Blog Archives

QAE Familes and Friends: Get Help or Give Help This Holiday Season

11/27/2016

The deadline has been extended to Monday, Nov. 5th. To participate, fill out the PDF below and return to the office on Monday.

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As the holiday season approaches, stresses and strains we might otherwise dismiss can overwhelm us. The holiday season can place additional strain on many families in our community who are already working hard to keep their children fed, clothed, active, and hopeful.

The purpose of the QAE Families and Friends program is to strengthen our school community by giving all families the opportunity to:

Ask for assistance this holiday season or
Offer assistance this holiday season

Fill in the confidential form and return it in a sealed envelope to the QAE Office by Wednesday, Nov. 30th. Julietta Skoog or Jennifer Connolly will contact you shortly thereafter. Questions? Contact Jennifer Connolly at 252-2480 or by email at jaconnolly@seattleschools.org or jcskoog@seattleschools.org

qae_holiday_support_2016-2017.pdf
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Giving Thanks and Supporting QAE

11/20/2016

As we head into break, we first wanted to say thanks to the families that have taken the time to commit to our QAE community during the Explorer Fund Drive.

It's been a busy and distracting last couple weeks, so we've extended the deadline. If you didn't have a chance, there's still time to contribute to the Explorer Fund Drive!

We kicked off this Fund Drive with hope and inspiration of how we say Yes. Here's just some of the many things the PTSA able to say YES to with your support:

Kindergarten Assists
School Counselor
Reading Specialists
Afterschool Enrichment Program
Social Emotional Learning
ParentNet
Parent Education Speakers
Families of Color
In the Garden
ST Math
Day of Code
Library
QAE Yearbook
Summer Playdates
Chili Cook-off
5th Grade Islandwood
4th Grade World Peace Games
5th Grade Keyboards
Field Day
Newsela
Reading Horizons PE & Playground equipment

As we begin this Thanksgiving break, you can help us continue to say Yes and support the amazing staff and students of QAE!

Donate Now to the Explorer Fund Drive

Enjoy your holidays and thank you for your support,
The Queen Elementary PTSA

2016 Hour of Code - Coming Dec. 7th

11/18/2016

Our 4th annual QAE Hour of Code is on Wednesday, Dec. 7th. Hour of Code is a North America-wide event to help students understand how to create their own computer codes and engage in the problem solving and logic that underlies it. QAE is again joining in on the The Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week. More than 100 million students have participated already (and our kids are among them!) Living in a world surrounded by technology, we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works. Only a small fraction of students are learning computer science, and fewer students are studying it than a decade ago (and women account for only 12% of computer science degrees).

The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. Here’s a video to get you inspired!

To accomplish our goal of everyone at Queen Anne Elementary coding, we need parent help! Here’s how you can get involved:

1. Talk about software development and coding with your kids. How does software impact the work you do? How does it impact the world around them? Get them excited about this critical field and its applications.

2. Volunteer to help on Wednesday, December 7th. We need morning volunteers, sign up to volunteer...

3. Learn some coding skills. Go to code.org and Khan Academy and take a few introductory or advanced coding classes on your own and with your kid(s)

4. Sign up to bring snacks in for the volunteers and staff on December 7th. Fed parents are happy!

5. Tell others about the Hour of Code... friends, family, grandparents. Get them excited and involved. Encourage others to sign up themselves, their kids, and their schools to participate in this movement to bring 21st century skills to all kids. Get more info on the Hour of Code site.

Thank you for all your support and help as we introduce our kids to the skills they need to flourish in the 21st Century. We learn everywhere, we learn together!

QAE News - 11/18/2016

11/18/2016

Appreciations from Last Week:

Thank You Veterans for Attending our Veterans Day Assembly: Thank you to our many veterans in our community for presentations to students at both of our Veterans Day Assemblies on Nov. 10th. Their ability to communicate sacrifices made by veterans on behalf of our community and our country were greatly appreciated. Thank you to our scouts for serving as greeters and ushers for both assemblies, and we appreciated the opportunity to recognize all scouts for their community service during this assembly. Thank you to parents who were able to attend.
IslandWood Reflections: We greatly appreciate our QAE families for supporting our 5th graders journey to IslandWood again this year. Organizing this trip for two classes is a huge endeavor, so we want to say a gigantic thank you to our dedicated 5th grade teachers, Sarah Goldman and Sarah Abshire, for their hard work in organizing and overseeing this wonderful learning and community-building opportunity for students. Thank you to our parent chaperones for supporting our students throughout the week. Thank you to 5th grade parent drivers and parent volunteers who helped to organize the multiple details for this trip. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students!

Next Week:

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Nov. 21st – 22nd – If you have any questions on the day of your conference, please call the school office at 206-252-2480. Reminder there is no school for students Nov. 21st – 25th.
School Office Hours: Our school office will be open Nov. 21st – Nov. 23rd. If you have any questions, contact us at 206-252-2480. The office will reopen on Monday, Nov. 28th when students return.
Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 21st – 25th – No school for students.

Staff Baby Announcements

Ms. Palumbo’s daughter, Lucia Rose Palumbo, was born on August 25th weighing 6 lbs 14 oz and 19 inches long. Congratulations to the Palumbo family!
Ms. Brown’s family is excited to announce that Peter Andrew Brown, Jr. ("PJ") was born 10/23 at 1:12am, 7lb. 14 oz. and 23 inches long. Congratulations to the Brown family!

Raise for Maize Campaign for Dwankhozi:
Queen Anne Elementary has a partner school named Dwankhozi Primary School, located in Eastern Zambia. The school is supported by a foundation called Dwankhozi Hope. One of the ways that Dwankhozi Hope supports the students at Dwankhozi Primary School is to hold a fundraising campaign called Raise for Maize.

The funds raised provide food for the students at Dwankhozi Primary School during the community's "Hungry Season." In rural southern Africa, subsistence farmers experience a Hungry Season (January-March) when their stored food grown is depleted as they wait for the rainy season to end and the March harvest to be ready. That means their children are coming to school hungry, which makes learning very difficult for them. The school day has to be shortened during this period as the students have no energy to learn. About half of the students don't make it to school as their focus is on finding food. We have an opportunity to help!

Women in the Dwankhozi Primary School community are willing to make the students a school lunch during this Hungry Season. They just need us to help buy some maize:

$10 feeds 60 students for one day.
$50 feeds 300 students for one day.
$100 feeds the entire school for one day.
They only need to be fed for 6 weeks. (30 school days.)
That's $3,000.

To keep 600 students learning. The students of QAE want to raise this money by doing service for their friends and neighbors for a donation. They will donate the money they earn to the Raise for Maize Campaign. Every penny we raise will go towards the purchase of food for Dwankhozi Primary School students. More information about Dwankhozi Hope Foundation can be found at www.dwankhozi-hope.org

QAE Student Leadership visited classes this week to outline our Raise the Maize Campaign running from Dec. 5 – 9. We are asking students to do a service at home to fund raise. We are hoping students will bring the funds they raise in an envelope and write a message to explain what service they did to raise money for Dwankhozi students. Students will be invited to bring their donations in the sealed envelope on Friday, Dec. 9th and put it in a jar in the cafeteria during lunch hour. The focus will be on all of us working together to make a difference for others. It is the act of kindness and service that we are focusing on, rather than the size of the donation. Thank you for helping your child to plan how they will fundraise for this important annual global citizenship event at our school.

Food Drive:
Article by Lewis Nettleton, QAE Student Reporter: We are starting a food drive for Pike Place Market’s food bank. It starts December 5 – 9th. This is a list of food that you can bring:

Lean protein (canned tuna, salmon, sardines)
Fruit canned in juices
Low sodium pasta sauce, soup, chili
Whole grains such as brown rice
Canned food with pull tab tops
Nuts, nut butter
Shelf-stable milk, milk alternatives
Granola bars
Spices, cooking oils
Toilet paper

Bring a donation and help our downtown Seattle neighborhood. For more information, go to PMFB.org

Garden Work Party - Saturday, Nov. 19th, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

11/16/2016

Come for the donuts, cider and pie. Stay for the weeds!
Our garden needs to get ready for the winter! That means we need as many adult helping hands as possible!! Get ready to cut old growth back, turn soil, plant bulbs and spread mulch. A huge thank you to Five Corners Hardware who is donating and delivering mulch for us! Bring your bulbs!! (School colors, purple and orange would be great but all colors of course are welcome!!) We'll also be collecting non-perishables for NW Harvest at the party. Kiddos are encouraged to come.

See the Gather at the Garden page for more details...

Our kids. Our teachers. Our family.

11/10/2016

Our kids. Our teachers. Our family. We're building a community of concerned, confident and compassionate citizens of the world.

Our Five Pillars:

We are self-directed learners
We encourage each other to think critically and learn more
We are concerned, confident and compassionate citizens of the world
We learn everywhere, we learn together
We are creative

Help our students navigate the world with these values by supporting the PTSA's Explorer Fund Drive.

If you haven't had a chance, please donate now!

Early Dismissal Art Class with Ms. Amsel

11/5/2016

Ms. Amsel, our former art teacher, is returning by popular demand for an early dismissal art class on Wednesday, Nov. 16th from 12:05-2:05 p.m.

Wacky Fall Wednesday with Ms. Amsel
Come join the fun with Ms. Amsel for a day of Art making! We will be constructing and building Fall related projects using mixed media. Students will move through art making stations and try different materials. With the use of paint, collage, and printmaking we will be creating a variety of artworks in this Wacky Wednesday art session!

A short recess, and a light snack are included.

Date: November 16th
Time: 12:05pm - 2:05pm
Min/Max: 8 - 24 Students
Cost: $30

RSVP now to reserve a space...

Game Night Has Been Postponed

11/5/2016

Unfortunately, we need to postpone QAE Game night which had been scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 10th. There is a conflict in scheduling at the QA Community Center, so we'll be rescheduling it for sometime in 2017.

Our apologies for the delay. Hope you still find some time to gather with family and friends to play something fun!

Say YES to the Explorer Fund Drive!

11/3/2016

Our annual Explorer Fund Drive kicked off yesterday and will run through Wednesday, November 16.

The PTSA holds fundraising events just three times during the school year:

Jog-A-Thon – Powered by our students by reaching out to our family and friends for pledges.
Explorer Fund Drive – Powered by our parents to help answer a call by our school, teachers and students.
Auction – Powered by the whole community. A social evening that helps bring together our parent and teacher community to socialize and raise the dollars needed to fund this year’s operating budget. (Save the Date – Friday, March 10, 2017)

Our goal for the Explorer Fund Drive is to raise $80,000 directly from our QAE Parent Community.

Donate to the Explorer Fund Drive!

Your PTSA works with staff and teachers at the beginning of the year to determine what can most benefit our students that the school district is unable to provide. Through this process, the PTSA said YES to:

Kindergarten Assistants – We say YES to Ms. Mindy, Ms. Paige, and Ms. Sara supporting our youngest students.
School Counselor – We say YES to the indispensable work Julietta Skoog does in keeping QAE a safe emotional space for all our kids.
Reading Specialist – We say YES to a staff-requested focus on more support in this area.
After School Enrichment Program – Over 260 students in 28 classes this year. The largest session QAE has supported! We say YES to every family that needs help.
Social Emotional Learning – We say YES to provide our teachers with training, and our students with the tools and practice they need to develop social and emotional skills.
ParentNet and Parent Education Speakers – We say YES to building our competencies as parents.
Families of Color – We say YES to building a culturally competent community.
Library – We say YES when Mr. Jeffrey needs new books or resources to keep our library vibrant.
QAE Yearbook – We say YES to provide every student with a copy.
Community-Building Events: We say YES to Summer Playdates, Family Game Night, Chili Cook-off, Field Day, and more.

The PTSA has an ambitious goal to spend $799 per student during the 2016-17 school year. Please say YES to help support all the above items and many, many more. Help us say YES when our students have a need, our teachers voice a request, or our parents are passionate about something that will support our 419 students.

Donate to the Explorer Fund Drive now!

Thank you in advance for supporting the students, staff, and community at Queen Anne Elementary!

QAE PTSA

Help with Student Vision and Hearing Screenings

11/1/2016

Photo by Ken Teegardin

Help! Parents of students in grades K-3 are **desperately needed to assist in hearing and vision screenings for our students.** There are slots this Thursday (8 - 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 - 11 a.m.) and next Thursday.

You'll help the school nurse, Karen, with simple screenings (have the kids read letters on an eye chart). It's fun to work with with the kids and it's important to catch these issues. If you have a chance to help, please sign up here:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d49a9a828a31-parent

We hope you can help!

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