for your help!
Your Auction Team

Our third FRI-YAY fun is coming up on Friday, Feb 7 right after school for 20 minutes (rain or shine) outside by the gym. We are looking for popcorn helpers to spread a little joy on Friday! Tasty, fresh-made POPCORN will be for available for a suggested donation of $1 a bag. For our bus riders, Kids Co. and Enrichment students we’ll have popcorn sign ups available in the classroom before lunch which will be delivered to their backpacks before end of day (please remember to have your kiddo bring $1 suggested donation on Friday).

We’ll munch popcorn and celebrate the weekend ahead!All proceeds go directly to support PTSA Community Events. 

Can you lend a hand making popcorn or delivering it on Friday, Feb. 7th? Sign up for a volunteer slot here...

Dr.  Emily Valdez, our wonderful librarian, wanted us to share a message with QAE parents:

The PTSA has been SO supportive of our library and our school community, but I was wondering if you’d get the word out that there are a variety of ways that parents can help our library. This list is generated from student requests and from recommendations from school and public librarians. I am blown away by the enthusiasm for reading that I see every day from our Queen Anne students and I just can’t seem to keep enough books on the shelves for their voracious appetites. In addition, if you wouldn’t mind adding  a call for donated books if families are doing some spring cleaning of their home libraries.  I’ve placed a bin for book donations in the foyer of the brick building.

Here's the link to the Amazon wish list for the QAE Library...

Did you know you have also support the QAE PTSA when you should on Amazon by using the Smile program and, especially, by starting searches on our website. See the details here...

An exciting week of delays and a looong Wednesday of no school during the (not-so?) great snow of 2020. The kids are back at it with, knock on wood, regular schedule going forward. Here's what's coming up:

• The QAE Open House got bumped to next Wednesday, Jan. 23rd due to the snow. We also have school tours for prospective families coming up. If you know of any families considering elementary options for next year, please pass it on!
• Our Families of Color is hosting a great discussion on Jan. 30th - "Race and You: Talking About What We Don't Want to Talk About." See below for details.
• With the snow cancellation on Wednesday, we will make it for it on Wednesday, Jan. 29th (what had been the day between semesters). 
• Monday is MLK Day, so no school. But on Tuesday morning, QAE will have an all school MLK Assembly led by our 5th graders.

QAE Families of Color is very excited to welcome Christina Chang, of Christina Chang Equity Consulting, to QAE for a facilitated discussion entitled "Race and You: Talking About What We Don't Want to Talk About."

When: Thursday, January 30, 6-7:30 pm
Where: QAE Chillzone / Cafeteria
Cost: Free to all

We know that it's important to talk openly with our kiddos about race - ours, theirs, and others. For many, it's a parenting and personal challenge that we just don't like to address. Please join us for an evening of thoughtful discussion about what makes it so hard, how can we overcome the discomfort, and ways we can start the conversations. Open to all parents, caregivers, teachers, staff. Don't miss this important community education event!

Childcare will be available at the event!  Reserve your spot here:
​https://qaeptsa.wufoo.com/forms/january-30-families-of-color-meeting-games-club/

For more information, please reach out to Kay Dumlao Doherty at foc1@qaeptsa.org

Due to the snow, the Open House for Prospective Families has been moved to next Wednesday, Jan. 22nd at 6:30pm! Pass this info along to any families you know who might be interested in having their kids attend QAE next year.

See the Info for Prospective Families page for all the details including RSVPs.

Here's the flyer showing all the dates and info!

Our annual whole school Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly has been moved to Tuesday, Jan. 21st to give our students more time to prepare after the snow craziness!  Please join us at 8:15am in the gym! Presentations will be from 1st grade, 3rd grade and 5th grade. Families are welcome to join us for this important annual assembly to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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Reminder that Monday, Jan. 20th, 2020 is a school holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Here are some family activities you can do to meaningfully celebrate MLK Day:

• Read with your children. Here are great book suggestions from PBS
• Visit Seattle’s Northwest African American Museum
• Join the 2020 MLK March and Celebration. beginning at Garfield High School at 8:30
• Watch movies about social justice
• Discuss acceptance
• Draw a picture

Queen Anne Elementary is committed to connecting our students with the environment. We have a space in the nearby P-Patch and our amazing Garden Coordinator Andrea Hildebrandt has created some programs for our kids.

She wanted to share this opportunity to connect with our parents and educators in Seattle: