Before the final steel beam was installed at the QAE site on Boston, the contractor transported the beam to John Marshall so our kids could sign it.

Check out the great photos taken by QAE parent, Christa Winquist!
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Super-fun, unique treat for the kids on Friday (and parents can join): next week the final steel beam will be installed at the QAE site on Boston! The contractor is kind enough to bring the beam to QAE on Friday morning for all the kids to sign!

They'll bring it by flatbed truck to the parking lot and the kiddos will go out by grade to sign it. It'll be there between 11am-12:30pm. Parents are welcome to come by during that time to sign as well!
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As we settle in to the school year, we thought it'd be useful to have a reminder about numbers to call and other helpful resources for QAE families.

Attendance/Sick Kids
Always let the school know if your child is going to be absent. Contact Catie Coyle, our new attendance/office assistant via the main QAE office phone number 206-252-2480 or at cmcoyle@seattleschools.org. It's also useful to let your child's teacher know, particularly if it's a longer term absence. 

Transportation Issues and Questions
Contact the SPS Transportation department at 206-252-0910 or visit their website. They have the most up to date info of buses and can actually access the drivers. Principal Roy also sends out regular updates via email and there's often discussions in the Facebook QAE Community Discussions group about bus status.

Lunch and Meals
Contact our wonderful Nutritionist/QAE Chef Nancy Buran at 206-252-3589. You can also view your child's balance and add money to purchase breakfast and lunch on the SPS's PayPams site. You can view the current menus for breakfast and lunch.

Lost and Found
Our lost and found located directly inside the main doors of QAE. Have your child take a look if they're missing something. You can also contact the main QAE office number if you have a question - 206-252-2480.

Building Availability
The main QAE Office should be contacted if you're hoping to use space in the building for something outside of regular school hours - 206-252-2480.

QAE Communications
There's a number of ways you can keep up with everything that's going on at QAE. Some of it is managed by the school, others by the PTSA.

• Orange folders - these are the ubiquitous folders that go to/from school with the kids. Always check for printed announcements that come from the school or are about PTSA events.
• Emails from Principal Roy - Janine sends out weekly emails and other announcements via email. She uses the email lists provided by SPS.
• Emails from your child's teachers - Some teachers send out updates via email. They usually start with lists provided by SPS and the PTSA, but sometimes add addresses as they get them from parents.
• Emails from classroom coordinators - Each class has a coordinator who sends out weekly emails. They also start with the list provided by the PTSA with additions from the teachers.
• Rocker Reader Newsletters and other emails from the PTSA - these are sent approximately weekly and come via the QAE PTSA's Mailchimp service. We start with those addresses provided when parents fill out the online directory form here.
• Facebook - QAE PTSA page - this is the "official" page for the PTSA. We post announcements, events, etc.
• Facebook - QAE Community Discussions group - this a parent driven group where anyone who is a member can post and comment. It's a helpful way to connect with other families. It's been used for things like updates on late buses.
• Twitter - the PTSA has an account. As does Principal Roy and a number of the teachers.

All these methods have you confused? We get it, there's a lot. If you're not receiving the information you need, feel free to contact the PTSA at communications@qaeptsa.org and we'll try to help. If you aren't hearing from Principal Roy or your teacher/coordinator, contact them to make sure they have the proper email for you.

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As we prepare for the year at John Marshall, QAE is working with the district to finalize route schedules for buses from the Queen Anne area to John Marshall, including the pick-up and drop-off at the central locations at John Hay and the Queen Anne Community Center.

SPS will communicate details about bus routes by August 27th. They will communicate directly to families. This includes both families who live on routes in the Transportation Zone as well as those who indicated they want to take advantage of the central pick-up/drop-off locations.

If you did not previously tell SPS that your family wants to use pick-up/drop-off at either John Hay Elementary or Queen Anne Community Center, it is your responsibility to email transdept@seattleschools.org to make sure your child is on the list at your preferred site.  Please do this ASAP.  If you choose this option, you are responsible for drop off/pick up at the appropriate location each day.

​There are some additional details on transportation on our Building Renovation page.

As we plan for next year’s move to John Marshall, Principal Roy has been working with SPS to plan for our transportation needs. Here are her recent updates:


SPS can provide both route pick up/drop off and central-location pick up/drop off.

• To assist SPS, PTSA Facilities Director Mark Meuter and I will work with PTSA to design a survey for QAE parents to identify transportation needs for next year.  If there are any volunteers to help us craft a survey, please contact Mark Meuter at facilities1@qaeptsa.org 
  
• There will be both route pick up (as there is now) and central location pick up.  We will work with SPS Transportation to identify possible sites for central location pick up, such as Queen Anne Community Center and Little Howe Park.  This means that families inside and outside the GeoZone will have the option of coming to a central location for pick up/drop off on Queen Anne hill.
  
• Once SPS has QAE survey information and the April database for next year’s registration is available, then SPS will be able to plan routes and inform families in the spring.
  
• If there is a desire for central location pick up, we will need to have parents sign up to supervise the drop off/pick-up site on a regular basis to make this work for all of our families.

Also:

• PTSA and I will work with SPS to coordinate possible bussing for PTSA-organized Enrichment Programs.
• As anticipated, KidsCo families will pick up students at John Marshall next year.
• In September, we need to be prepared for minor adjustments to route pick up/drop off locations and time revisions as needed in the first few weeks of September.  Anticipating this will be important as we establish safe, dependable routes for students.  Thanks to all QAE families for your collaborative support in planning our transportation to John Marshall together.

Big news! Our revised bell times have been approved for next year as we move to John Marshall School in Ravenna! This is allow more time for students to get to the school.

The SPS Board of Directors voted to establish QAE's bell times for 2018-19 as follows:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
- 8:50am Welcome Bell
- 8:55am Classes Begin
- 3:25pm Dismissal

Wednesday
- 8:50am Welcome Bell
- 8:55am Classes Begin
- 2:10pm Early Dismissal

Planning Transportation for 2018-2019:
QAE PTSA will work with SPS Transportation Department to begin planning bus routes for 2018-2019. All information updates will be shared here on the PTSA site as we work on this planning process together. If you have any questions, email Janine at jbroy@seattleschools.org or call QAE at 206-252-2480.

Queen Anne Elementary is being renovated during the 2018-19 school year! We'll return to the QAE campus in 2019-20. The QAE campus is going to be expanded to better accommodate our enrollment with a new classroom, add a full-sized gym, improve the outdoor play area and more.

During the renovation, QAE will be at the John Marshall building near Greenlake. The address is 520 NE Ravenna Blvd. It's a building that's used by SPS to temporarily house schools during major projects. For example, this year Loyal Heights Elementary is using the building.

We want to give families a chance to see the school. There are two opportunities coming up to take a look:

PTSA General Meeting at John Marshall
Wednesday, Jan. 24th, 6:30-8:30pm
The QAE PTSA will be hosting this general meeting at the John Marshall School in Ravenna, our temporary home during the 2018-19 school year. Come preview the school and attend the meeting! We won’t be able to provide childcare, but intend to keep the meeting short and sweet if you’d like to come but will have a kid in tow.

John Marshall School Visit
Saturday, Jan. 27th, 10-11am
Join us for a morning open house and tour of the John Marshall School in Ravenna, which will be our home during the 2018-19 school year. Open to all families, kids are welcome and encouraged to come check out the building!

See our QAE Building Renovation Project page for more details about the remodel.

Thanks to the more than 280 families responded to the survey about next year's bell times. During our school’s remodel in 2018-19, we will use the John Marshall Elementary School as our interim site for one year. It is located at 520 NE Ravenna Blvd. in the Green Lake area. This will require additional travel time for students. SPS is working on the transportation plan, but we do know that any student currently in the QAE bus zone will have transportation provided. We wanted to provide guidance to SPS on the preferences of our QAE families. Here's the results:

• 7:55am - 32.62% (92 responses)
• 8:55am - 67.38% (190 responses)

These results are only intended to share with the school district. Final decision will be made based on many factors.

See our Building Renovation page for more details about move.

​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!

During the June 6th Building Renovation Meeting  we heard very consistent feedback from our neighbors and community QAE parents have NOT always been kind, safe or fair to our children, ourselves and our neighbors. We were reminded of some basic SAFETY and RESPECT procedures that you should remember when dropping off and picking up your children at school.  Please help us model good safety behaviors for our children and be good neighbors.

1) Crossing Boston St at the intersection of Bigelow.  There is a signed cross walk at Boston and 4th Ave N to use for our safety and our children.  Our neighbors have witnessed a number of situations where distracted or hurried drivers do not pay attention when driving through this area and it is further challenged by the slope of the street giving drivers some blind spots.  They reminded us that we should all be careful and safe when crossing streets.

2) Crossing the any street mid-block.  Please don't play frogger across the busy street.      

3) Parking - please respect our neighbors driveways, fire hydrants, crosswalks and stop signs.  The below is the Seattle Department of Transportations Parking Regulations in regards to How Close Can you Park?  Parking illegally, even for a couple of minutes, is unfair and unsafe to those that are sharing the roads.

QAE parents: learn about the upcoming renovation at Department of Neighborhoods zoning meeting on Tuesday, June 6th at 6:30pm at the QAE Cafeteria.

At this meeting, the Departures Committee, QAE parents and QAE neighbors can see the plans presented by QAE’s architects and learn about requested "departures" so the Departures Committee can make decisions. In order to facilitate the QAE renovation project, SPS has requested some standard "departures" from the zoning for the area. These include expanding the footprint of the building, parking and bus areas. ​We would love parents to come to this public meeting to see the plans and advocate for QAE!   

See the official City of Seattle notice about the meeting and the PTSA's QAE Renovation page for more details about the project. Here's the text from the City:

 Public meeting scheduled to discuss zoning modifications for renovation of the Queen Anne Elementary School

A public meeting is scheduled to discuss Seattle School District plans to renovate and construct an addition to Queen Anne Elementary School located at 411 Boston Street. The meeting will be held at Queen Anne School on Tuesday, June 6 at 6:30 p.m.

The Seattle School District is requesting modifications (known as departures) to the City’s zoning regulations for the following:
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• Increased lot coverage.
• Continued “off-site only” parking.
• On-street bus loading and unloading.

This meeting will include a presentation by Seattle Public Schools on the requested modifications before the Queen Anne School Development Standards Departure Advisory Committee, a group composed of neighbors and School District and City representatives. After the presentation, the public is invited to make comments. Following public comment, the Committee will deliberate and consider the District’s requests. Additional meetings may be held, if needed.

Principal Roy passed on the message below about an important meeting regarding QAE's option status and boundaries. Not familiar with the issues? See the PTSA's info page on Boundaries and Option Status for more details. The two actions you can take as an advocate for our school:

1. Attend the Community Meeting on May 1st at McClure
2. Write in support of QAE to growthboundaries@seattleschools.org and the School Board Directors at schoolboard@seattleschools.org. 

Invitation to Community Meeting on May 1st, 2017

Please join Seattle Public Schools at a community meeting on May 1 about the opening of Magnolia School.

The district’s Enrollment Planning team will share an overview of responses received about possible boundaries for Magnolia School, share data related to various scenarios requested by the community and the School Board, and learn more from community feedback.

No decisions have been made on Magnolia boundaries, or on boundary or program changes for other schools. The goal of this meeting is to share information and hear additional community feedback.

Date: Monday, May 1, 2016
Time: 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Location: McClure Middle School Gym, 1915 1st Avenue West

Background: Magnolia School is undergoing renovations and will open in fall 2018. The district is currently exploring scenarios for setting boundaries for the new school to help relieve current and future crowding at Catharine Blaine K-8, Coe Elementary, and Lawton Elementary.

A community meeting held in March was primarily attended by families from those three schools. Based on community feedback and requests from the School Board to include all Queen Anne elementary schools in the discussions, additional meetings were held with the Queen Anne Elementary and the Hay Elementary communities.

For a summary of what we heard at these meetings and more information on the Magnolia boundaries, please visit http://seattleschools.org/cms/one.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=20911803. (For information on the renovation project, please visit http://bta.seattleschools.org.

You may also share your input by emailing: growthboundaries@seattleschools.org.

Have a voice in the future of Queen Anne Elementary! The City of Seattle is putting together the School Departures Advisory Committee, related to the proposed construction of the new addition to QAE.

The construction is scheduled to start at the end of June 2018, but this committee serves a vital need now in reviewing "departures" that have been requested by SPS for construction.

The deadline to submit a brief letter of interest is Friday, April 21st, 2017 though they will likely accept letters into the following week. Regardless, this is a great way to help move our remodel process forward. All the details in the city press release below:

Here’s your chance to serve on an advisory committee that will recommend whether to grant zoning modifications needed for the renovation and addition to the Queen Anne Elementary School (QAES). Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is seeking community members to serve on this committee.
 
The Seattle School District is requesting modifications (known as a “departures”) from select City zoning regulations for the renovation and addition to the Queen Anne Elementary School located at 411 Boston Street. The modifications are:

1. Less than required off-street parking.
2. Greater than normally allowed lot coverage.
3. On-street bus loading and unloading (TBD pending further review).

 
The committee will convene one to three public meeting(s) at Queen Anne Elementary School during a 90-day period beginning when the committee is appointed.
 
At the meetings, the committee will receive briefings from the Seattle School District, and gather and evaluate public comment on the departure requests. Following these meetings, the committee will forward a recommendation to the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) to either grant or deny the requested modifications. The committee may also recommend relevant conditions to be applied to granting these changes to minimize its impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. SDCI will make the final decision.
 
Those who can apply to the committee are neighbors who live or own a business within 600’ of Queen Anne Elementary School, residents in the surrounding neighborhood, representatives of city-wide education issues, and parents of future QAES students. Other committee members will include a representative from the School District and City of Seattle.
 
To apply, please send a letter of interest by either e-mail or regular mail to:

Maureen Sheehan
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
PO Box 94649
Seattle, WA 98124-4649
Email: maureen.sheehan@seattle.gov
 
Letters of interest should be received by Friday, April 21. For more information contact Maureen Sheehan at maureen.sheehan@seattle.gov or 206-684-0302.
 
The City of Seattle is committed to promoting diversity in its boards and committees; women, young adults, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, persons of color, and immigrants are highly encouraged to apply.
 
The Major Institutions and Schools Program provides a way for neighbors of Seattle's hospitals, universities, and colleges to be directly involved in the development plans for those institutions to ensure neighborhood concerns are considered when those plans are made. It is a program of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.