Are you interested in Education and knowing the State of the District?

Join Dr. Susan Enfield, Interim Superintendent, at Coe Elementary for a recap of her State of the District Address. After the recap, Dr. Enfield will open the floor for questions.

We hope you will come and learn more about the big picture of education in the District and how our individual schools operate.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Coe Elementary School Gymnasium, 2424 7th Avenue West
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This event is Co-Sponsored by Coe, John Hay, Queen Anne Elementary, McClure Middle School, and Blaine K-8.

_Our Amazon Associates program is off to a great start - we've raised $300 for the PTSA so far. If you shop, or plan to shop through Amazon, please remember to always begin your shopping here.  And please, spread the word to your friends and family.

Answers to FAQs:

• Yes, the Amazon Associates program will work with Amazon Prime
• Yes, you can buy anything that is offered through Amazon (products do not need to be "educational")
• Keep it simple: always begin your shopping here with an empty cart and add items when you are ready to buy 
• We will not get credit for purchased items that were added to your cart prior to clicking through our links
• We will get credit for purchased items that were added to your cart within 24 hours of clicking through our links; items are tagged to our associates account for 90 days and will need to be purchased (or deleted and added again) within that time frame

http://qae-astore.weebly.com/Thank you for supporting Queen Anne Elementary!

Thanks to all who sent donations yesterday, either online or in the office!
We'll send daily updates thru end of fund drive, this Thursday.  From yesterday's email:

Our Fall Explorer Fund Drive is wrapping up, and we are striving for 100% participation from our QAE families – *every* donation, large or small, moves us closer. 

We still need over $30,000 to meet our goal and to continue to provide these valuable programs for all students:  

• In-school Art classes for all grades by Ms. Megan
• Social/Emotional Curriculum such as Counselor time from Ms. Skoog, Roots of Empathy, Classroom SEL libraries, and character development class plays
• Islandwood retreat for 5th graders
• Kindergarten Instructional Aides
• 1:1 Tutors for academic support for teacher-identified kids
• IPod Touch cart, Dreambox, Reading-A-to-Z, Digital Storytelling, Headphones with mics, etc
• School Garden
• Classroom Websites & Student e-folios
• Parent Education workshops
• and much more

See what Principal Elliott and QAE students have to say about the value of PTSA supported programs in this video by our second graders.

Please donate today!  Click on this link to go to QAE home page and give online with Credit Card, Debit / Bank Account, or Paypal. 
Or return the fund drive response card to the school office with your check made out to QAE PTSA.

_Here’s a quick list of activities being offered for Winter 2012. If you have any questions, please contact Alison Payauys (apayauys@gmail.com).

Introducing After School Hoops! QAE Welcomes 1on1Basketball and their After School Hoops program. After School Hoops teaches athletic fundamentals through progressive drills, engaging cardio and fun competitions and uses these fundamentals as a platform to teach life-skill lessons that reinforce positive attitudes about effort, respect, cooperation and self-control. Classes will meet Thursdays after school beginning Jan 12th. After School Hoops is open to all grade levels. Look for a flyer/registration form in your orange folder before winter break or register online at (https://www.1on1basketball.com/locations/seattle-washington/#)

Lego Club: Both the K-1 PreEngineering and the 2-5 Engineering FUNdamentals will be offered for a winter session. Classes meet before school on Wednesdays beginning January 18th. Class projects will be sure to excite both new and returning students. Registration is open online at (http://play-well.org/schedule/class/list/county/King/county_id/31/type/class)

Kids Create: For this winter session students in Kids Create art club will create Costumes! In this workshop we will create fairy wings, crowns, magical wands, masks, and superhero capes! Classes meet after school on Mondays and start January 23. Online registration is open now http://kidscreate.org/schools/QAE.html  Registration/flyers will be available soon.

The Learning Studio is currently registering for Math and Writing Enrichment classes that start in January. See info on the Before-After School webpage (http://www.queenanneelementary.com/beforeafter-school.html)

Chess Club continues after school on Tuesdays. It’ll meet the first day back from break, Jan 3rd. The K-1 class is full but there are a few spots in the 2-5 class if you are interested. Contact Nan Noble (nannoble@gmail.com) to sign up.

Megan’s After School Art: Our talented art teacher, Megan Hosch-Schmitt, is planning an art program that will start meeting in January. More details to come. The club will meet after school on Fridays.

Craft Club: Parent Anne Siems continues an after school crafting club on Tuesdays. Please contact Anne for more info (asiems@w-link.com).

Drama Club: If you are interested in helping set up a drama club please contact Gladys Ly-Au Young (gladys@grahambaba.com).

Want to help QAE meet it's Fund Drive goal but lost your Fund Drive form?  No worries, just click here.

Or Donate online:

Worried about your child's education? You should be.
Call the legislative hotline, 1-800-562-6000.
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Tell them, Don’t can't gamble with our children’s future. DON'T CUT SCHOOL DAYS.
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CONTEXT: The idea to cut four school days is bad for kids, and Washington State PTA strongly opposes it.
 
It hurts our most vulnerable, denying them access to federal food programs and essential services, and adding to child-care costs when parents can least afford it.
It creates a legal mess with long-term consequences (more on that here).
It further delays college- and career-aligned graduation requirements.
It puts even more pressure on unstable levies and uncertain local effort assistance.
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The way forward is to stabilize basic education, not undermine it. All funding is driven by the number of days in the school year. A four-day loss means more cuts to busing, maintenance, supplies – and another 2.2 percent cut in salary allocations that must be negotiated with staff (following up on pay cuts made or somehow absorbed this year).  Hundreds of contracts will need to be re-opened. Making the number of days “optional” means that next year, or next month, the state may opt to change them yet again. And cut again. Schools won’t be able to predict year from year what their allocations will be. It exacerbates an already unstable and inequitable K-12 funding system.
 
And the kicker? To do this the state has to redefine "basic education" and argue that kids don't need that time in school. This when all the evidence tells us otherwise. ENTRENCHED GAPS
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CALL THE HOTLINE: 1-800-562-6000 or send an Action Alert.
Call now.

__On Thursday Ciara Leckie participated in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Stairclimb to support her student, Emma Jefferson.  Here is the message from her dad:

Dear Queen Anne Friends,
We know well that victories require patience and tenacity, this is certainly true for our daughter Emma Joy born with Cystic Fibrosis.  Now 7 and tenaciously beating back CF, we realistically foresee Emma’s CF fully beaten by the time she reaches 17!  Recent news is nothing short of incredible as there are now multiple CF research patients experiencing nearly full reversal of the CF effects under the experimental treatments! These results are for just one of the hundreds of CF gene mutations however, so we need your help. On December 1st, the E-Team which included Emma and second grade teacher, Ciara Leckie,took to the stairs for the 23rd Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Stairclimb.  They summited the Tower’s 56 floors  with Emma extending her goal to win her category! We are blessed that Emma has achieved such good health to even consider such a goal, but the aim remains a final cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

So please join this winning effort by linking directly to the E-Team climb link, or following our webpage and sponsoring our team. Our goal is to top last year's tally of over $7,000 as the 2nd highest individual fundraiser overall and 5th top team - and the deadline is December 31!

Everyone wants to be on a winning team, and this one is winning big. Every little bit helps and it is incredibly easy to donate and make a difference.  Just click here!

Thank you!
Keith and Emma Joy Jefferson


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Registration is open for exciting Math & Enrichment classes by The Learning Studio.  Visit our Clubs & Activities section to see information about all of the PTSA sponsored before & after school activities.

Investing Mathematics Through Visual Arts & Problem Solving (grades 3,4,5) - Jan. 12 to Mar 29. - $100 for 11 classes - Thursdays 3:40 - 4:30 - Students will integrate real-world, and visual art experiences with math activities in this class. Cooperative problem solving, with a focus on open-ended solutions will also be explored. Instructional goals include encouraging the students to push their mathematicalthinking further, to apply what they've learned, and to be confident in their skills. Lesson topics will include geometry, measurement, and number sense. Registration form

Writing Club (grades 3,4,5) - $75 for 9 classes - Wednesdays 3:40 - 4:30 - Jan. 4 - Feb. 29. - The purpose of The Writing Club is to offer students a chance to be creative, to receive productive feedback, while being providedwith additional writing instruction. A variety of genres, styles, and techniques will be explored throughout the 9 classes. Students will have opportunities to work independently as well as cooperatively. They will receive individual support throughout the course. Registration form (scroll down the form for Writing club)

Please email Lara Francisco (thelearningstudioseattle@gmail.com) with The Learning Studio, if you are interested in, or have questions about, any of these classes.You can also visit http://www.thelearningstudioseattle.com for more detailed descriptions or information. Tuition covers all materials and classes will start in January. The deadline for registration is December 15th.

_Friday, Dec. 2nd is the Annual Upper Queen Anne Merchants Holiday Magic from 4-8 pm.  Queen Anne Avenue will be lit up and festive.  Be sure to visit many of the merchants who support our school:  charley+may will be hosting their first annual Christmas cracker celebration, offering peppermint beverages and holiday tunes!  Roll the dice and get up to 20% off on purchases at Blue Highway Games!  Free balloons for the kids and a drawing for a beautiful nutcracker at Communique Cards and Toys!  Free photo with Santa at HomeStreet Bank!  Everything is 15% off all day long at Queen Anne Books!  Look for the elves with treats and discounts to Queen Anne Dispatch!  Should be great fun for all.  See you there.