We are so grateful for this Queen Anne Elementary community. What a challenging, unexpected couple of weeks it's been! Thank you for supporting our school throughout this journey. And an extra big thanks to our amazing auction leaders—Mary Rea & Jenn Lovin for continuing to reimagine and regroup after each turn of events!

Thank you for participating in both our main Online Auction and our first Virtual LIVE Auction this past Friday night. Over the course of two weeks, more than 1,000 bids were placed on 200 amazing items that were donated by you, our local business community, or crafted by our children.    

Your donations raised a phenomenal $84,000 to support QAE, Teachers and our KIDS!!

During our auction event, we would ordinarily have made a RAISE YOUR PADDLE ask at the end of the evening to help reach our funding goal of $120,000. As we ask this of you today, we would like to stress that any amount you can give will benefit our school. Please consider the money you may have spent last Friday evening on cocktails, a babysitter, an Uber ride or a new outfit for the event and instead put those dollars towards supporting QAE.  With your help today we can reach our goal and continue to say YES to: 

• Kindergarten and 1st Grade Assistants – Thanks to Ms. Sarah and Ms. Leah for supporting our youngest students.
• Social Emotional Learning Tutor – Thanks to Ms. Kelli for supporting our students as they learn about their brains and their feelings.
• Reading Specialist – Thanks to Helen McCormick for supporting teachers reading curriculum and our students in just right book choices.
• Social Emotional Learning – providing our staff and students with the tools and practice they need to develop social and emotional skills.
• Parent Education Speakers – building our own parent competencies.
• Families of Color – creating a culturally competent community.
• Classroom Resources – providing classrooms with supplemental resources to support kids learning with math manipulatives, science equipment, PBL initiatives, books for classroom libraries, online subscriptions to Brain Pop, and much more. 
• Technology that allows us to share information via the QAE PTSA Website, The Rocket Reader, Communications, and Staff Blogs
• Community-Building Events - like Summer Playdates, Family Game Night, Chili Cook-off, Field Day, etc.

Prior to the Raise Your Paddle at the auction event, we were planning to show this wonderful video put together by parent volunteer Chi-Ju Chen. He did a phenomenal job capturing the spirit and energy of our kids! We hope you find it as inspiring as we do, particularly in this time when our community and our kids aren't at the school. We hope this glimpse inspires you to support QAE by making a donation to Raise Your Paddle.

Please share this with your kids and your family. Hope it brings a smile! And if you are able, please Raise Your Paddle to support each one of those kids.

Thank you for your continued support of our school. Our students, staff, and family community are relying on our help as we navigate through these uncertain times together.  

QAE Families,

It's been a roller coaster 24 hours. We hope you survived Day 1. 

Thanks for those who voted in the poll. Between the Facebook votes and email responses, it was a virtual tie. We made the decision to go ahead with the "Virtual" Live Auction, happening Friday night from 7-9pm. Remember—the live Auction items will be available only during that 2 hour window, each scheduled to be auctioned off at a certain time. See the full schedule for Friday night here.

We know the timing isn't perfect, but we hope you can curl up on the couch with your favorite beverage and join us online. We'll laugh and cry together while bidding on some amazing items. There's a Whistler vacation, Hawaiian getaway, Disneyland vacation as well as being principal for the day and other unique QAE experiences. All those possibilities may see a long way at the moment, but we hope they're things to look forward to.

Silent Auction Runs Friday through Sunday
Even if you can't make the Friday night time, our Silent Auction will open at noon tomorrow and run through Sunday evening. Basically, this includes everything that would have been displayed and bid on at the event—student art projects, class baskets, extra cool succulent garden centerpieces and student photos. You'll be able to bid on all these items through the Auction site.

Even in these uncertain times, we're trying to raise the $120,000 needed to support our school that we thought would come in during the in-person event. We need your help, every family at a level you can afford. 

Stop by Queen Anne Frame on Friday Afternoon
Get your “Virtual Party Grab Bags” people! Millie, the blue truck, will have succulent gardens, goodie bags and you can pick up your online auction winnings. The Auction team will be there in front of Queen Anne Frame tomorrow afternoon from 12-4pm!

Please keep an eye out on the PTSA Facebook page and join us to converse on the QAE Community Discussions group during the live event on Friday night. Questions? We're here to answer (we're not going anywhere far).

Helping Support Learning at Home
Once we get through this weekend of online Auction events, we'll be working with Janine and the staff to see what the PTSA can do to help during the next 6+ weeks. As well as ways we as parents can support each other.

We share your stress and worries about our kids and what lies ahead in the coming weeks and months. We hope we can use this opportunity to support each other and put our school in a good position when our kids are finally able stream into classrooms, sit semi-quietly at Monday Morning Meeting and grin while running around the playground again.

We hope to see you online on Friday night at 7pm,
-- Sandra and the rest of the PTSA and Auction team

UPDATE: School is closed for the next two weeks. But our online Auction is going on. Let's use this time to rally together to support our students and our school!

There's been a lot of communication from the school and SPS during this crazy week. We know it's hard to keep up with everything, so here's a quick checklist of how YOU can support our students during this difficult time (all from your pajamas, with a glass of wine in hand if you wish).

1. Make sure you have an account set up on the QAE Auction site. You'll need it for everything below! There are technically three different segments of the Auction that will be conducted online. Confused? Read on...
2. Bid on over 150 items in the current Online Auction. There is something for everyone—kids camps, gift cards to great stores across Seattle, live shows and so much more (even fly fishing lessons!). Bidding on these items closes at noon on Thursday, so bid now and bid often! (It's for the kids).
3. Clear your calendar on Friday evening for our "Virtual" Live Auction, happening from 7-9pm. This is where the amazing items ranging from a vacation home in Hawaii to super unique QAE experiences will be auctioned off. These items will be auctioned LIVE, meaning you'll have to be online Friday from 7-9pm in order to bid and win. If you're not there, you'll miss it. See the Friday evening schedule with all the goodies and be sure to be online then!
4. UPDATE, CANCELLED - Come by the school on Friday for our Silent Auction Exhibition, in the Brick Building from 7:30am-4pm. Basically, this includes everything that would have been displayed and bid on at the event—student art projects, class baskets, extra cool succulent garden centerpieces and student photos. Take a look before or after school!
5. We'll have a separate online "Silent Auction" starting on Friday. Basically, this includes everything that would have been displayed and bid on at the event—student art projects, class baskets, extra cool succulent garden centerpieces and student photos. These items will be available for bid until 6pm on Sunday via the Auction site. 

Whew! Got that? Basically, keep your eyes on the online Auction site from now until Sunday afternoon. Remember, we're trying to raise the $120,000 needed to support our school that we thought would come in during the in-person event. We need your help, every family at a level you can afford. Doing it online is unprecedented and, frankly, we're juggling a lot to make it happen. But these are unusual times—we hope our community can come together over the next few days to support our school (even if it's virtually!). See you online on Friday!

PS — one great upside to doing the auction entirely online: anyone can bid! Got worried grandparents on the East Coast? Neighbors who are wondering how to help? Anyone can create an account and bid online in the QAE Auction. Share with your friends and family!

Here's the complete schedule for our Friday night fun. You will need to be online from 7-9pm to bid on these items! Clear your schedule, curl up on the couch and bid away. We know you don't have any other places to go that evening.

***See the Catalog of Live Aucton Items here***

7pm - Get ready to bid!
Log on to the Facebook QAE Community Discussions group and also make sure 
Make sure you are logged into the Online Auction Catalog so you can start bidding. 

Drawing for a bottle of Fidelitas wine. To be delivered to winner right after drawing for your evening drinking. Fine Print - must live on Queen Anne for Friday night delivery. You (or your viewing group) must be “online” to confirm your prize. Either via Facebook post, messenger or text Sandra at 703-915-6421.

During the below 15 minute slots - 2 live auction items will be active for bidding ONLY for the specific 15 minute interval. After the 15 minutes it will go to the highest bidder (if a bid comes in at the last moment it will be automatically extended for an additional 1 minute).

7:15 – Great Wolf Lodge AND Cooking Demo & Brunch for 8 with Chef Maximillian Petty

7:30 – Drawing for a $50 coffee card to Café Ladro. You (or your viewing group) must be “online” to confirm your prize. Either via Facebook post, messenger or text Sandra at 703-915-6421.

7:30 – Seahawks Ultimate Fan Package AND California Oceanview Condo

7:45 – Disneyland Vacation Package AND Ultimate Wine Lovers Package

8:00 - 7:30 – Drawing for a $50 coffee card to Café Ladro. You (or your viewing group) must be “online” to confirm your prize. Either via Facebook post, messenger or text Sandra at 703-915-6421.

8:00 – Suncadia Tumble Creek Stay and Play Golf Package AND Marian Built Loft

8:15 – QAE Chef For The Day AND 5 Luxurious Nights at The Westin in Whistler

8:30 – Drawing for a $50 coffee card to Storyville. You (or your viewing group) must be “online” to confirm your prize. Either via Facebook post, messenger or text Sandra at 703-915-6421.

8:30 – Luxury Kailua, Hawaii Beachside Vacation Home AND Principal For the Day

8:45 – Drawing for a $50 coffee card to Storyville. You (or your viewing group) must be “online” to confirm your prize. Either via Facebook post, messenger or text Sandra at 703-915-6421.

And that's a wrap! We will aim to hold firm to the above schedule but this is a new experience for you and the auction team so please be patient as we navigate this new territory.

​Text message notifications will be turned on during this bidding time. Because of the short time frame of bidding – when you get outbid you will receive a text message if your phone number is already in your profile.

With Grateful Hearts We Move Forward to Support QAE
A team of parent volunteers have been working tirelessly over the past several months to bring our largest fundraiser, the annual Queen Anne Elementary Auction, to life. This year's "2020 Vision" Auction promised to be lots of fun; hosted in a new venue complete with a photo booth, a large selection of silent auction items to bid on including class baskets, teacher parties, student art, and photos, and a DJ for the after-party. We have an amazing selection of items that a group of more than 10 parent volunteers collected and numerous families have generously donated many special items including vacation getaways, sports and concert tickets, and hosted special events.

While recent developments have put a damper on our fun plans, all of this work is not lost. We have an opportunity to pull together as a community in new ways and, dare we say, an opportunity to support Queen Anne Elementary in ways we have not done before. And in this spirit, we are now asking all of you to join in the effort to make this fundraising opportunity a success, despite our change in plans.

Here is our game plan and timeline for our new, Virtual Auction, fittingly our "2020 Vision":

• Thursday, March 12th at 12pm is the new date and time when the online auction will close.  Bid now!!  Several items have been added, including a $500 gift card to Canlis we were initially reserving for the auction event!  The bulk of our procurement is here and currently available for bidding.  There's something for everyone...kids camps, wine tastings, a boat cruise, and plenty of gift cards to many of the local businesses who have so generously donated to our school.
  
• Friday, March 13th from 7:30am-4pm visit QAE during drop-off, pick-up or throughout the day to check out the large selection of silent auction items that will be available for bidding beginning online Friday at noon.  Items in the silent auction include various unique packages and baskets, class art, table succulent gardens, and dessert dash gift cards.  When you visit QAE on Friday, enter your name for an opportunity to win 1 of 5 prizes to be announced throughout the Virtual Live Auction on Friday evening.  The first prize, a bottle of Fidelitas wine, will be announced at the start of the Live event and will be hand delivered that evening for the winner to enjoy during their virtual auction (winner must live on Queen Anne for delivery).
  
• Friday, March 13th from 7-10pm join QAE's first annual "VIRTUAL LIVE AUCTION" where bidding in your pajamas is strongly encouraged!  Via our online site, we will be featuring 12 items ranging from vacation packages to unique QAE experiences. These items will be bid on in real time.  Stay tuned to your child's orange folder and the auction site for item details and the schedule of events, as items will be available only for a short window of time.  You need to tune in to play...yet no babysitter nor tux rental is required.
  
• Sunday, 3/15 at 6pm the silent auction will close.

Here's what we need YOU TO DO:

• SHARE our online auction with friends and family who want to support our school!  The online bidding site is open to everyone and there are many, many items that would interest Seattleites and extended family alike! Online bidding remains open thru Thursday, 3/12 at 12:00pm.
  
• VISIT school during Friday, 3/13 from 7:30am-4:00pm to see all of our silent auction items including the class art that our QAE Explorers have worked so hard to create and share.  During the silent auction exhibition you can enter to win 1 of 5 prizes to be announced during the Live Virtual Auction Friday evening, no entry fee required!
  
• BID, BID, BID!  For each Live Auction bid you enter (including multiple bids on the same item), you have an opportunity to win a Robert Ramsey Magnum (must be bidding during virtual Live Auction to enter, winner announced Monday, 3/16).  We were hoping to raise $120,000 during the auction event, which accounts for more than 50% of our 2019-2020 PTSA budget.  We are currently paying unexpected cancellation fees to vendors totaling $7,500, which brings our total need up to $127,500.  Without this money, we will have to reassess PTSA financial commitments for the remainder of the year and for next school year too.  These funds bridge the gap between what district funding provides and what our community strives to achieve.  Funding supports student enrichment activities, reading interventionists, tutors and in-class assistants, technology and educational tools, professional development and planning time, as well as our dedicated school counselor and social-emotional learning program.
  
• STAY CONNECTED for communication from our team as we strive to keep you informed virtually!  We will be posting and sharing information via Facebook (both the PTSA and Community pages), the Rocket Reader, Seesaw and orange folders.  Check in with your friends and fellow parents to make sure we are getting the word out to our community!

Please also note that all ticket purchases to Friday's event will be converted to donations and our online system will generate new receipts that specify this donation as 100% tax deductible.

Thank you for your support during these uncertain times.  While these change to our school auction were unexpected, our QAE community has an opportunity to make this event a smashing success...even in the face of adversity. It is not lost on us that this month's theme for our QAE Explorers is flexibility!  It has been a great pleasure to represent our school and a joy to work with a large team of parent volunteers to make this event a success. We very much appreciate your continued support and your renewed commitment to making our "2020 Vision" Virtual Auction a reality.

Sincerely,
Mary Rae & Jenn Lovin, QAE parents and QAE Auction Team Leads 
auction@qaeptsa.org

Dear Queen Anne Elementary Families,

As promised, as the information evolved we would continue to review our decisions on whether we could continue with the QAE Auction as it was planned. In the few short days since our Wednesday communication, the PTSA Board, Auction Team and Janine had to make the difficult decision to cancel our Annual Auction event that was scheduled for Friday, March 13th.  Based on feedback from our QAE Community, Seattle Public Schools, Public Health – Seattle & King County and additional sources we had to prioritize the health of the overall community during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The school still needs the funds we raise through the auction—our goal was to raise $120,000, which is more than half of the entire PTSA budget. The auction team will continue to run the online auction and ask that you take this opportunity to bid often and bid high for many of the wonderful things currently available online.  Over the weekend, the team will be working on a new plan for many of the amazing offerings we were planning to showcase on March 13th.  Please look for an email early next week with detailed information on what is to come.  Know that everyone involved is working extremely hard to honor the work that has already been done by our auction chair - Mary Rea, procurement lead - Jenn Lovin and the entire parent community in the contributions and donations they have made.  The support you give to the school means so much to everyone at Queen Anne Elementary.

Online Auction Extended
As the team is working on additional details we will be extending the current online auction until Thursday, March 12th at noon.  We will be adding and highlighting additional items throughout the next couple of days.  All bids will remain open till then. So please check out all the items and bid now...

Thank you for your ongoing support and for your understanding in this unprecedented set of events. We're standing by if you have any questions.

Thank you,
Sandra Nanney
QAE PTSA President

The deadline for purchasing tickets to 2020 Vision: A New Perspective, our Annual Auction is Friday afternoon. That’s right — this week is your last chance to register for the social event of the season. Support learning while celebrating with the Queen Anne Elementary community! More than half of our PTSA funding for THIS year comes from funds raised during this auction.

You might be a parent to an older kid who has had plenty of auctions under your belt. Or maybe you have a Kindergartner and wondering if you’ll know anyone, if it’s worth going. All our families chose to be part of this community. This is our chance to keep building that community AND support our school. You'll get to know other parents, eat, drink, dance and be merry. Or just check out all the cool kids photos and class art if that’s more your style.

• See (and bid!) on amazing art projects created by our kids
• Dance the night away at our afterparty! 
• Bid on amazing items, ranging from fun class baskets to a Hawaiian vacation
• Enjoy great food, wine and dessert. With friends (old and new)!

The Auction accounts for more than half of all funding raised by the QAE PTSA. Join us on March 13th to help ensure that our school can have tutors in classrooms, teacher development, curriculum support, a reading specialist and so much more. See you there?

Our Online Auction is now live! More than 140 items will be available and every dollar raised helps support resources for the kids at the school this year. Need some culture? We got tickets to the Paramount, the 5th Avenue Theatre and more. Thinking about summer camps? Soccer and coding! Get some self care and indulge yourself as well! Check out all the offerings... 
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QAE Families — we wanted to let you know that QAE Family Movie Night has been postponed. It was originally scheduled for this Thursday, but our parent volunteers came to realize this is a crazy busy time for our community. We're going to reschedule for a new date and will share ASAP. Looking forward to seeing the Emoji Movie with your little Explorer soon! 
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