Our annual celebration of the season returns! All QAE families are welcome to our Winter Celebration on December 5th. Have a family favorite holiday dish? Please share it! Have a special holiday song, decoration, tradition? We’d love to hear about it! Join us for an evening of fun, food, family, and friendship!

When: Thursday, Dec. 5th, 2019, 5:45-7:30pm
Where: QAE Cafeteria and Chill Zone

We need your help to make these celebrations a success! To sign up for food, traditions, or just to help set up and clean-up see links below!  

• RSVP here to bring a dish, side or dessert. 
• RSVP here to share a craft, entertainment or other tradition.

Check out this great slideshow video one of our parent photographers put together from last month's Jog-A-Thon:
http://www.studiochen.com/files/20191004/20191004.MP4

​And a few numbers to summarize where we landed. Thanks to all of you who volunteered!

• The event brought in almost $37,000!  $35,670 has been collected so far (checks keep trickling in)
• Ms. Hartmann's 4th Grade class raised almost $5,000

​Our Chili Cook-Off and Bingo Night was a ton of fun! Thanks to all those who brought chili and other goodies. The winner for favorite chili went to Reese Christensen in 1st grade for the Kids chili and 2nd place was a tie with Chris Gupta and Chris Nettles! Winner of the Most Creative chili was Ravdin Family for the white turkey and poblano chili. Bingo was a hit as well. Thanks to Shalini Nilakantan, Lisa Christensen and the other volunteers who made this happen!

All QAE families are invited to join us for the Families of Color meeting on Thursday, Nov. 21st from 6-7:30pm in the QAE Chill Room (by the cafeteria). 

Please join us and help plan for our winter celebration.

 More info on games club will follow. Questions? Please contact Kay Dumlao Doherty at foc1@qaeptsa.org. See you on Thursday!

QAE has been lucky to have Book-It Repertory Theatre perform at our school over the last few years. On Thursday, Nov. 7th at 8am, Book-It will be performing an adaptation of the book: My Name is Celia/Me Llamo Celia.

Book-It Theatre performs at QAE three times per year, supported by our PTSA in the past and supported this year by our SPS Creative Approach grant. All classes will read the book in advance. Stick around after drop-off for the performance—parents and preschoolers are welcome to attend!

We'll be honoring veterans during our annual assembly on Friday starting at 8:15am (and remember, no school on Monday!). All families are welcome to join us for this special assembly. We need your help—if you or a member of your family are a veteran we'd love if you shared your reflections with our students.

• If you have a veteran in your family who would like to attend and/or share their reflections, please email Janine at jbroy@seattleschools.org
• If your child is a scout, we invite them to dress in their uniform on Friday. Please email Janine as we'd like to recognize their community involvement at the assembly.

Got a can't-miss secret chili recipe up your sleeve? Or just like eating? Either way, please RSVP for the QAE Chili Cook-Off that's taking place at the school next Wednesday, Nov. 13th at the school. You vote to pick the best chili winners and enjoy fun prizes for Bingo winners!  We’ll also have other treats for sale (cash only) with lots of fun all around. Find out more...
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Molly Brooks’ illustrations have appeared in The Village Voice, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Time Out New York, The Nashville Scene, The Riverfront Times, The Toast, BUST Magazine, ESPN social, Sports Illustrated online, and others. She will be coming to QAE on Monday, Nov. 18th at 9am to talk to 3rd-5th grade students about the process of writing, illustrating, and revising a graphic novel, followed by Q&A. 

Her original graphic novel series Sanity & Tallulah (the second book in the series JUST came out) is available for purchase beforehand so that the author can sign copies after her talk. If you would like a personalized signed copy of the book, please fill out the form below and return it to your child's teacher or Dr. Valdez in the library before the event.

Here's part of a review of Sanity & Tallulah:
"Sanity & Tallulah is the best kind of science fiction, full of imaginative ideas and crazy possibilities but fundamentally focused on characters and relationships. This is a diverse future centered on family, but Brooks doesn’t lose sight of the classic adventure structure, where two girls use their determination, smarts, and bravery to save their home."

Get all of your holiday baking covered with Cougar Mountain Cookie Dough! QAE 4th graders are taking orders for 3 lb tubs of cookie dough as they fundraise for their 2020 trip to IslandWood! Each tub is $17 and half of the proceeds go toward the IslandWood trip! Find your local 4th grader to order or contact jodystewart@gmail.com or jodiemcmurdie@gmail.com. Dough will be delivered to school on Wednesday, November 20th.

Saturday, November 2nd, 9am-12pm
We're happy to collaborate with Green Seattle for an earth stewardship service project. Our school will help this year at the Duwamish location, just over the West Seattle bridge.

Our friends at GS have reserved up to 20 spaces for our community to join in the action. "Join the fun at East Duwamish Greenspace and be one of hundreds of volunteers planting native trees, shrubs, and groundcovers that will become the future forest of Seattle. All community members are welcome, and no experience is necessary! The event is family friendly and open to all ages."

You don't have to register but we want to give the site leader an idea of people to prepare supplies. Please email garden1@qaeptsa.org with "SGD" 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. It's a great way to give back! 

What to Bring
Come dressed for the weather (rain or shine) in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Wear sturdy closed-toe shoes (rubber boots, hiking shoes or boots), long sleeves, long pants, warm layers and rain jacket. We'll have tools and gloves for you to use, as well as coffee, water, and a mid-morning snack. Help reduce waste by bringing your own refillable coffee mug/water bottle if you have one.

Where to Meet
Use 8631 39th Ave S as an approximate address for the upper trail entrance, and contact us if you need directions. The forest is located along 39th Ave S, between S Cloverdale and S Trenton Streets in South Beacon Hill. We will meet at the entrance by the yellow fire hydrant, but if you arrive late, just follow the trail and look for us in the woods. The forest is a short walk from bus stops or light rail.

Where to Park
Limited parking is available adjacent to the site along 39th Ave S, and more parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood.

Learn more:
• Green Seattle - https://www.greenseattle.org/get-involved/green-seattle-day/
• Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center - https://www.duwamishtribe.org/

It's the time of the year again! We can't wait to see all the fun costumes on Thursday during our annual all school parade and class parties. We start with the parade then end the day with the class parties:

Halloween Parade:
• 12:45pm – all students change into costumes.
• 12:55pm – Classes assemble on the blacktop in a long whole school line.
• 1-1:15ish – Parade is on! Parents, preschoolers and neighbors are welcome to come to wave at our parade! There will be time for photos during and after the parade.

Halloween Class Parties:
• 1:30-2:10pm – Parties in each classroom. Thanks to the parent volunteers for putting these on.
• 2:10pm – Clean up
• 2:25pm – Dismissal

Also passing along guidelines around costumes as school. ​At QAE, children can wear costumes for the day or change at lunch if they wish.
• Costumes are for an elementary audience; Scary costumes that may frighten Kindergarteners are left at home;
• No masks at school;
• No swords/toy guns, or weapon accessories at school.
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​The weather is chilly so it’s time for CHILI!  Join us at the QAE Chili Cook-Off and Bingo Night on Wednesday, Nov. 13th,  5:45-7:30pm in the school cafeteria & gym.  You vote to pick the best chili winners and enjoy fun prizes for Bingo winners!  We’ll also have other treats for sale (cash only) with lots of fun all around!  

Chili Cook-off: We are looking for volunteers to cook their favorite recipes to share plus any fun trinkets or prizes that you think would be fun for our prize bag. Everyone will get a chance to taste and vote on their favorites in a variety of categories including best traditional, vegetarian, chicken, cornbread, chili dogs or most flavor, aroma, creative, zesty and spicy! Come hungry!

Bingo Prizes: Plus, we are looking for family donors for fun small prizes for our prize grab bag that will be fun for kids and adults.  We are seeking new/unused items ranging from pencils, marker sets, stickers, temporary tattoos, putty, candles, water bottles, bracelets, hot wheels, bath bombs, lip balm, stamps, coffee, hot sauce, nail polish, stress balls, mini travel games, cards, chili seasoning, candy bars, spices or other unique prizes that would be fun for adults or kids.

Use the SignUpGenius form to RSVP and let us know if you can bring chili or contribute in other ways.

The 2020 auction team is forming and we are looking for a number of volunteers to join the Procurement team.  This isn’t all knocking on doors (although we will need some help with that too!).  We’re looking for the following:

• Organization gurus savvy using excel and competent with data entry (ie. filling out procurement forms and tracking items)
• Tech experts to update and manage our online catalog
• Creative graphic artists to design a 2020 logo and update forms
• Brave marketers ready to think outside of the box; refining our pitch letter, generating unique procurement ideas (both items and experiences), and requesting donations from local businesses and QAE families.

How can you contribute to procurement without joining the team? We’ll take everything from condos to cookies! 

It takes a village to collect items that we’ll be bidding on in March.  What kind of products, services, and experiences are you interested in? Let’s think outside the box this year.  For example, if you have a skill to share, we’d love to offer knitting classes or a mahjong night?  Passionate about cooking?  Consider organizing a group of friends to host a progressive dinner or a chili cook-off.  Do you have a babysitter at home?  Donate babysitting hours to add on to a date-night package.  Skilled at flower arrangements or baking cookies?  Offer a monthly delivery service.

While we are looking for contributions from employers and local businesses; we also have a fantastic opportunity to tap into the creative group of families here at QAE to offer experiences and services that are unique and fun.  No contribution is too small!

Please contact Jenn Lovin at j2lovin@yahoo.com to volunteer or offer ideas!

​All QAE families are invited to join us for the Families of Color meeting on Thursday, October 24 from 6-7:30pm in the QAE Chill Room (next to the cafeteria). Please join us in welcoming new families to QAE, a discussion on what cultural competency look like at QAE, and planning events for the year.

Also, we’re looking for volunteers who are interested in supporting the group in other ways - Do you like making posters? We need you! Can you drop off flyers? Let us know! Can you help coordinate community meetings? Have other ideas on programming? Please come! We welcome and need all perspectives.

More info on games club will follow. Questions? Please contact Kay Dumlao Doherty at foc1@qaeptsa.org. ​See you on Thursday! 

​Welcome to a new series of “FRI-YAY” community events right after school! Our first FRI-YAY fun is coming up this Friday, Oct 25th, right after school for 20 minutes (rain or shine) outside by the gym. Tasty, fresh-made POPCORN will be for sale for $1 a bag. For our bus riders, Kids Co. and Enrichment students we’ll have popcorn pre-sales at lunch which will be delivered to their backpacks before end of day (please remember to have your kiddo bring $1 cash on Friday).  We’ll munch popcorn and celebrate the weekend ahead!  (All proceeds go directly to fund PTSA community events)