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The Jog-A-Thon is tomorrow! Can't wait to see the kiddos run, run, run (and maybe walk)! A couple notes:
*Donations* - keep them coming! We're just $6,000 from our goal. Pledgestar donations will remain open for a week or two after the Jog-A-Thon, so it doesn't hurt to reach out to family and friends: https://www.pledgestar.com/qae/ *Weather* - As you've probably heard, rain will return tomorrow, just in time. We know this won't dampen the kids' spirits (and may actually keep them cool!), but we'd like to make sure that everyone is comfortable. Feel free to send a raincoat, in case your child would like to stay dry while running. We also recommend an extra pair of dry socks be added to backpacks so that kids can change after they run, in case we get some soaking rain/puddles. All the details on the Jog-A-Thon site: http://www.qaeptsa.org/jog-a-thon.html  The QAE Jog-A-Thon is Friday! Students are getting excited to run and have been setting goals in their classrooms and asking friends and family to donate to our PTSA.So far, we've raised $22,000! We're over half way to our goal of $40,000 and there's still time to fundraise. If you've registered on PledgeStar, thank you! Please consider sending a few additional emails this week. If you have yet to do so, just log on to www.PledgeStar.com/qae and register - it's really easy and will take less than 10 minutes of your time.
We'd love you to join in Friday's fun event. If you'd like to volunteer, visit our volunteer sign up site. If you just want to come and cheer on the runners, here is the schedule:
Supporting the QAE PTSA is a worthy cause. Your contribution helps to create a school that is Out of this World! Please help the PTSA continue to fund QAE in so many ways: OUT OF THIS WORLD TEACHERS
See the Jog-A-Thon site for more details... It's time to put some "fun" into fundraising! Are you a high energy, motivated, organized and persistent person with good communication skills? If so, we have a job for you! The PTSA is looking for dedicated people to fill several important fundraising roles at QAE.
Check out our open positions below: Fundraising Director - are you good with numbers? Help assist, connect and participate in the 3 major fundraisers we do each year. Do you have a background in fundraising that you can help reimagine what our QAE fundraisers should look like? Time Commitment - Monthly PTSA Board meeting and will assist based on your strength during each of the 3 fundraising campaigns Fund Drive Coordinator - Each Fall we do a direct ask campaign of our parent community. Are you good at coordinating the message? Follow up on the messaging? You don't have to knock or call but you need to be able to coordinate and hit send. Time Commitment - Approx. 5-10 hours of thinking through the details beforehand. And then 5-10 hours a week during the 2 week open campaign period. Note that Fund Drive actual dates will be set with Coordinator. Auction Coordinator (Event) - Do you enjoy event planning? Do you enjoy being part of a team of parents in helping put together our biggest fundraiser of the year? We need your planning and checklist expertise. If you enjoy a clipboard, check lists and coordination this is for you. Time Commitment - Slow and Steady is the game with a lot of focus in February and March. Note Auction is on Friday, March 16. Auction Coordinator (Procurement) - Are you good at asking people for donations? Are you good at following up with a team of procurement individuals that will be out emailing, calling or knocking on businesses for donations? Are you an organized individual that can keep track of the 100's of donations we receive from our community businesses, families and students? This will be for you. Time Commitment - Slow and Steady is the game with a lot of focus in February and March. Note Auction is on Friday, March 16. Auction Village - The annual auction truly takes a VILLAGE. We can slice and dice this in a number of different ways to make it work for you. Please join us a one or a group of friends in helping support during the months or days leading up to the auction. Interested? Please contact Ian Stewart at [email protected] or Jenna Free at [email protected] Don't wait...volunteer for one of these important positions today! Ms. Roy sent out the letter early today to all QAE families. See below for answers to some questions about this change.
------ Dear QAE families, Each year, SPS examines September enrollment and then makes district-wide staffing adjustments. Our enrollment has changed this year due to factors such as higher-than-expected family relocations. As a result, SPS Enrollment needs to displace one teacher at QAE. Contractually, we are required to displace our least senior teacher, and we are saddened to report that 4th grade teacher Ms. Dawson will be assigned to teach at a new school. Ms. Dawson wants parents to know that she understands and accepts this change has to be made, and her hope is to make it as calm and smooth as possible for students and for her move to a new school. Our Building Leadership Team (BLT), composed of staff, PTSA and parents, recommends that we reorganize classes at 4th grade, due to current class sizes and striving to impact as few students as possible. This means we will shift from three 4th grade classes to two. Staff have worked together to create the best placements for our students and I have been in communication with 4th grade families in Ms. Dawson’s class already. We know our incredible QAE staff will support all students during this transition. The PTSA was clear that it wants to help the affected classes and will vote on funding a 4th grade tutor at the next meeting. While no one wants this to happen, sometimes unexpected things occur. Modeling for our students that we will get through this together is important. All QAE families can help our students and our community by:
I welcome questions and don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I have also attached a second page of answers to some questions I anticipate you may have. Thank you to our wonderful QAE community. Collaboratively working with staff, BLT and PTSA has been essential during this process. We will get through this change over the next few days, and most importantly, we will get through this together as a supportive QAE community. Many thanks, Janine [email protected] ---- QAE 2017 Reorganization FAQ When a school loses a teacher, how is that teacher chosen? When a teacher needs to be displaced in a school, we are contractually required to ask for volunteers and if none emerge, then the least senior classroom teacher is automatically displaced. The teacher being displaced is the least senior teacher at our school based on years teaching in SPS and in Washington state, as her experience is out of state. What happens to the teacher who is displaced from the school? She is assigned to a teaching position in another SPS school. If our enrollment is down, do we get to keep the Head Teacher role (Katie Cryan Leary)? Administrative allocations are assigned for the year and do not fluctuate due to enrollment changes. Our Head Teacher position was funded by converting our Assistant Principal allocation into a Head Teacher position for this year, so this position remains in place for the year. This role will be so important as we prepare for our move to our interim site next year. Are we at risk of losing our music teacher? Based on the number of classroom teachers at QAE, our specialist teacher allocation has not changed. Are we at risk of losing any additional staff/resources? At this time, I do not anticipate any impact to district services from SPS this year. Could we have made cuts/savings in other places to save this position? No. Schools are allocated separate budgets for staffing and supplies. Supply budgets cannot be moved to cover staffing needs, nor would they be sufficient to meet these costs. Were enrollments down across all Seattle Public Schools? Enrollment at the elementary level is down across the district. Schools are affected differently based on their boundaries, housing trends, etc. How does this compare to other elementary schools in our area? QAE is an option school so it enrolls differently than the neighboring attendance area schools that have automatic assignments. One unexpected factor this summer was that option school enrollments were affected by technical issues with the SPS online admission system not informing new families about option schools in their area. This technical issue, which inadvertently occurred over the summer, specifically impacted option schools enrollments. This has since been corrected, but it affected option schools. Is our enrollment different from last year? QAE’s enrollment this year is an unexpected anomaly. With the upcoming remodel of the school, the district and community clearly feel QAE will grow to capacity. Bottom line: this is not a trend, just a result of many different factors happening at once. Did we take all the students off our waitlist? Yes, all interested families were accepted at QAE this year. Note: we did find a 2 month window where the SPS online enrollment form issues so option schools were not listed in new student enrollment options. I welcome questions and don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I will connect with you as soon as possible. Janine 206-252-2480 Individual Piture Day is Thursday, September 20th. In addition to being able to order photos of your cute kid, individual pictures are used in the yearbook and for the Seattle Public Schools database. Students who are absent or want to retake can do so on Retake Day later in the Fall. We'll also be doing our annual All School photo and class photos at that time. You should have received a printed form in your child's orange folder. You can return it with cash or check on the 20th. Or you can prepay via credit card. To prepay for your pictures online:
Note: if you have more than one child at the school, you'll need to submit a separate order for each kid. If you have questions, please contact Yuen Lui Studio at 1-800-347-4667. Get your popcorn and ideas ready! Join educators and families from across the Seattle area for a special screening of "Most Likely to Succeed", hosted by romp & H3 (the school created by former QAE Principal David Elliott.)
"Most Likely To Succeed" is the best film ever done on the topic of school — both its past and its future. The film inspires its audiences with a sense of purpose and possibility, and is bringing school communities together in re-imagining what our students and teachers are capable of doing. After seeing this film, you’ll never look at “school” the same way again. Following the screening, please join in a dialogue with leaders, educators, and students from Big Picture Learning Schools, High Tech High, Impact Public School, and others immersed in Project Based Learning about the changes that can and needs to occur in our educational system. When: Monday, September 25th @7:00pm Where: romp 13500 BEL-RED ROAD, SUITE 7A BELLEVUE, WA Learn more and RSVP at: https://mostlikelytosucceedsept25.eventbrite.com Don't miss it!! Passing along a notice that may be of interest:
Ballard Girls Basketball Fall Clinics on days with no school Registration is now open for the Ballard Girls Basketball Fall Clinics on Friday, October 13 and Friday, Nov 10 from 9am-3pm. For girls 3rd through 6th grade (beginner to advanced), this clinic is a fun way to improve your ball handling, shooting, passing and defense. Lots of games and inspiration provided! Register at: http://www.ballardgirlsbasketball.com/ Questions? Please send email to Sara Wetstone at [email protected] Seen around QAE…
Important Info: Attendance Attendance is taken at the beginning of each day. If your child is going to be away, please email your child’s teacher and Office Assistant Jennifer Connolly at [email protected] as Jennifer is responsible for attendance. Student Safety: Traffic Update Thank you, QAE families! Our traffic challenges in the first week have been reduced thanks to families ONLY using Bigelow Street for drop off/pick up and parking vehicles on side streets instead of Bigelow. Mark your calendars! QAE Individual Picture Day: Thursday, September 21st. Retakes, class photos and whole school photo will be in October date TBD shortly. Relocation Information Meeting: Wednesday, Sept. 27 (6:30 – 8 pm) In 2018-19, our school will relocate so that a much-needed new gym and additional classrooms can be built on-site. At this meeting, architects, SPS transportation staff and SPS relocation staff will provide information about QAE’s addition design, transportation, and information on the moving process to and from John Marshall. We will ensure parents are well-informed about this carefully-planned process well before the end of June 2018. Jog-A-Thon: Friday, Sept. 29th: An annual tradition at QAE is our fantastic Jog-a-Thon! This is a school-wide event focused on student goal setting for running laps around our school. Students set a running goal in class to help them learn the importance of setting and achieving a personal goal. This is a wonderful learning opportunity for students, and an incredible school-wide event at QAE. PTSA coordinates a fund-raiser with the Jog-a-Thon so see link above for more fund-raising info. Thank you to our dedicated PTSA for organizing this! WAVE 1: GRADES 4/5: RUN 11:45 - 12:25 WAVE 2: GRADES 2/3: RUN 12:35 - 1:15 WAVE 3: GRADE K/1: RUN 1:25 -1:55 ALL SCHOOL CELEBRATION 1:55 DISMISSAL 2:25 Curriculum Night: Thursday, Oct. 12 (6:30 – 8 pm): For new QAE families, Curriculum Night is an annual SPS evening information session for parents. QAE parents/guardians will begin in the cafeteria at 6:30 pm for staff introductions and an overview of our five pillars and QAE foundational elements, such as Project Based Learning (PBL), social emotional learning (SEL) and innovative technology. Then parents/guardians will move to specific classrooms where your child’s teacher will provide information on academic programs, social emotional learning and supporting your child at home. A 20-minute presentation will be offered at 7 pm and repeated at 7:30 pm to accommodate families with more than one child. Beginning at 7:30 pm, Janine Roy will be available in the cafeteria to answer any remaining questions. In 2018-19, our school will relocate so that a much-needed new gym and additional classrooms can be built on-site. Staff and PTSA have been working with architects over the past two years developing plans for our addition. During the addition construction, SPS will transport QAE students each day to John Marshall (520 NE Ravenna Blvd.), a former SPS high school that provides available spaces for whole schools during major additions. All the furniture and equipment will be in place for us to use for the year while our beautiful new learning spaces are built. On Wednesday, Sept. 27, all QAE parents are invited to a Relocation Information Meeting in the cafeteria from 6:30–8pm. At this meeting, architects, SPS transportation staff and SPS relocation staff will provide information about QAE’s addition design, transportation during the 2018-2019 relocation, and information on the moving process to and from John Marshall. After presentations, we will gather questions from QAE parents. Parents will have time to record their own questions and generate questions in small groups. These questions will provide the basis for regular updates to families throughout this year that will be shared on our QAE PTSA website and in Rocket Reader. We will ensure parents are well-informed about this carefully-planned process well before the end of June 2018. All QAE parents are welcome! See the PTSA's info page on the Building Renovation for more details on the exciting design for our expanded school! Helping out in the library is a great way to support QAE. Plus you get to hang out with Mr. Jeffery. Here's our note from our amazing librarian:
Checking out books, shelving books, talking about books, browsing books, helping student navigate on computer or iPad - QAE library volunteers get it all! Would you possibly consider giving your time to the library this year? I’ll take as much as you are willing to give. Ideally, you would commit to a schedule so that we can count on daily support. We are very flexible, and if there is a day you can’t volunteer, just let me know. If you want to be a part of the library but have concerns committing to a schedule, then let me know you’d like to be “Volunteer on Demand”. We’d love for you to be a part of the library family. If you have some interest and/or questions, please email me. I’ll love to hear from you. Jeffrey (aka…Mr. Jeffrey) [email protected] 206.252.2511 qaelibrary.org @qaelibrary Welcome to QAE! Start the first day of Kindergarten with a Parent Reception hosted by the QAE PTSA! Join us on Monday, Sept. 11th after morning drop-off (7:55am) in the QAE Cafeteria. Imagine, you did it, you just dropped off your sweet little Kindergarten student for their first day at QAE. The adventure begins! Now imagine sharing how it all went, connecting as families, and building parent friendships over Top Pot Donuts and Starbuck's Coffee. Hope to see you there! If you would like to help with this gathering and/or have any questions feel free to contact our Community Outreach & Events Coordinator, Christa Winquist at: [email protected]  From Principal Roy:
In addition to checking out our fantastic PTSA website for information, QAE News will be emailed regularly to all families. This provides information to families about events and opportunities happening during school time at Queen Anne Elementary, including important dates and upcoming events. Seen around QAE this week…
2017-2018 QAE Guiding Question A key part of Project Based Learning is that students find the answer to a guiding question so that their research and learning presentation are centered on a rich, thought-provoking question. For the first time, QAE staff identified a school-wide guiding question to focus on as a whole school this year. Our QAE citizens were introduced to our school-wide driving question for 2017-2018 this week: How are we having an impact on the world? Our guiding question is displayed on posters in the cafeteria, at the front entrance of the Treehouse and in classrooms. It is a great classroom and home discussion, as we want our QAE citizens of the world to feel that they have an impact on the world through their learning, actions and advocacy. Helping young learners feel that their school activities are purposeful and meaningful means that learning is not only engaging, it is empowering! We encourage all QAE families to discuss this important question throughout the year. Attendance If your child is going to be away, please email your child’s teacher and Office Assistant Jennifer Connolly at [email protected] as Jennifer is responsible for attendance again this year. Forms: Due Tuesday, September 12 Please return all forms sent home in the manila envelope on the first day, by Tuesday, September 12. We urgently need this information from all families. Please make sure you update the school on contact information changes during the year. Student Safety: Safe Arrivals and Departures Student safety is a key focus in September, as we have hundreds of children and families arriving and leaving Queen Anne Elementary every day. We need to work together to teach our children safety procedures, as we will all be arriving in the dark in a few weeks! If you would like to volunteer to help set up car-pooling and/or a Walking School Bus, please email Principal Janine Roy at [email protected]. Bigelow Avenue: Bus Zone and Drop Off/Pick Up Zone ONLY (New Practice):
Bus Students: Bus students line up on the basketball court and will be escorted onto buses by staff. Parent Drop Off/Pick Up on Bigalow Avenue (New Practice):
Parent Parking in our QAE Neighborhood
Staff Parking Lot
Bikes/Scooters/Skateboards: (New Practice): We love our bike riders and scooter riders! But with several significant crashes on our school grounds after school last year, we need to change our practice. Staff will work with Student Leadership to develop a possible plan for our wheeled vehicles. In the meantime: before and after school, please walk bikes/scooters and carry skateboards on school grounds. Patrols on Newton and 4th Avenue
Crossing Guard We now have Crossing Guard Paige MacMillan at Boston and 4th Avenue every morning. We would love to have a parent crossing guard in the afternoon. We would love parent crossing guards on both Bigelow and Boston, and we need people mornings and afternoons. If you are available to be a crossing guard, please contact Janine Roy at [email protected]. Thank you for any help you can provide! Music at QAE This year, all students will receive music instruction from our new General Music Specialist, Rebecca Jackson. Ms. Jackson moved to Seattle from Colarado to be part of our QAE community, as she relishes the opportunity to create a new general music program at QAE. Ms. Jackson will be at QAE every morning, and then go to Sand Point to teach music each afternoon. 3rd – 5th grade students will receive general music instruction from September – January. K – 2nd students will receive it February – June. SPS provides the opportunity for Instrumental Music to 5th grade students each year. Ms. Victoria Smith, our new Instrumental Music Teacher, is looking forward to starting her program this month. Ms. Smith provided information to all 5th grade classes and 4th grade classes this morning. All 5th grade students are invited to apply, and if we have more students than spaces we will have a lottery. If there are still spaces left, 4th grade students are invited to submit an application and we will have a lottery to identify participants. Permission forms went home to parents today and interested students can return their forms to the school office by Friday, Sept. 15th at 8 am. Spirit Days: Every Friday Providing opportunities for students to be part of a team or club helps us to build community and have some fun together. Queen Anne Elementary declares that every Friday is Spirit Day. Students are invited to wear QAE colors (purple or orange) or Seahawks colors (blue or green) or a team shirt. This is an invitation, not a requirement. We will begin on Friday, September 15th. QAE Individual Picture Day: Thursday, September 21st QAE Retakes, Class Photos and Whole School Photos will be in October. Date announced shortly. Individual Picture Day is on Thursday, September 21st. Retakes, class photos and whole school photo will take place 4 weeks later to ensure all of our students are present; date will be determined asap. So sorry that Photo Day was inadvertently booked on Rosh Hashanah! We have now rescheduled our class photos and whole school photo for Retake Day to ensure everyone is here. Please return photo forms as soon as possible. Jog-A-Thon: September 29th An annual tradition at QAE is our Jog-a-Thon. This is a school-wide event focused on student goal setting for running laps around our school. Students set a running goal in class to help them learn the importance of setting and achieving a personal goal. This is a wonderful learning opportunity for students, and a wonderful school-wide event at QAE. PTSA coordinates a fund-raiser with the Jog-a-Thon, and more fund-raising information will follow from PTSA. Thank you to our dedicated PTSA for organizing this! Monthly Assemblies It is important for students to have an opportunity to come together as a whole community. There are daily opportunities for grade groups to come together during recess and lunch breaks. We also want to ensure that our whole school gets together regularly, so that we can share information, celebrate learning, and all students can learn respectful audience behaviors. Monthly assemblies will be held for special performances, special events and/or at the end of each month to provide the most effective learning opportunities for all students. Parent Help Wanted: Lost and Found Coordinator/Director Yearbook Manager Running Club Coordinator Running Club Running Club is an important part of Queen Anne Elementary, as every QAE Explorer is a member. Students can run on our on-site track to build up their laps and achieve their running goals throughout the year. I can’t wait to join them! We need some parent assistance to get the Running Club ‘up and running’ as soon as possible. If you are interested in helping with our initial set up, please email Principal Janine Roy at [email protected]. Looking forward to a great running year ahead! Lost and Found Lost and Found is located in the Brick Building hallway beside the library. Parents wanting to assist can contact Jennifer Connolly at [email protected]. September Dates: Sept. 13 - 1st early dismissal Wednesday: all Wednesday’s this year end for students at 1:10 pm Sept. 15 - Spirit Day: Students invited to wear purple, orange, green or blue to support QAE school spirit and Seahawks! Sept. 21 - QAE Individual Picture Day, with Retakes, Class Photos, and Whole School Photo in Oct. Sept. 22 - Spirit Day Sept. 29 - QAE Jog-a-thon Contact Us Families are always welcome to contact our school. Here are important numbers and emails: Principal Janine Roy [email protected] 206-252-2480 Admin. Secretary Karen Rang [email protected] 206-252-2480 Office Assistant Jennifer Connolly [email protected] 206-252-2480 QAE PTSA website http://www.qaeptsa.org/ QAE District website http://www.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=59665 Teachers Teacher emails are posted on the QAE PTSA website: http://www.qaeptsa.org/  The QAE PTSA is hosting a Back-to-School BBQ at Golden Gardens Sunday, Sept. 10th! All QAE families are welcome!
Let's relax by the beautiful Puget Sound and have BBQ lunch while our kiddos enjoy sand, play and hanging with their school friends or making new ones! We will have a reserved covered space near the playground at Golden Gardens from 10am-2pm. Look for the orange and purple decorations! Lunch will feature hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers along with the sides! Please use the link below to RSVP for the BBQ -- this helps us plan for how much food we need! To help us defray the cost of the rental, food and drinks, the PTSA is suggesting a donation of $5 per attendee. Please note -- this is completely optional, all families are welcome! RSVP now for the Back-to-School BBQ Lots of fun sand toys, bubbles and surprises provided, but please feel free to bring any sand toys your kids love. Note -- all food and drink will be provided. Just come, eat and help us build our QAE community! If you have questions, contact our Community Outreach & Events Coordinator, Christa Winquist at [email protected]  Kick off the new school year on a sweet and warm note with Top Pot Donuts & Starbucks Coffee in the QAE Cafeteria! Reconnect with good friends, make new ones and share your summer stories among smiling faces while enjoying donuts and coffee.
The fun begins immediately after drop-off (7:55am) and is being hosted by the QAE PTSA. We can't wait to see you there! Please note -- this reception is intended for parents of 1st-5th grade student who start on Wednesday. There will be an additional reception for Kindergarten parents on the first day of K classes. If you would like to help with this gathering and/or have any questions feel free to contact our Community Outreach & Events Coordinator, Christa Winquist at: [email protected]. |
Welcome to the Rocket Reader blog! The PTSA's collection of news & information relevant to QAE Families. This is also shared weekly in the Rocket Reader e-newsletter. Use the form below to sign up!
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QUEEN ANNE ELEMENTARY PTSAOur Vision: Create, maintain, and support a healthy and successful environment within the QAE community and support staff, students, and their families in the quest for an excellent education.
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SCHEDULE2024-25 On-Site Schedule
7:55am - School Day Begins 2:25pm - Dismissal Wednesday Early Release 1:10pm - Dismissal |
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